Columns

While reading reports of calamitous invasions of hurricanes, floods and displacement of whole populations; attempting to track the directions of two world leaders bent on outdoing Mother Nature in threatening destruction of the planet, I find myself musing on a tiny beetle eating our zinnias.

“Real Newspapers, Real News” is the theme of this year’s National Newspaper Week (Oct. 1-7.) Indeed, there’s always been lots of “real” at newspapers. Real stories, real journalism, real work, real deadlines, real honesty, real facts, real changes and now, real threats.

We were at the coast. My favorite place to chill, to blank my brain and escape the busy, hectic life we all lead. As is the case with older men (meaning me) mother nature called; actually at my age she seems to have me on speed dial.

Last winter, Robert contracted pneumonia. He was living outdoors — or “experiencing homelessness” as we delicately say nowadays. He got into the hospital, got a little better and was released.

Last weekend, I went to the hair salon to get some highlights. The guy that colors my hair is fabulous, in his early 30s, really sweet. We were gabbing about life, how my teens are liking their new school and our gossip drifted to the topic of social media. He uses it for his business, a necessity we all know in order compete and thrive professionally. And then the conversation turned personal. We joked around about how old we are and feel when it comes to comparing the world now and the world 20 years ago. And then he asked me a very interesting question.

The me project About a year ago, I was in a doctor’s office and at the end of the exam the doctor asked, “So, are there any issues you have that you’d like to bring up?”

Fun events to kick off the Fall Season

Hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes — our human doings can seem piddling by comparison. So, once again, preachers and other more or less religious types proclaim signs of the end and portents of divine disfavor.

For the most part, voters of Sonoma County have given strong endorsements to their local state senators Mike McGuire and Bill Dodd and assembly members Jim Wood and Marc Levine. These men just cast big votes to support affordable housing, parks and water projects, climate and environmental protection and for a sanctuary state declaration to limit federal raids on innocent undocumented residents.

At this point, when so many of us so fervently disagree on so many issues, we do seem to agree that we are unable to talk with each other about the vital issues we face as a country and that we very much need to find ways to do so. Sadly, too many attempts end badly and further discourage us from the very conversations that we need to have as we lunge toward another election cycle.