Sunday, December 30, 2007
Memories
The end of the year brings thoughts about things past. At the moment, I am alone and I should be cleaning our horribly messy house. Being sick and without energy to do anything reveals just how much I do do around here--if that makes any sense. To be honest, it makes me feel good about myself. Sometimes, I think I am lazy and when I get sick, I realize I am not lazy at all as I watch the fluffy Golden Retriever hair piling up in the corners.
The reason I am alone is that Dave and Kaley are attending the Seattle Symphony's performance of Beethoven's 9th. Dave was jealous that I took Kaley to Jesus Christ Superstar without him so he bought Symphony tickets for Christmas for the two of them. Kaley is the double beneficiary. Lucas threw a little envy tantrum about it on the phone on Christmas day but somehow I do not feel sorry for him. He is staying at a vacation home in the French Alps as I write this with Magali and her family.
Before the concert, I joined Dave and Kaley at Cafe Campagne in downtown Seattle for brunch. It was delightful. My French "fines herbs" omelet was wonderful and with it I had a gigantic cafe au lait. See, I guess we are jealous of Lucas. After brunch, we went into Le Panier bakery in Pike Place Market. The place is authentic French and the smell hits you in the face when you pull open the door. For us, the aroma transports us back to times we have spent in France. Instantaneous euphoria!
Smells seem to trigger memories in vibrant ways. I asked both Dave and Kaley to tell me what smell takes them back to childhood. I decided to list some of my own in addition to theirs.
1. Lemon Joy dish soap. On Christmas Eve we ran out of my normal Dawn blue detergent. We had eaten greasy goose for dinner and not all of the dishes fit in the dishwasher. We needed to wash some things by hand. I was too sick to go to Christmas Eve service so Dave and Kaley went and picked up some Lemon Joy on the way home. The mixture of the goose grease and the dish detergent in the kitchen sink took me instantaneously back to Christmas in Paris two years ago. We must have had the same dish detergent in the apartment there.
2. Split Pea soup. Dave had just been asked by our friend if he liked split pea soup because she was planning on serving it last night at a party for her husband and me. We share birthdays a day apart. He responded it was not his favorite. The smell of it takes him back to kindergarten/day care in Helena, Montana. Dave's Mom worked on and off in the family jewelry store and found places for little Davey to stay. I guess this place served split pea soup and it pretty much made him feel like throwing up everyday. Seems odd to me to serve split pea soup to 4 and 5 year olds. Add on to it a layer of separation anxiety from his Mommy and you end up with a smell associated with bad feelings that lasts a lifetime. Needless to say, our friends served chili instead.
3. Lilacs. The lilacs are overwhelmed around here by rhodies and azaleas. Rhodies and azaleas can be evergreen. Lilacs are not. Also, lilacs need more sun than we have to offer. But some people have successful lilac bushes. There are several along my walking routes. In Montana, the lilacs bloom the middle of May to the middle or end of June. Here, they bloom a couple of months earlier. Always, when I pass a bush in blossom, I reach to sniff. In an instant, I am carried back to the last day of school at Ray Bjork Elementary school in Helena. I do not quite remember but my Mom must have sent me to school with a bouquet from our back yard to give to the teacher.
4. Cigarette smoke. For Kaley, this is a positive smell. Luckily, for most of her childhood in Seattle, she was not exposed to much second hand smoke. But, when we went to France the first time, she was only seven years old. The restaurants and other public places were not smoke free. So now, if she smells cigarette smoke on the streets downtown, it takes her back to Paris in a second.
5. Emeraude perfume. I haven't smelled this in many years. This was my Grandma's favorite perfume and she wore it everyday. All of her things smelled of Emeraude. If I see it in stores and smell the sampler and close my eyes, my Grandma is right there in such a powerful and wonderful way.
Ok, I need to get off the computer and go upstairs and put that lemon Joy to work. There is a greasy goose pan still unwashed from Christmas--I am not kidding (it needed to soak, right?)
And I can pretend I am in Paris while I clean house.
The end of the year brings thoughts about things past. At the moment, I am alone and I should be cleaning our horribly messy house. Being sick and without energy to do anything reveals just how much I do do around here--if that makes any sense. To be honest, it makes me feel good about myself. Sometimes, I think I am lazy and when I get sick, I realize I am not lazy at all as I watch the fluffy Golden Retriever hair piling up in the corners.
The reason I am alone is that Dave and Kaley are attending the Seattle Symphony's performance of Beethoven's 9th. Dave was jealous that I took Kaley to Jesus Christ Superstar without him so he bought Symphony tickets for Christmas for the two of them. Kaley is the double beneficiary. Lucas threw a little envy tantrum about it on the phone on Christmas day but somehow I do not feel sorry for him. He is staying at a vacation home in the French Alps as I write this with Magali and her family.
Before the concert, I joined Dave and Kaley at Cafe Campagne in downtown Seattle for brunch. It was delightful. My French "fines herbs" omelet was wonderful and with it I had a gigantic cafe au lait. See, I guess we are jealous of Lucas. After brunch, we went into Le Panier bakery in Pike Place Market. The place is authentic French and the smell hits you in the face when you pull open the door. For us, the aroma transports us back to times we have spent in France. Instantaneous euphoria!
Smells seem to trigger memories in vibrant ways. I asked both Dave and Kaley to tell me what smell takes them back to childhood. I decided to list some of my own in addition to theirs.
1. Lemon Joy dish soap. On Christmas Eve we ran out of my normal Dawn blue detergent. We had eaten greasy goose for dinner and not all of the dishes fit in the dishwasher. We needed to wash some things by hand. I was too sick to go to Christmas Eve service so Dave and Kaley went and picked up some Lemon Joy on the way home. The mixture of the goose grease and the dish detergent in the kitchen sink took me instantaneously back to Christmas in Paris two years ago. We must have had the same dish detergent in the apartment there.
2. Split Pea soup. Dave had just been asked by our friend if he liked split pea soup because she was planning on serving it last night at a party for her husband and me. We share birthdays a day apart. He responded it was not his favorite. The smell of it takes him back to kindergarten/day care in Helena, Montana. Dave's Mom worked on and off in the family jewelry store and found places for little Davey to stay. I guess this place served split pea soup and it pretty much made him feel like throwing up everyday. Seems odd to me to serve split pea soup to 4 and 5 year olds. Add on to it a layer of separation anxiety from his Mommy and you end up with a smell associated with bad feelings that lasts a lifetime. Needless to say, our friends served chili instead.
3. Lilacs. The lilacs are overwhelmed around here by rhodies and azaleas. Rhodies and azaleas can be evergreen. Lilacs are not. Also, lilacs need more sun than we have to offer. But some people have successful lilac bushes. There are several along my walking routes. In Montana, the lilacs bloom the middle of May to the middle or end of June. Here, they bloom a couple of months earlier. Always, when I pass a bush in blossom, I reach to sniff. In an instant, I am carried back to the last day of school at Ray Bjork Elementary school in Helena. I do not quite remember but my Mom must have sent me to school with a bouquet from our back yard to give to the teacher.
4. Cigarette smoke. For Kaley, this is a positive smell. Luckily, for most of her childhood in Seattle, she was not exposed to much second hand smoke. But, when we went to France the first time, she was only seven years old. The restaurants and other public places were not smoke free. So now, if she smells cigarette smoke on the streets downtown, it takes her back to Paris in a second.
5. Emeraude perfume. I haven't smelled this in many years. This was my Grandma's favorite perfume and she wore it everyday. All of her things smelled of Emeraude. If I see it in stores and smell the sampler and close my eyes, my Grandma is right there in such a powerful and wonderful way.
Ok, I need to get off the computer and go upstairs and put that lemon Joy to work. There is a greasy goose pan still unwashed from Christmas--I am not kidding (it needed to soak, right?)
And I can pretend I am in Paris while I clean house.
// posted by Janet @ 2:48 PM
0 comments
Saturday, December 29, 2007
My Affliction
I'm going to try to make this short. We all have our burdens but mine is that I suffer from asthma. If I keep myself healthy and wash my hands to avoid colds, it is kept at bay. For two years, I have not had a respiratory illness so I have not thought much about it. Unfortunately, asthma rears its ugly head when I get even mildy sick.
I have had it my whole life though I was not aware of it until I was 36. At that time, we traveled to Montana for Dave's parents' 50th Wedding Anniversary. Kaley was a baby and I was still nursing her so I did not want to be on a bunch of antibiotics. A mere cold had hung on to the point I could not breathe and I could not taste. Finally, the discomfort was so great that I went to the ER in Helena, Montana and the young doctor looked at me and told me in two minutes my problem was asthma. He wondered why nobody had told me before. After a couple of days of inhalers, I was fine.
When I was a child, I remember my chest would get "tight." During and after colds, my coughing would be horrendous. In the middle of the night when it was the worst, my father would put Vicks vaporub on a sugar cube and make me hold it in the back of my throat until it dissolved. Ugh! It was so nasty but you know, it usually worked. My toxicologist husband cringes at the idea of injesting Vicks vaporub and does not recommend it as a remedy. I also remember when I was not sick but walking uphill home from school on cold days, at Broadway and Lamborn in Helena, my chest would "tighten" up. Only three blocks more and it would go away. I thought it was normal.
Both of my parents smoked which certainly did not help my circumstances. However, the smoking was not the cause. I was born with twitchy lungs. The genetics of it all have been passed along to both of my children. From age 20 to 30, my affliction was not much of a problem probably due to the fact I was finally not living in a smoke filled home. Moving to the Seattle area and having goopy-nosed kids picking up all sorts of illnesses has caused asthma to be an issue for me for the last 20 or so years.
Asthma is why I walk everyday and keep my weight in check. Asthma is why I guzzle strong coffee a good share of the day. Asthma is why I fear people who have the sniffles. Asthma is why I had premature cataracts (along with backpacking without sunglasses at high altitudes). The cold that attacked me on Christmas Eve triggered my affliction. For me, it is never just the sniffles. Today is the first day I have been able to walk Apolo since Monday. I did my inhaler and walked my short route. It was ok. For the next two months, at certain points in my walk, my breathing will be compromised.
But eventually, it will go away.....again.
I'm going to try to make this short. We all have our burdens but mine is that I suffer from asthma. If I keep myself healthy and wash my hands to avoid colds, it is kept at bay. For two years, I have not had a respiratory illness so I have not thought much about it. Unfortunately, asthma rears its ugly head when I get even mildy sick.
I have had it my whole life though I was not aware of it until I was 36. At that time, we traveled to Montana for Dave's parents' 50th Wedding Anniversary. Kaley was a baby and I was still nursing her so I did not want to be on a bunch of antibiotics. A mere cold had hung on to the point I could not breathe and I could not taste. Finally, the discomfort was so great that I went to the ER in Helena, Montana and the young doctor looked at me and told me in two minutes my problem was asthma. He wondered why nobody had told me before. After a couple of days of inhalers, I was fine.
When I was a child, I remember my chest would get "tight." During and after colds, my coughing would be horrendous. In the middle of the night when it was the worst, my father would put Vicks vaporub on a sugar cube and make me hold it in the back of my throat until it dissolved. Ugh! It was so nasty but you know, it usually worked. My toxicologist husband cringes at the idea of injesting Vicks vaporub and does not recommend it as a remedy. I also remember when I was not sick but walking uphill home from school on cold days, at Broadway and Lamborn in Helena, my chest would "tighten" up. Only three blocks more and it would go away. I thought it was normal.
Both of my parents smoked which certainly did not help my circumstances. However, the smoking was not the cause. I was born with twitchy lungs. The genetics of it all have been passed along to both of my children. From age 20 to 30, my affliction was not much of a problem probably due to the fact I was finally not living in a smoke filled home. Moving to the Seattle area and having goopy-nosed kids picking up all sorts of illnesses has caused asthma to be an issue for me for the last 20 or so years.
Asthma is why I walk everyday and keep my weight in check. Asthma is why I guzzle strong coffee a good share of the day. Asthma is why I fear people who have the sniffles. Asthma is why I had premature cataracts (along with backpacking without sunglasses at high altitudes). The cold that attacked me on Christmas Eve triggered my affliction. For me, it is never just the sniffles. Today is the first day I have been able to walk Apolo since Monday. I did my inhaler and walked my short route. It was ok. For the next two months, at certain points in my walk, my breathing will be compromised.
But eventually, it will go away.....again.
// posted by Janet @ 11:55 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Merry Christmas to One and All!
Our family has finished opening presents. Definitely, we scaled back this year on the number of gifts and the cost. We are all getting new bathrooms after all....someday....eventually. Actually, Kaley's bathroom is finished for the most part.
On Sunday evening, we attended a party where most of the people were church friends. A rowdy group of about 25 of us took to the outdoors to do a little caroling for the neighbors. My wish was that we would disturb the peace enough that the Mukilteo police would come. As they say, there is no bad publicity. "Large group of local Episcopalians including the group's priest arrested for public nuisance." But no. We were well received. The rain drenched us and the words of the carols washed off of our song sheets so we had to call it a night after only a few houses.
Unfortunately, I had the beginnings of a cold before the singing adventure. Yesterday, the virus settled in making me miserable. Dave, of course, went into the University leaving the final shopping for me. He is always busy that man of mine. As with Thanksgiving, my goal was to purchase local items for our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner. Potato chips are my downfall but my head was so stuffy, I indulged by buying Tim's Cascade Jalapeno Hot. Hey, they are local; it is Christmas; and they open up your nose after about three chips.
Our plan to allow Apolo the run of the house now is over. For some reason, this dog has never outgrown the puppy stage. He managed to destroy a roll of Christmas wrapping paper, almost wrecked a Teddy Bear of Kaley's from her boyfriend, and he chewed the heel off her good black shoes just this morning. He is quick and sneaky. But he is cute--no doubt about that.
Remember, today is only the first day of Christmas. We have eleven more to go even if Rite Aid has stripped their shelves to make room for the red hearts.
Trouble!
Merry Christmas to all. May Peace and Joy be with you today and always.
Our family has finished opening presents. Definitely, we scaled back this year on the number of gifts and the cost. We are all getting new bathrooms after all....someday....eventually. Actually, Kaley's bathroom is finished for the most part.
On Sunday evening, we attended a party where most of the people were church friends. A rowdy group of about 25 of us took to the outdoors to do a little caroling for the neighbors. My wish was that we would disturb the peace enough that the Mukilteo police would come. As they say, there is no bad publicity. "Large group of local Episcopalians including the group's priest arrested for public nuisance." But no. We were well received. The rain drenched us and the words of the carols washed off of our song sheets so we had to call it a night after only a few houses.
Unfortunately, I had the beginnings of a cold before the singing adventure. Yesterday, the virus settled in making me miserable. Dave, of course, went into the University leaving the final shopping for me. He is always busy that man of mine. As with Thanksgiving, my goal was to purchase local items for our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner. Potato chips are my downfall but my head was so stuffy, I indulged by buying Tim's Cascade Jalapeno Hot. Hey, they are local; it is Christmas; and they open up your nose after about three chips.
Our plan to allow Apolo the run of the house now is over. For some reason, this dog has never outgrown the puppy stage. He managed to destroy a roll of Christmas wrapping paper, almost wrecked a Teddy Bear of Kaley's from her boyfriend, and he chewed the heel off her good black shoes just this morning. He is quick and sneaky. But he is cute--no doubt about that.
Remember, today is only the first day of Christmas. We have eleven more to go even if Rite Aid has stripped their shelves to make room for the red hearts.
Trouble!
Merry Christmas to all. May Peace and Joy be with you today and always.
// posted by Janet @ 11:59 AM
1 comments
Sunday, December 23, 2007
The Day the Day Before Christmas.....
1. I have not written my Christmas letter nor have I yet sent out cards. Probably, in January. Yes, I will send out Epiphany cards.
2. Il pleut. French--means it is raining. Toujours, il pleut. Of course, this means it is dumping snow on the passes and Puget Sounders are stranded unless they want to put out $600 a ticket to fly someplace....like Montana.
3. Apolo is wandering around the house and I do not trust him even though he is nearly six. Kaley had her annual Christmas party on Friday night. Usually, we keep a baby gate up between the kitchen/family room area and the dining/living room area to keep puppy confined to the kitchen. We take it down when we have parties and put Apolo in the laundry room. Dave thinks Apolo can now have the run of the entire house so we have not yet reattached the baby gate. I have already found him shredding a partial roll of toilet paper in the corner of our bedroom and eating a sock.
4. Speaking of Kaley's annual bash, her boyfriend, Jeff, was here from Portland to attend. He came a couple of days early to help her shop, cook, and prepare food. I whispered to him that if he survived all of this, he was good to go. In addition, he met about 50 of Kaley's friends and male admirers. I was impressed. Some 20 year old young men would have taken off running never to return but he handled it all extremely well.
5. My son just called from Chambery, France. He had a Christmas dinner at Magali's Grandparent's home with all of her relatives. They roasted a turkey with the head still attached--feathers and all. They do that sort of thing in France. The head proves freshness or the fact the animal being eaten is what it is supposed to be.
6. I told Lucas how Jeff had helped with party preparations and faced Kaley's particularly critical and protective friends. His serious response: "Whoa! Rough. Tell Jeff that if he wants to go into the mountains and just shoot stuff to make up for it, I'd be happy to take him."
7. Yesterday, Kaley and I went to "Jesus Christ Superstar," the musical. It played in the Paramount Theater, downtown Seattle for only three shows, yesterday and today. Jesus was played by Ted Neeley who starred as Jesus in the movie 30 years ago. Kaley and I love this musical---Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice. The tickets came to me in one of those unexpected, weird, out of the blue ways. I guess you call it the magic of Christmas. Even though Jesus looked kind of old and is old, his voice is still amazing. He hit some powerful high notes. Wow! The scene in the temple???!! The rest of the young cast was superb. Judas and Mary Magdalene were fantastic. Definitely, this will be one of my life's Christmas highlights.
http://www.thejcstour.com/index.html
Go here to the Seattlest blog to see YouTube of Judas played by Corey Glover. Shivers. I'm not kidding.
http://seattlest.com/2007/12/21/get_out_this_we_4.php
8. Dave and I miss our families as always. We are stranded this time of year. It is impossible to reasonably travel to Montana. I have said this before: It is easier and cheaper to fly to New York, London, or Paris. All of Dave's family is together in the Spokane area but the roads over the mountains are atrocious. We do not expect family to try to visit us, either. Especially, we miss Lucas.
1. I have not written my Christmas letter nor have I yet sent out cards. Probably, in January. Yes, I will send out Epiphany cards.
2. Il pleut. French--means it is raining. Toujours, il pleut. Of course, this means it is dumping snow on the passes and Puget Sounders are stranded unless they want to put out $600 a ticket to fly someplace....like Montana.
3. Apolo is wandering around the house and I do not trust him even though he is nearly six. Kaley had her annual Christmas party on Friday night. Usually, we keep a baby gate up between the kitchen/family room area and the dining/living room area to keep puppy confined to the kitchen. We take it down when we have parties and put Apolo in the laundry room. Dave thinks Apolo can now have the run of the entire house so we have not yet reattached the baby gate. I have already found him shredding a partial roll of toilet paper in the corner of our bedroom and eating a sock.
4. Speaking of Kaley's annual bash, her boyfriend, Jeff, was here from Portland to attend. He came a couple of days early to help her shop, cook, and prepare food. I whispered to him that if he survived all of this, he was good to go. In addition, he met about 50 of Kaley's friends and male admirers. I was impressed. Some 20 year old young men would have taken off running never to return but he handled it all extremely well.
5. My son just called from Chambery, France. He had a Christmas dinner at Magali's Grandparent's home with all of her relatives. They roasted a turkey with the head still attached--feathers and all. They do that sort of thing in France. The head proves freshness or the fact the animal being eaten is what it is supposed to be.
6. I told Lucas how Jeff had helped with party preparations and faced Kaley's particularly critical and protective friends. His serious response: "Whoa! Rough. Tell Jeff that if he wants to go into the mountains and just shoot stuff to make up for it, I'd be happy to take him."
7. Yesterday, Kaley and I went to "Jesus Christ Superstar," the musical. It played in the Paramount Theater, downtown Seattle for only three shows, yesterday and today. Jesus was played by Ted Neeley who starred as Jesus in the movie 30 years ago. Kaley and I love this musical---Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice. The tickets came to me in one of those unexpected, weird, out of the blue ways. I guess you call it the magic of Christmas. Even though Jesus looked kind of old and is old, his voice is still amazing. He hit some powerful high notes. Wow! The scene in the temple???!! The rest of the young cast was superb. Judas and Mary Magdalene were fantastic. Definitely, this will be one of my life's Christmas highlights.
http://www.thejcstour.com/index.html
Go here to the Seattlest blog to see YouTube of Judas played by Corey Glover. Shivers. I'm not kidding.
http://seattlest.com/2007/12/21/get_out_this_we_4.php
8. Dave and I miss our families as always. We are stranded this time of year. It is impossible to reasonably travel to Montana. I have said this before: It is easier and cheaper to fly to New York, London, or Paris. All of Dave's family is together in the Spokane area but the roads over the mountains are atrocious. We do not expect family to try to visit us, either. Especially, we miss Lucas.
// posted by Janet @ 2:27 PM
4 comments
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Dim and Dreary
We are approaching the shortest and darkest day of the year. It is noticeable. At 3:30 in the afternoon the cars have on their headlights. Add to this our absence of any sun duirng the day because of our heavy cloud cover. Living closer to the water than we did for the first 24 years has helped tremendously. Water reflects light.
I did a little comparison this morning. In Mukilteo, the sun rises at 7:55 AM and sets at 4:18 PM on this date. We have 9 hours and 35 minutes of visible light---that is if the sun is even shining which it is not. In Denver, where they have sunlight to begin with, the sun rises at 7:17 AM and sets at 4:38 PM giving them 10 hours and 21 minutes of visible light. New York is similar with a sunrise at 7:15 and sunset at 4:31 with 10 hours and 17 minutes of light. Los Angeles has sunrise at 6:53 AM, sunset at 4:47 with a whopping 10 hours and 49 minutes of visible light.
We are dark here but it could be worse. In Juneau, they only have 8 hours 7 minutes of light with sunrise at 8:44 AM and sunset at 3:06 in the afternoon. Barrow, Alaska doesn't even list a sunsrise or sunset because it never does. They have a mere 2 hours and 52 minutes of dim light. I am glad we do not live in Alaska. I would go stark raving mad this time of year.
Reflection of my Christmas tree in my living room window. Taken at around 8:15 this morning.
Mist on the water. Taken at about 8:15, too.
I must say, the darkness makes it worthwhile to have the Christmas lights on a good share of the day.
We are approaching the shortest and darkest day of the year. It is noticeable. At 3:30 in the afternoon the cars have on their headlights. Add to this our absence of any sun duirng the day because of our heavy cloud cover. Living closer to the water than we did for the first 24 years has helped tremendously. Water reflects light.
I did a little comparison this morning. In Mukilteo, the sun rises at 7:55 AM and sets at 4:18 PM on this date. We have 9 hours and 35 minutes of visible light---that is if the sun is even shining which it is not. In Denver, where they have sunlight to begin with, the sun rises at 7:17 AM and sets at 4:38 PM giving them 10 hours and 21 minutes of visible light. New York is similar with a sunrise at 7:15 and sunset at 4:31 with 10 hours and 17 minutes of light. Los Angeles has sunrise at 6:53 AM, sunset at 4:47 with a whopping 10 hours and 49 minutes of visible light.
We are dark here but it could be worse. In Juneau, they only have 8 hours 7 minutes of light with sunrise at 8:44 AM and sunset at 3:06 in the afternoon. Barrow, Alaska doesn't even list a sunsrise or sunset because it never does. They have a mere 2 hours and 52 minutes of dim light. I am glad we do not live in Alaska. I would go stark raving mad this time of year.
Reflection of my Christmas tree in my living room window. Taken at around 8:15 this morning.
Mist on the water. Taken at about 8:15, too.
I must say, the darkness makes it worthwhile to have the Christmas lights on a good share of the day.
// posted by Janet @ 8:24 AM
0 comments
Saturday, December 15, 2007
The "R" Word: Retirement!
This word has been ringing through my head lately. Dave's brother is about to retire. My brother, after thirty-five years of being an elementary school teacher, has turned in his letter. Friends of mine from Colorado are looking for a place to retire with mountains and water and have asked me my thoughts since we are surrounded by water and mountains in the Puget Sound area.
The other evening we attended a UW Christmas party at the faculty club. We were sitting at the old timers table. The other tables were filled with young professors and students. Our good friends were across from us. One couple had retired and the other couple was beginning to think about it. Party attendees were asking the retired professor and his wife how they were enjoying themselves. Believe me, their response made me feel like a slug and corroborated those commercials with Dennis Hopper about how baby boomers are not retiring like our parents did. Nope, no couch potatoes in this crowd.
Dave's friend, all tan, slim, fit and handsome, explained how he had given up their sail boat but had replaced it with something bigger and less subject to the weather. Not only that but he had taken up diving. He was advising my husband where to take lessons and become certified. I heard Dave say he might think about looking into scuba diving since he loves to snorkel. A frown of disbelief appeared on my face as I joined the conversation. "But, Dave! You get extremely claustrophobic at the dentist if they put anything over your face."
Handsome retired man grinned, "Don't you hate it when our wives know us better than we know ourselves?" In the mean time, our other friend, one of the leading toxicologists and risk specialists in the nation, started rambling about how even putting your toe in salt water any where in the world turned you into shark bait. He couldn't see wading in the waves in Hawaii, let alone diving the Great Barrier Reef off Australia. Shark bait! Whoa! Jim is pathologically afraid of sharks. I was amazed.
Tan retired man continued. He told us about his annual skiing vacations. His wife added that she doesn't downhill anymore but still does cross country. Oh, and they mountain bike and were disgruntled in Las Vegas when the Mandolay Bay would not let them park their Subaru with the bikes on the top next to the Ferraris and Porsches out front. It wouldn't fit in the parking garage. At least we had something in common. They hated Las Vegas. They spent 18 hours there; they had never been there before; and they were never going back. I guess when you retire, you have to try Las Vegas at least once.
After the party, my husband and I discussed activities besides shuffle board that we should take up so we could enter our retirement years properly. We need to do justice to our baby boomer generation. I am not going to mountain bike. I will not under any circumstances take up scuba diving. I am afraid of water and now I am afraid of sharks. I am not athletic enough or brave enough to downhill ski. Rock climbing scares the bejeebers out of me. Wolves and grizzly bears have been reintroduced into wilderness so backpacking no longer appeals to me. I feel the same about bears as our friend Jim feels about sharks.
Observation. Yes, I like to observe----if I am comfortable. My goal is to visit all of the National Parks in the United States. We have a good start. Finding unusual rock formations could easily become my hobby. I could add hiking a few miles to each visit. I love to watch animals in the wild. Perhaps a photo safari to Africa would be appropriate. Checking out the polar bears in Churchill, Canada before they become extinct is something I could add to the list of baby boomer approved adventures. Digging for dinosaur bones at excavation sites in Montana is another possibility.
The point is we should refuse to succumb to old age and keep active and healthy. Actually, I learn a lot from the AARP magazine. Some people, like my children, probably think that joining AARP and receiving the magazine is succumbing to old age but it is just the opposite. The articles are positive and inspiring. I quit reading the women's magazines years ago because of the negativity. You know, the magazines at the grocery store check out stand with articles such as "You May Have This Disease and Not Even Know It: The Disturbing Signs and Quiet Symptoms" or "Can This Marriage Be Saved? Hidden Signs Your Marriage is Doomed" or "The Heartbreak of this Unknown Childhood Disease. Your Child May be Dying Without You Even Knowing." Talk about stress. I'd be shaking by the time I got to the cookie recipe at the end.
In the issue of AARP with Caroline Kennedy as cover girl, I skipped over the funeral scams and came across an article about regrets, entitled "Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda." Evidently, our generation is plagued with regrets.
http://www.aarpmagazine.org/people/woulda_coulda_shoulda.html
For example, women have decided to work and delay having children until they discover it is too late. Or others have continued to play and avoid responsibility only to find at 50, you can no longer say, "someday I'll settle down." It is scary to realize the future is here and in our faces. We have to get "it" right now. The "hit parade" of greatest regrets in life is:
1. Education. People delay finishing up their college degree or they dream about graduate school but never go. Luckily, I do not have this regret but my education has taught me one never stops learning. Just the other day, I figured out Sudoku.
2. Career. People get in a rut in a job they do not necessarily like until it is too late to change. For me, I wonder what my life would be like if I had left my kids in day care and continued the law firm zoom to the top. I'd be making $300,000.00 at least per year. I admit. I think about it.
3. Romance. I guess people regret destroyed marriages more than making an effort to stay together. I feel lucky on this one. My marriage has never been difficult. My husband puts up with a wife who reveals his claustrophia at Christmas parties.
4. Family. No huge regrets here. Dave and I were good parents and we get along with both of our families. Naturally, there are specific instances in my moments as Mom that I regret. I wish I had discovered my son's love of music 5 years earlier and I wish I had realized my daughter's low blood sugar connection to her irritable times.
5. The self. Too many people are couch potatoes. My husband is not a couch potato but he is a computer turnip. He is a workaholic and this may pose some issues when he decides to retire. He could use a heavier dose of weight control, exercise, and plain old fun. As for me, I do not think I have used my gifts and talents to the ultimate.
The answer according to the magazine is that it is never too late to start anew. Forget the past. It cannot be changed. Think about the positives and how things could have been worse. Keep a journal (or a blog) and write about problems. And turn a regret around by doing something about it--write that book or take the class or go back to school. Add a 20 minute walk to your day.
A true couch potato. (photo taken two nights ago)
Make a list of items you intend to accomplish during retirement that you enjoy. Don't forget to donate time and money to help those in need.
And the list does not have to include scuba diving.
This word has been ringing through my head lately. Dave's brother is about to retire. My brother, after thirty-five years of being an elementary school teacher, has turned in his letter. Friends of mine from Colorado are looking for a place to retire with mountains and water and have asked me my thoughts since we are surrounded by water and mountains in the Puget Sound area.
The other evening we attended a UW Christmas party at the faculty club. We were sitting at the old timers table. The other tables were filled with young professors and students. Our good friends were across from us. One couple had retired and the other couple was beginning to think about it. Party attendees were asking the retired professor and his wife how they were enjoying themselves. Believe me, their response made me feel like a slug and corroborated those commercials with Dennis Hopper about how baby boomers are not retiring like our parents did. Nope, no couch potatoes in this crowd.
Dave's friend, all tan, slim, fit and handsome, explained how he had given up their sail boat but had replaced it with something bigger and less subject to the weather. Not only that but he had taken up diving. He was advising my husband where to take lessons and become certified. I heard Dave say he might think about looking into scuba diving since he loves to snorkel. A frown of disbelief appeared on my face as I joined the conversation. "But, Dave! You get extremely claustrophobic at the dentist if they put anything over your face."
Handsome retired man grinned, "Don't you hate it when our wives know us better than we know ourselves?" In the mean time, our other friend, one of the leading toxicologists and risk specialists in the nation, started rambling about how even putting your toe in salt water any where in the world turned you into shark bait. He couldn't see wading in the waves in Hawaii, let alone diving the Great Barrier Reef off Australia. Shark bait! Whoa! Jim is pathologically afraid of sharks. I was amazed.
Tan retired man continued. He told us about his annual skiing vacations. His wife added that she doesn't downhill anymore but still does cross country. Oh, and they mountain bike and were disgruntled in Las Vegas when the Mandolay Bay would not let them park their Subaru with the bikes on the top next to the Ferraris and Porsches out front. It wouldn't fit in the parking garage. At least we had something in common. They hated Las Vegas. They spent 18 hours there; they had never been there before; and they were never going back. I guess when you retire, you have to try Las Vegas at least once.
After the party, my husband and I discussed activities besides shuffle board that we should take up so we could enter our retirement years properly. We need to do justice to our baby boomer generation. I am not going to mountain bike. I will not under any circumstances take up scuba diving. I am afraid of water and now I am afraid of sharks. I am not athletic enough or brave enough to downhill ski. Rock climbing scares the bejeebers out of me. Wolves and grizzly bears have been reintroduced into wilderness so backpacking no longer appeals to me. I feel the same about bears as our friend Jim feels about sharks.
Observation. Yes, I like to observe----if I am comfortable. My goal is to visit all of the National Parks in the United States. We have a good start. Finding unusual rock formations could easily become my hobby. I could add hiking a few miles to each visit. I love to watch animals in the wild. Perhaps a photo safari to Africa would be appropriate. Checking out the polar bears in Churchill, Canada before they become extinct is something I could add to the list of baby boomer approved adventures. Digging for dinosaur bones at excavation sites in Montana is another possibility.
The point is we should refuse to succumb to old age and keep active and healthy. Actually, I learn a lot from the AARP magazine. Some people, like my children, probably think that joining AARP and receiving the magazine is succumbing to old age but it is just the opposite. The articles are positive and inspiring. I quit reading the women's magazines years ago because of the negativity. You know, the magazines at the grocery store check out stand with articles such as "You May Have This Disease and Not Even Know It: The Disturbing Signs and Quiet Symptoms" or "Can This Marriage Be Saved? Hidden Signs Your Marriage is Doomed" or "The Heartbreak of this Unknown Childhood Disease. Your Child May be Dying Without You Even Knowing." Talk about stress. I'd be shaking by the time I got to the cookie recipe at the end.
In the issue of AARP with Caroline Kennedy as cover girl, I skipped over the funeral scams and came across an article about regrets, entitled "Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda." Evidently, our generation is plagued with regrets.
http://www.aarpmagazine.org/people/woulda_coulda_shoulda.html
For example, women have decided to work and delay having children until they discover it is too late. Or others have continued to play and avoid responsibility only to find at 50, you can no longer say, "someday I'll settle down." It is scary to realize the future is here and in our faces. We have to get "it" right now. The "hit parade" of greatest regrets in life is:
1. Education. People delay finishing up their college degree or they dream about graduate school but never go. Luckily, I do not have this regret but my education has taught me one never stops learning. Just the other day, I figured out Sudoku.
2. Career. People get in a rut in a job they do not necessarily like until it is too late to change. For me, I wonder what my life would be like if I had left my kids in day care and continued the law firm zoom to the top. I'd be making $300,000.00 at least per year. I admit. I think about it.
3. Romance. I guess people regret destroyed marriages more than making an effort to stay together. I feel lucky on this one. My marriage has never been difficult. My husband puts up with a wife who reveals his claustrophia at Christmas parties.
4. Family. No huge regrets here. Dave and I were good parents and we get along with both of our families. Naturally, there are specific instances in my moments as Mom that I regret. I wish I had discovered my son's love of music 5 years earlier and I wish I had realized my daughter's low blood sugar connection to her irritable times.
5. The self. Too many people are couch potatoes. My husband is not a couch potato but he is a computer turnip. He is a workaholic and this may pose some issues when he decides to retire. He could use a heavier dose of weight control, exercise, and plain old fun. As for me, I do not think I have used my gifts and talents to the ultimate.
The answer according to the magazine is that it is never too late to start anew. Forget the past. It cannot be changed. Think about the positives and how things could have been worse. Keep a journal (or a blog) and write about problems. And turn a regret around by doing something about it--write that book or take the class or go back to school. Add a 20 minute walk to your day.
A true couch potato. (photo taken two nights ago)
Make a list of items you intend to accomplish during retirement that you enjoy. Don't forget to donate time and money to help those in need.
And the list does not have to include scuba diving.
// posted by Janet @ 9:10 AM
4 comments
Monday, December 10, 2007
Humor
Laughter. I like funny things. The front page headline in this morning's Seattle PI was "Painful price to remodel still worth it." Last night when we went to bed, I was complaining about having to use the bathroom downstairs a million miles away from our bedroom. I want my house back to normal and this remodel thing is taking much longer and is much more expensive than we anticipated. Needless to say, when I retrieved the paper this morning and opened it up, the unexpected headline was yelling at me. I laughed. When Dave came into the kitchen for his coffee, I stuck the paper in his face and ordered him to read the headline out loud and repeat 10 times. He laughed and then I laughed even more. The gist of the article is that in the Seattle real estate market, kitchen and bathroom remodels and additions return 100% or more on the investment. I am cool with it all again.
Humor fascinates me. What is it that makes some people guffaw but not others? Why is it that some people are naturally funny? I believe that our ability to be funny or to appreciate humor is genetic. Our genes are responsible for a ton of odd stuff so why not a humor gene? For example, my husband's work involves studying a gene that broccoli turns on causing good disease fighting mechanisms. Laughter is probably the next gene over. After all, eating small shrub like crunchy trees is kinda funny.
My daughter never knew Dave's Mom, her grandmother. Ruth went into a nursing home when Kaley was a little girl. And yet, she has her grandmother's wry and dry sense of humor. Like her grandmother, Kaley's whole way of being even when she is upset makes me laugh. As a tiny girl, Kaley would get mad at us, look us right in the eye and say, "Are you guys NUTS?" It was a gift to us that though Alzheimer's ravaged Ruth's brain, she would say astoundingly funny things until the end. She would describe the Alzheimer's unit by saying something like, "Nah! I guess this place is ok but people around here can't remember a thing!"
My son on the other hand, has my Dad's sense of humor. My father died five years before he was even born but Lucas manages to make my Dad's comical statements. And he laughs at some of the same things my Dad would've laughed at. When Lucas was about two and beginning to recognize letters and numbers, he would point to the letter "P", repeat "Peee!" and then giggle and giggle. The giggling would get me going. There I would be in the grocery store with this giggling baby pointing at the letter P on everything he saw, and I'd be laughing hysterically. Yes, I am certain we all have a funny gene installed before we are born that manifests itself peculiarly to each of us.
What makes me laugh besides this morning's headline? Here is a list:
1. My husband. He makes the most ridiculous puns. The puns are usually stupid but his delivery is priceless.
2. My children. Both of my kids can say something to me on the phone not even intentionally funny, but it turns on my funny gene until tears come out of my eyes.
3. My dog. This morning, for example, I am reading the paper and drinking my coffee when I notice Apolo gently takes hold of the sleeve of my sweatshirt with his crooked front teeth and starts pulling and growling for no apparent reason. Of course, he is responding to the fact we left him for the weekend and he is letting me know.
4. That rock. Yes, the one in Joshua Tree National Park. I can be sitting in traffic and I will think about discovering the "oh my" rock and the look on Dave's face when he spotted it, and I start laughing all over again.
5. Group Health commercials. On our TV, Group Health does local ads that I love. The current one shows a man without his shirt in a bathroom looking in a mirror. He has push pins of all different colors (like you use on a bulletin board) pushed into his forehead, chest and shoulders. His wife walks by with the laundry basket and asks with that "my husband can be so stupid" tone, "What are you doing?"
He responds proudly, "I am giving myself acupuncture. It will add minutes to my life!"
She rolls her eyes and retorts, "Don't you know Group Health covers acupuncture?" Of course, he looks surprised. And then she walks off and advises, "And they also cover TETNUS SHOTS."
See? I am laughing as I write this. I have seen the commercial a hundred times and it cracks me up every time. I mean push pins all over himself.....
6. The movie "Arthur." Gosh! This movie is at least 25 years old but there is one scene where Dudley Moore's character is drunk and he walks into a room with a moose head on the wall. And then he slurs something like, "Can you tell me where the rest of that moose is?" Still gets me.
7. An old cartoon. On man, about 30 years ago I saw this cartoon I think in New Yorker Magazine. It showed a cheese grater in bed with a wedge of cheese. And the caption has the cheese saying, "That was grate!" My favorite cartoon of all time. It is stuck in my brain forever.
8. Another old cartoon. Gary Larsen had this cartoon entitled "Boneless chicken farm." It showed a farm with all of these droopy chickens all over place. Gets me going every time I see boneless chicken in the grocery store.
My children do not always appreciate what makes me laugh. They have heard the story about the cheese and the cheese grater and think it is just stupid. That's ok. We all have different genes. Nevertheless, no matter what strikes us funny, they say it is good for us to laugh. I guess it helps fight disease and depression. I bet I'm right. I bet the funny gene is right next to the broccoli turn on gene because both laughter and broccoli are good for us.
Laughter. I like funny things. The front page headline in this morning's Seattle PI was "Painful price to remodel still worth it." Last night when we went to bed, I was complaining about having to use the bathroom downstairs a million miles away from our bedroom. I want my house back to normal and this remodel thing is taking much longer and is much more expensive than we anticipated. Needless to say, when I retrieved the paper this morning and opened it up, the unexpected headline was yelling at me. I laughed. When Dave came into the kitchen for his coffee, I stuck the paper in his face and ordered him to read the headline out loud and repeat 10 times. He laughed and then I laughed even more. The gist of the article is that in the Seattle real estate market, kitchen and bathroom remodels and additions return 100% or more on the investment. I am cool with it all again.
Humor fascinates me. What is it that makes some people guffaw but not others? Why is it that some people are naturally funny? I believe that our ability to be funny or to appreciate humor is genetic. Our genes are responsible for a ton of odd stuff so why not a humor gene? For example, my husband's work involves studying a gene that broccoli turns on causing good disease fighting mechanisms. Laughter is probably the next gene over. After all, eating small shrub like crunchy trees is kinda funny.
My daughter never knew Dave's Mom, her grandmother. Ruth went into a nursing home when Kaley was a little girl. And yet, she has her grandmother's wry and dry sense of humor. Like her grandmother, Kaley's whole way of being even when she is upset makes me laugh. As a tiny girl, Kaley would get mad at us, look us right in the eye and say, "Are you guys NUTS?" It was a gift to us that though Alzheimer's ravaged Ruth's brain, she would say astoundingly funny things until the end. She would describe the Alzheimer's unit by saying something like, "Nah! I guess this place is ok but people around here can't remember a thing!"
My son on the other hand, has my Dad's sense of humor. My father died five years before he was even born but Lucas manages to make my Dad's comical statements. And he laughs at some of the same things my Dad would've laughed at. When Lucas was about two and beginning to recognize letters and numbers, he would point to the letter "P", repeat "Peee!" and then giggle and giggle. The giggling would get me going. There I would be in the grocery store with this giggling baby pointing at the letter P on everything he saw, and I'd be laughing hysterically. Yes, I am certain we all have a funny gene installed before we are born that manifests itself peculiarly to each of us.
What makes me laugh besides this morning's headline? Here is a list:
1. My husband. He makes the most ridiculous puns. The puns are usually stupid but his delivery is priceless.
2. My children. Both of my kids can say something to me on the phone not even intentionally funny, but it turns on my funny gene until tears come out of my eyes.
3. My dog. This morning, for example, I am reading the paper and drinking my coffee when I notice Apolo gently takes hold of the sleeve of my sweatshirt with his crooked front teeth and starts pulling and growling for no apparent reason. Of course, he is responding to the fact we left him for the weekend and he is letting me know.
4. That rock. Yes, the one in Joshua Tree National Park. I can be sitting in traffic and I will think about discovering the "oh my" rock and the look on Dave's face when he spotted it, and I start laughing all over again.
5. Group Health commercials. On our TV, Group Health does local ads that I love. The current one shows a man without his shirt in a bathroom looking in a mirror. He has push pins of all different colors (like you use on a bulletin board) pushed into his forehead, chest and shoulders. His wife walks by with the laundry basket and asks with that "my husband can be so stupid" tone, "What are you doing?"
He responds proudly, "I am giving myself acupuncture. It will add minutes to my life!"
She rolls her eyes and retorts, "Don't you know Group Health covers acupuncture?" Of course, he looks surprised. And then she walks off and advises, "And they also cover TETNUS SHOTS."
See? I am laughing as I write this. I have seen the commercial a hundred times and it cracks me up every time. I mean push pins all over himself.....
6. The movie "Arthur." Gosh! This movie is at least 25 years old but there is one scene where Dudley Moore's character is drunk and he walks into a room with a moose head on the wall. And then he slurs something like, "Can you tell me where the rest of that moose is?" Still gets me.
7. An old cartoon. On man, about 30 years ago I saw this cartoon I think in New Yorker Magazine. It showed a cheese grater in bed with a wedge of cheese. And the caption has the cheese saying, "That was grate!" My favorite cartoon of all time. It is stuck in my brain forever.
8. Another old cartoon. Gary Larsen had this cartoon entitled "Boneless chicken farm." It showed a farm with all of these droopy chickens all over place. Gets me going every time I see boneless chicken in the grocery store.
My children do not always appreciate what makes me laugh. They have heard the story about the cheese and the cheese grater and think it is just stupid. That's ok. We all have different genes. Nevertheless, no matter what strikes us funny, they say it is good for us to laugh. I guess it helps fight disease and depression. I bet I'm right. I bet the funny gene is right next to the broccoli turn on gene because both laughter and broccoli are good for us.
// posted by Janet @ 8:58 AM
3 comments
Friday, December 07, 2007
Cosi Fan Tutti
My beautiful and talented daughter made it in to the Whitman College opera this year. The production is Cosi Fan Tutti by Mozart though they are singing it in English. Kaley is a part of the chorus in the cast of 18. We are leaving for Walla Walla tomorrow to see it. She has been having a terrific time and realized she missed the excitment of being on stage performing. The last time was Kamiak's "Grease" in May of 2006 when she played Rizzo.
The year before that she was saucy Kate in "Pirates of Penzance" and before that a prostitute in "Les Miserables." Evidently, as the bakery girl in Cosi, she also is somewhat of a slut. Typecast at age 19! Nah! She loves it. I discovered these photos on the Whitman College website this morning and I was thrilled. They are from last night's opening performance.
Kaley as the bakery girl.
Kaley with the banner on the left.
Kaley front middle of the chorus. On the far left of the chorus is McKenna Milici who starred as Dolly in Kamiak's "Hello Dolly" this past May 2007.
Entire cast. Kaley's head is center back row.
I can't wait to see it. Here is the link to the entire slide show and names of cast and crew members:
http://www.whitman.edu/theatre/photo.gallery/Cosi/Site/Whitman_College_~_Harper_Joy_Theatre_~_December_2007.html#grid
Update: Our trip to Walla Walla was enjoyable. The opera was delightful. Kaley wasn't a "slut" at all but completely adorable, cute and flirty on stage handing out her loaves of bread. During intermission, I discovered we were sitting next to Kaley's voice teacher's husband. Her voice teacher had one of the leads in the opera and experiencing her charming performance made me happy she is Kaley's teacher. Because of an important meeting Dave had yesterday afternoon and last night, we flew. This was a pleasant experience because there is a direct Horizon flight from Seattle to Walla Walla that takes only an hour. As a result, we had time to take Kaley and her friends to lunch at a terrific restaurant, find out why her car battery was dead, and visit a wonderful coffee place on Sunday morning with the best pain au chocolates I have eaten this side of Paris. On the flight we also noticed about half of the people were on the same flight the day before and had also attended the opera. Walla Walla is seriously Seattle's eastern most "suburb" even if it is a five hour drive away.
My beautiful and talented daughter made it in to the Whitman College opera this year. The production is Cosi Fan Tutti by Mozart though they are singing it in English. Kaley is a part of the chorus in the cast of 18. We are leaving for Walla Walla tomorrow to see it. She has been having a terrific time and realized she missed the excitment of being on stage performing. The last time was Kamiak's "Grease" in May of 2006 when she played Rizzo.
The year before that she was saucy Kate in "Pirates of Penzance" and before that a prostitute in "Les Miserables." Evidently, as the bakery girl in Cosi, she also is somewhat of a slut. Typecast at age 19! Nah! She loves it. I discovered these photos on the Whitman College website this morning and I was thrilled. They are from last night's opening performance.
Kaley as the bakery girl.
Kaley with the banner on the left.
Kaley front middle of the chorus. On the far left of the chorus is McKenna Milici who starred as Dolly in Kamiak's "Hello Dolly" this past May 2007.
Entire cast. Kaley's head is center back row.
I can't wait to see it. Here is the link to the entire slide show and names of cast and crew members:
http://www.whitman.edu/theatre/photo.gallery/Cosi/Site/Whitman_College_~_Harper_Joy_Theatre_~_December_2007.html#grid
Update: Our trip to Walla Walla was enjoyable. The opera was delightful. Kaley wasn't a "slut" at all but completely adorable, cute and flirty on stage handing out her loaves of bread. During intermission, I discovered we were sitting next to Kaley's voice teacher's husband. Her voice teacher had one of the leads in the opera and experiencing her charming performance made me happy she is Kaley's teacher. Because of an important meeting Dave had yesterday afternoon and last night, we flew. This was a pleasant experience because there is a direct Horizon flight from Seattle to Walla Walla that takes only an hour. As a result, we had time to take Kaley and her friends to lunch at a terrific restaurant, find out why her car battery was dead, and visit a wonderful coffee place on Sunday morning with the best pain au chocolates I have eaten this side of Paris. On the flight we also noticed about half of the people were on the same flight the day before and had also attended the opera. Walla Walla is seriously Seattle's eastern most "suburb" even if it is a five hour drive away.
// posted by Janet @ 9:28 AM
2 comments
Thursday, December 06, 2007
The Local Angle
In the midst of Monday's storm and between changing towels around my window, I did manage a soaking walk. I did not have a chance to drive around to see the floodiness. In this week's Mukilteo newspaper and in today's Everett Herald, I found some photos taken closer to home. We have lived in Mukilteo for 19 years and though we have had some terrific windstorms, trees coming down, and power outages, we have never had a typhoon.
December 5, 2007 Mukilteo Beacon
The above photo is our Mukilteo Lighthouse Beach Park and I know my children will be more than shocked when they see it.
Photo courtesy of David Welton, The Everett Herald
This picture was taken near Alderwood Mall. "Let's swim to the mall and do our Christmas shopping, Melvin. Mabel and Marty can follow along," quacked Mildred.
Photo courtesy of Marion Klein, The Everett Herald
The photographer took this photo in her back yard in Mukilteo. Her daughter is a Kamiak swimmer.
And finally, in today's Everett Herald was another article about global climate change. I don't mean to beat a dead horse but it made me chuckle because it reiterated what I posted yesterday about scientists. Told ya--you can't be married to one of these creatures for 35 years without having some idea about how they think.
Scientists Demand Action on Warming (AP)
"For the first time, more than 200 of the world's leading climate scientists, losing their patience, urged government leaders to take radical action to slow global warming because 'there is no time to lose.'...
In the past, many of these scientists have avoided calls for action, leaving that to environmental advocacy groups. That dispassionate stance was taken during the release this year of four separate reports by the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
But no more.
'It's a grave crisis, and we need to do something real fast,' said petition signer Jeff Severinghaus, a geosciences professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, Calif. 'I think the stakes are way, way too high to be playing around.'
The unprecedented petition includes scientists from more than 25 countries and shows that 'the climate science community is essentially fed up,' said signer Andrew Weaver of the University of Victoria in Canada. It includes many co-authors of the intergovernmental climate change panel reports, directors of major American and European climate science research institutions, a Nobel winner for atmospheric chemistry and a winner of a MacArthur 'genius' award.
'A lot of us scientists think the problem needs a lot more serious attention than it's getting and the remedies have to be a lot more radical,' said Richard Seager, a scientist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory."
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20071206/NEWS02/712060072
In this household, we are concerned it may be too late.
In the midst of Monday's storm and between changing towels around my window, I did manage a soaking walk. I did not have a chance to drive around to see the floodiness. In this week's Mukilteo newspaper and in today's Everett Herald, I found some photos taken closer to home. We have lived in Mukilteo for 19 years and though we have had some terrific windstorms, trees coming down, and power outages, we have never had a typhoon.
December 5, 2007 Mukilteo Beacon
The above photo is our Mukilteo Lighthouse Beach Park and I know my children will be more than shocked when they see it.
Photo courtesy of David Welton, The Everett Herald
This picture was taken near Alderwood Mall. "Let's swim to the mall and do our Christmas shopping, Melvin. Mabel and Marty can follow along," quacked Mildred.
Photo courtesy of Marion Klein, The Everett Herald
The photographer took this photo in her back yard in Mukilteo. Her daughter is a Kamiak swimmer.
And finally, in today's Everett Herald was another article about global climate change. I don't mean to beat a dead horse but it made me chuckle because it reiterated what I posted yesterday about scientists. Told ya--you can't be married to one of these creatures for 35 years without having some idea about how they think.
Scientists Demand Action on Warming (AP)
"For the first time, more than 200 of the world's leading climate scientists, losing their patience, urged government leaders to take radical action to slow global warming because 'there is no time to lose.'...
In the past, many of these scientists have avoided calls for action, leaving that to environmental advocacy groups. That dispassionate stance was taken during the release this year of four separate reports by the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
But no more.
'It's a grave crisis, and we need to do something real fast,' said petition signer Jeff Severinghaus, a geosciences professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, Calif. 'I think the stakes are way, way too high to be playing around.'
The unprecedented petition includes scientists from more than 25 countries and shows that 'the climate science community is essentially fed up,' said signer Andrew Weaver of the University of Victoria in Canada. It includes many co-authors of the intergovernmental climate change panel reports, directors of major American and European climate science research institutions, a Nobel winner for atmospheric chemistry and a winner of a MacArthur 'genius' award.
'A lot of us scientists think the problem needs a lot more serious attention than it's getting and the remedies have to be a lot more radical,' said Richard Seager, a scientist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory."
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20071206/NEWS02/712060072
In this household, we are concerned it may be too late.
// posted by Janet @ 9:10 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Shocking!
When I was in the midst of this ridiculous storm on Monday and feeling like I was inside a washing machine, I got mad. I was mad at my window. I was mad at my gutters. I was mad that I do not even own 15 towels to soak up water so I had to rinse them in the washing machine and put them in the dryer to reuse them.
But now I feel so selfish. Eventually, the window will be fixed if someone can figure it out. It may take my brother coming for a visit from Montana. He could probably solve the problem. So the window is minor.
Seven people have lost their lives in this storm and scores more have lost homes and suffered property damage and loss. I-5, our sole major freeway and the only reasonable route between Portland and Seattle is covered in water and closed. It was seven to ten feet deep in places yesterday. Detour routes have changed the three to four hour trip into seven hours. Ironically, my daughter had been planning to drive home for Christmas from Walla Walla through Portland and on I-5 to Seattle to avoid the massive snow on the mountain passes. The water may be subsided but at this moment they have no idea about road damage. Trucks delivering goods as you can see in the photo are stranded.
STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES
For the people who say, "Who cares about global warming? We won't even notice a couple of degrees." Well, folks. This is the face of global climate change. It is manifesting itself with extreme weather such as huge storms and temperatures ranging from ultra cold to ultra hot. Global climate change is now killing people in the United States, destroying property and affecting our economy. Washington and Oregon are now subject to typhoons which we experienced on Monday.
An article in today's Seattle PI discussed the link between global climate change and these storms. Scientists do not like to make pronouncements without absolute proof. I know this; I am married to one of these people. They say safe things out in public and then in the privacy of their homes with spouses and children and after a couple of glasses of wine, they say, "This is damned freakin' scary! We are doomed if we don't pay attention to this--like yesterday!!"
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/342268_stormwater05.html
According to today's paper, "Climate change could mean more massive downpours"
By Lisa Stiffler and Tom Paulson:
"Record-setting storms like the one Sunday and Monday that flooded the Northwest could become more of the norm as climate change skews our region's rainfall patterns and leads to more of these massive deluges as compared to the typical drizzle......
'There is a risk under climate change of having more storms of this nature,' said Eric Salathe, a research scientist with the University of Washington's Climate Impacts Group....
'Given that this is also a La Niña year, I'd be very surprised if this is the last such storm you get up there this year,' said Kelly Redmond, a climate scientist and interim director of the Western Regional Climate Center. The center, in Reno, Nev., is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
'The bigger question is whether the Northwest is seeing more of these kinds of events," Redmond said. "It isn't just a matter of increased rainfall. It's also about the form of that precipitation ... whether you are getting more 'typhoon' moisture out of the tropical regions.'...
'The thing that's interesting about this report is that certainly no single weather event can be tied directly to global warming, but the fact that we're seeing a greater frequency of these events is evidence of global warming in Washington state,' said Bill LaBorde, program director for the environmental group [Environment Washington]...."
The bottom line is we are having more of these catastrophic events. Everyone is in agreement. Regardless of the cause, reducing CO2 emissions will help curb the effects. Furthermore, we need to learn how to predict and manage the disasters when they strike. Our Wal-Mart lives are too comfy to handle major disruption.
The future is here and this is what it looks like.
Seattle PI/AP
Seattle PI/AP
Seattle PI/AP
Seattle PI/AP
Noah is calling us to the ark, folks. It is time to get on board.
When I was in the midst of this ridiculous storm on Monday and feeling like I was inside a washing machine, I got mad. I was mad at my window. I was mad at my gutters. I was mad that I do not even own 15 towels to soak up water so I had to rinse them in the washing machine and put them in the dryer to reuse them.
But now I feel so selfish. Eventually, the window will be fixed if someone can figure it out. It may take my brother coming for a visit from Montana. He could probably solve the problem. So the window is minor.
Seven people have lost their lives in this storm and scores more have lost homes and suffered property damage and loss. I-5, our sole major freeway and the only reasonable route between Portland and Seattle is covered in water and closed. It was seven to ten feet deep in places yesterday. Detour routes have changed the three to four hour trip into seven hours. Ironically, my daughter had been planning to drive home for Christmas from Walla Walla through Portland and on I-5 to Seattle to avoid the massive snow on the mountain passes. The water may be subsided but at this moment they have no idea about road damage. Trucks delivering goods as you can see in the photo are stranded.
STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES
For the people who say, "Who cares about global warming? We won't even notice a couple of degrees." Well, folks. This is the face of global climate change. It is manifesting itself with extreme weather such as huge storms and temperatures ranging from ultra cold to ultra hot. Global climate change is now killing people in the United States, destroying property and affecting our economy. Washington and Oregon are now subject to typhoons which we experienced on Monday.
An article in today's Seattle PI discussed the link between global climate change and these storms. Scientists do not like to make pronouncements without absolute proof. I know this; I am married to one of these people. They say safe things out in public and then in the privacy of their homes with spouses and children and after a couple of glasses of wine, they say, "This is damned freakin' scary! We are doomed if we don't pay attention to this--like yesterday!!"
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/342268_stormwater05.html
According to today's paper, "Climate change could mean more massive downpours"
By Lisa Stiffler and Tom Paulson:
"Record-setting storms like the one Sunday and Monday that flooded the Northwest could become more of the norm as climate change skews our region's rainfall patterns and leads to more of these massive deluges as compared to the typical drizzle......
'There is a risk under climate change of having more storms of this nature,' said Eric Salathe, a research scientist with the University of Washington's Climate Impacts Group....
'Given that this is also a La Niña year, I'd be very surprised if this is the last such storm you get up there this year,' said Kelly Redmond, a climate scientist and interim director of the Western Regional Climate Center. The center, in Reno, Nev., is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
'The bigger question is whether the Northwest is seeing more of these kinds of events," Redmond said. "It isn't just a matter of increased rainfall. It's also about the form of that precipitation ... whether you are getting more 'typhoon' moisture out of the tropical regions.'...
'The thing that's interesting about this report is that certainly no single weather event can be tied directly to global warming, but the fact that we're seeing a greater frequency of these events is evidence of global warming in Washington state,' said Bill LaBorde, program director for the environmental group [Environment Washington]...."
The bottom line is we are having more of these catastrophic events. Everyone is in agreement. Regardless of the cause, reducing CO2 emissions will help curb the effects. Furthermore, we need to learn how to predict and manage the disasters when they strike. Our Wal-Mart lives are too comfy to handle major disruption.
The future is here and this is what it looks like.
Seattle PI/AP
Seattle PI/AP
Seattle PI/AP
Seattle PI/AP
Noah is calling us to the ark, folks. It is time to get on board.
// posted by Janet @ 9:04 AM
4 comments
Monday, December 03, 2007
This is Crazy Nuts!
Our weather is absolutely out of control today. They say we are on track for the most rain in one day ever in the history of Seattle. Bremerton, across the water, has already had more than 10 inches. I have leaking windows and two downspouts spewing water like fountains. The roofing people are on the way here at this moment because it is probably roof debris from the roofing process clogging things up. Of course, my new rubber roof is loving the downpour!
I dared to venture out and take my Apolo for a walk. He fell into a drainage ditch that had water level with the street. He thought it was a continuation of the grass normally there. He's a swimmer and loves water so it was great fun for him. The storm drains had water rushing in them like mini Niagra Falls. My whole walk sounded like the roar of a river.
My contractor was here for a little bit working on our bathrooms when he received a call that the roof at his place of business had water gushing in and over the furnace.
The helicopter just flew by my house low along the water checking for mudslides.
This is crazy!
Some pictures from the King5 website taken just today:
photo by Bob Brothers
photo by Kyle Brose
I know we had this happen last year and the year before but usually these storms are once every few years. They seem to becoming a yearly event and this is not normal!! This is not right. Our Governor, Christine Gregoire has now declared a state wide emergency.
http://www.king5.com/
UPDATE: It is now Tuesday morning. Last night on the news, they interviewed one guy who said it right, "This is a typhoon! We are suffering the remnants of a typhoon. Have you ever heard of a typhoon in Washington??" Exactly. This started out with 125 mph winds on the coast three hours away. The problem is we have tons of snow in the mountains and it is melting and cascading down into the rivers. True, other parts of the country experience hurricanes and tornadoes. But I cannot emphasize enough that this is not NORMAL for us every single year.
I am kind of afraid to go look at our back property. I hope it is still there. The wind is still gusting and it kept me awake at times last night. The windows have stopped leaking. Actually, this window thing is a big mystery. The window we have the biggest problem with is the den. In the Christmas light picture below, it is the room directly under our front deck. I have had no less than five handyman types try to fix it to no avail. If I had a million dollars to give a reward, I would set up an internet contest to fix it. No, it is not a new window. In fact, I refuse to have the window replaced until we figure out how to stop the water from pouring in and yesterday, it was pouring in. I went through 15 towels.
Our weather is absolutely out of control today. They say we are on track for the most rain in one day ever in the history of Seattle. Bremerton, across the water, has already had more than 10 inches. I have leaking windows and two downspouts spewing water like fountains. The roofing people are on the way here at this moment because it is probably roof debris from the roofing process clogging things up. Of course, my new rubber roof is loving the downpour!
I dared to venture out and take my Apolo for a walk. He fell into a drainage ditch that had water level with the street. He thought it was a continuation of the grass normally there. He's a swimmer and loves water so it was great fun for him. The storm drains had water rushing in them like mini Niagra Falls. My whole walk sounded like the roar of a river.
My contractor was here for a little bit working on our bathrooms when he received a call that the roof at his place of business had water gushing in and over the furnace.
The helicopter just flew by my house low along the water checking for mudslides.
This is crazy!
Some pictures from the King5 website taken just today:
photo by Bob Brothers
photo by Kyle Brose
I know we had this happen last year and the year before but usually these storms are once every few years. They seem to becoming a yearly event and this is not normal!! This is not right. Our Governor, Christine Gregoire has now declared a state wide emergency.
http://www.king5.com/
UPDATE: It is now Tuesday morning. Last night on the news, they interviewed one guy who said it right, "This is a typhoon! We are suffering the remnants of a typhoon. Have you ever heard of a typhoon in Washington??" Exactly. This started out with 125 mph winds on the coast three hours away. The problem is we have tons of snow in the mountains and it is melting and cascading down into the rivers. True, other parts of the country experience hurricanes and tornadoes. But I cannot emphasize enough that this is not NORMAL for us every single year.
I am kind of afraid to go look at our back property. I hope it is still there. The wind is still gusting and it kept me awake at times last night. The windows have stopped leaking. Actually, this window thing is a big mystery. The window we have the biggest problem with is the den. In the Christmas light picture below, it is the room directly under our front deck. I have had no less than five handyman types try to fix it to no avail. If I had a million dollars to give a reward, I would set up an internet contest to fix it. No, it is not a new window. In fact, I refuse to have the window replaced until we figure out how to stop the water from pouring in and yesterday, it was pouring in. I went through 15 towels.
// posted by Janet @ 2:36 PM
4 comments
Saturday, December 01, 2007
It is Snowing in Mukilteo!
Yes it is. Right this minute it is really coming down and Dave is trying to put up our Christmas lights. He is not having fun and it is funny.
Update: 20 minutes later and it is still coming.
Update number 2: 4:30 PM and still snowing lightly.
Update number 3, Monday morning: The snow melted. The rain began. The now sideways rain has turned into the washing machine effect. They say we will get high winds today. The mud slide sensors are going off which stopped the train between Everett and Seattle. My windows are leaking. It is a veritable mess today.
Yes it is. Right this minute it is really coming down and Dave is trying to put up our Christmas lights. He is not having fun and it is funny.
Update: 20 minutes later and it is still coming.
Update number 2: 4:30 PM and still snowing lightly.
Update number 3, Monday morning: The snow melted. The rain began. The now sideways rain has turned into the washing machine effect. They say we will get high winds today. The mud slide sensors are going off which stopped the train between Everett and Seattle. My windows are leaking. It is a veritable mess today.
// posted by Janet @ 1:51 PM
2 comments
Evel Knievel
This is a strange post for me. You would not think that the death of this amazing dare devil would mean anything to me. But it does. Reading about him and his death in the local Montana newspapers reveals a cultural side of Montana you rarely hear about. Some of the national articles about Knievel fail to mention or barely mention that he was born and raised in Butte, Montana.
Just the other day, I went to lunch with my friend to the Hungarian Bistro next to Albertson's in Mukilteo. The lunch was ok but the cake was fabulous. Realizing that the owner/chef is actually from that part of Europe, I asked her if she made povatica. She said yes! I was giddy and she explained that if I wanted one I would need to give her two weeks notice. Povatica is a wonderful pastry in the shape of a loaf. The yeast dough is rolled paper thin and then it is filled with walnuts, sugar and butter.
My friend who grew up in California and moved here from Colorado looked at me with astonishment because she had no idea what I was even talking about. Then I explained. "You see, it is because I am from Montana."
"What!?" She was puzzled. I went on.
"In the late 1800's and early 1900's, a lot of immigrants made their way west and settled in the mining towns of Montana and particularly Butte. Many of them were Irish and Italian but a good percentage came from the countries of Eastern Europe like Serbia, Croatia, Armenia, and Hungary. A lot of people in Montana whose families originated in that part of Europe have last names that end with 'ich.' One of my best friends in high school was an ich. Dave's Dad's best friend was an ich and my Dad's best friend was an ich. Naturally, they brought along their culture and their food. My Dad's best fishing buddy was the junior high gym teacher where he taught and was principal. His last name was MacKanich. At Christmas time his wife would give us her home made povatica. So for me, being able to come up with povatica this time of year makes it seem more like Christmas!"
"Oh, I see. I guess. Ok."
I am disappointed that the obituaries across the country leave out the Montana part of Evel Knievel because it was a huge part of who he was and why he did what he did. Butte was a rough, tough mining town. For example, when I was in high school, the Butte cheer leaders tried to beat up our pretty prissy Helena cheer leaders after a basketball game we won because...well, because it was Butte. The town gave rise to a rich and colorful history along with the cultural influences of the immigrants who settled there. To understand and give respect to Evel Knievel and his family, you need to go to the local papers. Knievel was an exaggeration of the quintessential Butte citizen. I could not resist highlighting the names of the bars. Butte is known for its bars and always has been. Of course, any story out of Butte will also undoubtedly have an ich!
From the Butte paper, the Montana Standard:
"... Born Robert Craig Knievel in the copper mining town of Butte on Oct. 17, 1938, Knievel was raised by his grandparents. He traced his career choice back to the time he saw Joey Chitwood’s Auto Daredevil Show at age 8.
'The phrase one-of-a-kind is often used, but it probably applies best to Bobby Knievel,” said former U.S. Rep. Pat Williams, D-Mont., Knievel’s cousin. 'He was an amazing athlete... He was sharp as a tack, one of the smartest people I’ve ever known and finally, as the world knows, no one had more guts than Bobby. He was simply unafraid of anything.' Outstanding in track and field, ski jumping and ice hockey at Butte High School, Knievel went on to win the Northern Rocky Mountain Ski Association Class A Men’s ski jumping championship in 1957 and played with the Charlotte Clippers of the Eastern Hockey League in 1959.
He also formed the Butte Bombers semiprofessional hockey team, acting as owner, manager, coach and player.
Knievel also worked in the Montana copper mines, served in the Army, ran his own hunting guide service, sold insurance and ran Honda motorcycle dealerships. As a motorcycle dealer, he drummed up business by offering $100 off the price of a motorcycle to customers who could beat him at arm wrestling.
At various times and in different interviews, Knievel claimed to have been a swindler, a card thief, a safe cracker, a holdup man. [emphasis mine]
Evel Knievel married hometown girlfriend, Linda Joan Bork, in 1959. They separated in the early 1990s. They had four children, Kelly, Robbie, Tracey and Alicia...."
http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2007/12/01/butte_top/20071201_butte_top.txt
And from the Helena Independent Record:
"BUTTE — When his telephone rang late Thursday, Muzzy Faroni’s best friend, Evel Knievel, was on the line.
“He don’t call me at 11 o’clock at night,” Faroni said. “I had a funny hunch something was wrong. He said ‘I want you to pray for me.’ ”
The old friends agreed to talk again Friday or Saturday before ending the conversation, which would be their last. ...
Longtime friends of Butte’s famous daredevil recalled a tough, straight-talking guy who was sometimes wily and unpredictable, and personified everything about the scrappy mining town from which he was raised.
Faroni first met Knievel while running the Rose Garden Bar, 1801 S. Montana St., in the early 1950s. Knievel was 13 or 14 at the time, and visited the bar to chat with Faroni and his customers.
“We really became close,” said Faroni, who in 1962 opened the Freeway Tavern, 2001 S. Montana St., which he runs today. ...
Bob Pavlovich of Butte, a former state legislator, owned the Met Tavern. He remembers a young Knievel from his childhood playing hockey and later as a merchant policeman who checked the security of businesses at night, and as an insurance salesman.
Their friendship grew throughout the years. Pavlovich occasionally traveled with Knievel and attended golf tournaments with the blooming celebrity.
“He put Butte on the map as far as that goes,” he said. “He’s never forgotten where he comes from.”
Evel was proud to call the Mining City home and was always surrounded by friends from his home town. Pavlovich remembers when the daredevil organized a vacation with 19 other people from Butte and flew the whole group to Florida where they played golf and stayed at Knievel’s home.
“It was first class,” he said. “We had two big limousines and he took care of us.”
Pavlovich described Knievel as a daring showman who was unpredictable and always willing to take a risk.
He recalls one Christmas in the 1960s while closing the Met after 2 a.m. when Knievel took him for a ride in his new Volkswagen, which he bragged he could drive on water.
The two were in Rocker that night when Knievel noticed a huge pile of snow and told Pavlovich to prepare for a wild ride.
“He said ‘watch us go through this thing’ and I said ‘you’re nuts, we’ll never get through that thing,”‘ he laughed. “We went right through it. He said ‘let’s go to Georgetown (Lake) and we’ll see if it floats. I said ‘you can go, but you’re not taking me with you.”....
Ron Fisher was still shaken by the news of his friend’s death as he shared stories about Knievel with patrons at Maloney’s Bar Friday afternoon.
“He was all about Butte, he was never afraid to tell people he was from Butte,” Fisher said. ...
Former U.S. Congressman Pat Williams grew up with Knievel, his first cousin, and said the two were like brothers. The men, whose mothers were sisters, were raised by separate grandmothers in Butte and spent their childhoods together.
Williams described his cousin as a “born daredevil” who wasn’t afraid of anything.
“From the time we were little playing in my grandmother’s kitchen he was unstoppable and had enormous athletic ability,” he said. “When we were in first grade Bobby could walk on his hands and could go like a block. It was unbelievable. He was born with these amazing attributes.”
Knievel prided himself on his strength from an early age, but Williams said those who knew him will always remember a kind-hearted man.
“He could be meaner than a Butte blizzard and kinder than a Butte spring and not unlike the Mining City, you saw things in Bobby that you would never see anywhere else,” said Williams, who now lives in Missoula. [emphasis mine].....
Wade Dahood of Anaconda [MT], Knievel’s longtime lawyer, said he’d also talked to his friend Thursday night.
“He called and he said ‘Put me on your prayer list, I just don’t feel that well but I’m ready to be with God,’ "......
By John Grant Emeigh and Justin Post - The Montana Standard - 12/01/07
http://www.helenair.com/articles/2007/12/01/montana_top/a011201_05.txt
Evel Knievel died in Florida but he was a Montanan from Butte until the very end. Rest in peace.
This is a strange post for me. You would not think that the death of this amazing dare devil would mean anything to me. But it does. Reading about him and his death in the local Montana newspapers reveals a cultural side of Montana you rarely hear about. Some of the national articles about Knievel fail to mention or barely mention that he was born and raised in Butte, Montana.
Just the other day, I went to lunch with my friend to the Hungarian Bistro next to Albertson's in Mukilteo. The lunch was ok but the cake was fabulous. Realizing that the owner/chef is actually from that part of Europe, I asked her if she made povatica. She said yes! I was giddy and she explained that if I wanted one I would need to give her two weeks notice. Povatica is a wonderful pastry in the shape of a loaf. The yeast dough is rolled paper thin and then it is filled with walnuts, sugar and butter.
My friend who grew up in California and moved here from Colorado looked at me with astonishment because she had no idea what I was even talking about. Then I explained. "You see, it is because I am from Montana."
"What!?" She was puzzled. I went on.
"In the late 1800's and early 1900's, a lot of immigrants made their way west and settled in the mining towns of Montana and particularly Butte. Many of them were Irish and Italian but a good percentage came from the countries of Eastern Europe like Serbia, Croatia, Armenia, and Hungary. A lot of people in Montana whose families originated in that part of Europe have last names that end with 'ich.' One of my best friends in high school was an ich. Dave's Dad's best friend was an ich and my Dad's best friend was an ich. Naturally, they brought along their culture and their food. My Dad's best fishing buddy was the junior high gym teacher where he taught and was principal. His last name was MacKanich. At Christmas time his wife would give us her home made povatica. So for me, being able to come up with povatica this time of year makes it seem more like Christmas!"
"Oh, I see. I guess. Ok."
I am disappointed that the obituaries across the country leave out the Montana part of Evel Knievel because it was a huge part of who he was and why he did what he did. Butte was a rough, tough mining town. For example, when I was in high school, the Butte cheer leaders tried to beat up our pretty prissy Helena cheer leaders after a basketball game we won because...well, because it was Butte. The town gave rise to a rich and colorful history along with the cultural influences of the immigrants who settled there. To understand and give respect to Evel Knievel and his family, you need to go to the local papers. Knievel was an exaggeration of the quintessential Butte citizen. I could not resist highlighting the names of the bars. Butte is known for its bars and always has been. Of course, any story out of Butte will also undoubtedly have an ich!
From the Butte paper, the Montana Standard:
"... Born Robert Craig Knievel in the copper mining town of Butte on Oct. 17, 1938, Knievel was raised by his grandparents. He traced his career choice back to the time he saw Joey Chitwood’s Auto Daredevil Show at age 8.
'The phrase one-of-a-kind is often used, but it probably applies best to Bobby Knievel,” said former U.S. Rep. Pat Williams, D-Mont., Knievel’s cousin. 'He was an amazing athlete... He was sharp as a tack, one of the smartest people I’ve ever known and finally, as the world knows, no one had more guts than Bobby. He was simply unafraid of anything.' Outstanding in track and field, ski jumping and ice hockey at Butte High School, Knievel went on to win the Northern Rocky Mountain Ski Association Class A Men’s ski jumping championship in 1957 and played with the Charlotte Clippers of the Eastern Hockey League in 1959.
He also formed the Butte Bombers semiprofessional hockey team, acting as owner, manager, coach and player.
Knievel also worked in the Montana copper mines, served in the Army, ran his own hunting guide service, sold insurance and ran Honda motorcycle dealerships. As a motorcycle dealer, he drummed up business by offering $100 off the price of a motorcycle to customers who could beat him at arm wrestling.
At various times and in different interviews, Knievel claimed to have been a swindler, a card thief, a safe cracker, a holdup man. [emphasis mine]
Evel Knievel married hometown girlfriend, Linda Joan Bork, in 1959. They separated in the early 1990s. They had four children, Kelly, Robbie, Tracey and Alicia...."
http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2007/12/01/butte_top/20071201_butte_top.txt
And from the Helena Independent Record:
"BUTTE — When his telephone rang late Thursday, Muzzy Faroni’s best friend, Evel Knievel, was on the line.
“He don’t call me at 11 o’clock at night,” Faroni said. “I had a funny hunch something was wrong. He said ‘I want you to pray for me.’ ”
The old friends agreed to talk again Friday or Saturday before ending the conversation, which would be their last. ...
Longtime friends of Butte’s famous daredevil recalled a tough, straight-talking guy who was sometimes wily and unpredictable, and personified everything about the scrappy mining town from which he was raised.
Faroni first met Knievel while running the Rose Garden Bar, 1801 S. Montana St., in the early 1950s. Knievel was 13 or 14 at the time, and visited the bar to chat with Faroni and his customers.
“We really became close,” said Faroni, who in 1962 opened the Freeway Tavern, 2001 S. Montana St., which he runs today. ...
Bob Pavlovich of Butte, a former state legislator, owned the Met Tavern. He remembers a young Knievel from his childhood playing hockey and later as a merchant policeman who checked the security of businesses at night, and as an insurance salesman.
Their friendship grew throughout the years. Pavlovich occasionally traveled with Knievel and attended golf tournaments with the blooming celebrity.
“He put Butte on the map as far as that goes,” he said. “He’s never forgotten where he comes from.”
Evel was proud to call the Mining City home and was always surrounded by friends from his home town. Pavlovich remembers when the daredevil organized a vacation with 19 other people from Butte and flew the whole group to Florida where they played golf and stayed at Knievel’s home.
“It was first class,” he said. “We had two big limousines and he took care of us.”
Pavlovich described Knievel as a daring showman who was unpredictable and always willing to take a risk.
He recalls one Christmas in the 1960s while closing the Met after 2 a.m. when Knievel took him for a ride in his new Volkswagen, which he bragged he could drive on water.
The two were in Rocker that night when Knievel noticed a huge pile of snow and told Pavlovich to prepare for a wild ride.
“He said ‘watch us go through this thing’ and I said ‘you’re nuts, we’ll never get through that thing,”‘ he laughed. “We went right through it. He said ‘let’s go to Georgetown (Lake) and we’ll see if it floats. I said ‘you can go, but you’re not taking me with you.”....
Ron Fisher was still shaken by the news of his friend’s death as he shared stories about Knievel with patrons at Maloney’s Bar Friday afternoon.
“He was all about Butte, he was never afraid to tell people he was from Butte,” Fisher said. ...
Former U.S. Congressman Pat Williams grew up with Knievel, his first cousin, and said the two were like brothers. The men, whose mothers were sisters, were raised by separate grandmothers in Butte and spent their childhoods together.
Williams described his cousin as a “born daredevil” who wasn’t afraid of anything.
“From the time we were little playing in my grandmother’s kitchen he was unstoppable and had enormous athletic ability,” he said. “When we were in first grade Bobby could walk on his hands and could go like a block. It was unbelievable. He was born with these amazing attributes.”
Knievel prided himself on his strength from an early age, but Williams said those who knew him will always remember a kind-hearted man.
“He could be meaner than a Butte blizzard and kinder than a Butte spring and not unlike the Mining City, you saw things in Bobby that you would never see anywhere else,” said Williams, who now lives in Missoula. [emphasis mine].....
Wade Dahood of Anaconda [MT], Knievel’s longtime lawyer, said he’d also talked to his friend Thursday night.
“He called and he said ‘Put me on your prayer list, I just don’t feel that well but I’m ready to be with God,’ "......
By John Grant Emeigh and Justin Post - The Montana Standard - 12/01/07
http://www.helenair.com/articles/2007/12/01/montana_top/a011201_05.txt
Evel Knievel died in Florida but he was a Montanan from Butte until the very end. Rest in peace.
// posted by Janet @ 10:22 AM
0 comments
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