This is the way we ended the spring season – with a Spring Fling dinner and the Installation of new officers.
The next meeting will be on Tuesday September 12th
Have a wonderful summer!
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
As is now the norm. SRO for Tuesdays with Cascade Club to hear Becky Newton, Economic Development Manager for the City of Lakewood. Her job might be compared in a way to that of Sean Spicer. There were good things to talk about, and some not so good things to not talk about. New businesses have come or are coming to Lakewood. They include in the healthcare area an 18 unit Franciscan “Doc in a Box” in the Colonial Center, and the Pacific Medical Center, the hospitality segment with both a Marriott and Comfort Inn, restaurants including Chipotle Grill, Chick-fil-A and Black Bear Diner to name but a few. There are also manufacturing jobs including Bite Me, Inc. ‘Not sure of what exactly that company does but certainly an interesting name. Currently there 4,361 active business licenses and 25, 360 jobs in Lakewood. But as we all realize there are glaring problems. All one has to do is drive past the Colonial Center or the long, long vacant building which once housed a QFC grocery store. Unfortunately, these examples are not unusual or unique. During a Q & A, the issue of unsightly buildings and areas was brought up. A cited example is the property on Bridgeport which seems to be a storage dump for old cars. The response to the question of why such an eyesore can exist was that the city would look into it if neighbors complained. Sean could not have dodged it better. In reality, probably a lackluster response and rather dramatic example of a lack of proactive response on the part of the City of Lakewood.
Apartment living space is at a premium. The occupancy rate is 98%. In Lakewood 47% of housing units are owner occupied whereas the county is 61%. New single family housing is being developed with a prime example a 33 unit parcel on Interlaaken (the property once owned by beloved long term Lakewood resident Sam Brown.) Other property such as that on Gravelly Lake Drive and Veterans is yet to have appropriate zoning mutually agreeable to the city and developers. The projected population growth rate for Lakewood is flat.
Last week your newsletter referenced the 13 member Senate committee to draft their version of a revised health care bill, dropped in the delicious word “triskaidekaphobia.” Spouse and always able proofreader and scribe engaged in a modest wager as to the number of Google look-ups of said word. Alas, the scribe lost in a landslide. “Triskaidekaphobia” is the irrational fear of the number 13, and one supposes it goes back to the Last Supper where there were 13 in attendance including Judas. Maybe irrational, but almost no building has a 13the floor as if anyone wouldn’t know that as the elevator goes from floor 12 to 14. Anyway, a neat word but a bit difficult to slip into your next conversation.
Speaking, so to speak, next week will be our last supping of the spring season and our speaker will be our own Dick Muri, representative for the 28th district, to share with us the inside scoop on the latest legislative session in Olympia. Also, the installation for next season’s officers with a gala booze cruise in conjunction with the tall ships has been cancelled due to an underwhelming response. But…there will be an installation “Spring Fling” at the TC&GC the second week of June. Date to be finalized. Dale Hall intro’ed his father-in-law Bill Russell. Yeah, he does get tired of a reference to some other fella named Bill Russell, who happens to be a bit taller and with a better hook shot.
‘til the anon,
D. Loving
Scribe
Tuesday May 9, 2017
A full house of 40 Cascadians to hear Theresa Boyle, Sr. VP for Strategy, Marketing and Communications for Multicare. She was unable to share what one would expect to be a very polished PowerPoint presentation due to “technical difficulties” and thus gave an oral presentation of what was most likely charts and graphs. In retrospect, maybe all for the best. Those like your Luddite scribe could smile at such “technical difficulties” as we hapless and “appless’ flip phone users occasionally and smugly denigrate those with Smart phones the size of a dinner plate .They do seem to have “occasional technical difficulties.” Flip phones are just one generation removed from Campbell soup cans and grocery string, and as such are not burdened by technical difficulties. Anyway, one could sense on the part of some Cascadians a bit of indifference to what was, by definition, a marketing plug for Multicare. To be fair and balanced (yikes…did I just use that term associated with a news organization with a most definite political mien? One would have thought fingernails would have to be pulled-out using rusty Vice Grip pliers before using such a reference.) To be fair, equal time may need to be allocated as was with the Multicarians for the Franciscans.
Theresa allowed that she would not spend much time on the current environment of health care in America. Who knows what will happen? Or as Don Rumsfeld so stated: “we don’t even know what we know and we don’t know what we don’t know.” I guess that succinctly hits the nail on the thumb. The legislative future indicates significantly fewer individuals will be covered and the distinct possibility for higher costs for certain market segments. The Senate has orchestrated a committee of 13 (triskaidekaphobia??), all of which are old, are white and are men. Not probably truly reflective of the constituencies needling affordable care. But fear not, they have provided themselves with obscenely opulent health care, and oh yeah, for life. Mergers and mega conglomerates are the future. Providence-St. Josephs now own 50 hospitals, the Franciscans, 142 and $127B in assets. New participants like Kaiser Permanente announced they will spend $1B in growth plans over the next 5-10 years. Other niche segments are rapidly expanding including the” Doc in a Box” concept by Walgreens, Wal-Mart, Rite-Aid, etc. And those with really Smart phones want an electronic connection to medical care 24/7. Wag Dr. Carroll Simpson so aptly posed how they would like virtual care by virtual doctors next time they experience a non- virtual illness. Christian Science, anyone? It was an enlightening presentation on the future of big medicine. Depending on one’s affiliation to either Multicare or the Franciscans, the presentation was met with applause, with those of the latter, best described as …”tepid.”
SAVE THE DATE! Friday, June 16, 3:00-6:00 for a booze cruise with munchies on the Virginia V, view the tall ships and experience firsthand the always moving and awe-inspiring investiture of next year’s Cascade Club officers. The latter might well last 30-45 seconds. More in the near future.
Next week we will hear from Becky Newton, Economic Development Manager for Lakewood.
‘til the anon,
D. Loving
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Tuesday May 2, 2017
“Say it ain’t so.” There was Cascade last week with a speaker and the mailman didn’t bring you a newsletter! You probably haven’t been that disappointed since you were seven and waiting for the mailman to bring you your Buck Rogers Secret Decoder Ring, and when you finally received it, it was a piece of cheesy plastic and didn’t decode anything. Your scribes were AWOL last week, so sorry for the absent newsletter.
This week, a sobering presentation by Elsie Taniguchi and Cho Shimuzu about the Japanese internment camps established by FDR in 1942. The initial stage of the process was resettlement to the Puyallup Fairgrounds. The assembly center took on the ironic name of Camp Harmony. Certainly, and thankfully nothing like the German concentration camps and “Work Will Set You Free.” The Japanese were given 72 hours to report and basically allowed one suitcase. The camps were constructed in 30 days. To add insult to injury, internees often had to supply their own transportation, some paying for taxis. Our primary speaker was a young boy during the relocation. He was from a family of 12 and initially they all lived in a 20 X 20 cubicle. At that time, the Japanese, many of whom were farmers and ran dairies, provided 60-80% of the fresh fruit and vegetables supplying Pike Place Market. With 72 hours notice, livestock, food, and fortunes evaporated. Bank accounts of professionals like doctors were frozen to prevent the possibility of sending money to Japan. By the middle of ’42, 7,500 Japanese were housed in Camp Harmony awaiting permanent relocation which was to last until after the war ended. Most of the Tacoma Japanese were eventually relocated to camps in northern California. Almost 70% of those interned were American citizens. If one was 1/64th Japanese, that was considered to be Japanese. Elsie showed us a picture of a bunch of little Japanese kids in school with their hands over their hearts reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. In 1988, the US Government formally apologized to those still alive who suffered through the internment. But obviously, the lives, loves and in most cases, the well-being could and never would be restored. Elsie and Cho share this history of what did happens as a reminder of history lost. They conclude their presentation with “Lest We Forget.” Traditionally at the end of such good presentations, there is a groundswell of questions. There seemed to be a somber aura of almost embarrassment of how could this really happen in America? Without raising political bias, one might rationally admit, that we have, indeed, forgotten. The frenzy of religious and ethnic targeting has resurfaced with the current political climate in Washington.
But enough. After a long winter of doing basically nothing meritorious and satisfying self above service, we move to the always awe-inspiring installation of new club officers. This year’s being in conjunction with the tall ships. The cruise is scheduled for 6/16, the price will be c. $75 pp to include the cruise and heavy munchies. More later. Next week, we will hear from Theresa Boyle, Sr.VP. for Strategy, Marketing and Communication for Multicare.
‘til the anon,
D. Loving
Scribe
Tuesday April 18, 2017
Yet again, a speaker not to have missed. Gayle Holcom talked to us about the health insurance business. Since your scribe has one whole page to fill, I will succinctly recap the 13,000 or maybe 22,000 or possibly even the 33,000 pages of the Affordable Care Act, the Trump plan which fell off the screen and I now referred to as The Ryan/Daedalus Plan and the yet to be fully shared The Freedom Caucus Plan. In addition there may be an opportunity to explore the always benevolent and altruistic “Big Pharm.” Since the above are so easily explained, a detailed recitation of the difference between fission and fusion, and maybe even the algorithm of who are candidates to be kicked out of the friendly skies of United Airlines. Gayle started her presentation with an avowed commitment to be neither a proponent nor opponent of any specific position, but rather an honest broker of facts. Health care reform really started in 1990 with Hillary Clinton and the first Clinton administration. The blow-back by firmly entrenched and heavily moneyed special interests is a hallmark of the difficulty and complexity of making any significant changes even 25 years later. The Darth Vader always lurking in the background is the insurance industry. One of the features of the ACA is that that a max of 20% of the payments of the ACA can go to the insurance carriers and 80% must go for patient care. Though there are lots of easily identifiable provisions such as no exclusion for pre-existing conditions there are also some subtle ones such as when you go get your Big Mac attack at McDonalds, every menu item must list calories. Medicare and Medicaid are still the primary sponsors of government health care. But changes have been instituted. Medicaid is now increased from a basis of 135% of the poverty level to 200% above the poverty level. Medicare now has a provision for one physical exam per year envisioned as preventive medicine. If you haven’t already had this thorough examination, you need to schedule is about 43 seconds out of your day. The entire health care industry, whether funded by employer sponsored plans which cover almost 177,000,000 people or government programs, is now being dominated by the all-powerful hospital networks, i.e. Multi-Care and the Franciscans. The catchword is “Accountable Care” which translates into staying within one network for all of one’s medical needs. There are pros and cons and a thousand nuances to the whole health care issue. But there are some givens. We would all be overjoyed to have the programs our senators and congressmen enjoy (and for life.) Change is somewhere between extremely difficult and impossible. The Accountable Care Act is still the law of the land. Two of the biggest lobbying organizations in Washington are the pharmaceutical industry and the trial lawyers. Need one say more?
Next week, our own Rep/Republican Dick Muri will provide an update on the recently completed WA state legislative session. Once again, torches and pitchforks respectfully checked at the door.
‘Til the anon,
D. Loving
Scribe
Tuesday April 11, 2017
Good news. Our speaker, among other notable attributes, had been a long serving Washington State Patrol officer. After surveying our illustrious bunch, she didn’t acknowledge anyone nor refer to a Cascadian by name. Thus, the Groucho fake nose and glasses were not needed. Julie Meyer has retired after a long career of serving and protecting and an avowed “peakbagger.” Huh? Julie is the only woman to have climbed all 100 of the highest peaks in Washington’s Mt. Rainier National Park. Your erstwhile scribe sorta assumed that after Mt. Rainer, the height of the remaining peaks just dropped off (so to speak.) But not true. There are a great number of peaks that require prodigious skill and stamina. When Julie turned 50 (we all remember when that happened don’t we) she decided to climb the 50 highest peaks in one year. She actually climbed 76. About 70% of her climbs are day climbs with the remaining 30% requiring overnight camping to prepare for the next day’s climb. Some climbs are referred to as “scrambles” as the climb does not require ropes, pitons and all of that stuff. Though most of Julie’s climbs have been in Washington, she has climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, which is 19,341 feet above sea level. She did not mention Britton Hill. If not familiar with Britton Hill, it is the highest point in Florida, 345 feet above sea level. As an aside, if one is a believer that global warming is a hoax promulgated by the perfidious Chinese (or that the earth really is flat) one might reconsider buying Florida ocean front property as an investment for one’s grandchildren. Julies’ presentation was accompanied by some beautiful pictures of the mountains and lakes in Mt. Rainier National Park. When asked if she had ambitions to expand her horizon to other states and other nations, one got the opinion that was not in the offing. Julie was yet another reason to have cookies on Tuesdays with The Cascade Club and to hear interesting speakers who have recently been touted to be better than another club’s speakers. The name of said “other” club shall go… unnamed.
Next week we shall hear from Gayle Holcomb who will tell us about the health insurance industry. Being ever gracious, and endeavoring to never shoot the messenger, we are requesting that torches and pitchforks be left at the door.
Last but not least…parties, of course. After all, we are all about self above service. Plans are still being made for a June extravaganza associated with the Tall Ships coming to Tacoma. Also, better mark your calendars early. The Christmas Party is December 5th.
So, ‘til the anon,
D. Loving
Scribe
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
A sobering presentation by Linda Henslee discussing the implications of diseases, immunizations and travel medicine around the world. A most apropos subject as we Cascadians are a peripatetic bunch. According to Linda, there are little bad bugs that can make your trip way unpleasant, or kill you, which would certainly qualify as being way unpleasant. References to diseases such as Malaria go back over 4,000 years. If you have been lucky enough to wander the ruins of Ephesus in Turkey, made famous by Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians in the Bible, it is strange to realize this huge ruin of an advanced civilization with everything from public running water toilets to libraries and brothels is miles from the seacoast. But it once wasn’t. It was once a thriving seacoast city laid waste by the effects of the alluvial river deposits turning the coast into an ever expanding mosquito and Malaria infested swamp which spelled the ultimate demise of Ephesus. The early framers of our country to placate Southerners, agreed to move a potential future capital out of the north to a more central location, now called the District of Columbia, and once referred to as ‘That Dismal Swamp.” There are those that believe that moniker still applies to this day. Anyway, back to the pleasantries of disease ’n stuff. Though the chances of bad things getting into your body exist worldwide, primary concern should be if one is traveling to sub-Sahara Africa. Tropical and sub-tropical climates are like a Petrie Dish for growing a vast assortment of bugs that cause everything from the always present Malaria to Yellow Fever, Dengue Fever, and on and on. It is estimated that there were 214,000,000 cases of Malaria in 2016 and of which, 438,000 people died. The history of Europe and beyond, in many ways, is chronicled by disease. An example is Smallpox (thankfully eradicated in 1979 via immunization) which killed millions of people for centuries. The same for Bubonic Plague. Pox became a part of our lexicon: “a pox on you.” Hemophilia, once referred to as the Royal Disease as so much of the royalty of pre-WWI Europe inherited the gene for hemophilia. The most famous of all was the Tsarevich Alexei in Russia, then Rasputin and the eventual Russian Revolution in 1917. But such problems don’t just effect people. The most dramatic example was the Irish Potato Blight in 1848. As medicine evolves to fight diseases, so do those pesky bugs.
So what is one to do? Unpack? No. Plan ahead. Start with a visit to The Travelers Health Service which will review your history of inoculation, the itinerary of where you will be traveling and the appropriate shots and precautions to take. The visit is a mere $50 but individual shots per disease may cost from $100-$200 per shot. One would think money well spent. Also, when wandering the world and in uncertain locales given the choice, always order “water with gas” and skip the ice!
Next week, Julie Meyer, retired WA. State patrol officer, will share with us her tales of becoming a “peak bagger” (you can probably figure out what that means) as she is the only woman to have climbed all of Washington’s 100 highest peaks.
‘Til the anon,
D. Loving
Scribe
Tuesday March 28, 2017
It was a huge crowd today to hear retired Air Force officer Sean Solly and crew member tell us tales about Air Force One. In case you are an avid reader of The National Inquirer you will be disappointed that Sean quickly informed us that he would not be telling any personal tales about presidents or people who travelled on Air Force One. Your scribe warns in advance as to when you may be reading this edition of yellow journalism. That being said, it should be explained that this tome is usually only edited by a long suffering wife who proofs for spelling, syntax and grammar errors such as using a preposition to end a sentence with. Though shared with us cookie eaters in a collegial manner, Sean requested that he read the newsletter before it is released (understanding, of course the wild enthusiasm and wide circulation this document enjoys) to redact any sensitive information.
Your scribe will forgo the traditional narrative recap of the speaker’s presentation because Sean shared so many little known facts about Air Force One. Here is a laundry list of but a few: the aircraft is referred to as the Flying White house, a 4 man crew flies the airplane, a pilot, co-pilot, navigator, flight engineer, and augmented crew for longer missions, the first AF One was a Clipper that flew FDR to Casablanca during WWII, there are been several iterations and airplanes prior to the current 747-200, the 747 is not a standard 747 but a modified 747-200 version with numerous appropriate aeronautical upgrades such as different engines, wings, landing gear, etc, the Air Force Maintains two 747s which receive heavy periodic maintenance to stay modernized, an AF One airplane is ALWAYS available, the 89th Airlift Wing at Joint Base Andrews operates numerous airplanes of different models that service the Executive Staff of the Government, the current models were actually commissioned by President Reagan in 1985 who never lived to fly on one, the color scheme the now familiar blue was chosen by Jackie Kennedy and has never been changed, the airplane has NEVER been washed, it is ONLY hand cleaned, both the exterior and interior are closely inspected to ensure Presidential Quality, the interior is nice, but not ostentatious, only the crew and the President have sleeping accommodations, there is also a shower for the president, the airplane can stay aloft for approximately 12 hours and, mission timing and dependability are key, a typical arrival might be within 5 seconds of a projected ETA, there are seats for the press, the layout includes an executive suite, lavatories, conference room, office, medical facility and two full service galleys. Much more but no more space. If you weren’t there to hear even more, you shudda been there.
Next week, Linda Henslee will talk to us about diseases, immunizations and travel medicines around the world. A good primer as you plan your next sojourn to climes far and wide.
We had guests. Jim Gallinatti intro’ed wife Linda and daughter-in-law Debbie who was instrumental in arranging today’s speaker. Thanks Debbi.
Here are two links:
The Air Force official website for Air Force One.
http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/FactSheets/Display/tabid/224/Article/104588/vc-25-air-force-one.aspx
National Geographic special on the mission of Air Force One:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKRQyDsKODE
One link is the official Air Force website on Air Force One. The other link is to a YouTube video by National Geographic on the Air Force One Mission. The video is 45 minutes long. We flew the camera crew for almost a year and they had special access to film aboard the aircraft. It’s a good video of the mission.
‘Til the anon,
D. Loving Scribe
TACOMA CASCADE CLUB MINUTES OF MEETING OF Tuesday,March 21, 2017
In the 1800s, thousands of Chinese men, known as “sojourners,” came to the U.S. to work as laborers in mining and building railroads. In 1885, 800 of them were living in Tacoma, generally settling around the waterfront. Under the rationale that those men were taking jobs away from American workers, the Mayor and other of Tacoma’s civic leaders led the forcible expulsion all of those men. 600 of them fled after being ordered to leave, but 200 remained behind. On November 3,1885, the remaining 200 were forcibly expelled, leaving all their belongings behind. Their homes were burned down to assure that they would not return.
They never did. To this day, more than 130 years later, Tacoma still bears the shame of that night of infamy. Tacoma is the only port city on the west coast of the U.S. without a Chinatown.
Thanks to Bill Jackson, today’s program was presented by Larry and Theresa Hosley representing the Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation, (CRPF) a 501(c) 3) non-profit corporation. They reported on the development of the Tacoma Chinese Reconciliation Park along Tacoma’s waterfront, a place for all races to interact and celebrate cultural diversity and human commonality. To learn more of this remarkable project, go to its website, www.TacomaChinesePark.org and/or tour the park – it is inspiring and ironically relevant to events of today.
Theresa Hosely was born and educated in Taiwan and came to the US in 1979 after graduating from college. For years, she has been instrumental in the CRPF for which last year, she was awarded Tacoma’s Peace Prize. Her husband, Larry, is a native of Tacoma. His career was in education, but to Cascadians, he is perhaps better known as one of the seemingly endless number who went to high school with Dave Sheean.
COMING EVENTS
SOON, on a date and at a location to be determined, Cascade Club will hold its Spring Fling. Save the date.
June 17: The Club has chartered the famous Virginia V to cruise Commencement Bay during the Tall Ship Festival. Details will be forthcoming and only 150 guests can be accommodated. During the last festival, we were treated to a cannon battle between two of the Tall Ships. We suffered no casualties.
March 28, 2017 meeting
Speaker: Sean Solly, Command Pilot- Presidential Airlift Mission. He piloted Air Force One for Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama
April 4, 2017 meeting
Speaker: Linda Hensley, Speaking on Diseases, Immunizations and Medicine Around the World.
(Scribe’s note: a visit to her before foreign travel is a must.)
Respectfully submitted, Phil Sloan, Conscripted Scribe
Tuesday March 14, 2017
As a rule of thumb, it is a good idea to pay attention to a man with a big gun. On second thought, another rule of thumb, without making you all thumbs, it is also a good idea to pay attention to a man with a small gun. Sheriff Paul Pastor was our speaker, he was packing heat, and though armed, he should not be considered dangerous; except to bad guys. The Sheriffs Department serves 430,000 citizens of Pierce County and is in need of 72 more people. Unfortunately, skilled deputies are often forced to do civilian jobs. 2016 was the highest year nationally of police killed or injured in the line of duty. As it turned out, we munchers were in the midst of true police activity as the Sheriff was in the middle of an officer shooting. Thankfully, and not to be glib, the cop was the “shooter “and not the “shootee.” Paul said that the first thing he says to the involved cop is: “I’m glad you’re alive.” There then follows a lengthy process of investigation, potential psych evaluation, requalifying on the firing range, etc. before the officer is able to return to duty. Paul said, every shooting, regardless of how justified, has a price. Being a cop is tough, and they are in a constant state of “episodic war zones” which means one minute they may be a source of comfort to someone in distress and the next chasing down a really bad person. The range of emotion, self-control and judgement quickly swings from a” cumbiya” moment to Doc Holliday and the gunfight at the OK Corral. An example is the split second decision of when lethal force may or should be used. The official definition is to apprehend “a fleeing felon” which endangers the officer, others or an inherently dangerous person. Stealing food from a grocery store makes one a felon as does the activity of a Ted Bundy make one a felon. Possibly an over-simplistic example but illustrates an often amorphous situation. In 72% of the time when a cop had to use his gun, the other person had a gun. This excludes other potentially lethal weapons; in 1% of the time, the person was unarmed.
During Q&A, the Sheriff addressed the unbelievably complex issue of foreign immigration both legal and illegal .The simplest answer is that there is no simple answer. Pierce County is not a sanctuary jurisdiction. The Department cooperates with ICE and ICE personal but does not actively enforce Federal Administrative Law. That said, being in the U.S. illegally is not a criminal offense but a violation of Federal Administrative law much like failure to pay income tax or failure to obtain a proper forest harvesting permit. Obviously a complex, emotional, financial and political issue and one not readily solved while eating cookies at the Cascade Club Tuesday lunch.
Next week, Larry and Theresa Hosley share the history of the dramatic expulsion of Chinese from Tacoma which, as history serves me correctly, may have taken place with just one day’s notice. Another presentation not to miss. The following week we will have the retired Air Force pilot responsible for flying Air Force One for Bush and Clinton
We did have a guest. Harold Mayer intro’ed son Michael. Welcome Michael.
So you can see, ‘til the anon,
D. Loving,
Scribe
Tuesday March 7, 2017
It must be true since Savannah Kimball from the BBB told us all about scams. That means that your long lost relative from Nairobi who died leaving you $5 million and all you had to do to claim it was send a money order for a measly $10,000 to cover legal costs really didn’t exist! And to make your day even worse your order for a 100,000 shares of the IPO of Snapchat didn’t get filled. Bummer.
Savannah gave us lots to think about. The highest target group being scammed used to be those over 75 (the nerve!) That has now changed. High schoolers, who are always on their devices, and thus not left to their own devices (which may, in fact, be a good thing) and servicemen are the easiest targets. An example of the latter is the “serviceman” who is being deployed overseas and needs to sell his car ASAP. The buyer sends his money, and surprise, surprise, the money disappears and there is no car. A version of that using a young person’s name is a call to an older person from a “grandchild” who is in jail and needs money to get bailed out. A similar scam addresses those like this author who are Luddites and very modestly computer literate. Someone claiming to be from Microsoft and with the appropriate accent of someone living in Delhi says that your computer has been hacked and he has been assigned to help and they will get into your computer for a nominal fee and rectify the problem. One of the more recent ones is where the caller asks “can you hear me?” DO NOT SAY “YES” That word has been recorded and applied to something you will have “ordered”, confirmed for the record with your verbal “yes.” A similar scam is a notification thanking you for your Amazon order. Do not respond. Robo calls are unending. If there is a pause after you answer your phone, hang up. That pause is a technical activity on the part of the caller guaranteeing that your number is an active number and yours. Never return a phone call to unknown or suspicious number.
Charities are a constant generator of Robo calls. Organizations such as a sheriff’s association, etc. are not genuine. These are professional fundraiser organizations who can claim as much as 90% of the raised money as operating expenses. The “Wounded Warriors” at one time was one but has since been cleaned-up and is a deserving organization. But one must admire the scammers’ creativity. I have received a call which goes as follows: “Dave, you are hard to get a hold of. It is easier to get my kids to make their beds than actually talk to you…” That deserves an Academy Award. If one is concerned about the validity of a charity, consult the BBB and anything above a B- rating has been evaluated and approved. Maybe we should throw away our phones and go back to tomato soup cans connected by grocery string.
We had guests. Dave Sheean introduced Steve Anderson and Jim Wood who are now repeat attenders. . Next week’s speaker is the proverbial player to be named later. D.B. Cooper was invited to speak but has not replied. A speaker not to be missed is March 28. He is the retired Air Force pilot who flew Air Force One for “Dubbya” Bush and Bill Clinton. Mark your calendars!!
‘Til the anon,
D. Loving
Scribe
Tuesday February 28, 2017
Club” bidness.” The Board has approved Tom Healy for membership. Pres. Roy chaired said meeting and gleefully acknowledged that he will be leaving the exalted position as president after a very professional, and gratefully received by all, extended term in office. Unlike Papa Doc Duvalier, our presidents do not serve for life. New officers will be introduced at the upcoming Spring Fling going away party in May in anticipation of our summer hiatus. Time and place yet to be finalized but mark your busy social calendar for May 23rd. Should you want to be considered for a Board position, please contact Roy. Many new members may not know that there is an official Cascade Club of Tacoma website created and skillfully maintained by webmaster, John McGowen. The site tells a bit about the Cascade Club, current and future speakers (more on this in the 3rd half of this tome) and all newsletters, which may be reproduced and thus suitable for framing. Guest? Dave Sheean introduced Jim Wood.
Our speaker today was Debbie Freedman and she shared with us “The Forgotten Faces, Jewish History of Tacoma.” Going back to the late 1880s and through the early 20th century, Tacoma had a strong merchant community of Jews. Debbie explained that the first organized activity of a fledgling Jewish community was the establishment of a Jewish cemetery, and one was formed in 1926. Debbie through her dogged persistence was able to locate family members of previous generations long deceased, and as often as not, wonderful old photographs. In the late 1880s Pacific Avenue was the heart of the Jewish merchants in Tacoma. Lavish architecture was the hallmark of stores and office buildings. The extravagant architectural detail was often eliminated for safety reasons after the earthquake of 1949. In almost all instances, the original locations of stores and buildings have long since have changed and are now parking lots or other structures in downtown Tacoma. Debbie was able to locate and save many of the old newspaper ads and news items featuring early members of the Tacoma Jewish community.
As mentioned above and so indicated on the Cascade website, our speaker next week will be Savannah Kimball of the Better Business Bureau Northwest. Her topic will be “Top Scams that we saw in 2016.” If you were fortunate enough to have been contacted with the surprise announcement by an attorney in Nairobi that you will be inheriting five million dollars from a long lost relative and that said sum will be sent to you after you remit the modest amount of $15,000 to cover legal fees (which you promptly did.) One might safely suggest you need not any longer await the mailman for your $5 million.
Last week’s newsletter also mentioned the speaker scheduled for March 28, with an assortment obfuscating hints as to who it will be. It’s a he, retired military, while active, he was a pilot, he flew an older airplane that was famous it its own right, that airplane still exists and it is a 747. If by now you know the answer, at next week’s luncheon, you may interrupt Pres. Roy’s comments with your guess. If correct, there may be an extremely valuable prize; but then again, there may not. The game is still afoot.
‘til the anon,
D. Loving
Scribe
Tuesday February 21, 2017
As is now de rigeur (how continental!) we had guests today. Dave Sheean seemingly has an inexhaustible supply of former schoolmates from pre-school, nursery school, grade school, high school and reform school. So far we have avoided the latter. Dave introduced Steve Anderson and “a player to be named later” (in other words, I don’t have his name) who have now visited the prerequisite number of times to satisfy the stringent conditions to be considered for membership. Only becoming a Cabinet member may be easier. Anyway, they have signed the pledge and on their swift and appointed rounds to becoming a Cascadian. There are still a few security and background checks to be made before we give them the secret handshake …oops, wait, we don’t have a secret handshake. They will, however, promptly receive a membership dues invoice instead.
Retired Tacoma Mayor and historian Bill Baarsma was our speaker. He has visited with us often enough to qualify for membership. His topic was the history of sport in Tacoma going all the way back to the early teens (not this century…last century.) In addition to being the President of the Tacoma Historical Society, it seemed there is a strong association with the UPS Loggers. Bill’s first sports recap was a game played in the early teens between Pacific Lutheran College and Gonzaga. PLC had an enrollment of only 500 students and didn’t even have a practice field. It was a close game with the Catholics beating the Lutherans 16-13. The big event of the era was the opening of Tacoma Stadium in 1910 which could seat 40,000 people. It was the only such stadium in the entire country. It was the site of famous football games with teams from around the country. The first game USC played outside of California was in The City of Destiny. Teams as far away as Penn State came to Tacoma. Appreciating the travel time from State College, PA (and that really was an “away game”) by train all the way to Tacoma, WA illustrated the sheer dominance of Tacoma as a sports mecca. Penn State played WSU in the Evergreen Bowl. Sorry, I don’t recall who won so let’s just assume WSU. In 1925, plans were underway to make the stadium doomed. Nothing developed and the earthquake of 1948 so damaged the stadium that made the facility unrepairable. It was later razed. Major sports then moved further north to some other city as professional sports captured the market.
Next week, Debi Freeman will present “Forgotten Faces, Jewish History of Tacoma.” This is especially timely in light of the recent deplorable eruption of anti-Semitism.
Last week I suggested Cascadians should most definitely circle March 28 as a luncheon not to be missed. The speaker will be a pilot and he (therefore eliminating Amelia Earhart) was a colonel in the service, now retired, and responsible for flying a rather old but famous airplane. More obfuscation may be necessary in future newsletters but all of this makes the game of discovery more challenging and interesting. The games afoot!
‘Til the anon,
D. Loving
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Tuesday February 14, 2017
Our speakers are always informative and also are becoming more and more varied. Just another reason to spend your lunch hour (as if you really have an hour for lunch) with the Cascade Club of Tacoma. Today was no exception. Our speaker was John Scraggs, ship’s pilot, who is responsible for bringing giant container ships safely thru Puget Sound to the Port of Tacoma. The engaging Brit had a Show and Tell starting with live action footage of a pilot climbing up a 30 foot swinging rope ladder clinging to the side of a massive container ship. The presentation was accompanied by the gear he wears as a pilot. As may occasionally be the case, the elevator up to the ship’s bridge may not always work which requires an additional climb of seven flights of stairs. The trip he shared with us started in Port Angeles and took 6 hours to reach the Port of Tacoma. Once on the bridge his official announcement is “I have the con.” The captain still is responsible for the crew but the pilot is solely responsible for all navigation. The captain may retire from the bridge. Though English is the official language there was an inference after the declaration of “I have the con” and the appropriate response of “yes, pilot” additional communication might be very minimal. The cruising speed, assuming good conditions, is a substantial 18 knots. At that speed, it will take 5 miles to stop the ship. The fastest way to stop forward momentum, assuming navigable water, is hard a port or hard a starboard which results in a 90 degree turn and that would still take ½ mile. Due to the mass of the ship and containers, the effect is the same as 100,000 square feet of sail or 90,000 tons of force. During his presentation using nautical terms, he asked if anyone had a boat. Lots of hands were raised, and one wag, to the amusement of all, answered “yes” and would he like to buy it? The presentation included video of a small pleasure craft racing to cross in front of the bow of this behemoth traveling at 18 knots. It made it. The unfathomable question is the same as to why people race trains at a railroad crossing. One would hope they appreciate that the tie does not go to the runner as in baseball. Becoming an approved pilot is an arduous project, as is to be expected. There are written and oral exams, simulation training, 2 years of bridge training and then a 5 year additional process to be certified to pilot. There are only 52 currently certified pilots.
Next week Mayor Bill Baarsma on the history of sports in Tacoma. This is a special alert to definitely SAVE MARCH 28 for a fantastic presentation by yet another pilot. More later. This will be an ideal time to invite guests and the “little woman” to join our merry band for lunch. Since the word “he” was used as the pilot that eliminates Amelia Earhart. Stay tuned for more hints next week!
‘Til the anon,
D. Loving
Scribe
Tuesday February 7, 2017
Huummm. Sometimes you just gotta be there to understand. Our speaker today was Greg Alderate and he started his PowerPoint presentation about home solar panels with pictures of deep space. They included the Milky Way and galaxies far, far away. Obi-wan Kenobi and Princess Leia were not mentioned. We then proceeded to a brief analysis of the always scintillating Periodic Table of Elements. This chart is probably carefully hanging in your garage along with your 1976 poster of Farrah Fawcett. I must admit that your occasionally dutiful scribe became a bit flummoxed as we proceeded into the realm of the atom and in turn, protons, neutrons and electrons which, then in-turn, made me feel like a moron. I scribbled the best I could in fear of the always dreaded pop quiz. There was none. Anyway, it seems that (and I must candidly proclaim that the accuracy of the following may be totally incorrect and/or based on alternative facts) the sun sends stuff like protons or neutrons, or something, again supported by a beautiful slide of the sun doing same, which travel to earth and then collected by the solar panels now perched atop your roof. The chance of this explanation being remotely accurate is slim to none and Slim left town. But wait, thee who actually understand this whole concept, don’t the protons and neutrons fight each other? Well, of course they do! It is this battle of atoms that creates energy. But here is the easy part. As you well know, this energy creates a Direct Current which, the wizardry of which I shall not bore you, using a gizmo then converts the Direct Current into Alternating Current. With me so far? OK. Now one might ask what happens when there is no sun, like at night? I don’t want to mislead anyone or leave you in the dark, so to speak. Let there be light is not a Biblical commandment. No light, no energy… so that lucky ‘ole sun that has nuthin’ to do but roll around heaven all day seems to be quite important. But wait, as they say on those shouting TV infomercials, there is yet another gizmo that can be purchased that stores the energy to be used when the sun is not out. There you have it; from a galaxy far, far away to you in your Barcalounger watching the Food Channel. Are solar panels cost efficient? The payout may be 10 years, or more. They are used by people who want to be good stewards of our earth, who believe that the earth truly is warming and the Polar Ice Cap truly is melting despite the blather of bloviating deniers.
.Next week, a presentation not to be missed. Our speaker will be Capt. John Scraggs who is a Puget Sound Shipping Pilot. We learned at our recent field trip to the Port that every ship coming into the Port is under the control of a Pilot. Those in attendance watched in awe as a giant container ship was nuzzled into the dock by the pilot.
We had guests which has now become de rigeur. Jim Rooks introduced Dr. Ron Taylor and recent presenter Bob Weyrick intro’ed David (Mets??) Ed. note: please provide the Scribe with appropriate info on guests. Thanks.
So, ‘til the anon,
D. Loving,
Scribe
Tuesday January, 31, 2017
All of our speakers are good, just as all of the children who live in Lake Wobegon are above average. But there are times you are just dang proud. Today we heard a presentation by Andrea Edman, granddaughter of Cascadian Tal. She shared her experiences of her two years in Cambodia in the Peace Corps. It seems we are constantly deluged with a spirit crushing bombardment of negative news and divisiveness. Here is a delightful person who gave up twitter and McDonalds to spend two years of her young life in a definitely teeny third world hamlet to teach a horde of earnest and anxious kids to speak English. That was her job. Along the way, she taught them everything from personal hygiene to self-reliance. If this was 75 years ago, she might have been a Norman Rockwell cover of The Saturday Evening Post. She personifies the American spirit of helping and sharing.
She began her presentation by introducing herself in the native language of Cambodia, Khmer. I, of course, am fluent in same and was most impressed with her accent. Khmer has an alphabet of almost 100 letters, and to those of you not well versed in Khmer, 97 of them sound the same. Her group of 70 who started the program spent the first 3 months in an intense crash course to learn the language. In her specific group of 25, only 10 remained at the end of the two year program. The ages ran from 23 (Andrea) to 56 and included 4 married couples. At the end of her 3 month course, she passed a proficiency test and was dropped-off in a tiny hamlet to join her host family…who didn’t speak English. The village was on a dirt road, as are almost all roads, and her host did have a luxury of indoor plumbing. The host family was a big one as is the case in most the small villages surrounded by a large extended family of aunts, uncles and lots and lots of cousins. The house faced extensive rice fields which were the main food source for all. The only source of supply for goods was a small market of about 10 stalls which opened once a week for several hours. Within a 10km radius, there were 5 pagodas. 90 % of the population is Buddhist. Her students were delighted she was there, all 1,000 of them. They went to school in clean uniforms from 7:00 -11:00 AM and 2:00-5:00PM Monday thru Saturday. This schedule was often interrupted during the rainy season when the dirt roads, floors, etc. turned to knee deep rivers of water and mud. Though not in her job description, many things did evolve, including hygiene and cleanliness. The school had 3 bathrooms for 1,000 students and they were only for the girls. I need not elaborate. An Environmental Club was started by the students to police trash and address the long term effects of a changing environment including deforestation. Conditions were challenging. The average temperature was 97 degrees as was the humidity. Andrea was more than proud of her accomplishments, of what she and the Peace Corps were doing, and proud to be an American. Maybe we should all take note because there is no longer a Saturday Evening Post .
Club “bidness.” We have 3 new members: Rick Thomas, Robert Weyrick and Peter Marsh. We also had one guest; long time Gyrette/Cascadienne Helen Pilkey joined us to hear Andrea’s presentation. Just a reminder. Ladies are ALWAYS welcome. It was adopted by the Board that widows of previous members will be the GUESTS of the Club at the Spring Fling and Christmas Party to enjoy the comradery of fellow members.
Next week, we will hear from Greg Alderate about home solar power. Is that an oxymoron in The Great Northwest?
‘til the anon,
D. Loving
Scribe
Tuesday January 24, 2017
Boy, did we have guests today; a good speaker and a field trip to boot. Chuck Hellar introduced wife Sue, Steve Williams did same (I don’t mean he introduced Chuck’s wife) wife Barbara, Rich Wall intro’ed wife Sandy, Dugald, did same for wife Norita and last, but certainly not least, Cascadian Bob Cammarano introduced Cascadienne Stacia. Whew, I have typed so much my finger is worn out.
Our speaker today was Port Commissioner (of 20 years) Connie Bacon who also most graciously arranged an exclusive tour (thus the reason for so many guests) of the Port. To start with, there have been significant changes not only to the Port but the entire shipping industry. The ramifications on the 2008 worldwide recession are still being felt. The surviving shipping companies are still hemorrhaging red ink even after a dramatic consolidation of the industry itself. The major players have gone from 16 to 4, and as said, they are still losing money by the bucket full. Ships were literally stranded at sea as their parent company went bankrupt; Chapter 7, not reorganizing under the protection of Chapter 11. Comparable conditions affected ports everywhere with excess capacity. To address the problem, The Port of Seattle and the Port of Tacoma combined into a new entity called The Northwest Seaport Alliance. There is equal representation by both parties, each having 5 votes with a minimum of 3 from each side to enact any decision. The new concept is working very well. The net effect, however, is a restructuring of the Port of Tacoma’s $100M revenue stream which now directs $80M to the combined Alliance. The remaining $20M is a result of the direct operational activities unique to the Port such as real estate development. Fortunately, both the union and the tribe are supportive of the new structure. It is a dramatic era not only for the Port of Tacoma, but the entire industry.
The Port is a crucial component to the economy of Tacoma and Pierce County. The Port controls 2,700 acres, and supports directly and indirectly, over 29,000 jobs…and well-paying jobs. The highest can compare with a well-trained (and, indeed, we most definitely want them well-trained) brain surgeon. In 2013, the Port handled 1.9 million containers. The longshoremen’s union last year had a significant impact on all of the American west coast ports. The “work action” months long slowdown was a victory for the union, but possibly a Pyrrhic victory. The competitor to the north, those pesky Canadians, eh, at the Port of Vancouver, were even more aggressive plus they are financially supported by the Canadian government. Goods are loaded onto trains of the…wait…the Canadian Pacific RR…wait… which is in turn, supported by…the Canadian government. Tough competition. Our tour saw ships unloading and a giant container ship being guided into place by 3 tugboats. It was but another wonderfully entertaining Cascade Club field trip with many thanks to Connie Bacon and her staff and Dr. Dick Bowe, trip organizer and underwriter of the bus if we didn’t have enough participants to pay for the bus. Luckily, we did. Thanks to all.
Next week, a totally different presentation. Andrea Edman, granddaughter of long time Cascadian Tal, will share with us her experiences of two years in the Peace Corps in Cambodia.
‘Til the anon,
D. Loving
Scribe
Tuesday January 17, 2017
Freebies…always a good motivator. We had freebies today at The Cascade Club of Tacoma.
We also had guests. John McGowen introduced his son-in-law Doug Wiewel. Tal Edmonds intro’ed his son Thomas. Jurgen Huck did same for fallen away Gyro Dave Betz who has seen the light and been saved and morphing from the “other more zealous organization” back to us… ”The Cascade Club of Tacoma.” He has fulfilled the very stringent requirements for joining and has expressed a desire to renew a request for membership. I personally shared the exhaustive procedure required for membership which is just short of that to become a Trump cabinet member… your check has to clear by at least the third time through.
Mike Jones introduced our speaker, Steve O’Neil owner and President of Puget Sound Beverage. Unfortunately the beverage, of which the freebies were offered, was not one that required aging in casks or various malts. The beverage was coffee. It is believed that coffee as a beverage was first discovered in the 10th century. It was the Dutch who were great traders and explorers during the 16th century who exposed the rest of the world to the drink and the ability to grow coffee in many different climates and countries. But all coffee plants regardless of the country where grown, grow between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. An average coffee plant takes a number of years before it even starts to produce beans and then only 1 to 3 pounds of beans per year. Brazil is the largest producer of coffee beans in the world followed, surprisingly, by Viet Nam. Coffee is a worldwide commodity and surpassed only by oil as a traded commodity. Starbucks, which was not actually started by Howard Schultz, has created the market for quality coffee, replacing ghastly tasting stuff such as Instant Nescafe’. Over time it has acquired other quality brands like Seattle’s Best Coffee. Starbucks gets about 80 cups of coffee from one pound of ground beans and depending on the variable of market price per pound, the cost per cup is measured in pennies. That, coupled with the fact that there are now only about a zillion Starbucks stores, tells you why you shoulda bought Starbucks stock about 30 years ago. Alas, once again; just missed out by a hair. Anyway, Steve offered 3 samples of various coffees which were readily sampled and enjoyed. A nice taste, so to speak, for a ” Show and Tell.”
Next week, Connie Bacon will tell us all about the port followed by a guided tour of the port. A bus will leave The TC&GC at 1:00 returning c. 2:30. If you haven’t already confirmed your desire to go on the fieldtrip and would like to so, please contact Dick Bowe.
‘Til the anon,
D. Loving
Scribe
Tuesday January 10, 2017
The boys are back. Vacation is over and everybody was in his seat when the bell rang. We didn’t have a speaker but at least we didn’t have to write the accursed 2 page paper “How I spent my vacation.” So, after some toing and froing, Pres. Roy started the 2017 Cascade Club of Tacoma winter season. Though no speaker, we did have a guest. Gen. Harrison introduced Brig. General (ret.) Oscar Helman. Previous speaker who was so taken by the expansive assortment of good works we obviously never have done nor will do has chosen to cast his lot to become a full-fledged card carrying (that is if we ever actually get cards) Cascadian. Robert Weyrich, President and founder of Network Tacoma has signed the pledge.
Next week we will have a speaker that java junkies should not miss. Steve O’Brien, owner of the commercial coffee company Puget Sound Beveridge will not only be telling us about the magical beans but allegedly supplying tasting samples. The following week we will have a field trip. Connie Bacon, Cascadienne of Cascadian Al Bacon and head of the Tacoma Port Commission, will be our lunch time speaker. But…following her presentation, we will have a guided tour of the port. A bus will be provided and will leave the Club at 1:00 and return about 2:30. This is a great opportunity to expose your Cascadienne and potential new members to what we do. The price per person for the bus is a measly $15. Please be prepared to confirm with Dick Bowe your intention to attend and pay the $15pp. A consent letter from a parent or guardian is not necessary. Such a letter from a parent would be a bit creepy.
Alas, no speaker today, but not to worry. Brother Jim Gallinatti rose to save the day from an assortment of possibly dubious jokes. Since we are all readers, why not share personal recommendations. Here are but a few that your occasionally dutiful scribe could remember accompanied by a brief review… if remembered. “Indestructible”… ‘don’t remember. “The Carbon Age”…a scientific examination of the threat of global warming without any political spin, “The Righteous Mind”…an in-depth examination of the basis for liberal and conservative ideologies. This 500 page tome, at this scribe’s reading pace, would dovetail nicely as I would finish just in time to turn on the Detroit Lions football game Thanksgiving Day. “Shoe Dog”…an autobiography by Phil Knight. By now you can tell we are an erudite bunch with ne’er a James Patterson in sight, “Rogue Hero” and “Secret State”…maybe WWII. “A Gentleman in Moscow”… a delightful read for everyone. “The Hardy Boys and the Secret Cave”…OK, I just made that up for the heck of it. By now ‘tis obvious we are indeed learned and like the children in Lake Wobegon, “all above average.”
‘Til the anon,
D. Loving
Scribe
Tuesday December 13, 2016
It’s December 6th.
Another big crowd and guests. But first, Club bidness. Next Tuesday is the annual wine Christmas lunch. We’re talkin’ wine that comes in a bottle with a real cork. No way would we insult your sophisticated pallet with some swill that comes in a box. A bit of the grape is traditionally accompanied by a varied assortment of tasteful jokes. This will be the last luncheon until after Christmas, reconvening January 10, 2017. Everett Cooper introduced last week’s speaker Robert Weyrich who was so dazzled by our presence that he wants to join our merry band of ne’er do wells. Rich wall rose, no wait, leapt/leaped to his feet to introduce Cascadienne Sandy (OK, maybe “leapt/leaped” is a bit of backing and filling, but we were delighted she was there. Ed. note: “Leapt” and “leaped” are both correct. “wept” is but “weeped” is not correct. English is a strange language.) Rich was also the provider and introducer of our speaker.
After retiring from a decorated career in the Army, Rick Thomas spent 8 years working as the head of security for the massive Grossberg mining operation owned by Freeport McMoRan located in Indonesia. Much of Rick’s presentation was describing the scope and complexity of the operation. So, the next time you are on “Jeopardy” and it is the final question and you are facing Ken Jennings and the question is “Facts about Indonesia”, you will be in like a bandit. Indonesia is the 4th most populace country in the world with 255 million people. It has the most Muslims of any country in the world with 83% of the population being Muslim. Luckily, it is a very tolerant reflection of Islam, but like other Muslim countries, there is an element of a more radical Islam. The country is really an archipelago consisting of 17,000 islands the scope of which is broader than the width of the U.S. There are 300 ethnic groups, many with separate dialects, but there is one lingua franca of an Indonesian language. The country was colonized by the Dutch, and after WWII became independent. Unlike so many other countries, mainly in Africa, where the first democratic election was also the last, Indonesia has enjoyed a long history of stability. The mining operation has 25,000 Indonesian employees. Creating the $8B. operation was an engineering marvel as the actual mine is 75 miles through mountains and jungles. In turn, millions of tons of material had to be brought back down the mountain to be processed and transported to a newly constructed deep water harbor. At the same time, everything from airports to hospitals were being constructed… and, of course, a golf course. Fair warning. If one occasionally wings a ball OB, don’t look for the ball. There are 6 species of very poisonous snakes. I don’t know the difference between “poisonous” and “very poisonous”, but suspect the outcome is the same. A local rule would be a free drop from a snake. I, for one, think there should be our local rule for a free drop if a large Douglas fir happens to be in front of your ball. Unique security problems did arise for Rick. For example to reduce theft, areas were contained in a chain link fence, which lasted until the fence was stolen. Inter-tribal conflict was occasionally accompanied with bodily harm by spears and bow and arrows. Good news, the head hunters were gone. Oh, by the way, you just beat Ken Jennings,
If you won’t be wine’ing next week at the wine lunch, no whining. English truly is a strange language.
‘Til the anon and best wished for a Merry Christmas and a Healthy, Happy and Prosperous New Year.
D. Loving
Scribe
P.S. December 6th is the date of NEXT YEAR’S CHRISTMAS PARTY.
Tuesday December 6, 2016
The Cascade Christmas Party was wonderful. If you coudda been there and weren’t, you shoudda. And if you woudda been there but couldn’t, plan on next year. I appreciate that your busy social calendar fills up quickly so we will announce the date for next year in the very near future.
“Yes, Virginia, you can do well and do good.” Our speaker today was Robert Weyrich, founder and President of Network Tacoma. Network Tacoma is a faith based organization, but not a church nor church affiliated. It is an organization designed to help families, primarily who have children, who with God’s help, will now be able to help themselves. The Network has ten transitional housing units and twenty-two permanent low-income apartments. At any given time, Network has about 100 people living in the housing units. But there are rules. There are no freebies. The rules are easy, yet hard; no drugs. no alcohol, keep a clean property, pay rent and above all, accountability. Paying rent to a homeless or jobless person seems like an anomaly. Paying rent, though it may be modest, instills that sense of responsibility and accountability. The rent may be as low as $100 a month for a two bedroom apartment. Once a person gets a job, it may increase to $475. A fundamental component of that job income is that “you must pay yourself first.” Before any money is spent, a savings account is started and a modest amount is contributed each month. The Network helps each family individually and tailors assistance to their specific needs. They might include day care, transportation (even buying a car), food, furniture, household goods, even prepping interviewing skills. The ultimate goal is to secure families who are sincere and are willing to work towards a path of self-sufficiency. The agency since its’ inception in 1990, has helped over 1,500 families with a 70% success rate. One goal is to eventually get families who qualify into home ownership. But even the simplest of tasks requires a mentoring process. Something as simple and mundane as mowing grass is totally alien. The Network has 5 fulltime staff, 5 part-time employees plus volunteers, which one might imagine, are always welcome. The latter category is always in need of skilled labor. Food bank donations, furniture, household goods and clothing always in great demand. So you see, you can do well by doing good.
Next week, as is to be expected, another interesting speaker; Col. Rick Thomas (ret.). Col. Thomas is the former 1st Special Forces Group Commander. He is a fellow of the JFK School of Government at Harvard. His career has required him to work closely with the DoD, Department of Homeland Security and the CIA. As the trite saying goes, if I tell you anything more, I will have to kill you. Rick has been responsible for one of the largest gold mining operations in Indonesia and speaks Indonesian, as of course, do I.
So, ‘til the anon,
D. Loving
Scribe
Note that there was no meeting on Tuesday Nov 29 because the Christmas Party was Thursday Dec 1.
Tuesday November 22, 2016
If you get this newsletter before Thanksgiving it means that neither snow nor rain not heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from swift completion of their appointed rounds. As you might justifiably suppose, I did not coin those words. But it does mean you have an excellent mail person. Happy Thanksgiving. If you received this AFTER Thanksgiving and weren’t involved in hand to hand fighting and survived Black Friday, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Last call! You may be familiar with the song by The Eagles called “The Hotel California” where you can check in any time you want but you can never check out. Same now holds with the gala Cascade Club Christmas Party, Thursday, December 1st. Co-Chairman Rick Carr has given the Country Club a head count. We will still be able to increase the number, but the Cascade Club has made a guaranteed financial commitment. We can go up, but not go down, ergo, the Hotel California where you can still check in but never check out. So, if you would like to participate in a long standing Gyro/Cascade Club tradition, please call me as Rick will be out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday. Also, if you have sent Rick your check but have not indicated your choice of the three possible entrees, please email Rick ASAP. Thank you. Next week, no formal Cascade Club meeting and speaker as the Christmas Party is the same week. It is rumored, of course, that there may well be a Tuesday next week which assumes that a hardy crew of Cascadians just possibly, may convene an ad hoc meeting in the Country Club bar; same time, same station.
We were indeed fortunate to have a number of Cascadiennes joining their respective Cascadians to hear from Sarah Ioannides, Music Director of Symphony Tacoma. The Symphony under the leadership of Sarah supplemented by strong community support is doing quite well whereas symphonies across the country like Ft. Wayne, Minneapolis and even Philadelphia are struggling or not surviving. To increase attendance and generate more participation, the Symphony has scheduled two performances in Gig Harbor. Sarah is both a Fulbright Scholar as well as a graduate of Julliard. We are indeed fortunate to have her and Symphony Tacoma as a vibrant part of our community.
NO Cascade meeting next week. But the following week, December 6th. Robert Weyrick, founder and President of Network Tacoma will be our speaker.
So, ‘til the anon,
D. Loving
Scribe
Tuesday November15, 2016
Next week is Thanksgiving. Is that really possible? I just put away the left-over 4th of July sparklers. But, ‘tis true. It is also true that there will be a Tuesday next week and that means a Cascade Club get together. Not only just another meeting, but another not to miss speaker, Sarah Ioannides, conductor of Symphony Tacoma. This Oxford educated, multi-talented, multi-lingual guest has visited with us before and we are delighted at the return engagement. This would be a perfect opportunity for Cascadians to entice their Cascadiennes to join us for lunch and cookies and dispel the aura of a rowdy bunch of testosterone addled ne’er do wells. But forewarned is forearmed. If you don’t get there early, you won’t get a seat. Almost every Tuesday is SRO with an impromptu game of Musical Chairs.
The Christmas Party is Thursday, December 1st. If you haven’t already sent your check to Rick Carr, I repeat…RICK CARR…you need to hurry. We need to give the Country Club an initial headcount by November 25th. Space is limited. As a reminder, the no-host bar opens at 6:00 with passed hors ’d’oeurves, a luxurious dinner and wine starting at 7:00 followed by dancing ‘til dawn (OK, that is probably not really going to happen, but dancing anyway.) The attire is black tie optional. The price is a bargain at twice the price $75PP or clever enough $150 per couple. Now, here is the hard part. You need to tell Rick what you would like for your entrée. In addition to an apple, pecan and blue cheese salad, herb roasted Red Skin potatoes, a dessert buffet, and of course your choice of red or white wine, you have an entree choice of slow-roasted prime rib with horseradish cream and au jus, Chicken Cordon Bleu or filet of Salmon with Beurre Blanc sauce. A weighty decision, indeed. If you have already sent your check to Rick, please email him your entrée choices. Thanks. This would also be an ideal opportunity to bring a guest to a Cascade Club function.
Our speaker today was Robert Allen of the Pierce County Board of Development. The function of the Board is multi-faceted. It includes such varied elements as trying to encourage new or existing businesses to locate in Pierce County, to retain and possibly retrain businesses currently located in Pierce County, procedures and processes to bid for government contracts, financial support such as bridge financing and as Allen so aptly noted: “other duties as assigned.” Here is an example as to the latter; the situation where an individual is denied employment due to a positive drug test for marijuana since weed is legal. A major area of development in the county is Chambers Bay. There is a new restaurant hopefully being opened in 2018 and still significant discussions for a resort hotel in the future making Chambers Bay a destination resort. The USGA is scheduling the 2019 Four Ball Amateur at Chambers Bay. Future other tournaments are being discussed. If ESPN is again the broadcaster, one should remind them that the iconic Space Needle is, in actuality, located in that other town to the north, not Tacoma. Oh well.
We had a guest. Harold Mayer introduced son Michael who has been with us before. Welcome back.
‘Til the anon,
D.Loving
Scribe
TACOMA CASCADE CLUB MINUTES OF MEETING OF NOVEMBER 8, 2016
Our speaker was prominent attorney Joe Quinn. Joe has practiced municipal law since 1976, so long that he had several friends, and probably a few enemies, in the audience. On this election day, Joe told us of his personal experiences in preparing to and arguing a case years ago as the sole attorney for the City of Tacoma before the United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS.) His topic was especially timely because President Trump will have a profound impact on the future of our Supreme Court. Rather than giving us a lecture on constitutional law, he told us how he was groomed to present the case, including learning the idiosyncrasies of the 9 Justices, such as Warren Burger’s dislike of button down collars.
SCOTUS accepted the case to resolve the split in holdings amongst 4 of the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal on the issue of whether grantees of CETA grants had to forfeit portions of their grants if they failed to file the requisite documents within the statutory deadlines. Not all cases are profound, but appearing before the court is always intimidating because it is so steeped in tradition that an advocate can lose credibility by a simple breach of the etiquette. Joe read several books to learn how to address the Justices, where to stand, and how to be duly deferential. For a nominal fee, a prominent D.C. firm assisted Joe in preparing, including editing his argument and having him present his case to a mock panel.
Joe told us that he felt the argument went well. He duly impressed his then 4 year old son who twice shouted, before being removed, “That’s my Daddy!” Joe was vague about the final ruling of the court, but we think he lost because, in lawyerlike fashion, he told us that the court’s holding clarified the law.
COMING EVENTS:
November 15: Robert Allen- Pierce County Board of Development
November 29: NO MEETING
December 1: The Annual Formal Christmas Dinner Dance at the Country Club – provided at least 60 attendees sign up and pay by valid check payable to Tacoma Cascade Club in advance by November 25 for $75.00 per attendee ($150.00 per couple) to Rick Carr at 7910 No. 8th Street, Tacoma, 98406. The entrée choices will be in next week’s newsletter.
WARNING The Dinner Dance will be cancelled if at least 60 people haven’t paid by November 25!!
Respectfully submitted,
Phil Sloan,
conscripted scribe.
November 1, 2016
I forget which Supreme Court Justice long ago said, briefly paraphrased, “I can’t define pornography but I know it when I see it.” I would propose the same is true for the character of a person…hard to define but easily recognized. It was most evident today with the presentation by General Wallace Turner, Commander of the Army National Guard in Washington; a patriot and a manager, with a quiet intellect that shows. One could go on and on to the point of blather about aura and respect and what it means to be of service to America. All one needs is to listen and to be around a person like General Turner.
General Turner comes from a long line of Turners who graduated from the Citadel. As his father so adroitly said to his son upon his finishing high school: “You can go to any college you want, but my checks are going to the Citadel.” ‘ Seems pretty straight forward to me. Thus, a military career in both the regular army and culminating in his role with The National Guard. The Guard today, as the ad slogan goes, is not like your father’s Buick. It is far from the much maligned “Weekend Warriors” of the past. When the nation goes to war, the Guard goes to war. At one point, over 600 Guardsman were deployed in the Middle East, now down to less than 200. Unfortunately, there was a Guardsman KIA. At home the Guard adopts an endless assortment of responsibilities. As the General said, in Washington, rivers flood in the winter and forests burn in the summer. There are a great number of specialties within the Guards’ organizational structure. One such is Search and Rescue. There is an ongoing search for a hiker lost in the mountains as he is trekking The Pacific Trail. In the Oso mud slide disaster, though it took a 50 man team many weeks and very difficult working conditions, 46 of the 47 missing persons, were located and recovered. Supplemental support ranged all the way from mental health and crisis support to chaplain teams. When the Guard responds to emergencies within the state, the state picks up the tab. When it is a national emergency such as Hurricane Katrina or deployments to Iraq, the Federal government picks up the tab. What we probably didn’t know is that the General in charge of the Guard is a state employee and serves at the pleasure of the Governor. We sincerely trust that relationship will continue. Character is hard to define, but we know it when we see it.
The Chili Party is on; food, fun and football. Come on, and what more could one ask, and only $15pp, Saturday November 12, 4:00 the bar opens, 5:00 eats , all and more at the TC&GC. Email dloving1@comcast.net if not already committed. New member Dr. Jay Winemiller sure to be there.
Next week, Joseph F. (could one suppose the “F” possibly is “Francis??) Quinn, Attorney at Law, who has argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. His topic will be “Shrouded in Secrecy, Peeling back the Curtain of the Supreme Court.” Is behind the curtain not the abode of the Great Oz? Best be there next week to find out.
‘Til the anon,
D. Loving
Scribe
Tuesday October 25, 2016
There is an episode in Seinfeld where Jerry is pitching a potential new program about “Nothing.” We Casadians are not uncomfortable with “nothing.” There is a problem in doing nothing in that it is difficult to know when one is finished doing nothing. But we do do something; we have lunch, we have speakers. A sister organization does all kinds of good stuff and they have a motto: “Service above Self.” We, of course, don’t have a motto, as is to be expected, but if we did, it might well be “Self above Service.” We don’t sell light bulbs or have raffles, but we do have wonderful guest speakers and last week we learned about self-administered penis injections (yikes, you may probably never want to hear those words again.) Oh yeah…we also have parties. A long tradition of Cascade/nee Gyro is the Fall Chili Party. The tradition continues: Saturday, November 12th, place, TC&GC, no-host bar (of course- last hosted bar had Treasurer Rick Carr almost living out of his car) opens at 4:00, food at 5:00, Caesar salad, 2 kinds of chili, same with corn bread muffins, same with desserts, tea and coffee for the ridiculously low price of $15pp or cleverly enough by half, $30 per couple. We will of course have TVs tuned to various football games should one be following the Ducks, Beavers, Cougs, Huskies, The Little Sisters of Charity, etc. The mention of yet more football may elicit a Cascadienne eye roll and may elicit a desire for more info on the aforementioned ED penis injections (OK ,OK, I said “probably.”) .Assuming all will be coming, please email dloving1@comcast.net confirmation by NOVEMBER 9th !
But wait, as they say on those low budget TV infomercials, there’s even more! Act quickly! Thursday December 1st is the annual (duh) Christmas Party. For those new members who we are delighted to have joined our merry band, it is a wonderful affair. The Club is decked out in its’ Christmas finest as are the guests. It is Black Tie optional (brown wing tips and white socks are not) with a delicious dinner, wine, dessert bar and dancing. There will be a choice of entrees preceded by a no-host bar and passed appetizers. The price is yet to be finalized but should be c. $150 per couple. More later. We will be limited to about 30-32 couples. So, plan ahead and save the date. The last bit of Club “bidness” is yet another new member: Peter Marsh.
Chuck Hellar introduced our speaker Calvin Goings, Regional Director of the Small Business Administration. The Administration focuses on three things: counseling, capital and contracts. 2/3 of all new jobs are in small businesses. There is no specific employee head count to be considered a small business as it varies by category, i.e. food service, retail, etc. Generally, there should be fewer than 500 employees. With active counseling, the survival rate of a new business is 70%, which is much higher than the national average. The SBA does not make loans. What it does do is guarantee the loan, usually in the area of $50K to $5M.In the last seven years, the SBA has guaranteed over $28 billion. The SBA has an assortment of preferred SBA candidate categories including minorities, immigrants, veterans, and what may be of interest to us Cascadians, the previously incarcerated. The total default rate of the program is less than 5%. The federal budget for the SBA is a miniscule, by Federal standards, $900M . All in all, a very good return on your tax dollar.
Next week, General Wally Turner of the Washington State National Guard will be our speaker. So be there…and that’s an order!
‘Til the anon.
D. Loving
Scribe
Tuesday October 18, 2016
“… there is also the option of a self-injected shot right into the penis…” Yiiiikes! That is an image one does not want to envision while eating cookies at “Tuesdays With Cascade Club.” To say the very least, ‘tis cringe worthy and causes one to involuntarily cross one’s knees. If nothing else, the ‘ole self injected (I’ll spare the rest) might convince one to take up sack cloth and ashes and a vow of celibacy.
Our speaker today was the always entertaining (well most of the time!!) and informative urologist, Dr. John Vaccaro. His topics were prostate cancer and erectile dysfunction. The latter, the omnipresent and inescapable TV ad campaign represented by smiling couples sitting in separate bath tubs which seems to say that Cialis is stronger than porcelain with magical properties that transcend even time and space. The former topic of prostate issues probably equals only those of hearing issues with us Cascadians. Prostate cancer pales in comparison to heart disease. Genetics are a major influence on the occurrence of prostate cancer. The PSA Test is a good indicator, but not the ultimate determiner. Without a family history, a screening for prostate cancer should be done annually after 50, but with a family history, after 40. If prostate cancer is discovered after 59, the probabilities are that the patient will die of something other than prostate cancer. Once determined, there are a number of treatments ranging from surgery to seeding to radiation. A choice of action may depend upon whether the doctor has kids in college or car payments past due. The cure rates are about the same as are the probabilities of on-going medical complications. John’s recommendation as to what is the best course of action is a personal decision, but whatever is chosen and with whom, experience is key to a positive result.
The other focus of his presentation was ED which most certainly is not an issue of concern for us red blooded Cascadians. Excluding us, as is to be expected, ED is very common past age 40. One of the major causes is diabetes. Another significant indicator is a low testosterone level. This can be addressed with hormone therapy without ending up looking like Mark McGuire or Sammy Sousa. A relevant factor in ED is the “latent interval” between erections; !8 year old high school boys is calculated in minutes while older men may literally be weeks. Those TV ads cautioning about erections lasting more than 4 hours needing immediate medical attention according to John are not kidding. The procedures in the Emergency Room were thankfully not shared with us. John did say that he thought that God must have a perverse sense of humor in that the two most important organs in the body, the heart and the penis, function with the smallest blood suppliers. Of the therapies listed to address ED, gin was unfortunately not one of them. All in all, a frankly upright presentation on a hard subject.
Next week, Calvin Goings from the U.S. Small Business Administration will be our speaker.
“til the anon,
D. Loving
Scribe
P.S. We had guests as repeat attenders: Peter Marsh and Jay Winemiller.
October 11, 2016.
31 members and 3 guests on a beautiful autumn day, down from the record breaking attendance of the last couple meetings because our snow birds have begun their annual migrations to warmer climes.
Our speaker was retired UPS History Professor, Dr. David Smith, a regular speaker and a master of linking the continuing impacts of World War II to what is happening in today’s world. He fascinated us with his analysis of how Germany’s reaction to its defeat affects its policies towards refugees from the Middle East today. Germany’s defeat effectively ended Nazism, but the War itself did not end in May, 1945, continuing until the Peace Treaty between East and West in the 1990’s. Until 1954-1955, 11 Million Prisoners of War were still held captive.
The ideology of Nazism glorifies war in which the ideal family is one in which the man is a warrior off conquering for the glory of his country, while the woman’s role is to remain at home raising the family. The War’s toll on Germany’s population was enormous. In the last month alone, 820,000 soldiers were killed in the field, leaving a huge surplus of women to rebuild Germany, much of which was in ruins. Many thousands committed suicide.The conquering troops, and particularly the Russians, randomly raped women at will, resulting in great numbers of illegitimate children and frequent abortions. For details, Dr. Smith highly recommends the film, “Women in Berlin” which documents the consequences on the culture during the 50’s and 60’s in which the Germans developed the philosophy that they, rather than the populations of the enemy countries, were the innocent victims of Nazism. They deemed themselves to be “the mourning victims of fate”. During the GO’s, the German people became pacifist, versus under Nazism, war was a central tenant of the culture.
Millions of Germans who had fled to surrounding countries in Europe were brutally expelled as refugees from those countries. Those experiences are causing the German government to be sympathetic and receptive to the Syrian refugees today.
Each time Dr. Smith speaks to us, he reinforces this scribe’s belief that a college education should emphasize a liberal and general education rather than training for an occupation. We are grateful that he is so willing to come whenever we can fit him into our schedule.
NEXT MEETING: October 18, 2016: Urologist Dr. John Vaccaro: The Prostate and Senior Men’s Health Issues. October 25,2016: Calvin Goings, regional Director for the U.S. Small Business Administration (Region 10 (WA, OR, AK ID).
For details and other Cascade Club Information, visit our Web site: TacomaCascade.Org. Respectfully submitted, Phil Sloan, conscripted scribe.
October 4, 2016
Be nice to a man carrying a gun.
If you read last week’s anxiously awaited newsletter, you should be surprised that this week’s speaker was our noteworthy sheriff, Paul Pastore .Our originally scheduled speaker had to cancel at the last minute. Some scrambling procured ‘oft speaker, Ed Troyer of the Sheriff’s Department. He then couldn’t come at the last minute. So… our substitute substitute was none other than the man with the gun, Sheriff Pastore, truly a good friend. For those old timers who remember when we traditionally had 15 to 16 Cascadians , nee Gyros, for a Tuesday lunch, he would still be a willing speaker. Today, he had 42 willing listeners (as forecasted, if you don’t get there early, you won’t get a seat. It really was SRO!) Prior to his brief presentation as he squeezed us in prior to another engagement, he did some unseemly politicking. He announced that he is running for re-election and hoping for a come from behind victory. He also mentioned that he is running unopposed. If a debate was so ordained, it would be like the famous, or better still, infamous Clint Eastwood debate with an empty chair. We as a community are indeed fortunate to have someone like Paul as a public servant. The Sheriff’s Department polices 840,000 people, 1,800 square miles with just 320 officers. The department is understaffed, underfunded and overworked and continually handles more incidents of human crisis in diverse situations than any other group or profession. The call to 911 is often the last call in the human crisis food chain, yet they always respond. As Paul so states, “we make house calls.” In more and more cases, police work is involved not with potentially criminal activity but social issues such as homelessness and race and health issues associated with mental health.
Some quick Q&A. Body cameras will be used in about a year after some legal issues are resolved. Another option to a shotgun in case of a home invasion, is a fire extinguisher. Even though an officer justified shooting results in a death, such an event “eats a piece of your soul.” Paul felt there will be some level of civil unrest after the election, regardless of who wins. If true, a sad commentary and in this case, we hope the Sheriff is wrong.
Cascade bidness. John Winters introduced a guest, Jay Winemiller. Jim Rooks did the same; well not actually the same, he introduced guest Peter Marsh for his second visit. Jim has expressed a desire to cast his lot with us and become a member in good standing. Next week, the always delightful return engagement of Dr. David Smith, Brit and Brit historian, from UPS. Next week your scribe will be AWOL, but fear not. A more qualified sub will scribe.
So, ‘til the anon,
D. Loving
Scribe
Christmas Party is December 1st. I’d like to tell you I’m not telling you again, but ‘taint true. But do plan ahead and mark your calendar.
Tuesday September 27, 2016
The telling problem about telling fellow Cascadians about this week’s “Show and Tell” presentation is that it is relatively easy to tell about the “Tell” portion but a bit more difficult to tell about the “Show”. With me so far? Alice Miller was a most delightful presenter in that there was lots of show in the “Show.’ Alice addressed us dressed as an excellent example of the dated attire of her topic. Alice is a member of the Lakewood Historical Society and her passion is military uniforms; or to be more specific, women’s military uniforms. Though old uniforms are a source of great excitement, as often as not, the discovery of same is more so, as are the back stories of where they came from, how they were discovered and where they have been resting for, in some cases, more than a hundred years.
The first uniform in her collection is a WWI nurses’ uniform. I’m confident you personally remember “The Great War.” That was the one to end ‘em all. The primary European participants were ruled by dynasties of the same extended family. Kaiser Willie wore that funny hat with the spike and Tsar Alex had a wonderful mustache. They were first cousins and the world would have been much better if they had just played a rousing game of Scrabble. The Army Nurse Corp was founded in 1901. In 1914, women were drafted into the service as nurses. When they weren’t treating victims of the ghastly trench warfare, they were supposed to do washing and general cleaning. If they were killed overseas, the only notification of next of kin was a post card with a cross on it. There were obviously no survivor benefits, or even rank, associated with the position. Nurses didn’t actually become officers until 1948. Alice had samples of the evolving Army, Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps nurses’ uniforms, some of which have evolved smartly with the times, and some that haven’t. The Army WAC uniform hasn’t changed significantly over time and is still a color called “Rose Taupe”; a color that could even make Princess Kate look bad (OK, that’s not possible, but it is a drab color.) Alice also had assorted memorabilia dating back to WWI including posters and photographs, though none as famous as that of Greta Friedman. All in all, just another wonderful presentation and a reason to eat cookies on Tuesdays at the Tacoma Golf and Country Club.
Next week, Steve O”Brien, pal to many Cascadians and CEO/owner of Puget Sound Beverage, will share with us everything you ever wanted to know about coffee.
‘Til the anon,
D.Loving
Scribe
P.S. Greta Friedman???
- You know who she is. Really impressive!!
- You don’t know, and what’s more, don’t care.
- You don’t know, but like someone I know, it drove you crazy and Googled her name.
- Figured the Cascade Club of Tacoma newsletter wouldn’t leave you breathless with anticipation.
Greta Friedman is the nurse in the photograph taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt being kissed by the sailor in the V-J parade in New York, August 14, 1945.
Tuesday September 20, 2016
“Do ya want fries with that order?”
Those are words speaker Joe Piscatella forcefully responds to (or, more grammatically correct …”to which Joe Piscatella forcefully responds.”) And one can be assured it would be a definitive “NO!” Joe’s topic was “Make your health last as long as your life” which is a way of saying that there is a difference between longevity, which is how long one lives, and health span, which is how many years one lives in good health. In other words, ‘good idea to not only skip the fries, but alas, also the Big Mac.
The actuarial average life span in the U.S. is 83 for females and 76 for males. Straight away, one quickly notices how we red blooded Cascadians are like the children of Lake Wobegon, all above average. Unfortunately, the “health scan” which measures the quality of life versus the length of life is just 57 years and going down. There are 5 elements that determine the quality of life: diet, exercise, smoking, attitude and stress. Diet and obesity are easily correlated. The U.S. has 6% of the world’s population and 36% of the world’s body weight. A Cascadian wag offered his opinion that having just visited the Puyallup Fair, it seemed that the Fair had a monopoly that one out of three fair goers was in that category. In other words, skip the scones. The death rate in the U.S. is 1/10,000 people by murder (unless, of, course, you happen to live on the South Side of Chicago), 1 in 5,000 in an auto accident but a startling 1 in 3 by heart disease. We Americans are basically nutritionally literate, yet we still probably say “yes” to that age ‘ole philosophical question…”do ya want fries with that order?” Physical fitness and not smoking are key to a rewarding quality of live. Stopping smoking is obvious. Somehow, it was thought that joining a health club would suffice, No one told you, you actually had to go! Stress is another killer. The highest category of those under stress is “Caucasian males who wear ties.” Gee, do we know anyone in that category who just might be a Type A personality, who always drives in the left hand lane on the freeway and sets his watch 5 minutes ahead to always get someplace earlier than any one else? 89% of Americans now say they have too much stress. Obviously, modern technologies have not relieved stress, they have exacerbated the problem. Easy avenues to relieve stress include daily brief periods of deep breathing, regular exercise and…turn off the evening news ( one can only imagine the next several months as the political Super Pacs have SO FAR, collected over ONE BILLION DOLLARS!) The thought of those repercussions would give any sane person a heart attack.
Oh well. Next week we will hear from Alice Miller of The Lakewood Historical Society.
‘Til the anon,
D. Loving
Scribe
P.S. Attention all Type A’s. Mark your calendar for the Cascade Christmas Party, Thursday December 1st! More later.
Tuesday September 11, 2016
Cascadians seem to be like the folks who live in Lake Wobegon, MN. where all the women are all strong, all the men are good looking and all of the children are above average. That pretty much says it all for us: strong, good looking and above average. Our first meeting of the fall season had 40 of us at Tuesdays with the Cascade Club of Tacoma and nary an empty seat. Playing musical chairs may no longer be an option. Be early to get a seat. One of said seats was taken by Dr. Peter Marsh, guest of Jurgen Huck.
Our lead-off speaker could not have been a better choice, Dr. David Smith of UPS. It would be a delight just to listen to him read the Tacoma telephone book. His topic was the short term effects of the Brexit referendum in Britain to exit the EU. He was the first to admit like many others, he was totally surprised by the vote to leave the EU and that he had not the faintest idea of the long term implications for the UK, Europe, the U.S. and the rest of the world. He proffered that there may well be some glaring parallels between the core of the Brexit vote rationale (the “Left Behind” voter segment, the impact of globalization, immigration concerns and a sense a latent nationalism) and the current political climate here in the U.S. His obvious reference, though not spoken, was” Trumpism”; a topic he scrupulously avoided being a Brit and probably appreciating the probable voting tendencies of Cascadians. Those voting to leave the EU were traditionally older, harbored a cultural resentment against the technical elite, living in pockets of poverty and not doing well while many others were, in fact, doing quite well and a strong resentment of immigration and the negative effects of globalization. He used the example of a town south east of London close to the Channel that has a major highway close by. The residents see the world literally and figuratively passing them by with trucks and containers from all over Europe, most with LEFT HAND DRIVES. What could be a more dramatic representation of the EU effect on Britain? The joke is that the most reliable plumbers in Britain come from Warsaw. In actuality, there are only 600,000 Poles in all of the UK, but perception is reality. At the same time, unskilled labor jobs couldn’t be filled by willing Brits and thus the necessity for those from Eastern Europe and elsewhere delighted to have the opportunity to work. All in all, those voting to leave the EU were those who felt they had nothing to lose; a sort of peasants revolt. The short term effects on Great Britain alone are staggering, Scotland and Northern Ireland voted overwhelmingly to stay, Wales and England voted to leave. Is this a precursor of the breakup of Great Britain? Magnify those types of questions by a factor of 10, or even 5, and the significance of Brexit glaringly emerges.
As with our friends in Lake Wobegon, we are urged to be well, do good work and keep in touch. ‘Tis a sly segue to announce our next week’s speaker, Joe Piscatella, who will undoubtedly cast another stone at eating Big Macs and pepperoni pizza. As far as I know, those two plus fudgesicles satisfy the requirements of the basic food groups.
‘Til the anon and welcome back,
D. Loving
Scribe