Opinion

That first frigid snap always seems to sneak up on me. It’s 72 and sunny one day and then ... Old Man Winter wakes up and exhales and it’s 26 degrees and I’m running around the yard freezing my derriere off covering the citrus and tender plants. And they say there aren’t seasons in California …

It’s the fifth of July, and it’s been a long and slow moving morning. Yesterday was the Fourth of July, and as a proud Morgan Hillan I enjoyed much of what our community and its hard working volunteers put together for us on this special holiday.I went to the July 3 Family Music Fest and saw Monterey Road filled with people of all ages out having a good time on a beautiful summer evening. This event is a huge undertaking by the Independence Day Celebrations organization, which started earlier that afternoon with the Patriotic Sing. The Family Music Fest fills the streets with tables and chairs, tents, bandstands and food trucks. It was all nice and tidy in time for the July 4 festivities, which includes the greatest Fourth of July parade in the region.The Music Fest also filled the streets with what has to be the best behaved group of people out having a good time. Most of these folks are from our community. For an event with adult beverages and a big crowd, we have to be proud of how well we celebrate together.I thought I got an early start on the Fourth, but by 9:30 the Freedom Run had been completed and the Freedom Fest cruise (rolling car show) was already underway.It was one of the nicest days I’ve ever seen for the July 4Parade. Not too warm and not too cool which was unusual for me. I’m used to roasting a bit.As usual, the parade was everything we expected and it set the tone for the rest of the Fourth of July. If you haven’t been out to the parade you just have to go next year.After the parade, the downtown clears out and becomes a virtual ghost town. There must be a way to keep some of the crowd—which numbers in the tens of thousands—busy downtown or nearby as we wait for the fireworks display. People are out with their families and friends having a good time, so this is a huge missed opportunity. Sounds like a project for someone out there.I have yet another project for someone out there…Every Fourth of July many of us sequester our pets in some quiet corner of the house so they won’t freak out at the Freedom Fest fireworks display, which we are also well known for. We love the planned fireworks and make this sacrifice for our pets’ well-being.What we can’t plan for are all of the illegal fireworks which startle our pets days before and after the Fourth.The evening of the Fourth, our dogs were fine through the official fireworks show as we cranked up the volume on the movie we watched with the house closed tight as a drum. The dogs were restless, but seemed fine.Then those idiots with those illegal fireworks got going all around us. I don’t know if these are alcohol fueled or stupidity fueled, but we need to do something about these inconsiderate scofflaws.I don’t know what these people were thinking with the dry hillsides all around us just waiting for a spark to send flames running across our open spaces. Seriously, this is just idiotic.Aside from the fire threat, what those fireworks do to our pets really angers me right now. I was up most of the night as one of our dogs would react to all of the nearby fireworks. Even after they stopped, she just couldn’t relax.Seeing what it did to one of my dogs, and my sleep, I am ready for some drastic measures. How do we fix this? I’m ready for some action.I really enjoyed my July 4 events, but the most vivid memory is of my dog huddled under the bed just shaking. I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore. How about you?John McKay is president of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association, chair of the city planning commission and co-founder of the Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance. He can be contacted at [email protected].

Last week was a big week in the world of planning for our community. The Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce, Morgan Hill Downtown Association and the Morgan Hill City Council all held their annual planning retreats.Every year, most organizations will spend an extended period of time really focusing and digging into understanding what it is they do and how they are going to do more of it and do it better.Looking to both the past and the future are all part of creating a meaningful and attainable vision.We spend time looking at the past to see how we did; most of what I’ve seen has been pretty good in my opinion. 2017 was a pretty good year if you believe in constant planned improvement in how we operate as a community. I mean this in the broadest sense with things like seeing public art going up, the Friday Night Music Series blowing up, the increased popularity of the downtown, expanded industrial activity, fundraising events reaching new levels in quality and effectiveness, our Fourth of July and Holiday Lights parades growing and adding definition to who we are, public parks with private partnerships opening downtown; the list goes on and on…We will spend a lot of time gazing into a future that is incredibly bright. That bright future could look different to each person in an organization, and must be distilled to ones they can agree to champion as an organization. Courses to a vision must be charted by mere people, often volunteers that practice a level of good common sense that is not so common these days. I would even call our city councilmembers elected volunteers with their level of compensation.Advice from professionals in the different fields of interest is usually available in Morgan Hill, but ultimately it is really up to the dedicated amateurs to make decisions and chart courses to the visions of the future.So I guess what I am working toward is giving recognition to all of those people that work so hard to make this community what it is in so many ways.Thank you to the city council for the countless hours of work that so often go un-thanked. Thank you to the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Association, Independence Day Celebrations, Kiwanis, Historical Society, AAUW and more…Thank you for paying attention to the past and seeing a vision for the future of Morgan Hill.Thank you for having the courage to make decisions that might ultimately prove to be wrong because no one makes all of the right decisions except for the one who makes none, and then they already made one bad one to begin with…Thank you to the professionals who help guide us amateurs. Thank you for putting community ahead of self. As far as I know, not one of you has made a fortune from all of your hard work, contrary to what some may say.Thank you to all of you who are considering joining the ranks of our volunteer community.Thank you to all of the volunteers of all types that make Morgan Hill truly community driven.John McKay is president of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association, a city planning commissioner and co-founder of the Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance. He can be reached at  [email protected].