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Beth Ingalls, Grand Prize Winner, with her new truck! |
Comments (1)Building a Lasting Society Inside and Out
Writing Contest #1 Winner
Published: November 20, 2007by Beth Ingalls
We posed the question, “Why Is It So Flippin’ Hard to Live in Tahoe-Truckee… And what are you doing about it?” A bunch of you answered. Many Kudos and Thank You! To whittle the pile down, Moonshine staff sorted and selected the top 10. A panel of five (unpaid) judges read these and chose the winners…. Congratulations to our Grand Prize winner Beth Ingalls! And the Runner Up Regina Curry! Congratulations ladies, you done good! (Several of the judges suggested we hire you.) Please enjoy reading their eloquent entries. Also see the Honorable Mention entry from Mark Kircher.
Why is it So Flippin Hard?
Is it supposed to be easy? Are we so pampered and bent on convenience and ease that a struggle, be it small or large, is too much for us these days? This is our home we are talking about. A home either we have chosen or has chosen us. This is the place on the earth where we live. What could be worth fighting for more than this? And fighting hard!
There are small armies all over Truckee and Tahoe enlisted in the fight to save, defend and enhance our home. They are taking on the enemies of hunger and poverty, environmental degradation, economic and educational disparities, domestic violence, drug abuse, gentrification, homogeneity and countless other societal ailments that must be faced and fought head on. These warriors need our help. Let’s be clear. Most of these enemies and ailments have been created or exacerbated by so many of us coming to live here. We are obligated to join in the struggle. It’s the very least we can do and the real price of living here and putting down roots.
I lived in more than 20 different houses in 8 different states before settling in Truckee in 1995. I always lamented the fact that I was transient for so much of my life. It was difficult being the new kid in school, continually forging new friendships only to experience the inevitable pain of letting them go, and never really knowing the joy and solidity of a permanent, ancestral connection to place. But maturity has taught me one important thing in that regard. It’s flippin’ harder to stay in one place than it is to move around. Running is easy. Staying and working to make your community better is not.
Walking through the “custom home community” of Old Greenwood, which abuts our “old school hood” of Olympic Heights, a woman stopped to admire our dog. She had been visiting for the weekend and when she realized that we actually lived here she seemed bewildered and delighted. “Olympic Heights, where’s that?” she queried, dumbfounded. Then she spouted, “Oh we love it here…we want to buy this ($2.5 million dollar) house and move here…it’s so nice! Do you like living here?” Her sugary enthusiasm coupled with such a profound question left me reeling. How could I answer with the simple yes or no she seemed to crave? And could she seriously be ready to make such a monumental decision based on my answer?
As we walked away somewhat flustered, thoughts came flooding into my mind. This isn’t a place you just randomly decide to move to on a whim at the suggestion of a stranger. Not if you want to survive, anyway. This place takes tremendous effort, commitment and most importantly, heart. If I’d had my wits about me when she asked originally, I would have told her this: There’s a requirement for moving here. Only come if you are willing to join us in building a lasting society from the inside out.
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