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
