BY BILLY FRIED

It ’ s the shortest day of the year , and I ’ m on my kayak , threading the reefs at low tide . It ’ s sunbaked , windless and still , the small surges spreading languidly over the rocks , only to collapse back onto themselves and gently into the sea . Sit long enough , and you become part of the rhythm , undulating up and down and taken where the sea wants you . And when you look down at the crystal-clear winter waters beneath , you grasp the power of nature to regenerate and renew . It ’ s magnificent and a perfect place to ruminate over the close of another year and the start of a new one .

This is the day when the North Pole reaches its furthest tilt away from the sun . It ’ s the cosmic turning point , with the belief in many indigenous cultures that light has triumphed over darkness - a return to life that is essential to all civilizations .

So , while we are still mired in a historic drought that could see our water supplies of Lake Powell and Lake Mead turn into “ dead pools ” by 2025 ( where water would no longer flow past the Hoover Dam , cutting off flow to Arizona , Mexico , and yes , California ), we have definitely received our share of early , life-affirming rain . Now , if only the gods will bless us with more . Lots more . Because otherwise , there won ’ t be anything to be thankful for .

But in the meantime , water flows from our faucets , and we ’ ve been spared from fire . Sweet Jesus !

And whether you believe the science or not , we have definitely emerged from the deadly scourge of Coronavirus and mostly gotten our lives back . Sure , we are living with it now , but it is a lesser version of itself that isn ’ t nearly as deadly – or life-constricting . Here in Laguna , we have gained the tremendous gift of outdoor dining and the soon-to-bepermanent pedestrian promenade at

Forest . And we have seen the mass adoption of electric bikes , thinning our streets of traffic and giving our youth freedom like never before . No small victories those .

We have also finally purged ourselves of toxic politicians , locally and nationally . As the Jan . 6 committee has so effectively demonstrated , crimes were committed , the foundation of our democracy was threatened , and no one is above the law . On the local level , our community proved it would not tolerate abusive behavior and would not buy into the myth that Laguna was under siege from developers . And in the process began a youth movement with the election of a promising 25-year-old neophyte named Alex .

The homespun , bromantic Brooks Street Surf contest happened this year after a too-long four-year hiatus . The Coast Film Festival celebrated its fourth year in grand style with hometown legends Honk playing a live soundtrack to the fiftieth-anniversary screening of “ Five Summer Stories ” from the great Greg MacGillivray . The Aquathon was back as well , on a big , beautiful life-affirming day . Art and Nature too . And what about that Breakers football team ? Who thought an affluent coastal community could

produce such a talented team that galvanized our entire town ?

Art and Music continue to be everywhere . Music at Bluebird Park was back , with new venues at the Promenade , Laguna Beach Beer Company , The Lumberyard , and the mighty Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Center .

The City is buying St Catherine ’ s school campus , which could add needed resources like a skate park , swimming pool , satellite police department , or even affordable or senior housing . We took control of our library and got a pledge from the County to upgrade it .

The town ’ s first artist live-work complex will open in the coming year . Now that the scaffolding is down , we can see how cool this building will actually be in fostering the careers of over 30 working artists , hopefully , a model for the future lifeblood of our town ’ s artistic legacy .

We are about to take jurisdiction of our beaches in South Laguna . I hope this is a good thing , with local stewardship perhaps providing greater support for our wondrous full moon drum circle at Aliso Beach . Perhaps the fire spinners will be allowed

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