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,; e cannot help but see the despair on their faces and understand the hopeless- nessiof their situation. I am;sure you see the sores of the homeless in our community as I do. Unless we i~tervene, this proud community will pay the price of a weakened social stru~ture. providing a much less pleasant future than it has past. We have had the strength to help ourselves. Now I challenge you to use that same strength to help those that need our hand so that they may also be contributing, productive members of our society. Other things that I would like to share with you are other fronts that we have worked on. Certainly we have created a lifestyle over many years that is lqng on pride, that respects how the arts refresh the human spirit, and that 'has developed a true understanding that education is the keystone that wi 11 : support a bri ghter future. e I am particularly proud of the tradition that has been established of this community and this council working in lock step with the University of Ore- gon. ' As your mayor, I have travelled to Japan, Europe, and the Soviet Union. I have travelled this country from coast to coast, and border to border. For the first time we have an office in Washington DC. Our relationships with Senators Hatfield and Packwood and Congressman DeFazio have resulted in a series of multi-million dollar paydays for the University of Oregon and the City ,of Eugene. Our old friends in Japan and Korea, and our new-found friends in the Soviet Union, can playa meaningful role in our future. I believe our overseas contacts, through our Sister Cities Program, when combined with the efforts of thousands of others, can help work the miracle of world peace and a shared world through cultural and economic exchange. I urge ,your continued and increased support for these efforts for we have both a re~ponsibility and an opportunity for living in this world. As I prepare to hand over this honored office, I am reassured, for I know that the citizens of the community, the council, and the new mayor believe in many ways as I do and share those concerns. e Jeff" in parting, I would like to share with you that you will find this one of the most interesting jobs of your life. Some days, it is like sitting in a gymnasium full of people and yet you are all alone. Sometimes it is like driving a speeding freight train and trying to guide it from the caboose. Some days it consumes most of your hours and some weeks it consumes all of them.. When you think you have no more to give, it will ask for more. It has given'me some of the happiest and some of the saddest moments of my life. There are things I find difficult to share with you because they have touched me s~ deeply, but perhaps I will be able to share them with you another day. The gift that has been given me in those touching moments is something I will neve~ be able to repay. No matter how lonely, how frustrating, or consuming, I assure you, Jeff, that you will find this job enlightening, educating, and very much exhilarating. It is a job whose reward is one of being in the ultimate position of being able to make a contribution to the society in State of the City Address Brian B. Obie January 9, 1989 Page 4