Paragraphs by Paul Miller
What would you do for the Marin community if you had more walking around money than George Lucas?
I can answer this question easily. I live in San Anselmo, so I would throw some serious coin at two projects. First, I would finance a traffic circle at what is known as The Hub intersection. Second, I would demolish the downtown's highest commercial building and rip up its adjacent parking lot and replace the space with a city park.
The Hub intersection has five major traffic arteries conking heads. Sir Francis Drake Boulevard moves vehicles day and night from Highway 101 west to Highway 1 near Tomales Bay. Redhill Avenue west from San Rafael feeds Drake. Another crossing busy street that intersects with Redhill and Drake is Center Boulevard that takes vehicles to Fairfax, west and beyond. And if you think this paragraph is convoluted, visit the Hub and its 470 traffic signals yourself! While you're there--most of the time sitting in your vehicle-- put on a carbon monoxide gas mask.
I remember how pleasant it was in small and large towns in Italy to never have to stop at a traffic light or stop sign for miles and miles. All I had to do is just slow down when I came to a traffic circle and just have careful fun. Were I unsure which road to take the first time I entered the circle, it was not a problem. Without being honked over, I could drive around again and again until my wife, hunched over a map, sweetly told me where to correctly leave the circle ("Now, idiot!"). The most entertaining and exciting traffic circle, of course, is around that huge arch that Lance Armstrong circled so many times in Paris. But get some practice before you take it on.
Speaking of Paris, I want a park in San Anselmo like the ones that are all over that French city. Small, well-kept garden oases with benches and one fountain are in highly populated neighborhoods, commercial areas and often next to underground train entrances and bus stops. These kinds of small parks in Paris are just lovely surprises to weary tourists.
A park like that with my donation would rid San Anselmo of its chief eye-sore, the bank that was somehow given a building permit at Woodside and San Anselmo avenues decades ago. When I lived in Southern California, I liked the place for consistently fast drivers, for friendly residents, and for body surfing beaches that are the best on Earth. But I hated SoCal for its riff-raff architecture, for its buildings that screamed, "Don't look at me! I will ruin your day." If I were a rich man, da...dye...dee...dye, you can bet that I would walk through San Anselmo's exceedingly charming downtown without ever having a ruined day.
Please post a paragraph below in the comments section explaining what you would do for Marin if you were a billionaire.
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Long time Marinite Paul Miller
was editorial cartoonist for the Marin IJ, sports cartoonist for the
Novato Advance, a cover cartoonist for the Pacific Sun, and is
currently a cartoonist illustrator for The Ark. He's had cartoons
published in the San Francisco Chronicle and his surf paintings have
been published on the Surfriders Foundation website. He joins MoreMarin
as a contributing editorial cartoonist.
Miller, a former Marine
and UCLA graduate, taught a cartooning course in the art department at
the College of Marin. His paintings and drawings are in private
collections in California, Arizona, Washington, Hawaii, Texas, Florida
and Provence, France. Miller's book, A Cartoonist's Guide to Prostate Cancer, was described by Dr. Dean Edell as "a must for any man facing prostate cancer!"
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