A Decent Death, Please
A friend of mine died recently. His name was Andrew Schultz. He was funny, infuriating sometimes, smart, savvy and loving. He knew he was going to die for well over a year, so he planned. He planned well. The best part of the plan was bringing in Hospice and Susan Deixler from West Marin Senior Services. There is no way I could ever express how impressed and thankful I was and am for their generosity and kindness.
Andrew, along with many others, would have liked to be able to make his own decision on when he left the world. But that choice was not open to him, or to me and you. Instead, it seems to be a societal/religious requirement that too many suffer horrible pain physically and psychologically as they face death, without a choice. This is not a happy subject, but it is important to pay attention - for our own end.

Along with universal health care, getting out from under the thumb of the greed-based insurance industry, we need to demand the same rights already existent in Oregon for a choice of a decent death. Rest in peace, Andrew.


Bilingualism
I speak two languages, English and French. I learned French as an adult, and it was and is not easy to do well. I am absolutely prejudiced, and know it, when I say that I love the French language, for its fluidity, its beauty and its expressiveness. Also, of course, because I have French blood and have relatives and friends in France. When I am in France, I only speak French, out of respect for the county I am in.

I first learned French during the 1960s, when I immigrated to France after graduating from UC-Berkeley, in protest against the Vietnam War .... and because I dreamed of romance and adventure in Montmartre and on the Orient Express. I was young. Nonetheless, I managed both over those years.

When I first arrived in France in 1966, I was quickly made aware by French officials that I needed to learn French to be able to live there, work and study. There was not even a possibility of getting a work permit without speaking the language of the country. Fortunately, the concept of 'total immersion' in language study was the norm for all the foreigners in France. It worked for millions of people, because the French were not shy about insisting their language be spoken in their country.

In this country now, I see many well-meaning people support a multi-language solution to our diverse, separate populations. The result, however, is non-communication between groups, further resulting in anger and isolation. Those who speak two or more languages are to be congratulated! But one of those languages needs to be fluent English if one is living and working in the United States. No entity, even the USA, can continue to exist without cultural adhesion and a linguistic whole. In West Marin, this issue is rampant. We are developing two separate communities, each passing the other without speaking or often without even making eye contact. Yes, there are exceptions, but the main body of the problem is there, invisible to those who do not want to see.

I believe that we are enabling the continuance of cheap labor, as well as the isolation of newcomers by supporting bilingualism and separation. If we are all going to live in this same country, everyone needs to speak the same language well, even as they continue to use their original language privately. The common language of all immigrants to the United States has always been English. What can we do to help newcomers to speak our common language and be part of our larger community?


Small Town Angst
Ten years ago, when I was growing organic flowers on the Mesa in Point Reyes Station village, I knew the name and some history on at least 50% of the people I would see at the Post Office on any given day. People living here for over 20 or 30 years might have known 99% of the faces passing them in front of that same Post Office. Today (summer and winter), I 'know' less than 20% of the faces I see some days. Other locals have posited the same opinion.

I remember 10 years ago, when Tomales Bay Foods was opened. I supported Sue Conley (then a neighbor) in the endeavor. I even sold my flowers on a stand within TBF for a time. But when I think back to when the village became a town, it started the day charming Tomales Bay Foods opened, just before Sue and her partner moved to Petaluma. Somehow, the opening of TBF, and its expansion to San Francisco, enabled further movement in adding to the perceived breadth and depth of PRS. Quickly, another building appeared nearby, rounding out the area into a kind of shopping and office area. Always charming, if more and more expensive. It was noted at the time that more and more people were commuting here to work in many capacities to fill the offices and shops. Only a couple of years later came the push to change a gentle hillside (with horses on it) overlooking the village/town into 'affordable housing' for workers who could not afford market rents. Although that didn't really work out, even though built, a parking lot for tourists is now being added on that same hillside, as well as a fourth town 'totlot' for new moms (although this one without restrictions), along with standard bathrooms for tourists.

The corner of Highway One and the Point Reyes/Petaluma Road is in the process of being developed into high-end, but green, mansions. Slowly, but inexorably. Infill in the same general area, by now-living-elsewhere Doug Elliott (the only person who made money off the EAH Affordable Housing Fiasco), was a given. A crazy land swap between the Park Service and the Giacomini Trust points to high-end development off C Street, over the very wetland restoration we all voted to have be 'maximum.' The sweat-equity homes near the clinic and Dance Palace are all high-end market rate now; the new owners want to take down the surrounding trees, which were mandated to stay when the original development was approved as low-income in order to give at least the illusion that the village was not so enlarged.

The piece de resistance of the change from village to town is to come: the redo of the old brick Grandi Building at the south end of Point Reyes Station, with 34 small hotel rooms ($175 to $250+), a 'fine dining' restaurant (out for bid), and a few high-end shops. AND 110 dedicated parking spots (admittedly not enough), along with a redo of adjacent buildings in order to create a sufficiently profitable 'village mall' for owner Ken Wilson of Sonoma. Without all stated and desired improvements, it is said to not be financially viable for Mr. Wilson to make the building earthquake proof and usable. Oddly enough, that same mantra was spoken in support of each of the new areas in the village/town. Marshall Livingston of Inverness is again the project manager. (I should admit right now that I like Marshall, especially since he looks great in his summer shorts)., and that I would prefer the building to stop being a wreck. But....

With the charming and sophisticated Kuleto-redo of Nick's Cove fresh in mind, along with the knowledge from Marshall locals that the traffic has already tripled at times, can anyone really think that the redo of the Grandi Building will not make a very, very large change in this town, permanently? How on earth will the 110 cars in the 110 parking spots move on and off Highway One without help of stop signs or stoplights? That corner is already difficult, especially when the plastic Whale of a Deli hosts the tacky 'tschotche' fair on weekends to get an extra buck from the tourists.

Enough already! With so many new people (and blessedly returned young people of local families), the pressure to 'make changes,' 'save something,' or just 'make money' is intense. Good reasons, bad reasons, so-so reasons, silly reasons ----- all are being proposed to 'change, improve' our little town (formerly village). It is amazing to me that so few questions are being asked as to agendas, West Marin history or what it will be like later. There are consequences, most unexpected and not planned for, in what we do even as we assure ourselves that we have the best intentions. This is not a criticism, just a proven fact. It would be good to open a conversation on what residents want in this village/now town, rather than just let others direct our future without asking, assuming they know better what we should want.