Greetings friends,
Are you loving our winter?
What winter you say? We are getting some fresh wetness and some new snow. I love living in California, particularly here in Modesto and have been getting the most out of my winter, skiing with my grandson and our granddaughters enjoying the snow (we need more), and then making it back in time for the Citizen of the Year event and then enjoying our downtown, shows at the Gallo and the State and diggin’ the new poetry and music scene at the Queen Bean. Modesto represents the “other” California, the central valley, with beautiful almond blossoms, tasty food, and gateway the mountains.
Our hearts are broken for those in LA that have lost so much. One of my friends, Zapata Espinoza, one of the best cycling writers ever, lost his home in Altadena. So many cycling relics and memories gone and so many like him that lost everything, but he is healthy and optimistic. Lend a hand if you can, and if you knew of Zap, maybe make a donation here. One of amazing Modesto High students has created a donation site as well you can support called Embers of Hope.
This is the month of love and we all know what it means to have that amazing relationship, but it is also so very important to love yourself and know that you can be anything you want to be. The more you know yourself, the better you can share your life with someone else. Many people, never find that peace and it is something we all need to look after each other.
If you live in Modesto, you can truly be anything you want to be. People from our city have accomplished so much, some you have heard of and some you haven’t, but nevertheless, they have accomplished amazing things. We look at Modesto twins this month that changed the legal systems as we explore Black History Month.
It’s time to cast your eyes to the orchards of the Modesto region and visitors from around the world will come check this beautiful season. It looks like white snowflakes over acres and acres. We take our plane along with Japan and Washington DC’s cherry blossoms as a beauty destination thanks to the great and innovative work of Visit Modesto. www.visitmodesto.com<www.visitmodesto.com>
Most of all, in this crazy world we live in, we have to make sure our kids and friends know to be compassionate, loving, caring, curious and interested in the needs of others. Being anything is about lifting others up, not building walls and tearing down. Everyone needs to know that they have an equal chance to be something great. From our local businesses, to our civic groups, we are better when take care of each other. We are each other’s keeper and when we live that life, we can truly be anything.
Thank you all reading ModestoView. We were excited to see the results of a City of Modesto study to see that ModestoView was the 2nd most influential publication after the Modesto Bee. And we are only printed monthly, but available 24/7 online. That makes us proud and it shows that our mission to “Serve Civic Pride Daily” is important to many in this community. Thanks to our ViewCrew that also do this for civic pride to make sure people know how good our community can be.
I hope to see you out and about.
With gratitude,
Chris Murphy
Founder & Publisher, ModestoView.
chrism@modestoview.com<mailto:chrism@modestoview.com>
