Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Random Utterances


Given the unseasonably warm temperatures yesterday, Sally, Evan and I got out the bikes and rode around a bit. We took a five mile loop up to 57th Avenue, back down to the Rocket Market to buy some chipotle hot sauce, to Rite-Aid for a button battery, and then home. It was totally delightful, and a welcome break in our cabin fever.

As much as I enjoyed the day, and am thankful for this warm, wet winter, the lack of snow pack in the mountains gives rise to serious concern. The recharge of our Spokane aquifer and the water required for agriculture in eastern Washington are heavily dependent on snow melt run-off. So we can enjoy a bike ride now, but we'll pay for it with interest later in the year.

Lack of snow pack also looms as a serious threat to the XXI Winter Olympic games in Vancouver, BC. That alarms me, as I have been looking forward to NBC's time-delayed broadcasts of events previously held and widely reported on the internet. Come to think of it, given the practice of time-delayed broadcasts, maybe NBC could just rebroadcast the XX Olympics from Italy. That way we won't even notice the present dearth of snow in British Columbia.

For those of you who are not from Spokane, I would have you know that we are taking part in the upcoming Olympics in a special way by playing host to the US National Figure Skating Championships, through which our US Figure Skating Team will be selected for the Winter Games. The paper yesterday featured a full-color "wrapper" around the sports section detailing the results of the Men's Championship. "Wrapper" may also be a technical term for the clothing styles associated with men's figure skating, as far as I know. I admit that I was pleased at the general lack of sequins and feathers on the winning skater's clothing. If I were to accidentally watch a men's figure skating performance, I would be more interested in axels, lutzes, and Salchow's than how the young fellow looks in the Kiss and Cry area.

I have also learned in recent days about "splinters", which is a term applied to groups that travel around watching figure skating competitions. While I know that the presence of numerous "splinter" groups at this year's contest is good for the local economy, I am taking care to avoid downtown restaurants and stores for the duration of the event. Groups of people who get incredibly excited about the quest for absolute technical perfection in any endeavor scare me a bit. I'm also wary of their harsh judgements as to the lack of sequins and feathers in my wardrobe.

Finally, for now, I am in a bit of hot water for the number of personal insults and name calling that I inserted into Sunday's sermon. I am pretty much certain that I didn't say the things I am being accused of uttering. Anyway, if I have graced any of you with a colorful sobriquet of late, I probably didn't mean to say it. Lutz.

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