Giving thanks for Healdsburg's civic spirit

It's so easy to get caught up in the holiday rush that it's easy to forget to stop, remember, and share about something that happened just a couple of days ago that speaks volumes about why Healdsburg is so special.

I'm referring to the Thanksgiving breakfast at Fitch Mountain Eddies. The breakfast was free and the customers made donations to the Alliance Medical Center in lieu of paying for breakfast. Many food merchants contributed to the breakfast.

I was the first to arrive and was greeted by two members of the Alliance Board of Directors, Roger Hull, current chair, and Tom Colbert, former chair. They made me feel very welcome and we chatted until the next customer arrived.
Then I wandered from table to table asking people why they were there. Other early arrivers were Rick Tang, a local photographer, and Vickie Norris, a local businesswoman who provides online services and is also on the professional committee for the Chamber of Commerce.

Vickie goes to the Alliance Medical Center. She used to have health care through Kaiser, but when she needed to switch, she had trouble finding a family practice doctor, where she found one she is delighted with.

Then the person with his back to this couple gestured for me to come talk with him. My gosh, it was landscape architect Ray Pelanconi, whom I hadn't seen for 35 years. I remembered him so well because I was involved in an effort to get a kids' creative play area at Fitch Mountain Elementary School, and he did the landscaping, using drought and kid resistant plants.

Ray is a genuine old-timer, who has lived here since 1954. He's with Kaiser but likes it that Alliance Medical Center is "good for people with no access [to medical care]."

The last couple I talked with before I settled down to order my breakfast was Lew and Elaine Sbrana, retired from the school system. I've known them since I arrived in 1967 because they have contributed so much to our community. Lew, as I'm sure you all know, has made musicians out of almost-tone-deaf children and even adults.

Elaine had heard about the breakfast that morning while walking with a friend, and they dropped everything to be there.

It was a wonderful way to start the day. No wonder I like to stay right here in Healdsburg for the holidays. Tomorrow I'll join my son, his wife, and my grandchildren at the annual tree lighting in the Plaza.