Advertisement

There’s always so much to be thankful for

Share via

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.

Advertisement