Vol. 3, # 11 TO INFORM AND AMUSE ~ TO PROVOKE THINKING AND ACTIVISM May 24, 2006

In This Issue: Beans WithoutWind; Rules for SummerPeople; Best Computers in theWorld, Hawthorn for yourHeart; Mom Memories; TopSeven Moments in High SchoolSports, and more! Pages 18 and 19Page 16Page 8

Come to Pt. Robinson thisSaturday, May 27, from 10 a.m. to2 p.m. and bring your whole family.The first annual Low TideCelebration will bring beachnaturalists, bird experts, artists, ageologist, and many others to showus the wonders of the shoreline thatsurrounds us. And there will evenbe food at the Boy Scouts’ booth!

Planners from six organizationshave been preparing for this partyfor eight months, and linking upwith other groups, such as the fourthgrade students of ChautauquaSchool. These students are presentlyputting the finishing touches on oneof the most decorative featuresplanned for the occasion: a mural ofthe water birds of Vashon. Thanksto the Keepers of Pt. Robinson, theirart will be displayed inside thelighthouse, where it can be enjoyedboth by people wandering throughand by those who are waiting forCaptain Joe Wubbold to take themon a tour of the old light.

Meanwhile, outside there will bea touch tank at the People for PugetSound booth, where grandparentsand children can peer into thehomes of hermit crabs, pat a mossychiton, or feel the softness of ananemone. There will be games, anddisplays, and free beach critterguides. Beach walks will depart onthe half hour from the People forPuget Sound Booth, and the minusthree tide will be low at 11:43 a.m.Bird walks will depart at 11 a.m. and1 p.m. from the Audubon booth inquest of Kingfishers, swallows, andPigeon Guillemots. For the best lookat birds, come very early, at 7:30a.m., and meet Master Birder SueTrevathan in the upper lot (pre-register at 463-1484).

The annual Memorial Day remembrance ceremonies will be held atthe Vashon Cemetery at 11 a.m. and at the Vashon Community CareCenter at 3 p.m. on Monday, May 29. The event is sponsored andorganized by the local Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion.

There will be an honor guard of veterans and Boy Scouts andrepresentatives from many Island organizations at the Cemetery event.Olde John Croan will be the emcee, and The Judd Creek Gospel Choir willprovide music with the singing of hymns.

Janet McAlpine, as Julia Ward Howe, in costume and on stilts, readsHowe’s original Mother’s Day Declaration at the Mother’s Day celebrationat Ober Park on Sunday, May 14. A few hundred Islanders attended themom- and child-friendly event.

Mom Really Was Ten Feet TallPhoto by Andrew James

Memorial Day CeremoniesVFW Color Guard steps off the 2005 Festival Parade. Left to right: Rick Tuel, BurdellHollis (behind flag), John Burke, and Phil Mahurin. Photo by Mary Litchfield Tuel.

Horse mussel shell. One of many treasuresto be found at low tide.

Celebrate Low Tideat Point Robinson

By Rayna Holtz

See Low Tide Fest on page 7

We all have our customer servicehorror stories. Crabby waiters.Angry sales clerks. People notgetting back to us. But we also havethe good stories. The person whogoes above and beyond to serve acustomer. The person who uses thepersonal touch, who remembersyour name, or makes you feelwelcome.

With that awareness, theVashon Island Chamber ofCommerce is excited to have one ofthe leading voices in the customerservice world come and give upclose and personal training for localbusinesses.

On Thursday, May 25, Islanderswill have the chance to hear Pat

By Lauri Hennessey

Pat McCarthy Speaksto Chamber about “The

Nordstrom Way”

See Chamber Speaker on page 4

Would

listening

to each

other be

so bad?

Who IS

this guy?

He yam

what he

yam. The Theatah! The Dahnse!Concerts! Gardens!

Threshhold Choir and Total Experience Choir sing forRememberance Gathering on Sunday, May 28. Story on page 5

The rumors are true. TroyKindred and Marie Browne havebought Glendale Realty, and willsoon be opening it as a KellerWilliams office. Owner Bradd Beverwill stay on with the business, andsays he is excited about the venture.“I’m impressed by the KellerWilliams business model,” saidBever. “It exemplifies the sameprinciples and values that have beeninherent at Glendale for the last 36years.” He went on to add, “KellerWilliams is the most creative andinnovative real estate company thatI know of or have ever heard of. I’mlooking forward to my continuedassociation with the company.”

Kindred and Browne are bothlong-time Islanders with strong tiesto the community and boundlessenthusiasm. “Our real estatebusiness has really taken off this lastyear,” said Browne. “When Braddcalled us about selling his business,it seemed downright providential.”

“We’ll be doing an extensivefacelift on the building,” saidKindred, “and we’ll be holding agrand opening party open to theentire community on Saturday, July1. Naturally, my band Loose Changewill be playing. I never miss a chanceto play a gig!”

Painting theTown Red

May 24, 06The Vashon Loop, p. 2

The Vashon LoopWriters: Kathy Abascal, Deborah Anderson, Rachel

Bard, Becky Bumgarner, Marie Browne, Eric

Francis, Fran Gordon, Jeff Hoyt, Troy Kindred,

Melissa McCann, Orca Annie, Kevin Pottinger, Rex

Morris, Peter Ray, Jonathan Shipley, Ed Swan,

Mary L. Tuel, Marj Watkins

Guest writers this issue: Rayna Holtz, Susan Wolf,

Lynann Politte, Janice Randall.

Photographers: T Kindred, Peter Ray, Jc Kindred,

Alex Kindred, Andrew James, Mary L. Tuel

Original art, comics, cartoons: Ed Frohning, Rick

Tuel, Jeff Hawley, Jeremy Gregory, Maggie

Bumgarner

Ad sales and design: Troy Kindred and Marie

Browne; Email: ads@vashonloop.com;

(206) 463-9207

Editor: Mary Litchfield Tuel

Email: editor@vashonloop.com; (206) 463-3327

Publishers: Marie Browne and Troy Kindred

PO Box 253, Vashon, WA 98070

Paid advertisements in The Vashon Loop in no way

express the opinions of the publisher, editor, or

staff. We reserve the right to edit or not even print

stuff. Deal with it.

Published every two weeksby Paradise Valley Press

© May 24, 2006 ~ Volume III, Issue 11Don’t miss an issue!

Subscribe to The Loop!$50 a year gets The Loop delivered to yourmailbox every two weeks. Call (463-3327) orwrite (PO Box 253, Vashon) or emaileditor@vashonloop.com!

Loopy sez: Deadline forthe next issue of The Loop is:

Friday, June 2

Adopt-A-Cat Day

Be part of Vashon Island PetProtectors 2007 Pet Calendar and makeyour pet a star. All are welcome — cats,dogs, pigs, goats! Don’t delay! Photosmust be received by July 15th! For moreinformation please call Kathy 463-9203.

2007 VIPP Calendar

The next regular board meeting ofDevelopment of Island Teens (DOIT) willtake place at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 1at the Sunrise Ridge Conference Room atthe Voice of Vashon building. Youthand interested adults are invited.Development of Island Teens (DOIT) is acatalyst that supports and developsunique potential and contributions ofVashon Island youth through funding ofactivities by and for youth, educating thecommunity about youth empowerment,and advocating on behalf of youth.Reasonable accommodations for peoplewith disabilities and directions areavailable by calling Stephen Silha at 567-4363.

JobFind will meet at the VashonLibrary from 9:30 to 11 a.m. on ThursdayMay 25 to work with any adults who areseeking employment assistance,including those who are currentlyworking but are considering a careerchange. This is a VYFS program gearedfor adults that offers assistance with jobleads, interview or resume preparation,and other job search necessities. Vashonjobseekers are welcome to attend informalThursday morning meetings at thelibrary. There is no charge and noappointment is necessary. Librarymeetings are currently planned for the2nd and 4th Thursday of each month. Formore information call VYFS at 463-5511.

Vashon Island Pet Protectors will hostan Adopt-A-Cat Day Saturday, June 3,from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sunday, June4, from 12:30 to 3 p.m. at Pandora’s Box.If you’d like to meet the cats awaitingadoption before the June dates pleaseeither email Vipp at cats@vipp.org or call463-1979 to schedule a time that’sconvenient with your schedule.

Find A Job (or Look forOne) Tomorrow Morning

Tigger, a 2-year-oldspayed female, and Boo, a2-year-old neutered male,have lived together all theirlives, and would like tostay together. They areboth affectionate and

loving. Tigger is “big and beautiful” insize and spirit. She needs a home where

she can romp! Boo is apetite and gentle cat with aquiet spirit. He would lovenothing more than to havea cozy place to nap and aperson to snuggle up with.He needs a home that has asense of calm and peace.These two sweeties havelived with dogs and other

cats, and both can go inside and out, tho’Boo prefers to be inside most of the time.

Tigger

Boo

Featured VIPPCats Availablefor Adoption

Tonight’s topic will be about thephysical effects of grief and will includediscussion and methods for self-healing.We will meet at 7:30 p.m. The group isled by Rondi Lightmark, M.A. Call 463-0831 or email lightmark@copper.net forlocation and information.

Monthly Gathering onGrief and Loss Tonight

You have an opportunity to offeryour opinion to your School Boardmembers on the proposed Gifted andTalented Program, which will be a topicof discussion at the School BoardMeeting, Thursday May 25, at 7:00 p.m.,in the Vashon High School Library.

“There was a great turnout at the lastSchool Board meeting of peopleconcerned about the co-curricular schooldistrict budget, which includes sports,debate, and various other programs. Let’ssee an equal number of people at thismeeting to advocate for our kids!” saidSusan Dufresne, Chautauqua parent repon the Gifted and Talented Committee.

Get Your Derrière to theSchool Board Meeting

Tomorrow Night(But Only If You Care About The Kids)

DOIT Board Meeting

Five members of the Vashon MauryIsland Green Party attended the springconvention of the Green Party ofWashington on Saturday, May 13th. Bya near unanimous vote, long time blackcommunity activist Aaron Dixon wasnominated the Green Party candidate forU.S. Senate. Aaron Dixon thanked theconvention for their support, and pledgedto wage a historic campaign that will helpbuild the Green Party, and the movementsthat it represents: peace, social justice, realdemocracy, and ecological sustainability.

For information on the campaign, goto www.aarondixon.org.

It’s Official: Dixon forSenate

Get in The Loop

The Vashon Eagles are having a Flea Market fundraiser on alternating Saturdaysall summer. The club grounds at 18134 Vashon Hwy SW are a great place to buy orsell crafts, collectibles and household items. The food concession is serving chilidogs. The next sale is Saturday May 27 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Vendor check-in is at 9a.m. There are 10' X 10' spaces still available for $20.00.

The Eagles are also hosting BINGO on Sunday May 28 at 3 p.m.Other regular events are Friday night dinners, Sunday morning brunch and

Blackjack. If you’re not a member, the Eagles would like to invite you to take advantageof our membership fee of $25.00 which will last through the end of June.

Questions about any of these events or the club in general are happily answeredat 463-5477 or by any of the members you know.

Saturday Flea Market at the Eagles

We’d like to hear about your experiences, thoughts or opinions on current events.Come and listen to what others have to say in an informal setting at the SeniorCenter, 1-3 p.m., Thursday, May 25. Bring your own topics or just go along with thegroup. Free, open to all ages, Gary Knutson, facilitator.

A new “enhanced fitness” series for senior men and women starts June 5 at 7:45a.m. or 12:45 p.m. at Ober Park on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays, costing $31 for15 sessions or free to members of Group Health.

It’s excercise for an hour in the slow lane, taught by a professional trainer, EdwardKnightly. Call the Senior Center at 463-5173 for more information or drop by to register.

“Current Events” Meets at Senior Center

Seniors “Keep Fit” at Ober Park

You know, I spent a fortune on deodorant before I realized that people whoavoided me just didn’t like me.

The Vashon Maury Island Chamber of Commerce and the Strawberry FestivalCommittee 2006 invite local artists to display their creations at Ober Park during the2006 Strawberry Festival (July 7th through July 9th).

Art vendors include visual artists, potters, photographers, glass craftsmen,woodworkers, candle makers, soap makers, jewelers, folk artists and more.

The Strawberry Festival provides a charming and exciting environment in whichto celebrate, shop and explore. The local arts presence at the festival greatly enhancesthe visitors’ time, and is a continuing benefit to residents. Ober Park presentsoutstanding artists, musicians and other arts resources to the community for itsenjoyment and entertainment. Last year over 30 Vashon Island artists and craftspeoplefeatured their work.

There will be a variety of live music and entertainment. Dancing is encouraged.To secure your spot, local artists may pick up an application at the Vashon-

Maury Island Chamber of Commerce, and then send to P.O. Box 1035, Vashon, WA98070 or fax: 206-463-7590.

Booths are reserved on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The Vashon Island Chamber of Commerce has announced its selection for GrandMarshal of the 2006 Strawberry Festival (July 7 - 9). Longtime Islander ClaytonWilliams will be honored this year. Williams was nominated by his son, DennisWilliams.

In his nomination letter, Williams called his father “an individual whoexemplifies what it means to be a good citizen and contributing member of ourcommunity”.

Clayton Williams was born and raised on Vashon, and his family has been herefor five generations. He ran Williams Heating, and has been a member of the Kiwanis,Sportsman, Country, and Quartermaster Yacht Clubs. He was a volunteer firefighter,a Fire Commissioner, and a youth baseball coach. He is now a member of the Granny’sAttic Board, a member of the Senior Center Board, and volunteers each week atGranny’s Attic.

“He is a person who takes time out of his day to listen to others, and is known forhelping others,” Williams wrote in his letter.

The Grand Marshal Activities are sponsored by Joyce Olson, CPA. For more info,go to: www.vashonchamber.com.

Sign Up for Your Festival Booth Now!

Clayton Williams Named Festival Grand Marshall

May 24, 06 The Vashon Loop, p. 3

9225 SW 274th StreetView Home!

Check out the virtual tours of these properties at

www.kwvashon.com

(206) 463-LIST (5478)

This retro chic house calls for clambakes,cocktails, and cabin cruisers!

It’s 3200 square feet of living space on 75feet of low bank inner Quartermaster Harborwaterfront. It’s picture windows from the floorto the high ceiling to take full advantage of thelight and the view of the busy harbor. It’s ahome for entertaining guests and family, withtwo large decks practically over the water, plentyof bedrooms and bathrooms, and a separateguest cabin. $999,000.

22908 Vashon Hwy SWWaterfront!

Come home to a completelyremodeled spacious and serene homewith a stunning view of that famousmountain and an easy-to-care-forlandscaped yard.Everything is updated and freshthroughout, with your comfort andeasy living in mind - Viking stove,Bosch dishwasher, new refrigeratorand trash compactor, new cabinets,new bathroom fixtures, tiled floorswith in-floor heating in the bath, fullywired for cable and homenetworking, whisper quiet automaticgarage door, propane fireplace insert,

and much, much more. $610,000

Cottage Charmer!Darling updated Beulah Parkcottage at a very affordable price!Hardwood and Pergo flooringthroughout, stainless appliances,stacking W/D, jetted tub, newerroof, and a mature and charminggarden complete the veryfunctional two level floorplan.$295,000

MLS 26015188

MLS 26034820

MLS 26044175

!!!!!

!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!

1946 Sq Ft3 bedrooms

3.75 bathBreathtaking View

75 feet of low bank waterfront!!!!!

!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!

3240 Sq Ft3 bedrooms

2.5 bath

! ! ! ! ! 2 BR! ! ! ! ! 1 bath! ! ! ! ! 840 sq ft! ! ! ! ! Built in 1926

! ! ! ! ! On sewer! ! ! ! ! Beulah Pk Water! ! ! ! ! Two Level! ! ! ! ! Taxes $1,999

13513 SW 170th Street

Your Home Team Realty

Seattle Metro West

Fairy tale charm abounds in this Tudor-style home on a shy three acres of Vashon’shighly desirable sunny Westside with aview of Colvos Passage. Inside, the well-thought out floor plan allows for plentyof private and communal space in beamedhigh ceiling rooms that blend outdoorand indoor spaces with French doors andbalconies. The grounds include a willow-

surrounded pond, cottagegarden flower beds, a fencedvegetable garden, paddocks,and a separate garage andworkshop with guestquarters. $689,000

Fairy Tale Charm17921 Westside Hwy SW

MLS 26047640

Troy and Marie Borrow Money

On Island Properties

Troy: Norm, you’re a mortgage broker. A lot of people don’t understand exactlywhat you do. How do you explain it to the average person?

Norm: You’re right— there are a lot of misconceptions about the role of amortgage broker in the world of lending. The best way to explain it is tothink of me as a retail source for loans. If you go to a bank to borrowmoney, your only options are the various loans (we call them “loanproducts”) offered by that bank, which may or may not work for you. Ifyou go to a mortgage broker for a loan, your options expand significantly,because mortgage brokers work with hundreds of lenders.

Marie: It’s like shopping for a purse. If I know I want a Coach purse, I just gostraight to the Coach store. If I’m not sure what brand of purse I want, Igo to Nordstrom for a full selection.

Troy: I sense a shopping spree coming on.

Norm: I’ll stay clear of that topic. But yes, that’s a pretty good analogy. Oneother difference is that unlike a bank, a mortgage broker does not actuallyfund the loan. The money comes from whichever lender the borrowerchooses to go with.

Troy: A common belief is that a borrower will pay more in fees by getting aloan through a mortgage broker. True or false?

Actually, we didn’t borrow any money, but it made for a snappy title. We did,however, talk to a mortgage broker about the subject of borrowing money. NormMaser of Acceptance Mortgage has 25 years of experience in real estate investmentand mortgage finance. As Norm says, “I am passionate about helping homebuyersand owners understand and assess their own unique situations, and the choicesavailable.” Norm has developed his own services and customer processes, which hesays are intended to provide homebuyers with honest and accurate informationnecessary for making smart borrowing decisions, and with professional service andintegrity in originating and closing transaction. He can be reached at 206-579-0159.

Norm: A broker and a direct lender both earn fees for originating your loan in thesame manner. They may charge you loan fees directly, or they may chargeyou fees indirectly by raising your interest rate in exchange for some or allof the loan fees. In this case, when you work with a direct lender, the lenderwaives your loan fees at closing, but earns them over time through thehigher interest rate that you pay. When you work with a broker, the lenderpays the loan fees to your broker at closing, and the broker waives yourloan fees - the lender still earns them over time by the higher interest rate.The amount received by the broker from the lender is disclosed to you.

Marie Let’s talk about points for a minute. Points are dollars a borrower pays upfront to get a lower interest rate. For example, on a $100,000 loan, a borrowermight pay one percentage point, which would be $1000, to get a quarterpoint interest rate deduction. This may or may not be a good idea dependingon how long the borrow plans on having that loan, right?

Norm: Right. In your example, it would take four years for the lower rate toreimburse the borrower. Here is how you do the math: one quarter percentper year on your $100,000 loan would be $250 in interest. Your breakevenis the $1000 you paid up front divided by the $250 savings per year. Itworks out to four years. But it actually takes about 5 years to break even,because if you didn’t pay the $1000 to the lender, you could buy a Treasurynote (or other investment) and earn interest on it for those four years.

Troy: Good point. No pun intended. Really.

Marie: That’s probably a good place for us to stop. Hey, thanks a ton for talkingwith us, Norm. I expect you’ll hear from some of our readers.

If you have suggestions for topics to cover in Tips For Homeowners,or if you want to receive your copy via email, please writemarie@kwvashon.com. And if you need real estate services,please give us a call at (206) 463-LIST.We would love to work foryou.

Sale

PendingSale

Pending

May 24, 06The Vashon Loop, p. 4

LoOpEdEditorials and Letters to theEditor: We welcome yourcontributions! Submit them byemail to: editor@vashonloop.com

We have the best military wehave ever had.

By this I mean the best trained,the most thoughtful andconscientious, the best educated.And let’s lay to rest one myth forboth the officer corps and enlistedranks, it is not just about the GI Billor “lack of economic opportunity”with how many illegal immigrantsswarming over the border? I’veknown a number of military folksover the years and I’ve uniformly (ohI should have resisted) beenimpressed.

If there are issues (and there are)they lie with us, the Americanelectorate. To name just a fewburning issues of the moment therehas been an awareness since 1973that oil was a weak point; there hasbeen since the 1960s an issue withSocial Security funding; since the1970s there have been reams ofpaper devoted to the unintendedconsequences of individual andcorporate welfare. We have chosento be pandered to (right and left),we have chosen to let the other guybear the burdens, we have chosento take more than we give. We have

Editor, The Loop:I promised several people who

stopped by the Vashon-MauryDemocratic Club table at theMother’s Day Celebration in OberPark that I would publish the resultsof our informal survey. We had a piechart with the Federal Budget for2007 divided into six sections. Wegave each participant six penniesand asked that they decide whereto put those pennies representingtheir tax dollars. There was one jarfor each segment of the budget.People could put all their pennies in

one of the jars, one penny in each,or any combination.

A total of 372 votes were cast inthe form of pennies. The segmentsof the Federal Budget , thepercentage of the actual 2007budget, and then the percentage ofVashon votes are listed below:

Human Resources includingHealth and Human Services, foodand nutrition, housing, labor –Federal 33%, Vashon 63%; Physical

The Kneejerk ConservativeThe Kneejerk ConservativeThe Kneejerk ConservativeThe Kneejerk ConservativeThe Kneejerk ConservativeBy Fran Gordon

just the politicians we want anddeserve. Believe it or not I am notarguing for regime change; theDemocrats are as much a cause asRepublicans. It is time to examine,each of us, our own actions andmotivations and the things we knowthat are not so.

My Dad went to North Africa asa 17-year old Navy recruit. He spentWW2 riding shotgun on submarinepatrol. I don’t know why but in 1947he signed up for the US Army. Hespent the fiercest part of the KoreanWar with the Army because he wasin Tokyo pulling Occupation duty.He paid for it later. So did we as afamily, which is to say someproblems would have been thereregardless but his experiencesmagnified things. Nonetheless, henever begrudged anything he gaveto his country and through thatservice, to us; and ,over time, neitherhave I. I hope I have givensomething back and paid somethingforward. I hope he would be asproud of me as I am, in retrospect,of him, and of those who havechosen to serve. Have a blessedMemorial Day. oooooo

Jenny Hodgson and pennies.

McCarthy, co-author of the best-selling Customer Service theNordstrom Way, speak about the“Nordstrom way” as the Chamberkicks off its new “For YourBusiness” series.

The meeting at CourthouseSquare begins with a light lunch atnoon. Admission is $10, with allproceeds going to the Vashon FoodBank.

“If we don’t understandcustomer service and don’tappreciate the customer, and don’tunderstand our employees are alsoour customers, then we don’t havea lot to offer people,” McCarthy saidin a telephone interview. “What setsa good business apart is the peoplewho smile, who are friendly, whofollow through. They are notnecessarily trying to sell you, but aretrying to help you. All of the thingspeople do that you don’t get when

Continued from page 1Chamber Speaker

The Vashon Island Chamber wants tolet the community know that customerservice is a valuable thing to offer. Withthat in mind, the Chamber is asking you tofill out the ballot (to the left) and mail it into the Chamber offices by June 1. Thewinning entry will be judged by yourChamber Board of Trustees, and the winnerwill receive recognition in an upcomingnewspaper, as well as a reward. Call LeeOckinga at the Chamber of Commerce at(206) 408-8057 if you have questions aboutthe nomination process, or email her atlee@vashonchamber.com. Nominationsshould be sent to Vashon ChamberCustomer Service Award, PO Box 1035,Vashon, WA 98070

Recognize GreatCustomer Service!

Nomination Form:Your name:Phone:Email (if applicable):Person you are nominating:

Business you are nominating:

Why are you nominating this person orbusiness for its exemplary customerservice?

To nominate someone, send thisnomination by June 1 to:Vashon Island Chamber CustomerService AwardPO Box 1035, Vashon, WA 98070

you shop on the computer — the realtouches. They tell the story.”

“The question I have for Vashonis where are you going to takesomeone when they visit the Island?What are the best places? Whatworks? Those are the kinds ofquestions we should always beasking ourselves as a community.”

The Chamber has been growingin the last several months. Recentadditions to the Board of Trusteesinclude Molly Reed, ExecutiveDirector of Vashon Allied Arts; LisaMathias, President of the VashonIsland Growers Association (VIGA);and Bill Dorn, Co-owner of SoundFood.

Reservations are requested dueto limited seating. If you would liketo hold a spot, call the Chamber at408-8057, or email Lee Ockinga atlee@vashonchamber.com. Books bythe Way will be offering copies ofMcCarthy’s book for sale after themeeting.

!Loop LettersResources including Agriculture,Interior, Transportation- Federal6%, Vashon 23%; GeneralGovernment including Interest onDebt other than military generated,Justice, Homeland Security,International Affairs – Federal 12%,Vashon 7%; Military overall Federal49%, Vashon 7%.

The military portion was dividedinto three sections. Vashon voted 6%for Past Military which includesVeterans Benefits and interest on thenational debt due to military. Theportion devoted to militarypersonnel, operations andmaintenance, procurement andnuclear weapons got 1% of theVashon vote and the presidentialsupplemental budget going to thewars in Iraq and Afghanistanreceived no Vashon votes.

I was struck with how manypeople agonized over their choices.Some who at first impulse wereabout to put all their pennies in theHuman Resources jar, paused andreconsidered, saying they realizedthat even if we disagree with howdebt was incurred, to neglect to payit would get us in even worsetrouble. Quite a few expressed thatwhile they were against the warcompletely, they are sympatheticwith the veterans who have borneso much sacrifice and want them tohave all the support they need.

Two people expressed the wishthat we could decide in a similarfashion exactly where our real taxmoney goes. If you want moreinformation on this go to http://w w w . w a r r e s i s t e r s . o r g /piechart.htm.

Jennie Hodgson

In “The Lone Protestor (The Loop, Vol. 3, # 10,May 10, 2006)” the statement: “Recently two statelegislatures ...submitted resolutions to the U.S.House of Representatives demanding Bush’simpeachment” should have said:”...hadresolutions submitted which, if passed, will besent to the U.S. House of Representativesdemanding Bush’s impeachment.”

Correction:

May 24, 06 The Vashon Loop, p. 5

The Harbor School welcomesGayle Kellner as the new LowerSchool teacher of the fourth andfifth grade multi-age program.“Gayle brings to us many years ofexperience, along with an engagingstyle we believe will add much to theculture here at The Harbor School,”says Head of School Toby Welch, “Itis clear that Kellner knows childrenwell, has high expectation of theirperformance, and has a strongunderstanding of theirdevelopmental needs.”

Kellner began working withchildren twenty-five years ago, andis passionate about her profession.“I have a love for teaching, and anenthusiasm for life! As anexperienced classroom teacher, Ienjoy working collaboratively withparents and colleagues. My goal isto provide an interesting,emotionally safe and motivatinglearning environment where eachstudent is supported to work

Interviews of candidates to fillthe Principal and Assistant Principalpositions at Chautauqua Elementaryhave begun. A community forum tomeet finalists is tentatively set forJune 12, 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Finalist(s) will interview with theSuperintendent and a School Boardmember prior to a recommendationfor hire, presented to the entireSchool Board on June 22, 2006.

Search for Principal,Asst. Principal, Begins

Harbor SchoolWelcomes Kellner

Gayle Kellner Courtesy Photo

The Threshhold Choir

towards his or her personal best,”says Kellner.

A long time resident of VashonIsland, Kellner is a mother of twoboys, and a regionally known artistand writer. She enjoys gardening,travel and horseback riding. Sheplans to incorporate her interestsinto the Lower School program.

For more information, please callThe Harbor School at 567-5955 orvisit www.harborschool.org.

Courtesy Photo

Threshhold Choir andTotal Experience Gospel

Remember DepartedThe first Community

Remembrance service to honor thepassing of friends and loved oneswill take place on May 28 at theLand Trust Building from 2 p.m. to4 p.m. All Islanders are invited to

participate, light a candle and shareremembrances and enjoy music bythe Threshold Choir (a local groupof women who sing at the bedsideof people in hospice care) and theTotal Experience Gospel Choir fromSeattle. The Rev. Judy Beggs, anInterfaith Minister and Islandresident, will lead the service. Thoseattending are asked to bring a flower

for a community bouquet and mayshare a memento or photo if theywish. Refreshments will beprovided. Further information canbe obtained by calling SusanCommeree 567-5707 or MelissaFrykman-Thieme 463-9561.

Tell your far-flung friends: Read theLoop online! www.vashonloop.com

We do passport photos

May 24, 06The Vashon Loop, p. 6

Spiritual SmartSpiritual SmartSpiritual SmartSpiritual SmartSpiritual SmartAleckAleckAleckAleckAleck

by Mary Litchfield Tuel

We do passport photos

oooooo

It started with the hole in thekitchen floor. After eighteen yearsof getting up and down, scrapingthe chair legs over the same spot, thevinyl flooring under the kitchentable became ragged, then broken,and the next thing you know wehad a six-inch hole down to the sub-floor. Clearly, Something Had to BeDone. We decided on a newlaminate floor, which my husbandwould install.

That’s what we did, and thefloor is gorgeous, but you know howit is — you start one project andrealize that you’ve begun a processthat is much more than one project.

We have years of stuff: my stuff,my husband’s stuff, our two sons-who-don’t-live-here-anymore’sstuff, our granddaughter’s stuff, myhusband’s dead mother’s and mydead mother’s stuff (which we hadto bring in from out of state), myaunt and uncle’s stuff (they diedchildless in 1987); family heirlooms,books, tchotchkes, toys, and paper.Lots and lots of paper. Everythingfrom furniture to paper clips.

There are also wires. Telephonewires, computer wires, televisionand cable wires, appliancecords…well, you get the picture.

To sum it up, we have been livingin a house so full of the past, there isno room to live in the present.

I was injured in a car wreck afew years ago and decided to hiresome help with the heavy lifting, andit so happened that a friend of afriend was looking for work. I hiredhim, and he came down, I thought,to move things I couldn’t. Furnitureand file cabinets.

He walked into the house, tookone long thoughtful look, andpronounced, “We need to Feng Shuithis place (did I mention he’s beenliving in Marin County the lastfifteen years or so?).” He startedsorting, tossing, and moving stuff,

muttering about Feng Shui all thewhile. First thing to go was mydresser. Instead of the yard sale I’vebeen fantasizing for years, we gavethings away. Whee!

“Treasure,” our Feng Shui mansaid. “You’re looking for treasure.”With that perspective I kept myfather’s World War II dog tags(treasure) and let go of…what wasthat stuff? Not treasure.

Then we moved in some filingcabinets (Granny’s giveth, Granny’staketh away). The Honorable Mr.Feng Shui was not the first to tellme, “You need some file cabinets tostore all this paper.”

Two weeks later, the kitchen hasa new floor, my old office is almostcleaned out preparatory to puttingdown a new floor in there, and thenew office is upstairs. I still havestacks of things to go through andfile, recycle, or throw away.

There were times our Feng Shuiman pushed me so hard to throwthings out that I wanted to throttlehim, but that didn’t bother him andhe got us closer to having the housewe really want to, and are able to,live in. It has been incrediblystressful, all this change, all thisletting go, but worth it.

The rules are: Do you love itenough to take it to the grave? Willyou use it this week? Every thingelse, OUT.

The slice of wedding cake fromyour first wedding; the kids’placentas in the freezer; every singlepiece of paper your baby evertouched with a crayon; forty yearsof film negatives; the brokenclarinet reed your boyfriend gaveyou in high school; the NationalGeographics -- out, out, OUT. Jesuswill not ask you if you have thesethings handy when he comes again.

Don’t think of it as loss. Thinkof it as lightening your load.

Feng shui, you all.

Feng Shui and theNew Kitchen Floor

Vashon Sportsmen’s Club Annual Trout Derby For Kids

Sunday June 4th 12:00pm (noon)Grab a pole (we have some to lend too) andcome on down to the Vashon Sportsmen’sClub annual trout derby. All kids 12 and underare invited to fish in the pond and competefor lots of exciting prizes and fishing gear.

Come join the fun of reeling in a jumping and splashing trout while enjoyinghot dogs, pop, and chili! Not to mention some good ol’ country & bluegrasstunes courtesy of John Van Amerongen!

Come Early and sign in at 11:30am

www.vashonsportsmensclub.com

May 24, 06 The Vashon Loop, p. 7

Solution on Page 17 ggggg

One event of great significancefor shoreline owners will be a beachwalk at noon from Pt. Robinson tothe home of Pat Collier, a mile or so

south. There Eliza Ghitis, fromPeople for Puget Sound, will explainthe ongoing project of removing anold bulkhead and restoring Pat’sbeach. Geologist David Frank andplant expert Helen Meeker willdiscuss the origins of the landformations and the identities of theplants seen along the way.

Among the tents there will be aSpeaker’s Corner at which invitedexperts will take turns giving brieftalks about shoreline topics. You cangrab a sandwich and listen, betweena beach excursion and your nextactivity. Or you can shop for alighthouse souvenir, or a low tide t-shirt as you wait for the next birdingtrip to depart. All the activities arefree.

Even Darsie Beck’s NatureJournaling workshop is free,although you should equip yourselfin advance by going to Essentials 4and purchasing the supplies Darsiehas asked Kathleen to stock,including a sketchbook, brush, andwatercolor set. Please register forthis workshop by calling RaynaHoltz, at 463-3153. Bring a neighborand try it — there are still manyspaces available, and it’ll provide aunique perspective on the events ofthe day.This celebration has been planned byrepresentatives of the Vashon-MauryIsland Land Trust, Washington Departmentof Natural Resources, Vashon-MauryIsland Audubon Society, People for PugetSound, Washington Scuba Alliance,Vashon Park District, and the Land Useand Natural Resources Committee. Manyother groups are helping to sponsor theactivities.

Continued from page 1Low Tide Fest

Sea Pen and Nudibranch Courtesy Photo

Great Books Discussion GroupMonday, June 5, 7:00 p.m.Topic: Narrative of the life of FrederickDouglass, an American SlaveOur book group meets on the first Monday ofeach month and our discussions include all typesof great literature, from ancient to modern times.Please join us for some very stimulatingconversations. Co-sponsored by King CountyLibrary System. No registration required.Talk TimeTuesdays, June 6, 13, 20, 27, 7:00 p.m.Practice speaking English in a relaxed setting.All nationalities and skill levels are welcome.Free! No registration required.Best of the Web, Part 2: Finding theInformation You Need on the InternetWednesday, June 14, 6:30-8:30 p.m.Want to get directions to the mall? See what’splaying at Benaroya Hall? How to buy airlinetickets? Find out if a car is a “lemon”? Get arecipe? Our Netmaster, Bobbi Hurst, will teachyou where to start, and how to find “The Best ofthe Best” sites. This is Part 2 in a series, andincludes new and interesting websites.Prerequisite: Intro to the Internet or MoreSearching on the Internet. Registration beginsMay 31st. Call 463-2069 to pre-register.Children’s Paperback Book ExchangeSaturday, June 24, 1-4 p.m.Elementary school agesWant to freshen up your personal book collectionat home? Come to our paperback book exchangeand trade in your paperbacks for some freshnew titles! Trade-in limit is 15 titles. Registrationnot required. Sponsored by Friends of theVashon Library.LateNight @the LibrarySaturday, June 24, 6-10 p.m.Grades 6-12

Limber up for DDR at the library: Dance DanceRevolution open play will be available.Participate in the Vashon Library Cyber Caféand surf the web or play a game! Refreshments!Door prizes! Security will be provided.Sponsored by Friends of the Vashon Library.Healthy Eating The French WaySunday, June 25, 2:00 p.m.Presented by Yolande Matoré Hoisington, MA,registered health counselor, psychologist andauthor of Pace of Provence Cookbook. When lifegets busy do you sometimes sacrifice yourhealthy diet? Learn ways to plan healthy menusthat can improve your eating habits withoutsacrificing time or taste. Discover how the Frenchenjoy wholesome, delicious food without gainingweight.In this workshop you will learn to: Increasepersonal time in your busy schedule; improveyour eating habits; make shopping easy and fun;plan fast, healthy and delicious menus; beinspired by new and healthy ideas to cook theFrench way in ten easy steps. No registrationrequired.Monkey BusinessTuesday, June 27, 7 p.m.Program will be held in the Ober Park buildingnext to the library.Presented by Brothers from Different MothersFamily program, all ages welcome. This high-energy comedy and juggling show featuresamazing tricks and tons of critter comedy. Besure to catch this beauty and the beast duo inaction. Registration not required.Preschool Story TimesWednesdays, June 28-August 2, 11 a.m. to11:30 a.m. Ages 3 to 6 with adult, youngersiblings may attend. Please join us for stories,songs and fun! Registration not required.Brown Bag Story TimesWednesdays, June 28-August 2,Noon to 12:30 p.m. Ages 5 to 10Bring a sack lunch to eat while you enjoy greatstories read aloud! Registration not required.Sponsored by Friends of the Vashon Library.

Vashon Library ProgramsJune 2006

Flying Fun!Ages 5 to 7: Thursday, June 29, 11 a.m.-NoonAges 7 to 11: Thursday, June 29, 1-2:30 p.m.Walk on the Wild Side with Barbara GustafsonLearn about the four forces of flight: lift, gravity,thrust and drag, and then build and test a birdand other flyers. Registration required beginningJune 15. Please call (206)463-2069. Co-sponsored by the Vashon Park District.

There will be a meeting onThursday, June 29, 6:30-8 p.m. atthe Vashon Parks DistrictOffice,17130 Vashon Highway SW.Come hear more about the proposedexchange of properties between theKing County Library System (KCLS)and the Vashon Parks District forthe expanded Vashon Library.Review conceptual drawings ofpossible locations for the new libraryand meet the architects from BohlinCywinski Jackson.

Public Meeting June 29:Building Design for New/

Expanded Library

ACROSS 1 Part of a football player’s gear 5 Pedestal part 9 Spouses14 Tier15 False god graven image16 Show appreciation to17 Land mass18 Praise enthusiastically19 Famous composer20 Limb21 Of this23 Association (abbr.)24 Psycho26 Total28 Fall mo.29 Berserk31 Evening34 Vault (2 wds.)37 Coat39 Wise Man40 Football assoc.41 Allot (with “out”)42 Sound of keyboard keys44 Neatness47 Cocktail drink48 Grand __ (car race)50 Not (refix)

51 Her52 Club56 Beautiful bird59 Textile63 River (Spanish)64 Cliff debris66 Journalist’s question67 Pa68 Held high69 Naughty or __70 Won71 Shallow72 Sledge73 Possessive pronoun

DOWN 1 Sacred song 2 Afloat (2 wds.) 3 Condescend 4 Hotel 5 Guides 6 6th month (Jewish calendar) 7 Bird of peace 8 Margarine 9 I want my ___10 In the lead11 Sticky black substances

12 Aborts13 Injure21 Chop22 Food and Agri. Org.25 Type of Greek column27 Dekaliter (abbr.)29 Append30 Show for a score31 Potato sprouts32 They served33 Bard’s before34 Indonesian island35 Against36 Negative (prefix)38 Revise39 Metric weight unit43 Km/h45 Angered46 Part of speech49 Representative51 Put out53 Dignity54 Down duck55 Tons56 Nova57 Wheal58 Healing plant60 Has

61 Day-time tv’s Mr. Donahue62 Do up shoes65 Eye infection67 Telegraphic signal

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at theat theat theat theat theSaturday Farmer’s Market!Saturday Farmer’s Market!Saturday Farmer’s Market!Saturday Farmer’s Market!Saturday Farmer’s Market!

Where will people go, after the garden is gone?What will people know, after the garden… — Neil Young, “After the Garden,” Living With WarThere will be a slight departure

from my previously scheduled, year-long excursion with plants in thisspace. We are sorry for anyinconvenience this may cause, butthere are two very good reasons forthis deviation.

The tipping point, a term thatshowed up twice yesterday in botha conversation and an article I read,was reached during a chat with myneighbor at the Bellevue Farmer’sMarket. His name was Dave, and attwenty-six years old he told me that,given existing circumstances in thisworld today, he had no idea whathis future would bring. He was atthe market selling wild foraged foodsfrom around the state —mushrooms, nettles, fiddleheadferns. I pointed out that, if the worsthappened and everything collapsed,he would be the one eminentlyqualified to carry on with things —something to which he readilyagreed but with more than asmidgeon of cold comfort attached.

The second reason is that I wasrecently informed by my parents ofthe graduation of one of mynephews from National Guard bootcamp. Even though I was assuredthat this experience has changed hislife for the better, I can’t help butbelieve that there could have beenmore positive ways for him to “beall he can be” than as potentialroadside bomb fodder in Iran – Imean Iraq — or as a bored andoverheated sentinel on the US-Mexican border.

The thing about farmer’smarkets, besides the market part, isthat it puts one out there with thepeople. A marketplace is not onlyabout commerce, but is also anarena where an exchange of ideascan take place as well. This seemsto be a bit more of a truism at theVashon Market than the one inBellevue. While it should come as nosurprise that the buzz on this Islandis filled with discontent over currentpolitical events, I did get involved ina long and detailed discussion aboutthe state of things at the BellevueMarket, but many of the pointsbeing made on the other side of thetable about politics and thegovernment were often spoken insofter tones than one usually hearsfrom Islanders. But what I washearing being said in both places

Iris Photo by Peter Ray

Towers Photo courtesy of Tamara Beckwith

Island LifeIsland LifeIsland LifeIsland LifeIsland LifeText & photos by Peter Ray

After the Garden is Gone

dwindled to less than ten. I believethat this is as divisive as the ColdWar designations of commies andcapitalists, and because of that,what we have is a divide-and-conquer situation which in turnkeeps us wondering what we can do.The answer that came to me a shortwhile back might have come fromMissouri and is a simple two wordstatement: Show Me.

Video has become somewhat ofa dream medium — pretty muchanyone can do it. Why not have aclearing house for homegrownvideos from across the country thatare not religious or political but thatshow what is going on in Americancommunities? It could be somebodypainting or building a barn or eventhe video I did a short while backabout the Worm Guy and his effortsto get green waste out of the landfilland back into our gardens. It couldbe done through cable access or theinternet — I don’t know what wouldwork best and easiest. That’s whyI’m putting it here, and out there, inthe hopes that someone with thetime and the know-how might helpin a kind of American, cooperative,united way. Originally I hadthought of it as the See AmericaProject, but while standing in lineat the Post Office a couple days agoI noticed that they have their SeeAmerica stamp series, so it seemedit would be best to find anothername. Then, while listening to NeilYoung’s new Living With Waralbum, quoted back at the beginning,it came to me while listening to hissong “Families.” It could be calledAmerican Family — the VideoProject. It should not be confusedwith An America Family, theseventies PBS documentary aboutthe Louds and their numerous familyproblems. This would be aboutrebuilding what I once thought wasAmerica, not about the dissolutionof the principles ensuring its basicrights and values. Perhaps Neilmight even lend his song to the titlesor the credits for each show. Here’sa verse to leave on. I think it mightwork. What do you think?

There’s a universebetween us nowBut I want to reach outand tell you howMuch you meanto me and my Family.Peace out.

was along similar lines, and that wasa voicing of frustration at what washappening in our government,along with being at a complete lossas to whatcan be doneto changethat.

I n d e e d ,from theoutset of bothterms of thisadministrationin whichvoting andv o t ec o u n t i n gdiscrepanciescalled intoquestion thelegitimacy oft h i spresidency;to thee v e n t u a lr e v e l a t i o nthat basicfacts weredistorted sothat we wereled to believethat a warwas not onlyj u s t i f i a b l e ,but necessaryagainst a maniacal leader of acountry with major oil reservesbecause they supposedly hadweapons larger than a bread boxand could possibly do us some kindof harm; to a major scandalinvolving large amounts of moneyand gifts and influence-peddlingthat could be tied directly to higherups in the administration; to thereports in which basic human andconstitutional rights were shown tobe violated in both the treatment ofprisoners of war and in thewiretapping and the questionablescrutiny of phone records of whathas been reported to be tens ofmillions of American citizens; onecannot help but feel helpless anddefeated, unless one happens to beDylan Avery.

At the moment, as an aspiringyoung filmmaker from upstate NewYork, Avery has every reason to feeloptimistic, since his documentaryLoose Change, 2nd Edition is at theNumber One spot (as well asnumber four) on the Google Videos

Top 100 list, getting somewherebetween fifty and one hundredthousand downloads a week. Thisstarted out as an idea for a fictionalscreenplay about a revelation thatinstead of being an act of foreignterrorism against the United States,the events of 9/11 were actually acontrivance of our own governmentin order to justify what otherwisemight be unjustifiable, like sayattacking another country to getback at terrorists and their oil, andstripping Americans of what wereformerly known as Constitutionalrights, all in the name of HomelandSecurity. I believe he makes aconvincing argument with thetruths he has found, but he is notalone.

Canadianj o u r n a l i s tB a r r yZwicker hasmade a filmcalled TheG r e a tConsp i racy ,which inspite of theunfortunatetitle takes am o r einvestigativea p p r o a c h .While Averydid thelegwork ofb r i n g i n gt o g e t h e rr e l e v a n tnews footageand bits ofp r e v i o u ss t u d i e s ,Z w i c k e ri n t e r v i e w sexperts invarious fieldswho all agreethat the story

we were told about the “attacks”,well, it just ain’t right. One can findmore than one might care to learnabout all of this at the website:www.universalseed.org. One canalso go to http://screwloosechange.blogspot.com/ tofind what I would call theswiftboating of the Loose Changemessage, but that might just be me.

So, who knows where all thatwill lead us, if anywhere? I knowliberals that still refuse to buy intoit, and conservatives who areshocked and appalled at theimplications, which brings usaround to another of my pet peeves.In spite of all the “United WeStand” bumper stickers drivingaround, in point of fact we are notin a united stance. We areconstantly being told that we aren’tby the insistent drumbeat of themedia repetition of the red state-bluestate thing. We have also been toldthat because of the growingunpopularity of our president, thenumber of official red states has

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May 24, 06 The Vashon Loop, p. 9

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Horizon and Aurora Banned inCo-ops: Last month, the OrganicConsumers Association called onconsumers to boycott dairycompanies like Horizon and Aurorafor their practice of raising “organic”cattle on intensive confinementfeedlots. A number of natural foodstores and co-ops across the U.S. arebeginning to respond to concernedconsumers and removing suspectdairy products from their stores. TheWedge Co-op in Minneapolis,Minnesota, the second largest co-opin the U.S., no longer carriesHorizon products. In Colorado, theBoulder Co-op Market, has alsodiscontinued stocking Horizonproducts. Amy Wyatt, AssistantGeneral Manager for the Co-op,says, “Based on our concernsregarding Horizon’s practices, wedidn’t feel that continuing to carrythis company’s products wasconsistent with our mission andvalues.” Dean Foods, Horizon’sparent company, is also starting tocome under fire for abandoning U.S.organic soybean farmers andimporting cheap soybeans fromChina, where organic standards aredubious, and farm labor wages andconditions are abysmal. Dean Foodsnow controls the nation’s largestorganic soymilk brand, Silk, as wellas the largest organic tofu brand,White Wave.

StarBUCKS: Despite years ofgrassroots pressure, Starbuckscontinues to serve milk from cowsthat are injected with Monsanto’scontroversial genetically engineeredrecombinant bovine growthhormone, also known as rBGH orrBST. Virtually every industrialcountry, except for the United States,has banned the use of rBGH. Milkproduced from cows injected withrBGH poses serious hazards tohuman health, including increasedrisks for cancer. The time has cometo kick rBGH off the market, onceand for all. If Starbucks, a majorbuyer of milk, were to ban rBGH

GardenGardenGardenGardenGardenthethethethetheWorldWorldWorldWorldWorldBy MEarth

More Organic Bytes

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(compiled from various sources)

dairy products in its coffee beveragesother major corporations wouldlikely do the same.

Despite Big Soda PR,Companies Won’t Be LeavingSchools: Last week, big sodaproducers like Coca-Cola and Pepsisucked up volumes of positive pressafter announcing that they wereremoving soda pop from U.S.schools. The beverage companiesseemed to be finally responding topressure from parents across thenation concerned about junk foodsand beverages in schools andchildhood obesity. A closer look atthe actual statements of the sodagiants, however, reveals that noactual implementation of thesepolicies is planned. In fact, accordingto the American BeverageAssociation, an industry tradegroup representing soda companies,the so-called new policy iscompletely voluntary, and firstrequires that individual schooldistricts actually request to havesoda machines removed. SusanNeely, president of the AmericanBeverage Association said: “This isa voluntary policy, but I thinkschools will want to follow it.”Because school districts alreadyhave the power to add or removevending machines from schools, lastweek’s policy announcement fromthe soda industry amounts tonothing more than anotherdeceptive, albeit clever PRcampaign.

Bird Flu Scare Hits U.S.—In AMade-for-TV Movie: Recently,ABC aired a movie entitled FatalContact: Bird Flu in America. The filmportrayed a worse-case scenariooutbreak where millions of peopledie within the first few weeks of anavian flu pandemic. The networkadvertised the film as being based onfact and stated it was “one stepahead of the headlines.” A coalitionof public interest organizations,including the Organic ConsumersAssociation have called on ABC totake a step back from sensationalismand present its viewers with factualinformation on the spread of suchdiseases. A letter written by thecoalition to Anne Sweeney, thePresident of Disney-ABC, states“The role of large industrial-scalepoultry operations – where up tohundreds of thousands of birds canbe housed indoors in cramped

conditions – is not being examinedby most of the media or bygovernment officials charged withpreventing the spread of the virus.Such facilities not only provideprime conditions for the mutationand spread of the virus betweenbirds, but also rely heavily ongenetically similar birds not likely tobe resistant to disease.”

Vitamin Supplements & TheBird Flu Pandemic: The WhiteHouse is advising the public tostockpile food and water to preparefor a potential bird flu pandemic.The Bush Administration’s reportstates that since the pandemic couldkill as many as two millionAmericans, massive taxpayersubsidies must be handed over tothe pharmaceutical industry todevelop a magic bullet vaccine.Meanwhile, according to Wall Streetanalysts, Defense Secretary DonaldRumsfeld has already pocketed amillion dollars off of his investmentsin the company Gilead Sciences, theCalifornia biotech company thatowns the rights to Tamiflu, theworld’s most popular influenzaremedy. Meanwhile, the UnitedNations global coordinator onAvian Influenza is considering amore holistic approach to dealingwith a potential outbreak. The resultis a series of reports, including oneentitled, The Pivotal Role for NaturalProducts in Countering an AvianInfluenza Pandemic. The report,authored by four leading scientistsand doctors in the fields ofnutritional medicine and health,focuses on the key nutrients zinc,vitamin C, and vitamin A asprimary supplemental medicines tostrengthen peoples’ immunessystems to fight off the flu.According to the report’s leadauthor, “Following an extensive

review of over 250 peer-reviewedstudies, we believe that the protocolsdeveloped here can help to buy timeand fill the gap between theoutbreak of a pandemic and themonths or years required fordevelopment and manufacture ofeffective vaccines.”

More Quick Tidbits: France’stop judicial court has deniedMonsanto’s requests to grow testplots of genetically engineered cornin two locations. The court says thebiotech corporation has notprovided enough details aboutwhere these experimental field trialswould be located. Monsanto hasresponded by saying that despitethe court ruling, the corporation willcontinue testing geneticallyengineered crops in France. “We’llcontinue our experiments, but wemight have to change a bit the waywe ask for licenses in the future,”said Yann Fichet, director ofexternal relations for MonsantoFrance.

Over 1600 sheep apparentlydied this month in India afteringesting genetically engineered(GE) cotton. The massive deathsoccurred after several days ofgrazing in fields where Monsanto’sBt and herbicide resistant splicedvarieties of cotton were planted.Scientists from India’s Centre forSustainable Agriculture are callingon the government to launch astudy into the impacts of GE cottontoxins.

May 24, 06The Vashon Loop, p. 10

Serving Vashonand West Seattle

The Dorsal Spin:The Dorsal Spin:The Dorsal Spin:The Dorsal Spin:The Dorsal Spin:

For the first time in many years,we spent Mother’s Day with myparents. They took a Panama Canalcruise that terminated in Seattle.Fortunately, they were not on theship with Captain Hazelwood’sdrunken protégé (For the youngerreaders, in March 1989, intoxicatedCaptain Hazelwood slammed thetanker Exxon Valdez into a reef inPrince William Sound, Alaska,causing the worst oil spill ever in USwaters. The oil still lingers and thewildlife has not recovered. Kids,don’t drink and boat, or drive).

I warned them to be prepared forcool, rainy Seattle weather, but theymanaged to be in town for thewarmest days of the year thus far.While the parental units were here,Odin and I got a brief reprieve fromour daily grind. We played touristsin the Market and tried newrestaurants.

Stogarita watched bunnies andsquirrels at Woodland Park, butchased only her ball, not the tinycritters. She also provided laptherapy. My parents’ two JackRussells died recently. Both dogswere Stogarita’s relatives. Momwanted to sneak my dog home inher suitcase.

A highlight of the Vashon-Maury tour was seeing Vashon’sCutest Lawnmowers, from Rent-A-Ruminant, working hard at Pt.Robinson. They were so adorableand friendly, we wanted to pet them,but they were behind an electricfence. Perhaps this is to keep thehumans from disrupting work asmuch as to keep the goats corralled.We had to show my parents ourhandsome Muscovy duck neighbor,too.

We enjoyed Island hospitality atThe Rock and Zoomie’s, my mom’spicks for dinner and dessert. Chuckand Carol, if you are reading, my

O.K. — for all you people comingto the Island this summer, we wantto give you just a little refreshercourse on Vashon manners. Weknow those big city neighborhoodswith their “Upscale” (snobbish)malls are pretty constrictive, butyou’re on Island property now. It’sisolated. It’s different and new rulesapply. Kind of like an alternateuniverse.

When you drive on Vashon, youdo the speed limit. No more; no less.You yield to pedestrians. That’sright – you know what yield is,right? You haven’t forgotten. It’swhen you take turns, but you givethe other person a turn first. Youlearned it in Kindergarten.

When people are jogging orbicycling on the same side of theroad, you move over away fromthem just a little. And if they’re onthe opposite side, you STILL moveover to give the other cars moreroom to move over. Don’t ask

May flowers are resplendent, but how does yourlawn look? Unsightly yellow patches from pooch pee?We can help - there are some great products to try.Painless and easy to administer.

Horus’ question of the week:What’s so hard to understand

about responsible pet ownership?

Technical Difficultiesfor Whales and Humans

By Orca Annie Stateler

mom is still raving about your pizza.Of course, Mom and Dad returnedto Tucson with a bag of Orca Blendand a copy of The Loop.

Alas, reality reared its harshhead the day after my parents left.As I dutifully prepared my DorsalSpin, the starter on Odin’s work vancrapped out in Seattle just beforeFriday afternoon rush hour. I wentto rescue him, but my articlestraggled in quite late. After severalfrustrating delays, the darn van isstill at a repair shop in Seattle.

Also in the bummer category:another young, endangered whalesuccumbed to a ship strike inNorthwest waters. The juvenilemale fin whale found floating inLummi Bay on May 14 was batteredon his right side by a large, ocean-going vessel. At 56 feet long, thiswhale was only four or five yearsold. The preliminary necropsyfindings are posted in the WhaleMuseum’s news section atwww.whalemuseum.org.

Fin whales are not common toPuget Sound. They occur in coastaland offshore waters along the WestCoast. They are rorquals, the secondlargest after blue whales. Fins canreach 78 feet in the Northernhemisphere, 88 feet in the Southernhemisphere, and can weigh 50 to 70tons. They eat krill and schoolingfish. Fin whales are endangeredbecause their populations weredecimated by commercial whalingand they have not rebounded. Readmore on the Fin Whale CetaceanFact Sheet atwww.acspugetsound.org.

Fins are called “greyhounds ofthe sea” because they swim fast, upto 23 mph. Despite their size andspeed, they are vulnerable tocollisions with shipping trafficbecause of the way they feed.According to ACS/PS science oooooo

advisor John Calambokidis, whoexamined the Lummi Bay whale andprepared the preliminary report, thewhale may have been killed faraway from Puget Sound and gotslung on a ship’s bow, unbeknownstto the crew. Astoundingly, threestruck fin whales were found inPuget Sound in 2002, and two ofthem were wrapped around thebows of ships. Are we unreasonableto ask that shipping technology bemodified so it is not lethal to whalesand other wildlife?

Thanks to Melanie for calling toreport a large whale, likely ahumpback, in East Passage on May17. This year, I hope Dalco returns,or one of his friends. The whaleMelanie saw did not stick around.

Please support the work of theVashon Hydrophone Project(VHP) by reporting local whalesightings ASAP to 463-9041.Contact Orca Annie atVashonorcas@aol.com.

Summer RulesBy Susan Wolf

questions – it’s just done that wayhere.

Island time is just a little morepatient. So no getting impatientwith Thriftway store clerks orpeople at the Variety store. Youdon’t get mad if they don’t havewhat you want and threaten to goelsewhere. There is no elsewhere.Besides, if you just ask nicely, they’llorder it for you anyway.

When you go on the ferries, youdon’t get rude with the ferryworkers. They have to put up withcrappy people like you all day. Youforgive them when they’re tired andcranky. You keep acting polite andfriendly. If a ferry is late or broken,you don’t scream and pound onyour dashboard. It doesn’t makethe ferry come any sooner.

And if you happen to be the firston the ferry but the last off, chalk itup to Karma. One day you’ll havea turn and get on last and be off first.

When you are eating out, youtreat the waitresses like real people.Nice people. The kind of people

that baby-sit your kid and go tochurch with you. Because they do.You don’t criticize their artwork. It’stheir restaurant. You can havewhat kind of art you like in yourbeach house.

Don’t give money to the peoplein Village Green unless they arebehind a table at the FarmersMarket. If you want to feed hungrypeople, donate to our food bank. Ifyou want to house homeless peoplejoin the Interfaith Counsel onHomelessness. Just ask any churchor pastor, there are plenty here.

If you find a wallet on thesidewalk turn it into a store.Everyone here returns lost property.

Don’t make fun of people whowear comfortable clothing.Everybody here wears comfortableclothing. Just remember to changewhen you get back to the mainlandbecause people won’t understand.I forgot once and ended up meetingthe Seattle Fire Chief and the BurienCity Manager in my Annie/DramaDock T-shirt.

People here eat good food orgreat food, but in relaxedsurroundings. Nobody here eatscrappy food in a pretentious setting.

Brush up on your college botany.You’ll see flowers and shrubs thatdon’t appear anywhere else on theplanet and if you’re going tocompliment someone’s garden, youwant to sound knowledgeable. Oh,and don’t complain about stationarybikes on the beach or piles of junkmetal welded together or Styrofoamfigures. Everyone here has an artistictalent of some kind. You have, too– it’s probably just buried from yearsof working in a cubicle.

And never, ever, under anycircumstance let the word “bridge”slip from your lips. It’s not a jokeand you’ll find otherwise gentlepeople snarling at youunexpectedly. It’s different here andwe like it that way. Now go aheadand have a pleasant summer!Because when you visit here, youcan pretend you’re FROM here. Andthat makes you one of us! oooooo

Seattle Metro West

Buyer’s Specialist(206) 550-8975

Your Home Team Realty (206) 463-LIST (5478)

www.kwvashon.com

Sara

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May 24, 06 The Vashon Loop, p. 11

oooooo

Happy Birthday Gemini!You have plenty of time, though you

may feel an impulse to go more quickly orto make progress faster than you’recurrently going. The ways in which you doadvance your own cause are likely to comeas a surprise, and rather than push, the mostintelligent thing you can do is invest yourenergy in being prepared and staying aware.It is true that you have some innovativegoals in mind, ones that you have not beenable to articulate clearly so far. But all thatis changing fast, and as you gain clarity,the correct path of action will seem moreobvious every day.

Aries (March 20-April 19): Recent eventsor developments may have you feeling abit apprehensive about making too muchprogress too fast. You may feel as if there issome pitfall in your way. Yet in many senses,the worst is over and you have been throughthe most critical changes. You would go along way this month to settle your soul byconcentrating on practical matters to addressyour emotional concerns, your home baseand financial affairs being two excellentplaces to start. You know the time to initiatechanges in these specific areas has arrived,and you must know it will do you a lot ofgood to take charge.

Taurus (April 19-May 20): You’vefinally begun to take an emotionalpartnership more seriously, but in a way,that really means less seriously. The tarotcard “The Lovers” is sometimes referred toas “The Brothers,” and while it may not seemromantic to view those in whom you have alove interest as a sibling, there’s a practicalside to this equation that’s begging for yourattention. Your ideas about love and sex tendtoward the sentimental, whereas it’s actuallypossible you could have more fun andexperience deeper connection with a moreclear-headed approach. I know you wantwhat you want. In that spirit, take the directpath.

Gemini (May 20-June 21): Now thatyou’ve learned to breathe air and water,you’re ready to breathe a bit of fire. Asrecent perhaps disturbing events involvingfriends or key allies have shown you, thiscan be dangerous, because your words haveimpact beyond what you may think. Whatyou may lack in diplomacy you are morethan compensating for in natural charm andcharisma, and in fact, certain individuals arewilling to take your lead. You could go along way toward smoothing out yourenergy and your overall presentation byremembering how strong your idea is, andremembering that long-term persistencegets the job done — but a bold and brazenattitude is what gets it started.

Cancer (June 21-July 22): You seem tobe in no mood to take anyone’s emotionalmanipulation sitting down, however I

suggest you look beneath your own feelingsat the layer of hurt and mistrust that youmay be carrying around. If this is a sin, it’sin the true sense of the word — a lack ofsome sort, and you would be doing yourselfa big favor by keeping a short list of yourmost important needs and making sure youdevote time every day to getting them met.Unconsciously you may fear that others willjudge you for doing this, but I assure youthat for the people who care the most, itwill come as a great relief.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23): You’veaccomplished quite a bit in terms of buildinga foundation for yourself, and theagreements you’ve made with partners, loveinterests or other key individuals in yourlife are the stable ground that makes yourpotential real. You may fear that people willhesitate at the moment you need them to bestrong, but nothing is further from the truth.When in doubt, start a conversation on anymatter that concerns you. Ask for help whenyou need it, and ask people to stand backwhen you need to take center stage of yourown life. Everyone knows better than you— it is high time for that.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22): Basically, anyquestions you may face surrounding yourpsychological health come down to food andexercise. Obviously you know thisintellectually, and you believe it in theory,but you may be in the midst of a mild (ornot so mild) disconnect when it comes toputting ideas into action. Work withpatterns. One action in a direction other thanyou’re accustomed to represents a changein a pattern, and two actions in that directionrepresent the beginnings of a new one.Persist daily, weekly or sporadically withsincerity and you will advance your causeconsiderably. The long run is the one thatcounts most.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23): You’ve known along time that you needed to make deep,lasting changes in your personality if youwere going to ever be happy. What you maynot have noticed is that you’ve nearlysucceeded in making all of them. Whatpoints haven’t you touched upon? I thinkone may involve the way in which you takea romantic view of work, rather than onethat’s oriented on specific goals, tangibleachievements and a generally take-charge-now attitude. At the moment, you have theopportunity to evaluate both approaches inaction, and make solid and lasting changesbased on what you learn from directexperience.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22): Luck is notone of those things you typically take forgranted. You seem to be in no mood to doso now, but at the same time, you also seemdetermined to have faith in the unseen andthe unknown. Surely, your inspiration,

willingness to take creative risks, andapparently boundless energy are all comingfrom somewhere, and that somewhere is adeep trust in existence. But luck is a kind ofpassive trust. You have the capacity to feeltrust with gusto.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22): Justbecause you may be reluctant to come to aparticular conclusion or make a certainstatement about what you want doesn’tmean you’re not going to do it. But I suggestyou go one way or the other: reluctant orassertive. These days you seem to behedging between the two and appear to bewaiting for fate or a more compellingfeeling to intervene. I strongly suggest youmake up your own mind rather than lettingit get made up for you. You have youranswer; you just need to listen carefully, andwith a little faith.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20): This is theyear that Saturn opposes Neptune, the planetleast like itself. If you are feeling a lingeringsense of unease or apprehension, it mayinvolve this transit, which looms in thedistance. Yet what are you really feeling? Isit some lack of certainty about the solid,concrete nature of the world? Is it the sensethat you will be asked to compromise? Hereis a clue: ‘it’ doesn’t exist now and you aredeciding what ‘it’ is as we speak. I suggestyou talk to ‘it’ and make some decisionsabout your not-so-far-off distant future.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19): Okay, lifecould be easier. Chiron in your birth signhas been keeping you on edge and pushingyou to a degree of self-consciousness that’suncomfortable even for one who thinks asmuch as you do. Yet from the look of your

charts, clear and focused thinking is preciselythe order of the day. You’ll know you’rereally doing it when the things that areimportant to you today are a step ahead ofthose that were important to you yesterday.This is not the time to be resting on thelaurels of yesterday’s interestingphilosophies.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20): If you get thefeeling that you’re fighting yourself, takehalf a step to the left and look at yoursituation from a slightly different angle. Theobstacle you may be facing is not reallythere, or it’s not as thick as it looks — infact, it’s more like a projection in the fog.The solution is an idea, and it may be subtle;or it may be extremely innovative, but totake advantage of that you need to summonyour ability to take ideas and graduallymanifest them into reality — only this time,not so gradual. Something you thought wasgoing to take a long time to come to fruitionis actually poised to move a lot faster.

May 24, 06The Vashon Loop, p. 12

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LIVING WELL WITH PLANTSText and drawings by Kathy Abascal (AHG)

Kathy Abascal is aprofessional member of theAmerican Herbalists Guild and iscertified by Michael Moore of theSouthwest School of BotanicalMedicine. She co-authored thebook Clinical Botanical Medicine.

You can email her atAnemopsis@yahoo.com if youhave questions about herbs, callher to schedule a privateconsultation (463-9211) or stop byThe Roasterie to purchase hertinctures.

"

Now Open Saturdays!oooooo

Now that the elder flowers aredying back, the hawthorns areblooming like mad. Their masses ofwhite flowers are covering trees andshrubs all across the Island, and theyare absolutely gorgeous.

Herbalists gather hawthornflowers, leaves, and small twigs inthe spring for tea and tinctures.Although hawthorns are a bitthorny, they are still very pleasantto gather. Andthey are so verygood for you. Allof us over whatthe French calld’un certain age –basically overforty – shouldreally be usinghawthorn on adaily basis. It isa mild butwonderful heartand circulatorymedicine.

H a w t h o r nflowers andleaves are rich in flavonoids, and theplant has been used to help theheart for at least two thousandyears. It increases the blood flow tothe heart which ensures the heartmuscle more oxygen and nutrients.The Eclectics physicians said it alsohelps prevent atherosclerosis butthat aspect of the plant has not beenstudied. On the other hand, thereare many well designed researchstudies that show that hawthorn,combined with other medicines,significantly helps people in chronicheart failure.

Used regularly, hawthorn canalso help lower blood pressure. It isnot a dramatic blood pressurereducing-herb, and is usually notenough by itself to handlehypertension. Nonetheless, itshould be part of your life if yourblood pressure is creeping up. It justhelps the heart work better byensuring that it has a good supplyof nutrients, and that will benefityour circulatory system as a whole.

The German phytotherapist, Dr.Weiss M.D., called hawthorn a tonicfor the ageing heart. He also used itin hypertensive patients not toreduce blood pressure but to preventor treat heart complications that canresult from high blood pressure. He

The Hawthorns AreBlooming

also favored it to help treat minorarrhythmias in the elderly.Hawthorn is called a tonic becauseit needs to be used long-term as itmay take many months for fullresults. It is not a magic bullet withan instant effect, especially in theelderly. Fortunately, hawthorn iscompletely safe for long-term use,and has shown no toxicity in any ofthe many clinical studies. Moreover,many of the patients studied wereon a variety of other prescriptionmedicines but no negative druginteractions were noted.

In folk medicine, the berry wasthe primary medicine although thereis documented folk use of the leavesand flowers in parts of England. TheEclectics used the leaves, bark, andberries; Dr. Weiss used the leavesand flowers. The clinical studiesmostly tested the leaves and flowersbut some tested a combination ofleaves, flowers, and berries. I, likemany herbalists, prefer the lattercombination but believe that anycombination can be usedsuccessfully.

I highly recommend that peopledry some hawthorn flowers for tea.It does not have an especially

memorable flavorbut it is pleasantand can be usedby itself. Formore flavor, youcan add ateaspoon ofh a w t h o r nflowers to any teablend you like.Even thoughyour daily dose ofhawthorn will besmall, I believe adaily cup ofhawthorn flowertea will gently but

significantly protect your heart fromsome aspects of aging and poor lifestyle. I use more substantial dosesof the tincture for people with heartissues or hypertension, usually as thetonic part of a formula. Iparticularly like it for people withfamilial high cholesterol because Ithink it over time will counteractsome of the ill effects of fat filledblood.

The constituents of hawthornextract in a fairly low alcoholcontent, so you can make your owntincture using vodka or brandy. Totincture hawthorn, you simply chopthe hawthorn flowers, leaves, andsmall twigs into little pieces andweigh it. Then you put it in a jarand press it down in the jar as muchas you can. If you do not compressthe herb, you will not be able to fitenough alcohol to the jar to make aproper tincture. Pour in twice theweight of the herb in alcohol. Thatis, if you have four ounces ofhawthorn, pour in 8 fluid ounces ofalcohol. Cap the jar, label it, andput it in a cupboard away from lightto steep for at least two weeks. It isa good idea to shake the jar everynow and again.

The weather is nice right now,so it is a good time to take your

snippers and a paper bag and finda hawthorn blooming in some quiet,pleasant place. There may well beone somewhere on your ownproperty. As you snip away, youwill hear the birds sing, thepollinators buzz, and feel the springbreezes rustle through the leaves.You will have an enchanting,relaxing time and will come awaywith a medicine that you can sip inthe middle of the winter grayness,remembering the sunny, joyous daysof spring that again lie right aroundthe corner. But do not procrastinateabout gathering the flowers. Youwill be amazed how quickly plantsbloom and then fade.

You can read Katy’s past articlesin The Loop online archive atwww.vashonloop.com

May 24, 06 The Vashon Loop, p. 13

Book ReviewBook ReviewBook ReviewBook ReviewBook ReviewBy Rachel Bard

oooooo

I love to cook, and in our house,I do almost all of the cooking.Consequently, we go out to eat a lot.

Before our first child was born,my wife Maria and I imagined thatwhen the baby arrived we’d neverbe able to eat out again: we’d bestuck eating nothing but mycooking for the rest of our lives. Theoutlook was bleak. We were surethat when the baby came, if we everdid leave the house in search of ameal, we’d have to go to one of thoseclown-themed places for excitablechildren, or we’d have to wearpaper hats, clap our hands and singdumb cowboy songs with ourwaitress before we got served.

We assumed, in our new life asbrand-new parents, that if we didmanage a yearly visit to a real sit-down restaurant with our baby,we’d probably have to take a smallout-of-the-way table by the door,and eat a few furtive bites before thebaby would launch into apredictable red-faced screamingpublic tantrum. As we make ourhasty exit with squeaking Styrofoamto-go boxes, we’d bravely ignore theclucking disapproval from the otherpatrons, and the hostess glaring atus as we hurried past, pulling on ourcoats, hot tears of shame streamingdown Maria’s cheeks.

Yeah, so, none of thathappened. When our first-born sonColin arrived, we went out to eat tocelebrate and Colin slept in his carseat on the table between us. Thekids got used to being in restaurantspretty quickly. It took Maria and mea little longer to get used to havingthem there.

Because I still do most of thecooking at our house, we still go outto eat fairly often. Fast food of allsorts, 24-hour places, Italian,Chinese, Mexican, Thai; we’ll eat infancy places that have beenfavorably reviewed by snooty foodcritics, or greasy places I’ve beenfrequenting since I was in highschool, where most of the wait staff,as well as everything on the menu,is fried.

Eating in a restaurant with littlekids is not the same as eating alone

“I exist! I am conceived to thechimes of midnight on the clock onthe mantelpiece.”

So begins Kate Atkinson’sengaging novel aboutthe life, family andtimes of Ruby Lennox,born and raised inYork, England, mid-twentieth-century.

Fans of LaurenceSterne’s TristramShandy will pouncewith delighted recognition on thisway to start a book. But Sterne’s firstchapter rambles on for a page or sobefore reaching the parallel passage:

“Pray, my Dear,” quoth mymother, “have you not forgot towind up the clock?” “Good G—!”cried my father. “Did ever woman,since the creation of the world, everinterrupt a man with such a sillyquestion?” “Pray, what was yourfather saying?” “Nothing.”

And not until Sterne’s Chapter5 is Tristram born, whereas by theend of Atkinson’s Chapter 2 herheroine is born and named:

“My name is Ruby. I am aprecious jewel. I am a drop of blood.I am Ruby Lennox.”

Atkinson clearly admires Sterne(and bully for her), but she’s hit ona neater way to handle digressions.Whereas in Tristram Shandy thestory wanders off in space and timeat random, Atkinson insertsextended footnotes between herchapters to introduce charactersand events in Ruby’s past. It’sgracefully and subtly handled. Themost seemingly inconsequential itembecomes a link between present andpast: a button, a pair of boots, anold family photo.

Thus in Chapter 1 while Ruby isstill unborn, her sister Gillian is“playing with her grandmother’sbutton box and chooses a button, apink-glass, flower-shaped one (seeFootnote (1)) and carefully anddeliberately swallows it.”

The Footnote (1) chapter thatfollows takes the story back toRuby’s pretty great-grandmotherAlice and her hard life as the wifeof a no-account farmer. The buttonplays a minor part: torn off Alice’sblouse by a fretful child, it ends upin a button-box, “and eventuallyfrom there to Gillian’s stomach ofcourse, and from there—whoknows?”

This ingenious pattern ofjuxtaposed present and past givesthe reader three or four stories forthe price of one. For threegenerations her female ancestorssuffer difficult marriages,heartbreaking losses and stillmuddle through.

Back in the present, Ruby’snarrative moves briskly andhilariously along, a richly detailed,wryly observed account of thefamily’s life “above the Shop,” a petshop in York. Through much of heryoung life she’s terrified byhousehold ghosts who glide up anddown stairs and comforted by

A Dazzling Family Saga

Behind the Scenesat the Museum, byKate Atkinson.Paperback, PicadorUSA, $14.00.

Teddy, her stuffed bear. Or whenTeddy is feeling low she comfortshim. “I tell him stories, stories thatinvolve a lot of rescuing—Rapunzel,Snow White, Sleeping Beauty,detailed episodes of Robin Hood inwhich I am Maid Marian, Teddy isAlan-a-Dale and Auntie Babs is theSheriff of Nottingham. Or

sometimes I am theLone Ranger andTeddy does hispassable imitation ofJay Silverheels.” Bothof them mature. A fewyears later, duringsome family crisis, “I’min my room, playing

Scrabble with myself while Teddylooks on forlornly, no longer able tojoin in now that he’s too old for allthat role-playing.”

Ruby’s a rather lonely child inspite of being surrounded by a passelof sisters, cousins, aunts and unclesand her seldom compatible parents.She describes the dreadfulness, theeccentricities of her family but likeRuby, we can’t dislike them; theygive us so much to laugh at that weforgive them their trespasses.

Eventually Ruby repeats themistakes of her great grandmother,her grandmother and her mother,marrying a man who is definitelynot Mr. Right. With a friend she goesto Edinburgh to “get experience,”after finishing university.Experience turns out to be a job as ahotel chambermaid. Her Mr. Wrongis the darkly handsome, black-haired Gian-Carlo Benedetti, son ofthe owner of an Italian restaurantshe frequents. She marries him andthey run a fish-and-chip shop inForfar. “In so doing I condemnedmyself to some truly wretched yearsin which Gian-Carlo Benedetti’scharms melt into the air along withhis fine cheekbones and radiantsmile. Not only that, but he growsunattractively plump on all thechip-fat and acquires such a tastefor grappa that sometimes I thinkabout throwing a match at him tosee if he’ll ignite like a well-dousedChristmas pudding.”

Unlike her predecessors, sheescapes, wiser but unharmed, afterseven years. The marriage has givenher three gifts: two beautiful nut-brown daughters, and proficiencyin Italian. She finds anuncomplicated, satisfying late life asa translator of technical works intoItalian in, of all places, the ShetlandIslands.

When Ruby was a child she usedto visit the Castle Museum in York,with its stuffed horses, period shops,carriages-and-fours, Victorianparlors. Once she’d dreamed ofbeing in the museum at night wheneverything came to life. She foundit much more interesting than thedaytime museum and watched infascination while fires flamed up infireplaces and eighteenth-centuryharpsichords began to play. In thisprize-winning novel Kate Atkinsontakes us behind the scenes of onewoman’s life to a Dickensian worldteeming with jokes and tragedies.The museum may be imaginary butthe drama and delightful fun of thebook are very real indeed.

or with other adults. With little kids,we need the food ordered anddelivered pretty quickly. If not,they’ll scream. The kids will oftenlose interest in their dinnercompanions and start making eyesat the ladies seated at neighboringtables. They’ll pull the shades upand down and spill full glasses ofice water in our laps. They’ll grabwhatever looks attractive from ourplates, and stab our hands withtheir forks if we shoo them away.

While we wait for the food toarrive, we one-by-one remove alltabletop objects like the sugarpackets, the salt and peppershakers, the silverware, flowers, thered and green Tabasco, the waterglasses, and we pry open the babies’clenched jaws to take out theremains of the crayons they’ve beeneating as colorful appetizers.

We always leave an unfortunateand horrific mess. There’s foodeverywhere, fallen to the floor,flicked on a fork, spilled from a glass,smeared with fingers, or fistfulssimply thrown in the air. Beans andrice, chewed-up French fries, driedketchup, sticky noodles. There’sfood all over the kids, on their faces,sleeves, in their hair, on the seats.When we get up to leave, more foodthat was lying hidden in the crevicesof their clothing falls to the floor.

We usually give a nervous smileand apologize for the mess, and theonly response we ever get, no matterwhere we are, is a graciousadmonishment to “just leave it,we’ll clean it up.” It’s as if they’veprepared for our arrival. There mustbe an informal network, or phonetree, or possibly a siren that goes offuptown, that lets them know we’recoming.

Summerdatesfilling upcall us206-794-9451

oooooo

We Have ALot of Kids

By Kevin Pottinger

Women are not taught towithstand the consequences of selfrespect. -- Rule of Thumb, by D. Pierce

May 24, 06The Vashon Loop, p. 14

oooooo

oooooo

Island Epicure

Who has not turned a back on apan of food only to smell it burning?Catch it soon enough and you canrescue the unburned part of the foodbefore it absorbs the burned flavor.The easy way to deal with the panis to soak it overnight. Sometimesyou have to scrub off burned food,but sometimes it practically floats off.

If you can’t wait 24 hours to usethe pan again, add a quart or twoof water, depending on the size ofthe pan. Toss in a couple of teaspoonsof soda. Bring to a simmer, coverand let the food cook loose. It usuallytakes a couple of hours.

One day, back when we firststarted the Vashon Food Bank andwere preparing to give out recipecards and samples for people totaste, I burned a huge pan of beanscooking fifty servings. Beans takeawhile to soak and cook; no waycould I start over with new beans.

My good angel and assistantcook said, “Add some sugar. Thatwill cut the burned taste.” It did.

The important thing in such arescue is to scoop out the unburnedbeans from the pan before theburned flavor seeps into them. Putthem in another pan with water orstock and add enough sugar to coverany lingering burned taste, but notso much you overwhelm the beanflavor.

The important thing in cookingbeans so they don’t scorch is to makesure they always have plenty ofwater or stock on them.

For Fartless Beans:Slightly sprout the dry beans:

Soak them overnight in enoughwater to cover generously. Drain, letbreathe for a few hours, give thema bath, drain again; repeat two orthree times daily until sproutsappear. This magically turns dry

Dear Madame Toujours,My friend Amy has been

married for twenty years to aloudmouthed jerk who is, it is nottoo much to say, a complete horse’srear. He is ignorant and opinionatedand refuses to acknowledge thatanybody could possibly know morethan him about anything. You can’tsay anything around this guywithout getting some ignorantdiatribe.

Our social circle doesn’t want toexclude Amy, but we can’t convinceher to leave Paul. She says he’s reallyvery kind and always ready to helpa friend move or put in a garden, orjust sit with an elderly relative, andwe don’t understand him.

Well, I say he can afford to dothose things since he has never helda job and Amy has alwayssupported him. How can weconvince her to get rid of this jerkand find somebody with a morebrains and less mouth?

Sincerely,Concerned Friend

Chere Mme. ou Mlle. Friend,Mostly, I am always advising

everybody that if the friends, theyare not liking the lover, then he isnot the ornament to the life.However, you are perhapsoverlooking the small points in M.Paul’s favor. For example, to berejecting the friend who is helpingyou to move is probably because youhave not been moving recently. Thisis the unusually sterling quality inthe friend. Possibly you can belearning to be overlooking the smallbrains and the enormous mouth byobserving the equally engorgedheart.

Naturally, you are thinking, “ButMadame Toujours, he is the big,

Cure for a KitchenCatastrophe, or,

The Fartless Bean

beans into fresh vegetables, muchless likely to produce gas.

Bring to boiling in water to coverplus an inch or so. Reduce heat.Simmer ve-e-ery slow-ly with herbssavory and bay leaf, plus a dash ortwo of cumin or caraway seeds, untilpin-prick tender. Add salt last 20minutes of cooking.

Mash.Canned beans: To un-gas them,

add 1 teaspoon of ground cumin or1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds per 14-to 16-ounce can. Bring to boiling,reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.

Beano: Alternatively, a fewdrops per serving are recommendedto take the farts out of any bean dish.But a little bottle of this magic potionwill set you back bucks.

Bean DipTo 1 cup cooked, mashed beans

add 2 teaspoons salsa. Stir. Servewith corn chips.

Creamy Bean SoupServes 3 - 4. Cook in 1 cup

chicken or vegetable stock: 1/2 cupfinely chopped onion, 1 carrot(grated), and a dash of groundcloves. In 7 to 10 minutes, whenvegetables are tender, add 1/2teaspoon dried marjoram leaves or1/2 Tablespoon fresh marjoramleaves, 2 tablespoons Madeira wine(optional), and 2 and 1/2 cupscooked beans with their liquid.Simmer a few minutes to marryflavors. Purée in blender or foodprocessor. Distribute between soupbowls.

Note: 2 (14-ounce) cans of redbeans or pinto beans may be usedfor this recipe.

Nutri-tip: Beans are an excellentsource of Vitamins B and E,magnesium, iron, and protein. Eatthem with whole-grain bread suchas rye with sunflower seeds and youtake in a complete set of essentialproteins. Add cheese for calcium,and a tossed salad based on darkgreen lettuce or arugula or babyspinach and containing vine-ripetomatoes for chlorophyll, Vitamin Aand Vitamin C. Voila! A balanced,vegetarian meal.

obnoxious jerk. How can I beoverlooking this?”

Obviously, you should be askingthe expert. Mais non, I am notspeaking of myself. Mme. Amy issucceeding to overlook theobnoxiousness for twenty years.Clearly, she is having both thepatience of the saints and thenumerous tips and tricks for dealingwith the obnoxious persons.

The first business is to inquire ofMme. Amy what is making theevening with the friends mostpleasant to her. Possibly what youare not realizing is that after theevening of the quarrelsomeness andthe obstreperous opinions, M. Paulis being so aroused that he is goinghome and performing heroically inthe bedrooms. Mme. Amy is possiblyconsidering that this is being worththe little discomfort to her friends.In this case, you can be learning toenjoy M. Paul’s little outburstings.Make note of the favorite topics. Besure to mention them frequently inhis presence. Take turns with thefriends entertaining M. Paul withthe arguments. See how ridiculousyou can prompt him to become. Orpossibly you are encouraging theamusing party games such as“Pictionary” and “Clue” which areaccommodating the loudlyexpressed opinions.

Bon Chance, Mme. ou Mlle. Friend.Possibly you are finding that Mme.Amy is preferring to keep M. Paulcalm. This is the much easier taskthan you are supposing. Simply slipthe little sedatives into the drink ofM. Paul at the party, and everybodyis having the very restful time.

By Marj Watkins

Read The Loop online:www.vashonloop.com

Email: editor@vashonloop.comads@vashonloop.com

When people see my cat’s litterbox, they always say, “Oh, haveyou got a cat?” Just once I wantto say, “No, it’s for company!”

MadameToujours

May 24, 06 The Vashon Loop, p. 15

PPPPPooooositively Ssitively Ssitively Ssitively Ssitively SpepepepepeakingakingakingakingakingBy Deborah Anderson

When you wake up one dayAnd your spine’s out of whackCome see Dr. BasileAnd he’ll put it back!

Now that the World Cup is upon us(GOOOOOOAAAALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!),a time in which Americans revel in allthings soccer (World Cup? In Germany?Huh? What the heck are you talkingabout?), it’s time to highlight some of thebest soccer-themed movies of all time. Toget you in the mood before you watch along game of the vaunted Cote d’Ivoireteam versus Serbia and Montenegro, slipone of these fine films in your DVD player.It should be a goal of yours.GOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Goal!(2005): Director of such classicsas I Still Know What You Did Last Summerand Judge Dredd, Danny Cannon has comeout with a passable soccer movie, now intheaters. Goal! is the story of Santiago, whodreams of becoming a professionalfootballer (football is soccer to usAmericans. Football? Huh? Soccer?Wha?), living in the City of Angels. Hetries out for Newcastle United. Inspiring!

Hooligans (2005): Get this - ElijahWood as a soccer hooligan. Really,nothing more needs to be said.

Bend It Like Beckham (2002): It wasthis movie that American audiences gotto revel in all things Keira Knightley forthe first time. Sure she was in a couple ofbad movies before this movie, but it wasthis film that propelled her to whom sheis today, i.e. a person for cinema-goingmen of all ages to ogle over. Oh yes, theyogle. The story is primarily about an EastIndian girl (Parminder Nagra) who wantsto play soccer, much to the chagrin of herprim and proper parents. It’s got giggles.It’s got soccer. It’s got Keira Knightley!

Shaolin Soccer (2001): With a tag line,“Kick some grass!” you know that Shaolin

Those of you with marginallyfunctioning parents or toxic parents inyour history (and only those of you overthirty can truly define that) know that thetime between Mother’s Day and Father’sDay can be heavy with contemplation. Ihave often joked that Hallmark neededto have a section for dysfunctionalfamilies. The cards would be laden withbeautiful flowers and the usual sailboatsat sunset, but say things like “I know youdid the best you could. The scars arehealing and I’m hoping to rise above it.”Or...”When I think of the perfect family,I’m grateful the Lanski’s lived down thestreet and I was able to visit a lot.”

But here is a great truth about thedysfunctional family. There are stillmoments of love present. That is what isso confusing in growing away from it.What do we keep and what do we leave?

There are five great rules in thosefamilies: “Don’t talk about what’s reallygoing on;” “Don’t touch or expressaffection appropriately;” “Don’t tellanyone else what’s happening;” “Don’tfeel;” and, “Don’t leave the familysystem.”

If you break all those rules, peoplecan get very angry. Break them anyway,lest you never know what it is to truly bealive.

I’m luckier than most. First of all, itwasn’t until I was forty that I started torealize maybe I hadn’t had the world’sbest childhood. For most of my life, Ithought I had problems and everyonearound me was perfect. It was better thatway. Second, I had a faith to see methrough the time of separation. Third, Ihad the education and experience andtraining to understand what was goingon. And fourth, my mother got breastcancer.

If it hadn’t been for the breast cancer,I might not have had one of the sweetestmoments ever with my mom. When itmetastasized to her brain, she fell whilein the hospital and was medicated toalleviate the pain. In that drugged stupor,my mother revealed, in words, how greather love was for me. I never knew.

Parents were not taught how to begreat parents in the old days. You tookpotluck and played the hand you weredealt with. Those were the circumstanceswhen Mom was a child. She would tellme how she never heard her mother sayone nice thing to her.

As she spoke the only words ofcompassion I ever heard her say, I weptfor joy that I would not have to go hergrave and imagine her speaking them tome.

Somehow the toxicity of therelationship overshadowed the breastcancer. An aunt (my father’s muchyounger sister) stepped in to mother meand I just never really closed therelationship with mom.

Two weeks ago, I walked past thespecial display of Susan G. Komen hatsat Thriftway, and, perhaps because I wasfinally able to deal with it or had the

Best Breast Forwardpieces of my life arranged in my ownmothering such that I could finallyregister, I looked at the pink ribbon onkhaki and an explosion went off in myheart. “Wow” I said to myself. “Whatevermy mom did to me, she sure didn’t deservebreast cancer.” I was a good daughter andhad always wished the best for my mom.I remembered the words my stepfatherspoke over the phone as we sat down toThanksgiving dinner almost twenty yearsago. “Your mother didn’t want to tellanyone, but she’s in the hospital and she’sjust had a lump removed.” I rememberedher holding my newborn daughter thefollowing year and saying wistfully, “Iwonder how old you will be when I die.”

I picked up the hat and bought myselfa mother’s day present. I bought aconnection to my mother that she paidfor with her life. When the radiologist toldme the year after my mother died thatbecause she contracted breast cancer aftermenopause, my chances were the sameas everyone else’s, I had somehowshelved the connection. Now as I tossedthe hat into my cart, that connection wasthe one that reminded me how much Iloved my mother.

You see, when you’re dealing withfamily of origin issues, there is a desertone passes through where the good isobfuscated by the bad. It’s very importantto sink deeply into the bad, so we can dealwith the reality of it. During that time, allgood is lost. But the fact is I loved mymother dearly, which is why it took untilI was forty to get to my stuff without anyrebellion on my part.

Now, I’m done with dealing. I willbegin to work for the cause of theeradication of breast cancer because nowoman ever deserves breast cancer;neither the worst nor the best mother inthe world, or anyone in between.

My point may seem to drift as youread this. I have several points.

If you have stuff to deal with aboutyour parents, don’t be afraid of it. Face it,call it what it is and claim the part thathurt you so you can heal. “Pretend” neverbought anyone anything but a trouble. Wedon’t honor our parents by pretendingthey were something they weren’t.

Keep moving through the stuff so youcan reach the point where you rememberyou are a loving person, rememberingthere is something to love about everyperson.

Lastly, I say: Whatever you can do tohelp find the cure, or the vaccines, forcancer, do it.

Happy Mother and Father’s Day.

Film Flam By Jonathan Shipley

Soccer Movies That KickSoccer is a movie for the ages, and is itever! Written, directed, and starringStephen Chow (of Hong Kong Shuffle fame.If you haven’t watched Hong Kong Shuffleyou’re in sad shape. Hong Kong Shuffle isone the weirdest/greatest mobster/action/comedy/kung fu movies you’llever see), Shaolin Soccer is a movie that isthe best of all things soccer and all things,uh, kung fu. Yes, a kung-fu master teachesfive brothers to play soccer and they entera tournament with a 1 million dollarprize! Who will win the prize? Who willkick some grass?!

Carrott Gets Rowdy (1980): Yeah, youheard right. Carrott gets rowdy in thisdocumentary where British comedianJasper Carrott looks at American soccerfrom a British perspective. He follows theTampa Bay Rowdies, a soccer team. Neverheard of ‘em? Not even people in TampaBay have heard of ‘em. No matter, Carrottgets rowdy, none-the-less.

Victory (1981): Honestly, the bestsoccer movie ever filmed. Seriously.Starring Pele (the one and only), SylvesterStallone (the other one and only), andMichael Caine (one of only one), underthe direction of the famous John Huston,Victory is the story of a soccer matchbetween Allied prisoners of war and theNazi officers who rule over them. TheNazis plan on winning, of course. Theprisoners plan on escaping from camp.Who will win? Who will get caught? Whowill escape? Only people who havewatched Victory know the answers! And,well, those that were in the film and thosewho made the film know, too, but thatgoes without saying.

The next Green Party meeting will be June 12, 7 p.m., at theAsher residence, 15120 Westside Highway. For further information,please contact Ivy Sacks at 463-9579 or Ivys@centurytel.net

The Progressive Book Club will hold its monthly meeting at theVashon Tea Shop on Sunday, June 25, at 2:00 p.m. This month’sselection is A New Earth, Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by EckhartTolle, a contemporary spiritual teacher not aligned with anyparticular religion or tradition. For more information, call MaryroseAsher at 567-0593 or e-mail dmasher@comcast.net.

Progressive/Green Party Film & Discussion Series will be heldon Thursday, June 8 at 6:30 p.m. at Café Luna. June’s film is SevenDays in May (rated NR, 118 minutes). Synopsis: A Military aide stumblesacross a plot by his boss to overthrow the U.S. President. Director JohnFrankenheimer. Classic movie with classic actors. Admission is Free!

Green Party June Events

oooooo

Panache Double Bill ConcertPiano & Cello withScott Cossu and Jami SieberSaturday, June 3, 8 p.m.Tickets: $12/$15Includes hors d’oeuvres & champagne

See Story on Page 18

May 24, 06The Vashon Loop, p. 16

Loop ~ Sports

17705 Vashon Hwy SW 206-463-2838

New At

7. The Freight Train Gateman’sperformance at the Tri-Statetournament in Idaho. He just rolledeveryone over as if they were friedbread, and he was, well, a freighttrain. They are still talking about itat the Burlington Northernheadquarters.

6. Jennifer Osgood’s speechabout sports at the school boardmeeting. I was there, and I wouldhafta say that her speech was thebest of the night. She made all thepoints that I would have liked tohave made but am not smart enoughto make. You can catch it on myp o d c a s t :www.ernestpodcast##??.com

5. The girls soccer trip to Italy. Iknow it was last year, but I’ll stillinclude it for this year, because itwas so sweet. The best part waswhen Coach Beba accidentallyordered a fried pig ear, thinking itwas pasta.

4. The performance by MikhailAbdul Latif and Ryan Mattingly atthe NAIA nationals. I heard aboutthis a couple months ago, and amstill super amped, months later. It’snot too often that two Vashongraduates have success at thenational level in the same year, is it?

3. M.J. Sohl’s catch in that onefootball game. I close my eyes andcan still see it: the ball, floating inthe air forever, and M.J., sprinterextraordinaire, flying under it,catching it with the style and graceof a panda bear. Even though he

Popeye remainssmiling, even afternot making Ernie’sTop SportingMoments. “Morespinach,” heclaimed, “and I’llcut out the bacon,

cheese, hamburger, and ranch dressing thatI usually add to my famous spinach salad.Maybe then I have a chance of beating Mike(Domin)Ates out for the last VHS VarsityBasketball slot.”

Whoa, who could forget when Caitlin Z-W provided yeoman’s work at the VashonInternational Shadow Puppet Festival with her most zealous of game show hosts, “TheWrong Guy Guy,” inspired by the pros at BBC News. My pick for #4-A. Another fineScratchy Lens photo.

Top Seven Sports Moments of the YearAccording to Ernest

was called out of bounds, I’m notsure if he really was, and it was stillreally sweet.

2. The dance routine by thosethree guys in the Best of Open Mic.I just saw this last night and havetrouble getting over the fact thatthose guys aren’t professionaldancers. When we see them backingup J-Lo on MTV in a year or two wecan say that we saw them beforethey were famous, at the VashonHigh School Theater.

1. The boys’ basketball entireseason. After much deliberation, Icouldn’t find an actual moment-since there were so many of them-so I hafta go with the whole season.Between Andrus’ steady-as-she-goes MVP year, Davis’ death-defying high-wire act, Amstrup’snot-on-my-watch blocks and CoachSears’ clipboard-shatterings, Icouldn’t pick one. The whole teamwill receive a free veggie six-inch subto share, from your friend Ernest.

May 24, 06 The Vashon Loop, p. 17

Loopy Laffs

No “Dad and Boy” this issue. Tooner Jeremy Gregory is preparing a show titled “Seven Deadly Sins” which will open June 1, at 6 p.m., at AceStudios Art Gallery, 619 Western Ave. in Seattle.

One-Liners (more or less)

Gentlemen prefer bonds.Innocence is a lousy defense.Is your holier side your altar ego?I stay in shape—pear is a shape, isn’t it?A healthy horse requires a stable environment.No matter how much you do, you never do enough.When your dreams turn to dust, it’s time to vacuum.A halo only has to fall a few inches to become a noose.It now costs more to amuse a child than it did to educate his father.I didn’t say it was your fault—I said I was going to blame it on you.If God had intended for us to vote, He would have given us candidates.

Have you heard about On andon and on Anon? It’s the self-helpgroup for compulsive talkers.

Nobody can be so amusingly arrogant as aNobody can be so amusingly arrogant as aNobody can be so amusingly arrogant as aNobody can be so amusingly arrogant as aNobody can be so amusingly arrogant as ayoung man who has just discovered an old ideayoung man who has just discovered an old ideayoung man who has just discovered an old ideayoung man who has just discovered an old ideayoung man who has just discovered an old ideaand thinks it is his own.—Sydney J. Harrisand thinks it is his own.—Sydney J. Harrisand thinks it is his own.—Sydney J. Harrisand thinks it is his own.—Sydney J. Harrisand thinks it is his own.—Sydney J. Harris

Wise men talkbecause they havesomething to say;fools talk becausethey have to saysomething. —Plato

A sheet of sandpaper makes a cheap andeffective substitute for costly maps whenvisiting the Sahara desert.

No one should live by the early bird policy without findingout whether he classifies as a bird or a worm.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

When my brother said, “Amen,” after grace one night, one of hischildren asked what “amen” meant. Before he or his wife could answer,their five-year-old responded, “It means ‘send’.”

Your ears growabout .0087 of aninch each year.

It’s only an older Islander who knows the difference between ‘pert’ near’ and ‘a right far piece.’

A husband visited a marriage counselor and said, “When we were first married,I would come home from the office, my wife would bring my slippers and our cutelittle dog would run around barking. Now after ten years it’s all different. I comehome, the dog brings the slippers and my wife runs around barking.”

“Why complain?” said the counselor, “You’re still getting the same service.”

Measure wealth not by the things you have, but by thethings you have for which you would not take money.

I’ve come to realize that the secretto a happy life is not looking likeBarbie or Ken and sufferingthrough tofu and rice cakes to staythat way! It’s eating chocolate,staying chunky and explainthat you’re really a perfect size 6,but you keep it covered with fat soit doesn’t get scratched!

It doesn’t hurt to take a hard look at yourself from time to time, and this should help get you started: Duringa visit to the mental asylum, a visitor asked the Director what criterion was used to define whether or nota patient should be institutionalized. “Well,” said the Director, “we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon,a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub.” “Oh, I understand,” said thevisitor. “A normal person would use the bucket because it’s bigger than the spoon or the teacup.” “No.” saidthe Director, “A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a bed near the window?”

I was thinking about how astatus symbol of today isthose cell phones thateveryone has clipped ontotheir belt or purse. I can’tafford one, so, I’m wearingmy garage door opener.

Just once, when someone says“How are you” (without reallywanting to know), I’d like to say“Well, I can’t keep my teeth in, Ipee myself every time I laugh, myhair is falling out, I cannot seewhere the heck I’m going most ofthe time, my back hurts and I passgas every time I sneeze (and I feellike sneezing right now)!Just once.

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○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

My host gave me a glass of wineand I immediately dropped it onthe rug. Which proves that I can’thold my liquor.

Important computer acronym: PCMCIA. Stands for, “People can’tmemorize computer industry acronyms.”

May 24, 06The Vashon Loop, p. 18

Loop Arts

Join the Vashon-Maury Chamber Orchestra for its Spring Concert Saturday,June 3, 7:30 p.m. at the Vashon Methodist Church.

The program pairs the 18th century greats Haydn (Symphony No. 19) and Bach(Double Concerto for Two Violins) with 20th century composers Hovhaness (Psalm andFugue op. 40a) and Elgar (Serenade for Strings op. 20). Also included is a piece by localcomposer Will Ayton (Reflections on Ein’Reste Burg), written for the centennialcelebration of the Vashon Lutheran Church in 2003.

What brings such diverse works together for this enchanting program?Resonating harmony and captivating melody. Fear not the 20th century; tonality hassurvived. Soloists for the Bach piece are Vashon resident Gretchen Woods andConductor Jonathan Graber. Concertmaster is Mary Walker. Tickets will be availableat the door, $7 for adults, $5 for kinds under 16.

Dance! Vashon’s spring productionof Peter and The Wolf and Fantasia doesnot require a “may cause flashbacks”warning – but you will find it to be one ofyour best trips ever! Four performancesare scheduled, on Friday, June 2, 7:30p.m.; Saturday, June 3, 1:30 p.m. and 7:30pm; and Sunday, June 4, 1:30 p.m.

Under the direction of Cheryl Krown,over one hundred students of VashonDance Academy will interpret the classicProkofiev symphony as well as diversemusic from Beethoven to the Beach Boys.Thematically linked by the music, dancesand dancers of the two works mesh. Eachcharacter in Peter and The Wolf representsan instrument: Graham Peet is Peter,(representing “strings”) and Mark Lacinais the wolf (french horn). Also featured

Some of Vashon’s most accomplishedmusicians will come together in a freeconcert on Friday, June 9, at 7:30 p.m.Vashon United Methodist Church. Theconcert will feature sopranos MaritaEricksen and Sharon LaMar who willsing selections from Stabat Mater byGiovanni Battista Pergolesi and three acappella pieces by J. S. Bach.

They will beaccompanied byviolinists GretchenWoods and SarahPerlman, violistGaye Detzer, andcellist DavidBartus.

Ericksen, whorecently movedback to Vashonwith her husbandJohn, and LaMar,

who lives inM a n s o n ,Washington, havebeen singingtogether for morethan 20 years. Theywill perform theStabat Mater againin July at the LakeChelan BachFestival as part ofthat organization’s25th anniversarycelebration. “This is kind of a sneakpreview as well as a ‘we’re-glad-to-be-back’ concert for all of our Vashonfriends,” said Ericksen.

Vashon Island Chorale is seekingsingers interested in joining the group forthe annual summer “pops” concert atOber Park on Friday, July 7. The 7 p.m.concert is part of the music program forStrawberry Festival and is free to theVashon audience. Rehearsals take placeon June 26, 27, 29 and July 5 and 6 from7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the VHS band room.Dues are $25 plus music costs. Voices forthe tenor and bass sections are especiallyneeded.David Kappy directs the Choraleand Kelly Wyse will provideaccompaniment.

For information or to sign up, contactJo Ann Bardeen, 567-5841 orjbardeen@yahoo.com.

Chamber Orchestra Spring Concert:Haydn, Hovhaness,Elgar, and Bach

Photo by George Heidorn

By Anni Larsen

Ericksen and LaMarto Perform June 9with String Quartet

Sharon Lamar

Marita Ericksen

Sing the “Pops”

are Nelle Horseley as the bird (flute),Aleythea Dolstad as the cat (clarinet) andLaura Hicks as the duck (oboe). The scorecalls for baby ducks, a dancing meadow,a lively pond and an imaginative rope,plus some elements too exciting tomention!

Each dancer in Fantasia - includingseasoned dancers Aaron Bergman,Aleythea Dolstad, Anne Dulfer,Genevieve Ferrari, Laura Hicks, ClaireHesselgrave, Nelle Horsley, and HeatherSorter — is a literal dream interpreter,animating music through dance muchlike animators use pens. It is a trip!Between the excellent choreography(which often is a collaboration betweenKrown and her students), incrediblecostumes, and the superb talent ofdancers ages three to “blank-three,” youwill be transported beyond the VashonHigh School Theatre, beyond the Island,to a place of wonder and delight. And,for some of us, to a beautiful flashback.

Dance! Vashon is a non-profitorganization that features the dancers ofVashon Dance Academy and providesdance opportunities to all Islandersthrough dance events and scholarships.

Tickets are now available at BooksBy The Way and also at the door on theday of performance. Adults: $9, Children(Under-18): $8. Dance! Vashon’sperformances are usually sell-out events;the best at-the-door ticket availability isfor the Saturday matinee.

Left to right: Keli Van Holde, Brooke Pringle,Chelsea Wagner. Photo by Kathleen Webster

Dance! VashonPresents Peter and

the Wolf andFantasia

By Sally Leonhardt

Have you ever walked a street in NewYork or even Rome where there areincredible pieces of art chalked on thesidewalks? On June 3 the sidewalks ofVashon will become canvases for over 20local Vashon artists and their originalartwork in the medium of chalk. TheVashon Community Chalkwalk Art Event(a Chamber of Commerce sponsoredevent) is a community art show whichenlists artists to create original sidewalkpieces, all sponsored by local businesses.This year’s beneficiary of the event is TheMadrona School.

Early Saturday June 3 (June 17 in theevent of rain), the artists will commencetheir work, transforming the sidewalks oftown center, Vashon business on adjacentroads and businesses further alongVashon Highway into a walkable artshow. Local businesses are sponsoringthe artist’s work created in front of theirlocation. Businesses without a town

Chalkwalk Art EventSaturday June 3

By Lynann Politte

location will be sponsoring chalk art in agroup show on VIGA’s sidewalk.

Participating artists include BillJarcho, Karen Hirsch, Suzanna Leigh,Beverly Niadus, Donna Liberty, BrianDempsy, Marcia Carroll, ClaudiaHollander, Paul Gashoi, Renee Marceau& Steve Roache, Stephen Seigel, AlexSoriano, Maren Metke, and Tom Gross-Schader. More are volunteering as of presstime.

Business sponsoring artwork areMinglement, Amiad & Associates,Vashon Books, Kronos, Vashon Tea Shop,The Hardware Store, Bank of America,Island Yoga, US Bank, Thriftway, Bob’sBakery, True Value, John L Scott Realty,Vashon Print & Design, Express Cuisine,Movie Magic, Cotswold Garden & Design,Swingset Music & Movement. More arebeing confirmed.

Businesses and artists wanting toparticipate are invited to call Kim Thal,463-0062, for more information and tosign up. Businesses without sidewalks oroffice space in town can participate bysponsoring a piece of artwork for theirbusiness in the group show on the VIGAsidewalk.

Call 463-3232 or checkwww.vashontheater.comfor times

Friends withMoney

PoseidonAdventure

May 24-25

12:01 a.m. Friday May 26X-Men Last

StandX-Men will playfor two weeks

May 26-June 8

Friday, May 26, isThe Vashon

Theater’s 59thBirthday!

(It’s also the birthday of the editor of TheLoop, but that’s an unlisted number.)

What better way to celebrate the coming of our wonderful Northwest summerthan with a piano/cello double bill featuring internationally known performing/recording artists Scott Cossu and Jami Sieber? The pair will play together and soloSaturday, June 3, 8 pm, at Blue Heron Art Center. Tickets are available now atBlue Heron, Heron’s Nest and Vashon Island Music.

Pianist/composer/recording artist Scott Cossu offers a world-musicinfluenced sound that ranges from high energy to contemplative. With nearly adozen recordings to his credit, Cossu recorded under the Windham Hill label formore than a decade and most recently with Alula Visions.

Electric and acoustic cellist/vocalist Jami Sieber reaches inside the soul withher contemporary, evocative compositions. A celebrated pioneer of her instrument,she earned the Northwest Area Music Association (NAMA) Award for Best RockInstrumentalist, no easy feat for a cellist.

In addition to her threeindependent CD releases, andnumerous film and television scores,Sieber collaborates with poet KimRosen to create Poetry Concerts andWorkshops. Calling on her pasthealth care experience, Sieberrecently joined midwife to the dyingJudith Redwing Keyssar, RN, toprovide music during Being WithDying Workshops.

Cossu and Sieber PlayHeron Double Bill

By Janice Randall Scott Cossu

Jami Sieber

May 24, 06 The Vashon Loop, p. 19

Open Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (206) 463-2616

We can order any book,New or Used.

But stay awhile, and see what we’ve got!

Flowers always make people better,happier, and more helpful: they are sunshine,food and medicine to the soul. – LutherBurbank

Vashon Allied Art’s 16th annualGarden Tour will take place Saturdayand Sunday, June 10 and 11, 11 a.m. to 5p.m. Tickets are available now. Thisyear’s tour will feature five gardens, frompeaceful sanctuaries to cacophonies ofcolor. In addition to nature’s beauty,gardens will feature art by Island artists,live music and poetry readings. Thankyou to Presenting Sponsor, John L. Scott,Gardens Sponsor, Vashon Thriftwayand Cultivator Sponsor, DIG.

The Gardens:Sam and Sarah Van Fleet’s garden

offers sanctuary for people, plants, birdsand animals. The central feature is apond brimming with life (plant life, pondlife, and 25 new species of birds) andsurrounded by many native plants.Thisgarden emphasizes plant textures, andbeds appear like tapestries of soothinggreen. Garden Sculpture by SteveZartman.

Most Islanders know the “red-roofed-chicken-farm” off MonumentRoad. Owner Judith Henderson hascreated a cottage-style English gardenstuffed to the gills with perennials,annuals, herbs, shrubs andgroundcovers, making the spacereminiscent of another era. Steve Roachwill show ceramic fountains and JonLucas will show wooden birds.

“I want people to know we’re here,”says Matt Mosteller, owner of VashonIsland Technologies (VIT) and computerguy par excellence.

“I tell people that we’re the store rightin the middle of town with the 20 footsign out front that says, ‘COMPUTERS,’”Mosteller says, “but most people don’tfigure it out until I say, ‘Across the streetfrom Movie Magic.’”

“We’re kinda the 7-11 of computerstores,” he continued. “We stock whatpeople ask for. If we don’t have it, we canorder it. People comment that our pricingis in line with industry pricing.”

As opposed to “Island pricing?”Well, yeah.

How did I write two columns aboutbuying a computer without mentioningVIT? Ironically enough, because Matthelped me the first time my laptopdeveloped electrical problems. I took mylaptop in and after trying a new powercord and adapter and realizing thatwasn’t the problem, Matt sent me toSeattle Laptop. When the problem startedto happen again, I went straight to SeattleLaptop. Ironically, again, VIT now sellsand services laptops as well as desktopcomputer systems.

Vashon Island Technologies: I WantPeople to Know We’re Here

Matt Mosteller

V I Tstarted backin the early9 0 s . T h ebusiness hasevolved, but,M o s t e l l e rsays, “We’restill buildingthe bestcomputers inthe world.”

“ W h a tI’m proudestof is ourprofessionalism. We primarily dobusiness networking services. The retailshop is for the convenience of thecommunity. We like selling computers,but service is our business. If you buy acomputer somewhere else, we’ll provideyour local repairs and support. We’rethe only guys on the Island committed tobeing here 365 days a year, with inventoryon hand.”

So now you know. If you want “thebest computer in the world,” head up toVIT. If you need work done on that greatCPU you scored on craigslist, take it upto Matt and Greg. They’re here.

VAA Garden TourJune 10 and 11

By Janice Randall and Terry Hershey

Now called Faerie Hill Farm, thesheer scale of the Lipitz place hits you. Aworking farm, it includes gardens ofberries, sheep grazing, and fields of green.See metal sculpture by Julie Berger andwood sculpture by Mike Urban.

Color hits you immediately in thelively, intimate five-year-old waterfrontgarden of Sally Ann Williams. Williamsmade the design decision to incorporatethe garden as an extension of the house.Sitting in the courtyard, with itswonderful arbor and perimeter fence, itis clear that this garden is about fun andjoy. George Wright will display her ardengates and Carolyn Price Dyer will showtapestry work.

Lyn and Nick call it their FriendshipGarden. Nearly 100% of the plants inthe comforting garden are from cuttingscollected over the years from friends. Itreminds us that meticulously organizedgardens are vastly overrated. Gardensculpture by David Erue. Hear poetry inthe garden, ready by Island poets,between noon and 2 p.m. both days.

Workshops and more: Freeworkshops, both Saturday and Sundayat the Blue Heron will provide inspirationand practical tips. Author Terry Hersheywill present Designing a Garden that is aReflection of You and garden writer DebraPrinzing will speak on Creating a Gardenof Abundance. Jon Crouch, LandscapeDesigner & Owner of English LandscapesGroup, will offer a mini-workshop onPlanting Your Pond both Saturday andSunday at the Van Fleet Pond.

For more information and to reserveGarden Tour tickets by phone, call theBlue Heron Art Center, 463-5131. Ticketsalso available at DIG and Thriftway. Seeyou at Garden Tour!

Vashon Duo Short & Sweet, composed ofRobyn Landis and Steve Amsden, will appearthis weekend at the Northwest FolklifeFestival, which is held at the Seattle Center.They’ll be playing on Sunday, May 28,starting at 6:20 p.m. at the Cafe Impromptu inMcCaw Hall.

Short and Sweetat Folklife

Vashon IdyllIII

Plan Now To Attend

Admission $5.00Includes hors d’oeuvres 1 free drink and 5 votes

Vashon High School Gymnasium

Friday June 2nd6:30 pm

May 24, 06The Vashon Loop, p. 20

FarmingFencing

Front end loaderSmall backhoe

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Brush cuttingetc.

Doug York( 206 ) 567-4776

RR Ties4 Grades

$5.00 - $22.50ea Vashon p/u463 5161

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short term leases available.short term leases available.short term leases available.short term leases available.short term leases available.Security deposit andSecurity deposit andSecurity deposit andSecurity deposit andSecurity deposit andreferences required.references required.references required.references required.references required.

Reservations (206) 463 3009Reservations (206) 463 3009Reservations (206) 463 3009Reservations (206) 463 3009Reservations (206) 463 3009

H O U S E S I T T I N GPlants, garden and pet care

Excellent referencesMarie Schlick 567-4030

Build Your Own Home!Build Your Own Home!Build Your Own Home!Build Your Own Home!Build Your Own Home!

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