by Jill Hurst
photo ©2021 David McNair
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ILENCE. Not the first thing that comes to mind when you think about Ferndale, with the drag races on 8 Mile, the Dream Cruisers, music on the 9, street fairs and Monday 5:00 P.M. protesters.
Rumi And the voices. Lots of loud, opinionated folks here. I like that. As of 2019, Ferndale was noisy and booming. Apartments and parking structures going up. New and established business thriving.
Then, in early 2020, enter the virus. Like everyone else in the country, we had to lock down and mask up. There were a few ornery holdouts, but for the most part Ferndale is a collaborative place and adapted pretty quickly to quarantine life. Normally, we’d be out and loud on the streets during a year of rising social injustice and a contentious election. But we stayed quiet. We expressed our political opinions and social outrage through signs we stuck in the ground and used paint and sidewalk chalk to thank essential workers for their service. The signs on 9 Mile used song lyrics like. from the Police and White Snake’s reminding us to take care while we were out and about. The festivals were replaced by the parade of folks walking their dogs. The music venues were dark, but the birds were out in full force, accompanied by the wind chimes.
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NE SUNDAY AFTERNOON, our young neighbors played and sang outside on their front lawn. On New Year's Eve many of us placed luminaries in front of our homes. I hope we make that a Ferndale tradition. When we look back on this collective experience,
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2021 FERNDALE MEMORIAL EDITION
we’ll remember the moments, good and bad. I cried the first time I shopped at Western Market wearing a mask. But the owners took such pains to provide a safe environment, it became a haven and a distraction. And there was the day the owner of Green Daffodil pulled up in front of my house with the lotion I’d ordered. It was on her way home, she claimed. My bosses at Bubble & Bark made home visits to dearly loved senior clients Cooper and Milly and their families. Food pantries popped up. Restaurants quickly shifted to takeaway and delivery. I never got the hang of using an app to order food, but valued someone else's cooking more than ever.
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OW, HERE WE ARE, more than halfway through 2021. The summer was a little more “normal”. The restaurants opened their doors. Back in June we enjoyed Gravity, a new festival that brought people of all generations to Geary Park on a hot Saturday afternoon. In August, the Dream Cruise roared through town. I joyfully renewed my library card in person and got a pedicure. Okay, two. But I’m not taking these happy, frivolous moments for granted. Like all of you, I remember the voices and places that will stay silent. I am truly thankful for the folks who helped us get through these challenging months, the ones who had to work so that we could all stay home. We still have a lot of challenges ahead of us, so…take a walk around town before it gets too cold. Look at the beautiful flowers and the heavy hanging tomatoes and peppers. Hug a vaccinated friend. Admire that fresh coat of paint on your neighbors house. Dig out your Halloween decorations. One foot in front of the other. Go forward into our new Ferndale Normal.
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