Our Island has been alight with wonder these past weeks. In these short days, as power outages remind us that the dark and cold are ever near, the Island has been alive with light and wonder. For weeks, we have been singing and dancing and reading out loud to one another, in plays and ballet performances, concerts and book readings. We outdo one another in gingerbread architectural extravaganzas, and Island quilters and knitters, carvers and potters have been busily turning out creations of such loveliness. Best of all, the cold afternoons and quickly falling nights are met with colored lights everywhere, adorning our homes and fences, trees and tractors. The Island glows in the dark.
In a community as small as Vashon’s, small things sometimes matter. And one of those small things is the location of this year’s Christmas tree.
It’s Gift Season on Vashon. How did it happen so fast? Wasn’t it just Halloween? Suddenly there were 18 Christmas tree retail operations on the main highway, and the massive (classy, iconic) candy canes were up, and oh, right, I’m supposed to do something about presents.
I am still a newcomer on the Island by the standards of many who have lived here for decades and whose families lived here decades before them. My Vashon experience has spanned the last 15 years and admittedly, only a third of it has been as a resident Islander. Even that time is divided into a four-year stay from 1998 to 2002 when I was a commuter and the last year and a half when I have lived and worked on-Island. Still I have a great appreciation for Vashon.
From home to work to government, budget shortfalls are the latest in operational fashion. Almost nobody has enough money to do everything they want, and sometimes not enough to do what they need. The recession has caused a genuine alteration in spending styles for most “average” folks, now known as the 99 percent. But wants, and especially needs, haven’t changed much.
The column, letter and cartoon on this page were all created prior to the latest development in the Vashon elves’ headline-grabbing situation — news that they’ll soon return, as if by magic, to the four-corner intersection in the heart of town.
Dear Ebenezer,
Greetings from beyond the grave. I trust this finds you well, although the recent news troubles me greatly. Can it possibly be true that you asked the local constabulary to stop kindly elves from raising money for families and kids? Put another way, Scrooge, YOU CALLED THE COPS???
It was straight out of one of those black and white movies typically set in prohibition-era Chicago: In the pre-dawn hours of Saturday, Dec. 3 (which at this winter latitude is about 10 a.m.), unmarked, window-blackened police cars descended upon the main intersection in Vashon town, tires screeching as they rounded the corners and slid to a stop. Doors flew open and scores of G-men—with their long coats, gray Fedora hats tilted just-so over one eye, and their submachine guns at the ready — poured out onto the street.
I have read with interest the letters and articles in The Beachcomber by my fellow Islanders and friends about the proposed Vashon Center for the Arts. I feel a need to respond to these views, not by a point-counter-point methodology but by addressing a few of the many reasons I think the center is a really good idea. In so doing, I will respond to some of the concerns expressed.
The eviction of a couple dozen homeless people from the woods behind Roseballen is a sad commentary about the state of things in our country. But it’s not an indictment of county government, nor of the woman who owns the property.
Thank you, Vashon voters! It was impressive to have such a large number of registered voters cast their ballots.
I love Christmas movies. Generally, I consider myself something of a film snob. But during the holidays I’m willing to put up with an exponentially higher degree of corny dialogue, canned acting and tinsel-thin plots. But even I am reaching my limit as I see more and more recycled themes popping up on my TiVo’s “Christmas” category search.
The view from the water at last weekend’s late-night beach walk on Vashon’s north end seemed other-worldly.
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