The Morgantowner: 2018

I looked back at my post about 2017, and I can see that this was not a year for big changes. On a national level, it became time to stop joking about things, and get serious about how to deal with our "problem." On a state level, politically, our formerly Democratic governor, now a Republican, appointed two raging homophobes to the West Virginia Supreme Court, as all of the justices were to be impeached. As I predicted, the Republican in a "non-partisan" election remained in office and is now the Chief Justice.

In 2017, I spoke in Charleston against overturning the "Clean Power Plan." This year, I responded to Consumer Union's request for people to speak in Pittsburgh about the EPA's plan to delete regulations requiring higher mileage, less polluting cars in the future, It's hard to say if this will have any effect.

In state elections this year, five seats in the House of Delegates changed from Red to Blue; two of those were in Monongalia County. In District 51, which includes Morgantown and most of the rest of the county, and has five delegates, five Democrats were elected. Our Democratic U.S. Senator was reelected, a mixed blessing. He was better than the Republican candidate by far, but many were put off by his vote for Brett Kavanaugh for Supreme Court, the only Democrat who voted that way.

Joe and I were able to travel together this year. In March we attended my nephew Evan's wedding in Key West. Joe officiated. My sister Robin got us tickets to Yayoi Kusama's exhibit in Cleveland, our first time there, in June. And later in the summer, we traveled to Buffalo to see Joe's cousins, then moved on to Toronto, where Ryan Wallace, a City Councilor, and his wife, Christine, a native of the city, showed us around. We were in Memphis again for Thanksgiving, and Joe's aunt's eightieth birthday. We planned a week in Maryland based at my sister's house over Christmas, but came back early due to a death in the congregation in Morgantown. I visited twelve counties, alphabetically from Charles, Maryland, to Clinton, Ohio, two in February, then one every other month. I'm writing this Saturday night, December 29. We are at the Omni Bedford Springs Resort, a grand old school hotel 104 miles from home, where Joe is performing a wedding tomorrow. We get around.

We also paid off the six-year car loan on our Suzuki, Joe's student loans from Hebrew Union College, and the two-year payments for our cell phones. I insisted that we trade in our 2001 Honda Civic, which ran fine, only I didn't like it, and it needed body work. I did lots of research, and we bought a 2015 Honda Civic SE.

Joe and I both taught at OLLI (Osher Life-Long Learning) in 2018- two classes each. People were angry that our spring classes were at the same time, great for us, we could carpool, but many people wanted to take both classes. As it was,we both had a full roster. Joe taught "Dysfunctional Families of the Old Testament" and 'Old Testament Miracles and What They Mean." I taught "The Great Hits of 1965," the sixth class in this series of pop music years, and "Burt Bacharach Is 90!" my favorite class ever at OLLI, covering Burt's career from the early 1950s to the present. Check out Karima and Mario Biondi with Burt, singing "Come In Ogni Ora" live for a taste. The videos for that class are organized under "Burt Bacharach is 90! Week 1" to Week 6 on YouTube. Check it out!

Healthwise, all the numbers are good. I had a sinus infection which turned into flu in January (yes, I did have a flu shot) and an ear infection in November from which I don't think I've fully recovered. My energy seems to be flagging in my last year in my sixties.

I do plan to run again for City Council from January to the end of April. I like having some say in what happens here, and I've made friends. It's frustrating when people online lie about me or call me names, and hurtful when I feel others on Council don't take my ideas seriously or try to sideline me. I plan to speak up more in my second term, should I have one, and ignore the "haters" who are out there. I did arrange a meeting with the Morgantown and WVU Police Chiefs and representatives of the Jewish organizations in town after the shootings at Tree of Life in Pittsburgh, and we were able to exchange ideas and make plans for greater security.

People in West Virginia often say that Morgantown is not the "real" West Virginia and that people like me and Joe, a same-gender Jewish couple who grew up in the Urban East Coast and spent decades in California, don't have "West Virginia values." I don't know exactly what that means. Still, we have both become aware of how we have distanced ourselves from our communities of choice, mostly in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and how few real friends we have here in Morgantown. Tree of Life in Morgantown has many members who grew up elsewhere, and don't really "fit in" and Morgantown generally, as the big college town in the least educated state in the nation, is full of "real" West Virginians who don't fit in in their hometowns. In a way, Joe and I represent those people, the ones who choose to live here and create a community in somewhat hostile territory. Joe's contract is up in July 2019 and he and the congregation have both agreed to renew, although the details are not entirely clear. And I hope to be on City Council again, representing the people of this city.

Best wishes to my readers for 2019.

New Year's Day at the Fetty/Anderson Home, Morgantown

Sun and snow in our neighborhood, January

Former Charles County, MD Courthouse (reconstructed), Port Tobacco, February

With striking teaches in Morgantown, February

"March For Our Lives" Key West, March

My nephew Evan and his wife Kellie at their wedding, Key West, FL, March

Our friends James and Tyler at their wedding in April, with their Moms, Tree of Life, Morgantown

The cherry trees in bloom on the Monongahela River, April A planned renovation of the park including removing most of the trees. A big controversy involving City Council this year.