Columnists

Every time I drive along state Route 1 between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz, I can’t help but think of all the things I am surely missing. On one side, curious country roads – Gazos Creek Road, Bean Hollow Road – beckon as I pass by. On the other side, I know that one beach after another is hidden at the base of the cliff beyond the few cars parked at a succession of unmarked access points.

I am not a good traveler. I like to go places, of course, but I really hate getting on an airplane to get there.

Seriously, no time like the present for a rousing rendition of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” Nights and nights in the 20s. The garden is a mess and when I left the cut Christmas tree outside for one night and filled the red bucket with water, it froze solid as a hockey rink. Good thing we didn’t shell out for any front-porch poinsettias. Always hiccup on the poinsettia pronunciation ... poins easy, it’s the setia or setta part that’s the stumble.

I’ve lived in Morgan Hill for 16 years now. To some, that makes me a newcomer, and to others an old timer; but to me it’s been time to understand and reinforce why I chose to live here.I recently spoke to some folks about why we moved here and it was fun comparing stories. It seems that emotions and desire played a surprisingly important role for quite a few in a decision that for so many is just a practical one.Michelle and I moved here after we spent one of those idyllic evenings visiting and enjoying the Friday Night Music Series. That was back when it was on Second Street. Maybe 100 people showed up.I’ve said it before many times: I felt like we were back in my father’s hometown in Iowa and it just felt right.At the time, we were in the middle of a house remodel, lived 15 minutes from work and were close to everything. But something grabbed us and made us do what so many others we’ve spoken to have done: we dropped everything and found a new home—not just a house—here in Morgan Hill.And I’m going to throw a rant in here—we did not buy a house here because we got more house for our money. We bought here because we got more of a home for the life we choose to lead.It’s not just us, it should be no surprise that so many of us felt an emotional response to this town and decided to move here. It’s a choice that is not taken lightly, so it’s no wonder we have such a volunteer-rich community.We live on the northern edge of a lifestyle and we have a 12-mile gap to the next outpost to the north where we have to steel ourselves to enter an environment that is akin to being packed into sardine cans. To most of the “sardine canners,” we’re the ones making the sacrifices by living on the frontier and to some extent they’re right. We’re modern frontierspeople, I tell ya…We consciously and gladly give up a lot of conveniences to live here.  In trade, I got this incredible rural community where the vistas of a narrow valley greet me every time I walk out my front door.  We have access to such great local produce that I really suffer when I can’t get what is local and fresh in season.We have a downtown that is a regional dining destination and it’s just getting better.I don’t need to jump on a freeway to get to hiking, biking, boating or other outdoor pursuits. I can go to a couple dozen wineries within 20 minutes of my front door!Okay, so I have to leave town for fancy clothes (except for Tommy Bahama…), I may sit in traffic for a couple hours a day trying to cross the great divide to earn a buck, I wear out my car and my gas card sizzles.I make those sacrifices and it’s OK, because I am a frontiersman.John McKay is Interim President of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association, a city planning commissioner and co-founder of the Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance.

Cruising through downtown on the way to the Times’ office, I had to wonder what visitors or newbies thought when they saw the chairs lined up in the middle of Monterey Street. “What kind of a crazy town is this?,” they must ask themselves. Well, it’s a crazy good hometown, tradition-laden-Fourth-of-July-parade-every-year town – and people come from all over to enjoy the nostalgic and patriotic feeling that comes with it. Uncle Sam would be proud of Morgan Hill.