The Refreshing Voice of Sarah Vowell

I've made a couple of recent changes in my life recently. One important change is my current vow of frugality. I don't know that I've really stuck to it all that well. I've bought a lot of Starbucks and terrain-making materials for my Lewis and Clark game, but I haven't invested much money in my two biggest black holes, books and miniatures.

In fact I've gone so far as to get a library card. Yes, I'm shocked too. I stopped by the South Hill Branch of the Pierce County Library in February and got a card. I waited until May to actually check out my first books. They are "The Language of God," by Francis Collins, and "The Wordy Shipmates," by Sarah Vowell.

I'm reading "The Wordy Shipmates" first. I was intrigued with the subject, the Puritan settlers of Massachussetts, as well as Vowell's unique writing style and observation of her subject. I heard Ms. Sarah speak on CSPAN-2, my weekend station of choice. In her Betty Boop-like voice she was discussing one of her previous books, "Assassination Vacation," on presidential assassinations. Though the subject wasn't my gig, her approach to the topic, her tart wit, interesting observations was intriguing and refreshing.

I've begun reading Shipmates, and am about 80 pages or a third of the way through the book. I must say that my instincts were correct. Thus far, Vowell has focused mainly John Winthrop's amazing "A Model of Christian Charity," in which the Puritan founder of Massachussetts Colony likens the new colony to "a city on a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us . . ." which is the model for the time-held view of American exceptionalism. Vowell explores the historical and biblical roots for these ideas, which seem to originate from Christ's Sermon on the Mount.

What follows, however, is an application of these rules for Christian Charity as they apply to the recent past and present. First, Vowell compares the sentiment of Winthrop's writing to its appropriation of the "city on a hill" metaphor by Ronald Reagan. She also applies this to 9/11 and our recent actions in Iraq. What the reader gets is an interesting, sometimes moving, sometimes angering perspective of the words of this early American writer juxtaposed against the often inspiring, sometimes repulsive actions of our leaders and our nation.

Thus far Vowell comes across as a person who believes that America is exceptional, imperfect, but with the correct instincts to do the right thing a great deal of the time. Her writing does not proceed in a straight line, but is filled with interjection, sometimes amusing, sometimes ironic, sometimes tragic.

Junior is a Mariner

I don't think I've ever been so excited about a Mariner season as I am about this one. It's not that I expect the M's to be great--they're not going to win the American League West, let alone the World Series. But there is something magical about Ken Griffey, Jr., or just Junior for those of us who love him.

Junior's best days are gone, the legacy of his injury riddled nine years in Cincinnati-likely more the legacy of playing on the Kingdome's unforgiving artificial surface. Yet, he brings something special back to this city-a sunny optimism that win or lose, baseball is good, playing hard is important, and the harder one plays the better the team will perform.

I am not a believer the Ken Griffey Jr. or any other single player will make the Mariners a pennant winner. My hope is that he can do the following things:

• 400 at bats
• 20-25 home runs
• 70-80 rbi's
• .270 batting average (.340 obp)

I also hope he can bring a sense of unity to the Mariners, perhaps divert some of the attention from Ichiro Suzuki, whom I also admire greatly, and make this year a fun year. Last year was horrible, not only because of all the losing, but because they just looked terrible, like they didn't care and didn't belong in the majors. I believe they are better than that.

I know that the M's won't be the Mariners of 2001, or 1995, but I believe they'll be better than they were in 2008. I also believe that Junior is our Last Lion, and that he's come home to make us better.

Harrower

We finished deadline on Wednesday, and we were dead. I am incredibly proud of our Editorial board. They work so hard and without and drama. They take their work extremely seriously and they really produce. The third issue of JagWire is out and it's very well done. The focus topic is serious, most of the articles are good.

A couple of weeks ago I found out that Tim Harrower was offering a workshop on newspaper design. The cost was almost nothing, $15.00 that included lunch at Pierce College in Steilacoom. Harrower is the premier voice on newspaper design. I confess that I know next to nothing about designing. I am pretty ignorant of how to use Photoshop and Indesign. It leaves me feeling less than adequate. But I am committed to figuring it out before school gets out so I can help my kids and feel more confident especially for next year's staff.

The Harrower workshop was fun-he is really amusing, not pretentious at all. My kids, though they were exhausted, were wonderful. I learned a lot and I'd really like to try to put the Maestro design method Harrower suggested to work, if for no other reason than to try and motivate staff.

Deadline!

Deadline weeks are difficult. They take up a lot of time and throw off my schedule. Needless to say, I've allowed this to happen with my workout schedule too. I'll try to get back on the wagon on Thursday.

We've had a bit of a surprise snowfall this morning, so I've got a little bit of extra time. I'll use it for painting and correcting student projects that appear on semester grades.

You Gotta Change Yer Life!!

During Christmas break I promised myself I'd begin living more healthfully. Yeah, I get that. Everyone takes that pledge about the time of the New Year don't they. Number one resolution is to lose weight. So here I am doing the same thing-publicly.

I've had a hard time getting started. It doesn't do me much good to diet, I have to do the diet and exercise combo. On Sunday I started back to L.A. Fitness. I've had a membership at the new gym that opened near our house since May, and have found a way to regularly avoid it. I last went in October. Tells you something.

I've gone every day since Sunday (today is Wednesday the 14th), and set fairly moderate goals for myself-chiefly that I go each day for at least thirty minutes, or total three and a half hours of exercise per week. So far I'm off to a good start but I'll keep you posted on my progress.

In Search of Floodwaters

I set off on a little search this afternoon, to find the raging floodwaters of the Puyallup. School was closed today because of the danger of these waters, but I had a hard time finding 'em. Actually the decision to close came last night on the prediction of historically high flooding on the river which neatly bisects our district.

Fortunately, the river crested this morning slightly below flood level which is a very good thing. My travels through the valley to Orting didn't find roads closed this afternoon, or people hurriedly barricading their homes against the rising waters. However there was clear evidence that water had been there with fields inundated around Alderton and McMillan.

The picture is of I-5 which is the main interstate artery running north and south through Washington State at Centralia, about sixty miles south of here. It is underwater, by as much as ten feet. Currently the freeway is closed and will remain so, likely through at least Friday, and perhaps longer. All east west corridors through the mountains are also closed, so the state has effectively had road commerce shut off for the next few days until the nasty weather and its aftermath resolves itself.

Weather Doom

From December 16-23rd the Puget Sound area was hit by successive snow storms followed by unusually cold air. It didn't drop anything like huge snow quantities, but each probably piled several inches each atop one another, bringing the area to a standstill.

Hard on the snow's heels are some ferocious rainstorms. It isn't that we're unused to rain here, but not like this. We've had eight inches in the past 36 hours or so, and temperatures that have warmed up to well above freezing in the mountains. This means mucho rain (10-20 inches) in the mountains that has also led to rapid snow melt, filling virtually every river in Western Washington.

The two pictures, downloaded from MyNorthwest.com, show the Puyallup River rising. Though I live on the hill and am not threatened by flooding, tens of thousands of residents were evacuated from the town of Orting, which lies between two flooding rivers-the Carbon and the Puyallup.