Into the Breach

" We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day. "
From Shakespeare's play HENRY V


KING HENRY V:
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
Let pry through the portage of the head
Like the brass cannon; let the brow o'erwhelm it
As fearfully as doth a galled rock
O'erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean.
Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide,
Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit
To his full height. On, on, you noblest English.
Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof!
Fathers that, like so many Alexanders,
Have in these parts from morn till even fought
And sheathed their swords for lack of argument:
Dishonour not your mothers; now attest
That those whom you call'd fathers did beget you.
Be copy now to men of grosser blood,
And teach them how to war. And you, good yeoman,
Whose limbs were made in England, show us here
The mettle of your pasture; let us swear
That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not;
For there is none of you so mean and base,
That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game's afoot:
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'




In the spirit of the Bard's royal protagonist I start this blog with the hope that my comments about Fall River will engender true reflection, active discussion and meaningful communication about all things Fall River.

Fall River is many things; a home to 90,000 men, women and children, a city in transition into the 21st century, a community in turmoil as crime runs rampant despite increased police efforts, a municipality whose government seemingly has stood frozen in time, aloof and out of reach from those it nominally serves, an education system broken and in extremis,  and the state's highest unemployment rate.

But it is also a community made up of hearty people of many nationalities and cultures, which I believe strengthens Fall River, not diminishes it in any way. It is a City encased in a rich and colorful history which cannot be discounted and which must be fully understood in order to comprehend where we find it today. Fall River is a haven for those who love a culinary experience few can find in such abundance and simple enjoyment.

Most importantly, while Fall River has numerous serious problems facing it today, it also has untapped potential which, if awoken, could return Fall River to a new prominence in the region and, hopefully, in the state. It is up to us to review and examine what has to be done to make that renewal possible.

That will take honesty and a critical eye. It will be the product of objective and careful examination and acceptance of the facts. It will require constructive and well thought solutions, not merely the assignment of blame, although, we cannot allow sentimentality over people, places and things to replace valid sentiment and rational, sometime hard judgement to weaken our efforts. And we must work together, all of us, to make this City the place it can be, a place where once again we can all raise families without fear of economic uncertainty or ruin, without fear of crime, or disingenuous, wasteful and unresponsive governance and of future development and improvement that makes sense for ALL the people of this City both in the short and long term.

Will this discussion seek to construct a Fall River utopia that is not real or impossible to achieve? NO, on the contrary, we will discuss the ways and means of total community building that works in other places and has established track records.

For this blog to be successful, we will need your regular input. My email address is easily available on this site, so feel free to email me with suggested topics you'd like me to cover to start a discussion. Nothing is off the table for discussion. However, this will remain a place of civility and respect at all times. Social decorum will be followed at all times. Violators comment's will simply disappear. There is always a way to discuss subjects, however passionate you may be, without resorting to ad hominem attacks.That is really the only rule.

The objective here is to combine a free forum for ideas, without fear of reprisal or ridicule, with humble efforts to improve the City of Fall River. To that end we will be faithfully committed.

Once again, I hope you are able to participate. Everything this blog does will depend on you!

Thank you for reading,
As always,

Your royal highness,

Hank 5
Into the breach my friends, into the breach we shall go together