In the early '80s, I wrote a series of articles for the Concord Patriot entitled "The Changing Face of Concord." While researching these articles, I poured over old records and interviewed engineers and other experts about soil and water issues, planners about land and zoning issues, and long-term citizens about how Concord had changed in their lifetimes or during their residencies.

For example, there was the veterinarian, Dr. Tucker, who came to Concord in 1941 to a practice that was 95-percent large animals and who retired from a practice that was 98-percent small animals, a transition that certainly reveals some dramatic changes in the economy and society of Concord. By writing these articles, I learned that Concord changes in unique ways, yet remains the same in many intangibles that are critical to the town's long-term success.

Earlier this year, there was a discussion via email on the Concord Discussion List about Concord becoming a theme park. Many people felt that all the stores and facilities in downtown Concord were changing and there was concern that they were catering only to tourists.

I left Concord in 1988 to move to Texas. I visited Concord for the first time in nearly 10 years earlier this spring, and that discussion caused me to think about the changes I had noticed. At first, I had trouble. The town looked the same, from downtown out to the near-in neighborhoods. And the town was busy, very busy on weekdays, with a level of downtown activity on both sides of Concord that many American towns the same size have lost.

On looking more closely, I did notice that many of the stores that I used to shop at were gone and that the newer stores do indeed cater to the out-of-town visitor. But is this bad? I don't think so.

Concord's strong place in the history of our country and the care with which it has preserved its historical sites, as well as the look and feel of a lovely small town, attract many to visit it throughout the year. The growth of shops to cater to these visitors ought to be a boon to the local economy. Instead of visitors coming into town to look at the bridge and one or two other sites before leaving, the shops encourage them to stop, wander through the town, see more and learn more about the town's history, and perhaps meet a local resident or two. This sort of change, refocusing the market orientation of the town's shops, reminded me of how Concord has undergone changes in regulations affecting flood plains and land use in the past. Such change has helped Concord remain a healthy and viable town, one in which there are still traffic jams at ten o'clock on a weekday morning.

The hustle and bustle that I saw last spring reveal a town that the world is not passing by, a town that remains much more than the bedroom of another city. Recent discussions on the e-mail list about voting, town meeting issues, traffic patterns, and more, along with deep concerns about the family that was lost on Flight 111 reveal that Concord is very much the same town that I used to live in and write about.

Concord knows how to change and still remain very much Concord.