I’m writing from West Africa, having spent the evening with my son’s Senegalese family. (He is here on a study abroad.) The evening passed with relaxed conversation (en Francais!) and much laughter. What struck me was how human it felt. In the ever-quickening pace of life back home, it’s easy to forget how important it is to connect with others in a leisurely way.
Before I left, I spent ten days in Ojai. While radically different from Dakar, there was again that sense of connectedness, whether shopping for food at the market or stopping for tea and chatting with locals. Our species is meant to gather sustenance from ordinary moments with friends as we go about our day, as I did last week with David Anawalt at Levon’s shoe repair, sharing news as we waited in line, as humans have done for thousands of years.
Having lived here for over 35 years, it has become increasingly rare that I bump into locals when I do my errands. This is what we are fighting to hold onto in Malibu. I ask our council members, city staff, chamber and developers to recognize the importance of establishing a process for businesses to register with the city so that we can work toward a more balanced offering of shopping opportunities for visitors and locals alike.
Please stop misrepresenting facts or using scare tactics suggesting that current businesses would be in jeopardy, or that any store that is part of a chain would be forbidden from Malibu. That simply isn’t true, and unless we work together with integrity and honesty, we are at risk of losing the unique feel of our town.
Being here in Africa has underscored the importance of the small things that make the biggest difference; an unexpected conversation with a friend, working out carpool details as you buy plants at the local nursery. We are so fortunate to live in such an extraordinary place. If you’ve ever been to a place like this, you feel that you come from an embarrassment of riches.
Please honor the wishes of residents and keep alive the possibility that our town can have diverse retail that includes shops catering to those who call Malibu home, preserving the sense of community it allows us to enjoy.
Susan Stiffelman