Mukilteo Musings

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Only In Seattle

Here we go again with some things that can only happen here, it seems.

1. Only in Seattle is our traffic so tangled and with so few alternatives to get anywhere besides I-5 or I-405, that we are beginning to have babies born in cars. Two days in a row now we have had babies born on I-5 while stuck in gridlock. I guess it is beginning to be a trend. Everyone is healthy, thankfully.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003548927_roadsidebirth31m.html

2. Only in Seattle are we having a big "discussion" about whether the state legislature should pass a law making it allowable for dogs to be in bars. We love our puppies and we hate to leave them home. Come on--this is common in France. What is the problem? My husband says it is a bad idea because all we need is for some jerk to show up at a bar with his pit bull.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/soundoff/comment.asp?articleID=301549

3. Only in Seattle are we worried about whether two of our orcas have moved to San Francisco. The orcas are a mom and her baby from our K-pod. What is it they have that we do not? Food, maybe? Come back. Come back. You belong in our Puget Sound.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003548809_orca31m0.html

4. Only in Seattle (or at least in the Northwest) did a hunter get sick with trichinosis from eating cougar meat. I guess he ate it raw which I do not quite understand. Why would anyone eat it raw?
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/301848_cougar31.html

5. And finally, only in Seattle, do our courts side with protesters rather than the police. In the WTO "battle of Seattle" from a few years back, the protesters took the city of Seattle to court claiming our basic American rights had been violated. The court agreed at least in part. But I am proud to say that the attorney who represented the protesters used to be a colleague of mine---our offices were next to each other in the same law firm.

"The jury found our clients were falsely arrested, and the city is liable for it," lawyer Michael Withey said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/301826_wtoverdict31.html

I guess they are filming a movie about the "battle of Seattle" starring Charlize Theron. The WTO riots in 1999 were a scary time for this city and made people feel kind of sick. I hope the movie is at least accurate.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/295224_wto08.html

UPDATE:

6. Only in Seattle are strange devices with an obvious cartoon character on the outside and found in odd places NOT a big deal. Evidently, the very same objects shut down Boston yesterday and sent the city into chaos. Utility workers here found them and did not even report it to police. The headline in this morning's Seattle Times:

"TV network's gimmick spooks Boston; in Seattle, it's no big deal"
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003550583_ploy01.html

// posted by Janet @ 9:10 AM 3 comments

Saturday, January 27, 2007

The Children of Camden

Last night my husband and I watched ABC's 20/20 with Diane Sawyer. The program was about America's children in poverty. Camden, New Jersey was the star because it is the poorest and most violent community in our country. Sawyer profiled several kids living in Camden and compared them to a nearby neighborhood of kids living an upscale life. These two communities are ten minutes apart and yet the Camden kids live in complete squalor. Many of the children are homeless and if they are lucky enough to have a place to live, they survive without lights or heat surrounded by cockroaches and drug deals.

I think I lost it when little Ivan at the beginning of kindergarten was asked to count how many times a day we have meals and to name them. Easy for a five year old, right?? Answer: three meals a day 1-2-3, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Although this five year old was able to count, he had absolutely no idea how to respond to the simple question. Ivan doesn't have enough to eat---in the United States of America.

It all took me back to my days as a teacher's aide in a remedial program in a school in the poorest area of Kansas City, KS. No difference exists between the abilities of the kids in the oppressed parts of our cities and the abilities of the kids in fancy suburbs--NONE. The difference between the children is opportunity, chance, self-confidence and dignity. Having a warm home with books and three meals a day can change everything. It makes me furious that we have such a huge problem in this nation.

Drugs and alcohol ruin these kids forever when they hit their teen years. It is not hard to understand joining a gang and taking drugs if you sleep in a cold room on a chair with your siblings. Drugs and gangs are the symptom and not the cause. We need to help children at an early age in order to instill hope and to encourage their passions and dreams. They need to believe in themselves and the possibilities of a good life.

Imagine--imagine if we took a fraction of the 4 billion dollars a month we are pouring into the Iraq war and poured it into the Ninth Ward in New Orleans, the Quindaro district in Kansas City, or into Camden, New Jersey. Imagine the lives we could change. Imagine.

The link to information about 20/20 last night:
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2819991&page=1

During the show, they mentioned the group Urban Promise which is making some inroads into the devastating poverty in Camden. They have set up a way to donate to help the kids Diane Sawyer profiled. I am so grateful this is available for us to help because during the entire program last night I kept asking what I could do.

http://up2020.servicenetwork.com/

After a little additional checking, it is not hard to find the saint who is behind all of this. His name is Bruce Main and in my opinion, he's got the right idea about what Jesus was trying to teach us. I am happy to see that an Episcopal church in the area--St. Mary's Episcopal--has invited Bruce Main to speak and that they support Urban Promise as a part of their outreach. Go St. Mary's!!

http://www.urbanpromiseusa.org/
http://www.urbanpromiseusa.org/info/speakers.html
http://www.stmaryshh.org/outreach/index.html

// posted by Janet @ 11:52 AM 2 comments

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Peaceful Day

Seems to me like the President of the United States last night was saying "Give War a Chance!" Obviously, he missed out on the values of our generation. I was shaped by "Give Peace a Chance" as a result of the devastating effects of the Vietnam War on our beloved country and particularly people my age. And that's all I am going to say about that.

Today is a peaceful day. The sun is shining, the mountains are out and the air is perfectly still. At the moment it is hard to believe how my neighborhood looked like the inside of a washing machine on heavy duty wash more than once in the last month. As I walked today, I noticed big and small fir branches still strewn absolutely everywhere. For some reason, Apolo has to sniff every single one and pee on half of them. I'm not certain why.

I trekked with my trusty camera to take a couple of representative photos.

A block and a half up from my house.

A lone sailboat--taken half a block up from my house.

Taken from my back deck--I do not know how there was enough of a breeze for the sail.

It is 52 degrees and I am off to buy some primroses for my front porch. Are we done with winter? Please? Today makes me happy.

// posted by Janet @ 1:16 PM 1 comments

Thursday, January 18, 2007

American Idol Seattle Style

Seattle tops all of these lists---the most educated, the most bookish, the most non-Trumplike wealthy people, the most healthy, the most outdoorsy, the most dog-loving, the most hip, the most cool, the best place to live and on and on. And now our claim to fame is "American Idol from Seattle" was the most watched Idol episode ever. BUT, everything goes down hill from there.

I watched it last night. Yes, indeed. I saw the great shots of the Space Needle, our downtown, the market, the ferries and our rain. Simon doesn't like Seattle and he announced that Seattle has no talent. In fact, I believe he used an expletive. Simon, Paula, Randy and Ryan dissed the Puget Sound area royally. But they do not understand that the real dis was to them. Seattle has tons of talent. One only has to attend the 5th Avenue High School Musical Awards to see that we ooze musical ability around here. Frankly, nobody with serious musical talent takes American Idol seriously. And the people with real talent did not attempt to stand in the huge lines and audition for a FOX reality show. Nope, Simon, Seattle is too cool for you:

1. Our musicians are in bands with real gigs and too busy to audition.

2. American Idol is considered ridiculous to truly gifted musicians.

3. Our musicians don't necessarily fit the stereotype that Idol is trying to project.

Even so, I watched every second and found myself laughing so much I had tears running down my face. The contestants were loud, mouthy, obnoxious, and talked back in several instances. I think this is typical--Seattleites stand up for themselves. It is a part of our culture. Nobody from around here would take Simon's insults without retort.

Randy called Seattle "crazy" more than once. Ryan noted that Seattleites love their dogs because more than one contestant brought poochy to the auditions. True. Ryan called the locals "defiant" and described Seattle as a "talent vacuum". Other quotes about this great city--"weirdest audition turn out in history", "talent couldn't get any worse" and Simon said Seattle had the most miserable contestants without talent he'd ever seen. Paula simply said, "Oh my God!" and Ryan reported that the good folks in line were doing nothing but "torturing" the judges.

Nope. You will not find Seattle's music nor Seattle's soul on American Idol. In fact, several of the kids that were picked last night as worthwhile candidates to continue on the show were not from here. They had flown in from Arizona and Texas to audition. Good move on their part since Seattle musicians were not in line nor competing.

I will admit that Kaley had three friends who auditioned for the fun of it. All three of these kids can sing quite well but they never made it past the first screening. I assume they did not fit the image of a Carrie Underwood or a Kelly Clarkson. And for sure, they were not weird or crazy enough to make it on TV.

No doubt that Seattle has odd, strange and eccentric people living here. Our culture encourages folks to be themselves and to express their individuality. Seattleites may be surrounded by mold but do not try to put any Seattle person in a mold--especially the American Idol one.

// posted by Janet @ 6:10 PM 3 comments

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Snow Day Number 5

Mukilteo schools are cancelled today for the fifth time this academic year. Never ever since we have lived here has this happened. Lucas can only remember a maximum of three. Naturally, I cannot enjoy it because Lucas and the two remaining French students (two others successfully flew back to France over the weekend) are driving back to Missoula. At least he called me from Moses Lake and told me he made it over Snoqualmie Pass which was covered in a new layer of snow.

On Sunday, we drove Kaley to Walla Walla. The temperatures were frigid but we had bare and dry roads over and back. As of 5 PM last night when we drove over Snoqualmie, the pavement was bare and dry. Ten hours later we have a complete turn around. It was beautiful up there, however. I felt like we were driving through a glacier because the snow was piled so high on either side of the freeway that we could not see all of the highway signs. The steep rocky parts were completely covered with cascades of icicles. Some of the ice was so thick, it had turned blue. Of course, I did not have the camera.

Down here we did not have that much snow. The problem as always is the icy slippery roads combined with our steep hills. People from six blocks away from the school cannot get there because either their driveway is too steep or the street is an ice rink. So, school is called off. I took my camera on my walk today with hopes that I would find something representative of the day and I hit gold! Teen age boys with the day off were having a great time. I guarantee that these boys have probably only had a chance to build a snow man here at sea level four or five times in their lives so they took advantage. I complimented them on their work and took a picture.

Apolo had fun, too, rubbing his face in the snow!

// posted by Janet @ 2:26 PM 0 comments

Saturday, January 13, 2007

Lost, Found, and Automobiles

Why is it that events always seem to bunch up? Tuesday night brought another storm which resulted in snow and the cancellation of school yet again on Wednesday. Completely unrelated in any way to the weather, we have had "situations" this week. I guess I will resort to a list.

1. Tuesday night the four of us went out to dinner near UW before attending a piano concert by a German pianist. While backing into the perfect parking space in a parking garage, my dear hubby smashed our new Honda Pilot into a cement pillar. I couldn't be mad because I have done worse. The horrible crunching sound just makes you sick and then when you look at the inconveniently placed cement column, you see the colors of the rainbow of the myriad of vehicles who suffered the same fate.

2. We received an upset phone call from the French kids on their travels in California and Nevada. One of the girls left her purse with passport in a hotel in Las Vegas. The hotel promised to mail it to our house for her to receive it by Thursday. Elodi needed the passport to fly back to France on Friday. Elodi is not a student but is the girlfriend of Christophe and she was here to visit him for Christmas break.

3. On Wednesday night, the four French kids returned their rental vehicle to Sea-Tac. A block before the airport, another student returning a rental car slid into them. Our streets were a nightmare and I worried about Lucas driving all the way there to pick them up when people were again abandoning cars along the sides of the freeway because of snow and ice. Luckily, the rental car bump was barely noticable and Lucas retrieved his friends without incident. If he has learned anything in college in Montana, it is how to drive on snow and ice.

4. On Thursday, no package arrived from Las Vegas. Several calls to the French Embassy in San Francisco and the consulate here resulted in advice to postpone Elodi's flight and wait for the package. UPS had a tracking number but no delivery date. We talk to our personal UPS driver as we catch him on our street about the urgency. He did not have it but promised to look into it.

5. In the meantime, on Thursday, my husband lost his palm pilot/cell phone. These days when such a thing happens, a person practically ceases to be alive. No longer does a Dr. Eaton exist without technological proof.

6. On Friday, Lucas decides to take all of his French friends to Pike Place Market. They stop at the bank in Mukilteo first.

Cell phone rings. "Mom! My Jeep won't start. We are in the bank parking lot. Can you come and give us a jump?"

"Lucas! Geez! This may be the death of the Jeep. I promised to take Kaley to Bellevue Square to buy expensive ripped jeans. AND LUCAS---anyway, don't you have the keys to the Chevy Suburban with you??!! I gave them to Christophe so you could look for your Dad's cell in the Chevy yesterday. Listen to me--the Chevy is parked right across the street from where you are now standing. It is in the QFC bus stop parking lot. Listen, you can see the truck--right?"

"Oh--yea. I guess we could leave the Jeep and take the truck. Yea, we have the truck keys right here. Whoa! I never thought of that!"

"Yes, Lucas, you and your Dad can deal with the Jeep tonight. Go in the bank and explain the Jeep will be left for a little while and explain why. I do not want you driving it. Even after a jump, you could make it downtown and be stuck again."

Five "brilliant" children who speak about five languages between them all, cross Mukilteo Speedway and drive away in a 1986 Chevy Suburban. My neck feels tight--really tight right back there on my right side.

7. My husband who no longer exists in this world called me from a land line and said someone at the UW turned in his palm pilot. The message was cryptic and he wan't sure where to pick it up but at least it is found. Dr. Eaton will live again at the UW!

8. Our UPS driver calls me and explains he has a package from a "gambling" hotel in Las Vegas. He wonders if this is the all important little box we are so desperate to receive. "YES, yes. That's it! Oh thank you, thank you. You will leave it on our porch? Good, yes--I've got these ripped jeans.....nevermind. Perfect--yes, behind the brick...Bye!" By two in the afternoon, the package with purse and all of its contents including the French passport arrives safely on our front steps.

9. Elodi manages to confirm her flight back to France for Sunday morning. So, today, Saturday, with passports in hand, the five brilliant children take off to Vancouver, BC for the day...in our smashed Honda Pilot. But before they leave, Dave and Lucas take the extracted Jeep battery which had been charging all night in our garage, up to the bank. They manage to get the Jeep started and to the repair shop. Maybe it is not dead after all--something about an alternator.

10. And also before they leave, the French students explain they do not get Las Vegas or gambling or a fake Eiffel Tower next to a fake Venice. Nor do they understand violent fights in the hockey game last night. And yes, America is bigger than it seems when you try to see the Grand Canyon, the Redwood Forests, the Oregon coast and Las Vegas all in one trip. Sacre Bleu!

picture by Kaley from Mukilteo Beach a few days ago---the wild weather has created unique clouds

Breathe! Neck relax. Breathe. What is this about a peaceful empty nest? Oh, and as I look out the window this moment, it is snowing. Again.

// posted by Janet @ 10:49 AM 2 comments

Monday, January 08, 2007

Today Is My Birthday!

I always knew I shared a birthday with Elvis. In fact, he was born in 1935 and I was born in 1953. The year numbers are transposed. This is cool. Also, I share a birthday with Stephen Hawking who turns 65 and amazingly is still alive. I did not know we shared birthdays until today when I saw it in the newspaper. This is cool, too. Frankly, I did not recognize any of the other names listed in the celebrity birthdays.

My kids are still here which is neat so I took them to lunch. Kaley will cook us a family dinner this evening. My age of 54 is rather horrifying. SCREAM! Oh well. I do not feel any different than I did 30 years ago. True, I have a few more well-earned lines on my face but I still do not see anything so earth shattering that I would consider having anything done about it. Living for 28 years in a sunless city has been good to my face.

Lucas accompanied me on my walk today. Kaley decided to try out a new gym in our area so she went there for her exercise instead of with us. We took along the camera because a medium sized tree tipped over onto a house on our street in our latest wind storm. I wanted a photo. This particular house has a sturdy tile roof so it doesn't look like much damage. What has happened is that our ground is so saturated, it is not holding the trees. And yes, the back side of our property has more mudslide. Nothing can be done about it until spring and summer when we can plant more ground covers and bushes.

They say tomorrow yet another "Big Blow" will come through. Geez! I am tired of it. Give me drizzle and fog--please!

Me and Apolo

Uprooted tree--see the root ball?

Tree from the front of the house--at least it didn't smash through the roof.

// posted by Janet @ 3:52 PM 6 comments

Saturday, January 06, 2007

And on it goes.....!

Our wild weather continues. We had another doozy yesterday and last night of extreme wind and sideways rain. This morning the sun and the mountains were out. The water was calm as if Mother Nature was saying, "Who me?"

Our power went out---twice. The December 14th storm didn't knock our power out but this one did. I do have an emergency cupboard with a first aid kit, radio, police scanner, and flashlights and extra batteries. Lucas has a head lamp he uses camping. It was 5 PM and Kaley was getting ready to go out with friends. She was a little horrified that the complete darkness was prohibitive to the application of make up. Lucas rigged her up with the head lamp and a big flashlight. She didn't like it much that we thought she was particularly funny. We have a gas fire place and a regular fire place for heat. I still had Christmas candles on hand. Our gas stove still works without electricity as well. I proceeded to prepare an omelette while Lucas held the flashlight.

The outage didn't last long but the storm continued. Of course, our leaky window that is caulked up the wazoo still leaks like a sieve. Lucas was planning on driving to Bellingham which is half way to Vancouver BC to see from friends. It made me nervous on such a stormy night. Dave and I went to bed and sometime in the night before Lucas got home, the power went out again and was out most of the night.

Lucas said that at 2 in the morning as he was driving back, everything looked like a war zone. He could not get back to take his friend home on the other side of the gulch from here because of a tree blocking the road. They had to find another route. He managed to get behind a fire truck on the way back to our house for which I was grateful. They traveled slowly looking for downed trees and power lines.

My guess is that Mother Nature realized she had forgotten us on December 14th so she made up for it last night. Another home was smashed by a tree in Everett with the family just being missed as they slept.
http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/NW_010607WABweatherSW.13c15340.html

Vancouver BC was hit as well. The roof of BC Place Stadium collapsed yesterday because the wind ripped a hole in it. Lucas had played there with orchestra at one time. The plan has been that the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 Olympics would be held there. This has not been a planned part of the Olympic construction but I guess it is now!
http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/NW_010507WABbcplacedomecollapseJM.f44cd9a.html

And on it goes.

UPDATE Wind and rain continued last night again. Poor Apolo isn't sleeping all night because he is so afraid of the wind. Anyway, I found this picture and caption on the King5 website and I got quite a chuckle out of it.

Rock & Roll
By Ross Fotheringham
Ferry ride 7 dollars. Car Wash on Ferry Zero Dollars. Having your picture shown "On Air" Priceless! Location: Mukilteo Washington

Date: Friday, Jan 5th, 2007

// posted by Janet @ 4:22 PM 0 comments

Monday, January 01, 2007

Blessed Christmas

My head always struggles this time of year. I did not have this angst in my brain as a child. In Helena, Montana, everyone was pretty much the same economically. I didn't see disparity between groups of people. My husband's parents were well off by Helena's standards. We grew up three blocks apart. Truly, minimal difference existed between our families. While they had a little money and a successful jewelry store, my father had education and the respect of the community as the principal of the local junior high.

Seattle is different. We have tons of folks with tons of money. Recently, an article in the paper told about a high school history teacher who donated $1 million to the history department at UW. He is retired and never had a salary of more than $35,000 per year. He merely dabbled in our hot real estate market on the side and earned millions. Nobody knew. His first priority was his students and he is grateful for his education--hence, the donation. The history teacher is one example of many.
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=milliondollarman01m&date=20070101&query=history+teacher+million+UW

Yet everyday on the streets of Seattle, one can witness severe poverty. Furthermore, tucked within all of the neighborhoods and only blocks from million dollar houses are apartments or small homes with people barely making it. Through my church we help these needy families in Edmonds, Lynnwood, and Mukilteo with food, presents, and basics such as toothpaste. My kids would pick a matching child of the same sex and age and shop for them. Now the match yeilds older teens who need winter coats and socks. But my help seems paltry. The families are still destitute. We still spend too much on ourselves. In my opinion, my children were raised with privilege and a nice house beyond anything I ever imagined as a kid in Helena. It is all so dichotomous.

And I am haunted always by a Christmas Eve 25 years ago. As a young lawyer working in a downtown Seattle law firm, I waited in the dark for my bus. Working in the big city was exciting. More than once while standing at the bus stop, I would look up at the sky scrapers and feel amazed that this little girl from Montana was there. But this one dark night I was approached by a homeless man. He told me he had no where to go and it was Christmas. He asked me if he could come home with me. In all likelihood, alcohol gave him the courage to pose the question. He was not belligerent. He was not coming on to me. He was not panhandling. He was a desperate and sad soul.

How did I respond? I told him it was not possible. I said no. I apologized and wished him a "Merry Christmas". He walked away. I stared at the streets of Seattle and the Christmas lights through the bus window and tears trickled down my cheeks. The encounter profoundly affected me that Christmas and every Christmas since. I did nothing to help this person except to feel terrible about his predicament.

My response over the years, I guess, has been to teach my children. They have received my message and for this my soul is grateful. My son plans to head for South America after he graduates to teach English to children and in some way to improve living conditions for the poorest of the poor. My daughter is hooked up with some great organizations trying to end global poverty. From her, I received my best Christmas present--donations in our name to Oxfam.
http://www.oxfamamericaunwrapped.com/

Each of us received a card describing a representation of the gift she made in our name. Along with the description was a personal note from her:

1. For her brother, she bought a sheep.

"Dear Lucas, You are fortunate to be able to swathe yourself in wool and leather and to consume lamb and steak whenever you please. But some people have to live off of rice and thin textiles. This Christmas you can feel happy in knowing that your gift is allowing a family to survive and make a living. So enjoy your roast beef! Love, Kaley"

2. For her Daddy, she protected traditional fishing grounds.

"Dear Daddy, Since we have the means to be able to pay for a personal fishing trip every year to Alaska I thought it would be applicable to ensure that some family with less than that can do the same thing! I love you and Merry Christmas---feel good about this gift. Kaley"

3. For me, an emergency toilet was purchased in my honor.

"Dear Mommy, when you have to go to the bathroom you have the luxury of looking out at a beautiful perched view of Puget Sound in a room that will eventually be etched in luxurious marble. Some people have to shit in their living room. You can feel good this Chirstmas that you are upping someone's quality if life even a smidgen by providing them with a fraction of the luxury you have when you excrete. I love you and Merry Christmas. Kaley"

And the song in my head as I struggle with dichotomy. Thank you, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young for "Teach Your Children":

You who are on the road

Must have a code that you can live by And so become yourself

Because the past is just a good bye.

Teach your children well,

Their father's hell did slowly go by,

And feed them on your dreams

The one they picked, the one you'll know by.

Don't you ever ask them why, if they told you, you would cry,

So just look at them and sigh and know they love you.

And you, of tender years,

Can't know the fears that your elders grew by,

And so please help them with your youth,

They seek the truth before they can die.

Can you hear and do you care and Cant you see we must be free to

Teach your children what you believe in.

Make a world that we can live in.

Teach your parents well,

Their children's hell will slowly go by,