Page 41 - SCG 11-15.indd

Ihave spent the last two hours untangling years’ worth of yarn. I was cleaning my room when I noticed that my knitting basket had been sitting untouched for quite some time, and seeing as I am going to continue to be very busy
for quite some more time, I decided to wrap up the yarn into proper balls
A Teaspoon, A Torrent
and put it away. The space is much needed, as I am a very sentimental person and like to keep books long after they should have been passed down to a younger generation of readers. The yarn turned out to be the biggest mess since my freshman year. Of course, my room is hardly cleaner for the effort,
but the process reminded me of a business run by Occidental local Jennifer Warren – Clutter Control. Jennifer will come to your home or office and help you organize and declutter your space, as well as develop systems to keep your clutter under control. Call or text her at (707) 529-1235 or send her an email at jwcluttercontrol@yahoo.com for a free one hour consultation.
It rained about a teaspoon the week of this writing, and I mean distributed over the whole town. Yet torrents are promised, they say. Growing up in West County means that most winters of my life have involved an encounter or three with the regular flooded road at Green Valley Creek. It means a long detour and sometimes the scary entertainment of watching nitwits strand their cars and making the fire department haul them out. Please don’t join them – do not try and cross flooded roads. The fire department knows they are needed without your added assurance. With the promise of a big El
Nino winter and serious damage from our one big rain last winter, folks are looking for a fix on that flood prone stretch of road. On October 14th a packed house gathered at the Gold Ridge RCD to hear what they hoped would be solutions. Alas, no long-range solutions were presented, only short-term temporary measures that Sonoma County Public Works hopes will at least prevent damage to the road. These fixes certainly won’t prevent water from closing the road when the creek rises.
I realized I made a mistake a few days ago when I was walking downtown. In last month’s column, I talked about where to get a massage locally, but I forgot to mention one very worthy option: Heart Rock. They’re located right next to El Mariachi and Such Fine Things. Heart Rock has incredible reviews, and Julia Reid, the owner and masseuse, is extremely skilled at her craft. After reading the Yelp reviews, I can say that this is definitely on my list – Julia has gotten nothing but five star ratings. Once again, I’m sorry for forgetting them, but luckily no one complained, and it’s an easy wrong to right.
As we’ve witnessed, water builds up considerable force as it rushes over
the road edge. I’ve seen good sized stumps clipping right along there. To help preserve the road from this torrent, crews will come out over the next weeks to install concrete barriers on the upstream side of the road that will rise about one foot above the current asphalt, to keep the road intact as water hits the structure. Clearly this is a temporary patch, with any true fixes many studies and millions of dollars away.
My beautiful momma texted me a picture
of a heart on some pavement with the caption “new road art” a few days ago. It seems that a mysterious artist has been creating pictures on the side of the old road using found materials. There was a heart made out of wood shavings and moss, and the words “Live” and “Love” written out in sticks and wood shavings, respectively. It’s a lovely thing to find, and a nice counterpoint to the infamous “FIX ARE ROADS” of my first column. I hope whoever the anonymous artist behind these little works of art continues to brighten up our day with them.
Matt O’Connor of O’Connor Environmental, Inc. is studying how we
got here from there – the history of Green Valley Creek as far back as can be deciphered. The creek was 9 feet deep a few decades ago, yet has silted up to only 2 feet deep which leaves nowhere for the water to go but up and over
the road. Dredging is no longer a viable practice as it destroys fish habitats. Meanwhile, help by cleaning your own drainage ditches of vegetation and debris, avoiding any major earth removal without permits. To learn more and stay in touch with the process of finding a solution, please visit the Gold Ridge RCD website: www.goldridgercd.org where history, updates and meeting Powerpoints are posted.
In other artsy news, The Occidental Center for the Arts’ newest gallery exhibit, Energy Materialized, is showing starting on Friday, November 6. The show will feature two internationally known sculptors, Bruce Johnson and Riis Burwell, and juried paintings that complement the exquisite sculptures. There will be a reception for the artists from five to seven on the evening of Friday, November 6th. I think it might even be applicable for some school credit for me, given that in my physics class we are studying energy and heat. Who knows?
RVers Update
This is going to press just in advance of a neighbor meeting being gathered to discuss the influx of RV ers in our town. Suggestions of including some of these rolling homesteaders in the meeting were considered but it was decided to let perma-housed folks air their thoughts first in order to gauge the mood. Most planning on attending have expressed a desire to be fair and inclusive, and to consider the housing crisis as well as those recently un-housed by the nearby Valley Fire. More to come...
Neighbor Ellen Kaplan Cheek is a master artisan, fabricator, metal worker and fortunately for us this takes the form of some compelling and evocative jewelry. See her one-of-a kind work, Nov 27, 28 and 29 Noon-4 pm at Pie Eyed Gallery, 2371 Gravenstein Hwy So. The gallery is the home turf of painter Laurie Luck, also known for her fabulous pies at openings.
In a vaguely school related vain, the Occidental library is newly expanded! They now offer more books and free Wi-Fi. I can’t wait to spend some time doing some reading and studying in our new library. Their hours are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays from noon until five.
3 Impressive Neighbors
It’s that time of year again – the annual Camp Meeker Volunteer Fire Department’s Spaghetti Dinner is coming up. It’s on Thursday November 14th from five to nine in the evening at the Camp Meeker Volunteer Fire Department. 100% of proceeds from dinner go directly to the station.
HolLynn DeLil’s book, Becoming Real in 24 Days, is a book I’d like to gift to
a few friends this season, one who is wheel-powered and two with “invisible disabilities”. It is a record of a remarkable early takeover/protest event in
the disability civil rights movement. To celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is on a special deal for a few more weeks at: becomingrealin24days.com.
Sonoma Academy’s fall show: American Idiot! The shows are on Thursday, November 19th at seven pm, Friday, November 20th at a seven pm, Saturday, November 21st at two pm and seven pm, and Sunday, November 22nd at one pm and six pm, and they’re all at Sonoma Academy in the Fitzsimmons Black Box Theater. The show is going to be an exciting throwback to the early two thousands full of implied drugs, implied sex, and real rock and roll. The faint of heart, deeply conservative, and small children should probably not attend, as the show does feature some graphic themes such as drugs, sex, death, and war. That said, it’s going to be a blast. Tickets will be on sale November 1st at www.sonomaacademy.org/Page/Arts/Performing-Arts/American-Idiot-Fall- Performance-2015. I really hope to see all sorts of Occidental locals at the show. If you come see the show, shoot me an email beforehand and I’ll make sure you get a good seat or let you up into the catwalks if you prefer that.
Gratonite Arnold Levine has been facilitating a series of free “OPEN
BOOK” meetings at the Sonoma County Main Library in downtown Santa Rosa. Speakers from often-stereotyped groups discuss their lives and answer questions to dissolve barriers. It’s modeled after the Human Library started in Denmark in 2000 as part of a youth organization called “Stop The Violence”. The series concludes Sundays in December 2015, and March 2016. Meetings are recorded for later broadcast on KOWS 107.3fm.
Have an awesome Halloween!
11/15 -www.sonomacountygazette.com-41