My gosh, what a spring! Cold weather, leading to crop damage and frozen combs. Record fuel prices, changing our vehicle choices and travel habits. Slump in housing prices. Spike in crime statistics.
Yet there are cycles in climate, in finances, in politics, and in society that are far bigger than what we witness in Sonoma Valley. Adequate perspective is tough to attain, and so it’s sometimes tempting to consider difficult developments in such cycles as the proverbial beginning of the end. (Or maybe that’s just for those of us past that naturally optimistic stage called “youth.”)
William Shakespeare put these famous works in the mouth of Brutus, erstwhile friend of Julius Caesar: “There is a tide in the affairs of men. Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.” But we know that tides do ebb, just as often as they flow.
Our title sentence is the punch line in several Middle Eastern tales, and it is used today as an expression of condolence. Abraham Lincoln, though, recognized its greater meaning, saying, “How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction!”
So for us, it’s a humbling reminder of how fortunate we are, to be in this place at this time, and it’s a heartening look, always, toward a better future.
Super “supe”
That’s what each of the four candidates for Sonoma County District 1 Supervisor sees in the mirror. But the question is what do we voters see, when we look at the candidates.
Our editorial board has had that chance, working from the debate the Sun sponsored last week in the city council chambers. We posed a number of questions to the candidates, including one of several phoned in by viewers watching at home on SVTV27, and we found a pleasing range of opinion on most topics.
Pleasing, in that it’s healthy to offer voters a true choice. At the upper echelons of politics (presidential, for example), the differences among the candidates can be surprisingly small. Consider that both Democrats call for an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050, while the Republican calls for 65 percent. Neither target, of course, is even remotely achievable, but no one dares to challenge conventional wisdom and offer something more constructive.
We’re continuing to ponder the frank comments from incumbent supervisor Valerie Brown and her challengers Will Pier, Dave Reber, and Larry Wiesner, and we expect to make a recommendation next week, as the ballots reach your homes, to add another opinion for your consideration.
Sunny day guaranteed
Whatever the weather may appear, Friday evening will, by definition, be Sunny for everyone attending the Sunnys Community Awards Gala.
We’re honoring the winners of the Sonoma Valley Best of 2007 reader poll – your poll – as well as honoring Sonoma Valley Bank as the 2007 Business of the Year and honoring three remarkable women as 2007 Individuals of the Year: Cynthia Scarborough, Lia Transue, and Kathy Witkowicki. And we’ll have fun doing it.
Wish you were there!
