I guess time really does heal all wounds.
Recently I was persuaded to try and get a blurb into Diablo magazine promoting the festival so I wrote a little something up, aiming it toward an audience that had probably heard about the beavers but never followed the story. i wrote up a few pararaphs and sent it off to the editor. But not before I noticed how different it was than what I usually write.
Let me try to explain.
Back when i was fighting every day for the beavers safety I would have HATED an article like this, I think. It seems strange but in those days I had to be super polite to everyone and never risk upsetting a potential friend. I was working overtime to keep a lid on how I really felt and never show how frustrated I was. But it was very urgent and personal. I could barely stand writing anything that complained about the beavers or put the city in a positive light and made fun of the beaver bruhaha. This particular post is a favorite demonstration of how I was feeling at the time.
But now that I’m finally free to be the queen of beaver snark and say whatever I like it takes no effort at all to tell a glibber story when its called for. I dispatched this article so blithely you might have thought I worked for main street Martinez.
The Festival Martinez never wanted
A decade ago Martinez found itself at the center of controversy over some furry neighbors nobody expected. A pair of beavers had moved into the creek downtown and started building a dam to raise their family. Fears that the dam would cause flooding spurred a plan to trap the critters, but residents objected – and how. Soon nearly every paper and news channel was talking about the controversy. The beaver bruhaha even made it to national news!
Defenders guessed the beavers would be harder to kill after residents threw a party for them, and in 2008 the first beaver festival was born. Over the years it has grown to be one of the biggest wildlife events in Northern California, drawing conservation and nature groups from more than 5 bay area counties. Live music, children’s activities, a silent auction and beaver tours have made this a popular favorite for nature lovers.
This year, artist Amy G Hall from Napa will be once again be sharing her talents with a 2-day chalk mural showing beavers and the wildlife they sustain in the central plaza. Exhibitors at the event include Native Bird Connections, NorCal bats, the Marine Mammal Center and the many local wildlife organizations. This year children will be invited to participate in a treasure hunt to find the “Lost Key to the Waters”.
They say when life give you lemons you should make lemonade, but when life give you beavers you should definitely celebrate with a dam good festival like this. Come see for yourself!
The editor loved it. He called back to say so and to ask if I was a writer and if I wanted to write on other topics not about beavers. Ha! He also said that he loved the photo I sent of Amy creating her mural and that he was thinking about using it on the cover.
The COVER.
He was a little worried that the photo was too grainy to work, but he was definitely interested. I was busy worrying about my upcoming chat at Safari West so I wasn’t smart enough to be worried about the phone call and we chatted like old friends. It’s always good to be worried about something else so that you don’t realize what an enormous opportunity you are being offered at the time. I find I’m way more mellow.
It would make me very happy if the festival ended up the cover of Diablo magazine. It would make sure the event was well attended, would support Amy’s hard work, would make all the other news outlets cover the story, and be good for beavers everywhere.
It would also make the mayor remember once and for all NOT to kill beavers and endear me even more to his heart. It just doesn’t get any better than that.
I just couldn’t resist.
We’ll see hat happens. Wish beavers luck tonight at Safari West. Rusty Cohn of Napa will be sharing some great photos tomorrow and Cheryl Reynolds will be generously dog-sitting in my absence,
If only CS Lewis had not had Mr Beaver sitting at a hole in the ice until he had “whisked out a beautiful trout”.
