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GREETINGS VIEWGreetings Friends

This is a big month if you are a Murphy or any part Irish. St. Patrick’s Day is one of those special days where everyone feels Irish so it’s good for all of us! We all need a bit of the luck of the Irish about now. It is also one year ago that the doors all closed behind us as COVID-19 spread around the world. It was weird, as we didn’t know what was going to happen, how far it was going to spread and what we had to do to be safe. A lot has changed in the last 12 months. The things we took for granted, the concerts, the parties, the live music, the family gatherings, birthday parties, weddings and even births and funerals have all changed. We have all learned to roll with it as best as we can and all I can say, we have to stay tough and make sure we do it right until we have it more under control. The weather is getting nice, more people are vaccinated and we are getting close, but let’s not blow it. For your family and my family, our coworkers and our friends, lets cross the finish line before we call victory too soon. I have my first vaccine shot and I will be getting my second shot really soon. I encourage you all to get one, if not for yourself, for your coworkers or your friends. Mine was painless, a bit of a sore arm for a day and then all good. We need to be good examples for each other. I want to get back to playing music for people, dining together and going on trips and this is something we can do for the good of all us. I did it, you can do it. There are still a lot of fun things to do out there. We have so many beautiful places nearby, we have bike rides in the green hills, we have almond blossoms, we can roller skate with our families, we can run and ride our bike trails, we can enjoy our restaurant patios and enjoy some live mu-

sic, and we can enjoy our homes, and we can enjoy our neighborhoods where there are new playgrounds, like East LaLoma Park that features a brand new kids playground, conveniently located next to the gazebo with swings, climbing wall, slides and more. Big shout out to the LaLoma Neighborhood Association for rallying to raise the funds, Deborah Steinberg for her excellent direction, the amazing support of Jeff Reed and the George Reed Company and the partnership of the City of Modesto. Amazing things can happen, even in COVID that make our community better for all. Let’s not lose hope, but be deliberate in our plans, our connections and try to look out for each other and make Modesto a better place daily. It is good to have that purpose. This month, we look at the amazing women for National Women’s History month. There are so many women that have made a huge difference in our city, from Rose Maddox to our new mayor Sue Zwahlen to the young women that will make a difference in the future. We are at a time where trust and teamwork has never been more important as we are coming from very divided times. Community events, our projects, our common goals are what can bring us together as we make the city we want to live in. There are things we still have to figure out, like will we have MoBand this year, or will we have Graffiti Summer and what will opening day of baseball be like this season and how to we all go back to school safely. Much of this will be figured out in the next 30 days so there is a lot to watch out for. I look forward to the beauty of the camellias in our community. I look forward to the amazing Irish coffee I will drink and the corned beef I will eat. I look forward riding my bike on our local trails and I look forward to the people that I meet that will make a difference for our community and encourage people to be bold and create an amazing place. I can’t wait for my grandson to start enjoying our new playground and growing up in Modesto. One thing I know for sure, we can depend on our friends, our local businesses and our families to make these changes with us. We need to live, love, learn, eat, drink and exist local, now more than ever. Let’s accelerated through the next window and be strong and safe. Thank you all for being a part of our story. We are writing it as we go and we all can control how the story goes. Who needs video games when we have this amazing real life. See you out and about and I wish you love, health and safety.