Do you feel a change?
Published on Wed, Jun 17, 2009 by Beckye RandallRead More Voices
It's hard to put my finger on it, but I sense a slight shift in attitudes these days.
Maybe it's the sunshine and dry weather. Maybe it's the promise of a long-awaited family vacation. Or maybe it's just that we're starting to let go of the fear.
Fear. It's crippling, isn't it? We worry about losing our jobs, so we're afraid to buy that new lawnmower. We watch our savings evaporate as stocks plummet, which makes us fearful about replacing a car that's seen better days. Health care costs keep rising while insurance coverage shrinks. It's no wonder we're afraid.
But even with all those challenges, our community-and our state, and our nation-is showing signs of recovery. Housing sales are creeping back up, the rise in unemployment is slowing, and most of our financial institutions seem relatively stable these days.
Our paper's sales team, the ones who are out on the street every day talking with local business owners and customers, feel it. Things are getting better, they report. People are feeling more positive. There's less fear.
As we move together toward what feels like a recovery, those of us here at North County Outlook remain grateful for your support and kind words. Every day we hear from people who "love" the paper, who look forward to receiving it, and who patronize the advertisers that make the publication possible. We are so fortunate to have earned your loyalty, and we promise to keep working hard to make sure we deserve your continued support.
When we return from our 2-week hiatus, we're planning to start a new feature in the Outlook that we hope you'll like. Sue Stevenson and Beth Opel, both longtime Marysville residents, are threatening to write a chatty column about the interesting people they run into daily-it may be called "Six Degrees," but we're still working on the title.
We'll also be introducing two new columnists, one writing about issues of interest to seniors (or is it boomers?) and another who will provide activities, stories and puzzles for children.
In September, we'll celebrate our third birthday. It's been interesting to start and grow a business in this economic climate, especially one that's in the public eye like a newspaper. The kudos we hear tells us we're doing something right. Thanks for hanging in there with us.
Together, we can kick the fear habit and get on with our lives here in beautiful Snohomish County.
Maybe it's the sunshine and dry weather. Maybe it's the promise of a long-awaited family vacation. Or maybe it's just that we're starting to let go of the fear.
Fear. It's crippling, isn't it? We worry about losing our jobs, so we're afraid to buy that new lawnmower. We watch our savings evaporate as stocks plummet, which makes us fearful about replacing a car that's seen better days. Health care costs keep rising while insurance coverage shrinks. It's no wonder we're afraid.
But even with all those challenges, our community-and our state, and our nation-is showing signs of recovery. Housing sales are creeping back up, the rise in unemployment is slowing, and most of our financial institutions seem relatively stable these days.
Our paper's sales team, the ones who are out on the street every day talking with local business owners and customers, feel it. Things are getting better, they report. People are feeling more positive. There's less fear.
As we move together toward what feels like a recovery, those of us here at North County Outlook remain grateful for your support and kind words. Every day we hear from people who "love" the paper, who look forward to receiving it, and who patronize the advertisers that make the publication possible. We are so fortunate to have earned your loyalty, and we promise to keep working hard to make sure we deserve your continued support.
When we return from our 2-week hiatus, we're planning to start a new feature in the Outlook that we hope you'll like. Sue Stevenson and Beth Opel, both longtime Marysville residents, are threatening to write a chatty column about the interesting people they run into daily-it may be called "Six Degrees," but we're still working on the title.
We'll also be introducing two new columnists, one writing about issues of interest to seniors (or is it boomers?) and another who will provide activities, stories and puzzles for children.
In September, we'll celebrate our third birthday. It's been interesting to start and grow a business in this economic climate, especially one that's in the public eye like a newspaper. The kudos we hear tells us we're doing something right. Thanks for hanging in there with us.
Together, we can kick the fear habit and get on with our lives here in beautiful Snohomish County.
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North County Voices
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