When considering the merger opportunity, those of us who have lived much of our lives must think of the world our children and grandchildren will inhabit long after we are gone.

Times change; what might have worked in the past no longer gives our younger generations a running start into a world that will continue to grow and change, with or without us.

It has been decades — decades — since the Twin Cities last experienced widespread prosperity and growth. That prosperity was created by people — our very own grandparents and parents — who took risks and stepped beyond the familiar and comfortable, believing that life should and would be better for their children.

Just as they left villages and farms in Europe and Canada and sought opportunity and prosperity in the industrializing world, we must do the same by laying the groundwork for the maximum advantage and opportunity of our youth, here and now. During lean times that have gone on for far too long, we must pool our resources, eliminate the waste inherent in duplication and do away with the competition and personal politics that such small and deeply intertwined cities can’t afford.

No dizzying cries of “the sky is falling” should prevent us from trusting our common sense and positioning ourselves to better benefit from the many opportunities of the times.?

Let’s not get lost staring at the clouds above the Androscoggin River, wondering when it will rain.

Maura Murphy, Lewiston