"Nearer the Harbor" - Commentary by Tony Seton

Nearer the Harbor

Checking the weather stats in the local rag, I noticed that the precip, as we weather afficionados call it, was below seasonal norm. Actually, the words that formed in my mind’s mouth were something like, "We’re below normal." And then I realized, not we; I’m outta here. I’m moving back to Mill Valley.

A coupla weeks ago when I was in the Bay Area, basking giddily in the cool air and the bright minds, I decided it was ridiculous to continue banging my head against the hollow wall as is opportunity in Redding. It was time to make my way in the world again, where there were at least hints of a yellow brick road.

So I mentioned to a coupla friends that I was looking for a place, and that night, back in the place I’ve called ho-ho-home for the past 66 months, I got a call from a pal who said he thought there might be a place to rent that was in a great area and was cheap. I made arrangements to check it out a few days later, but it was taken. Alas. The next day came an email from another friend who knew a woman with a puppy who wanted to go to Europe for three weeks and was I interested in a house/dog sit. Yep.

It’s a lovely house with beautiful gardens, and Daisy is a cutie. Only six months old, from the humane society, of mixed and speculatable parentage, she needed to stay in her home and be looked after. Giddiyap, here comes yours truly riding to the rescue. Or, arf-arf, there was Daisy riding to mine.

Actually, Redding isn’t bad in the fall. Once the temperatures descend from their triple digits highs -- it was the hottest place on the planet one day in late July -- and then drops another 15 degrees, it becomes habitable, at least weatherwise.

The other day in the paper, a woman wrote of her departure from Redding after months of seeking a decent job. She sounded intelligent -- she was certainly more articulate than the majority of letter-writers -- and the people with whom I spoke about it understood what she was saying. Redding is a cheap place to live. People don’t pay much because they don’t have to, and the notion of raising their standards to provide better goods and services by hiring better people for a little more money is not an indigenous synapse.

I’m thinking my ship is heading for the harbor, and since Mill Valley sits next to San Francisco Bay and Redding is a hunnert miles from the coast, I’ll do better there. When I’ve made my millions, Linda can quit her day job and join me.

And that’s SetonnoteS...I’m Tony Seton.