"If Selma Says It's Right, It Must be Right" - the tag line of the poster we made in the early 1980s, when Santa Barbara voters passed the only pro-development referendum since the day Selma arrived. After years of fighting, Fess Parker, the Community Environmental Council, and the City Council had reached an agreement on what is today the Doubletree Hotel on East Beach. While environmentalists (including myself) were not especially excited about the hotel, we agreed it was the best deal that could be made - a low-profile hotel (to avoid blocking mountain views) with substantial provision of public space, viewed as better then the alternative, since the area was zoned for hotel-motel development. Not all environmentalists agreed, however, and enough signatures were gathered for a referendum. I don't think Davy Crockett or Daniel Boone would have carried the day, but Selma's word was enough to guarantee voter approval for building the hotel.
Selma's word was always anough. When we lost our house in the Tea Fire, Selma called and offered to give us some of her books. We promptly forgot about the offer, but Selma persisted, reminding us every time our paths crossed. Eventually we gave in and stopped by, and Selma again insisted: "I don't want them sold to just anyone for a dollar and a half each. Take them all," she commanded. Selma, it turned out, had a treaure trove of books - an entire progressive/left/socialist library, bound volumes of classics, collectors items, and - amazingly - a 45rpm record and instruction book, "Chairman Mao's 4 Minute Physical Fitness Plan." Selma chanelling Mao for physical fitness? We carted off a carload of books, while Selma celebrated her success in at least partially depleting her collection (books lined her shelves 2 and 3 deep).
Karen and I visited Selma in the hospital a few weeks before she died, when she was in for treatment of lung cancer. She railed against the cost of the chemo she was required to undergo, explaining how she had categorically refused to pay for medication that cost thousands of dollars a week. Selma dug her heels in, and eventually the hospital agreed to slash its cost - most likely out of fear for the consequences if they refused. Selma also told us how she planned to be cremated, but had rejected the $55 for the higher-priced urn; a plastic one, at $25 or so, would do just fine.
Selma was forever young in her intellect, her spirit, even her voice. She never wavered in her relentless optimism, carrying the world with her by sheer force of will. She was the thread that knitted together the many strands of Santa Barbara's progressive community, as we saw tonight at the lovely and moving memorial service. Like Joe Hill, she is not dead - not in our spirit, not in our actions.
