One of the things I love about here: Diversity; and why can’t they catch scammers?
When you’re confronted with diversity, you not only have to think about what makes other people different, you have to think about what you stand for, what you are, how you should act.
That, admittedly from a person who comes from a place (southeast Nebraska) where diversity mostly amounts to Eastern Europeans vs. Scandinavians vs. Western Europeans; Catholics compared to Methodists compared to Lutherans ... maybe some Baptists, maybe some Presbyterians. They each have their own softball teams ... other than that, there’s not a lot of yelling.
The people I grew up with and visit every year are nice people; they get along; they’re friendly; and many of them believe that they’re somehow related to you. But here’s what I’ve always noticed: they like visitors. They’re hospitable. They like foreign food ... as long as it’s not too spicy hot. If you are from another country and you show up in my hometown, you will, before you realize it, be booked as a special guest at every service club, senior center, and church social on the schedule.
I love my home turf and people, of course. But here’s what I love about here:
This morning I was on the phone with a member of the local Sikh community, talking about the upcoming Nagar Kirtan – the annual parade and festival that attracts an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 visitors.
They’re excited because this year marks the 40th anniversary of the parade, and the 50th anniversary of the building of their Tiera Buena Gurdwara, as well as the observation of the 550th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the first Guru and founder of the faith.
They’re rightfully proud of their Sikh community, how they’re parents and grandparents came over from India, how they’ve enhanced the Yuba-sutter community.
(By the way, we encourage locals to pay them a visit during the festivities Nov. 1 through 3. Some may be a bit intimidated by the size of the crowd, but in our experience, it’s been very welcoming, very respectful of tourists. World class musicians sing and play religious hymns through the night Saturday. There is wonderful food served, gratis, to all who care to line up. And you can shop around the bazaar.) That was this morning. Last night, we attended an appreciation dinner in honor of members of the local Chinese Community and supporters for all they do to preserve and celebrate that branch of the Yubasutter culture – the annual Bok Kai parade, maintenance of the only temple of its kind operating in the U.S., development of museums, recognition of the Chinese community and the role it played in the development of this community and the state.
We’re rich in many things here in Northern California. Among them our cultural diversity. A reminder: the Sutter County Memorial Museum is a great place to go to learn about the local mix of cultures. Their Multicultural Gallery was created to tell the history and stories of our area’s various peoples and, at present, includes exhibits on the Hmong-americans, Japanese-americans, Punjabi-americans, Chinese-americans, and Mexican-americans. Check it out. Steve Miller is Editor of the Appealdemocrat
* Thumbs Down: to scammers. We’re going to publish updates every once in a while, but we can’t afford the ink to report every scam that we become aware of. There are too many of them happening. Please: – If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Don’t fall for it.
– The IRS doesn’t call you to tell you you’re in trouble.
– The sheriff’s department doesn’t call you to tell you there’s a warrant for your arrest.
– The Social Security Department doesn’t call you to tell you you’ve got problems.
– Microsoft does not get in touch with you to tell you about your computer’s impending doom.
Don’t send money, don’t utter any part of your Social Security number, don’t reveal your passwords.
If you are the victim or intended victim of a scam, do report the episode to police ... who will be able to do very little besides warn other people.
We’ve been waiting a lot of years for the people who are geniuses at inventing hardware and software and applications that ultimately make them a ton of cash to figure out ways to trace scam calls and emails back to real people in real time ... Seriously, that can’t be done? Well, at least not without a profit to be realized.
* Ugh: This is all I’ve got: – The police came over last night and banged on the door and yelled that my dogs were chasing people on bikes. My dogs don’t even have bikes.
– Angry Wife: “I should have married the devil. He would make a better husband than you.” Miffed Husband: “They would arrest you – marriage between close relatives is illegal.”