Columns

A jeweled dress offsets youthful bronze skin and a smile reflecting three generations of family and friends who gather.

“The Last Lion, Winston Spencer Churchill: Visions of Glory, 1847-1932,” by William Manchester. 973 pages, illustrated. Volume I of his detailed biography gives us the years of his early education, the pathos of his neglect by both parents (his American mother an adventuress and courtesan of the Prince of Wales and future King of England, but influential in promoting her son into an ambitious career), and his time as head of the British navy – and as general busybody in preparing all the armed forces for the onslaught of the Great War in Europe. The vast scope of his life includes an informative picture of the social conditions of his time and creates a large canvas of the world in war and peace, leading us to: “The Last Lion, Winston Spencer Churchill: Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965,” wherein this leading figure is considered to have saved civilization from the madness of the Teutonic hordes which had again overrun Europe in their quest for lebensraum and Aryan purity. His own search for help as England  underwent a blitzkrieg of rocket bombs brought him into constant meetings with Franklin Roosevelt and later Josef Stalin before the final end to the hostilities. In all, the books bring us into contact with a wide cast of world characters equal to any you might find in all the annals of war and peace. Just read it.

Four years ago, I moved out of Healdsburg proper after living there for 10 years, to Brack Road off of West Dry Creek. The Walbridge Fire came within ¼ mile of where I am living and while I am fortunate to have escaped its ravages on many levels, I am humbled by the lessons it has already taught me.

Every year comes and goes, but also leaves behind important dates that get remembered, written in newspapers and history books, and are sometimes turned into annual commemorations. (Oct. 8 is such a date for Santa Rosa’s Coffey Park Tubbs Fire survivors.) As 2020 is now running out of dates and makes way for 2021, we can begin to chronicle which dates over the last 12 months we may remember over the years to come.

At 300 million years old, dragonflies are reportedly the oldest winged insect. Prehistoric ancestors had wingspans of two and a half feet. Each of four wings moves independently allowing them to hover, fly forward and fly backward.

Thanksgiving and other holidays that are centered around a table full of family, friends and festive foods are a most welcome time for sociable conversations. And, boy, could we all use plenty of that right now. We have lots of catching up to do with post-fire and post-outage and pre-holidays. We don’t suppose everyone could leave their smart phones behind and drop any impulses to interject political chatter at the holiday table, could we?

By now you’ve likely heard or read something about the sexual abuse scandal that rocked the U.S. women’s Olympics gymnastics team.

This is not the time to break down, this is a time to build up, as wise man King Solomon observed 3,000 years ago. Although it seems hard to imagine what Healdsburg will be like after the current crisis fades away, it seems prudent to assume that it will take a long time to revive our town’s success story of the past 10 years.

It is a pleasure every month to highlight the events, services and collections we offer to the community.