I can’t stand the word “minority.” My big Webster’s dictionary (remember heavy books called dictionaries?) has a variety of definitions and they all amount to: “less than.” That really bugs me < “less than.”
In the common parlance, minority refers to a group of people who have less power, less status, less influence … less, less, less.
Phooey. I recognize that we have to use the term to legally describe groups of people to make the government happy, but as a soulless word for our fellow travelers, it stinks.
There are those of us who got lucky – often by zip code – and those who didn’t. Suggesting that ethnicity determines our worth as people is a long tradition, but that doesn’t make it right.
As early as the 1950s, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) asserted that, biologically, all humans belong to the same race and that separating us by physical traits or origin is just, well … racism. That word – racism – bothers me too. Let’s call it what it is – evil.
Billing itself as “the hottest new shop in town” is a cute inside joke, since only locals will recall that last May, when they were a few weeks away from opening the store, the Les Lunes clothing boutique was damaged by fire. Located in the Masonic building at the corner of Center and Plaza, the store will open this Sunday with a party from 11 to 5. Email he********@le******.com for more details.
Healdsburg Forever? Yup. Our own community endowment celebrated last week, announcing it handed out $130,000 in grants to local-serving community organizations this year, up from $20,000 a decade ago.
A highlight of the evening was when speaker Taya Levine took a moment to honor the recently passed Mary Hafner. “She attached herself to things that were important to her,” said Taya of Mary, “And we were fortunate that Healdsburg Forever was important to her.”
Taya added that Mary was “a pillar of the community.” One could say that about the whole Hafner clan.
Is the idea of downtown Healdsburg being torn up getting to you? The five-way intersection project is a year behind schedule and will run at least $1 million over budget. Half a block away, the h3 Guesthouse (also known as Hotel Healdsburg #3) is also behind a bit due to the rain, but stands a better chance of catching up. Two other shops in that block of the Avenue are being remodeled – one will reopen soon, the other has been under construction for a couple of years.
What’s next? Beginning as soon as next week, your street might be torn up too. A 90-day street repair project will be a welcome change – when it’s done – to our quaint and historic streets. A passel of streets will be cleaned, patched, sealed and overlaid between now and July 1.
Major parts of the project include older residential areas with “last names” like Piper, North, Brown, Fitch, Tucker and University and the mid-century additions with “first names” like Florence, Harold, Josephine and Maxwell. Watch for construction signs in your neighborhood and a mailing that should have arrived this week. If you did not receive a letter from the city, your street is not on the list.
Are you a parade watcher or a participant? The conventional wisdom is that on the last Thursday in May, you’re one or the other. Applications to be part of the Healdsburg Future Farmers Country Fair Twilight Parade are open until early May. Visit www.healds
burgfair.org to find out more.
Ray Holley is definitely a watcher. He can be reached at ra*@so********.com.
