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By Dave Stancliff for the Mail Tribune October 05. 2014 12:01AM After a year, still happy to be here I’ve learned to take life a day at a time. To stop and smell the roses. To treat every hour with respect. To chill out when things aren’t going my way. To tell my wife (and other loved ones) that I love them as often as possible. That extends to appreciating where I live. Although I was born in Ohio, I spent a combination of only four years there over a large span of time.  California was a different story. I spent over 60 years in California divided between the northern and southern parts of the state. I particularly liked Northern California’s coast. It’s where I retired from my career in journalism. Over the decades, I described myself as a “Californian” in most conversations. After all, I spent most of my life there. Then the planets shifted. My wife and I moved to Medford. Sept. 1st was our one-year anniversary living in the Beaver State. True to form, I’m heeding the old proverb, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Why an English proverb is used to single out Romans and Roman values I’ll never understand. The point is, it’s a good idea to do what the natives do if you want to stay out of trouble and fit in with folks. One of the first things my wife and I did was get to know our neighbors. Our house is in a quiet neighborhood, and I’m pleased to say full of nice people. I don’t think we ever lived in a neighborhood where we practically knew every person on the block within the first year. We’re aware that we can’t claim to be native Oregonians, but we sure can blend in over time. Simply put; we love this state. Getting all four seasons is a real novelty for us both. At first, we wondered if the winter was going to be more than we could handle. The amount of snow that came down surprised us. Locals assured us that it was a rare winter when Jackson County would get that much snowfall. We had a pipe burst in our front yard when the temps sunk below zero. Then, after two days of continued snowfall, our heater went out. We called the repairman, but he was overloaded with other suddenly needy customers that we had to wait another 24 hours before he came and fixed it. Just to show what sports we are, my wife and I aren’t complaining about the weather, however. Not even when it shot into the 100s and sent us scurrying indoors. It never got hotter than 80 degrees in Northern California’s coastal area where we previously lived. But that’s OK. We’re taking it a day at a time. Many thanks to all of the nice people we’ve been fortunate to meet in restaurants and while shopping. We're proud to call ourselves “Oregonians” now, and look forward to every day of our new life here. Dave Stancliff lives in Medford. Call for submissions Do you have a point? Then maybe you can be a columnist for a day. Email a 500-word column to Mail Tribune features editor David Smigelski at [email protected], and include your city of residence. The rules are simple. Keep it short. Have a point. Don’t cuss. And make us glad we asked. http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20141005/NEWS/141009938 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->