I ran across a quote recently from Vernon Sanders Law that gave me pause. “Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards.” My first thoughts were about the recent Darrington and Oso tragedy and how we learn from it and move forward.

It is totally understandable that fear can creep in as we start to tally the expenses and costs. Also, it is human nature to want to clutch our proverbial wallets, second-guess our previous decisions, and stop spending. Sadly, in our hearts, we know this won’t be the last tragedy we encounter in our lifetimes. Important choices will need to be made on issues that warrant our attention.

I started to think about how the people of New York City responded in the aftermath of 9/11 and remembered seeing Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) appear on “Saturday Night Live” three weeks later. Mayor Giuliani said “having our city’s institutions up and running sends a message that New York City is open for business.” With that one sentence, Mayor Giuliani sent a message to his city, our nation, and the world, that New York was going to be brave and keep moving forward. I thought about what it means to be brave, even when you are nervous or scared.

I hope we are able to continue being brave and making thoughtful, clear-minded decisions not only in the short-term, but also for the long-term legacy we leave to our children and grandchildren. Now is the time for us to stick together, seek the best and brightest ideas from each other, and when we disagree let’s “disagree without being disagreeable.” To borrow from Mr. Giuliani, let’s show “Snohomish County is open for business.”

Let’s stay “Oso-Strong” when we start to feel “Oh-so-scared.”

Theresa Robinson

Mill Creek