6 Elbert County News
December 13, 2012
OPINIONS / YOURS AND OURS
Look local for holiday shopping As we reach the midway point in the holiday shopping season, halfway between Thansgiving and Christmas, we encourage our readers to shop local as they look for those just-right gifts. For all the hype surrounding Black Friday, it’s not the biggest shopping day of the year. It consistently ranks behind the four days that make up the two weekends preceding Christmas — in other words, the point where we are now. During the late part of the year — with all its holidays — there is information aplenty about local businesses and products in our newspapers. Stories throughout the year cover the local hard-working busi-
OUR VIEW nesses that serve so many and give back in numerous ways — supporting activities at schools and community organizations — and often contribute in the immeasurable ways that occur when local business owners and their employees live in our communities. Of course we know online shopping edges up a few percentage points each year. But even there we encourage our
LETTER TO THE EDITOR Conservation fund is vital
Like most Coloradans, I’m grateful the election is over and the ads have stopped running — but then I realized Congress has lots of work to do this December, including cutting a budget deal. As Congress considers how best to meet our nation’s many needs, I urge inclusion of full, permanent and dedicated funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Nearly 50 years ago, Congress created the LWCF to aid the protection of land and water projects, using fees from private companies conducting offshore oil and gas drilling. Yet nearly every year, Congress has siphoned money from the fund for unrelated expenditures. We know that many difficult choices must be made regarding the budget. As we measure those choices based on their chances for success and their effect on
communities and the economy, I’d make the case that the Land and Water Conservation Fund should be at the top of the list and continues to be one of the most bipartisan, widely supported conservation programs that provides common-sense solutions for landowners, recreation users and local communities to provide this country with the critical recreation infrastructure necessary for strong economic growth. That’s why I’m asking Congressman Coffman to support full and dedicated funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) before the end of the 112th Congress. Senators Udall and Bennet support dedicated funding, and continue to be leaders for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and I thank them. Now more than ever, Congress needs listen to constituents. Scott Nelson Lone Tree
A Phillies ad over four strangers I was told recently to count my blessings. “Count your blessings instead of complaining about things that can’t be changed for a change.” I wondered if they were talking to me. I am Mr. Sunshine. I usually write my columns after a bowl of coffee and a few chapters of Kafka, so it’s little wonder that I have a sunny disposition about things I read in the paper, like the new gun dorm at CU (there have been zero applications), and assorted kidnappings nationally, and the frenzy among my countrymen for electronic Christmas gifts. I was voted “Most Likely to Succeed” by the senior class. I didn’t quite make it. I had to turn in my plaque. John S. became president of Holiday Inns of North America. I was the head coach of a coed softball team. That’s about it. But there are blessings all over the place. I don’t have to look very far. I can start by looking at the floor. No, it’s not the carpet or hardwood flooring. It’s a heartbeat. I was across the street the other morning, when Smitty was tied up in the front yard. He was examining our rabbit. The same rabbit is here every day. I think it is the same one. I wish there were some humane way of tagging him. Maybe he could carry a pocket watch. I looked across the street at Smitty and thought that he looked exactly like a red mouse. He’s an expensive red mouse. Thousands of dollars for medical procedures and boarding and cheese cubes. Worth it. This home is a blessing. I have never been down and out, but I have lived in apartments in sad places. I lived in an apartment across the street from the Sawtelle Veterans Home in southern California. Back then it was a gritty area, with some unfortunate stories. There was a self-immolation. We don’t have many self-immolations in Highlands Ranch. Backlighted bare trees are blessings. You know about backlighting, don’t you? It turns things into silhouettes, and makes them interesting even if they’re not. Put your worst uncle in front of a setting sun and take a picture. Your worst uncle will look like Lawrence of Arabia instead of just Lawrence. Black and white are blessings: black and white films, photographs, and old television programs. Robert Motherwell’s paintings. Ink (like this) on newsprint. BOOKS.
Genuine books. Library books. Bookstore books. Paperback and hardcover. Kindle? No siree. Blessings? I went back to Michigan to visit my family right before my final semester of college. Dad and I had a heart to heart about my future and then he asked me what they could get me for graduation. I just sat there and looked at him. Eventually I composed myself and said, “Get me? Dad, you and mom have already given it to me.” They put me through schools in four states. Every time we moved they made sure I would be educated. Thanks to them I was able to write this sentence. I know the difference between right and wrong, that’s a blessing. Between good and evil. And between ice cream and ice milk. I am leaving a few things out, for the sake of discretion, but read my mind and that will take care of it. Here are some odd ones: Chinese yellow Number Two pencils. Potatoes. Vespas. Hands. Tears. Opinions. Ideas. Maps. Ideas as maps. Silence. Properly inflated tires. One size does not fit all. Medical breakthroughs. Those sugar cubes we were given in grade school. My dentist. My accountant. They are not the same person. J. A. M. When I am alone with Edward Hopper’s “Nighthawks” in the Art Institute of Chicago I feel like everything I have seen and done and felt has made it possible for me to appreciate the “human aquarium” with a Phillies ad over four familiar strangers. Craig Marshall Smith is an artist, educator and Highlands Ranch resident. He can be reached at craigmarshallsmith@ comcast.net
readers who enjoy online shopping to choose the websites featured by our local businesses. The Colorado Retail Council has forecast a 2.9 percent increase in holiday shopping projections, while the National Retail Federation predicts spending around the country will rise 4.1 percent from last year. We hope the season plays out well, and the economy edges upward. And buying local not only fuels businesses, it improves the job market. There, too, the state is gaining traction. According to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, nonfarm payroll jobs increased 8,600 from September to
October to 2,310,100 jobs. Private sector payroll jobs increased 8,500 and government increased 100. Looking back a year, the current 7.9 unemployment rate has declined two-tenths of a percentage point from 8.1 percent in October 2011. Colorado is faring well in statistics like these compared to many other states. So it is a good time to show your pride. As you make holiday purchases — as well as everyday or durable-goods purchases — we encourage you to take time and look for your consumer needs to be met by your neighbors. Supporting local businesses E makes our communities stronger.
Don’t be shy about spreading good word Who do you know? I mean who do you know that you would feel really good about recommending or providing a referral for? What if I asked it a different way? What if the question was this, who knows you and who would feel really good about giving you a referral or recommending you as a friend, or for a job, or to join a committee? You see, networking happens all the time, whether we do it consciously, unconsciously, or subconsciously, we have an opportunity to participate at many levels. I can share with you that many years ago, when I had my first big opportunity to join a company, the difference maker between why I was hired and beat out the other few finalists was because of the letters of recommendation that were sent on my behalf. They were so strong that the hiring manager almost couldn’t believe it. But after following up and speaking directly to the people who endorsed me, the hiring manager became convinced that I was the right candidate and offered me the position. Facebook and LinkedIn have helped me to reconnect with so many people. Some folks that I grew up with and went to school with, others that I served with in the military, and many people that I have worked with or had an opportunity to know professionally. Social media is awesome in that way, connecting us with people from our past as well as our present. But even without the help of such enabling technology, we still have our immediate circle of friends, family, co-workers and associates that help us and who we should be willing to help as much as we possibly can. Just think of all of the wrapping paper, Girl Scout cookies, popcorn or gift cards you have purchased from a neighbors child. If you are like me, you just can’t say “no.” If we took this same concept just one or two steps further, we should be asking ourselves things like, “If I am going to buy a car I will buy it from that guy I went to high school with who is now selling cars.” Or “If my spouse and I are going to dinner, why wouldn’t I go to that restaurant that my neighbors own and maybe where my other
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friend’s daughter is a server?” I am not sure about you, but I love referring people, connecting people or businesses, and making recommendations or referring anyone and everyone I know to people and companies that I can trust and who I know will deliver a better than good result. Many of my friends and family members work for big corporations, and I am grateful for the work that they do and all the people that they serve. But I must share with you that my heart goes out to the entrepreneur or small business owner and their staff. One day, and maybe one day soon, you will find yourself in a position to recommend someone, refer people to a business, or network with folks where you can help connect the dots between two people or businesses. And you may just even find that when you are the consumer, when you do everything you possibly can to shop where your friends and neighbors are trying so hard to build their business, that you will not only be helping them, but you will truly be enriching your own life as well. I am not sure about you, but I am going to go the extra mile in seeking out my connections and see if I can make a purchase, give them a recommendation, provide a referral, or help them network. And I would love to hear all about your thoughts at gotonorton@gmail.com because when we all do lock arms and help one another, it really will be a better than good week.
Michael Norton, a resident of Highlands Ranch, is the former president of the Zig Ziglar organization and CEO and founder of www.candogo.com Colorado Community Media Phone 303-566-4100 • Fax 303-566-4098
Columnists and guest commentaries The Elbert County News features a limited number of regular columnists, found on these pages and elsewhere in the paper, depending on the typical subject the columnist covers. Their opinions are not necessarily those of the Elbert County News. Want your own chance to bring an issue to our readers’ attention, to highlight something great in our community, or just to make people laugh? Why not write a letter of 300 words or fewer. After all, the News is your paper.
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