Remember Christmas spirit the whole year through

Published: December 24, 2009 6:00 PM

http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_north/comoxvalleyrecord/opinion/80025912.html

The holiday season is about caring, love and charity — about the things that are good in a community.

It's a time when people can look back on their year, reflecting on how they did when it came to caring about others. It's a time when they can think about how they'd like to do it better.

Hopefully, Jessica's story helps them in that reflection.

Jessica, a transgendered woman mid-transition, moved to the Comox Valley looking for a warm community to support her as she navigated a dramatic life change.

How nice that a columnist for the local newspaper is speaking up.  I'm not familiar with the area, but apparently it has a fast growing population and is located on the east coast of Vancouver Island, 100 miles NW of Vancouver, BC. 

The Wikipedia article says: "the Comox Valley is very attractive to people looking for small town and rural alternatives to suburban homogenization and urban congestion."  I guess that could be good or bad.  Small towns can be friendly and supportive, but they can also be suspicious of outsiders and judgmental towards persons who are deemed "different."