Greetings friends,
What an amazing time, in both the positive and negative ways. Here we are weathering a pandemic and everything we have done is different. On the positive side, we celebrated a wedding. In retrospect, this turned out to be amazing. We had a wonderful time with 12 people. My son-in-law Ryan, an esteemed Universal Life minister, admirably did the ceremony and the team at the Claremont Hotel turned themselves inside out to make Abigail and Harrison’s wedding totally magical, complete with a blue and gold tower and the Cal flag flying high. It was one of those COVID bonuses as we developed some great family bonds and made memories that will last a lifetime. With all of the challenges, there are silver linings and amazing spaces. I am truly blessed with the most amazing family and I wake up everyday thinking I am the luckiest guy on earth.
Football season is here. Our family has gone football crazy this year and we even have our own fantasy football league. I confess, other than being a Cleveland fan, I know next to nothing about football and it is so funny to be needled by my kids about my team players on a “bye” week. But you know, I will take this family kibitzing about football any day, as we get to spend time together and have Sunday dinners, hang out with baby Jaime and enjoy the spoils of being a grandparent. Many of my friends told me how amazing this is. They were all correct. Being a grandparent is wonderful, especially when they are all here in town.
Aaaaaaahh fall.
The mornings are crisp, the air is clear and morning coffee never tasted better. Modesto and our surrounding area are flat out gorgeous in the fall, the leaves are turning, the food is fresh and we start to think about the holidays. Thanksgiving is right up against December this month and hopefully, many of our traditions will hang tough like the Turkey Trot. Home for the holidays; this has so many different meanings this year and this year is pretty literal. Our places we can go are limited, but maybe this is all a blessing in disguise. So it gets really simple this season. SHOP LOCAL. STAY SAFE. Yes, I do mean to shout as it is really this simple. If we want to stay in the red and move up a level we need to be safe and listen to science. Our local economy has been hit so hard and this holiday season our local businesses need us. Let’s focus our efforts here. ModShop will not be happening in the traditional sense, but don’t forget those crafters. Black Friday? Don’t stand in line at a big box, shop small and support our friends. Our priorities need to be adjusted and living local has never been more important.
I really hope everyone voted. On November 4th, the collective we will take a long bath or shower to clean all of the politics off of us so we can start fresh with a new outlook. I am pretty shocked and surprised of some of the truly hateful, selfish, untruthful and dangerous things posted online by people that I know and it has changed my view of many of them. All I know is, that we have to continue to work for the betterment of our community, friends and family. Our community and lives are better when we look out for each other, not just ourselves. I like living here, living in California and plan to make the best of it and take care of my family, company and employees.
We look to keep the magic going and are planning the return of Rockin’ Holiday in a new safe distanced format. Look for an amazing Rockin’ Tree lighting on December 5 in conjunction with the City of Modesto and our friendly businesses in 10th St Plaza and the rest of 10th Street. Look for some holiday magic that will be free for the family to enjoy this year and we would love to have you be a part of this.
Friends, this has been a tough year. I am so very grateful for my friends that have really been amazing and to our employees at Sierra Pacific who have been working so hard on the front lines, keeping the food supply chain going and our amazing ViewCrew that always looks to se the good in our city and tell you all about it. This is truly a team effort that I am so fortunate to be a part of. I hope you like what we have been doing with the Modesto history this year in ModestoView and are ready go get back to making new memories in the future.
Thank you,
Chris Murphy
Founder and Publisher, ModestoView Magazine
chrism@modestoview.com<mailto:chrism@modestoview.com>
