During the last few months I have been present at public gatherings where someone mentions the NATIONAL GUARD, FEMA, or MARTIAL LAW. I have also received e-mail related to the National Guard or the local Office of Emergency Services for the county. In some cases I have sensed so great insecurity about "Us and Them". On one occasion I listened to a young man express his fear and sense of isolation from the individuals in the guard. What could they do to us? how could they, where did they get the right? and so forth.

At that meeting I reminded him and the others in the audience that these folks are our neighbors, are grocers, our civic leaders and even members of our family. I reminded him and the audience that these folks had taken an oath to work for the benefit of the community potentially at risk to themselves. Most of us can think about the floods in Sonoma County and some of the airborne evacuations that they have performed. I also remeinded him that we are not "doing Viet Nam Protest anymore " where the troops got the brunt of anger and hurt.

Something else has been on my mind too. It just seems as if the various government levels and agencies are doing a lot of planning, just as we are. It also seems as if no one is really talking to, or engaging any of, the civilian leadership involved with y2k neighbor hood organizing. Neither side really knows the nitty gritty of what challanges are faced as education is conducted in meetings , town hall get togethers, and individual discussions.

Given all of this , I went to the Sonoma County Office of Emergency Services and the National Guard detachment in Santa Rosa today. While I was there, I invited the person I spoke with to come to the Health and Harmony Faire and come to our booth and see us for who we are. We are just like them. My Goodness! I asked the county emergency staffer and the specialist for the national guard to extend this invitation to their fellow staffers and soldiers and their supervisors and the commander. I wanted them to know what we are doing, to be transparent if you will. While I was there, I showed them the Sebastopol Map of y2k neighborhoods (21% of the town population) so that they could see the magnitude of what we were creating.

And finally, I emplored them to start crossing the bridges and speak with the civilian leadership beyond the halls of government. I told them that the planning (in some cases secret) at government levels was just not filtering down to the folks on the street and that some type of effort to merge our collective activities would soon be necessary. After all, there are more of us than there are staffers and soldiers.

So, I expect to see some of them come by our y2k booth , take a look, listen a little , and just maybe share some of their lives with us. To that end, if you are a y2k leader or someone just reading our web site, I emplore you also. Pick up the phone give em a call and tell them thanks for their efforts to prepare for y2k. Let them know you are involved, a real person, and that you would like to share the load with them . If you are more comfortable writing them with some type of similar message, tell them thanks and tell them what you are doing in your neighborhood. It might just be that you will be the person to educate them about y2k out in citizen land.

The local Office of Emergency Services is : 565-1152 , 2300 County Center Drive Bldg. A, Room 221, Santa Rosa, Calif. 95403

The National Guard number is: 545-2141 , HHC579th Engineer Batallion, 1500 Armory Drive, Santa Rosa, Ca. 95401

I will be similarly inviting our town council to come to the booth. So far they have kept out of site and relatively unconected.I have also mailed an opportunity to the West County Administrator to meet with us folks west of Hwy 101. I hav yet to receive a return letter or call. I suspect that, if there is anything to this y2k event, it is about making human connections. My best to you all. Fred

-- fred beeler (fbeeler@yahoo.com), May 13, 1999