We were all invited to the Marysville Summit on Education held on March 29 at Marysville Getchell High. Change is the reason we should have attended. The school district has a new superintendent. The county has a new County Exec. Out with the old and in with the new. Newcomers’ decisions will certainly affect our lives, so we share an interest in how they manage the challenges of their jobs.
He said, “Have a great day,” but I heard, “Have a gray day.” Why this reversal of mood? Why did I turn a happy wish into a downer? The simple reason is that I’m feeling SADness, or Seasonal Affective Disorder. And from what I’ve gathered the SAD syndrome has gone viral hereabouts.
Veterans Day has passed so it’s now okay for me to come out of hiding. It’s been 60 years since I became a war veteran and for most of the last 50 years I’ve dodged Veterans Day, not because veterans don’t deserve recognition but because for many, the day has become a celebration of militarism. It should be a time of quiet reflection. War is hell and deserving of solemn remembrance.
A year ago, the movie, Hunger Games, pulled in $155 million in its first weekend, making it one of the top earners of the decade. Suzanne Collins, author of Hunger Games, pitted simple folk against an elitist and oppressive government, striking a nerve in people who wonder what the heck the world’s power brokers are up to.
People are voicing displeasure that shiny new cars leave them less than perfectly happy. They don’t handle as well as they should, they ride rough and they’re noisy. One should expect more after shelling out big bucks.
The far-right calls it Obamacare so that when they sink it, as they intend to do, they’ll sink its namesake, too. That’s not a very nice thing to do. Not when public health truly means more to the nation than the ravings of chest-thumping old white politicians.
The Snohomish City Council is turning thumbs-down on a proposal to develop compact housing units in an existing building. The units would be “apodments,” mimicking a trend toward minimum size rentals in Seattle and elsewhere. The Snohomish proposal calls for 20 units of 200 square feet each.
A report leaked from the Heritage Foundation indicates internal strife within the GOP’s shadowy Department of Unforeseen Results (DUR). The rift, centering on congressional stonewalling, pits GOP centrists against leadership. Nerdly Pimple, spokesman for the agency which was formed to neutralize unforeseen fallout from conservative policies, dared to suggest the F-word to Speaker Boehner when the fiscal cliff seems a certainty. DUR’s directors, who unanimously oppose Flexibility, were not amused.
Christmas came and went. Somehow, I wasn’t able to get geared up for it this time around. That might have had something to do with no little ones around since so much of the joy is reflected from children. We seniors sometimes have to work at cranking up the enthusiasm to join in the general mood of the season.
The scene: Members of a Snohomish County school board stopped for coffee when returning from a visit to the Education Services District (ESD) facility in Mount Vernon. Matt, the board’s chairman, said, “This isn’t a meeting, you know.”
The trains are coming! The trains are coming!
Marysville’s issue with increasing rail traffic is here to stay in spite of all the ink that’s been spilled over BNSF’s high-handed intention to slice Marysville in half with a chain saw of coal cars. From a local perspective it just isn’t fair but from the BNSF perspective, our perspective doesn’t count for much. BNSF has the law on its side.
Anyone looking closely saw actual tears forming in Governor Gregoire’s eyes when she announced a menu of cuts equal to our state’s budget shortfall. Anyone who criticizes that lady’s priorities ought to be sentenced to the cruel and inhuman punishment of taking over her job.
Unless you’ve been there, it’s impossible to come close to envisioning anything about Turkey. Any child’s first contact with Turkey is the edible fowl of the same name. Call someone a turkey and he’s labeled as dumb or unknowing. Turkey-ness means stupidly comic. Gobble-gobble.
