Greetings Modesto friends,
What is love?
One of the greatest questions of human kind. The bond between parent and child, giggling teenagers at a movie, the loyal puppy, the long time history of two romantics or even the taste of a delicious slice of pizza, the sound of your vintage Stratocaster, the first song you slow danced to in Junior High, or a sunset over the ocean in Maui can all be something that defines love. I love the last 2 minutes of A Day in the Life, or the middle 8 of We Can Work it Out, or the view from a bench overlooking Puget Sound, but there is nothing that even comes close to the love that I have for my girls. All love centers around them, and that love affects all of the other love I have. Love is an amazing and mysterious thing and could even be a math equation that needs to be balanced on both sides of the equal sign. So the simple question of what do you love is not as easy as it sounds. We ask this question to our friends in Modesto this month and you can see what they say on page 16.
It is always good when we look at our community with a different eye, and this month, fotoModesto turns the camera on our community and places that surround us. Some of these show a pretty picture and some are a harsh reality, but in all of the pictures, there is an amazing beauty. There really is something good to find in most places and things, and taking a step back can actually focus your mind a bit and see more clearly where we need to go. One thing I know for sure, is we all have to work together, celebrate the pieces that different groups and people do to make all of the dots connect. Connecting the dots, building the bridges and seeing reality as it is and having a vision of where we need to go are a recipe for success. We can do this.
As 2018 gets underway, it is important that we shine the light on Modesto, both figuratively and literally (one of the most misused words ever). One of the things we love each year is lighting up downtown Modesto for Rockin Holiday. The sparkles, snow, decor and the LED animated Rockin Tree made downtown feel a big magical. In January, when it was time to take down the decorations, we were sad, so we decided that we would leave our downtown brighter than we left it. Thanks to our friends at Sierra Pacific Warehouse Group and Collins Electric, we installed new market lights zig- zagging across the street, brightening our 10th St Plaza. We hope you go visit, check out a local business and help spread the word that we need well lit streets and sidewalks in downtown Modesto. Bright lights equal safety and if we do this, we will have more visitors, which will lead to more new businesses and hopefully new housing. 10th Street is just the start.
Love Modesto is coming in April, but lets start this now. Celebrate the people, places and things that you love. Do it before it is too late and do the good things now. We almost lost Minnie’s and don’t take your friends for granted. Our mission here at ModestoView is to “Serve Civic Pride Daily” and we wake up everyday trying to find a way to reach new people with our message to love the place they live. Sometimes it takes work to make it what you want, but it is all worth it.
Shine a light my friends, take a picture of something you love in our community, share it with us with #modestoview on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook and we will share it too. It takes all of us speaking together. #modestousa
Thank you for reading and Happy Birthday to my February girls Madison and Abigail,
Chris Murphy
Founder and Publisher, ModestoView
chrism@spwg.com<mailto:chrism@spwg.com>
