SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
September 9, 2021
Sullivan’s Salvos 9/14/21
In this edition:
*Rosh Hashanah
*Iowa River Clean Up
*Questions For the Candidates
*Bridging the Cultural Divide
*AARP Award
*Did You Know?
*Rosh Hashanah
A very happy Rosh Hashanah to those of you who celebrate it! May the year 5781 be our best yet! Shanah Tovah!
*Iowa River Clean Up
Volunteers needed! The Iowa River Clean Up is coming up fast, and we don't have as many folks signed up as we would like. Can you help? The date is Saturday, October 2, and paddlers will go 9.5 miles downstream from Sturgis Ferry Park in Iowa City to Hills Access just outside of Hills.
This volunteer event is an awesome way to play a role in making our environment healthier. It is satisfying work that is very worth doing. Please sign up and help us spread the word. Sign up and learn more at: http://www.iarvcp.org/
*Questions For The Candidates
Throughout every campaign, various groups of well-intentioned individuals hold candidate forums. At the same time, a few of the various media outlets do a variety of things to inform the public. Yet I find very little of this to be helpful to voters.
I think every forum - whether it is for President of the US or Township Trustee – and every “voter guide” - would be better if they just stuck to the following questions:
*What experiences qualify you for this office?
*What do you see as the three biggest issues facing the office?
*How would you address those three issues?
*Why should the voters select you instead of the other candidate(s)?
*Is there anything you would like to ask another candidate?
*Would you like to say more about anything discussed here?
In all honesty, I think that set of questions would shed more light than any I have ever heard asked. The opportunity to ask candidates questions is critical – we must not squander the opportunity!
*Bridging the Cultural Divide
I got together with some lifelong friends a while ago, and I have been thinking about it ever since. You see, two guys in particular are hard-core Trumpers. They are both active on social media, and I disagree with probably 90% of what they post. So it was interesting to see how we could navigate these very divided times.
Back in the 60s and 70s, both these guys came from union families. Their fathers were hardly leftists, but they voted their own economic interests. Interestingly, economic interests have very little to do with it now, even though one guy has been a union member for 30 years, and the other was a union member for about 15 years before becoming management. They both do relatively well. This stuff really isn’t economic. It is cultural.
I suppose you could argue that I went into the lion’s den in terms of turf. We sat in a dive bar, them slugging back PBR while I slugged back PBR NA. (Yes, they mocked me for that.) I took the liberty of putting the Statler Brothers Greatest Hits on the jukebox. They both spit chewing tobacco into plastic cups. One wore camo, the other wore overalls. I wore a tie-dyed t-shirt and shorts. To an outsider, I probably looked out of place. But I felt good.
What did we talk about? We caught each other up on our kids. We teased each other about politics, but not much. We talked about if and when we would retire. We complained about a useless new highway that serves only to bypass the town. We chuckled about being technologically illiterate. We made each other laugh, and again, it felt good.
What can I learn from this? Honestly, I am not sure. I grew up this way. I am very capable of code switching. Could someone else come into that environment and get along? Probably not without that ability to code switch.
As a matter of fact, one of these two guys and I had a very poignant conversation a couple of years ago. He said, “If we didn’t grow up together, and just met each other now, could we be friends?” I said, “I think I could do it. But could you?” He thought for a while, and said sheepishly, “I don’t know.”
So why do I even bring this up? I guess I am just holding out hope that we can learn from these interactions. To be sure, we didn’t solve any problems. We didn’t move off any entrenched positions. But we did see each other as human beings. We were people who could make each other laugh. We can (and do) legitimately care about each other. I suppose that is a start.
*AARP Award
Johnson County was recently recognized by AARP as an age-friendly community and was officially accepted into the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities. Johnson County is the first county to receive this designation in the State of Iowa.
The AARP age-friendly network challenges states, counties, cities, towns and rural areas to prepare for the rapid aging of the population of the United States. Communities are encouraged to focus on and strengthen features and services that help make communities livable for residents of all ages. “The 55+ population of Johnson County continues to be one of the fastest-growing age groups due to the strong support services and high-quality healthcare available in the area,” Jeff Kellbach, Johnson County Aging Specialist, said.
The Johnson County Board of Supervisors created the Johnson County Livable Community for Successful Aging Policy Board by resolution in 2007. The Policy Board works to make Johnson County a community where everyone can age successfully. In 2018, the County hired Kellbach to provide care coordination services and assist older adults and their caregivers with accessing resources.
More information about the Johnson County Livable Community Policy Board is available at www.livablecommunity.org.
*DID YOU KNOW? Duke Slater, the Hall of Fame football player for whom the field at Kinnick Stadium was just named, is a first cousin of Lulu Merle Johnson, the woman for whom Johnson County was renamed.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.
These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.
If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.
If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan29@gmail.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.
As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan29@gmail.com. I look forward to serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 9:59 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home