Archive for May, 2009

Old and Young

Sunday, May 24th, 2009

Puget Sound has gone through a significant transformation since I was a child.

The only seals I saw as a child were at the Pt. Defiance Zoo.  Now, Harbor Seals seem to occupy most of the navigation bouys and can be seen feeding just about anywhere significant numbers of fish can be found.

To a lesser extent, birds on the Sound seem to be more common too.

However, the Salmon Fishery that closed when I was a teenager has only gotten worse.  From what I have read or seen, the major offenders are:  1) high-head dams grinding Salmon into chum coming and going; 2) further destruction of spawning habitat; 3) disease/parasite transmission from Atlantic Char (grown on submerged fish farms) to Salmon emerging from spawning grounds; 4) factory trawlers finishing off the last of the adult Salmon beyond the 200-mile limit.

Good things don’t seem to be happening for our Salmon.  Unless something is done soon, within my lifetime I believe they will be extinct.

Civilian Wear of Military Uniforms in Public

Saturday, May 23rd, 2009

Yesterday and today, I saw a Caucasian male of high school age wearing the pants and upper of a late-model set of BDU’s (Battle Dress Uniform) in Port Orchard and Gig Harbor, Washington.  I could tell he was a civilian because:  1) he was wearing his pants with a “fashionable” sag desired by wana-be gang bangers; 2) his cap and shoes were decidely not military issue; 3) he was walking along One Mile in Port Orchard with a decidely non military (and very small)  pack; 4) the next day he was hanging with “buds” at the Gig Harbor Petco.

I confess that I was irriated enough by this individual that my wife and my family left the Petco before I could jack this pseudo soldier up.

Now technically, 10 U.S.C. section 771 makes this individual’s behavior illegal, but like a lot of things in life legal, finding a prosecutor who will drop the hammer on such an individual is probably more difficult than winning at Powerball.

Nevertheless, I feel dishonored and frustrated by this punk.  If he were making a political statement, I’d be more comfortable, but wearing BDU’s like trash really yanks my chain.