Holiday planning memories

[Perry Norton]

You should be back in Bisbee, Earl. Spin a few of your tales
for local consumption. I can think of a few stories about Bisbee and Tombstone but they are not repeatable
I would like to share greetings and salutations with all the folks who participate here. After the holidays are over with there are some cogent things to think about.

 

[Earl Finkler]

A wonderful Christmas and super 2001 to you all.
Looking back on my planning career, I especially remember the late 1970s and early 1980s when I did some consulting work for the regional planning agency in rural Southeast Arizona.
The area included a stretch along the Mexican border and also the historic copper mining town of Bisbee, AZ, a special place kind of like a mini-San Francisco on the side of the mountains.
I would drive down from Tucson and then stay a few days extra during the Christmas season to shop at some of the little stores, and visit with people and share in holiday greetings.
The economy was slow after the mine closed, but people shared what they had. The pace of life was slower, but I always felt so much warmth.
I also remember a very old gas station in Tombstone, Arizona, just up the road from Bisbee. A single pump, still working. One of the real old fashioned kind. And a fascinating old gent who would fill my tank and tell me stories of the old West.
I tried to help the area with some economic development strategies and ideas, but in the end I think the people and their sense of history taught me a lot more.
Merry Christmas!
Earl Finkler in Barrow, Alaska

 

[John Yoegel]

Ditto on the greetings to all for a happy holiday season and a healthy and peaceful new year. Allow me to share my traditional New Year's Eve toast with you:
May Your Best Moment of 2000 be Your Worst Moment of 2001.

Feel free to use this at your Eve festivities, but be warned. After too much champagne there is a tendency to get this backwards, which of course changes the entire meaning. Its only happened to me once but fortunately there were a few people still standing who corrected me. On the other hand, the rest of the crowd never caught the mistake. Not exactly a planning memory, but a holiday memory nonetheless.

Cheers to all, especially to you and your family, Perry.

John