Editorial

— Rollie Atkinson

I do not intend the following to be mere nostalgia, but rather a description of a safer world in which a teenaged boy would not likely be shot by a police officer.

After Thanksgiving dinner at my brother-in-law’s, the conversation turned to politics. It had been proposed earlier in the day by someone who doesn’t particularly like a ruckus that this year we avoid talking about politics. It’s not as if someone says, OK, we are now going to talk about politics. Around the table were extended families members from Amador County (where we gathered), Sonoma County, Kern County, and Shasta County. We were talking about how disparate parts of California see themselves and each, about sports, schools, the environment, agriculture, jobs, churches. Having gotten that far down the road, the next step into politics was probably inevitable. My brother-in-law said, “No offense, Marvin, but the religious right scare the bleep out of me.” Someone else said, “Marvin’s not that conservative.” He said, “He is about some things.” The other person said, “He’s liberal about some things.” I didn’t have to say anything, and so I didn’t. The conversation continued on its way without me.

Any farmer will tell you: it takes more than just a green thumb to run a farm. The skills required to succeed in agriculture extend beyond sowing seeds and harvesting. They must understand tractor maintenance and marketing, irrigation and bookkeeping. But a recent survey of North Bay farmers revealed an even more surprising array of oftentimes necessary skills: bartending, journalism, non-profit communications, realty, software engineering and more.