I had an hour to kill in Kelseyville last Sunday morning and decided to run a few errands I’d been putting off, as I don’t make it to Kelseyville very often (which is actually kind of pitiful on my part as we live in Lakeport!).

There’s been so much negative publicity about Lake County lately, generated by those outside of the county and some within, that I wanted to share some positive thoughts about our community instead.

With this free hour I … saw lots of people enjoying coffee and pastries served outside at Grace Evangelical Free Church before the service … filled up my car at Two Jacks Gas station and was impressed by the courtesy of the employee … had an awesome latte at Studebakers, which was the perfect temperature and as good as any coffee anywhere … stopped in at Perlz and found some cool stuff to repair some jewelry with and was impressed by the breadth of classes they offer and the talent of local artisans … washed my car for only $2.50 and was offered help by the owner who had observed me trying to get my wrinkled dollars to go into the change machine … went to Kelseyville Lumber to buy some plants and was amazed at all the people enjoying themselves in Woody’s Café inside … watched a group of people walk leisurely down Main Street and stop to watch the creek go by under the bridge … all this action and vitality within an one hour’s time and the distance of less than a mile.

Why share this? I will readily admit that I moved to Lake County grudgingly. I will also be the first to say that I have always been impressed by the people here; their commitment to this community, their connectedness to their community, their willingness to put effort into their community, whether fifth-generation pioneer family or newcomer. Perhaps it was that unexpected hour that helped me see anew some of the wonderful things about Kelseyville and Lake County in general.

It’s easy to get caught up in the comings and goings of our lives and sometimes our appreciation is dimmed in the process because of the “busyness” of our lives. It also seems to have become the norm in our society to express the bad things we think about each other while keeping silent on the good. It’s become easier to make anonymous comments on a keyboard than it is to take time to get outside of our houses and participate in life – real life with each other.

Yes, we do struggle with our economic viability, as does most of our country unfortunately. We do live in a rural area but that does not equate to us being relegated to a stereotype. There are so many things to appreciate about our beautiful rural county and the people who inhabit it with commitment to it and kindness towards each other. I wanted to give well-deserved credit where credit was due.

Kelseyville – thanks for the wonderful hour!

Michelle Scully lives in Lakeport.