Greetings Friends,
Thank you. Yes thank you to the people that continue to take my call when I am asking to donate to important events and organizations here in Modesto. Modesto is stronger because of our volunteer and donor strength. Thanks to you, we raised over $2500 for Haven Center to help assist victims and stop domestic violence. I am grateful to you. Thank you all that are donating to help us build the Graffiti USA Museum. This will truly be a game changer for our community and people far and wide and maybe even other galaxies will come visit. Modesto is truly known for some great things and we have to spread the word.
Modesto is so fortunate to be known for so many great things and history. You think about all of the cities that have big identity crisis and search endlessly for their place in life. Modesto not only has one, it has a multiple things to choose from, from our global leadership in wine, to producing world class entertainers and rock climbers, we are the home of George Lucas who changed the world of film and merchandise entertainment. Thanks to the success of American Graffiti, Star Wars was able to be produced and the world has never been the same since. People of all ages appreciate the world of imagination and we should be proud of what we are and who calls Modesto home. This is the foundation on which we build all the other cool things that make Modesto.
We got a reality check last month as we were visited by four mayors from cities in Ukraine. As we were showing them what we have to offer, and the riches of our region, you understand that one of the mayor’s cities, Hulyaipole, used to be 20,000 people and now it is 3,000. Can you imagine? The municipal function of his city now is basically garbage clean up and importing water, as all of the utilities have been destroyed. These mayors are dealing with land mines, shelling, no electricity, uncertainty and fear, but here they are, here in Modesto, working to learn from us how to make their cities viable. We need to be a good example. We can learn a lot from our Sister Cities project as understanding the needs and the issues of others is the key to being a good human and making compassionate decisions. It is truly a moment of reflection for America. Will we learn? Will we fight for democracy like they are fighting? Time will tell and we need to think about that as we approach Memorial Day and remember what they fought for.
We have it good and we need to celebrate and treasure what we do have.
Now that the weather has dried out a bit, the water is high, the blooms are big the question you need to ask yourself, besides “do you feel lucky”, is “what to do”? There are so many things we can do and experience, so we have tried to help you, based on what kind of mood you are in, if you have kids, want to walk or drive, or whatever. There is so much at your fingertips, there are so many cool local experiences, businesses, restaurants and performing arts places that the choices can be tough, but ModestoView is here to help you make the best of your local living.
I am grateful to all of you that jump in, create something new, build a new event, start a business or just positively contribute to our community dialog. It is up to us to build the city we want so that we love it and our kids will love it, and their kids and so on and so on. You get it.
Please let me know what you like or don’t like about ModestoView so we can continue to make it better. The ViewCrew is out there making things happen and we hope to see you out and about and hope to see you at the May the 4th celebration in 10th St Plaza at 5 pm or stop by our porch for some good local music at Porchfest.
With gratitude.
Chris Murphy
Publisher and Founder, ModestoView chrism@modestoview.com<mailto:chrism@modestoview.com>
P.s. Happy Mother’s Day Mom
