Giving thanks for the blessings of community

As Thanksgiving approaches, I find myself thinking about the many

things for which I am, indeed, thankful.

Of course, right at the top of the list is my sweet wife of 37

years, whose love and patience are almost beyond description.

Following closely is my wonderful family and a cadre of very loyal

and supportive friends.

I also find myself grateful to the folks broadly described as

“activists” in our area -- those stalwarts who take the time, spend

their energy, sacrifice family obligations and dedicate themselves to

civic issues to help make our communities such a wonderful place to

live and raise families in. Among them, I’m specifically thankful for

three outgoing Costa Mesa City Council members.

Mike Scheafer, who has lived virtually his entire life in this

town and has enhanced all our lives with his activities in the Lions

Club and through his encouragement and support of youth sports,

deserves our gratitude for his efforts, even though he apparently

didn’t get enough votes to be retained on the City Council.

Libby Cowan, during her time on the Planning Commission and City

Council, has left an indelible mark on this city. Although I

frequently disagreed with her position on some issues, and had

problems with her style at times, she was always the most proficient

person on the dais when it came to framing her argument on whatever

subject was at hand. Her passion on issues close to her heart will

not easily be replaced.

This may surprise you, but I’m grateful for Chris Steel too.

During his four-year tenure on the council, he has shown us all that,

while tenacity is certainly a virtue, that characteristic alone does

not prepare one for the challenges of a seat on the City Council.

Every potential council member in the future will learn from his

example that being a strident, solitary voice is not enough. They

will learn that, while dedication to one’s principals is admirable

and essential, to be effective on the council a person must do his

homework and build alliances to accomplish whatever goals he has set

for himself.

I’m grateful, too, for the opportunity the Daily Pilot gives us to

express ourselves on important issues of the day. The Forum page is

my first stop in the morning -- to see what my neighbors think about

what’s happening in our area. While “balance” is a term not always

possible to achieve in news coverage, when it comes to opinions, the

Pilot seems to somehow manage to provide plenty of divergent

viewpoints on every subject -- even those which are in opposition to

their editorial position. That’s good for this community and has

certainly enhanced the understanding of contentious issues. I’m

thankful for those of you who take the time to provide us all with

your wisdom and insight. I’m very grateful for the columnists who

grace these pages each week.

Of course, I miss Judge Robert Gardner. Who doesn’t?

Steve Smith still rankles me with his holier-than-thou attempts to

set us straight on issues from television viewing to youth sports,

but his column is valuable as a stimulant for debate.

Peter Buffa -- former mayor, bon vivant and repository of more

trivia than anyone should be allowed to have -- always leaves me

laughing, and usually leaves me better informed than I was before

reading his column. I’m sorry, but whenever I read his tagline, “I

gotta go,” I always visualize some poor guy anxiously looking for a

restroom.

Joe Bell, a man who sits on the opposite end of the political and

philosophical teeter-totter from me, never ceases to amaze me. For

years his contributions have graced the pages of this newspaper. For

years he has provoked thought among our neighbors and stimulated the

discussion of important issues in our community. Depending on the

reader and the subject du jour, he has evoked the full range of

emotions -- smiles, chuckles, belly laughs; or frowns, scowls and

seething rage. Reading his work over a period of time is like an

intellectual and emotional diagnostic test. He helps keep all your

systems tuned and all your synapses firing. Like a pebble in your

shoe, he has been a liberal irritant in this most conservative of

counties. He has tweaked the nose of conservatives when they needed

tweaking -- and probably sometimes when they didn’t. At a time in

life when most of us will be lucky to count our active brain cells on

the fingers of one hand, Joe continues to pump out clear, clever,

concise -- and sometimes controversial -- prose to stimulate and

entertain us. For these reasons, and many more, I’m thankful for Joe

Bell.

On Thanksgiving Day, when you pause to say thanks for the many

blessings we share in this almost perfect slice of paradise, I hope

you will say a word for all your friends and neighbors who keep the

wheels turning and who give much more than they take to make our

lives better. I know I will.

* GEOFF WEST is a resident of Costa Mesa.

* EDITOR’S NOTE: If you have a gripe with the city or want to

cheerlead on behalf of local government, feel free to write a letter

to the editor, which we can publish as a Watchdog.

Just write us, based on the guidelines on the top of the Forum

page, or e-mail the Pilot at dailypilot@latimes.com.