There’s always so much to be thankful for
Every year, we ask our readers to tell us what they are thankful
for.
And every year, we always get heart-wrenching tales of despair
turned to triumph, of families thankful for each other, of the human
spirit and its innate kindness and, of course, of people just
thankful to call Newport-Mesa home.
I’ll look forward to reading all of that on Thursday.
In the meantime, I thought I’d let all of our readers know that
here in the newsroom, we have lots to be thankful for also.
We’re thankful, for sure, that the election is over, even if the
fallout is still keeping us busy.
But even more, we are thankful for all of you, our faithful
readers who cheer us on when we do things right and keep us honest
when we get things wrong.
It’s you readers who make the Daily Pilot the best community
newspaper on the planet (in my view of course).
I’m personally thankful to lots of folks and things as well. They
are way too many to name in this space, that’s for sure, but I’ll try
to squeeze in a few and please excuse the scattergun approach or
anyone who I may miss:
I’m thankful for Newport-Mesa’s city managers Homer Bludau and
Allan Roeder; school superintendent Rob Barbot; police chiefs Dave
Snowden and Bob McDonell; fire chiefs Jim Ellis and Tim Riley; and
Coast Community College District Chancellor William Vega.
I’m thankful for mayors Tod Ridgeway and Linda Dixon; school board
president Judy Franco; and Coast Community College District President
Walt Howald; and all of the elected officials, who basically
volunteer their days and nights for a thankless job.
I’m thankful for OCC interim President Gene Farrell; UCI
Chancellor Ralph Cicerone; and Vanguard University President Murray
Dempster.
I’m thankful for Newport Harbor, Costa Mesa, Corona del Mar and
Estancia sports.
I’m thankful for the Rams, even if they are still lost in St.
Louis, and thankful that the Angels finally, finally won a World
Series for the sake of my wife and, of course, our columnist Joe
Bell.
I’m thankful for the Wedge and Wedge riders like Mel Thoman. And
I’m thankful that we finally, after all these years, got a picture of
Mel riding a wave.
I’m thankful for both piers and the great beaches here, for the
Back Bay, for Crystal Cove, for the Fun Zone, the Balboa Island
Ferry, the Orange County Fair, Maria Elena Avila’s El Ranchito, for
the Crab Cooker’s clam chowder, Wahoo’s Fish Tacos, the Yardhouse,
Skosh Monahan’s and tuna melts at the Back Bay Cafe.
I’m thankful for Fashion Island and South Coast Plaza, not only
because they have great shopping and dining, but because they have
the biggest and best Christmas trees around.
I’m thankful for the Christmas Boat Parade, Taste of Newport and
the many events sponsored by either the Newport Beach Chamber of
Commerce or the Commodores.
I’m thankful for the Toshiba Senior Classic and Hoag Hospital,
which benefits from that tourney.
I’m thankful for South Coast Repertory, the Performing Arts
Center, the Orange County Art Museum, the Newport Beach Central
Library, the Newport Beach Film Festival and all of the arts and
culture we have.
I’m thankful for Paul Salata, who makes me laugh almost every time
I see him, though his jokes are probably as politically correct as
the Augusta National Country Club.
I’m thankful for the all the people who make the great sandwiches,
burritos, orange chicken, pasta and hamburgers for the countless
lunches that I gobble down in a year.
I’m thankful that there are such things as surfing and exercise to
work off those lunches, and I certainly need to do more of that.
I’m thankful for George Jeffries, a true gentleman and true
believer in the Greenlight cause.
I’m thankful for all those who feed me tips and fill in the blanks
for me, either via e-mail or phone or over coffee.
I’m thankful that Phil Sansone is having a great retirement in
Hawaii.
I’m thankful for my journalism students at OCC and Cathy Werblin,
the journalism advisor there who has helped me so much.
I’m thankful for our frequent letter writers like Ila Johnson,
Paul James Baldwin and Geoff West and all the paper’s good friends
like Gay Wassall-Kelly, Rabbi Mark Miller and Allan Beek.
I’m thankful for my friends Bill Lobdell, Steve Marble, Steve
Eames and Marc Martin, who used to work arm-in-arm with me here at
the Pilot and are now doing good work just down the street for the
Los Angeles Times.
I’m thankful for a great publisher and, from what I read, mediocre
golfer Tom Johnson, and a great advertising and promotions staff led
by Judy Oetting and Lana Johnson and all of the Pilot’s hard-working
employees outside of the newsroom.
Speaking of the newsroom, I’m so thankful for all of the
columnists and my reporting, editing, design, photo and sports
staffs. They do the day-to-day work that makes this paper succeed.
They help me get through each and every day and are a pleasure to be
around and to work with. I sure want to thank them.
Finally, I wouldn’t be anything without my wife and my two little
girls, who I can’t wait to see each night when I come home, and the
rest of my family and friends who have been by my side all my 40-plus
years.
Happy Thanksgiving to all and have a safe holiday.
* TONY DODERO is the editor. He can be reached via e-mail at
tony.dodero@latimes.com or by phone at (949) 574-4258.
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