August 27, 2004

Sports get going on the island: Even with all the rain - over three inches this week - fall sports got started this week. All the high school sports are getting ready for games in a couple of weeks, while the football Tigers (middle school & below) have games tomorrow at the elementary field.

All week the British Soccer Camp (sponsored by Island Rec) has been firing up the younger-than-high school players at the elementary school. Here are some pictures taken in the sun on Monday before the heavens opened...see who you know in there. That's Cody to the left, with Peter right behind. Their mostly-eighth-grade U-14 team starts practice on Monday.

Candidate forum: The forums were held this week on the different islands so folks could get a look at the different candidates...the forums basically allow the people running to give statements, since it's not set up in a debate format. Most of the candidates have websites so you can get an in-depth look at what they're about. Do that.

It's nearly time for the election - even though the primary date is Sept. 14th, the absentee ballots go out next week to more than half the county. Do your homework & get ready.

Missing Frank: It was neat that the EMT center on Spring Street honored Frank Wilson this spring by naming the building for him. Frank's crediting with getting the island's first class EMT going back in the late '70s & early '80s. He was a great one...condolences to Janet and to us all, as he passed away earlier this week. He'll be much missed.

Senator at the Fair: It was cool to run into US Senator Maria Cantwell at the Fair last week...she was personable, easy to talk to, and blended in with the crowd well. Nice to have her here...

New pilot for Harbor Press: After years of delivering high quality press work to countless organizations on the island, Chris Combs (left) has sold Harbor Press to Dennis Smith of Everett, who has brings decades of printing experience to the business as he moves to San Juan.

Chris and his wife Leslie bought Harbor Press back in '99 from the Journal after working there for the three previous years with Ralph Smith, who is no known relation to Dennis. Chris starts work next week with a firm on Shaw Island.

Shaw in good hands: As it happened, I went to Shaw this week to check in on some work with the school district, and ran into a familiar face: Carolyn Haugan just retired this June from our elementary school, and was chosen to serve as the superintendent - a part-time position, so she's still sorta retired. The little district has two classrooms with two teachers and 17 kids in grades K-8 this fall. That's here at the ferry landing on Shaw, in front of the store.

Global warming...yep: I mentioned back in 1999 that presidentail candidate Bush went on record as saying he didn't believe there was sufficient evidence to support the idea that global warming was happening. Looks like he's coming around.

And yes, this is local news...we HAVE to begin the process of adapting to the climate changes ahead, or we're going to be in a bad way. This island, this state, this country, this world....it's time for us to get our heads out of the sand on this one.

Quote: "If we would learn what the human race really is at bottom, we need only observe it in election times." - Mark Twain

August 23, 2004

All's Fair: One of the interesting things about living here on the island is that we all have to make a living in a relatively short season, especially people in the hospitality biz...only 3-5 months of summer, with a concentration of effort in July & August, which is when great crowds of visitors come.

Well, it's even more focused for the Fair, with only four days to do THEIR business, so it was really something to have it start raining around 11:30 on Saturday, and keep pouring for much of the afternoon. However, there were still a lot of people who came anyway (after all, we DO live here...it's not a surprise when it rains) and even more in the evening to eat & hear music.

It was heartening to see so many folks.

Photos from the Race & the Fair: I didn't get as many photos this year, partly because of other commitments, partly because of the rain, partly because of dead camera batteries. But I did get some (with the help of Shay & Cameron)... Here's a mixture of the 8.8 K Loop Run and various scenes from the week.

People you see in the pictures include Tony from the bank and his daughter Kate, Marilyn & Kevin O'Connor, Teresa DeGraaf, Eric Nash and Max & Binney, Steve Dubail, Steve Garfield, Dylan visiting from Bellingham, Belinda, Eric Wells, Britt from the Lavendar store, Liz & Janna, Sandy Baxter, Wendy Shepard, Lee Sturdivant, David Bayley, the Lehman family, Louis Paul, Clinton Gautier, Mike Adams on bass, Laura Chorba, Tom Doenges, Gary Roberts, Madison in the race, Shay Byington, John Pachuta & Jessie, Boo Boo, Jen Fleming, with Kim right behind, Sally Kerr, Lucas Franco, Cady Seiler, Eric Rothlisberger, Renee Polda, and Tami Doenges. And more.

That's the short list.

Speaking of the run, over 160+ runners ran Saturday morning under grey skies... here's the results - you'll see a lot of familiar names on there, so check and see who you know!

They're out there: The photo set above was sent to me by Ivan from the Western Prince late last week, when it was nice out...he tells me he got a new camera. Looks like it shoots pretty well. Or pretty whale.

August 20, 2004

Through a glass darkly: If you were in town, you could hear the foghorns and it's good you could hear, 'cause you sure couldn't see anything. I took a walk on the dock to see how it looked from there, and you can get a pretty good idea how grey it was in the picture to the left, taken around 7:30am or so.

I just spoke to my friend Lillan who is over in the middle of the island and she says it's beautiful over there, so it's breaking up already.

The Fair continues: The last couple of the days at the San Juan County Fair have had that usual gathering-of-the-clan feeling...it's always good to see who's in town, who's about to leave, and what people have been up to. The music has been fun - last night's Local Harvest Band was a blast with several hundred people hanging in there for a two and half hour set of local folks, led by Tom Doenges.

It was fun seeing all the babies - Mark & Jen Fleming's twins are huge! Leisha & Garrett's Kate is still smiling after a month, and there are bunches more.

It was fun to see the smile on Sam Asher's face after his bunny won a ribbon, and if you don't do ANYTHING else, be sure and see Robin Atkins' wall of photos from all over the islands inside the Fairgrounds Building...amazing stuff.

Sandy Baxter's visiting from the Midwest (that's her on the rights with Wendy Shepard), while Eva Wingren dropped by before taking off for college in Arizona yesterday. Tori Williams was there, and tells me her Artist Community page is doing pretty well.

I'm hoping to get over to the Fair today to take some pictures for you...mostly I've been busy visiting people at the fairgrounds instead of taking pix. Check back tomorrow. After the fog breaks.

The Animal Shelter checks in with a picture of charismatic metafauna: There are a good group of adoptable dogs & cats at our local Shelter. Leslie at the Shelter has a cat called Bobby Two Shoes to adopt, and she sent me this write up and photo:

HERE IS A CAT FOR YOU TO PUT ON THE WEB SITE.
HER NAME IS BOBBY TWO SHOES.  SHE WAS A STRAY THAT WAS FOUND BY LIMEKILN.  SHE CAME TO US PREGNANT AND HAD 6 BEAUTIFUL ORANGE TABBY KITTENS.  SHE IS ABOUT 5 YEARS OLD.  SHE IS PETTABLE, BUT A LITTLE SHY.  SHE WOULD MAKE A WONDERFUL PET IN A QUIET HOME WITH NO DOGS.

Quote: "The heart is a resilient little muscle." ~ Woody Allen

August 17, 2004

It all starts tomorrow: The Fair starts tomorrow at 10, with music, food, and all of us getting together for a few days. See you there!

Did you want to see several hundred photos of us all at last year's Fair? Click here to remember.

Rumble, rumble: Yep, that was thunder this morning right before seven - you could hear it all over the east side of the island. There's probably some rain today - you can hear all the gardens going, "Ahhhh."

I checked. It wasn't an earthquake.

Island Rec makes it clear: Probably THE issue in the upcoming Island Rec levy is this: What direction does Island Rec intend to go with regard to the gravel pit development? You'll remember the levy to begin development of the pit was soundly rejected last fall by voters.

Well, as far as I can tell, the Island Rec board got the message. The present levy is simply about maintaining what we have. That's it. The board explains that in a guest editorial on the San Juan Islander.

We get a lot for a little with this levy. Read the editorial if you have doubts, and please support it. I know I'm going to.

What to do with kids that drink, and their friends: Surveys have indicated this county has some of the highest teenage/underage drinking in the state. This Illinois town has begun an interesting, and controversial, approach: They cite not only underage drinkers, but also the other underage people at the party.

Hurricane: Mike Tranfro and his family just got back from Florida, where they were during Charley last week, He said the destruction was incredible....

With all the discussion about the damage in Florida, it's easy to overlook the other islands hit by the storm, including Cuba, where three people died.

Quote: Today's is a poem:

It's the dream we carry
that something wondrous will happen
that it must happen -
time will open
hearts will open
doors will open
mountains will open
spring will will gush forth from the ground
that the dream itself will open
that one morning we'll quietly drift
into a harbor we didn't know was there

Olav Hauge

Hitched: Over the weekend, Allison Pemberton married her friend Chris from Spokane with a mob of friends in attendance at Lakedale. She just graduated from Whitworth and they plan to settle in San Diego. Meanwhile, over at the Yacht Club, Susan Lemke and Jim McAdam brought their friends together for their wedding, with dancing that went on, into the night with brother Steve's band playing.

And a good time was had by all.

August 14, 2004

Surrounded: Overheard down near the harbor: A visitor to the island asked someone who worked there: "Nice harbor. Does the water go all the way around the island?"

My friend down there assured him it did.

We're good at answering those trick questions.

Soroptomist officers, announced: You know, I got a nice e-mail from Sally Kerr and Becki Day back in June when the Soroptomists installed their new officers, and some nice photos from Bette who was there...well, my scanner's on the fritz so I can't show you the pix till I get it fixed, but I can tell you who got elected & is now in charge. Here goes:

Judy Cornell President
Bette Cantrell VP
Judie Ross membership
Phyllis Davis Treasurer
Ellen Roberts Recording Secretary
Becky Day Corresponding Secretary
Bev Davia Director
Robin Jacobson Director
Vicky Thalacker Past President

Thanks!

Odd website of the day: I KNOW I haven't mentioned Britney Spears in this space since I mentioned that one of my eleven-year-old fans has a tape with me singing on one side and Britney on the other, so you've been wondering what's she's up to.

I was looking up something about semi-conductors the other day and found the Britney Spears Guide to Semiconductor Physics. Explains a lot.

July 23, 2004

Sunset: Ivan from Western Prince sent this sunset (left) from an evening cruise about a week ago.

About the heat: Here's the deal - it's going to be hot this weekend. Really hot - high 80s, low 90s, maybe more. It's really nice when this happens - it makes people from Arizona buy real estate 'cause they think it's like this all the time, people buy a lot of drinks at the market & in town, people eat out 'cause it's too hot to cook at home. So, this is good for business.

The other part may be more important: Just because it's hot is not an excuse to get cranky. Reality check: The beach is only THAT far away. If you're stressed, get over to the water & relax. Breathe. And enjoy being warm for once.

Most of you know I grew up in Alabama decades ago, so I know about hot. Here's the deal: Go slower. Maybe you thought Southerners were just lazy...nope, not at all. They're SMART. When it's hot, you go slower - you got a whole day to get through. Pace yourself & keep smiling.

Changes: You know that construction work that's happening there at the ferry dock to put new pilings in? It continues...I went to say howdy to Skip at Harbor Books this morning, and man, that's loud. As with all improvements, it'll be nice to see when it's done.

I went to see Dan at San Juan Transit to ask him if he's been busy this summer, but it was so crowded I didn't get a chance to ask.

Speaking of changes, have you been down to Island Dive to see what they're doing? They're nearly done with the re-organization of the store since Mike & Dawn bought it. Go check it out - lookin' good.

Speaking of Harbor Books, Ladd (photo at right) checks in:

Dear Ian, If you can, could you tell my friends that knew me from Harbor Bookstore that I'M STILL HERE!  I've just moved uphill a bit.  I'm working at the Pelindaba Downtown (or "the Downtown", as we call it).  Will look forward to seeing them! -- Ladd

Speaking of books, it was tough to hear that Lauren Stara's dog Jasmine died this week...Christine from the Library called to tell me, and it's pretty sad for Lauren to lose her longtime friend and for us to lose our friend who greeted us at the front of the place. Good library dogs are hard to come by.

Quote: "Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife are in fact plans to protect man." - Stuart Udall

Fingernail filings & related stuff: Just called Dan Gillespie the County elections dude and he reminded me that candidates have till 4:30pm next Friday to file to run for County office. He mumbled something about a modified dog running against Gus the dog for Commissioner, but I think that's a Frank Zappa song or something.

I don't want a pickle: Sharon from the San Juan Islander says Matt just got a motorcycle, but she doesn't want to ride on it, herself. That kinda reminds me of the old joke about what do you say to the backseat driver who tells you what to do on your bike: "What? Huh? What?"

I had a friend who rode around for years with his wife on his bike, with their relationship cemented by that level of communication.

July 19, 2004

Strong earthquake off Vancouver Island (this is from the Associated Press:)

SIDNEY, British Columbia -- The second strong earthquake in five days rocked the west coast of Vancouver Island early Monday, the Pacific Geoscience Centre said.

The earthquake, at 1:01 a.m. PDT, was measured at magnitude 6.1. Like the magnitude 5.8 quake early last Thursday, it was centered in the Nootka Sound area.

Seismologist John Cassidy said it was felt in communities across Vancouver Island and as far away as the city of Vancouver. Several small aftershocks also were recorded, Cassidy said.

Other than some items being knocked from shelves, there were no reports of damage.

July 18, 2004

Arts Fair rocks: To have a good arts fair you need a good location, really good art, a sunny day, and good music.

That happened yesterday as the fourth or fifth annual event happened right there on the in-town side of the courthouse lawn. The music was managed by Ed Wilson, who pulled together a great mix of talent that gathered a crowd each hour (the sound was mixed by Peter Boyle), and there was a steady flow of folks looking at the 42 vendor booths of paintings, glasswork, beads, photography, and kids' activities.

The Chamber's Debbie Pigman pulled it all together, organized the whole thing, and it worked.

That's Gary on congas, Michelle Franklin, Peter on sax, and Tim Franklin on guitar during their mid-afternoon set in the photo on the right.

Labs celebrates 100th: Over at the Friday Harbor Labs yesterday, they had an all-day celebration of their first 100 years, with food, and speeches by Bill Gates, Sr., Bill Ruckelshaus (first director of the EPA; he lives here), the president of the University of Washington, and more.

More visitors: In the last month, nearly 6,000 frontpage views for this Update have been recorded. Wow - thanks for checking in!

Around town:

In the last week I got to meet Amanda from the drug store's kid (a month old Friday), and heard Allison Posenjak's kid's doing great, too. Good moms with good kids.

Huge crowd at the Whale Museum's 25th anniversary party on Friday night. Former directors Howie Rosenfeld & Susan Vernon were in attendance, as well as present director Rich Osbourne, who noted his girl Megan wasn't born when he was working at the Museum as it started, and she's in her second year of college now. A generation passes to the next one.... There were also authors, volunteers, present staff, board members there...people who have helped shape the Museum, and who have been touched by it.

You know Danielle down at the grocery store? She tells me she's taking off for Tacoma in a few weeks to go to school there. I think she has a trip to Romania planned sometime before school starts as well.

Quote: "To the dull mind nature is leaden. To the illumined mind, the whole world burns and sparkles with light." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Other quote: I've always thought this little bit describes the perfect way to wake up & meet each day - see what you think:

"I bind unto myself today, the virtues of the starlit heaven, the glorious sun's life giving ray, the whiteness of the moon at even, the flashing of the lightning free, the whirling wind's tempestuous shocks, the stable earth, the deep salt sea, around the old eternal rocks." - St. Patrick's Breastplate, Hymn 370 in the Episcopal Church's 1982 Hymnal

Photos & lots of them: Were you in the parade? Here, check.

Read the Update from years gone by - history is doomed to repeat itself: