Like any community, Orcas Island is a community of people with different cultural traditions and different religious beliefs. To some, December is an important time.

There are many different observances, and by virtue of being near the close of a year, they come at a time for reflection on all our common bonds.

We mourned together this year (600 people attended the memorial service for Judge John Linde on Dec. 12). We struggled to pay bills together (sales and lodging tax revenues are their lowest in five years). We raised money to help others (numerous Orcas residents received community funds for cancer treatment). We saved programs and services that enhance our local quality of life (thanks to our vote for Proposition 1 and the formation of an Orcas Rec District). We saw need and responded (the Food Bank is serving record numbers every week).

There are so many more examples. Each and every one illustrates why living on an island is different. This island is like a ship at sea. Surrounded by water, decisions we make and how we live affects our neighbors in an immediate way. We need each other.

As we’ve seen this year – indeed, as we see year after year – each of us matters here. We each have a part to play. In this community of 4,500 people, on this northwesternmost spot in the continental United States, no one is anonymous. We each have the capacity to make sure no one falls through the cracks. When times are tough – and we hope they won’t get tougher in 2010 – that’s how we will survive.

We head into a new year together, remembering as the author Robert Fulghum wrote, that “no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.”