Traditionally this time of year, I compose my annual “bah humbug” column.
You know, where I whine and complain about anything and everything under the sun.
Well, this year, under pressure from my higher up, I have decided to spread some sunshine around. You have to understand, normally, it takes me about 20 minutes to write this column but this could take a while.
You can’t see it, but I’m now sitting back scratching my head. “Positive, me??”
A few weeks ago, my son, Price, was home for Thanksgiving and I decided to take a rare afternoon off and go on an adventure. We went to the Santa Cruz Cemetery, located southwest of Hornitos.
The negative: The awful county roads getting there.
The positive: Exploring a historic cemetery in the county and learning about it from my son. Not to mention the friendly dog that greets visitors at the cemetery.
From there, we went to the cemetery in Hornitos and looked around as well as some other exploring.
On the way back, we stopped at the Catheys Valley Cemetery, my first visit there. Not sure what critters are tearing things up, but it was massive. The cemetery was an interesting place, for sure.
That was positive. Yes, even cemeteries have their qualities.
More recently, we traveled to Coulterville for the annual Christmas parade.
From my perspective, going to Coulterville is always a positive experience. One of the best parts is hearing the stories of Nina Rhodes. She can tell some whoppers.
But in general, the folks up in North County are just friendly and welcoming and I understand their frustrations with some of us down here in the south.
In general, I just like going up to Coulterville and hope to do more of that in the future. On the negative side, driving home on Highway 49 North in pea soup fog made may knuckles whiter than normal. (The reflectors in the road were saviors.)
Another positive (sort of) was being able to attend the Mariposa County High School playoff football game last month. Although it was nothing but mud and rain, it was great to be there and experience the thrill of high school football.
The “sort of ” was the fact the Grizzlies lost, but it was still a great game and brought back memories of my journalism starter days as a sportswriter. It was a fun thing to experience.
Wow, I’m doing pretty well here, I think.
Another positive development this year has been my involvement with the California Independent News Alliance, or CINA. (We call ourselves “cinnas.”)
We are a group of small, locally owned newspapers who are trying to make our voices heard all over the state and especially in Sacramento. It has been frustrating to be in this business in the past few years because of the tumult in journalism as a whole.
On top of that, the statewide organization that claims to represent us always seems to give the “big dogs” more of a platform as well as statewide advertising revenue.
That is why we have revolted and want to be a voice for local news outlets throughout the state of California.
Although starting a new statewide organization is anything but a walk in the park, it is working and we are already seeing some results.
And how could I write about all things positive without bringing up “Still in Print,” the short documentary that features — us!
Although having a documentary filmed about you — while you are putting out a newspaper — is anything but positive, the outcome of this film was fabulous. Producer Kristin Lesko nailed it with this film and really showcased what it is like to produce a newspaper in a small market.
And the bonus was we were able to “walk the red carpet” at the Tower Theatre in Fresno. Although it certainly wasn’t Hollywood, it was sure fun and kind of an ego boost.
We’re going to debut the film on Jan. 28 at the library in Mariposa and I hope everyone can come out and join in the fun.
I’m still waiting on Netflix to call and give us our big break.
Dang, I’m on a roll now.
Unbelievably, as I wrote the sentence above, another good thing happened right before my eyes.
My good friend John Mabon walked into the door of the newspaper. John worked here for many years and retired earlier this year.
So we went to seeing each other every week to hardly ever seeing each other. It was awesome to have some time to chat with him.
He texted me a couple of weeks ago and it was a video of a concert he had attended in Wheatland. And it was Heart, my favorite rock band of all time.
When he came in, it gave me a chance to ask him about the concert and he said it was everything he had hoped and more. The ladies from Heart are still rocking it, he said, and the show was outstanding.
Wow, another good thing to hear about in this crazy world of crazy news.
Look, I’m getting near the end and I’ve been finding positives all over the place.
Maybe someone has a point; I shouldn’t always play the role of the curmudgeon.
Now, lo and behold, as I was just writing the above, someone called me and thanked me for the story I wrote about her that was on the front page last week.
Roberta Linn was on the other end of the phone and told me I should pat myself on the back for the story.
She lives at the Sierra Gardens Apartments and was the subject of a story relating to The Alliance for Community Transformations, a group that has been in the news recently for all of the wrong reasons.
Even though that story is pretty negative, it can have a positive spin when people like Linn speak out and tell the public about their issues. That is such a crucial point when it comes to being an investigative journalist.
The public is the key to getting the truth to the masses and she was an important part of the overall story about the Alliance and the impacts their issues have had on the everyday citizens who rely on those services.
You see, that is the real story here and it’s a crying shame those people are suffering because of what appears to be pure incompetence.
Even though that was a negative, I think I’ve accomplished my positivity goal with this column. Wow, it is possible.
Merry Christmas everyone!!!
Greg Little is editor of the Mariposa Gazette and can be reached at greg@mariposagazette.com
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