Those of you who like ancient history will remember the myth of Sisyphus. Sisyphus had annoyed the gods who sentenced him to push a huge rock up the mountain. And when he reached the top and was exhaustibly wiping his brow and relaxing, he looked up to see the rock rolling down the mountain. Hero that he was, he went down and started pushing it up again.
I’d like to bring that story up to date. The mountain was the Bond Issue. We had to have 66 2/3 percent of the voting population for it to pass. The rock was the city that owned little land. There were only 10 or so buildable vacant lots left that could be used for public common areas. Much of that land was already in the development planning stage.
And Sisyphus was a Malibu miracle of great fighters who had been fighting each other, who joined together to pass the bond. All the great fighters answered three multiple choice questions.
Which would you rather see in Malibu: Land for parking and playgrounds or strip malls; land for a community center or condo complexes; land for natural habitat and trails or large shopping centers?
That all answered the same was what brought the coalition together and kept them together. About halfway up the mountain, (during the campaign), the whole mountain range began to suffer major earthquakes of terror. US News and World Report called the period between Sept. 11 and the present a “fear recession” and stated, “Americans who have money don’t want to spend it even if they are flush.”
When voting figures came in, we were so close to the top. I was so proud of my community I wanted to weep for joy. Some 62 percent of my fellow citizens voted “yes.” The Miracle Coalition indeed knew it had served a Miracle City. To all of you wonderful, caring people who made his possible, thank you!
Georgianna McBurney