We should all be happy to live in Jefferson County. It is a beautiful place. The people are all welcoming to strangers. They are always ready to offer a helping hand.

If you are unhappy about something, and if you live in Jefferson County, then just take a moment to look around you. You will see beautiful mountains and blue water and green trees. Soon, you will certainly feel better. The beauty all around us is all that we need.

If there are problems among some of us, if we don’t have a place to stay, or food to eat, or honest work, then our neighbors will certainly help us. They are kind and generous, even to a fault. They are like the great firs and cedars that bend in the wind, only their bending is not meant to frighten, but instead to reach gently down to us and help. Thank you, brothers and sisters.

It’s a good thing to love your home. Take care of it and cherish its beauty. The world outside Jefferson County can be a scary place, filled with malcontents, and their scary stories. Avoid them if you can. Please pay attention to all the pennants lining the roads into PortTownsend. You will read the names of modern warriors ‘protecting our freedom.’ Thank them for going all over the world to kill people on your behalf. We all feel safer. Thank you, brave men and women.

Our county is the best of all possible counties. There’s no need to wander, to look any further than our own backyard. Tap your heels together three times, and say, “There’s no place like home,” and thankfully, like magic, you’ll be here.

BOB DOMIN

Port Ludlow