Saturday, January 17, 2015

Lindsay's Finest

Published Oct. 29, 2014 in Tulare County's Foothills Sun-Gazette


     “Lindsay’s Finest” is the name of a car club in town with some avid members.  I’ve always thought the name charmingly bold, if perhaps slightly incomplete.  But Friday, at Lindsay Strathmore Public Cemetery, I caught a glimpse of a widely-expanded group of people who fall into that category, and a simple force that makes this place Home.
 
     We were gathered to celebrate the life and bury the remains of Robert Lindsay Hart, 58.  His body had been overwhelmed by cancer Oct. 16th, his spirit released.  His family and friends, at least those who were aware that he had died, assembled there on the grass to recognize the passing of someone they cared about.  And there were many.

     Lindsay was a character.  I didn’t know him well, but I recognized the free spirit in him the first time we met.  He was out for a stroll through the neighborhood one night when I was out working in my yard under the cover of darkness.  We stood and talked for over an hour.  We were friends from that time on.

     And judging by the number of people who came to pay their respects, he had many friends.  Most have known him all their lives and have stories to tell, some of which we heard that morning.  They were stories of befriending, of intense “discussions” over important aspects of car maintenance and anything else, of parties on the canal that could have gone south but for his presence.  And there were tears from some of the young men who looked up to him and were helped by him.

     I didn’t know how much he loved cars, and what a good mechanic and machinist he was.  But when people started arriving in hotrods and vintage sedans from the 1950’s, one good ’n loud motorcycle, that part of his life became evident.  As one particularly souped-up coupe pulled in, I realized that Lindsay’s finest had arrived - this huge cadre of people who called him Friend.

     Some people knew he could be irascible.  I never experienced anything from him but respect.  After I heard that he’d passed, I realized that the one thing I knew about Robert Lindsay Hart was that if I were standing naked and he stood next to me with only a shirt on, he would take it off and wrap it around me.  I know that as certainly as my own name.

     So we gathered, old and young, friends and family, friends and enemies, some women, mostly men, to say goodbye reluctantly.  Pastor Karen Stoffers-Pugh came up from Bakersfield to guide us, grateful to be back in this community where she started her ministry.  I sang an old A.P. Carter song, “Diamonds in the Rough,” because the music Lindsay loved (in the words of a mutual friend) was “too wild” for me.  Karen chose a song from his favorite group, Boston, called “Don’t Look Back,” their #2 hit, and played all 5 minutes of it at the service’s end.

     And as the guests gave the family their condolences, and the sun kept moving across the sky, men of all ages began peeling out and laying down rubber in Lindsay’s honor.  In my mine, that was as good as a 21-gun salute or jets streaking across the sky.  It was some of Lindsay Hart’s finest friends paying tribute to one of the town’s finest free spirits.  Thank you, everyone, for this sweet glimpse of our real community.

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Trudy Wischemann is a 21-year-long newcomer to Lindsay.  You can send your funeral sightings of bliss to her c/o P.O. Box 1374, Lindsay CA 93247 or leave a comment below.



































































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Vote Lindsay OPEN


Published October 22, 2014 in Tulare County's Foothills Sun-Gazette

     For the second time in two years, candidates' lawn signs decorate Lindsay’s streets and neighborhoods, telling us it’s time to make up our minds.  I see it as a sign of improvement, though not everyone feels that way.  Perla Soria, who was elected to the school board two years ago, mentioned that she received an anonymous letter during her campaign saying the signs had ruined the town.

     There were no lawn signs before the 2012 election.  No one ran against the sitting city councilmembers; they simply re-appointed themselves to those positions and saved the taxpayers thousands of dollars in election costs.  Of course, that carte blanche situation cost the community millions in wasted grants and loans that have strapped and will continue to strap Lindsay for the next 40 years.

     It also cost us in community participation, a dearth from which we are still trying to recover.  The words “openness” and “transparency” were not uttered before the Townsend dynasty collapsed - there was no point.  It wasn’t until the recall effort was launched, triggered by the appointment of Rich Wilkinson as permanent city manager under the leadership of Mayor Murray, that what was wrong with Lindsay was identified.  It was closed to citizen participation, and opaque to public scrutiny.  Even the press couldn’t find a way in.

     The two incumbents running for city council are the last two non-elected appointees from Mayor Murray’s reign.  At least they were forced to run - we can thank the other candidates for making that happen.  Danny Salinas was appointed somewhere around 2001 to fill the vacancy left by John Stava, who was the only councilmember to cast an occasional “no” vote until Steven Mecum and Roseana Sanchez were elected in 2012.  From Danny’s appointment onward, Scot Townsend and crew got whatever they wanted from the council.

     Under Mayor Padilla, with leadership from Mecum and Sanchez, things are beginning to change.  When citizens do attend city council meetings, they are treated with more respect, although the rules for engagement are still preventing real participation.  The staff can no longer rest assured that their desires will be met with Council’s automatic approval.  But what Council truly needs is one more pair of eyes examining the staff’s proposals for flaws and half-truths, one more good mind open to solutions appropriate for our community, one more good heart willing to take on the task of opposing the insider machine.

     Lorena Vazquez, in her candidate’s statement printed in the Sun-Gazette’s Oct. 8th issue, said “transparency is the number one issue.”  She also listed the need to create an environment, both at council meetings and city hall, where the citizens will be treated with courtesy and respect and their concerns addressed, as well as much-improved street and sidewalk maintenance, water quality, and police protection, which she believes is hampered by poor morale. 

     I agree with her on all these points, and know that Lorena has the chutzpah to work to make things better.  She stood up against the wall erected to protect Scot Townsend’s departure and was one of the avid workers on the recall campaign.  She has invested in herself through her education and positions of employment, and these things would make her a real asset to the Council.  I think we would begin to experience Lindsay in a new way if she were elected.

     So use your ballot wisely:  vote to make Lindsay OPEN to its residents and responsive to our needs.


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Trudy Wischemann is a writer who misses going to the polls in November.  You can write to her with your concerns c/o P.O. Box 1374, Lindsay CA 93247 or leave a comment below.