Plus Letters to the Editor
I spent much of the Memorial Day Weekend writing about my Polish family and a clothing optional retreat I suddenly found myself trapped in recently. Maybe I should clarify that. My Polish family was not with me at the clothing optional retreat. Once you comsume dozens of pierogis together and go to midnight mass on Christmas Eve—and then scream at each other—there really isn’t any need to add nudity into the mix. How unholy—or unruly—would that be. No … I’ve returned to the important task of writing a memoir. Two actually. One that will document my Polish family’s World War II history; the other about my various escapade searching for ridiculous—well, wildly fascinating—signs from the Universe. (And eating, of course.) All this got me thinking: How often do we allow ourselves to digest what is really happening in our lives—on a monthly basis; on a weekly basis, on a daily basis? Living is great.
But after documenting some of the living I’ve done, and taking several moments to reflect on that “living”—true, some would argue I navel gaze much too often—I realize (more) that it’s a great opportunity to open oneself up to a number of fascinating insights. Like … what have you really learned along the journey?
And that … is my Turbo Therapy Moment for the the first week of June.
(Oh, the retreat … I found myself there by accident. Buy the book later this year, and learn more …)
Onward. In this issue, there’s somebody who ponders quite a bit about his state of affairs. His name is David Wells. His culinary guinness makes him stand out, yes, but beyond that, he’s involved enough to realize the more universal value of food. Learn how this intriguing local is making others look beyond just “eating” food to “experiencing” food. News Editor Elizabeth Limback penned the story, which unravels beginning.
Dig in, eat well. More next week …
Greg Archer | Editor-in-Chief
Letters to the Editor
Bus Funds Run Out of Gas
Your article on “Bus System Blues” struck a nerve. Driving past Cabrillo College any day during the week, students are waiting for a bus, but now Metro is considering cutting more bus routes to make up for a $3 million short fall. Meanwhile, our Regional Transportation Commission has authorized spending $22 million to widen Highway 1 for less than a mile between Morrissey and Soquel exits that will move rush-hour traffic exactly that far before it jams again. Use that $22 million to keep the buses running for seven years!
Also, we should be concerned about combining a Regional Transportation Commission, whose majority has stated their No. 1 priority is widening the highway, with a Metro Transit District who is fighting to keep public transit functioning. Some of these RTC commissioners would love to get their hands on the Metro District’s half-cent sales tax for their highway widening project that was turned down by the voters in 2004.
Paul Elerick
Co-Chair, Campaign for Sensible Transportation
Aptos
Best Bike to Work Ever?
Regarding the recent posts, I would like to thank the more than 6,000 participants who bicycled on Bike to Work and Bike to School Day on May 12. A total of 37 schools across the county participated in the event with almost 5,000 kids biking or walking to school. The 24th Annual Santa Cruz County Bike Week was a huge success in encouraging Santa Cruz County residents to pursue a more active, healthy, and environmentally minded commute to work and school. I would also like to thank all of the sponsors and more than 100 volunteers.
Special thanks to the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission, City of Santa Cruz; Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County; The Bicycle Trip; and the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District.
Nick Mucha
Program Specialist
Bike to Work
Best Online Comments
On Rogue Warrior and Sarah Palin:
“Troopergate” and the “Branchflower report” deal only with the firing of a state trooper which Palin was found to be in the law. You Palin haters are really reaching for straws.
Truther
“Truther”… You say, “in that article there is no claim of a single lie?” Obviously, you didn’t read the entire article. Geoffrey Dunn points out that Sarah Palin did lie about her involvement in Troopergate, and he also states that she lied about the findings of the Branchflower Report, which found her guilty of “abuse of power.”
“Noah”… There is plenty new here— Mr. Dunn was given inside information by John McCain’s senior advisors…much more is here about her unwillingness to not give her speech the night McCain conceded to Obama … she didn’t want to take “no” for an answer and almost forced her way onto the stage where McCain had just spoken (extremely inappropriate for a VP candidate).
Additionally, the police chief that Palin fired when she became mayor of Wasilia gave valuable insight into Ms. Palin’s real agenda, that she wanted to be President, and not governor of Alaska. This information was told to Mr. Dunn by the police Chief himself, a man that the McCain campaign wished they had called when they were vetting Sarah Palin … had they spoken with him (an oversight), Palin never would have been chosen as McCain’s running mate, writes Dunn.
Mr. Dunn writes about Palin’s continuing bad behavior during the campaign, so bad that McCain didn’t even invite her to join him and his staffers in the hotel the night of election returns (since when does the VP candidate not join her running mate to watch election returns? I don’t think that has ever happened before).
I think that Sarah Palin is “worthless,” but I don’t think that this book was a waste of time in any way…obviously, it wasn’t, as it’s the No. 1 bestseller on Amazon.com. I despise the Tea Party and everything they stand for, but I think that they aren’t going away, at least not for the 2012 election.
LP
