Monday, October 28, 2019

Morning, friends, and welcome to Hallo-week! I haven’t haunted these hallways for what feels like forever, so let’s help each other through this Monday, October 28, 2019. Your bare feet are touching a chilly floor, with widespread frost and temps in the low 30s, as the arctic air that’s had Montana shivering spills our way through the gorge. But it’ll be sunny and crisp, high of 55 at most. Now tonight, we could experience what meteorologists call a “downslope wind event,” in which the populated areas of Portland and Vancouver could get blasted with winds of 45 MPH or better. One year ago we were having tornados. Sunrise 7:44 AM, sunset 6:03 PM.

They’ve opened the emergency warming center at Union Gospel Mission, and put out a call for donations of coats and gloves.

We’re sending our thoughts to California, and we’re sending our firefighters too. Exactly 271 from Oregon hit the road on Sunday for a base in Redding, arriving at midnight for deployment to the Kincade Fire in the wine country of Sonoma County, and the Burris Fire in Mendocino county. Hundreds of thousands are out of their homes in the largest evacuation in wine country history, at least two wineries are no more, and the fires are only 10% contained. Highway 101 is closed in Sonoma County, and across the state upwards of 3 million people are affected by preventative power shutdowns. Another fire blew up overnight in LA. I know we have a number of Drip readers with loved ones in that territory, and you and they are in this community’s thoughts. We would love to hear your stories.

The Burgerville employees strike is over, as union says the company has agreed to negotiate wages, and maybe the two sides will hash it out in a corner booth and nobody will have to cross a picket line to enjoy a “Smokey Blue Cheeseburger,” which the menu describes as “The subtly nutty taste of Rogue Creamery’s smokey blue crumbles, melding with the rich flavor of lightly-seasoned oven-roasted Yamhill County mushrooms, atop a juicy beef patty, crowned with crispy pepper bacon.” Hope the employee who wrote that gets a raise along with the folks who cook it up.

Feeling measly? Two more people have come down with that totally avoidable illness after being exposed on Delta’s Amsterdam-to-Portland flight back on October 12. Usually, the only thing you get on that 10-hour slog is leg cramps, dry mouth, and some really pretty good boxed meals. And that famous warm welcome from Customs at PDX.

Well, that does it….Rojo the Llama has retired from the celebrity lama business! There was a farewell party at Pioneer Courthouse square yesterday that was attended by many in the grateful public as well as several celebrity animals. Rojo and radio people see each other a lot, at parades and whatnot; I’m in more than one photo sharing the other end of a carrot with Rojo, which was a memorably fuzzy experience for us both. Thanks for all the nuzzles, Rojo, and happy trails!

Happy Trail Blazers! They beat the Dallas Mavericks 121-119, to go 2-1 on the embryonic season. The win was notable for Coach Stott’s use of an experimental rule in which coaches are allowed one video challenge per game. In the closing seconds with Dallas on the verge of a win, Damian Lillard was called for a foul, which Coach Stotts challenged, and the video revealed that Dame had his hands on All Ball. No foul. Jump ball, Blazers grab it, Blazers win! Their Waltz Across Texas continues today in San Antonio, against the Spurs.

The Ducks are up to #7 in the AP poll after that “whew” of a win over the Cougs. And remember when your Drip buddy here predicted Astros in 6 in the World Series? They’re a game away, following their sweep of the Nationals in DC, where chants of “Lock him up” swept the stadium when the commander in chief was introduced.

Mama Bird, a Northwest Portland grilled chicken shack, has closed–but only for three weeks. They’ve been getting smoke complaints from neighbors So they’re putting in a smoke scrubber.

This is the 100-year date of the (wildly unpopular) Volstead Act. You know, Prohibition.

On this day in 1886, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people of France, was dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland. People in the city loved it so much that workers in Manhattan’s upper floors showered the procession with whatever confetti-like paper was handy–thus creating the first ticker-tape parade.

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Let’s bring some light into this last Monday in October!

–“Single Father Adopts 5 Siblings Under 5: ‘They Deserve to Be Raised as Siblings'”

–“Uber driver picks up new mom, buys clothes for her sick baby”

–“Wrongfully convicted man reunites with dog who helped him through prison”

–“Kayakers save driver trapped in submerged car”

–“Good to do the right thing: clerk returns $7K left in coat pocket”

Details in the Coffee Cup. *****

From the Daily Drip one year ago: “The American flag is flying low, until sundown Wednesday, after a week during which this era’s bigotry and hatred were manifested in the mass killing of eleven Jews in Pittsburgh–literally in Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood. If ever there was a time for kindness in our everyday interactions, it’s now. Listen deeply, smile at someone, thank a letter carrier. Small gestures add up. In fact, let me suggest that we all put down the Daily Drip, and go say something nice to someone. Be right back.”