Columns

Don’t look now, but is the whole state of California at risk of splitting off from the rest of America? We don’t mean from a cataclysmic earthquake along the San Andreas Fault line but from a political hailstorm that dominates all the lands and other states east of the Sierras?

The week after the fires, when the full catastrophe was evident, I remarked to friends that this event was a game changer and that for our remaining lives, we would mark life in Sonoma County, “before the fire, and after the fire.”

In the Town Council’s last meeting of 2017, the annual residential Growth Report was presented and accepted. The report informed the council that the total number of residential units currently in the “pipeline” included 266 units proposed in the pending Jensen Lane annexation.

The other day I saw a woman trying to wrestle a bouquet of balloons into her car. The wind was gusting and the balloons were bouncing and the woman was struggling and I had an epiphany: this is an exact allegory of my life as the year ended.

The new year of 2018 tiptoed into Sonoma County early Monday as wisps of winter fog lifted, making way for another splendid day full of yellow sunshine, quiet after-holiday echoes and friendly waves to neighbors going about their leisure or small chores. De we live in a peaceful paradise, or what?

Everyone gets so excited about a new year, but really is all that pep, vigor and exhilaration (I got a new thesaurus for Christmas!) justified?

Here, in a nutshell, is 2018. The cultivation of cannabis and the manufacture of cannabis products will become legal, but only for those with permits from local government and licenses from Sacramento.

Last year was a rough year for so many reasons. Wildfires, floods, a new administration defined by turmoil and greed; you’ve got the gist. It was a year in which much was lost and hearts were broken. So let’s begin 2018 with renewed hope and a discussion of what wines pair best with broken hearts.

Happy New Year — or perhaps Happy Innovating Year! “Learning never exhausts the mind.” (Leonardo da Vinci) Get energized; resolve to try/learn something new. Ukulele lessons? Writing a memoir? How about sharing or challenging authors’ viewpoints at book discussions? Or, with your child, practicing magic tricks, exploring ideas in physics, or working with LED lights? Creative ideas, fresh methods, up to date technology and imaginative solutions are offered by your library to make 2018 the best year ever. Grab your curiosity, and steer yourself in to a Happy New You.

In the early '90s a book was published called “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.” The author called it “a practical guide for improving communication and getting what you want out of your relationship.” I never gave it much thought (I was a teenager during its first publication) until I happened upon a copy in a used bookstore while I was out Christmas shopping.