‘Jimmy Dunne Says’

The Palisadian-Post presents an homage to Will Rogers’ column, “Will Rogers Says,” with a column by Palisadian Jimmy Dunne—on life in the “greatest town in America.”

The Heart of a Town (A Palisades Story)

A tale of the thief—on that forever cursed day

Who scorched our dear town, turning life into clay

All of our lives have been tossed in the air

Scattering helplessly, just everywhere

We now are all wondering—just what is a town

Is there a heartbeat somewhere to be found

The real question is—what’s the heart around here

The magic, the thing—that we all hold so dear?

I used to think—it’s the homes in our town
And the trees arching over our streets all around

And our Village, so stunning—to stroll by the stores

Even if you never walked in a door!

Is the heart all the restaurants—sipping drinks with a friend

You can walk to ’em all—your choices don’t end!

Or the treasure we share—stunning mountains surround us
With breathtaking trails and views that astound us

Or our backyard—the most beautiful, warm ocean sea

With bike paths and beaches to sun you and me

But maybe, just maybe—this fire, you see

Lit a new light for both you and me

The wondrous thing—it isn’t a thing

It isn’t a thing that makes Palisades sing

The people, you see, that’s the thing that’s so dear

The thing that I love is the people right here

The churches and synagogues—the places we pray
All the clubs that we join—at the end of the day

All the great families at all of the schools

These are the harbors of all our town’s jewels

These places, they’ll come back—maybe better, who knows

And when those doors open—just watch the joy flow!

All of these places are pillars, you see

They ground us, engage us, they guide you and me

Scouts, and the sports teams, the seniors’ clubs, too

Belonging. The home of all that we do

It’s a hundred years now since our settlers came
They gave us far more than the “Palisades” name

Our town was born from the dream that they shared
To build something special—as no place compared

From under an oak tree, they gathered around
These same dreams today are alive in our town…

“To a place in the world where kindness is king
To a place with the doors to be anything

To family, sweet family—a most precious word
To the voice of our youth that needs to be heard

To living a life where integrity shines
Where listening is the most exquisite fine wine

To finding a wonder in all that we see
To savoring each note of life’s symphony”

Tonight—when you turn out the lights
Step out of your place—and look up at the night

Look around, and look up at that painting of stars
To remember how truly grateful we are

Back to the question that we asked tonight…
What truly is the Palisades’ light?

So often in life, we don’t recognize

When an answer is right there in front of our eyes

I’m so happy to know as I’m looking around

It’s you—my dear friend…

You’re the heart of our town

Jimmy Dunne is a modern-day Renaissance Man; a hit songwriter (28 million hit records), screenwriter/producer of hit television series, award-winning author, an entrepreneur—and a Palisadian “Citizen of the Year.” You can reach him at j@jimmydunne.com or jimmydunne.substack.com.