Thursday, June 30, 2005
Seattle v. San Francisco
Family road trips--especially our family road trips--create inside jokes that will last a life time. I have visions of future Thanksgiving dinners with Lucas and his wife and children and Kaley and her husband and children sitting around the dining room table while we tell the family stories. I picture Kaley's husband and Lucas's wife with odd and bored looks on their faces because the humor will not be fresh enough for them to even begin to understand. For example, all I have to do is mention "Elk Crossing" to my kids and the response will be uncontrolled laughter followed by comment after comment about elk sunning themselves on the Oregon beaches or surfing. See, you'd have to have been in my car.
As a result of stepped up security, students can no longer obtain their study visas to France via the mail. They must appear in person and the nearest French consulate for us is in San Francisco. We loaded up our smallest car (because of gas prices) with most everything we owned except, of course, Dave's cell phone, my cell phone, and the camera and off we went. The entire visa process took 20 minutes but that is because I went over the long list of necessary items with my son several times. We have lived in France and they can be picky; one "i" not dotted properly and they send you out the door which happened to a UC-Berkeley student while we were there. Naturally, all he needed to do was take a 20 minute Bart ride to get his missing photocopy of his student ID...but for us!!??. Needless to say, I was a little sweaty and nervous during the 20 minutes at the French Consulate in San Francisco.
I did not come back with pictures but I did come back with some unscientific observations comparing two great West Coast cities. To be honest, we loved San Francisco and as my son put it, the city is like Seattle on steroids; it just has more of everything we have:
1. Size
Seattle: Our city is more intimate. A visit downtown always results in meeting someone you know. Downtown is just puny compared to SF.
SF: The downtown area was huge with many more upscale stores and big buildings--much more cosmopolitan. People were friendly and polite but not uncomfortably friendly--it was good.
2. Breads and Bakeries
Seattle: We copied San Francisco's sourdough and chowder in a bread bowl. I believe we have two bakeries worth visiting.
SF: Bakeries were on every street corner and we feasted on Pain au Chocolats and scrumptious cinnamon rolls daily as well as chowder in a bowl for lunch. But, SF copied our Starbuck's on every corner.
3. Street People
Seattle: We have our share and I am not denying this is a problem.
SF: Yep, SF has more. I do believe we saw every variety of mental illness on the streets of SF. Seriously, I felt like crying a couple of times.
4. French Restaurants
Seattle: We maybe have two worth a dining experience. (This is unscientific but I believe Seattle has more Asian influenced restaurants in the non- Asian parts of town than SF does.)
SF: I do believe there were Bistros everywhere and we took advantage of a couple of them and were rewarded with wonderful food. We even had quenelles that were better than those we had eaten in Lyon.
5. Public Transportation
Seattle: OK, this one pisses me off. We have busses that get stuck in traffic and the Sounder train that runs toward downtown once in the morning and returns once in the evening with two stops in Everett and Edmonds. And our monorail goes two blocks.
SF: Wow! Bart is terrific and easy and wonderful.
6. Weirdness
Seattle: We do have our nude bike ride parade in Fremont but this is once a year.
SF: Weird things happened around every corner. For example, my husband and I were just walking along enjoying the sights when a turquoise car veered around a corner and the entire body came up off the wheels and tipped to the side like it was falling off the frame. I exclaimed loudly, "Whoa! What is that about??" A business man dressed in an expensive suit heard me and replied, "This is San Francisco and we have weird things here!" To which my husband answered, "Yes, you do. We are from Seattle and we have never seen such a thing." Off the man went laughing with cell phone attached to his ear.
7. Waterfront
Seattle: Seattle's Pike Place market beats out SF. It is original, raucous, smelly and old and I love it. We actually shop there for seafood and produce.
SF: The ferry building is pretty and clean and it has Scharfenburger chocolate. SF has a lot more steaming crab stands which we had to avoid since Kaley is allergic. But I love those sea lions on Pier 39 and could watch them for hours.
8. Universities
Seattle: UW's campus is prettier than UC-Berkeley. When the clouds clear, there is a gorgeous framed view of Mount Rainier with a huge fountain in the foreground.
SF: UC-Berkeley has more Nobel laureates and it is harder to get into. When the clouds clear, there is a gorgeous view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the Campanile Tower.
9. Tours
Seattle: We have a trolley that runs along the waterfront and it is kind of lame. But we do have our "Ride the Duck" Tours on an old WW2 amphibious vehicle. I noticed SF copied us on this one. A similar tour passed us by on the street and I yelled a little too loudly, "They copied us!" The driver heard me. Oh well.
SF: The cable cars are totally cool and they actually take you where you want to go. They can cause family issues when everytime the bell clangs, the Mom sings a little too loudly "Rice-a-Roni, the San Francisco treat!"
10. Fishing
Seattle: We have to go to Alaska to get the really big salmon.
SF: According to the SF Chronicle, the salmon fishing was great and yielding some big fish to my husband's complete astonishment. Nah, our fishing just has to be better. After all, the orcas think so. SF does not have our orcas. (And, our Seattle Times and Seattle PI are way better than the Chronicle).
San Francisco caused me to have a little city envy, I'll admit. But, when the Emerald City appeared as we drove north on I-5, I realized that for people born and raised in Montana who actually like to wear Gore-Tex and have access to wilderness with bears and cougars within 45 minutes of our front door, Seattle wins.
Family road trips--especially our family road trips--create inside jokes that will last a life time. I have visions of future Thanksgiving dinners with Lucas and his wife and children and Kaley and her husband and children sitting around the dining room table while we tell the family stories. I picture Kaley's husband and Lucas's wife with odd and bored looks on their faces because the humor will not be fresh enough for them to even begin to understand. For example, all I have to do is mention "Elk Crossing" to my kids and the response will be uncontrolled laughter followed by comment after comment about elk sunning themselves on the Oregon beaches or surfing. See, you'd have to have been in my car.
As a result of stepped up security, students can no longer obtain their study visas to France via the mail. They must appear in person and the nearest French consulate for us is in San Francisco. We loaded up our smallest car (because of gas prices) with most everything we owned except, of course, Dave's cell phone, my cell phone, and the camera and off we went. The entire visa process took 20 minutes but that is because I went over the long list of necessary items with my son several times. We have lived in France and they can be picky; one "i" not dotted properly and they send you out the door which happened to a UC-Berkeley student while we were there. Naturally, all he needed to do was take a 20 minute Bart ride to get his missing photocopy of his student ID...but for us!!??. Needless to say, I was a little sweaty and nervous during the 20 minutes at the French Consulate in San Francisco.
I did not come back with pictures but I did come back with some unscientific observations comparing two great West Coast cities. To be honest, we loved San Francisco and as my son put it, the city is like Seattle on steroids; it just has more of everything we have:
1. Size
Seattle: Our city is more intimate. A visit downtown always results in meeting someone you know. Downtown is just puny compared to SF.
SF: The downtown area was huge with many more upscale stores and big buildings--much more cosmopolitan. People were friendly and polite but not uncomfortably friendly--it was good.
2. Breads and Bakeries
Seattle: We copied San Francisco's sourdough and chowder in a bread bowl. I believe we have two bakeries worth visiting.
SF: Bakeries were on every street corner and we feasted on Pain au Chocolats and scrumptious cinnamon rolls daily as well as chowder in a bowl for lunch. But, SF copied our Starbuck's on every corner.
3. Street People
Seattle: We have our share and I am not denying this is a problem.
SF: Yep, SF has more. I do believe we saw every variety of mental illness on the streets of SF. Seriously, I felt like crying a couple of times.
4. French Restaurants
Seattle: We maybe have two worth a dining experience. (This is unscientific but I believe Seattle has more Asian influenced restaurants in the non- Asian parts of town than SF does.)
SF: I do believe there were Bistros everywhere and we took advantage of a couple of them and were rewarded with wonderful food. We even had quenelles that were better than those we had eaten in Lyon.
5. Public Transportation
Seattle: OK, this one pisses me off. We have busses that get stuck in traffic and the Sounder train that runs toward downtown once in the morning and returns once in the evening with two stops in Everett and Edmonds. And our monorail goes two blocks.
SF: Wow! Bart is terrific and easy and wonderful.
6. Weirdness
Seattle: We do have our nude bike ride parade in Fremont but this is once a year.
SF: Weird things happened around every corner. For example, my husband and I were just walking along enjoying the sights when a turquoise car veered around a corner and the entire body came up off the wheels and tipped to the side like it was falling off the frame. I exclaimed loudly, "Whoa! What is that about??" A business man dressed in an expensive suit heard me and replied, "This is San Francisco and we have weird things here!" To which my husband answered, "Yes, you do. We are from Seattle and we have never seen such a thing." Off the man went laughing with cell phone attached to his ear.
7. Waterfront
Seattle: Seattle's Pike Place market beats out SF. It is original, raucous, smelly and old and I love it. We actually shop there for seafood and produce.
SF: The ferry building is pretty and clean and it has Scharfenburger chocolate. SF has a lot more steaming crab stands which we had to avoid since Kaley is allergic. But I love those sea lions on Pier 39 and could watch them for hours.
8. Universities
Seattle: UW's campus is prettier than UC-Berkeley. When the clouds clear, there is a gorgeous framed view of Mount Rainier with a huge fountain in the foreground.
SF: UC-Berkeley has more Nobel laureates and it is harder to get into. When the clouds clear, there is a gorgeous view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the Campanile Tower.
9. Tours
Seattle: We have a trolley that runs along the waterfront and it is kind of lame. But we do have our "Ride the Duck" Tours on an old WW2 amphibious vehicle. I noticed SF copied us on this one. A similar tour passed us by on the street and I yelled a little too loudly, "They copied us!" The driver heard me. Oh well.
SF: The cable cars are totally cool and they actually take you where you want to go. They can cause family issues when everytime the bell clangs, the Mom sings a little too loudly "Rice-a-Roni, the San Francisco treat!"
10. Fishing
Seattle: We have to go to Alaska to get the really big salmon.
SF: According to the SF Chronicle, the salmon fishing was great and yielding some big fish to my husband's complete astonishment. Nah, our fishing just has to be better. After all, the orcas think so. SF does not have our orcas. (And, our Seattle Times and Seattle PI are way better than the Chronicle).
San Francisco caused me to have a little city envy, I'll admit. But, when the Emerald City appeared as we drove north on I-5, I realized that for people born and raised in Montana who actually like to wear Gore-Tex and have access to wilderness with bears and cougars within 45 minutes of our front door, Seattle wins.
// posted by Janet @ 8:24 AM
0 comments
Friday, June 17, 2005
Ok, I Was Scared!!
On Tuesday, June 14, Lucas and I kicked off our summer hiking season. Because of our lack of snow, we picked a trail that is listed as hikeable July to October and figured we'd have no trouble in the middle of June with snow.
The sky was cloudy and, I don't know, it was eerie. We were in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area and no other human beings were anywhere to be seen. Instincts are interesting; I was uncomfortable. I have seen signs of wildlife my whole life in the woods but seriously this time I believe we were being watched. The first thing that unnerved me was coming across a completely shredded live tree with clear claw marks and it was fresh. I've noticed this type of thing a hundred times but never so recent. Our assumption is that a bear did this because they do that sort of thing in the spring when they are hungry and grouchy and the huckleberries are "bearly" out of bloom.
clawed tree base
Next, as we approached a lovely meadow, I photographed the scenery with Lucas and Apolo. Lucas says, "Ah, Mom, there is a big pile of Bear....you know what!" Of course, Apolo's instinct was to drop and roll so Lucas used his strength to keep 90 lb. Apolo from doing just that.
Apolo with his eye on bear scat
Not long after the shredded tree, I noticed some droppings or scat that seemed to be fresh right in the middle of the trail. It was about the size of pile that Apolo would make but there were no other people and no other dogs. We noticed the scat three more times--again right in the middle of the trail. A perusal of the internet after getting home convinced us a mountain lion (cougars weigh about 90 lbs as adults) made these little piles in an effort to mark his territory. YIKES!! I knew I was uncomfortable; I took out the metal pan I had brought for Apolo's water and carried it clinking against the dog leash. My Dad always told me that wild animals are usually more afraid of us than we of them, but that was in Montana. This is Washington where tons more people use trails and animals tend to get a little owly about humans invading their space.
We continued; it was gorgeous. Our plan was to find a spur off of the main trail and hike up to the top of Mount Sawyer. Views along this trail are supposed to be unbelievable but unfortunately, the clouds and fog kept us from seeing the full beauty. So now we just have to go back when the huckleberries are ripe--if the bears are willing to share.
Clouds obscuring view
The climb to the top of Mount Sawyer was 750 feet. Apparently, the cougar walked a little way up this trail as well. For some reason, perhaps it was the euphoria that happens when you exert yourself, but I stopped worrying about the Cougar. Maybe my instincts were telling me he decided to quit watching us. Being up high and able to see all around helped. Near the top, we found some patches of snow and Apolo went nuts.
Snow Puppy
The elevation of Mount Sawyer is 5490 indicated on a plaque attached at the summit by the U.S. Geological Survey. Lucas laughed at me a little. I spend all of my time at sea level but he has been hiking at high elevations recently in Utah and of course he has spent two years of his life at nearly 4000 feet in Montana. So, I was a little winded at 6000 feet after hiking straight up.
Apolo is reading the elevation marker
Me and my shadow
After we ate our lunch and realized it was freaking cold after we stopped hiking for a few minutes, we headed back down the trail. I just had this sense that the cougar was gone. The forest was misty and then it gently rained and it is easy to understand why everything is so lush and mossy.
As we drove away from the trail head, we had to slow down for a deer on the dirt road. Cougar food!! Shortly after that, we encountered the tree shredder--a young cinnamon colored black bear. Oh my, he was so cute!!! Especially from inside our comfortable truck.
On Tuesday, June 14, Lucas and I kicked off our summer hiking season. Because of our lack of snow, we picked a trail that is listed as hikeable July to October and figured we'd have no trouble in the middle of June with snow.
The sky was cloudy and, I don't know, it was eerie. We were in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area and no other human beings were anywhere to be seen. Instincts are interesting; I was uncomfortable. I have seen signs of wildlife my whole life in the woods but seriously this time I believe we were being watched. The first thing that unnerved me was coming across a completely shredded live tree with clear claw marks and it was fresh. I've noticed this type of thing a hundred times but never so recent. Our assumption is that a bear did this because they do that sort of thing in the spring when they are hungry and grouchy and the huckleberries are "bearly" out of bloom.
clawed tree base
Next, as we approached a lovely meadow, I photographed the scenery with Lucas and Apolo. Lucas says, "Ah, Mom, there is a big pile of Bear....you know what!" Of course, Apolo's instinct was to drop and roll so Lucas used his strength to keep 90 lb. Apolo from doing just that.
Apolo with his eye on bear scat
Not long after the shredded tree, I noticed some droppings or scat that seemed to be fresh right in the middle of the trail. It was about the size of pile that Apolo would make but there were no other people and no other dogs. We noticed the scat three more times--again right in the middle of the trail. A perusal of the internet after getting home convinced us a mountain lion (cougars weigh about 90 lbs as adults) made these little piles in an effort to mark his territory. YIKES!! I knew I was uncomfortable; I took out the metal pan I had brought for Apolo's water and carried it clinking against the dog leash. My Dad always told me that wild animals are usually more afraid of us than we of them, but that was in Montana. This is Washington where tons more people use trails and animals tend to get a little owly about humans invading their space.
We continued; it was gorgeous. Our plan was to find a spur off of the main trail and hike up to the top of Mount Sawyer. Views along this trail are supposed to be unbelievable but unfortunately, the clouds and fog kept us from seeing the full beauty. So now we just have to go back when the huckleberries are ripe--if the bears are willing to share.
Clouds obscuring view
The climb to the top of Mount Sawyer was 750 feet. Apparently, the cougar walked a little way up this trail as well. For some reason, perhaps it was the euphoria that happens when you exert yourself, but I stopped worrying about the Cougar. Maybe my instincts were telling me he decided to quit watching us. Being up high and able to see all around helped. Near the top, we found some patches of snow and Apolo went nuts.
Snow Puppy
The elevation of Mount Sawyer is 5490 indicated on a plaque attached at the summit by the U.S. Geological Survey. Lucas laughed at me a little. I spend all of my time at sea level but he has been hiking at high elevations recently in Utah and of course he has spent two years of his life at nearly 4000 feet in Montana. So, I was a little winded at 6000 feet after hiking straight up.
Apolo is reading the elevation marker
Me and my shadow
After we ate our lunch and realized it was freaking cold after we stopped hiking for a few minutes, we headed back down the trail. I just had this sense that the cougar was gone. The forest was misty and then it gently rained and it is easy to understand why everything is so lush and mossy.
As we drove away from the trail head, we had to slow down for a deer on the dirt road. Cougar food!! Shortly after that, we encountered the tree shredder--a young cinnamon colored black bear. Oh my, he was so cute!!! Especially from inside our comfortable truck.
// posted by Janet @ 8:57 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
BLOGS
I just have to say a couple of things about blogs. A few years ago--like three--I never could have imagined what an impact such things would have on our culture. There was no such entity. My daughter and all of her friends keep "Live Journals" which are really much more sophisticated than my little blog.
I never read my daughter's Live Journal because to me that would be like reading her diary. I strongly believe that children need a sense of privacy. And it is interesting how that works--if you respect your child's privacy, they end up telling you all about themselves anyway and the communication is open and based on trust which is the key. Anyway, these Live Journals are the way of life for these kids. They post their prom pictures; they schedule parties and arrange relationships in a manner that could never have been imagined when I was that age.
My blog has had some interesting results. We met a neighbor down the street who happens to work in one of my hubby's programs at the U. He invited us to a scrumptious dinner at his house, cooked by his lovely Thai wife. He found us based on my pictures which looked remarkably similar to his view and figured we must be neighbors and we are.
One of my son's best friends, Beth, has a father, Chuck, who is an honest to goodness published book author and regular columnist for the Mukilteo Beacon and a contributor to the Seattle Times. It scares me a little that such a bright and talented man visits my blog but I am happy to share my pictures with him. Sometimes, I find out on his blog the other half of the story of my son's activities. I really love it when he links to me; I still have not figured out how to make my comments work on his blog but I'll snag Kaley to help me with that. His blog is definitely worth reading as is his book. So I will link to him linking to me, "The House Where I Live":
http://blogs.salon.com/0002813/2005/06/04.html
And a quote:
"I own all these brilliant observations to Janet, whose blog is listed over there on the left (Mukilteo Musings) and whose son, Lucas, is currently visiting my daughter in Texas. Lucas likes geography, too.
Janet has, from time to time, in her blog, made some exceptionally salient statements about the culture up here. For one thing, she's noted several times that Seattleites (and most of us consider ourselves residents of Seattle, at least if we once lived within the city limits, however briefly) have a nationally known tendency to be exceptionally polite. And then we ignore you.
It's true, too, in a general sense. Your typical Seattle resident will wave you across the street even if you've got a red light, help you change a tire, deliver your baby in the backseat, lend you a cell phone, etc., and then pick up their book or get back on their mountain bike and that's the end of story. We're not great conversationalists. It has something to do with the weather.
Not me, you understand. Not Janet either, I assume. Just most of us."
© Copyright 2005 Chuck Sigars.
I just love this quote because it corroborates not only what I have read but also what I have experienced. Corroboration is one of my favorite things in life.
Also, I regularly visit some political blogs and religious blogs. We are trying to get one going for our church. This is interesting because several members of our church are of the elderly variety and they glaze over whenever I bring the topic to their attention. Other personal blogs I visit that I credit for getting me started are Noelle's http://www.go2thestart.com/ and Yano's http://www.yanowhatimean.com/index2.php. Noelle and Yano are both scary bright and talented young women and I love reading about their perspectives on issues. Noelle is on the east coast and Yano is in Chicago so they give me view points from across the country.
And finally, I have discovered that I have kept old friends, new friends, and family members informed of the daily life of my family. This is very satisfying to this "Seattleite" who doesn't have the chance or the time to get together for coffee with my favorite folks in the world.
What a thing these blogs are!!
I just have to say a couple of things about blogs. A few years ago--like three--I never could have imagined what an impact such things would have on our culture. There was no such entity. My daughter and all of her friends keep "Live Journals" which are really much more sophisticated than my little blog.
I never read my daughter's Live Journal because to me that would be like reading her diary. I strongly believe that children need a sense of privacy. And it is interesting how that works--if you respect your child's privacy, they end up telling you all about themselves anyway and the communication is open and based on trust which is the key. Anyway, these Live Journals are the way of life for these kids. They post their prom pictures; they schedule parties and arrange relationships in a manner that could never have been imagined when I was that age.
My blog has had some interesting results. We met a neighbor down the street who happens to work in one of my hubby's programs at the U. He invited us to a scrumptious dinner at his house, cooked by his lovely Thai wife. He found us based on my pictures which looked remarkably similar to his view and figured we must be neighbors and we are.
One of my son's best friends, Beth, has a father, Chuck, who is an honest to goodness published book author and regular columnist for the Mukilteo Beacon and a contributor to the Seattle Times. It scares me a little that such a bright and talented man visits my blog but I am happy to share my pictures with him. Sometimes, I find out on his blog the other half of the story of my son's activities. I really love it when he links to me; I still have not figured out how to make my comments work on his blog but I'll snag Kaley to help me with that. His blog is definitely worth reading as is his book. So I will link to him linking to me, "The House Where I Live":
http://blogs.salon.com/0002813/2005/06/04.html
And a quote:
"I own all these brilliant observations to Janet, whose blog is listed over there on the left (Mukilteo Musings) and whose son, Lucas, is currently visiting my daughter in Texas. Lucas likes geography, too.
Janet has, from time to time, in her blog, made some exceptionally salient statements about the culture up here. For one thing, she's noted several times that Seattleites (and most of us consider ourselves residents of Seattle, at least if we once lived within the city limits, however briefly) have a nationally known tendency to be exceptionally polite. And then we ignore you.
It's true, too, in a general sense. Your typical Seattle resident will wave you across the street even if you've got a red light, help you change a tire, deliver your baby in the backseat, lend you a cell phone, etc., and then pick up their book or get back on their mountain bike and that's the end of story. We're not great conversationalists. It has something to do with the weather.
Not me, you understand. Not Janet either, I assume. Just most of us."
© Copyright 2005 Chuck Sigars.
I just love this quote because it corroborates not only what I have read but also what I have experienced. Corroboration is one of my favorite things in life.
Also, I regularly visit some political blogs and religious blogs. We are trying to get one going for our church. This is interesting because several members of our church are of the elderly variety and they glaze over whenever I bring the topic to their attention. Other personal blogs I visit that I credit for getting me started are Noelle's http://www.go2thestart.com/ and Yano's http://www.yanowhatimean.com/index2.php. Noelle and Yano are both scary bright and talented young women and I love reading about their perspectives on issues. Noelle is on the east coast and Yano is in Chicago so they give me view points from across the country.
And finally, I have discovered that I have kept old friends, new friends, and family members informed of the daily life of my family. This is very satisfying to this "Seattleite" who doesn't have the chance or the time to get together for coffee with my favorite folks in the world.
What a thing these blogs are!!
// posted by Janet @ 9:54 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
HUH?? Hmmmmmm!
Ok, I admit it. Sometimes the smallest things amuse me.
1. We received two letters last week on the same day from the University of Montana about our son.
The first letter said this: "I wish to recognize your outstanding academic accomplishments by designating you as a Scholar of the College of Arts and Sciences for Spring Sememster 2005. As a CAS Scholar, you successfully met the college's highest scholastic standards of achievement... ."
And the second letter: "LEFT WALL CRAYON SCRIBBLE BY WINDOW DESK. Your student account with the Business Services has been charged....."
Huh?? Hmmm! Crayons at college?? I thought I taught Lucas when he was about 2 to not scribble on the wall. He was very good about using paper. It was Kaley that saw blank walls as her canvas. Oh wait a minute, Kaley used red permanent marker on the living room wall; Lucas did like crayons better.
2. When I was cleaning in the bathroom, I noticed a green paper torn off the top of a bottle on my husband's sink next to the aspirin. You know what they look like--with slanted writing covering the plasticy paper. But this said in line after slanted line--miracle gro miracle gro miracle gro miracle gro miracle gro.
I picked up the paper and took it into the family room where hubby was sitting, "Is there anything you need to talk with me about, hubby?? Anything I should know about? You can tell me about anything after 32 years of marriage."
"Oh, yea!" said my brilliant scientist husband, "I was spraying the backyard grass and I could not for the life of me understand why nothing would come out of the nozzle." (I'm sure there were a few expletives.) "And then I took the sprayer off the bottle and realized you had to peel off the seal.......and I didn't want to litter so when I came in to use the bath......"
Huh?? Hmmmmm!
3. Everybody knows that dogs love to drop and roll to perfume themselves with the most disgusting things. And it gets all rubbed into their fur underneath one ear and down their neck and all over the collar. Apolo has dropped and rolled on dead birds, dead rodents, dead fish, really stinky dead fish, cat poop, cow poop, horse poop and bird poop mixed with grass clippings. Apolo's predecessor, Jeb, almost dove into the stinkiest vile thing I have ever smelled--a rotting sea lion at the beach.
So I was a little surprised the other day when I decided our family room was smelling a bit doggy and I pulled the "Carpet Fresh" off of the shelf. The minute I sprayed the white foam on the family room rug, Apolo dropped and rolled in the foam like it was the most wonderful rotting fish he had ever experienced.
"Carpet Fresh" for that clean, nice fresh scent!!! Huh? Hmmm!
Ok, I admit it. Sometimes the smallest things amuse me.
1. We received two letters last week on the same day from the University of Montana about our son.
The first letter said this: "I wish to recognize your outstanding academic accomplishments by designating you as a Scholar of the College of Arts and Sciences for Spring Sememster 2005. As a CAS Scholar, you successfully met the college's highest scholastic standards of achievement... ."
And the second letter: "LEFT WALL CRAYON SCRIBBLE BY WINDOW DESK. Your student account with the Business Services has been charged....."
Huh?? Hmmm! Crayons at college?? I thought I taught Lucas when he was about 2 to not scribble on the wall. He was very good about using paper. It was Kaley that saw blank walls as her canvas. Oh wait a minute, Kaley used red permanent marker on the living room wall; Lucas did like crayons better.
2. When I was cleaning in the bathroom, I noticed a green paper torn off the top of a bottle on my husband's sink next to the aspirin. You know what they look like--with slanted writing covering the plasticy paper. But this said in line after slanted line--miracle gro miracle gro miracle gro miracle gro miracle gro.
I picked up the paper and took it into the family room where hubby was sitting, "Is there anything you need to talk with me about, hubby?? Anything I should know about? You can tell me about anything after 32 years of marriage."
"Oh, yea!" said my brilliant scientist husband, "I was spraying the backyard grass and I could not for the life of me understand why nothing would come out of the nozzle." (I'm sure there were a few expletives.) "And then I took the sprayer off the bottle and realized you had to peel off the seal.......and I didn't want to litter so when I came in to use the bath......"
Huh?? Hmmmmm!
3. Everybody knows that dogs love to drop and roll to perfume themselves with the most disgusting things. And it gets all rubbed into their fur underneath one ear and down their neck and all over the collar. Apolo has dropped and rolled on dead birds, dead rodents, dead fish, really stinky dead fish, cat poop, cow poop, horse poop and bird poop mixed with grass clippings. Apolo's predecessor, Jeb, almost dove into the stinkiest vile thing I have ever smelled--a rotting sea lion at the beach.
So I was a little surprised the other day when I decided our family room was smelling a bit doggy and I pulled the "Carpet Fresh" off of the shelf. The minute I sprayed the white foam on the family room rug, Apolo dropped and rolled in the foam like it was the most wonderful rotting fish he had ever experienced.
"Carpet Fresh" for that clean, nice fresh scent!!! Huh? Hmmm!
// posted by Janet @ 7:42 AM
0 comments
Monday, June 13, 2005
And Follow Up in The Seattle Times on Kamiak's Big Win
The complaint I have had for years about the over-emphasis of high school sports and the non-recognition of the performing arts was detailed in Sunday's Seattle Times. My daughter works incredibly hard on her music. It takes a lot of commitment and self-discipline to participate in piano competitions, solo voice and choir competitions and to get to the State level. Not only is it hard work but there is underlying talent. My daughter is no different in her devotion than most of the kids in the performing arts at Kamiak. And she represents her school.
But if the football team or the basketball team even makes the play offs--man, oh, man is there newspaper coverage and pictures all over the sports pages. The girl who had the lead in "Pirates of Penzance" won the State Solo Soprano competition in April. I saw the teeniest blurb about it with no picture, of course. But the Kamiak kid who won the State discus competition in track had an entire newspaper page with a half page color photo. And believe me, the soprano is a lot prettier than the thrower. I think it is fine to recognize sports success in this way but music success should be equally honored. This pisses me off big time. (And the Moms of the football players don't have to sew their uniforms!!!)
And you know what?? We had sold out crowds at nearly every performance of "Pirates". I bet there were as many community people who saw the musical as attended any football or basketball game. So, thank goodness, Nicole Brodeur, columnist for the Seattle Times, reflected my sentiments in her Sunday Times article.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nicolebrodeur/2002331441_brodeur12m1.html
And a quote from the front page of the Local section of the Sunday Seattle paper---YES!!:
"This year, 43 Washington schools put on 48 productions involving about 6,000 students. And they did it with budgets that match what most high-school athletic programs spend on Gatorade.
"We need to support high-school kids in all their endeavors," said Bill Berry, the associate artistic director at the 5th, which put on the program with the help of Wells Fargo Bank. "Not just those who can run fast or shoot through a hoop, but those with artistic leanings."
Take the winner for Outstanding Overall Musical Production: Kamiak High School's ambitious "Pirates of Penzance." It was done for under $5,000. Ninety percent of that came from ticket sales, 10 percent from advertising and boosters. None came from the school board.
Kamiak's football team has "something like 10 coaches," said drama teacher Laurie Levine. "I have about the same number of students in my program, but I'm the only coach."
She hired teachers to coach vocals and choreography, and paid them out of ticket sales.
"We're always jealous," Levine said of the athletics budget. "There's no sense of disparity."
How much does the athletics department get at Kamiak?
"Part of me doesn't want to know," Levine said with a small laugh. "Just jealousy."
I tried to find out, but didn't hear back from the school before deadline. [yea, right--they don't want anybody to know]
The recognition from the 5th Avenue can only help, Levine said, since this is a "negotiating year" for her budget."
So, indeed, playing a good football game is no small feat but pulling off a Gilbert and Sullivan Opera so that it sounds like the cast stepped off of a Broadway stage is a monumental achievement!!!!! Go Kamiak!!
The complaint I have had for years about the over-emphasis of high school sports and the non-recognition of the performing arts was detailed in Sunday's Seattle Times. My daughter works incredibly hard on her music. It takes a lot of commitment and self-discipline to participate in piano competitions, solo voice and choir competitions and to get to the State level. Not only is it hard work but there is underlying talent. My daughter is no different in her devotion than most of the kids in the performing arts at Kamiak. And she represents her school.
But if the football team or the basketball team even makes the play offs--man, oh, man is there newspaper coverage and pictures all over the sports pages. The girl who had the lead in "Pirates of Penzance" won the State Solo Soprano competition in April. I saw the teeniest blurb about it with no picture, of course. But the Kamiak kid who won the State discus competition in track had an entire newspaper page with a half page color photo. And believe me, the soprano is a lot prettier than the thrower. I think it is fine to recognize sports success in this way but music success should be equally honored. This pisses me off big time. (And the Moms of the football players don't have to sew their uniforms!!!)
And you know what?? We had sold out crowds at nearly every performance of "Pirates". I bet there were as many community people who saw the musical as attended any football or basketball game. So, thank goodness, Nicole Brodeur, columnist for the Seattle Times, reflected my sentiments in her Sunday Times article.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nicolebrodeur/2002331441_brodeur12m1.html
And a quote from the front page of the Local section of the Sunday Seattle paper---YES!!:
"This year, 43 Washington schools put on 48 productions involving about 6,000 students. And they did it with budgets that match what most high-school athletic programs spend on Gatorade.
"We need to support high-school kids in all their endeavors," said Bill Berry, the associate artistic director at the 5th, which put on the program with the help of Wells Fargo Bank. "Not just those who can run fast or shoot through a hoop, but those with artistic leanings."
Take the winner for Outstanding Overall Musical Production: Kamiak High School's ambitious "Pirates of Penzance." It was done for under $5,000. Ninety percent of that came from ticket sales, 10 percent from advertising and boosters. None came from the school board.
Kamiak's football team has "something like 10 coaches," said drama teacher Laurie Levine. "I have about the same number of students in my program, but I'm the only coach."
She hired teachers to coach vocals and choreography, and paid them out of ticket sales.
"We're always jealous," Levine said of the athletics budget. "There's no sense of disparity."
How much does the athletics department get at Kamiak?
"Part of me doesn't want to know," Levine said with a small laugh. "Just jealousy."
I tried to find out, but didn't hear back from the school before deadline. [yea, right--they don't want anybody to know]
The recognition from the 5th Avenue can only help, Levine said, since this is a "negotiating year" for her budget."
So, indeed, playing a good football game is no small feat but pulling off a Gilbert and Sullivan Opera so that it sounds like the cast stepped off of a Broadway stage is a monumental achievement!!!!! Go Kamiak!!
// posted by Janet @ 7:44 AM
0 comments
Friday, June 10, 2005
Pirates of Penzance
I wrote last year about the 5th Avenue Theatre Awards but I will do a reprise. Last year Kamiak High School performed Les Miserables for their annual spring musical. Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre has decided to host and sponsor a Tony Award-like ceremony for high school musical productions. Les Miserables was nominated for several awards including Best Overall Music Production but they came home with only one--Best Music Direction.
This year was the third annual 5th Avenue Awards. Forty-eight schools participated from the entire state though Spokane seemed to be missing. Obviously, the majority of the schools are from the Seattle metropolitan area. Kamiak's Pirates of Penzance received 15 nominations--more than any other high school. The nominations ranged from Best Poster and Program to Best Leading Actor and Actress and Best Overall Musical Production.
On Monday evening, June 6, we dressed up a little and drove to downtown Seattle to attend a grand and gloriously fun event. Kaley's character was the maiden Kate. Even though she had lines and solo singing parts, the role wasn't particularly big enough for her to receive a nomination. Nevertheless, she managed to be recognized by the 5th Avenue by being chosen along with the Pirate King from her school to participate in the opening number along with performers from all of the schools. Kaley loved having the experience of being directed by professional theater people.
Seattle is becoming well-known for our theater. In the recent Tony awards, the man who won Best Actor in a non-musical was from Seattle. The woman who won Best Musical Actress was from Seattle. And The Light in the Piazza which won many awards had its birth here as did Hairspray which won awards in previous years. So for Kaley to even be noticed by these people is high praise indeed!!
The 5th Avenue Awards is a raucous program. Each of the schools nominated for Best Overall Production presented a segment of their musical. As a result, Kaley was on stage twice--for the opening number and with her own school's Pirates excerpt. High school kids are full of enthusiasm and screams. What I love about it is that these kids adore watching the other schools perform and they scream for everybody--not just their own. Also, the ceremony is full of Seattle culture. The Seattle mayor welcomed everyone; a former Seattle mayor was a presenter; and we had a number of local celebrities present awards. One of the school's had a boat scene and painted on the side of the cardboard boat was "Kalakala". Only Seattleities would understand this inside joke about our broken down homeless ferry. One of the presenters was a local actor who dressed up as Napoleon Dynamite; he brought the house down with his dead on impression. A few "out of it" parents behind me had no idea what he was about and that made it even funnier. Sweet!
And of course, now for the third year, our local beloved loser and TV personality, John Curley, did a little comic monologue. Everybody had tears running down their cheeks out of laughter. This guy plugs right in to the Seattle psyche with his completely self-deprecating style. Award after award was presented and unfortunately, it was beginning to feel like a shut out for Kamiak. Until.....Best Music Direction....and again Kamiak's choral director who is at the moment 9 months pregnant waddled up to accept her trophy for the second year in a row. (And yes, her name is Ms. Duck)
After watching Kamiak perform, I started to get this exciting feeling that just maybe--just maybe they were going to pull it off this year. They were absolutely stellar and I know I am biased but they sounded like a professional Broadway production. I was so proud because Kaley was right in the front due to her main role. Private schools participated including the hoity toity Washington Academy of Performing Arts; they were also nominated in several categories including Best Overall Musical Production. If I had been an objective parent looking for the best place to send my musically inclined child--no way would I fork out the money for a private academy. Spend that money on lessons, folks!! The public schools performed the pants off of these private schools.
Finally, the last award of the night after three delightful hours of watching incredible young talent was about to begin. "And the winner is for 2005 Best Overall Musical Production.......drum roll........KAMIAK (pronounced wrong by someone new to the area so there was a moment of dead silence while everyone was thinking that school wasn't even nominated) PIRATES (screeeeeeeeeeam) of PENZANCE!!"
Kaley and all of her fellow performers rushed the stage. What a moment! And so well-deserved. All of the time I spent making her two costumes on a crappy sewing machine, calming my diva after a bad rehearsal, curling her hair for each performance, and heading up the nightmarish ticket committee was totally worth it. Kamiak's musical was the best in the state and recognized by major talent recognizing people.
WE WON!!
Kaley as Kate in the Award winning Best Musical--Pirates of Penzance
(And I made her dress!! And I curled her hair!!)
To see all of the nominations and the winners, visit the 5th Avenue Theatre website:
http://www.5thavenuetheatre.org/edu_nominee05.shtml
I wrote last year about the 5th Avenue Theatre Awards but I will do a reprise. Last year Kamiak High School performed Les Miserables for their annual spring musical. Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre has decided to host and sponsor a Tony Award-like ceremony for high school musical productions. Les Miserables was nominated for several awards including Best Overall Music Production but they came home with only one--Best Music Direction.
This year was the third annual 5th Avenue Awards. Forty-eight schools participated from the entire state though Spokane seemed to be missing. Obviously, the majority of the schools are from the Seattle metropolitan area. Kamiak's Pirates of Penzance received 15 nominations--more than any other high school. The nominations ranged from Best Poster and Program to Best Leading Actor and Actress and Best Overall Musical Production.
On Monday evening, June 6, we dressed up a little and drove to downtown Seattle to attend a grand and gloriously fun event. Kaley's character was the maiden Kate. Even though she had lines and solo singing parts, the role wasn't particularly big enough for her to receive a nomination. Nevertheless, she managed to be recognized by the 5th Avenue by being chosen along with the Pirate King from her school to participate in the opening number along with performers from all of the schools. Kaley loved having the experience of being directed by professional theater people.
Seattle is becoming well-known for our theater. In the recent Tony awards, the man who won Best Actor in a non-musical was from Seattle. The woman who won Best Musical Actress was from Seattle. And The Light in the Piazza which won many awards had its birth here as did Hairspray which won awards in previous years. So for Kaley to even be noticed by these people is high praise indeed!!
The 5th Avenue Awards is a raucous program. Each of the schools nominated for Best Overall Production presented a segment of their musical. As a result, Kaley was on stage twice--for the opening number and with her own school's Pirates excerpt. High school kids are full of enthusiasm and screams. What I love about it is that these kids adore watching the other schools perform and they scream for everybody--not just their own. Also, the ceremony is full of Seattle culture. The Seattle mayor welcomed everyone; a former Seattle mayor was a presenter; and we had a number of local celebrities present awards. One of the school's had a boat scene and painted on the side of the cardboard boat was "Kalakala". Only Seattleities would understand this inside joke about our broken down homeless ferry. One of the presenters was a local actor who dressed up as Napoleon Dynamite; he brought the house down with his dead on impression. A few "out of it" parents behind me had no idea what he was about and that made it even funnier. Sweet!
And of course, now for the third year, our local beloved loser and TV personality, John Curley, did a little comic monologue. Everybody had tears running down their cheeks out of laughter. This guy plugs right in to the Seattle psyche with his completely self-deprecating style. Award after award was presented and unfortunately, it was beginning to feel like a shut out for Kamiak. Until.....Best Music Direction....and again Kamiak's choral director who is at the moment 9 months pregnant waddled up to accept her trophy for the second year in a row. (And yes, her name is Ms. Duck)
After watching Kamiak perform, I started to get this exciting feeling that just maybe--just maybe they were going to pull it off this year. They were absolutely stellar and I know I am biased but they sounded like a professional Broadway production. I was so proud because Kaley was right in the front due to her main role. Private schools participated including the hoity toity Washington Academy of Performing Arts; they were also nominated in several categories including Best Overall Musical Production. If I had been an objective parent looking for the best place to send my musically inclined child--no way would I fork out the money for a private academy. Spend that money on lessons, folks!! The public schools performed the pants off of these private schools.
Finally, the last award of the night after three delightful hours of watching incredible young talent was about to begin. "And the winner is for 2005 Best Overall Musical Production.......drum roll........KAMIAK (pronounced wrong by someone new to the area so there was a moment of dead silence while everyone was thinking that school wasn't even nominated) PIRATES (screeeeeeeeeeam) of PENZANCE!!"
Kaley and all of her fellow performers rushed the stage. What a moment! And so well-deserved. All of the time I spent making her two costumes on a crappy sewing machine, calming my diva after a bad rehearsal, curling her hair for each performance, and heading up the nightmarish ticket committee was totally worth it. Kamiak's musical was the best in the state and recognized by major talent recognizing people.
WE WON!!
Kaley as Kate in the Award winning Best Musical--Pirates of Penzance
(And I made her dress!! And I curled her hair!!)
To see all of the nominations and the winners, visit the 5th Avenue Theatre website:
http://www.5thavenuetheatre.org/edu_nominee05.shtml
// posted by Janet @ 7:39 AM
0 comments
Saturday, June 04, 2005
Geography Lesson
Puget Sound is a confusing place. Generally, when people from far away think of Seattle, they assume we are stuck up in the corner of the country on the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Ocean is actually three hours away. We are surrounded by salt water but.....it is not the "ocean". It is the Sound and it is full of nooks and crannies and inlets and islands.
Last night was a pretty evening so I took some pictures from our deck of the land masses we see from our house. The first photo is looking north toward Canada. The island in view behind the Mukilteo Ferry is Camano Island. Camano is easily accessible by driving because it is only separated by a teeny bit of water from the mainland and there is a bridge. Camano is home to people who like island living without having to depend on ferries. They also have a significant population of old hippies, commune drop outs, and glass artists.
This is a photo of last night's sunset over Whidbey Island which is directly west. The Mukilteo Ferry leaves from Old Town Mukilteo and travels in about 25 minutes to Clinton on Whidbey. One is able to reach Whidbey by car way up north and again over a bridge but most people travel to and from the mainland by ferry. Whidbey is home to old hippies, wine makers, commune drop outs, pottery artists and old hippie farmers except for Oak Harbor which is full of really conservative military people.
The old hippies, farmers, pottery artists and glass artists from Camano and Whidbey sell their wares at our street fairs. Recently we have had the Pike Place Market Street Fair and the University District Street Fair where I bought the pottery shown above from some old hippie pottery artists who live on Whidbey Island. Both Edmonds and Mukilteo also have Farmer's Markets once a week where the Camano and Whidbey folks sell their delicious honeys, cheeses, and herbs.
The final photo is looking south toward Edmonds. The land mass you see here is the Olympic Peninsula which is a huge land mass between the Seattle metropolitan area with Puget Sound and the Pacific Ocean. The Edmonds Ferry (seen here) and the Seattle/Bremerton Ferry take travelers to the Olympic Peninsula which is home to the wild and rugged Olympic Mountains (not seen here because they are hiding) where mountain goats and elk live as well as literary artists. The Edmonds Ferry leaves from downtown Edmonds and takes about 30 minutes to get to Kingston on the other side. The Peninsula is not an island and one is able to drive around Puget Sound and get to the Peninsula by heading south towards Tacoma and Olympia. This takes a very long time so most people take the ferries to reach Bremerton, Silverdale, Poulsbo and Port Ludlow and the many little communities scattered all over.
And you know, I have lived here for 26 years and I still have to ask what it is I am looking at--particularly on clear clear days and never before seen hills and islands appear out of nowhere. Yep, Seattle geography is confusing.
Puget Sound is a confusing place. Generally, when people from far away think of Seattle, they assume we are stuck up in the corner of the country on the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Ocean is actually three hours away. We are surrounded by salt water but.....it is not the "ocean". It is the Sound and it is full of nooks and crannies and inlets and islands.
Last night was a pretty evening so I took some pictures from our deck of the land masses we see from our house. The first photo is looking north toward Canada. The island in view behind the Mukilteo Ferry is Camano Island. Camano is easily accessible by driving because it is only separated by a teeny bit of water from the mainland and there is a bridge. Camano is home to people who like island living without having to depend on ferries. They also have a significant population of old hippies, commune drop outs, and glass artists.
This is a photo of last night's sunset over Whidbey Island which is directly west. The Mukilteo Ferry leaves from Old Town Mukilteo and travels in about 25 minutes to Clinton on Whidbey. One is able to reach Whidbey by car way up north and again over a bridge but most people travel to and from the mainland by ferry. Whidbey is home to old hippies, wine makers, commune drop outs, pottery artists and old hippie farmers except for Oak Harbor which is full of really conservative military people.
The old hippies, farmers, pottery artists and glass artists from Camano and Whidbey sell their wares at our street fairs. Recently we have had the Pike Place Market Street Fair and the University District Street Fair where I bought the pottery shown above from some old hippie pottery artists who live on Whidbey Island. Both Edmonds and Mukilteo also have Farmer's Markets once a week where the Camano and Whidbey folks sell their delicious honeys, cheeses, and herbs.
The final photo is looking south toward Edmonds. The land mass you see here is the Olympic Peninsula which is a huge land mass between the Seattle metropolitan area with Puget Sound and the Pacific Ocean. The Edmonds Ferry (seen here) and the Seattle/Bremerton Ferry take travelers to the Olympic Peninsula which is home to the wild and rugged Olympic Mountains (not seen here because they are hiding) where mountain goats and elk live as well as literary artists. The Edmonds Ferry leaves from downtown Edmonds and takes about 30 minutes to get to Kingston on the other side. The Peninsula is not an island and one is able to drive around Puget Sound and get to the Peninsula by heading south towards Tacoma and Olympia. This takes a very long time so most people take the ferries to reach Bremerton, Silverdale, Poulsbo and Port Ludlow and the many little communities scattered all over.
And you know, I have lived here for 26 years and I still have to ask what it is I am looking at--particularly on clear clear days and never before seen hills and islands appear out of nowhere. Yep, Seattle geography is confusing.
// posted by Janet @ 9:31 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Deep Throat Revealed
How can it be that 32 years just flies by? Yes, my husband and I were married in the summer of 1973. Dave was a year ahead of me in college and I wanted to finish when he did so I crammed college into three years with extra credit loads and taking summer classes. We lived in married student housing at Montana State University in the summer of 1973; Dave worked at the Coca-cola plant and drove a delivery truck through the Gallatin Canyon and into Yellowstone Park.
I took a couple of classes and watched--mesmerized--the Watergate hearings on our little black and white TV on a small wooden stand that Dave had made. I was a Social Studies/Secondary Education/French major and minor but those hearings planted the seed for my eventual entry into law school. I just could not believe that the President of the United States had acted like a common and petty criminal. So now, to learn all of these years later about "THE" source is unbelievable.
1973--so long ago and yet completely vivid in my memory!! The following year, 1974, after we both finished college, we moved to Kansas City where Dave entered graduate school and I worked as a teacher's aide. On that same little TV, on a hot August night in 1974, in Kansas City, we watched Nixon tell the nation he was resigning because of a cover up of a second rate botched burglary. We had no furniture yet because we had just moved into the tiny apartment and I remember sitting on the floor and being stunned.
1979--we moved to Seattle into yet another small apartment near the University of Washington campus. I spent the summer attending a bar review course at the UW to prepare for the Washington Bar Exam. It was tough because I had spent three years learning mostly Kansas and Missouri law. Every gorgeous cool evening in a place where people actually wore sweaters in the summer, I rode my bike with my bar review notebook in my back pack to the campus. This was my first introduction to Seattle culture. Nobody but nobody would talk to me and I felt like such an outsider. It seemed like they all knew each other. And they talked politics and I soon learned I would fit in just fine in this city.
One evening, people were whispering and a guy told me a Watergate criminal was taking the bar review course--one of Nixon's men in the same room with all of us. Discreetly, he was pointed out ot me. No longer did I feel like the lone outsider in the group. He had had his license jerked away and had served time as a felon but he was hoping to practice law again in Seattle, his home. He needed to pass the Washington State Bar before he could have his right to practice law reinstated.
Yes, indeed. I took the bar review course with Egil "Bud" Krogh. I remember thinking that if I passed the Bar Exam, no way would I do anything to ever jeopardize my law license. I could not go through the grueling process ever again. Egil Krogh has been a successful Seattle attorney for 25 years.
And it is 2005 and the story never ends.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002294896_krogh01m.html
How can it be that 32 years just flies by? Yes, my husband and I were married in the summer of 1973. Dave was a year ahead of me in college and I wanted to finish when he did so I crammed college into three years with extra credit loads and taking summer classes. We lived in married student housing at Montana State University in the summer of 1973; Dave worked at the Coca-cola plant and drove a delivery truck through the Gallatin Canyon and into Yellowstone Park.
I took a couple of classes and watched--mesmerized--the Watergate hearings on our little black and white TV on a small wooden stand that Dave had made. I was a Social Studies/Secondary Education/French major and minor but those hearings planted the seed for my eventual entry into law school. I just could not believe that the President of the United States had acted like a common and petty criminal. So now, to learn all of these years later about "THE" source is unbelievable.
1973--so long ago and yet completely vivid in my memory!! The following year, 1974, after we both finished college, we moved to Kansas City where Dave entered graduate school and I worked as a teacher's aide. On that same little TV, on a hot August night in 1974, in Kansas City, we watched Nixon tell the nation he was resigning because of a cover up of a second rate botched burglary. We had no furniture yet because we had just moved into the tiny apartment and I remember sitting on the floor and being stunned.
1979--we moved to Seattle into yet another small apartment near the University of Washington campus. I spent the summer attending a bar review course at the UW to prepare for the Washington Bar Exam. It was tough because I had spent three years learning mostly Kansas and Missouri law. Every gorgeous cool evening in a place where people actually wore sweaters in the summer, I rode my bike with my bar review notebook in my back pack to the campus. This was my first introduction to Seattle culture. Nobody but nobody would talk to me and I felt like such an outsider. It seemed like they all knew each other. And they talked politics and I soon learned I would fit in just fine in this city.
One evening, people were whispering and a guy told me a Watergate criminal was taking the bar review course--one of Nixon's men in the same room with all of us. Discreetly, he was pointed out ot me. No longer did I feel like the lone outsider in the group. He had had his license jerked away and had served time as a felon but he was hoping to practice law again in Seattle, his home. He needed to pass the Washington State Bar before he could have his right to practice law reinstated.
Yes, indeed. I took the bar review course with Egil "Bud" Krogh. I remember thinking that if I passed the Bar Exam, no way would I do anything to ever jeopardize my law license. I could not go through the grueling process ever again. Egil Krogh has been a successful Seattle attorney for 25 years.
And it is 2005 and the story never ends.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002294896_krogh01m.html
// posted by Janet @ 8:14 AM
0 comments
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