CONTENTS 6/11/2020
Chalk Talk!
Immanuel Bible Church Parking Lot Safety
White Supremacist Flyers
Restaurant Worker Masks?
Safe Chalk Sharing
Black Lives Matter Rally Friday
Betsy Brown Md
Yesterday’s Big Picture Article: Link
Pointy Wheel?
Radio Free Fl!p: The Brandy Tree
CHALK TALK!
Here’s the first installment of Chalk Talk! Marla Bronstein has interviewed a bunch of local dignitaries and luminaries about our Fourth Of July Sidewalk Chalk Festival. Little snippets – maybe 2 minutes max. This all started when I called Miriam Barnett, who created and ran the downtown Bellingham chalk art festival for years. Miriam suggested I get local officials involved. She used to invite them to judge her festival. I didn’t want a competition, but I did like the idea of involving some local big names. So I phoned former mayor Tim Douglas, over on Williams Street, for advice. Tim told me to call Marla and see what she could cook up. If you don’t know Marla, you should! She runs the Elizabeth Park summer concert series on Thursday nights (rain or shine, online this year. I’ll print the schedule again tomorrow). Marla is a theatre maven: director, actor, comedienne. Fearless! Marla grabbed the idea and took off! She wrote a ton of people to invite them for a 2 minute video conversation about our chalk. She knows everyone! She ordered me and Zeke to learn a new piece of music for the background, so we did. Here’s her first interview, with Tim Douglas, of course!
https://youtu.be/9yFY74e_DO4
IMMANUEL BIBLE CHURCH PARKING LOT
You may have noticed some equipment at Immanuel Bible Church this week. A contractor working on alley maintenance is dropping trailers, etc. in the gravel parking lot, which accounts for some of the equipment. In addition, the large parking lot and drive-up ramp next to the main entrance are being repaired and repaved. Due to these projects, please ask your children to avoid the church’s large parking lot or ramp until the work is done. Once the projects are completed the riding will be smooth, but caution is always needed! Please advise your kids to watch out for cars and walk and ride safely!
Autumn Cole, for Immanuel Bible Church
360-733-0672 church office
WHITE SUPREMACIST FLYERS
There were a couple of incidents in May where people found Patriot Front recruitment flyers in a little free library in our neighborhood. It turns out there have been more around town, on campus and in other neighborhoods. Also, library books have been returned with the little flyers tucked between the pages. The flyers are a little bigger than a business card, and look like they’ve been photocopied on plain white letter paper. They say things like “It’s OK To Be White” with a website – fairly innocuous until you look into the background.
Yesterday a group of us, from Columbia Neighborhood ( board members and me) plus folks from the local Human Rights Task Force, met over Zoom with Bellingham Police Chief David Doll and officer Kat Dearborn to discuss this activity and what we could do about it. I found our meeting to be very helpful. I asked Officer Kat to send me a “what neighbors should do” post. She did. Here it is:
Regarding the flyers: For the most part people are not reporting these flyers to us. If we don’t have knowledge of when and where this is happening there is very little we can do, so please let us know! I believe the easiest thing to do is to send me an email at kdearborn@cob.org with the following information: 1) When it was found 2) The time frame in which you think the flyer appeared (example: I know the flyer wasn’t there yesterday at 5pm and now it is today at 10am). 3) The address where it was found and where was it at that address? Mailbox, Little Lending Library, hanging on a telephone poll would all be examples of this. 4) Ideally a photograph of the flyer so we can inspect it. If people don’t want to email me perhaps they could email you, Flip, and you can pass along the information? I don’t want to create more work for you but it might be another option to get us the information if folks don’t want to contact me directly. ~ Officer Kat
I will be completely happy to accept and pass along anything wanted or needed. Email me at flip@columbianeighborhood.org
https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article243306611.html
RESTAURANT WORKER MASKS?
A couple of our neighbors took a stroll to find dinner tonight, now that businesses are opening up. They visited quite a few restaurants and food trucks along Meridian & Northwest, but in every one there were workers preparing or serving food without wearing masks. Our neighbors finally gave up, bought groceries and went home to cook their own dinner. The food may be “to die for” but not to actually die for. I would expect that there will be a period of adjustment to the new rule requiring employees to wear masks. Me, I would suggest a warmly regretful tone, “Wah! I was so hoping for some of your lovely food, but I will go someplace where all the employees are wearing masks. I’m so sorry!” Love/Fl!p
SAFE CHALK SHARING
Regarding “sharing chalk among multiple households”- that’s likely not a good idea right now, unless people plan to set the chalk out in the sun for two or three days between uses by “multiple households”- not a likely scenario.
~ Tony Cava,
Hi Tony – I’ve been gifted with several tubs of 50+ pieces for the festival. My plan is to mask and glove, and then divide them into sets in paper lunch sacks for individual distribution at least a week before. I think other households could do the same. But you’re correct, I’d better make that explicit! Love/Fl!p
BLACK LIVES MATTER RALLY FRIDAY
Tomorrow, Friday June 12, 2 – 6 PM at the corner of Bakerview and Arctic Ave (Costco corner and then on to the east).
I’ve heard from a lot of neighbors who are going. Here’s what I am aware of: Not in the street, not marching. Wear masks. Bring hand sanitizer. Bring signs. The organizers say they will be gathering to stand together but will not be marching. “We invite you to stand with us for as long as you are able at one of the busiest intersections in town. We know it is a busy street and we are expecting a lot of protesters. But we do not want to put any added risk on anyone who is willing to stand with us and we don’t want to impede traffic. We just want them to see us.” They want those who come to stay six feet apart and spread east along Bakerview for as far as needed. Drive past the end of the line, park safely, walk back and please stay safely on the sidewalks.
https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article243460876.html?
BETSY BROWN MD:
How To Not Spread Covid
Masking does work. And it also makes a difference of how much virus you get exposed to, which is why masking and being outdoors are key, as well as limiting time and washing your hands. These are the mantras for staying healthy for the next while.
I have spent most of my time talking about prevention, for good reason. The lockdown has made a huge difference. We are opening up again and there will be more infections. We are already hearing about upticks.
So, what do you do if you get infected or get exposed? Remember, most people do OK, some get sick and we can take better care of people now. But you also don’t want to spread it. My local health department has a great graphic about different scenarios of when to stop isolating at home after a COVID-19 infection. The bottom line is 3 days without fever AND 10 days since symptoms appeared AND other symptoms have improved. If you read the flyer, you can see different recommendations for different scenarios, including people with mild symptoms and household members. Exposed but non-infected household members are the tough ones, because they need to be isolated for 14 days AFTER their family member/roommate’s isolation period. And if anyone has to go out, they must wear a mask and keep it to only essential needs.
And remember, the guidelines about mask wearing have been all over the place. I was skeptical at first, too. Now we have more compelling data and the guidelines have become more clear. Just because you used to think masks were bad, but now you realize they help, does not make you a hypocrite if you start wearing one. You are allowed to change your mind. It means you can learn and are considerate of others. https://betsybrownmd.substack.com/
YESTERDAY’S BIG PICTURE ARTICLE LINK
[Sally Sheedy wrote me about a problem with yesterday’s link. Now I know more about how to share links, and you might like to, as well.Thanks Sally & Michael!]
I got an error 500 when I followed the link to Pandemic Big Picture article (linked to from your newsletter, below). When I cut off the tail end of the link, it worked: https://www.bluezones.com/2020/06/covid-19-straight-answers-from-top-epidemiologist-who-predicted-the-pandemic/
(Generally, everything from the ‘?’ on is extraneous encoding, at least in part used to be able to record where the site visitor got the link from.)
My spouse (Michael Hobart) sent me a shareable link for the article, pasted here. I’m not sure how he was able to get into the article without the error I encountered, nor how he derived this different link after he was done reading it to share with me, but it didn’t work either. (He knows I get your newsletter but he wanted to make sure I read the article.)
This message was sent using ShareThis (https://www.sharethis.com)
I’m letting you know in case anyone else has the same issue accessing the article. ~ Sally Sheedy
POINTY WHEEL?
When I was a kid my Mom had a little wheel with points, made to transfer sewing patterns by poking little holes in the paper. Does anyone have one of those to spare? Or is anyone going to a fabric store soon? Fl!p 360-671-4511
RADIO FREE FL!P: THE BRANDY TREE
I think this was the first of Gordon Bok’s songs that I encountered, around 1971. I was immediately enchanted. Gordon is from Camden, on the coast of Maine, which is about as close to the Salish Sea in atmosphere as I think you can get without actually living here. My sister moved out to the coast of Maine when she needed to get away but couldn’t really bear to go.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKzDcE53iss
Gordon says, “I got most of this song from a small otter who used to hang out in the same woods I did, around Sherman’s Point, many years ago. Many folks have asked me about the name of the song: I was never sure of what that word was, (Bandy Tree, Bundy Tee?) nor do I think it matters. I’ve come to think of it as a place inside ourselves where, once we’ve been there, we know how to find it again.”
I go down to the brandy tree and take my nose and my tail with me / All for the world and the wind to see and never come back no more
Down the meadowmarsh deep and wide, tumble the tangle by my side / All for the westing wind to run and slide in the summer rain
Sun come follow my happy way, wind come walk beside me / Moon on the mountain go with me, a wondrous way I know
I go down to the windy sea and call on the seal to play with me / Slide on the rock and dive in the bay and sleep on the ledge at night
But the seal don’t try to tell me how to fish in the windy blue / Seal’s been fishing for a thousand years and he knows that I have too
When the frog goes down to the mud to sleep and the lamprey hides in the boulders deep / I take my nose and my tail and go a hundred thousand hills
Sun come follow my happy way, wind come walk beside me / Moon on the mountain go with me, a wondrous way I know
Some day down by the brandy tree I’ll hear the shepherd call for me / Call me to leave my happy ways and the shining world I know
Sun on the hill come go with me, my days have all been free / The pipes come laughing down the wind and that’s the way I go
That’s the way for me
Love/Fl!p 360-671-4511 flip@columbianeighborhood.org
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