Greetings friends,
What a year. It is hard this year to keep the magic in our world was we careen from one disaster to another. Hopefully soon we will get some peace and quiet in the news and our COVID efforts will prove successful. As we get close to 2021, we wonder how we all made it through. No matter how hard it gets, there are people amongst us that still try to keep the light shining, make their business work, share some creativity and help us see through to the other side. I hope that you find ModestoView to be one of those things that helps us all make it through. There are challenges, but it is how we deal with them and support each other that makes the difference.
December is here and we all need to make the most of everything we have. ModestoView celebrated the Modesto 150 each month and we hope that you enjoyed our look back on Modesto history since 1870 each month. We are trying to find a way to make this into a coffee table book so we can share what we did. In the meantime, we have created a new tab on Modestoview.com that showcases our 150 year history.
You can make anything you do fun. I had a lot of fun creating a safe distance Trick or Treat experience on our pirate ship for our neighborhood and it was amazing to show that it could be done right. So many parents came up to me and thanked me for doing something special for the kids. We as parents and adults need to keep this in mind. There are some things we can do that mean a lot and can be done safely. ModestoView, our crew at Sierra Pacific, our friends at Collins Electric and the City of Modesto are planning on making 10th St Plaza sparkle for Rockin Holiday. We can’t do the full deal like Santa and the elves, but we can light up our Rockin Tree and create Rockin Snow and light up the Rockin North Pole. Others in town are doing their best to keep the magic alive for the kids and families in our community. Thanks to all that are trying hard to make a magical difference and hope to see you out for the Reverse Holiday Parade Cruise. We will keep you up to speed at @rockinholiday and @modestoview
I love being a grandparent. It is truly a magical time, and even though he has not yet seen my unmasked mouth, we are getting close with our Jamie and our family holidays mean so much more. Our small family Thanksgiving was special, our small family wedding for Abigail and Harrison this summer was amazing and now we will have a small family Christmas with this new baby and it will be so very fun with Madison and Ryan as new parents. It has made us so much closer and we are looking forward to putting in swings, slides and other fun things every kid needs.
We have to look at the bright spots. Yes, this has been hard and yes, the election divided us, but we have had a lot of time to make sure our family units are solid, that we are supporting our local businesses and we are doing things differently that have given us meaning and find our common good. Music really makes the world go round and you notice that more when it is gone. I am so grateful to all of the musicians in our community that stepped up to do webcasts and virtual festivals, I had so much fun playing with my band mates and also sitting in with many other musicians that might not have been possible during regular times. One guy in particular, Abraham Steve Mackay did a show nearly EVERY night with a fantastic play list that blew my mind. Big cheers for him and the musical light he shined for us all. There is hope moving forward that are music and culture scene will get better in 2021 and we want to do all we can to support it. Look for a special COVID edition of the MAMA Awards we will be streaming on December 22 to celebrate some of those that went above an beyond this season. Thank you to all that watch these and my webcasts this year.
As I write this, Stanislaus County got relegated back to “Purple”, the most restrictive designation. It is really not that hard to make this work people. All it takes is to keep our distance, wear a mask, wash your hands and be respectful. We really need to do this, Doing this does not keep us out of work, or out to dinner, it just means doing it in a different way and looking out for the community. Our local businesses need us to do this so they can get open. So if you really care about getting businesses open, then lets do this right Modesto and Stanislaus County. Let’s work our way back up and get this community open safely so we can start 2021 in a much better place.
I am so very grateful to the local businesses that have continued to advertise in ModestoView so that we can be that source of good positive information we need each month, delivered in print around town, mailed to homes, posted online so there is always something good 24/7. Thank you to the ViewCrew that has been working so hard to uncover every positive event and activity happening in town. They are truly awesome and love our community.
December is the month to bring this to a close, and do a cleansing of 2020. Maybe make a ritualistic fire-pit and burn some of the mementos of the hard times we have all been through. Some of us have lost loved ones, some are still ill with the virus, some have lost their jobs and some have changed careers and many have reversed parenting roles and there is always tomorrow to look forward to. We hope we can all look forward together with hope, dreams, and a plan to be a better community.
Thank you all and I wish everyone a Happy Holiday.
Chris Murphy
Publisher and Founder / ModestoView
chrism@modestoview.com<mailto:chrism@modestoview.com>
