Upgraded Living — December 2020 issue

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FROM THE EDITOR December has its own way of establishing merriment just as the weather turns its cold shoulder. The bright, twinkling lights stretching across neighborhoods and invading our interiors do lift spirits. My December has a pall of thin smoke exhaled from a Salem hanging over it, followed by the faint scent of bourbon. I lost my 97-year-old mom just before Thanksgiving. She came up short of her goal to be on one of Willard’s Smucker's jars. Unlike my dad, who died on his 70th birthday, the impending death of my mom was anticipated.

I have discovered, as so many of you know, the grieving process is different. It sneaks up on you like the return water in a tsunami. It sneaks up on you while you are driving, with an unexpected song leaving you weeping while waiting for the light to turn green. This grief also carries with it the faint element of paradoxical surprises. At least, that is my newfound experience. Those who have been through this are probably gently nodding their heads.

My mom was an only child, married my dad, and had seven children in eleven years. I am my mother’s favorite. My relationship, though, has an interesting history of ups and downs, misbehavior and misgivings. When I was ten, we all met up on the Bidwell Junior High fields for a game of tackle football. It was Thanksgiving morning, and my dad was at work, expecting to return home for our traditional dinner, which included white shirts and ties for the boys. On an end around, my oldest brother tossed me, landing me on my shoulder, breaking my collarbone. My dad was not to be told about the game. Hence, my mom rubbed Absorbine Junior on the snapped collarbone, put me in a shirt and tie and sat me at the dinner table. At fifteen, my angry mom was chasing me around the kitchen wielding a broom. I caught the broom in full swing, broke it over my knee, and handed it back to her.

Then I realized my dad would come home from work. In most of my teenage years, my mom was known to my best friends and I as “The Blue Flame.” The sobriquet stemmed from her standing at curfew by the fireplace waiting for our return. The night breeze would catch her blue robe in a waving manner.

UPGRADED LIVING STAFF AVEED KHAKI Publisher/Owner KEVIN DOLAN Editor-in-Chief

JASON CORONA

SHELLY BRANDON

Sales Director

Writer

NERISSA QUINN

TIM MILHORN

Production Director

Writer

DARREN MICHELS

FRANK REBELO

Product Integration & Mobility Strategy

Photographer

CONTRIBUTORS DOUG LOVE

SWEENEY & MICHEL

Real Estate

Finance

HRiQ

DERM BAR

Human Resources

Beauty

ANGELA & ARIEL RAVETZ What Are You Comprised Of?

When I got the call confirming my mom’s passing, I sent a text to those friends reading —The Blue Flame has blown out. Immediately, a return text—The Blue Flame will glow on.

It surely will, packed with that faint element of paradoxical surprises, prompting a tsunami of tears.

On to January...

For editorial or general magazine inquiries, please contact: Kevin Dolan, 530.894.8091 kevin@upgradedliving.com

Kevin Dolan Editor-in-Chief

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For sales inquiries, please contact: Jason Coronoa, 530.591.2634 Sales@UpgradedLiving.com

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WRITTEN BY SHELLY BRANDON | PHOTO PROVIDED BY BGCNV

Jasmine

Teen center youth of the year Jasmine Richardson is a 16-year-old scholar and creative youth attending Inspire School of the Arts and Sciences.

To meet Jasmine is to be introduced to her warm demeanor and selflessness.

Clearly, these attributes have been evident and on display throughout her time at The Boys and Girls Club of Chico.

Emylee Krupa, site director at the teen center, says Jasmine “never complains when asked to help staff or other members and always finds a way to connect with everyone she meets.

She is always supportive and positive towards her peers.” Throughout the past six years,Jasmine has maintained her Boys and Girls Club membership across multiple sites and participated in almost all of the various programs offered at the club.

Jasmine readily admits she “enjoys the fun programs at the center, like the art room and games in the gym.” She also enjoys the fact that she is able to get her homework done while at the club. The social distancing aspect of school this year has proven worrisome and difficult for Jasmine, and the fast pace and large amount of homework make her time at the club all that more of a welcoming opportunity to tackle the increased workload. Jasmine also loves to create; 10

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whether writing essays in English, painting, drawing, and especially when singing in the choir at Inspire.

She was chosen as the Chico Teen Center Youth of the Year in October and is preparing to participate in the Boys and Girls Club of the North Valley Youth of the Year Competition. This is no small honor. As the Boys and Girls America states, “Youth of the Year is our signature effort to foster a new generation of leaders, fully prepared to live and lead in a diverse, global and integrated world economy. In the 21st-century world and workplace, leadership skills such as communication, goal-setting and teamwork are essential for everyone especially young people preparing to meet the challenges of adolescence and adulthood.” Jasmine clearly embodies these characteristics.

Her plans include attending Chico State after graduation and majoring in psychology. Upon completion, Jasmine hopes to then become a therapist and help those in our community who feel they have no one who listens to them.

She dreams of living in her own house with the company of three dogs to share the space, while enjoying the small community feel of Chico and the nature that surrounds it.

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WRITTEN BY TIM MILHORN

Earth Apples Not road apples The Jerusalem artichoke is a lie. From the tippy top of the bright yellow flowers down to the gnarly ginger-looking root, it’s a lie. You see, there is no relationship to Jerusalem and only a tenuous thread of connection to artichokes. That is indicated in its other name: sunchoke. And, as we all know, the sunroot (yet another name) is a distant relative of the sunflower. The Jerusalem artichoke greatly resembles a sunflower from the ground up. It grows from five-to-ten feet high and is topped by a yellow flowerhead, some two-to-four inches in diameter.

The tuberous roots of the sunchoke hold no resemblance to an artichoke. They are three-to-five inches long and about two inches thick. They resemble ginger roots but any other similarity ends there—especially the taste. An interesting fact—they are also called “Canadian Truffles.” Jerusalem artichokes are known to have a fresh, clean, mild flavor that is vaguely artichokey. You can eat them raw after a thorough washing, or you can add them to salads. They also can be sliced thin and fried like potato chips or cubed and roasted with other vegetables.

The Sunchoke was first cultivated by Native Americans in their North American home.

In the early 1600’s, French explorer Samuel de Champlain found the local natives of the Nauset Harbor area, in present day Massachusetts, cultivating the root as a 12

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primary food source. He claimed the tubers tasted like artichokes, but he didn’t have any mayonnaise to really test the flavor.

Champlain also said sunchoke tasted like chard. No matter what its taste resembles, it was good enough for Europe, and became quite popular until its peak at the turn of the 19th century. While tasting pretty good and being easy to prepare are definite pluses, English botanist John Goodyer wrote of Jerusalem artichokes in 1621, “...whichever way they be dressed and eaten, they stir and cause a filthy loathsome stinking wind within the body, thereby causing the belly to be pained and tormented.”

A definite plus of sunchoke, however, is the consumption has health benefits.They are a low glycemic index food, they digest slowly, and don’t cause a spike in blood sugar as they are high in insulin, which is not assimilated in the stomach. Sunchokes are also a good source of vitamin B complex, potassium, and produce little starch. In folk medicine, they have been shared as a diabetes fighter for generations.

So, where did Jerusalem artichoke come from? Italian immigrants called the plant girasole, which is sunflower in Italian. It is thought the pronunciation was changed over time to the word Jerusalem. No matter the name, head over to New Earth Market and ask Jerry to help you find them. You will not be disappointed.

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circumstances and Dr. Gajda’s reputation, they proposed a partnership. He accepted, and the two companies merged to form Ridge Eye Institute at the end of 2019.

Dr. David gajda

Dr. David Gajda grew up in Toronto, Canada, about ten minutes from one of Canada’s seven wonders, Niagara Falls. Surrounded by some of nature’s most incredible beauty, he fell in love with exploring the great outdoors and seeing all it had to offer. As he matured, he found himself fascinated by electrical engineering, and earned a degree in the field at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. Realizing he would have to spend his life in front of a computer screen, he turned his focus to medicine and completed medical school and his internship at the same university.

When it came time to pick a specialty, he decided to pursue a career in ophthalmology, as he found it to be the most elegant of the specialties. Between the complexity of the eye and the precision needed to perform surgery, it was the level of challenge he had been searching for, and through it, found his calling. When he and his ex-wife, a urologist, met in Canada, the two realized they wouldn’t be able to spend much time in the same place due to the country’s medical system. They looked to the U.S. and found Cheyenne, Wyoming to be in need of both of their specialties.

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They arrived in Cheyenne and eventually divorced, but Dr. Gajda remained there for 17 years. After meeting his present wife, Dana, the two decided it was time to escape the blistering cold and move west. They settled on California.

Dr. Gajda and Dana moved to Paradise in 2011, after finding a wonderful opportunity in joining the community’s respected ophthalmologist, Dr. Niswonger at Eye Life Institute. As Dr. Niswonger was looking to retire, Dr. Gajda took the first year to familiarize himself with the community and Eye Life Institute’s patients before purchasing the practice in 2012. In 2016, after five years of growing the practice, they built a new building to accommodate their expansion, but the adventure was shortlived as, two short years later, the Camp Fire changed everything.

Though both their home and building survived the fire, 90% of the population had left the city, changing the landscape of their business for the foreseeable future.

Drs. Barthelow and Rudick, owners of Ridge Eye Care in Paradise, were experiencing the same issue. Considering both the

“I love it,” Dr. Gajda said when asked about the partnership. “The business is much more secure; there’s a larger patient base and many more providers. I now work in Paradise, Anderson, and Chico as there aren’t currently enough patients in Paradise to fill my time. One of the many benefits of being part of the Ridge Eye Care group is they have so many different sites. It gives me the ability to travel and really practice on a larger variety of cases. Before the fire, Paradise was pretty uniform—you mostly had cataract, glaucoma, and macular degeneration cases. Now, there’s a much larger breadth of what I get to see and treat. To add to it, there are other doctors around, which gives me the opportunity to see things from another person’s point-ofview and get their opinion on cases. Not everyone sees things in the same way—they each have a slightly different perspective, and we each have our own aptitudes. It really allows us to give the best level of care to each of our patients. At the end of the day, the work is very satisfying. When we do something, it immediately makes things better for someone. Ophthalmology doesn’t have a lot of bad days.”

In regards to the move to Northern California, Dr. Gajda said, “It is such a beautiful place! There aren’t many places where there’s so much available in such a small space. You can go skiing in the morning and surfing in the afternoon. Big cities are nearby when you want them along with wineries, lots of hiking, and the ocean’s never far away. If you want some change in season, you’d be hard pressed to find a better climate. It’s not like Wyoming, where you go outside and freeze to death. We live up in Paradise and have an amazing view.

We can see Chico, the coastal range, and the Sutter Buttes from our house. It would be hard to beat.”

Dr. Gajda and Ridge Eye Institute are accepting new patients. If you’re in need of eye care, schedule an appointment by calling 530-877-2020 between 8:30am-5:30pm Monday-Friday. For more information, visit them online at www.

RidgeEyeInstitute.com

Dr.Loeta Robles

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WRITTEN BY SHELLY BRANDON | PHOTOS COURTESY CATALYST

A safe place to land What do you do when you feel you have nowhere to go—when the fear of what will happen to you if you stay finally outweighs the fear of what will happen if you go?

One-in-four women have been victims of domestic violence. We all know someone who has been a victim, however, due to the nature of the abuse, we may not realize that we know.

In 1977, a group of three therapists decided something had to be done to help female survivors of domestic abuse living in unsafe situations. These women—Nancy Hawks, Gale Lawrence, and Laurie Gerhardt— founded Catalyst Women Advocates and began housing individuals in a classic shelter network. They established ‘safe houses,’ private homes in Chico where women and their children could stay for a few days to escape violent situations. Since that time, the name has been changed to Catalyst Domestic Violence Service, which is more indicative of the holistic approach they take in offering services to the community. Their mission is to “prevent and reduce the incidence of intimate partner violence through crisis intervention services, community education, and the promotion of healthy relationships.”

Catalyst’s Director, Anastasia Snyder, shares the idea that, “Domestic violence is a serious issue, and it’s often an issue people 20

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don’t want to talk about. Yet, everyone knows it exists. We all know somebody who has been deeply affected by this. There have to be safe spaces for survivors to come and get support, and that’s critical.”

Anastasia talks about the necessity of opportunities for healing and safe housing.

“There’s a definite through-line between domestic violence and homelessness,” she said. In Chico, 12% of homeless identify domestic violence as the issue that led to their living situation. “If we can’t house them, then homelessness becomes the only viable option, and we don’t want that to happen.”

services built in as an effort to fully support these members of the community.

Counseling, children’s programs, job assistance, and court advocates are a few of the resources they provide. Anastasia says, “It is a true wrap-around, comprehensive program.”

Catalyst is a private nonprofit corporation and the only certified crisis intervention service for domestic violence survivors and their children in Butte County. The community can help support this program through monetary donations, volunteering of services, and by supporting their Adopt-aFamily for the Holidays program. More information can be found on their website www.catalystdvservices.org .

Catalyst has created HAVEN (a Home Away from a Violent Environment Now) and a myriad of other resources to help victims of domestic violence. The ‘safe houses’ of the 70’s and 80’s have now evolved into a 32bed temporary residence for survivors and their children whose needs are immediate.

In 2010, Catalyst opened their newly enlarged emergency shelter along with expanded transitional housing for longer stays. In an effort to help establish selfsufficiency and aid women in finding a home of their own, the center also offers housing opportunities such as Rapid Rehousing and Housing First.

Anastasia wants survivors to know Catalyst is there for them whenever they feel it is safe to reach out. During this time of increased isolation, Catalyst is ready. Their hotline is always open—24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The safety mechanisms, such as protected phone numbers not linked to Catalyst and quick escape buttons located throughout their website, are in place to ensure the protection of survivors who reach out for help. The program can arrange counseling and immediate housing for those individuals who need it, offering a safe place to land as they navigate through the storm of domestic violence.

Getting into a safe environment is only the first step in the journey of a survivor.

Catalyst’s housing programs have many

Catalyst can be reached at their 24-hour hotline 1-800-895-8476 and through their website www.catalystdvservices.org

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3 Big Questions to Ask Yourself Before Betting on The Market

BY RENEE MICHEL, MBA, AND JOE SWEENEY, CFP ®, FINANCIAL ADVISORS AT SWEENEY & MICHEL, LLC

Millions of people have tried their hand at trading stocks over the centuries. It’s only natural to fantasize about turning prophecies into easy profits.

“How to Trade In Stocks” author Jesse Livermore (1877-1940) once wrote: “The game of speculation is the most uniformly fascinating game in the world. But it is not a game for the stupid, the mentally lazy, the person of inferior emotional balance, or the get-rich-quick adventurer. They will die poor.”

Ironically, Livermore himself famously made over $100 Million trading stocks in 1929 only to squander it and die with only $10,000 in assets and hundreds of thousands in debt.

Stocks go up and down daily for a variety of reasons; the world is constantly presenting us with new events, successes, and problems. Outside of the tax and fee implications, ask yourself these 3 questions before you decide to make investment changes: 1. If I sell out of the market because of [event], does that mean I have to stay out until the [event] is “over”?

For example: If you sold your stocks before the election, are you waiting 4 years for a new president to reinvest?

2. If I'm wrong and the stock market moves higher, when do I re-buy?

Or – if I’m right, and stocks move lower, when do I re-buy? The difficult thing about timing the market is that you have to be right twice: on the sell and the buy or vice versa.

3. Who else knows what I know, meaning—is that information already priced in?

Often, future news is already expected or “priced” into stocks, making the market difficult to trade.

Ultimately, for most people, the best strategy is to avoid market timing. The stock market is a complicated animal, with over $30 Trillion of investor dollars looking for an edge. Over the long run, stocks have averaged around 10% per year, which is incredible compared to virtually everything else. While boring and downright uncomfortable, sitting tight with a diversified portfolio and accepting the risks is usually more profitable and less stressful over the long term.

Renée Michel, MBA and Joe Sweeney, CFP® | 196 Cohasset Road, Suite 100, Chico CA 95926 (530) 487-1777 | renee@sweeneymichel.com | joe@sweeneymichel.com | www.sweeneymichel.com Sources: www.irs.gov; www.ssa.gov; www.medicare.gov | Sweeney & Michel, LLC is a Registered Investment Adviser. This brochure is solely for informational purposes. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Sweeney & Michel, LLC and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. Investing involves risk and possible loss of principal capital. No advice may be rendered by Sweeney & Michel, LLC unless a client service agreement is in place.

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customers. Beyond COVID-19, this will help limit any other kind of sickness too, especially during cold and flu season. We sanitize the showroom constantly, offer hand sanitizer throughout the space, and have made it a rule that employees are not allowed to work at the showroom or on a customer project if they’re feeling at all under the weather.”

Balancing community and chaos

To say 2020 came as a surprise would be an understatement for most. From constantly evolving recommendations as new information on the COVID-19 virus emerged to revisiting our childhoods with the continued reminder of the danger of our hands and importance of handwashing - health and safety have been top of mind for the past 10 months. Businesses closed, reopened, closed again, and most have since reopened. Adding to the uncertainty and lack of consistency in our day-to-day lives, not just in terms of completing our normal tasks, but in whether employees would be employed by those same businesses when they reopened. Though it’s been a chaotic year, businesses and community members have learned to work together, supporting each other in lockstep by showing heightened levels of compassion, patience, and understanding.

As Ric Powers of New Again Kitchen Remodeling says, “It’s been really incredible to witness.”

“The beginning was really weird.” Ric began, 28

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“I was driving to work the morning after the governor declared a state of emergency. To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t even sure if I still had a job to go to. When I arrived at the shop, the rest of the crew was there, and we were all trying to figure things out. We called the county health officials to find out what we could do, and discovered we were able to continue operating, as we were a construction company, but had to make some significant changes.” Those changes included keeping the showroom closed during normal business hours and requiring appointments with only one customer at a time. As time went on, those restrictions lightened up, but the guidelines continued to mount.

“We’ve required employees and customers to wear masks since the beginning in the showroom, and we require our employees to do the same when working at customers’ homes.” Ric continued, “Regardless of anyone’s views, we just want to make sure that we are providing the safest and healthiest environment possible for our

Like most others, New Again has maneuvered throughout these past 10 months to figure out everything, while working within the confines of the current situation. Not only were there health considerations, but also inventory, as most quartz and tile selections come directly from China. To mitigate those delays and potential bottlenecks, Ric explored and contracted with new companies that were closer to home. “The silver lining of the whole situation is we’ve actually found a number of other vendors who are able to provide us better turnaround times while keeping prices within the same ballpark.” Ric mentioned, “In fact, we’ve even increased our selection as a result of it. We have a ton of new tile, quartz, granite, and cabinet options that we’ve never had before, and between all of the options, the combinations seem endless. Of course, as usual, we help customers narrow it down so they don’t feel at all overwhelmed.”

Though a lot has changed over the past 10 months, New Again has remained committed to providing even better service to their customers month-after-month.

New Again has been booked solid with a four-week waiting period since June, but the holidays provide a bit more flexibility in their schedule, as many don’t want to undergo construction when family is visiting.

“It’s one of the few times throughout the year where you can get into the schedule within a week or two.” Ric stated, “If you’re looking to quickly remodel a kitchen or bathroom, there’s really no better time than November through January. We’re closed for Thanksgiving, but we’re open the day before and the day after. From that point on, we’re open every day aside from Sundays until Christmas Day.” If you’re looking to have a kitchen or bathroom remodeled, there’s truly no better time than now. Call New Again Kitchen Remodeling at (530) 899-2888 or visit their showroom at 2502 Park Avenue in Chico.

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Coincidences My friend, Martin, from Berry Creek, made it again. It’s hard to celebrate anything about Berry Creek after the Bear Fire, but I will celebrate the survival of Martin. He talked to me from his bed at Enloe Hospital.

“Is this a bad time to talk?” I asked.

“Hey, I’m sitting here doing nothing anyway,” he said. “Lucky me, I won a 3-night stay at Enloe. No biggie, it’s my thyroid acting up putting my heart in Afib. They’ll fix me up again. I’ve been here so many times they have my name on the outside of the door.

‘Your room is ready, sir,’ they say.”

We talked about the day of the Bear Fire.

“My wife and I had been shopping in Sacramento,” said Martin. “All the way home we could see the smoke. The Valley turned black with smoke and ash. When we got home, we received the evacuation warning.

I took some photos of our house, and we hit the road to Arizona.”

That afternoon, during their drive to Arizona, Martin and his wife heard Berry Creek had completely burned. Martin immediately posted a photo of their house on Facebook, saying goodbye to the home they loved.

I’ve known Martin since he worked in my office in his new career as a Realtor.

“After 30 years in casino management in Arizona, Nevada, and California, I loved real estate and working with you guys, but my ticker went bad. I died on the side of the road—remember that?”

Boy, do I ever. Martin had a heart attack on his drive from Berry Creek to Chico, on his way to a Sunday open house.

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“After all the hairpin curves on the mountain roads from Berry Creek, I had a heart attack on a nice flat straightaway in Oroville and hit a tree. Coincidentally, a sheriff saw my accident, and she immediately saved my life. A few more minutes of not breathing, and I would have been a goner.”

The night of the Bear Fire, after Martin posted goodbye to his house on Facebook, having made it to Arizona, he got a phone call from a reporter with the Sacramento Bee telling him his house was one of three that survived the fire.

The reporter was standing in front of Martin’s house and sent photos, proving its survival.

“Coincidentally, I sold my boat a week before the fire,” said Martin. “It was full of 45 gallons of gasoline, right next to the house, in the path of the fire. That boat would have gone up and my house would have gone down.”

“You’re a lucky guy,” I said.

“Not just lucky,” said Martin, “I’ve had too many coincidences in life to not believe in God. I’m 61 years old, and I can name about 25 coincidences in my life that can only be explained by the existence of God.” He said he’s anxious to get back home.

“Listen,” he said, “my dad died at 48 of a heart attack. I don’t plan on being here till I’m 90, but I’ll stick around for the next miracle.”

Amen.

Doug Love is sales manager at Century 21 in Chico and would love to hear from you. Call or text 530-680-0817. Email dougwlove@gmail.com. See more columns at lovesrealstories.com.

CAREGIVING THROUGH THE

HOLIDAYS FREE CLASS THROUGH ZOOM

DECEMBER 16, 2020 2:30 TO 3:30 PM

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Because of the board’s resilience, the musicians followed suit and kept meeting to practice—at multiple locations. These locations included the Paradise Performing Arts Center, the State Theater in Oroville, the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Chico, Chico High School, and Bidwell Junior High School. “The musicians rolled with the new locations,” recalled Roby. “We have 55 members, and they all kept showing up,” he added.

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The orchestra is composed of a variety of people, personalities, and ages, but the one thing they bring to each performance is a professional attitude. “The musicians are considered amateur, but they play like professionals,” said Roby. He went on to explain when people hear the word “community” in a band, theater, or symphony group, they think the performance might not be top tier. That’s not true with the PSO, and Roby was pleasantly surprised by the skills of the members. The symphony does not adapt music to fit a lesser skill level. They don’t have to. They stay faithful to the composer and the piece of music— and they play it well.

Music, Maestro, Please!

The Paradise Symphony Plays on

KMXI.com

When perusing the résumé of Dr. Lloyd Roby, I felt a bit intimidated. Good Lord, this man has a storied career in music! But, after two minutes of talking with Dr. Roby, I knew I could call him Lloyd—especially after he told me how he ended up becoming the conductor. You could call him “The Reluctant Conductor,” as he states, “I had no real plans to keep conducting. I planned on one performance and then to just return to classes at CSU, Chico, but the board gave me the opportunity to conduct yearround, and I accepted.”

KZAP967.com

It has turned out to be an excellent collaboration. One of his first comments was in praise of the Paradise Symphony Orchestra musicians, the PSO board, and its president, Maureen Wisener. “The board kept us going. Without their support and guidance, we might not be here today,” said Roby. Before the Camp Fire, the board consisted of 17 members. It dropped to

1035TheBlaze.com

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Roby said the orchestra is fortunate the Paradise PAC survived the fire. He believes it is the perfect palace for orchestral music.

“It’s a wonderful building to play music.

There is no sound decay. You can sit anywhere and hear the music perfectly.”

Roby equates conducting to coaching, which is something he did when teaching at a junior high. He said, “You need to stay calm and give a lot of praise, but you need to know when to make a firm adjustment.”

Dr. Roby isn’t certain when the symphony will be able to perform again, but he wants to assure the public that the Paradise Symphony Orchestra is alive and well.

WRITTEN BY TIM MILHORN

five after the fire destroyed many homes. It’s a well-known and too often told story.

LOCAL SPONSORS

WRITTEN BY TIM MILHORN

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2 20 Looking Through A Cracked Rearview Mirror

My first mode of transportation was a 1948 Ford pickup truck, which carried with it the need to ‘double clutch’ in order to go from one gear to another. It also featured a cattle-catcher bumper surrounding the entire front, leading the way to adolescent antics even I will not write about on this page. The rearview mirror had a prominent crack from one corner to the other, dividing the view in a jagged angle, skewing some views miserably. That mirror triggered the theme of The Backpage for the year 2020. We played off the measuring of visual acuity an average individual would have, standing 20 feet from the eye chart. I figured, if I spent each month looking back through that metaphorical cracked rearview mirror, it would provide for me the leeway to sometimes have my memories skewed as well. With the ability to gently alter, or place a slant, or throw a changeup along the way, little to no harm would occur.

I recently went through all 12 months of The Backpage and was fascinated by how each trigger caused that mirror to cast shadows of despair or bright bursts of comforting joy.

The triggers themselves were not unlike when the eye doctor switches the optical device back and forth in front of your eyes, repeating, “This or this? This or this?”

In April, when COVID-19 initially turned into a full blown pandemic, and I found myself trying to relate to the notion of a “shelter-at-home” mandate, my mind wandered to 5th grade and the assasination of JFK, flipped to Columbine in the middle of my teaching career, and settled, not surprisingly, on the recent devastating Camp Fire. In my ear, I could hear, “This or this?”

July thrusted into the streets of our nation a new-not-new movement, causing a familiar and uncomfortable tension.

Click, I was sent to the campus of Kent State University and the unnecessary clash between its peaceful student demonstration and the National Guard. Click, I was once again reading William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies,” gaining further insight on chanting crowds leading to violence and destruction, and how no oppressed individual has ever initiated violence. “This or this?”

Finally, in October, I attempted to put a spotlight on the houseless. In doing so, the rearview mirror reflected back a naïve Kevin, unaware of the hidden homeless right in front of him. Click. “This or what?” When the whole 20/20 vision thing, coupled with the cracked mirror, came to me as a viable heading, I obviously had no idea how the year would unfold.

Considering the decade, I find it a bit mind boggling to look back and read January’s back page. I chose to utilize the Chinese New Year as an interesting look forward into the year to come. First and foremost, the Chinese New Year begins on January 21st. 2020 was the “Year of the Rat.” I wrote, “In this year, the rat is first to win the race but not without being silly and using other animals to get ahead.” Further, I revealed, the Year of the Rat, for the most part, will be a good year. Remarkably, the exception appears to be in health, where we will need to be extra cautionary.

Out of curiosity, I looked up the Chinese Year 2021, mind you, also beginning on January 21st. It is the year of the ox, and the emphasis is “not just about what you expect from the Ox, but what the Ox expects from you.” It goes on to maintain, “These are trying times, and so a rosy picture cannot be painted for anyone. But, relatively speaking, expect a year with fewer hardships and troubles because the Ox is going to want a larger contribution at work.” Further reading relays the fact the Ox is an animal that delivers, and expects, dedicated, consistent labor, emphasizing the point, as it is a firm, resolute element, “everyone will have to give it their all in 2021.” Ironically, now I can close my eyes and hear the doctor ask, “This or that?”

Last month, I left you with this — “I believe we are at the edge of an abyss. Though I admit I do not know what the outcome will ultimately be, I am certain we are at the edge of something.” I now leave you with this — whereas, it remains too soon to rule out the abyss, we will move away from being ‘on edge,’ and be at the edge of brilliance.

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