To My "Daughter" Judah
Looking north across Seattle's Ship CanalSelf-Portrait
Well, hi again, folks. It’s been kind of a sad past week, hasn’t it, then, eh? Some good people are no longer with us and the reaction worldwide and certainly among this readership strongly suggests that English cleric, essayist, and poet John Donne was right when, in the second paragraph of Meditations XVII, he contended:
“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.”
Well, I for one was delighted to see that Minnesota finally decided on who their other senator is going to be. My best friend/”kid brother” Denny’s from the Red River Valley so I got to kid him about Jesse Ventura and Al Franken both. NOT one of my better ideas. Why? (Sigh)
I was raised in California? As in Governor Ronald Regan, Senator George Murphy and the present governor, whose last name I don’t even want to try to spell? Point, game and match to the Minnesota farm boy.
The Denster and I have both been in the Pacific Northwest for well over 30 years now, though, and we’re living in a state which has produced two outstanding women governors, two U.S. Senators of considerable integrity, who also happen to be women; and so far, under the present presidential administration, those we’ve sent to ”the other Washington” include a former governor, a King County chief executive and a Seattle Police chief. So we figure it’s all worked out the way it was intended. But maybe that’s just us, eh?
This week’s critter story is a LIT-TLE weird, even for this column and for Seattle. (But not for you yahoos and yahoo-ettes, no offence and just sayin’) Several days back, someone caught a giant squid right from the shore near a boat house pier in West Seattle. What it was doing there, no one’s quite sure. It was returned to the water but, for other reasons upon which we can only speculate, it was later “retrieved” by Fish and Wildlife, who said it was the biggest of its kind seen in the area.
As near as we can figure, considering the “encroachment” of bear and cougar from the landward side of Seattle and the fun Fish and Wildlife has had with them, they’re just not really in the mood to fight containment on two fronts. Totally unreliable and unconfirmed sources report that this squid is going to be reeducated and returned to the Puget Sound to spread the word among its mates to just cool it for awhile until negotiations have been reached with said bears and cougars.
Stranger things happen out here, folks. Trust me on this one. Like the 3.7 earthquake we had on July 1 here that hardly anyone really noticed. We’ve been told by the University of Washington’s seismology lab that this is a wakeup call. But I live four blocks west of that lab and I haven’t noticed anything in the behaviour of my neighbours which suggests we’re the slightest bit worried about it.
But then that’s us. We live with volcanoes, earthquakes, a bit of rain now and then, the odd week-long blizzard, hot summers, weather as schizophrenic as the Seven Faces of Eve, The Boeing Aircraft Company, Microsoft (no offence Melinda and Mr. Gates), and other natural and unnatural phenomenon. We’re also slowly pulling out of this current recession so it’s probably just a matter of priorities. Nature we know. The rest of it, just like everyone else, we’re still studying on some.
I’m also very proud to report that our Canadian cousins are kicking a little slumlord butt in Vancouver. According to the Sun’s Rebecca teBrake, The city now has the ability to take landlords to court to ensure that buildings are kept in a safe condition, and will consider this week whether to use that option in an ongoing battle with the owners of a rundown Dundas Street apartment building.
They’ve been fighting this one hard since 2005 and as far as I’m concerned, even if you’ve no particular fondness for “Canucks,” this is still good city government in action.
Under the heading “recognition long overdue” and this one I love because I hate women driver jokes, on July 4th, President Obama gave the Congressional Gold Medal to a group of World War II veterans most folks have never heard of. They were test pilots of military aircraft; they trained and they ferried all manner of aircraft across the Atlantic when they were needed most.
They were known as WASPs, Women Airforce Service Pilots and according to the National Public Radio story:
“Even though they wore uniforms and worked on bases, they were never considered members of the military. Their contribution to the war effort was so controversial, in fact, that all records pertaining to their service were sealed and deemed classified in 1944. That pretty much consigned the WASP to the dustbin of history for decades.”
Theirs is an incredible story and one more chapter in the history of women who have been serving valiantly in battle on this planet for at least the last 4,000 years. It’s nice to see America getting up to speed on that one. No offence intended, Mr. Obama. And I assume none taken, Mr. President.
I’d also personally like to thank President Obama for going to Russia and getting the Strategic Arms Limitations Talks going again. Ever since Seattle went digital tv, I’ve been able to relax with “vintage” (notice the wince?) movies and I watched Meteor this weekend. Sean Connery alert here folks.
It’s nice to see our two countries getting together BEFORE the cosmic “big one”. And remember Brian Keith? He played the Russian scientist involved in helping save the world. Say whatever you want about Hollywood, there’s no denying creative casting when it slaps you on the butt. Yep, I digress.
And on a final and hopefully encouraging and empowering note, we’ve taken a look at some economic forecasts and the news is guardedly optimistic. We just could be pulling out of this current economic downturn as early as this year. Check this out and judge for yourselves. It’s headlined:
Is The Worst Of It Over? Most Economists Say Yes
It’s been an admittedly tough week and there’s no getting around that, is there? I mean really? But then again now ~ and across the four nations this blog reaches ~ we’re tough folks when the times require and this too will pass, right? Until next week then, take care, stay well and God Bless. And thanks for the ear. (and stuff)
Rusty aka Mick McGuire
NORTHSTAR RECOMMENDS
The Tomatoman Times – a life commentary blog with the blended stylings of John Steinbeck, Mark Twain, Jack London and Will Rogers. Poignant, at times rancorous but very contemporary and an ultimate celebration.
Vinyl Cafe with Stuart McLean – Live from the smallest record store in North America. Canadian humour, entertainment and commentary at its maple leaf best. Popular on National Public Radio in the States.
Ask Barbie, Advice Columnist. -- a blog that delivers the amiable maternalism of Ms. Landers, the slightly off-centre humour of Erma Bombeck and the ingenuousness of an unreconstructed romantic with no axes to grind.
Sightline Daily (formerly Tidepool) – The United Press International/BBC/CBC/Reuters of the American Northwest. Delivered by email to subscribers and available on their web site, they offer news shorts with links to the source. Its editors draw from a coverage area which includes Alaska, British Columbia, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. They also put out an excellent weekly environmental edition. And they’re growing.
If you folks have any to recommend, send them to us and we’ll check them out.
minstrel312@aol.com
Rusty
“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.”
Well, I for one was delighted to see that Minnesota finally decided on who their other senator is going to be. My best friend/”kid brother” Denny’s from the Red River Valley so I got to kid him about Jesse Ventura and Al Franken both. NOT one of my better ideas. Why? (Sigh)
I was raised in California? As in Governor Ronald Regan, Senator George Murphy and the present governor, whose last name I don’t even want to try to spell? Point, game and match to the Minnesota farm boy.
The Denster and I have both been in the Pacific Northwest for well over 30 years now, though, and we’re living in a state which has produced two outstanding women governors, two U.S. Senators of considerable integrity, who also happen to be women; and so far, under the present presidential administration, those we’ve sent to ”the other Washington” include a former governor, a King County chief executive and a Seattle Police chief. So we figure it’s all worked out the way it was intended. But maybe that’s just us, eh?
This week’s critter story is a LIT-TLE weird, even for this column and for Seattle. (But not for you yahoos and yahoo-ettes, no offence and just sayin’) Several days back, someone caught a giant squid right from the shore near a boat house pier in West Seattle. What it was doing there, no one’s quite sure. It was returned to the water but, for other reasons upon which we can only speculate, it was later “retrieved” by Fish and Wildlife, who said it was the biggest of its kind seen in the area.
As near as we can figure, considering the “encroachment” of bear and cougar from the landward side of Seattle and the fun Fish and Wildlife has had with them, they’re just not really in the mood to fight containment on two fronts. Totally unreliable and unconfirmed sources report that this squid is going to be reeducated and returned to the Puget Sound to spread the word among its mates to just cool it for awhile until negotiations have been reached with said bears and cougars.
Stranger things happen out here, folks. Trust me on this one. Like the 3.7 earthquake we had on July 1 here that hardly anyone really noticed. We’ve been told by the University of Washington’s seismology lab that this is a wakeup call. But I live four blocks west of that lab and I haven’t noticed anything in the behaviour of my neighbours which suggests we’re the slightest bit worried about it.
But then that’s us. We live with volcanoes, earthquakes, a bit of rain now and then, the odd week-long blizzard, hot summers, weather as schizophrenic as the Seven Faces of Eve, The Boeing Aircraft Company, Microsoft (no offence Melinda and Mr. Gates), and other natural and unnatural phenomenon. We’re also slowly pulling out of this current recession so it’s probably just a matter of priorities. Nature we know. The rest of it, just like everyone else, we’re still studying on some.
I’m also very proud to report that our Canadian cousins are kicking a little slumlord butt in Vancouver. According to the Sun’s Rebecca teBrake, The city now has the ability to take landlords to court to ensure that buildings are kept in a safe condition, and will consider this week whether to use that option in an ongoing battle with the owners of a rundown Dundas Street apartment building.
They’ve been fighting this one hard since 2005 and as far as I’m concerned, even if you’ve no particular fondness for “Canucks,” this is still good city government in action.
Under the heading “recognition long overdue” and this one I love because I hate women driver jokes, on July 4th, President Obama gave the Congressional Gold Medal to a group of World War II veterans most folks have never heard of. They were test pilots of military aircraft; they trained and they ferried all manner of aircraft across the Atlantic when they were needed most.
They were known as WASPs, Women Airforce Service Pilots and according to the National Public Radio story:
“Even though they wore uniforms and worked on bases, they were never considered members of the military. Their contribution to the war effort was so controversial, in fact, that all records pertaining to their service were sealed and deemed classified in 1944. That pretty much consigned the WASP to the dustbin of history for decades.”
Theirs is an incredible story and one more chapter in the history of women who have been serving valiantly in battle on this planet for at least the last 4,000 years. It’s nice to see America getting up to speed on that one. No offence intended, Mr. Obama. And I assume none taken, Mr. President.
I’d also personally like to thank President Obama for going to Russia and getting the Strategic Arms Limitations Talks going again. Ever since Seattle went digital tv, I’ve been able to relax with “vintage” (notice the wince?) movies and I watched Meteor this weekend. Sean Connery alert here folks.
It’s nice to see our two countries getting together BEFORE the cosmic “big one”. And remember Brian Keith? He played the Russian scientist involved in helping save the world. Say whatever you want about Hollywood, there’s no denying creative casting when it slaps you on the butt. Yep, I digress.
And on a final and hopefully encouraging and empowering note, we’ve taken a look at some economic forecasts and the news is guardedly optimistic. We just could be pulling out of this current economic downturn as early as this year. Check this out and judge for yourselves. It’s headlined:
Is The Worst Of It Over? Most Economists Say Yes
It’s been an admittedly tough week and there’s no getting around that, is there? I mean really? But then again now ~ and across the four nations this blog reaches ~ we’re tough folks when the times require and this too will pass, right? Until next week then, take care, stay well and God Bless. And thanks for the ear. (and stuff)
Rusty aka Mick McGuire
NORTHSTAR RECOMMENDS
The Tomatoman Times – a life commentary blog with the blended stylings of John Steinbeck, Mark Twain, Jack London and Will Rogers. Poignant, at times rancorous but very contemporary and an ultimate celebration.
Vinyl Cafe with Stuart McLean – Live from the smallest record store in North America. Canadian humour, entertainment and commentary at its maple leaf best. Popular on National Public Radio in the States.
Ask Barbie, Advice Columnist. -- a blog that delivers the amiable maternalism of Ms. Landers, the slightly off-centre humour of Erma Bombeck and the ingenuousness of an unreconstructed romantic with no axes to grind.
Sightline Daily (formerly Tidepool) – The United Press International/BBC/CBC/Reuters of the American Northwest. Delivered by email to subscribers and available on their web site, they offer news shorts with links to the source. Its editors draw from a coverage area which includes Alaska, British Columbia, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. They also put out an excellent weekly environmental edition. And they’re growing.
If you folks have any to recommend, send them to us and we’ll check them out.
minstrel312@aol.com
Rusty
No comments:
Post a Comment