Editorial

Will Campbell, prophet, preacher, writer, civil rights activist, who always maintained a love/hate relationship with the church, recently passed away.  Although he called himself a “steeple drop-out”, he never tired of challenging pastors, “to minister to the hurt wherever you find it and live in hope even in the midst of tragedy.”  And after all his years of confrontation with injustice and racism, he still spoke of loving our enemies as our sisters and brothers because, “God loves them, and us, anyway.”  

It’s hard for me to imagine what it is like to be a young black man and to be the object of suspicion, fear and harassment for being myself, for being young and black. Our president says he knows what it’s like and that Trayvon Martin, the black teenager killed by a white neighborhood watch volunteer could have been him when he was a teenager. The boys assailant, George Zimmerman, was tried and acquitted and as far as I’m concerned, that is legally the end of the matter. But I can’t help wondering what it was like for Trayvon Martin, what it was like for Barack Obama, and what it was and is like for millions of young black men.

I recently returned from a week- long preaching conference in Door County, WI. It was a wonderfully relaxing week during which, I hope, I also learned a few things.

On July 11th the Healdsburg Transportation Advisory Commission called a special meeting to decide whether it should recommend that the city council approve or deny a commercial lease and concession agreement with Robert Markwood for a non commercial operator certified flight instruction and airplane rental service at the Healdsburg Municipal Airport.

Although a lot of Fitch Mountain is not in Healdsburg’s city limits it has long been considered a Healdsburg community. The Fitch Mountain Association just had its annual potluck meeting at the Villa and several items of local interest were discussed.

As the weather heats up, our thoughts turn to water. As in, where can I hang out on the Russian River? How can I save water in my garden, while still keeping it beautiful? And where can I volunteer to help keep the river and other local waterways clean?

The July 5th edition of the San Francisco Chronicle featured a remembrance of the 75th anniversary of the first Herb Caen column to appear in that paper. I started reading Herb Caen’s columns when I was a senior at Napa High School (Class of ‘62). My parents subscribed to the Napa Register so, for reasons I can’t recall, I began to read Caen’s Chronicle columns in the Napa High library. I’d leave home in whichever of my dad’s vehicles was available, often the ‘56 Chevy pickup which I still drive, arriving at the high school in time to walk through the main entrance, avoid stepping on the tile school emblem on the floor just inside the door, say hi to friends gathered around the senior heater, a radiator at which for some unknown reason a group of senior boys congregated, and then I’d head to the library for my daily dose of Herb Caen before heading off to my first period class.

Hallelujah! It is done. Clang of bell and roar of gun. The so-called Defense of Marriage Act is no longer the law of the land. It should be called the Restriction of Marriage Act, because it limits marriage to certain citizens but not others. And in California, Proposition 8, the law voted by the people to restrict marriage to straight people, is defunct.  

Each Year I try to write about boating safety, hopefully to help prevent an accident or possible fatality. Just last week a 7 year old boy got caught in a propeller, severely cutting both legs. How does this happen?

The big mystery about the exciting new Russian River riparian setback rules is whether anyone really has a clue how they’ll work.