Columns

A friend posted a challenge on Facebook to share how old you are, without using any numbers. I love taking trips down memory lane and letting the images, smells, feelings and sounds wash over me. It’s like pulling out old family albums or yearbooks and falling back through time to a time that feels as recent as yesterday. I let my mind wander back, and here’s a few of the things I could come up with.

Q) What’s going on with Windows 10? I keep getting updates and the computer gives me messages that it needs to reboot. And I hear rumors about another major update like I got last summer. Please explain if you can. A) I’ll try. Yes, you...

In the fall, the city applied to the World Health Organization's Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities to become the first city in Sonoma County to receive an Age-Friendly designation. At the core of the Age-Friendly City concept is Eight-to-Eighty, meaning that when a community is designed for an 8-year-old, it also fits an 80-year-old and ultimately everybody. Age-Friendly communities have walkable streets, housing and transportation options, and access to key services and opportunities for residents to participate in community activities.

I was raised during the Joe McCarthy era “Red Scare” times. Growing up in an ethnically mixed, working class community I remember very well the fear of that time. If you weren’t a “real” American you were suspect. If you supported unions you were a communist. We had people in our neighborhood disappear. Sound familiar?

It’s Women’s History Month!  (Odd that this celebration is in March, which was named for Mars, the Roman god of war.)  The 2017 theme:  “Honoring Trailblazing Women in Labor and Business”.  Your library has many materials recounting significant moments in women’s history and the contributions of great leaders who helped advance the rights and opportunities for women.  One highly recommended video:  “Iron Jawed Angels” with Hilary Swank.

Rick Cafferata doesn’t just work with the homeless population in northern Sonoma County; he once was part of it. The 59-year-old now spends his days as street outreach worker at Reach for Home, the Healdsburg-based nonprofit that helps locals find stable housing and achieve self-sufficiency. Before he connected with the organization, however, Cafferata spent the better part of 30 years homeless and addicted to drugs.