Bob Dunning: Mikey needs our love, not tolerance

A MOMENT FOR MIKEY … it was nice to see more than 300 Davisites, including our beloved mayor, give up a Saturday evening to attend the candlelight vigil for assault victim Mikey Partida, who continues to recover from the terrible beating he received in our town nine days ago … and while there was much talk of “tolerance” at this dignified and respectful rally — I used the word myself a time or two — I’ve come to not like that word very much …

To me, “tolerance” sounds at best like some sort of grudging acceptance of someone you don’t actually like very much … sort of like the two competing schoolyard bullies who agree to tolerate one another after the principal threatens to expel them … Jesus told us to “love one another as I have loved you,” not to “tolerate” one another … as Mikey prepares to return to the very town where he was so brutally beaten, what we need to show him is not tolerance, but love — complete and unconditional …

NOT A SHRINKING VIOLET … my friend Tim “on a street with a Spanish name that means some kind of tree,” he thinks, wants to know “If we get river water instead of well water, will everybody in Davis be able to grow camellias?” … a good question, Tim … first, Sacramento is the Camellia Capital of the World, or at least of Sacramento County, so I suppose the answer is “yes” … of course, camellias do require a considerable amount of water to put forth their beautiful blooms, so most Davisites probably will plant rock gardens instead … those who do plant camellias and pay to water them no doubt will become candidates for Citizen of the Year in this fine town …

However, along with the ability for Davisites to grow camellias, other city of Sacramento characteristics will become our own once we start drinking Sacramento River water … for instance, our basketball teams at several levels will no longer be able to shoot straight and may end up moving to Seattle to spare us the embarrassment …

TANNEBAUM TOSS RETURNS … Art on the Northern California Coastal City Street notes a “Newly-discarded, semi-fossil Christmas tree in the gutter on the 800 block of Anderson Road.” … clearly tossed out to make room for the Easter Bunny …

JESUIT PRIDE … lost in all the “firsts” attributed to Pope Francis, including the fact that he is the first Jesuit ever elevated to the papacy, is yet another significant first for the Jesuits … yes, Gonzaga, a small Jesuit school in beautiful Spokane, finished the collegiate basketball season ranked No. 1 in the country and also earned a No. 1 seed for March Madness, which actually runs into April … given that the Red-Headed Girl of My Dreams and I attended our first Mass together at St. Al’s on the Gonzaga campus, let’s just say I’ll be rooting passionately for the Bulldogs as March Madness begins this week …

SPEAK NOW OR FOREVER PAY YOUR BILL … those wishing to formally protest the proposed tripling of our water rates have until tonight’s City Council meeting to tell the council the rates are all wet and should not be implemented … there’s still, apparently, the threat of court action over the rates, but unless 8,000 Davis ratepayers file protests in the next few hours, get set for higher bills little more than a month down the road …

— Reach Bob Dunning at bdunning@davisenterprise.net