Dear So and So

[bmccasland]

Dear Newbie Seattlites,

It's Sea Fair weekend.

The Blue Angels are here. It's traditional. We like them. Yes, they are LOUD.

They are loud enough to make your car alarm go off. Hear it? Yes, and you run outside to stop the alarm. Then the Blue Angels go over again. And your car alarm goes off again. And you run outside again.

Rinse. Repeat. Ad nauseum.

They'll be at it all day. Just like they were yesterday when they were practicing, and the day before when they were learning landmarks.

Please, for the love of Mt. Rainier, turn OFF the car security system for the day.

Thanks,
Seattle Native.

ROFLOL. My neighbors came over, could they please watch the Blue Angles on my TV as the don't subscribe to a TV service? Sure.

After watching on TV, I'd rather see it live. I did get to watch them fly over my office when they were practicing earlier in the week.

During the show I didn't get buzzed by the Blue Angles, but by all the commercial aircraft who had to change their landing and take-off patterns at SeaTac.

I love the smell of jet fuel in the morning. Reminds me of my AF base days.

[channlluv]

The Blue Angels split the space-time continuum above my house every October, too. Oy, the sound, but how cool the sight and the soul-deep rumbling.

Regarding feeding feral cats, I heard an NPR story a few days back about a township north of us that has approved shooting coyotes because they've been driven down into the community because of the drought and they're in search of food - namely feral cats and small pets let out into yards, and the food people leave out for feral cats. The mayor of the community said in the interview that they'd tried all kinds of other interventions, but last week two elderly women were dragged and injured when coyotes attacked their small dogs out on leashes while they were walking!

He said the coyotes have become fearless and people have not been following the no-feeding-the-feral-cats sanctions, so the problem has escalated far beyond what was manageable when both communities (coyote and human) respected each other's space.

Roxy

[indysteel]

The Blue Angels split the space-time continuum above my house every October, too. Oy, the sound, but how cool the sight and the soul-deep rumbling.

Regarding feeding feral cats, I heard an NPR story a few days back about a township north of us that has approved shooting coyotes because they've been driven down into the community because of the drought and they're in search of food - namely feral cats and small pets let out into yards, and the food people leave out for feral cats. The mayor of the community said in the interview that they'd tried all kinds of other interventions, but last week two elderly women were dragged and injured when coyotes attacked their small dogs out on leashes while they were walking!

He said the coyotes have become fearless and people have not been following the no-feeding-the-feral-cats sanctions, so the problem has escalated far beyond what was manageable when both communities (coyote and human) respected each other's space.

Roxy

I'd have to read more about that issue in your community, but it strikes me that the issue has more to do with unrestrained land development than feral cats or the food people put out to feed them. So, too, does the solution. Those coyotes aren't likely to just go away because the kittie food is removed.

In my former urban community, feral cats are used to curb the rat population, which is one of the main reasons the county doesn't prohibit people from caring for managed and controlled feral colonies.

[indysteel]

As for Crankin's post and the response thereto: IMO, when people share something on a public forum, they invite comments. Sometimes, the comments aren't what they anticipated or wanted, but that's the risk you run when you share something with people of divergent views and backgrounds. I imagine each of us has posted something that drew a bit of criticism or dissent at one point or another. Of coures, we're also free to defend ourselves, share additonal information or ignore what others say. Mudmucker's comment didn't strike me as terribly unsupportive. Crankin shared that she doesn't always care for the people she tours with. If that's the case, then Mud's suggestion that she rethink the tours isn't really off base IMO. Certainly, Crankin generally speaks her mind, so I don't know that any of us needs to intervene on her behalf (although I could say the same for Muck, and here I am intervening). As for my own comment, it wasn't intended to be supportive. In truth, I bristled a bit at Crankin's "Virginia, you're in the northeast now." It sounded a bit elitist to me. Now that may have not been her intent, but either way, I felt within my rights as a forum member to commment on it.

[tulip]

The whole reason I like to tour with folks I don't know and in areas I don't live in is so that I can get to know them, along with their experiences and opinions, even if (or especially because) I might meet someone who is different from me and I might learn something. I try to keep an open mind, and if someone really ends up annoying me, I just ignore them. Usually, though, people are interesting in one way or another. Sometimes you just have to look a little harder or dig a little deeper.

Oh, and Virginia, I've been in the Northeast and I've found some of the least-tolerant people there I've ever met. But there I go stereotyping again. Silly me.

[Owlie]

Dear sister--
Kindly stop eating my food.

[channlluv]

I'd have to read more about that issue in your community, but it strikes me that the issue has more to do with unrestrained land development than feral cats or the food people put out to feed them. So, too, does the solution. Those coyotes aren't likely to just go away because the kittie food is removed.

In my former urban community, feral cats are used to curb the rat population, which is one of the main reasons the county doesn't prohibit people from caring for managed and controlled feral colonies.

You make a good point. The mayor sounded like they'd tried everything to keep the coyotes at bay, including training them to leave humans alone, sound repellants, trapping and removing them, and so on. The community has been there for a long time, so it's not like this is a new issue. It's just gotten worse with the draught and people leaving food out for the wild animals. In the NPR interview, he specifically mentioned feral cats, although in skimming the article link below, I didn't see any reference to cats except the one carried off by a coyote.

It's not my community, though. Here's an article about it: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/...20085765.shtml.

Roxy

[Bethany1]

Dear Doc,

Thank you for the x-rays showing that my knees are in perfect health. I still don't know why the right knee is acting up so I may be back.

Dear State Of Nebraska,

Thank you for the transfer of DH to a town 20 miles away so he doesn't have to drive a 160 mile round trip every day.

Dear Chiropractor,

Thank you for adjusting my back, hips, neck and putting one of the rib bones back into place. My back has relaxed now that you've put the rib back where it belongs. I would have come in sooner if I had known about the rib.

[Bethany1]

LOL about the Blue Angels setting off car alarms. They can come by my house anytime.

When I was in Texas, the Air Force base had training jets go over all the time. It was great have your own airshow every day. If you planned it right, the jets would buzz over you on the main road on the way back to the base.

[Pax]

LOL about the Blue Angels setting off car alarms. They can come by my house anytime.

When I was in Texas, the Air Force base had training jets go over all the time. It was great have your own airshow every day. If you planned it right, the jets would buzz over you on the main road on the way back to the base.

I grew up on Air Force bases all over the world, that jet sound is music to my ears.

[indysteel]

You make a good point. The mayor sounded like they'd tried everything to keep the coyotes at bay, including training them to leave humans alone, sound repellants, trapping and removing them, and so on. The community has been there for a long time, so it's not like this is a new issue. It's just gotten worse with the draught and people leaving food out for the wild animals. In the NPR interview, he specifically mentioned feral cats, although in skimming the article link below, I didn't see any reference to cats except the one carried off by a coyote.

It's not my community, though. Here's an article about it: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/...20085765.shtml.

Roxy

Thanks for the link. Sadly, the whole feral cats thing may be moot. We haven't see much of our kitties since bringing them home from the vet. The cats had been spending a lot of time under the deck of the house next door to us. The house had been uninhabited and for sale for some time. Well, the very day we brought them back home from the vet, a family moved into the house. We talked to them about the cats and they were just fine with "hosting" them (they have indoor cats, too). But I think all of the activity around the house may have spooked the kitties. We have only seen them a couple of times since then and not at all over the last day or so. We're going to ask around a bit and see if any of our other neighbors have seen them. I'd like to think that somebody else might be feeding them, but of course, there are other possibilities. It makes me sad. I'd grown more attached to them than I realized.

[jessmarimba]

Dear back:
Stop hurting. You're making me nauseous and sleep-deprived, and that makes me grumpy.

Dear BF:
Stop avoiding my calls. I know I'm grumpy, but not talking to me is just making me grumpier.

Signed,
Crankypants

[azfiddle]

Thank you very much Sardine!
That's reassuring.

She has been following news (mainly via the Guardian online), and has been in touch with her BF in Norwich. She will arrive mid-morning and doesn't expect any problems at the airport etc. She's taking the coach but her main concern was arriving in Norwich in early evening, if something did break out. So far, so good.

It's going to be a little emotional for us anyway- if everything works out for her, she is planning to make this a permanent move.