Week One

Today is the beginning of the first full week of school, and the fifth anniversary of 9/11. I rode my bike to work this morning. With a nylon shell on it was a comfortable ride, although my hands were cold.

Last night my wife Laurie and I watched about an hour and twenty minutes of a special on the World Trade Center tragedy. Parts of it were very hard to watch, and I got to a point where I couldn't anymore.

I remember very well coming into the family room five years ago to hear Laurie say a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. My immediate thought was that she meant a single engine light airplane. Of course, the news had just broken, and the reporters didn't know.

This morning, as soon as it was light, I put out our flag. I always try to put it out on important days such as Veterans' Day and Memorial Day. Today is just such an important day. I am honoring the innocent whose lives were taken from them five years ago. It troubles me to see tattered, dirty flags hanging around the clock, even in the dark of night. I was always taught that this is disrespectful to the flag. I also think we lose the significance of the symbol if everyone is always flying the flag. Sure, fly it at public buildings, monuments, etc, but save the family flag for the special honors. Our flag will come in at the end of the day to be stored until the next important day.

Purple Martins

My newest nature interest is attracting Purple Martins. Many people in the Puget Sound area may have heard of them and their communal style of nesting, but they are unlikely to have seen one, at least knowingly. They are not common in our part of the world. I have personally seen colonies only in Olympia on the waterfront, and a couple of different spots on the Tacoma waterfront.

Purple Martins are the largest member of the swallow family in North America. The species gets its name from the beautiful coloring of the males.

Recently, I started researching whether it would be feasible to attract Purple Martins to Riverside Elementary School, where I now work. I found a number of links to sites about the Purple Martin and learned that, especially in the eastern half of our country people are very passionate about this charismatic bird. In addition, I found a contact who lives in the Puget Sound area, Stan Kostka, of the Western Purple Martin Working Group.

When I contacted Stan, he advised me to go ahead and try. He seemed very encouraging and supportive, offering his knowledge and experience to help. I look forward to working with him and taking on this new challenge.

Personal Goals

A new school year is coming up on me fast. I have already made some major changes in my professional life, mainly by changing schools. I am ready to set some goals in my personal life to accomplish in the coming year.

First, in recognition of my fiftieth birthday next February, I am planning to participate in the Seattle to Portland bicycle ride for the first time. Although there is much training to do in preparation, I have a strong background in cycling having been a triathlete in the mid-1980s. My new job at Riverside Elementary will allow me to ride to work regularly, providing a base of fitness to build upon. A motivating factor is that the STP route passes in front of my house.

My second goal is to further decrease my dependence on petroleum. By moving into our current neighborhood it is much easier for my wife Laurie and I to leave the car at home. There is much that is within walking distance, including dining and shopping, two things which typically would require car trips. We don't always take advantage of this, but we know we can. Our next step, hopefully this year, is to sell one of our vehicles and become a one-car family. This will force the issue of walking and cycling when possible. If situations arise where one car will not get us both where we need to be, there are taxis and rental cars. Not only will we save money on fuel and maintenance, we will save on insurance as well.