Editorial

Before my head and my heart could accept that the end of a decade might be a good transition time, my body made a point of telling me that the chapter as Farmers’ Market Manager was coming to an end. In June, my back refused to be comfortable in my ‘69 Ford Market Truck, and I had a big epiphany after Epiphanio Juarez offered to purchase the truck. When I handed him the keys a few weeks later, I realized it was not that difficult to let go. And so began a summer and fall of small letting gos, until finally, after the market on Oct. 12, my back just stopped working. Fortunately, the market was beginning to wind down, and we had two well-trained assistants, Carl Hubbell and Teo Tomerlin, to work at the market. Thank you Greta Mesics, David and Sally Hubbell, Leslie Kelley Byrnes, Steve and Cheryl Caletti, and Zack Schwa for your help. And thank you to Ann Carranza for cheerfully managing the Pumpkin Fest and the Arts and Crafts Fair.

What is happening to us? What is happening to our country? Angry crowds are marching in a dozen major cities  calling for justice over recent police killings in New York City, Ferguson and elsewhere. More than a dozen state attorney generals are suing the President over his immigration reforms. Rape is either rampant — or it’s not — on many major college campuses. Heading into its second open enrollment period, Obamacare’s public approval ratings are still as bad as those for Congress, the President and Ebola. And, as always, student test scores could be better.

Thanksgiving is the great gathering day. The trouble and expense we undertake in order to be together on Thanksgiving is remarkable.

The future of Healdsburg’s fire fighting services could look very different from what we all have become used to over many previous decades. The fire trucks and the siren alarms will be the same and the volunteer and paid emergency and safety teams will likely remain in place. But who is in charge, and how everything gets paid for could change dramatically.

With a 30-year professional background in the local wine industry, including marketing positions at leading Sonoma-Napa wineries, as well as directing tasting rooms and wine clubs, and organizing special events by the score, I would like to make some observations in the context of the current debate over special events at Sonoma County wineries.

It is time to come together and sit around the Thanksgiving table. Family members, from near and far, will be together again. We’ll eat turkey, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. There will be pies and a family blessing. The couch will be full after the meal and a football game will probably be on the TV, just the way the original Pilgrims celebrated the very first Thanksgiving in 1621.

The election is over, the signs are being picked up and James Gore will be on the job. I met with James on Veteran’s Day at the Center Street Café. Knowing Mike McGuire pretty well and now getting to know James I was curious to find out how the heir apparent to Sonoma’s north county supervisorial district will match up to McGuire’s stellar tenure. Although they are both quality people in their own right, I couldn’t help but compare them. A few of their similar trait: they are both extremely intelligent and excellent multitaskers; they are both tireless campaigners; they both have charismatic personalities; they both will take the time to talk to anyone; they both suffer fools graciously; they both put their constituents above special interest groups; and they both absolutely love the flora, fauna and people of northern Sonoma County.

When we get thirsty we turn on our taps and voilà, a nice refreshing glass of water appears before us. Having around-the-clock access to safe and reliable drinking water requires huge investments of time and money, but rarely do we consider the source or the value of water.

It is hard to believe, but in 1954, a deadly virus in the United States scared families, changed behaviors, and led to some panicky behavior, somewhat like Ebola is doing now. It was called by some a “plague” and it was said that the greatest fear of Americans in the 1950s were the atomic bomb and this illness. It would kill 8,000 people in the first years of the 1950s, and it would generally target young, healthy kids.  If it did not kill someone, it might cause significant paralysis, even to the point of that person not being able to walk, or lift an arm, or even to breathe.  And that paralysis could be permanent.

A peculiar thing happened earlier this week on Tuesday. Did you notice? Not only were all the schools closed for a single day in the middle of the week, but so were the banks and post office. Everything else seemed normal. Local businesses were open for regular hours and highway traffic reports included familiar fender benders and rush hour alerts.