Once Upon A Time

May of this year marks 30 years since I left Walla Walla to live in the Seattle area.  I found this picture of the Debunce Photo Studio on Joe Drazen's incredible Bygone Walla Walla blog.  It is posting great vintage pictures almost every day.
This building, on East Alder and Roosevelt  became Congregation Beth Israel Synagogue in the early 70s.

New Location For The UPS Store On Bellevue Way

The UPS Store 4177 at 227 Bellevue Way NE is moving to a new location.  In a couple of days, it will have been relocated to 1100 Bellevue Way NE #8A.  This weekend, we moved items to the new location. (above)

Crane Falls In Seattle

A construction crane has fallen across Mercer Street in the South Lake Union area of Seattle, crushing 6 cars.  4 people are reported to have died. 

RIP Ken Kercheval

Ken Kercheval, who played JR Ewing's arch rival Cliff Barnes, has died.  On the show, Cliff was the brother of Pam, who married JR's brother, Bobby.  In spite of that, Cliff hated the Ewings, especially, Jr.
Cliff was  outmatched by JR, who was smooth as he was dastardly.  Cliff, on the other hand, was principally clumsy and gullible.  

Larry Hagman and Ken Kercheval were the only actors who stayed through the entire run of the series. 

A heavy smoker, Kercheval was 83.

Sandy Koufax and Yom Kippur ..... JEWS & BASEBALL - (2010)

Sometimes, sacrifice is more rewarding.  Sandy Koufax's decision not to pitch the first game of  the 1965 World Series etched him in the hearts of young Jews.  Koufax had just retired when I started following baseball in 1967.   He had become a game of the week commentator on NBC.

Celtic Legend Havlicek Dies

John Havlicek,  who won 8 championships with the Boston Celtics in the 60s and 70s has died at 79.  When I first starting watching the NBA, the Celtics were frequently on the game of the week.  Havlicek, was definitely a catalyst for the team.  

Havlicek had been suffering from Parkinson's. 

Walla Walla's Walsh Makes News Again

Even after it's emergence as a premier wine destination, it's extremely rare for my hometown of Walla Walla or it's politicians to make national news.  However, Republican Senator Maureen Walsh has done this twice  with her speeches.
Walsh made headlines this past week with a speech in support of an amendment to a bill that intended to shorten hours and mandate breaks for nurses in the state.  Walsh said that nurses in smaller hospitals get breaks where they probably spend a considerable amount of the day playing cards.
Social media picked up on that phrase and before you know it, it spread throughout the country.
The backlash from her remarks were considerable, as shown above, her office received about 1700 decks of playing cards.  On a more serious side, an online petition received about  750 thousand signatures to have her "shadow" a nurse to see how they spend their days.
A few days later, she apologized for making the remark.
In 2012,  Walsh first got national attention as a member of the state house of representatives.  Her folksy speech supporting marriage equality.  The fact that she bucked her own party, made her popular with many Democrats and progressive minded people.

Jeopardy Contestant Holzhauer Keeps Rolling Along

Jeopardy, one of the oldest game shows running is seeing something it has never seen before.  In 15 games James Holzhauer has accumulated over 1,100,000 dollars becoming the game's second million dollar winner in it's history.
Ken Jennings, the game's previous million dollar winner, took over 70 games to amass his fortune.
Holzhauer's system is to begin by picking the bottom boxes (harder questions worth more money) of the Jeopardy board, amassing more money and beginning getting a huge lead early, seemingly to unnerve his opponents.
It would come as no surprise that Holzhauer's profession is listed as a sports gambler.    He lives in Las Vegas.
Making a living as a sports gambler seems unlikely to most people.  It you ever watched the movie "Rain Man", Nevada does not seem to take kindly to people it thinks have learned to beat the system.

Seahawk Clark Traded To KC

The Seattle Seahawks have announced that they are trading star defensive end Frank Clark to the Kansas City Chiefs for a 1st round draft pick for Thursday's draft, a second pick in next year's draft and an exchange of 3rd round picks.   

Seasonal Celebration Continues

The day after having family over to celebrate Easter, we had Passover dinner last night at the house.

Dave Grohl & Brandi Carlile - Pike Place Market, Seattle, Washington (4-...

I was in Bellevue when Brandi Carlile posted a picture with Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters and formerly of Nirvana.  They spoke of going to the Pike Place Market to do an impromptu concert.
There were thousands of comments from all over the world, saying they wish they lived in Seattle and could see it.
Hats off to these two local music legends for making it happen.

Happy Easter

Happy Passover

Ken Levine Interviews Iconic Sports Announcer

In his weekly podcast, Hollywood And Levine, Ken Levine interviews arguably his most famous guest yet, NBC sports announcer Al Michaels.  

Levine, primarily known as a TV comedy writer, also has announced baseball for a variety of Major League teams including the Seattle Mariners.

Michaels talks about working the 1989 World Series in San Francisco, where a devastating earthquake struck before the game matching Bay Area teams, the Giants and The Oakland A's.   He also speaks of his switching networks from ABC to NBC. 

The interview with Michaels was done in two parts, with part 2 coming out late next week.  You can hear the Levine-Michaels interview by clicking here. 

Backyard Trees In Bloom

This morning, I was struck by the colors of the backyard trees which are now in bloom.

Lloyd Thaxton on His Start In Radio & TV.mp4

With his show, The Lloyd Thaxton Show in the early 60s, he helped introduce me to rock and roll.

Wilson Deal Gets Done

Quarterback Russell Wilson is staying with the Seahawks.  The face of the franchise and the only quarterback to lead the team to a Super Bowl victory signed a 4 year, 140 million dollar contract with the team.  It also includes a 65 million dollar signing bonus. 

Wilson and his agent had imposed an April 15th deadline to reach a deal.

Notre Dame Burns

One of the world's great landmarks the Notre Dame Cathedral has been saved from total destruction according to a report from NBC News.  The cathedral is in Paris and is visited by millions every year.
Many of the priceless artifacts inside were saved and so far, there is no report of any fatalities.

Has Mariner Mojo Hit Midnight?

The Seattle Mariners, who entered the weekend series off to it's best start in history, 13-2, were unable to get a win against division rival Houston in 3 games.  

The Mariners who went into this year after trading Robinson Cano, Alex Diaz, and Jim Paxton, have been a pleasant surprise, winning 13 of it's first 15 games.  The team however, is in the middle of a rebuilding year in the hope that it can be competitive in the future.  

Where the team goes from here remains to be seen. 

Maple Valley's Crockett's Ends Bathroom Controversy

Word has been received that Maple Valley's newest restaurant/bar Crockett's has responded to concerned customers and filled the hole in the wall in the washing area between the men's and women's bathrooms.
The opening, which was under the mirror, had come under attack by people saying that it made them uncomfortable.
The controversy played out on two Maple Valley community groups on Facebook.  Many were OK and understood that it was a conversation starter and an attempt to be trendy.  Many people thought it was an attempt toward both sexes using the same bathroom at once.  Others thought it was exploitation and would lead to gawking.
Either way, the owner probably calculated that more people would avoid the restaurant because the hole was there, while no one would avoid it because they would miss out on sight of the opposite sex washing it's hands.

Tiger Wins Masters--First Major Win in 11 Years

Tiger's hug of his son in the wake of his victory at the Master's has warmed America's heart.  America loves a great comeback story and Tiger's win was his first in 11 years after scandals and injuries had  slowed him down and sidelined him.

The hug mirrored that Tiger gave to his father after winning his first Master's in 1997.

The Turtles - Lloyd Thaxton Show (1966)

I enjoyed getting to know Turtle Howard Kaylan when he lived in the area. He and his wife and dog were frequent customers in our store.  He has recently returned to California.

  Lloyd Thaxton, who hosted a teenage dance show in the early 60s had a fun blog.

Former Walla Walla DJ Survived Health Scare

Lyn Daniels worked at KUJ and Kiss-FM after graduating from Spokane Falls Community College.  It was the early 1980s.   Daniels also did some voice over commercials for my Cousin Burl, who had the rights to local commercials on the Walla Walla cable system.
It was known around town that Daniels had survived an incident as an infant where she pulled a coffee pot on top of her, nearly burning her to death.
Daniel's left Walla Walla to resume her radio career in her native Spokane.  About 13 years ago, she had to be rushed to the hospital with an aneurysm.   She once again survived and was in recovery when this great article was written, sent to me by a friend. You can click here.

Old Maple Valley 7- Eleven Torn Down

It was long a landmark in Maple Valley's Wilderness Village, but the recently vacated 7-Eleven store in Maple Valley, along with the long vacated car wash nearby, have been torn down.
Details of future plans for that area will be published as we learn.

Flooding prompts evacuation in Pullman and other Palouse cities

Apparently, no injuries when flood waters rushed down Grand Avenue in the college town of Pullman.  No doubt the damage is extensive.  Many people are posting videos on Facebook.

Virginia Takes Down Texas Tech And Net In NCAA Men's Basketball Final

In a thriller of a game,  the Virginia Cavaliers defeated Texas Tech 85-77 to take the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship.  It was the first title for Virginia lead by Tony Bennett, the last coach to take WSU to the tournament.

The Hole Controversy--New Maple Valley Restaurant Restrooms Spur Critics

I had just used the restroom in Crockett's last Friday and was washing my hands when I saw a figure in what I thought was the mirror.  Not seeing anyone around, I startled said hello, and a lady across from me returned the greeting.   I realized that was not the mirror, but a window into the women's room.
I brought this up to our food server, who by the way, was wonderful and she said that the topic was indeed spurring comments both pro and con.
To ease everyone's mind,  it is only above the sink and below general eye level.  Basically, if you look, you will see the shirt of someone washing their hands.  Hardly, a cause for excitement.
I know of at least a couple public restrooms overseas, where there are private stalls and a common hand washing place.  They make me a little uneasy.  Not because of embarrassment, but a feeling that I've invaded someone else's space.
The Crockett discussion is outlined in this story in the Maple Valley Reporter.

Washington Democrats Approve Presidential Primary

Washington State will now have a presidential primary that matters as the State  Democratic Central Committee has voted to allow a primary for allocating delegates.  The vote was 121-46 according to the Cascade Advocate, the blog of the NPI think tank.   

Having myself chaired 3 of the most contentious presidential precinct caucuses, I feel that this is a good move, allowing professionals to count the votes.  I am forever grateful to the volunteers that helped me put on the caucus in Maple Valley, I could never have done it without them.  It's just the work to set up locations and conduct caucuses is harrowing. 

Growing up, in Eastern Washington near the Oregon border, I had a chance to see what a primary could do.  The Oregon Primary brought presidential candidate to remote parts of the state.  

My point being that having a primary in the early stages of the campaign will bring major candidates and more media attention to our state.  

WSU To Retire Jersey Of Basketball Star Klay

The WSU Athletic Department has announced that the Klay Thompson jersey number 1 for men's basketball is being retired.  Thompson, who in just three years at Pullman is the Cougar Basketball team's third leading all time scoring leader.    

He now plays for the Golden State Warriors, where is a 2 time All NBA  honoree and a 5 time All Star.  He has 3 NBA championship rings with the Warriors. 

The last Cougar basketball player to have his number retired was Steve Puidokas, who played when I was a student there. 

New Restaurant In Maple Valley--Crockett's

There is a new Pub in town.  Crockett's Public House has opened at 26300  238th Lane SE, across Highway 169 from Fred Meyer in Maple Valley.
It's only been open for a week or two, but unlike many brand new restaurants, it seemed very organized.Our service was prompt and reasonable.
The first Crockett's opened in Puyallup in 2011 and was featured on The Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dive's.
Although the place was crowded on a Friday night, we were able to get a table within 20 minutes of putting our name in.   I had barbecued ribs and my wife had a sloppy Joe.  Our server was very engaging and knowledgeable.  We enjoyed the food and atmosphere which made us feel at home.
Maple Valley has seen some great changes in the 20 years since we have moved here.  With many new places, we no longer need to leave town to have a great dining experience.

New York Times Supplement Honors The Mets

A supplement in a recent issue of the New York Times is dedicated to the first National League pennant and World Championship of the New York Mets. It is titled  1969-The Mets Magical Mystical  Year.  

The issue was sent by a friend and has several articles celebrating the 50th anniversary of their amazing run.  Of, course it was a wonderful year in general for New York teams, especially two teams that had not even existed 10 years before, Both the Mets and Jets won world championships against incredible odds.    

The Mets were down 10 games in August to the Chicago Cubs who seemed to be cruising to their first post season in decades.  Cub first baseman, Ernie Banks was won of the most popular players ever to play the game.  He had never played in a world series and his career was coming to a close.  

The Mets, on the other hand, had never had a winning season.  They were always in last place, yet had become popular in a city which also the storied New York Yankees.  

Fans knew the Mets were improving, but no one could see what would transpire,  the Mets would go on to win their division (it was the first year ever that baseball had any post season other than the World Series), easily beat the Atlanta Braves and then take down the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles in 5 games.
Unlike the Jets, the Mets would win another world title.  That would come in 1986. 

Julia Louis-Dreyfus talks the upcoming final season of 'Veep' | GMA

The Veep is back.  After a season off, I watched a new episode for the first time in 21 months.

This is the last season of my favorite show.

Old Walla Walla Radio Remembered--Part 31 Old KTEL Mike Insignia

This piece of radio history was on the mike at the downtown studios of KTEL many decades ago.  It was sent to me by former KTEL DJ, Lee Michaels, who bought the equipment when the station moved it's business offices and main studio to the transmitter site, which had served as the night studio.
Instead of being on a mike, it is with a Mike.   The letters are backwards due to this being a self taken picture better known as a selfie.