My life has become a scavenger hunt. Today, I found my ice cream scoop in the overstuffed chair in the living room. I wasn't hunting for that particular kitchen gadget when I discovered it sitting there, and I still have no clear understanding about why it was removed from the kitchen drawer and dropped onto the chair. I doubt I'll ever find the reason, and even if I did, I doubt I'd understand it. Later, I was searching for the remote to the television in the family room. Naturally, I couldn't find it because it wasn't in the family room. I found it later under the table runner on the kitchen table. I still don't know why it didn't occur to me to look there first. Last summer, my attempt to make cookies was thwarted when all of my measuring cups turned up missing. They were later found strewn across our back yard. I never did find out why. They say, as you get older, you misplace things, forget things and just plain have memory problems. I'm not buying that. Here's the real reason we think we're losing our minds: It's an evil plan, thought up by our young, to bring us down.
The cure to our country's insatiable oil-addiction is being administered in Seattle, and its application could not have come at a better time considering recent developments in Washington D.C.On March 17, with a 51-49 vote, Senate Republicans managed to marshal their forces and kill a Democratic and moderate Republican effort to take out a provision on oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) from the 2006 Congressional budget resolution. The vote gives credence to the GOP-controlled House and the Bush administration, both of which favor drilling the oil out of ANWR. No less dependence on imported oilHere's the rub, drilling ANWR - considered by many to be the Serengeti of North America due to its pristine landscape and abundant wildlife - will not free Americans from their dependence on imported oil. Says who? Well, good, old Uncle Sam.
You've heard the joke about the cats in heaven who just loved the roller-skating mice, but Meals on Wheels is a very real program that helps hundreds of senior citizens stay in their Seattle and King County homes.
More than 20 local musicians will be featured in History House of Greater Seattle's Music in the Sculpture Garden, a free music series designed for families, starting Sunday, May 1, and running through Sept. 25.The series will take place in History House's covered, outdoor Sculpture Garden on Sunday afternoons from 2 to 4 p.m. (No concert is scheduled for July 3).
Everyone knows the basics for living and aging well - at least they should. Three nurses specializing in senior care offer simple, yet clever, ideas that go beyond healthy eating, plenty of exercise and wishing for the fountain of youth.
Skateboarders across Seattle are buzzing about the proposed new skate park to be built in Lower Woodland Park. Postings from a skateboarding forum on Concretedisciples.com show a wide range of emotions, from excitement to vindication: "I used to play soccer at that field and [would] look over and see the bikes jumping in the dirt and think to myself, 'They should build a skate park here.' I can't believe it's feasible now."
Community members and faculty were shocked and then disheartened last week after learning about the Seattle School District's cost-cutting proposal to close 10 schools. Faced with a $20 million budget gap for the 2006-07 school year, the district has recommended closing three North End alternative schools. Bagley Elementary School and John Marshall Alternative High School are slated for closure, while Summit K-12 would become a middle school.
Many musicals are based upon movies, with "Hairspray" being the most recent member of the genre on Broadway. A little closer to home, Matt Fontaine decided to base his latest musical on a movie title. As he worked on his creation, he learned that developing a musical requires an appreciation for the history of the genre, the need for a plot and the occasional use of 'sepulcher' in a lyric."I had heard of a film called 'Three on a Meathook.' I thought it was a fantastic title. I didn't actually see the film, but started to write a musical based on the trailer that I saw," said Fontaine about the start of his four-year journey towards creating his own musical.
In my mind hypocrites are the worst sinners. Whited sepulchers is what I believe George W. Bush's alleged personal Savior called them back in the day when gods walked the earth and Brittany spears were weapons for the then-feisty Gauls.According to a reader's letter in The Seattle Times, local television traveler Rick Steves, whose trips to Europe are among the brighter spots on local PBS, told an audience at the University of Washington that some dim bulbs are rating his shows according to how much nudity (in ancient statues and post-medieval art museums) he's foisting upon the American public.
The cure to our country's insatiable oil-addiction is being administered in Seattle, and its application could not have come at a better time considering recent developments in Washington, D.C.On March 17, with a 51 to 49 vote, Senate Republicans managed to marshal their forces and kill a Democratic and moderate Republican effort to take out a provision on oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from the 2006 congressional budget resolution. The vote gives credence to the GOP-controlled House and the Bush administration, both favor drilling the oil out of ANWR. Here's the rub: Drilling ANWR, considered by many to be the Serengeti of North America due to its pristine landscape and abundant wildlife, will not free Americans from their dependence on imported oil. Says who? Well, good old Uncle Sam.
It's a small change that doesn't involve a huge number of people. But a recent decision by Seattle University to discontinue neighborhood memberships to the Connolly Center leaves those affected with a sour taste regarding the role of a major institution in their community. As well, the decision has rallied those neighbors to work for an equitable solution.Community memberships allowing use of the Connelly Center's swimming pool and racquetball courts have been available to the neighborhood for more than 35 years. But while community use of the nearby tennis courts and ballfield is officially recognized by the university, such use came as a result of mitigations in response to the university's Major Institution Master Plan during an expansion 15 years ago. With the Connolly Center, there is no signed document that allows neighbors to buy memberships to the athletic facility. But there is an established history for roughly 200 Squire Park residents who regularly use the center.
In the spring of 1968, a small, motivated group of African Americans active in the Garfield High School and University of Washington black student unions hooked up with the fledgling Black Panther Party (BPP). It happened at the funeral of Bobby Hutton in Oakland, Calif.The young, unarmed BPP member was tear gassed and shot to death by police. The Seattleites had traveled south to San Francisco State University for the second annual West Coast Black Student Union Conference, but when they learned about the memorial services for Hutton, they changed their plans. A week later, party co-founder Bobby Seales was in Seattle helping set up the first chapter of the BPP outside of California.Within the first month after opening their headquarters on 34th and Union streets, more than 300 black men and women had joined the party.Now, nearly 37 years later, Seales is returning to Seattle to participate in the first regional Black Panther Party forum and reunion May 13-14 at Seattle University and Garfield Community Center.
For once, Fred Thies was being interviewed.In his line of work he has interviewed thousands of people over the years. Now the tables were turned.Fred, 81, has worked for State Farm Insurance on Queen Anne for half a century. He joined the company in 1955, when he was 30 years old. For the first decade he was a salaried employee. Then he became an independent contractor on commission. "The harder you work, the more you make," he says.His agency now has about 8,000 policy holders, twice as many as usual for a comparable agency. Fred calls that success - reasonable success.
There are few rites of passage in teenage-dom as monumental as passing your driver's test and taking your first solo drive. Ah, the unbridled freedom! Playing your music so loud your ears bleed; windows open, hair blowing in the wind. It's a heady feeling. There are few rites of passage in parenthood as monumental as The Taking Away Of The Teenager's License For Blatant Infraction. Sadly, not a week had passed from the first passage to the second. I think she set a new land-speed record for the loss of a driver's license. What's sad is that just before she left the house she'd asked me if I'd ever had a ticket.
I was hoodwinked. Conned. Bamboozled.Taken in. Duped. Deceived.I was sucked in as completely and effortlessly as a robin swallowing a worm. What amazed me was that I was never asked to testify, or why the college's governing board ignored the story. It's time I wrote about it - after all, it was the biggest gold heist in Nevada state history.