Mukilteo Musings

Only In Seattle---Update

1. Only in Seattle do the people freak out a little over a couple of bears. Don't get me wrong. I am afraid of bears, too. I had plenty of encounters when I was a kid and our family spent a lot of time camping in tents in places where a bear could have eaten me. I prefer to see them from the inside of a car. But, Seattleites are going a little overboard to call 911 and lock down a school if they see a rummaging black bear. Anyway, the update is that our swimming bear has been spotted several times in south Sound. He has been traveling about 2 miles a day and acting like he is on a mission. At one point he was seen at a park and ride--like maybe he did miss the ferry. Where is he going; what is he looking for? The saga continues.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/317539_bear29.html

Update update: Phil, on his blog, has posted about our swimming bear. He has actually traversed on the very same path by kayak. Here are his pictures of a "bear's eye view."
http://perilsofcaffeineintheevening.com/





One article I read said the lighthouse caretaker actually tried to talk to the bear before he jumped in the water to begin his two mile swim. "Bear, bear! Comeback! All you will find on the other side are freeways, metro buses, and houses--lots and lots of houses with people who will think you are a monster and they'll call 911 and stuff."

2. Only in Seattle is an expected 85 degree day headline news. The reporters are covering it like they do when snow is expected. They stake out the spot where the first snowflake will be spotted. But today, we have the warnings to check on the elderly and keep our pets watered and cool. I am still in sweats at 10 AM and I am not expecting my thermometer to get much over 80 where I live. Nevertheless--Seattle scorcher arrives and only for one day!
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/317655_hot30.html

3. And finally, only in Seattle are we consumed with rampant car theft. It was headline news today that Seattle is 6th in the nation for car theft. Our car was stolen in April. Our insurance company provided an adequate settlement. Lo and behold, as Dave was driving through the U-district on his way home a week ago, he spotted our little white Acura. The front plate was ours but the back plate had been replaced with a different one. He called the police who had it towed and impounded. We called the insurance company because the car is now theirs.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/317693_cartheft30.html
http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/NW_053007WABcartheftsLJ.25455661.html

According to the Seattle PI article, our car, a 99 Acura with the keys nearby or in it in the U-district pretty much fit the theft profile:

"The crime fits the profile of a typical Seattle car theft in more ways than one. Drugs, a North Seattle neighborhood, unlocked doors and Asian-made cars from the '80s or '90s -- all factors that come up frequently in car theft investigations."

But this is where our theft deviated from the norm:

"In many cases, stolen cars are discovered abandoned on roadsides a few days later, their stereos and wheels gone, with beer bottles, cigarette butts and the remains of fast-food meals left in their place. But sometimes the cars are gone for good, reduced to piles of scrap metal or sold as parts on eBay."

Our car had been nicely parked and was being used by someone. My husband thought perhaps a student had been driving it. He looked in the windows and what did he see?

Starbuck's coffee cups and an umbrella!!

Yep. Only in Seattle.