Fall is here, and with the change in leaves and temperature, it's time to get out the woolies and the overcoats and pack away the T-shirts and sun dresses. In other words, it's time to organize your closets! Here are some simple strategies for organizing your wardrobe and storing off-season clothes.Getting readyAs with all organizing projects, dedicate at least four hours of uninterrupted time. Turn off the phone, avoid other distractions and be sure you have the supplies you need before you get started. For closets, I recommend purchasing an inexpensive clothes rack; boxes to help you sort (banker boxes are my favorite); a flat, clean surface for sorting (a.k.a. the bed); and bags for donations. You also will want to label each box with the general contents, such as "winter sports" or "summer shorts, tops." I also recommend purchasing two under-bed storage containers - ideally plastic with small rollers on one end and flip-tops on each end. Shop for other containers after you have sorted and tossed.
Anyone who understands Richard Wright's novel Native Son understands race matters in the United States. Strictly reading the novel or being able to say what happens in the book is not the same as understanding what happens. One must understand the whys. The plot is simple: an impoverished 20-year old black man accidentally kills the daughter of his wealthy white employer and pays the highest price. Understanding why protagonist Bigger Thomas acts compels a reader to act differently after reading the book. Though the book was written in 1940, much of it rings as true today as it did then.Bigger's family shares quarters with rats, and it is nothing a sane person wishes for family or anyone else. Yet Bigger, his sister, brother, and mother who can do no better, are housed in such a place. Time which could be - should be - spent on other tasks is devoted to the rat. Where is it? Is it going to bite one of them? Are there other rats? How much sleep can the family get? Of what quality is this sleep? How prepared can the family be for the next day?
More than 530 parents, teachers and community members gathered at Roosevelt High School on Oct. 16 to talk about something parents fear more than the smoking, skipping school and sex talks combined: math.Solving problemsThe talk was led by Ruth Parker, a former elementary-school teacher and CEO of Mathematics Education Collaborative (MEC), who argued that the traditional methods of teaching math still employed in schools are leaving Seattle students "numerically illiterate" and "unprepared for the demands of reasoning necessary in the work force today."As an example, audience members were asked to perform a series of seemingly simple math problems, but without the aid of pen and paper. The problem "48 times 26" alone resulted in six different answers and immeasurable audience frustrations. This difficulty, according to Parker, results from mathematics programs that force students to conform to a fixed method of solving math problems. "Mathematical competence does not come from memorizing formulas you don't understand," Parker said.Parker believes that students should explore multiple ways of solving a problem, and then test them to see which strategies work consistently. Audience members were humbled by examples of fifth-graders' varying and creative responses to the "48 times 26" equation, all of which were more efficient and constant than traditional methods.
I'm old enough that half the people in my address book are marked "died." And I'm old enough to remember this messy, overgrown town as it was before the viaduct and before the I-5 freeway and before the 1962 World Fair. Way, way back when I entered the then new University of Washington School of Art as a student; before successions of on-the-make developers and politicians and boosters made it the self-important, fractious, gridlocked, inhospitable, "world-class" wannabe monster it is today.I wish the address book names, and old Seattle, still lived.Consider this, the monorail debacle that this bungling city was forced to sell and the harm it did to the taxpayers and the property owners. Consider the mayor's insistence on the most costly, and possibly most unsafe, viaduct solution, a tunnel through the landfill muck underlying an earthquake area. Consider the latest zoning-rigging to allow more, taller, upscale downtown buildings in a downtown already so clogged many of us will not go there now with the new, more expensive and extensive city-street parking charges.Consider the big population increase which seems comprised mostly of the haven't-enough and the have-way-too-much, and they all want more. This whole clueless, overpopulated world wants more. Are there leaders who'll actually deal with that before the weight of the stuff dug and piped and sucked out of the globe's insides falls back into the emptied cavity? Has anybody, except some forlorn, unheeded scientists considered that? Hell no. We're talking more roads when the real problem is too many people, here and everywhere.
My wife would often tell the "ham" story in reference to the foolish traditions we are beholden to. Through the generations the ends of the ham were customarily sliced prior to cooking. Unbeknownst to the family matriarchs, the source for this unorthodox practice was an elder who performed this routine because her ham couldn't fit into the pan! Similarly, too many young people blindly pursue the tradition of higher education. Peer and family pressure, "finding oneself" and the ubiquitous statement "the jobs of the twenty-first century will require college degrees" are some of the pretexts for going to college.However, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics eight of the 10 fastest growing occupations through 2014 - including such fields as health technology, firefighting, plumbing and automotive repair - do not require a bachelor's degree and are less vulnerable to outsourcing. I suspect an aversion to perceived "low status" jobs account for this disconnect as opposed to a genuine interest in higher education. This obsession to attend college has insidious ramifications. High stakes tests and stressing over grades dwarfs the far more publicized competitiveness in scholastic sports. In fact, many of the same people who engage in excessive academic competition are the most vocal critics of competitive sports.In addition, this emphasis to get accepted into college often discourages students from seeking knowledge out of curiosity. Instead, young people feel pressured to study for standardized tests and pad their credentials with the "right" courses in order to impress college admission counselors.
As part of El Centro de la Raza's Day of the Dead celebration, the Beacon Hill community organization, located at 2524 16th Ave. S., is hosting a display of traditional ofrendas, or altars, to honor those who have died. The exhibit will be on display until Nov. 21.
Over the last five years, Paul Butler and John Platt, owners of St. Clouds restaurant in Madrona, have helped more than 12,000 homeless individuals in Seattle. Once a month they provide dinner for about 200 people at several local sites.The Washington Restaurant Association (WRA) recently awarded them the 2006 Humanitarian of the Year - Restaurant Neighbor Award. The WRA gives this award because it believes that restaurants are a huge part of their respective communities and they have a duty to feed people in need, which can also foster goodwill. Being good neighborsFor Butler and Platt, the idea of helping the homeless was not just a chore or way to seek recognition. It was an idea that hit close to home for both of them.In August 2001, St. Therese Catholic Church in Madrona decided to host a tent city on its church and school grounds. However, many members and neighbors were nervous about the idea of having the homeless community in their neighborhood, so a meeting was organized. To calm down the community, tent-city organizers reassured them by saying that tent-city residents would not be allowed to cook due to health-code issues. This might have made the neighbors happier. But all that Butler and Platt could think about was, this will be their home - where are they going to cook? As Platt said, "What's it going to be, 'Jack-in-the-Box here we come'?" At that moment, the St. Clouds owners thought, "You know, we ought to cook a meal for them." As Butler and Platt warmed to the idea, it spread to many Madrona community members, as well.
Lifeguard Jonathan Evans hoses down one of more than 60 dogs that had an opportunity to swim at the Rainier Beach Community Center. The pool was closed to humans on Sunday, Nov. 5, from 3-5 p.m. and opened for South End canine residents. A $10 fee granted dogs access to the pool, with a shower in the men's locker room prior to hopping in the pool. Pool staff provided fresh water for the hard-charging pooches along with tennis balls, poop bags, and stairs for the dogs to get in and out of the pool. Two lifeguards were on hand to make sure the dogs, ages 6-months and older, and their human counterparts were using the facility safely. The annual event is always a popular draw in Rainier Beach, and is timed with the pool's regulr, deep-cleaning maintenance schedule. After the swim ended, the water was drained in preparation for crews to clean the facility.
Last year, Queen Anne resident Alex Welles ended up saving a woman's life when she slipped and started to slide down a hill during a Himalayan climb (see "Mountain misadventures: QA man's Nepalese hike turns 'dicey'," June 15, 2005 at www.Magnolia-News.net).This year, Welles went back to the world's tallest mountains with a group organized by the Queen Anne-based Mountaineers Club.Although Welles didn't end up saving anyone's life this time, he did have to deal with Nepalese Maoist guerrillas, a humorless bunch who demanded bribes not just once but twice, he said.Led by Queen Anne resident and Mountaineers member Craig Miller, the 12-member group hiked into Tibet for a visit to Mount Kailash. "It's considered to be one of the most revered mountains in the world," Welles said. Indeed, according to a fact sheet from The Mountaineers Club, the mountain is sacred to four religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Janism and Bon, an offshoot of Buddhism.But no one ever climbs 22,028-foot-tall Mount Kailash. Instead, religious devotees and tourists such as Welles circle the base of the mountain, a process believed to purify all the sins of a lifetime.Getting to the sacred mountain involved first trekking through Nepal, and that's where Welles and his group ran into the Maoist guerrillas, a revolutionary outfit that controls most of the countryside, he said.
"I'm very much an American," says Nelson Cabale. "I just happen to have been born in another country."Cabale says he has always believed in American ideals-he just couldn't realize them in the land of his birth. "I was born in a paradise," he says, "yet it was hell."He is referring to Cuba, where, as the younger son of Agustin Garcia and Clara Cabale (pronounced Ka-ba-lay), he was born in 1942 in Altagracia, a tiny village about 25 miles northeast of the city of Camaguey.People in this totally flat area of inland Cuba primarily raised cattle and sugar cane, but Nelson's father served in the Cuban army. "We were dirt poor," says Nelson, "literally." The floor of their hut was a mixture of dirt and ash that hardened like tile.Nelson attended strict Catholic schools where, as a mulatto, he faced discrimination. Other kids called him pasitas, or "raisins," making fun of his kinky hair. When not in school, Nelson played dominoes in the barracks with his father's military friends. Gradually his father was promoted, and his family attained middle-class status."With my education and higher class," Nelson says, "came the luxury to question and rebel against injustices." Nelson finished high school at age 15, in less than three years (the norm in Cuba was five years). Then he rushed to join the revolution against the repressive Batista regime, to help bring Fidel Castro to power. "My father was wearing the uniform of the enemy," he says, adding, without elaboration, that "it was very traumatic."
The West Point Lighthouse, the guiding light of Magnolia's busy West Point, will be celebrated for its 125 years of service on Nov. 18, at Discovery Park, with lighthouse history, crafts, a photo contest and an art display of lighthouse photos and art, including a vintage section.Also, lighthouse experts Ted and Sharleen Nelson (co-authors of the Umbrella Guide to Lighthouses) will speak about lighthouses throughout the state, including West Point.A reading relating to the history of the lighthouse from the upcoming spring release of Magnolia History Book II will present a full story of West Point history, as well as a re-enactment of the 100th birthday celebration-including the pouring over the top of the lighthouse a celebratory bottle of champagne-will be a highlight.
The Daybreak Star Center played host to a circled gathering last week to gauge American-Indian contributions to politics based on "The Fourth Way" concept.But while no direct link was made between politics and The Fourth Way at the forum, an American-Indian State Representative running for reelection and an American-Indian candidate for State Senate spoke of ways their indigenous cultures affect their approach to politics and power.Incumbent John McCoy, a Tulalip Democrat from the 38th District, said his political platform includes respect for elders, care of children and living-wage jobs for working adults. All politicians have the goal of solving problems for their constituents, McCoy added. "I just go about it differently." The representative explained that he uses his three-part platform when he looks at bills, an approach McCoy said resonates with his Indian constituents.But he learned early on that legislation sometimes has unintended consequences for American Indians. "So we have to stay continuously involved ... because they always want to infringe on us," McCoy said of white politicians at both the state and national level.Representing the Indian perspective isn't easy, according to McCoy. "You have to get thick-skinned because racism is alive and well in this state."
Karen Moyer is into "spinning" for exercise-so much so that she opened her own studio in Magnolia Village at the end of June. She held a grand opening on Nov. 5 in conjunction with a pledge drive for the Moyer Foundation. But the wife of major-league pitcher Jamie Moyer isn't talking about twirling around like some sort of hyperactive Dervish. Instead, spinning involves aerobic exercising on a stationary bicycle that has adjustable resistance.There are 27 of the specialized bikes in Karen's Go Legs spin studio-the only spin studio in Seattle-and she's one of seven instructors that lead the exercise sessions to a musical background.Karen is an old hand at leading an exercise program that usually costs extra at normal health clubs. "I was teaching it at the Magnolia Health Club, and that closed," she said.Jamie said he is also a fan of spinning, which he picked up from his wife. "I did it last off-season as my cardio." Jamie also had his own stationary bike at the Seattle ballpark when he was with the Mariners, and he took the bike to his Magnolia home when he started pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies, he added.
A $1.5 million home in the 3200 block of Perkins Lane West allegedly was vandalized extensively Oct. 26 by a 41-year-old man employed by a small home-remodeling company the home's owner had contracted with to do $20,000 worth of work.The owner had bought the waterfront home just five months ago, according to a neighbor who called the Magnolia News, and police spokesman Sean Whitcomb said it will cost more than $200,000 to fix the damage."This is a fairly unusual case," Whitcomb added. "And due to the extent of the damage, we called out some specialized units." That included a crime-scene-investigation team and a photographic unit, he said.The worker, Todd Michael Wagner, had been assigned on Aug. 7 to set tiles and paint the master bedroom of the four-story home, according to court documents that note he was arrested and has been charged with Malicious Mischief in the First Degree. Wagner, whose last known address was in Mountlake Terrace, also had permission to work in the home when the owner left town on Oct. 19, and Wagner had finished painting the bedroom yellow with a roller and a brush and was expected to finish setting the tiles as of Oct. 27, the documents add.Wagner isn't talking, according to police, but allegedly something went horribly wrong with him on Oct. 26.
Vis-à-vis regular boilerplate crime-murder, armed robbery, burglary, those staples of the old-time daily newspapers where I began what the New Agers call my "career path" 30 years ago-Cincinnati, my just-revisited home, and Seattle, my adopted home most of the past 20 years, have gone in different directions.When I arrived here in 1984, fresh from covering Cincinnati's approximately 50 murders a year, I discovered that Seattle, although a tad bigger, also averaged about 45 to 50 homicides annually.In the 1990s, when Seattle's murder rate spiked and forced the creation of a gang task force, our 70-plus citizens-removing-citizens rate surpassed that of Cincinnati, where the murder rate dropped to under 40 per annum.But Seattle somehow grabbed "aholt" (as we say in the near South) of itself, and lately murders have dropped to under 30 annually. At the same time, with gang problems, police brutality and racial tensions on the rise-in a city the census claims is 35 percent black, but where black activists claim a full 50 percent, many unrepresented, of the citizenry-Cincinnati's murder rate has soared.At this writing, 80 citizens (a record pace for the alleged Queen City of the Midwest) have already been removed from the faulty census roles, most, of course, the victims of gunshot wounds.To even the untrained eye, Cincinnati is a more violent place than Seattle.