Good morning, and welcome to the Fridayest Friday there ever was! Today is December 20, 2019, the last day of Fall, and the last day of some other things too, but tomorrow is a new season in so many ways that have yet to reveal themselves. It’s a day of celebration!
Portland’s weather is a work of abstract art associated with an atmospheric river that flows and pours from far beyond the horizon. Now, the course of this mighty river has bent slightly to the north. So the heaviest precipients are between Kalama and Olympia. The cause of the northward bend was a blob of warm air which has created balmy conditions locally. It’s a weirdly warm 55 as I step out into the dark for the last time. The cause of the blob of warm air is unknown; perhaps the migrating whales had some bean dip. But what about Christmas? Well: Christmas Eve and Christmas Day look partly cloudy, with highs of 45 and lows of 35. And a 100% chance of comfort, joy, and blessings for everyone!
Sunrise, by the way, is at 7:47 AM, and sunset’s at 4:29 PM. And the December Solstice is on Saturday at 8:19 pm PST. They don’t call it the Winter Solstice any more, because, for half the planet, it’s the first day of Summer. Right, Kiwi Dripster Lizzy?
News. Forgive me, my mind is on a momentous change, and I don’t have the emotional bandwidth to competently cover such things as the final meeting of Democratic presidential hopeful in 2019, at a debate in Los Angeles hosted by PBS and Politico. Did you watch? would you please share thoughts? I know Elizabeth Warren and Mayor Pete tangled it up.
Portland’s getting year-round, nonstop service to London on British Airways starting June 1!
Portland’s also getting a popular Seattle fried chicken restaurant called Ezell’s Famous Chicken. It’ll open at Washington Square in late January. It’s famous because Oprah Winfrey fell in love with it when she was in Seattle shooting a show at KING-TV, and what she likes, she plugs.
A story in Texas Monthly carries the headline, “Portland Has the Best Texas Barbecue Scene Outside of Texas.”
They crowned a new Miss America last night without the outdated spectacle of the swimsuit competition. Graduate physics student Camille Schrier of Virginia won after conducting an onstage gee-whiz chemistry demonstration.
The Blazers have back-to-back home games tonight and tomorrow. This evening invokes the Orlando Magic; tomorrow night involves the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Happy birthday to former Oregon Governor Barbara Roberts! A kind, gracious lady.
On this day in 1946, It’s a Wonderful Life was first released in New York City. Love that movie.
It is indeed a wonderful life.
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One last sip from the Coffee Cup of Good News! (We’ll get a new one, I promise)
–“Kind strangers help driver in medical distress on highway”
–“Scientists discover how to trigger pancreatic cancer cells to self-destruct”
–“Dog Wakes Up Owner and Alerts Her to Her Husband’s Heart Attack, Saving the Man’s Life”
–“Act of kindness from hockey goaltender draws standing ovation”
–“The Far Side by Gary Larson has a home online now!” (Because retirement isn’t necessarily forever. Did I say that?)
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And here we are. This is not the end, but an inflection point. I want to thank you in advance for your patience and support as I delete the 3:45 alarm from my phone–there it goes!–and figure out life on more reasonable terms. I intuit that my sense of time will broaden out from the minute-by-minute life of a broadcaster who’s so governed by the clock that he can guess the time without seeing a clock. I aspire to process information more deeply; instead of distilling events into headlines and speeches into sound bites, I want to learn to grasp things in their fullness.
I want to thank you for making me believe that my daily effort here is useful.
Now I’ve got to figure out how the hell I’m going to say goodbye on the radio. It’ll happen, along with the singing of Melekalikimaka, around 8:45 or 9. If you’re not able to come, please listen on the radio. It’ll be a fun show. And if you are, whether for the early show, or the more intimate open house afterward, we’ll have a good time together.
Finally: in the farewell song of the great Mousketeer: Now it’s time… to say goodbye…to all our company.
But: we’ll see you real soon.
Why?
Because I like you!
Portland's Daily Drip 