Page 44 - Sonoma County Gazette July 2017

No matter how attractive the site for a visit, there is no place as lovely as home (especially when you live in Bodega Bay). We had a lovely trip to Alaska. We fell in love with the Alaskans (not so much the weather – although it was good while we were there). It reminded us of how northern California used to be. We all knew all our neighbors. We shared food (if someone was lucky enough to get a big salmon or even if they got a big two or three point buck). We shared garden produce, took care of each other’s dog when someone went on vacation and watered their garden while they were gone. This is the way it is now in Alaska. One neighbor who has a magnificent view had been contacted by AirBnB. All those who had lived in or visited California warned them NOT to start renting. Those of us in Bodega Bay who live in neighborhoods where we knew all our neighbors and shared any largess (and covered all the bases when anyone was gone) added our experiences. The difference will be that fewer visitors want to rent during the winter. It is more than made up by the thousands of visitors who come by cruiseships to the little towns on the Alaskan coast. Little shops like the trade; the permanent residents try to stay home.
Iwas hoping to go into some detail on the recent “boil water” episode, but that might have to wait until next month, until some smart people get back to me. I can talk about it in general terms. There was a mishap involving
a leak in our water pipeline, and out of an excess of legal due diligence, the Board assumed the worst and notified us that we needed to boil our water for a few days. The notification was prompt and effective from my view: the instructions placed on my door were complete and thorough, and I was able to plan a water workaround effectively. I hope your experience was similar.
We were there in Alaska for my granddaughter’s graduation. We admired the school spirit and listened with pleasure to all the plans of the graduating seniors, most of which either want to be fishermen or go to college in the
lower 48 (choosing schools they found friendly, like those either in Alaska or in Wyoming or Montana). Some of them will have sticker shock when they realize that even Bozeman, Montana is not as remote as Haines, Alaska. They will miss the bald eagles and bears which are part of their lives in Haines. Luckily the ferries still run all winter and even the little airplanes connect to the mainland. They can still come home for Christmas.
How did it happen? As someone who does a kind of plumbing in his other job (the one that pays the rent, yeah) I can speak in general terms about it. Our water comes from a well sunk into the Russian River acquifer near Monte Rio. From there it gets pumped uphill above us, where it is stored in a reservoir with enough potential energy (due to the altitude difference) that it comes out of your tap with enough pressure to flow out of your tap, your showerhead, or your other plumbing and do the job. Along its journey, the drinking water passed through a pipeline constructed of materials that are rated for compatibility with drinking water, past many joints and junctions, the construction of which is performed using approved materials and methods, the inspection of which is documented in reports filed with the appropriate County offices. This County office uses your tax money to oversee these inspections and keep the records thereof, the result of which is that you can drink the water you paid for with some confidence in its cleanliness and quality.
My other graduate, my grandson John Michael, graduated from Granite Bay. I didn’t make that ceremony (at his urging). He, too, will go to college in Montana. His cousin, my granddaughter, decided on Montana independently of him. I don’t know who will have the most change. Granite Bay is typical California, but Alaska is quite a change. The other oddity: They have been assigned to the same dorm. Life is full of mysteries.
Once again, it all comes down to water. You pay for it, you pay for the machinery that delivers it to you, and you pay for the rules and regulations that allow you not to worry about cholera and giardia. It’s a pretty good deal if you ask me.
We are lucky to have such strong community support for our little school. We will have a new principal for the next school year. Her name is Amanda Massy and she will be principal of both Tomales Elementary and Bodega Bay School. Give her a warm welcome.
But sometimes...stuff breaks. Materials sunk in the cold wet earth tend to degrade, occasionally to the point where a leak occurs. When that happens, you pay for a man in coveralls to get in a truck and drive out and look at meters. From this, he zeroes in on where the leak might be occurring, and directs other men and women in coveralls and hard hats to pick up the proverbial shovel and unearth the defective components. At the end of a job, a report is written and filed, documenting the location of the leak and other pertinent information.
Belatedly we want to add our congratulations to Catherine Petty. She will
be getting the Dale Webster Perfect Attendance Award. She was never late or absent since kindergarten. What dedication ( and family support, I am sure). We wish her the very best for next year and the sixth grade.
What happens when there is a leak? How do they find the leak? Where did our leak occur? That’s where my general knowledge falls short. I can tell you that there is a pressure gauge somewhere that displayed lower than the desired value. That’s what happens when you have a leak. Those in charge knew that the leak was between the gauge that showed the surprisingly low value and
the one next upstream of it. Now that we know a leak has occurred, we have to assume that if water can get out, bad stuff can get in. This is actually unlikely, because the water inside the pipe is generally at higher pressure than anything outside. Remember, though, we assume the worst. Despite my throwing dread cholera out there to get your attention, what we are really worried about is giardia. This is the same reason we boil water when backpacking. Because there are animals upstream, y’see. The giardia organism lives in the digestive tract and causes various unpleasant but not permanent digestive symptoms, which I will discreetly elide. Boiling water kills the organism, as does bleach and chlorine.
We are proud of our youth, but we also need to consider the needs of our older citizens (like me.) No matter what the event, someone will mention how hard it is to get to events and meetings. For those who no longer drive, (or
who have spouses who don’t) evening events are pretty much ruled out. Even movies like Wonder Woman are full of senior citizens at the matinee (it was worth getting out for). Why can’t we have some form of public transportation? In Grange we are working on getting Meals on Wheels out here (I have been working on that ten years) and even discussing establishing a food bank.
For senior citizens, it would be great if we had somewhere local to swim or participate in a gym program. The Harbour has a pool, but whenever we ask about letting locals buy a limited ticket we are turned down flat. We are lucky that Diana Bundy was such a bundle of power that she got the community center activated again and at least we have yoga four mornings a week. For
a limited time we though Uber might be an answer (for those who have a smart phone – it requires an app) but it looks like this is out now. No public transportation except the bus with no reliable schedule to make it useful for airplane trip access. Since Alicia is immersed in the restaurant business (and we wish her well) we don’t even have the fallback of the previous Concierge. We good luck in her new endeavor, but we miss her in her old one.
44 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 7/17
So there you have it – the price of living in a civilized society, and the benefits thereof. There are a whole series of people whose occupations depend on delivering your clean, safe, drinking water. This is something most of the world would be very, very happy to have. Water is Life.
Farmers’ Market is alive and well. This week the cheese vendors were out in force and the strawberries had many customers. Even the craftspeople were having some sales (I bought some great slippers from Wind Walkers). It is always uniquely pleasant to buy from the actual artist who has produced the product for sale. That is why John Hershey’s photos are always so popular. He is a very gifted photographer (you can see his work on FaceBook).
Estate sales always attract people you have not seen for a long time. This week the Joan Scoggins’sale brought out many folks from Santa Rosa, as well as her kids from Tennessee. We wished them well in their sale (but with a touch of sadness.). We hope our new neighbor whoever it is will be nearly as nice as Joan Scoggins was (it will be a tough act to follow).
The cheese choices are multiple; the fish were a popular number. I lament the lack of a smoked salmon vendor. I hope someone considers this soon. I will be an avid customer. Speaking of salmon, it looks like a sparse season. We all looked forward to a plentiful supply after the on and off crab season. I can’t see many salmon boats going out. This does not bode well for our local fishermen.
The Grange is busy. The after Fish Fest pot luck will be this week – kudoes to all the workers who brought in more money than ever for local charities. July 2 the Fire fighters put on their usual excellent pancake feed. The fireworks will be July 2 this year (probably after this issue comes out).