Glass Full/Glass Empty

Sonoma at its best; Sonoma at its worst|

Glass Full

Sonoma Overnight Support recently sent out a “thank you” note to the homeless advocacy nonprofit’s list of “friends,” among whom the Glass Full department is proudly counted.

SOS was particularly grateful for an “abundance of blessings.”

“These include donations of fruits and vegetables grown by local farms and talented gardeners who truly have green thumbs,” SOS Director Kathy King wrote. Among the bounty was listed figs, tomatoes, peppers, squash, pears, zucchini, cucumbers, cauliflower and grapes – a laundry list of some of the tastiest salad fixings in the Valley.

King directed special thanks to Robin Layton, David Blaine, Joe Brian, Nancy Hughes, Stephanie Palmer, Laurie and Ray Gallian for their help, as well as Oak Hill Farm, Arrowsmith Farms and “Jerry Owens, who picks up unsold produce from Sonoma Market and brings it to the needy around the Valley.”

“All produce given to us is used to prepare delicious and healthy meals for those who come to Sonoma Springs Community Hall,” said King. “Our chef, Dan Kahn, is now assisted by Maria Barakat, who was the chef at Scribes Winery, and by our faithful volunteers.”

SOS now serves about 200 meals a day to 50 people a day, according to King.

“We know that the fruits and vegetables donated to feed those most vulnerable are grown locally,” said King, who ended with this quote from Chez Panisse-founder Alice Waters:

“Knowing where your food comes from can change your life.“

GLASS EMPTY

A reader wrote in inviting the Glass Empty department to her place to “experience the deafening racket.”

It was 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 9 and a band of motorcyclists was tearing through the neighborhood, riding a loop from Dutch Bros. coffee through the Andrieux and Broadway intersection, down First Street West to the Plaza and back.

“For months now, Plaza to MacArthur, MacArthur to Plaza, the racing on Broadway has been going on,” she writes. “The car engines are revved and emit huge farts and thunder like noise.”

She says it starts late afternoon and that “nighttime doesn't stop them.”

The reader went on to muse whether the Wild Ones were the reason the longtime police presence had vanished from Dutch Bros. “I was told by a reliable source that the police are afraid of those riders.”

“Please don't print my name,” she pleaded. “If the police are afraid of those particular individuals, what can happen to me as a mere civilian?”

Fear not, valued subscriber. We at the Index-Tribune quiver only at the misuse of a semicolon and the occasional run-on sentence. So, listen up, all you would-be Arthurs Fonzerelli: Cut the racket. We’re trying to get some sleep over here. -- Jason Walsh

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.