Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Putting It All in Context
Last night's election celebration felt a little funny because of earlier news that had arrived, news from Sacramento of the death of my cousin, Bob Harger. Bob was a great guy and a real fine family man. This has to be a terrible time for my late father Walt's sister, Evelyn, who must now bury a son.
Those of us gathered last night for other reasons at the Forza's on Steilacoom Boulevard were all pretty excited about the encouraging election returns, but I gotta tell you, my mind was wandering a bit. Honestly, I think what matters is a reminder that life on Earth is transitory, and our day can come anytime.
The one bit of good news is that Bob passed away while doing something he loved, skeet shooting. Bob was with friends when he put his head down, and that was that. After watching what my mom and dad went through when they died, the Burs crowd will know exactly what I mean by this, I am really happy for Bob. He died, as the saying goes, 'with his boots on' ... and that thought did cheer me throughout the evening.
That, and the hugs from my wife and kids, and several others.
Election-wise, we should all be pleased this morning to read Don Anderson's brief comments in The News Tribune, above, and especially about his interest in community policing. We really do need to preserve and protect Lakewood's community policing program. I've had the pleasure of chatting with Don at a number of events over the last couple years. Don has a lot of good ideas and interests. Don doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would put out a campaign mailer against other council members, which is an extremely strange move for both practical and tactical reasons if you want to accomplish anything in a city. While the other candidate Bruce Banfield is also a fine fellow, we should all enjoy the benefits of Don's leadership.
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Those of us gathered last night for other reasons at the Forza's on Steilacoom Boulevard were all pretty excited about the encouraging election returns, but I gotta tell you, my mind was wandering a bit. Honestly, I think what matters is a reminder that life on Earth is transitory, and our day can come anytime.
The one bit of good news is that Bob passed away while doing something he loved, skeet shooting. Bob was with friends when he put his head down, and that was that. After watching what my mom and dad went through when they died, the Burs crowd will know exactly what I mean by this, I am really happy for Bob. He died, as the saying goes, 'with his boots on' ... and that thought did cheer me throughout the evening.
That, and the hugs from my wife and kids, and several others.
Election-wise, we should all be pleased this morning to read Don Anderson's brief comments in The News Tribune, above, and especially about his interest in community policing. We really do need to preserve and protect Lakewood's community policing program. I've had the pleasure of chatting with Don at a number of events over the last couple years. Don has a lot of good ideas and interests. Don doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would put out a campaign mailer against other council members, which is an extremely strange move for both practical and tactical reasons if you want to accomplish anything in a city. While the other candidate Bruce Banfield is also a fine fellow, we should all enjoy the benefits of Don's leadership.
