Most of my 55 years have been spent as an absolute pessimist. I was always going on the theory that if I didn’t hold out any hope for things going swimmingly, I would not suffer major disappointment.

My attitude has done an about-face and now I allow myself to aspire for positive things to happen. I actually look for celebration-worthy things to happen and sometimes they do.

One of those things happened just the other day at a Buckley City Council meeting.

Eleven-year-old Chloe Mitchell stepped in front of the council and asked if perhaps the Humane Society could possibly use the Buckley trail for a fundraising walk sometime this fall.

I could see by the sudden smiles blooming all over the room, others were thinking precisely the same thing I was.

This gutsy little lady had more intestinal fortitude in her pinky finger than most adults have in their entire body. And by the way, be watching for details on the event, because the council and Mayor Pat Johnson passed through the requests in unanimous fashion.

Also making an impression was local construction dude Carl Sanders, donating his time, talents and treasures toward getting that football field done in Enumclaw. I had heard about it, but until you are actually step on the field and see how pleasing it is, you can’t appreciate it.

Sure, there were plenty of donors who made the project happen. But until former Enumclaw mayor John Wise came up behind me in the end zone during Friday evening’s tilt with Yelm, put his arm around my shoulder and asked what I thought, it hadn’t dawned on me what a wonderful achievement getting this field refurbished was. It looks amazing and I nearly wept when it came to me that the gridders of EHS’s future will no longer have to slog around in the quagmire that was the former field’s legacy.

Wise was one of the guys instrumental in bringing this concept to fruition, along with EHS football mentor Don Bartel Judge Rick Bathum, Jeff Coats and others.

This accomplishment epitomized what can be done when people in the community roll up their sleeves and toil side-by-side to make things happen. This stadium will certainly be a source of dignity and self-confidence especially for those young men who are to be playing on such a handsome field.

The greatest thing of all if this. When I am walking along the sidelines, with the shutter of my camera clicking away, I no longer have to hear, “Welcome to the pasture in the sticks” uttered by opposing players.

Instead, we can say, “Welcome to one of the finest fields in the South Puget Sound League 3A, boys.”

Now he sit and hope the city and school district can hammer out an agreement regarding control and finances. Remember the years of insults stemming from that sorry excuse for a playing surface and get something done. Please!