PUBLISHER’S COLUMN | Optimism growing as recession fades away

During the past several weeks, I’ve had some interesting and enlightening conversations with a few key people in the community, both on North and Central Whidbey. There seems to be a common thread — a belief, really — that things are getting better every day.

March 11, 2015 11:22 am

During the past several weeks, I’ve had some interesting and enlightening conversations with a few key people in the community, both on North and Central Whidbey.

There seems to be a common thread — a belief, really — that things are getting better every day.

Real estate sales are on the rise on Whidbey Island and retail businesses in our community are reporting sales that range from respectable to strong.

This past weekend’s Musselfest in downtown Coupeville kicked off the tourist season on Central Whidbey with a big bang. It’s estimated that at least 6,000 people flooded into the town of about 1,850. For the first time, town police had to direct traffic.

And last month on South Whidbey, organizers of Langley’s Mystery Weekend reported the Feb. 21 event saw a bump in attendance over 2014 with about 1,250 tickets sold this year.

Even with all of the encouraging signs, it seems to all boil down to a feeling, and things are feeling pretty good right now.

People are feeling good. People are expressing optimism.

The economic woes that we’ve been enduring for years now seem to be burning away like the hazy morning mist wafting over this island’s vistas.

Recent conversations about the disappearing clouds have been predicated with a certain cautiousness. There’ve been glimmers of hope before that seemed to evaporate. Nobody wants to jinx it.

During the deepest pit of the recession, there seemed to be a negative, divisive element that picked away at local morale by capitalizing on the feeling of exhaustion over the economic slump. Finger pointing and name calling became acceptable in online forums. No proposed solutions offered, just attacks and blame.

I’d like to believe that people have grown tired of that mudslinging and the wallowing in absurd negativity.

An important part of turning around an economy lies in our attitudes and beliefs. The we-can-do-it attitude is taking root, and there is a growing feeling that great times are imminent.

I feel it too. It’s like electricity in the air, and it’s exciting.

Brighter times are ahead, and it’s up to each of us to build on the growing optimism to keep our community headed in the right direction.