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Thursday, 10 April 2008 |
Up Close and Personal
By Clint Hyde
"But wait, don’t let the weather sucker punch you."
It’s sucker weather, this March Madness we have experienced. Remember about four years ago how warm it was in and we sat outdoors in the evening in t-shirts? The following month of April yielded more than 90 inches of snow. Just when you think spring has sprung, winter comes back and slaps you in the face. I know some of you have been bracing for this, maybe out of pessimism, out of spring lethargy or “whatever,” as the lost generation says.
Throughout our little burg this past week I have noticed a number of people grumbling about the local state of affairs. They don’t like the way the wind is blowing. One of our longtime citizens took 15 minutes out of an otherwise good workout and physical routine at Snowcreek Athletic Club to summarize the political scene. He feels there are no viable candidates, too much of the same or not enough new, too many candidates who are a little off center, one has no proven record and the other has such a long, bad record in town government that it’s damned depressing. Even the Council member who doesn’t have to run for office has a habit of removing herself because of a conflict of interest so often, he wondered why she even bothers to show up at Town Council meetings. Whew, it took me a while to disengage and get back to healthy exercise and positive thoughts. My only recommendation was that the soap box opera singer write 1,000 words to the Mammoth Times. That’ll get you a Town Square column. It’s not that hard, give it a try! Maybe if more of us spoke up we would be in a different situation today.
Over lunch at Angel’s I heard another upstanding citizen worry about where this town is heading. He felt it had no future and was never going to live up to its potential. The District Plan that replaced the General Plan Update that was never updated because of the derailing District Plan has ground new projects and re-development of older parts of town to a halt. The screeching of the brakes on our economy was still echoing in his ears. There was no sweet dessert at the end of that meal, just a bitter aftertaste.
When I mused out loud about this litany of complaints to my Body Shop buddy, he said it was seasonal dysfunction. Didn’t we hear the same phobia last year about this time? Isn’t this about the month when everyone realizes the meager income time of year is about to start? This shows up like clockwork. Less snow equals fewer visitors, which translates to less money for a lot of us. Some can leave town and work elsewhere until the next winter, but most of us want to hang around and dream of the prospect of a powder day in May.
But wait, don’t let the weather sucker punch you. Get a stiff upper lip, a la the Brit who mused, “Weather the weather be fair, or weather the weather be foul, we’ll weather the weather, whatever the weather.” Maybe a slowdown in business is the time of year to think about where you want the town and your business to be in five years. Maybe you need to share that with someone. Have you talked to the Town Council members about whether you want to be here in good and bad? Have you talked to Town staff about the fact that you have been here a long time and even though every winter is different, you want a little sunnier outlook.
What can you do personally to help this town live up to its potential? Forget the past. Whether it was good weather or bad, it’s only the forecast of the future that counts. How can you help others weather this downturn so they will be around when it gets busy again. Don’t get so excited about past cycles and ill winds that you forget to plan ahead.
The economic climate of Mammoth Lakes is in your hands. If you leave it to Town Council, Town staff, MMSA or maybe even Mammoth Hospital to fix things, you are looking for what was known in ancient Greek theater as the “Deus ex machina.” When the playwright couldn’t think of any way to solve the dilemma he would have a god come down, suspended on wires, onto the stage and fix things. Of course, that only happens in plays and will never work here. There is no god in a machine, no Disney Imagineering that will come and take your economic mood swings away. You need to do it yourself. Even if it means telling everyone in town, telling your elected officials, telling your public servants, telling your business partners what needs to happen next. Just telling me is not going to make it happen.
Not that mine is an unsympathetic ear, I just don’t think you are telling enough of the rest of us. We don’t want to live up to Mark Twain’s description of weather, “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” I am just wondering whether you will weather the weather.
Clint Hyde left home at an early age and lived in Europe before traveling the rest of the world, working in international marketing. He moved to Mammoth in 2002 to pursue mountain biking, snowboarding, backcountry and cross-country skiing, hiking and backpacking. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent policies and opinions of the staff or owners of the Mammoth Times. Reader response is encouraged.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 17 April 2008 )
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