February preparedness

GOOD MORNING, South Whidbey Prepares—and hello to our growing community!

I call your attention to our February Preparedness task which focuses on securing copies of important documents (because future-you will thank present-you). A friend of mine lost everything—ID, bank records, insurance—when a hurricane wiped out her Caribbean town in the 1990s. Yes, it was pre-internet… but still. Enough said.

The news is full of hand-wringing about the collapse of trust—faith in institutions, faith in media, faith in each other. One headline even declared we’ve become “a sadder, meaner, more pessimistic country. Maybe elsewhere. But here on Whidbey? I see kindness, generosity, and optimism everywhere I look. I recently learned a new word: neighborism—a commitment to protecting the people around you, no matter who they are or where they come from. Doesn’t that sound exactly like us?

Right now, our neighborhood champions are reaching an estimated 3,000 people. I get to meet many of you for coffee each week, hearing your stories and dreams. I leave every one of those conversations with a full heart and a big smile.

So thank you—for the hope, the care, and the deeply local magic you bring. If “radically local” is the answer for these troubled times, I’d say we’re doing just fine. 💛 Terra