From Where I Sit
By Dale Jacobs
| Odyssey Times
Editor
Ten years.
It's a long time. Longer than
many marriages these days, sad to say. In ten years, a child can go from
birth to the fifth grade and from the fifth grade to college. Each ten years
sees at least on senatorial election, three presidential elections and five
elections for the House of Representatives. The last ten years has seen the
fall of the Soviet Union, the collapse of the Berlin Wall, two probes to
Mars, the explosion of personal computers and the emergence of the Internet
as a force in our lives.
It has also been the life span
of Adventures in Odyssey.
Those of us who were around
back then had mixed feelings about the project. Some were enthusiastic about
the rebirth of radio drama. Others were suspicious that anyone outside of
those who live here would be interested in the goings-on of our little town.
But the concept caught on big
time. The radio shows were followed by books and videos. Tourism boomed.
Odyssey is more popular than ever. Some folks say that's not a good thing,
that the place has lost some of its charm. Others want to see that
popularity soar even more, with more programs.
We come down on the side of
cautious growth. While we like the capital the boom brings, we don't want it
to wreck the very reason for its existence, namely the "small town feel" of
Odyssey.
It's a difficult tight-rope to
walk, to say the least. It's something that needs the input and
consideration of all of the town's citizens. And it's something the program
producers definitely need to consider as they chart out the next ten years
of Adventures in Odyssey.
Our best wishes--and
prayers--go with them.
This
article originally appeared in "The Odyssey Times," a
special fictional newspaper produced by Focus on the Family to promote
Adventures in Odyssey.
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