Linda Diane Feldt

The most important thing is to vote. Whatever your inclination. But if you’d like an opinion, here is mine.

I’ve wavered on the proposals for over a month. And I am going to vote yes on them all. I will suport the millage, because we can’t risk having the resources for the best education possible for as many kids as possible. Yep, there is mismanagement. Yes, there are additional cuts that must be taken. But in the end public education is vital for a positive economy and a future for our kids. I have no kids, I pay taxes in two school districts, I don’t like conventional education, so what am I getting in return? The best possible system we have so far. It is still a good system, and absolutely vital for Michigan’s future but most importantly the future of those kids who don’t have other options. It is a very very small price to pay.

I will also support the charter amendments. Frankly, this issue has gotten bizarre. Right now the public notices are being published in the Washtenaw Legal News. Not a publication I read or plan to read. No one I know relies on these public notices to be informed. And yet somehow, people in Ann Arbor are very well informed. We pay attention. We have some great new news sources, and more emerging.

Yes, a public record taken by a third party is important. But that can still happen. The charter is now archaic. It needs to be updated to reflect the present reality. Requiring print publication is actually holding us back.

The robocalls – I’ve gotten 11 so far – are anonymous, make false accusations, and have certainly influenced my opinion AGAINST their message. Today they claimed this amendment would result in further loss of my home’s value. That’s absurd. And implying that a half way house would move in next door and the rest of it was equally insulting. If lying, non-local, harassing people are against this amendment, you can bet I will give it a second look to find a reason to support it. And that wasn’t hard at all.

The argument that homeless people and senior citizens will be left in the dark is also insulting. How many of them have read the legal notices in the Ann Arbor News? That would seem a low priority for someone without a place to live struggling to survive. And our seniors are mostly very computer savvy, and again – who among them is actually interested in the legal news or reading the current paper that is publishing this info.

I support the charter amendment.

I will also be happy to trun out to vote for my Friend Mike Anglin for 5th ward council person. We may nto agree on everything (Argo Dam being the largest thing likely) but I respect his attitude and approach. He deserves another term.

But vote. Please. It matters.

The good news is I continue to meet many interesting, intelligent, creative men – for the most part.
The bad news is they are so very far from compatible long term.

If it is easy to identify traits/patterns/values that profoundly bother me from one date (everyone on best behavior) that just doesn’t bode well for the long term future and great intimacy.

I really do like people, men and women. I do have different standards for someone I would like to be very close with. If I think about my closest friends – intimate and non – with nearly all of them there was an immediate click, knowing, enjoyment. And then time and experience created intimacy and bonding.

And while I have friends who have very different ideas than mine in politics and religion and other values – the closest most intimate friends are people who share a world view very similar to mine. I just can’t imagine how I could (or would want to) be close with someone who just described many of my closest friends as “perverse” because they are a same sex couple.

A big part of who I am has always been aware of politics, justice, peace, commitment to action and causes. It has to be a shared experience if we are going to have a shared life. And denying climate change, asking for Bush to be forgiven based on context, not celebrating love in all its many forms (including gay), and finding heroes in people who have done great harm to the world (Ronald Reagan is but one example) are all “details” that make it impossible for me to go to the next step in any relationship. And I’ve encountered all that and more recently. And my profile is clear, these guys knew it would be a problem, they carefully avoided the issue until later.

So maybe I’m not getting as many contacts from conservative Catholics, but still a conservative element out there that seems to think it doesn’t matter or maybe that I can be changed? If you are a friend, really now, how likely do you think that is? Yeah, that’s because you know me. I’ll listen, I’ll learn, but not a lot has truly changed in this liberal brain for about 40 years now. There are fundamental values and priorities that I came into this world with, and I am pretty much the same idealistic obnoxious somewhat arrogant peace loving passionate activist I have been since I was on record at 10 trying to save a bit of the planet by organizing (and succeeding I may add!).

I remain bewildered.

But do recall – I’ve never done this before. Never dated lots of guys. Never had this sort of attention and “social life”. And I do hope it is all over soon. I think I’ve had a glimpse of an alternate reality, and that’s all I need.

I’m more than ready to settle in with someone who just simply understands me, supports me, inspires me, and I can do the same for him. We laugh, we talk, we share, and are both the better people for it. Living simply, taking risks, helping others.

It sounds so easy.