Bodega Bay Beat by Joan Poulos - April 2018

This time is when we come face to face with our poor record keeping. There is nothing like tax time to make a believer in organization. Unfortunately, I am not a devotee for the rest of the year. Every year I vow to do better and to save all the tidbits that underlie the documents the government wants us to remember, but each year the vow has been put off and tomorrow has come.

Fortunately the weather here has proven to be enough of a distraction that we have a good reason to get out and watch the varied clouds and listen to the seals yipping away. Even the whales have co-operated and reminded us of the bigger picture.

It has been a lovely month. The Cabaret was a delight; the townspeople delight in the unexpected skills of the local merchants and officials. We are all grateful for all the energy our neighbors put into this production.

The cioppino is over. It, too, went well, and now we are all preparing for the Fish Fest. Be sure to open the envelope with the raffle tickets for the Fish Fest. It is for a good cause.

Tax time always reminds me of the requirement to get my estate in order. As a retired lawyer I could regale you with hours of stories about mixed families arguing over very little. I was not an estate planner but as a general practitioner I had to know something to be able to answer the calls in the night. Most often people did not change their wills or trusts when their children grew up or when some of them got a divorce. Since I strongly believe that if taxes are going to be raised that it be the estate taxes rather than the income taxes, I was often challenged. The refrain “it’s my money; I worked hard for it and now I don’t want the government to take it” was often heard. When I reminded them that they had lived in a free society, sent their children to free schools, and most had even benefitted by some kind of scholarship at the college level there would be a pause; but only of disbelief that someone would not be against death taxes. Most people don’t take the Wall Street Journal or other financial newspapers and see how the richest decedents fare the best. Most millionaires have complicated trusts and legal methods of defeating any loss at the time of death.

Most charities and universities realize the importance of contacting those who might be creating inter vivos trusts. My university knows I love their basketball team (Kansas) so they use that as a loss leader to get me to open the request for charitable bequests. Face Book has opened old memories of schoolmates; alumni magazines stress how much your beloved alma mater depends upon outside sources. Speaking for myself, these charitable requests often work.

This week provided a delightful surprise. When I lived in Davis I was one of the leaders in Meals On Wheels. We worked very hard at including those who lived in straitened circumstances. We did door to door surveys to find out who was dependent upon the delivered food. Other than discovering what we already knew (that our area was one where the elders spoke mostly Spanish) we also discovered that the eagerly sought after daily meal often served not only the two elders in the house that qualified (must be over 60 and “housebound—can’t get out to shop..). We found that many grandparents put aside a major part of the delivered food so that their grand child would have something to eat when they came home from school. One meal often served three or four people. Since I am a relative newby here, I don’t have the data to know whether or not that is an issue here. We tried a door to door contact through the Grange in order to design programs, but found a great reluctance to talk to us (English speakers..most of us.) There is a group which has formed a corporation , Waves of Compassion) and are buying vegetables from the Food Bank and delivering it out here to be distributed at the Grange. That is a wonderful group and we support it fully, but there are some seniors who will not (or can not) cook their food and distributing groceries doesn’t fill the need. For the ten years I have lived here I have tried to get Meals on Wheels going, but was always denied because of the distance to Bodega Bay. Just this week I got a favorable hearing, and they are going to try to set up ways to bring the food to Bodega Bay. It goes to Petaluma, and to the military outpost, but always were told we just too far away. Any ideas as to how we can solve this distance problem (maybe some kind of Uber or something) will be welcome. Where there is a will, there is a way—as my grandma used to say.

Easter comes on April 1 this year. This is a High Holy Day for most Christians, and even though the day has been subsumed by Easter Eggs and baked ham, it is important for those of us who follow Christianity to remember. A few years ago I was lucky enough to be in Greece. Now THEY know how to celebrate Easter. (of course they have spent 40 days eating no meat and observing Lent..so they are ready to celebrate.) They sing and walk down the streets, carrying the precious icon. Then they go delight in eating the lamb that has been brought from their village and has been roasting all afternoon.

We will settle for ham and sweet potatoes, but we do relish the joy the children show as they search for the hidden Easter eggs. Families are always important; but ESPECIALLY ON EASTER AND CHRISTMAS.

Give your mom (or grandmother, if you are lucky enough to still have one) a big hug, and be happy.

As they say in Greece, Christos Anesti..(Christ is risen.) Your response, Alethi nos Anesti..He is risen indeed. (I have no idea how to write this..)Enjoy your family and say a special prayer for PEACE.