Seafair Torchlight Parade Highlights Weekend

TV Personality and Seattle Sounders minority owner Drew Carey (above) was Grand Marshal  at the 2011 Seafair Torchlight Parade.  The  parade. which runs down the middle of Downtown Seattle starts the weeklong celebration that is capped with the Hydroplane races on Lake Washington next weekend.

Picnic With 5th Democrats

The 5th District Democrats annual picnic will be Sunday, July 31st at Lake Sammamish Park from 11:30am to 3:00.  Sunshine and funtimes are predicted.  For more information go to the 5th District web site.

Another Seattle Sports Icon Falls

Rick Kaminski, one of the most famous figures in Seattle sports, has passed away from a brain anuerism.Known to everyone as Rick the peanut man, he was a show within himself as he threw bags of peanuts to customers with amazing acuracy often"behind the back".  Bill "the Beerman" Scott  another famous Seattle food vendor, died in 2007.  Both got their start at the Kingdome in the late 70s.

Seahawks To Pass On Matt Hasselbeck

It has been announced that the Seattle Seahawks will not be signing Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck.  Hasselbeck is the only quarterback to take the Seahawks to the Super Bowl, hopefully eventually he will be known as the FIRST quarterback to take the 'Hawks to the Super Bowl.  No doubt he will be on the Seahawk Ring Of Honor in the near future.   We wish him good luck wherever he lands.

My Old House

One of our customers, who also grew up in Walla Walla snapped this picture of the house that I grew up in on South Palouse Street.

Rusty Takes A Dip

On a rare sunny warm day, Rusty cools off by wading into the creek at Lake Wilderness Park, here in Maple Valley.

The Lighter Side Of Sports Links To BOMV

It is no secret that growing up I had an interest in going into broadcasting.  One of my heroes was ABC's Howard Cosell (top).  I first saw Howard doing reports at the 1968 Summer Olympics, then he would turn up on "Wide World Of Sports" doing commentary and also announcing boxing matches. He was different than all others,  giving his opinions, whether it was good or bad.  With the advent of Monday Night Football, Cosell would go on to become perhaps the most famous sportscaster of all time.  No doubt he had the most distinct delivery, reflecting his native Brooklyn.  His desire for social justice really struck a chord with me.  I had planned to write a letter to Howard to tell him how much he had influenced my life.  I never got around to doing that.
To that end, it was an honor to see Howard Cosell's grandson, Colin (lower picture), put me on the "blogroll" for his "The Lighter Side Of Sports" site.  I had met Colin through facebook and twitter and found that he is a talent in his own right.  The Lighter Side contains commentary about sports issues, much of it hard hitting like Howard would, but with a sense of humor.  Today with sports radio and what not, hard hitting sports commentary is easy to find and perhaps almost celebrated.  Today's sports announcers have Howard Cosell to thank for pushing the limits.

Friends Surprise BOMV Writer

I was finishing golf with a couple of family members last Sunday when my wife asked if we could meet them at Lake Sammamish Park.  It hadn't even entered my mind that my birthday was coming up Tuesday. When I arrived, I saw baloons and banners, my wife had planned another surprise party.  Although the weather was less than ideal, it was a fun time.

CNN Comes To Visit

Once again the media was present at The UPS Store in Crossroads.  CNN came to film one of our customers who is active in The Pink Daisy Project, a Breast Cancer support group. The show is called CNN Heroes, I am unsure when it airs, but was part of a "day in the life" concept. More details later.

Mariners Honor 2001 Team

Thanks to our friends, Louie and Hera, we were able to go to Safeco where the Mariners honored the 2001 team that had won 116 games.  It was a moving ceremony anchored by Rich Rizzs. Lou Piniella, the Manager that year was also there and addressed the crowd. Like a serial TV show, the Mariner left unfinished business as they did not get to the World Series.  They did tie a record set by the Chicago Cubs, perhaps there is a jinx to winning 116th as the Cubs are also known for hard luck.  Incidentally, the only member of that team still playing for the M's is Icharo.

It's Election Season

It's an off-year election, meaning that the town of Maple Valley is marked with signs of people running for positions that you may not have known even existed.  This was taken at the entrance to Belmont Woods.  The "For Rent" sign is only a coincidence.

Woodinville Little Leaguers Win Again

My nephew Ethan prepares to take the mound as he was able to contribute to a 4-3 extra innings victory for the Woodinville 11-12 year old Little League All Stars.  So far, I have been able to watch 3 games and all of them have been exciting victories.

My Wife On KIRO TV's Better Northwest

Deb tells an excited Penny LeGate about the contest that we are running at The UPS Store in Bellevue's Crossroads area. The contest continues through early August.  This segment aired on July 7th on the KIRO-TV morning show "Better Northwest"

Little River Band Entertains At Snoqualmie Casino

Reflecting one of it's most popular hits, the weather was a cloudy "cool change" from the heat that we have experienced most of this week as we watched The Little River Band perform at Snoqualmie Casino.  The Venue's proximity to the Cascades made things a little more on the windy and cool side, however,  there was no rain and the band's stellar music and ability to interact with the crowd made it an entertaining evening.

Maple Valley Makes Top 10 List

Family Circle Magazine has chosen Maple Valley, Washington as one of the top ten towns to raise a family. The reasons given were excellent schools, affordable housing and convenient access to health care. It was also mentioned that the local Rotary raises 100 thousand dollars each year for local charities. 

Having lived in Maple Valley for over 10 years, I think that it's best attributes also include being close to Seattle while maintaining a small town atmosphere, it's proximity to Lake Wilderness, and the stunning views of Mount Rainier.

Maple Valley Market Is Back

The Maple Valley Farmer's Market will be open every Saturday through September from 9am until 1pm.  It takes place on the grounds of the Rock Creek Elementary School, 25700 Maple Valley-Black Diamond Road (Highway 169), not far from our house.

To Our Canadian Readers

Happy Canada Day.  And thanks for making this blog's numbers soar during the Stanley Cup Finals!