AfterWords

Hi, all, this blog is way overdue, but I put off writing it because it made just the least bit melancholy. This is the last blog I will write for the school: my farewell to you all. But things aren’t all glum as an article I wrote about the Sea Fair Indian Days Pow Wow–supported by AmeriCorps members from Edmonds CC–just ran in the Seattle Weekly.

That is one example of the many opportunities that writing this blog has given me: freelancing for the Weekly. Because of this blog, and the people who first offered this media venue to me and supported me as I began to explore its possibilities, I have been able to write for our local paper, the Edmonds Beacon, and our school publication, the Triton Review, as well. (Before taking over AfterWords, I had only seen my name in print in the odd poetry anthology.) From the nurturing foundation of this blog, I became aware of countless activities, people, and passions around my school and community. I will probably remain emblazoned in the minds of Edmondians as that persistent girl zipping around readings and conferences in the TUB passing out little green pieces of paper proclaiming: “Who Cares What You Think? We Do.”

I was able to experiment with the blog in ways that I wouldn’t have anticipated. Such as putting up tracks of students’ music on the MP3 blog, or learning to edit and web compress footage for our first video entry. Though things slowed down as the year advanced, during my time as blogger there were high points of activity, such as with the Imaginary Invalid posting, and the Cecilia Alvarez online debate.

Last month around this time I graduated from Edmonds Community College with an Associate of Arts degree, with intent to transfer to either the University of Washington or the University of Minnesota (I’d been accepted to both). After prolonged deliberation, I’m 99% settled on relocating to Minneapolis, where my older sister Arleen works, and finishing my Bachelor of Arts there before proceeding to law school. However, the AfterWords blog was instrumental in making journalism an inalienable fascination of mine, and I intend to continue freelancing to support my local arts, culture, and volunteer community for the rest of my days.

This blog has wrought significant change in my life, and for that I will always be grateful to my first mentor at Edmonds Community College, AmeriCorps head Dr. Thomas Murphy. If Tom hadn’t casually asked me one day in his office if I’d like to take over for chronicling AmeriCorps happenings as part of my three hundred hour pledge of service, I wouldn’t be sitting here typing this. Tom referred me to Edmonds CC Public Information Officer Michele Graves, who provided me with invaluable guidance as I began to experiment with journalism both online and in print. There were many, many others who prompted me along this path, and helped me progress when I was in danger of being sidetracked: Melissa Newell, KayLee Abbott, computer whizzes Marti Baker and Phuc Nguyen, Joanna Goff, Michelle Butler and Wayne Anthony from the Office of Student Life, Jon Marr, Cecilia Alvarez, my mom and dad Kamal and Nayantra Nand, and a legion of wonderful Edmonds CC people. This blog gave me the chance to connect with talented, compassionate, inspiring individuals who profoundly changed my life for the better.

As is my tradition whenever turning over a former domain to another, I would like to conclude by offering some pertinent points of advice to the next AfterWords blogger(s):

Welcome to the AfterWords blog, congratulations on your new position of influence on the Edmonds Community College campus. I do not intend to take up more than a few minutes of your beleagured time, but I thought that you could do with a few tips from a veteran blogger.

Never, under any circumstances, attempt to use conventional “i” tags to italicize unless you enjoy the look of italics so much that you want the entire website to appear in slant.

Michele Graves is your best hope for survival, but remember that she is a chronically busy woman and call before you drop by her cubicle for a visit.

The spammers who’ve latched onto our little blog are nefarious buggers…they will eventually figure out your first name and include that in their counterfeit postings in an attempt to escape detection. Carefully investigate all links that are posted on random kudos, many are not as innocuous as they appear.

There is nothing quite as gratifying as when someone wants you to write a blog about an event, but make sure that the celebration, etc. you’ve been invited to post about has occured sometime within the past month, at least.

Clone yourself and induct another blogger to share your duties, unless you like the idea of writing a five hundred word blog entry (complete with pictures), the night before your midterm paper is due.

At the very least, actively recruit guest and/or backup bloggers as you will inevitably discover that you cannot cover two events simultaneously. If an arrangement can be brokered with interested instructors, extra credit is a foolproof incentive to generate interest in the blog.

If you become as ambitious as I, never forget that while most video footage is saved into MPEG extensions, the school servers prefer non-Apple media files…do not allow yourself to be driven mad by said discrepancy.

And if, like me, you begin to diversity your writing obligations, it will become tempting to delay entries one or two days, weeks…but resist temptation!

Regarding pictures: slide.com is a handy tool; contact me if you would like to continue use of the “revwebed@edcc.edu” account that I established there.

Remember also that Jon Marr generously created an AfterWords server folder for storing bits and pieces of the website (e.g. all of the tracks from the student player reside there; also feel welcome to contact me about managing the code for that), though it can be the very devil to log into. Additionally, the iTunes University service that I waited in vain for is available to you (lucky duck).

No matter how virtuous you believe yourself to be, avoid writing about topics that bore or confuse you. Trust me, it will reflect in your writing quality.

As I hinted a few times, I am always available to answer any questions or provide general counsel. I would love to hear from you!

It is a perilous journey ahead, but do not allow yourself to ever feel discouraged for long. Trust me, there will be oodles and oodles of people rooting for you.

This blog will become an incredible adventure if you remember to enjoy yourself “every step of the way”.

Good luck!

Jenna Nand
Former AfterWords blogger

P.S. I’m not completely out of reach: I joined the Edmonds CC “Ning” community constructed by Michele Graves. My profile is listed under my middle name: Jothika, feel free to add my account as a friend, view my pictures, and read some of my unofficial blogs!

As Mr. Glass was stricken with the flu, pictures by me, Jenna Nand.

Our Edmonds Community College Queer Coalition and Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transsexual Assocation (GLBTA) was one of the few student groups to go to this year’s Pride Parade. They went and proved unequivocally just how awesome they are!

I haven’t had this much fun in a long time! It is difficult to explain just how much revelry the 2007 Pride Parade offered. When I went down to meet Luke and the others, I was looking forward to seeing all of the beautiful costumes (and yes, my first drag queen in the flesh), but I wasn’t expecting to become so involved in the experience. Luke, Thomas, Michelle, William, Shirley, everyone from Edmonds Community College (and many people who weren’t) were so thoroughly welcoming and accepting. It was a beautiful atmosphere, full of joy, discovery, merrymaking, and—of course—indomitable pride.

Since I was in the parade, I cannot testify to how the parade looked for without. But within it was a whirlwind. I thought, when I graduated last week, that I had had the last great experience that Edmonds Community College had to offer me. I was so mistaken. Luke put me into a purple Edmonds GLBTA t-shirt and made me one of the gang. We laughed, cracked jokes about all of the “gay” music invading our ears, pleaded with the fitful sky together, and just entertained each other while waiting for our little segment of the parade to begin moving.

The sights were amazing. Stilt-walkers, martial artists, stagecoaches and horses, showgirls, dragqueens, “dykes on bikes”,…larger than life, cartoon genitalia. Seattle has a reputation for being a bit drab, but the volume of color in downtown on June 24 could rival Rio de Janeiro in the middle of Carnival. I have never seen our plain sparrow of a city adorned with so many gorgeous feathers.

I haven’t marched in a parade since I was a little girl in Louisiana tapping away in my leotard. Just to hear the constant roar of the crowd, see so many supportive people waving and smiling and cheering us on, was a euphoric experience. The hour we spent marching seemed to pass in minutes. More than once, an Edmonds student on the sidewalk would jump out to greet us (like a certain stage manager , who goes by the name of Jordan). Each block had some startling detail like that.

Even though the protestors there attempted to impinge on the celebration with their close-minded hatred, I was impressed by how little attention they were paid. Their negativity and intolerance, in that setting, was so irrelevant that it was nearly laughable.

Afterwards (when I was too tired to get many good pictures), we all sat on the grass, gobbled food, and were serenaded by the Seattle Gay and Lesbian Chorus. I vegetated in the sunshine until the rain became a serious threat. I haven’t been to a Mardi Gras since I was six, in Louisiana, but on Sunday I was reminded of how beautiful the celebration of life could be. The parade’s unifying message I believe, apart from the obvious, is to live this life to its fullest. Unashamedly, and unapologetically.

(Photos taken by me, Jenna Nand, on my piddling camera phone, unless noted with an asterisk (*), in which case the subjects were lucky enough to be photographed by Triton Review photographer Alex Glass, with his hideously expensive camera. )

Fiesta Latina, on Saturday, June 2nd, rocked! The Latin American Student Association (LASA) of Edmonds Community College (whew, that is a mouthful) did the impossible: they staged a fun, vibrant, diverse celebration of the Latin American Community for students and community members for free!

Between two and three hundred students and community members, in part lured in by the $300+ donation of free burritos and salsa/chips from nearby Chipotle, stuck around during the sunny, seven hour event to catch a variety of performances. It is difficult to choose just one favorite! Between the Grammy-nominated Nueva Era salsa band, the beautiful mothers and children comprising the folkloric dance troupe “Colores de Mexico”, and the deeply spiritual collective of Aztec dancers “Mexica Tiahui”, this had to be the best free ticket in town.

From the first, with groups of students giving a hoola-hoop demonstration, I felt that a puckish sort of glee had infected all of the celebrants there. We were able to collectively lay down our burdens—finals, graduation, college decisions, etc.—and experience Latin American culture joyfully. After LASA’s intrepid president Jason Fernandez gave a welcoming speech, we were free to wander, avail ourselves on Chipotle’s yummy burritos, peruse the vendor’s authentic wares, and ooh-and-ahh over the little kids in their adorable outfits.

There was plenty afoot on stage, too. Student actor and musician Julian Estrada (a great ballad of his, incidentally, is available for listening on the AfterWords blog music entry) used his guitar to gently lead the crowd into the mood with a few tunes strummed Spanish-style. He was followed by “cavity-inducingly cute” (Alex Glass’ phrase, not mine ) troupe of little girls and boys who exhibited traditional Mexican dances under the guidance of their white-gowned mothers. These women, employed at Arlington Elementary, followed up with a few dances of their own. I particularly enjoyed the mournful tale of “La Bruja”, and I thought that the Mexican fans used during the dancers were both ethereal and theatrical.

It would take thousands of words to properly portray all of the top notch artists there. Such as Nueva Era, Quichua Mashis (who I swear I saw at Folklife a few weeks ago, too), and our own sultry Salsa instructor, Andrea Akiyama. One experience that stood out for me was the Aztec dance, though. After watching an impressive performance, with spoken intervals during which the lead dancer proudly countered popular misconceptions about his culture, the audience was invited to close the circle with the dancers. After expressing gratitude for being shown such a dramatic and profound form of worship, many of the students who—like me—are on the cusp of leaving, broke down into tears. To have the Aztec spiritualists consecrate our courtyard with their prayers highlighted how beautiful our school really is, and what a wonderful, nurturing experience Edmonds Community College has been for us all. Though I managed to stay dry-eyed, I experienced the same quality of peaceful sorrow and sad, though satisfied, farewell to the school.

I want to thank LASA, and the dozens of volunteers with them, who made such a beautiful, exuberant, and poignant event possible. There really is a no more perfect way to say goodbye.

Though I was able to peek in for about ten minutes–and caught a bit of a talented Jazz ensemble–I was too freaked over the Guitar exam held today to linger. However, a guitar maven from my class, David Hollingsworth, is light years ahead of me on our common instrument and was free to write up a wonderful blog entry about Springfest! Thanks, David!

Spring Fest 2007 was a big hit. There were plenty of things to keep anyone occupied for the entire day. The games, food, and shows were all wonderfully entertaining. The staff was also very fun to watch work. They seemed to enjoy their jobs with an unnatural fervor.

Among the plethora of games, there was the Fantasy gaming clubs game; a deceptively simple game in which you attempt to shoot a monster with an (approximate) ½ pound bow and sticky arrows. This game was one of my favorites, but this may have been attributed to me sticking an arrow onto a monster’s crotch. It was a well placed shot and got the honor that I deserved; a key chain supporting teaching and a pack of Magic cards.

And heaven help anyone who takes on the eating challenge. Thank god watermelon is mostly water, or else we would have some particularly disgusting wretches to deal with. Although I will admit, I felt that I had seen it all when a 5’3 100 lbs. girl won against a boy who, no offense intended, was roughly the size of a large pony. The winner absolutely deserves her prize and maybe a shower as well.

The music was also phenomenal, in particular, the French gentleman. Although I wasn’t able to catch his name, his enthusiasm and will to sing the crowd to silence was marvelous. Also, the different bands were all wonderful. There were simply just too many to name, all of them spectacular.

Needless to say, this year’s Spring Fest was a smash hit, and I cannot wait for next year’s. Really, it kind of makes me want to stay in college.

Avant garde Hip Hop artist and theatre performer Will Power devoted two sessions worth of wisdom to Edmonds Community College students on May 10th. I, unfortunately, was only able to catch the second one (how unfair is it that my International Relations class also started at 12:30?).

Will’s second talk was nothing to sneeze at, however. Our own local Hip Hop Renaissance man “Dizzle” Morrison introduced his fellow emcee, detailing Will’s many impressive accolades and accomplishments (far too numerous to enumerate here). Despite his intimidating curriculum vitae, I was struck by how genuine and eager to relate Will seemed. He could have just as easily been the excitable guy drawing an audience in line at the corner Starbucks as the feted global performer that the Brownbag committee had to book months in advance.

The talk began with a thought-provoking (yet highly entertaining, how did he manage that?) performance in which Will broached many of the subjects that he intended to discuss with greater depth. I remember distinctly a scene he fleshed out, involving a young immigrant mother asking in broken English for a bus driver to turn down the air-conditioner as her child begins to cough. The bus driver contemptuously responds that she should “go back to Mexico” if she is unhappy with the temperature on his bus and Will mournfully asked if “the old people [Civil Rights activists] did what they did so we could turn around and oppress another people?”

After his introductory performance, Will began to feel out the crowd, seeking common points of reference to build lines of discussions upon. He spouted a number of impromptu (?) proverbs, such as “art is the shovel used to unearth the treasures of the past.” He quoted Toni Morrison (one of my favorite authors, I wrote a twenty-seven page paper in English 205 based on the historical trial that inspired her novel “Beloved”), saying something along the lines of [paraphrasing]: the personalities that you most love and absolutely hate originate from within your own family. He then, unexpectedly, compared George W. Bush (not a great favorite amongst most us college-aged folk), Dick Cheney (ditto), and Condoleezza Rice to curmudgeonly old aunts and annoying uncles whom, no matter how much you disagree with philosophically/ideologically, you would never dream of disrespecting. Will challenged us to “stand for” and acknowledge the basic humanity in all people, not merely those that we are more comfortable identifying with.

He delved deeper and challenged the very vocabulary of divisiveness, reminding us that seven hundred years ago there was no such thing as a “White, Black, or Puerto Rican”. Will’s unifying message was stressed throughout, simply put: there is complexity, irony, and communality in all great art. This nationally-recognized performer beseeched us to celebrate “community artists”, whose work might be local but not necessarily humble, and whose efforts promote self-determination even in “unfashionable” locales.

Artists are our fortune-tellers, able to predict doom. They are also heroes, able to salvage entire worlds and cultures from ignominy and obscurity. After hearing Will’s talk, I feel motivated to peek into our local galleries and maybe buy a CD being sold by a new artist on the sidewalk. Who knows what undiscovered gem we could happen upon if we took a moment to glance at our own feet?

The conversation between Will Power and the audience concluded with a variety of questions. One, about Will’s personal comfort zone and “appropriateness” of Hip Hop today, prompted the hilarious response that “the Iliad is way more violent than rap music today!” We just have to stop applying a special context to one and universally vilifying the other.

I left smiling.

Photos by, well, me: Jenna Nand.

I finally experienced my first powwow! Volunteering behind a concessions stand, for the most part, but it was still quite an experience! The Edmonds Community College First Nations Student Association held its 2007 powwow in the Seaview Gym for hundreds of onlookers and participants.

Though I was only there Friday and Saturday nights (and then mostly to sling frybread and popcorn), I met a number of remarkable people (see slideshow) and was honored and excited to witness and experienced so much of the various cultures of the Native American community.

I knew that my friend Mary Miller was from the Cherokee nation, but I was surprised to learn that another buddy of mine, Venetia, was also part Native American. Mary made some interesting points while we were manning the Welcome Booth at the entrance. I mentioned that I had seen a beautiful buffalo bone and glass bead choker at one of the vendors’ stands, at which Mary remarked that as lovely as it was, she would never risk purchasing something like that without knowing which tribe it had come from. As a non-Native, I was free to bear the adornments of whichever nation I pleased, but there would be a negative reaction if she were found to be wearing jewelry that wasn’t traditionally part of the Cherokee culture. And though I had known that some historical tribes had protected runaways from their vengeful owners during the slave era, I hadn’t realized until the powwow how prevalent Native ancestry was in America’s Black community. When I mentioned my ignorance to Venetia, she offhandedly estimated that 1/3 of self-identified African Americans were some part Native American, whether they were aware of it or not.

In addition to my everyday darlings, I managed to wrangle some time with Andrew Morrison, the gifted artist behind the posters drafted to celebrate the 2007 powwow. Andrew was a former Edmonds Community College student who spoke passionately about the goals for his community that he wished to encourage through his art. (He also signed my poster. ) I even got a word in with Master of Ceremonies Arlie Neskahi, of the Dine’ (formerly known as the Navajos), who saw the powwow as a way to reach out to the mainstream American community and foster a relationship of mutual respect and understanding between the two traditional foes. He also made me especially wistful about missing the last day of the powwow, Sunday the 6th, when the first Native American woman elected to our state legislature, Claudia Kauffman, was set to make an appearance. Talk about rotten luck for me!

I do feel more enlightened for having spent the weekend contributing to the powwow, but I regret that I didn’t get to witness more of the ceremony. I can report that there were a series of competitions (hopefully someone who actually managed to see one the whole way through can fill in the details) involving rhythmic dance. I saw, and the photos clearly testify, that the dancers’ regalia was gorgeous (my inquisitive mother asked to read a tag on one of the robes and quite amused to discover that it had been made in India, our ancestral land). The children were boisterous and incredibly cute in their outfits, and I know that one specific group of little girls competed to see who would become “Powwow Princess” (Venetia was given the unenviable task of selecting just one winner) on basis of a short essay.

Frybread, I discovered, was deliciously fatty slathered in honey and jam (not unlike the puri made by the “other” Indians) and I don’t trust myself within ten feet of the stuff until I am off my diet.

I wish I could report more about the history and traditions of powwows and how they translate into the modern setting, but someone more knowledgeable than I am—presently—will have to draw in the blanks.

I cannot wait to learn more…

My intrepid classmate Foti Angelopoulos was able to attend this amazing lecture, which illness forced me to miss. I hope that you enjoy his well-written entry as much I did! I have always wanted to know more about the “blood diamonds” tragedy in Africa, and found the mentions of Americans counterculture icons like Tupac Shakur startling. What do you think?

Youth In The Military, Violence In West Africa

April 25, 2007

Danny Hoffman, who teaches as an assistant professor of Anthropology at the University of Washington, Seattle, came to EDCC to talk about his experience living in Sierra Leone during the recent civil war (1991 to 2002). While he was there, he lived with Kamajor fighters in order to learn their side of the story and gain a better understanding of the conflict and the region. Kamajors, loosely translated as “hunters” in the Mende language, are the traditional fighters who originally defended the rural villages and outlying areas, but later fought for the elected government against Revolutionary United Front (RUF) forces. These fighters were included as part of the Civil Defense Forces (CDF) who fought against the RUF at the behest of the elected government. In 1991, the war began when RUF fighters spilled over Sierra Leone’s southern border from Liberia and launched an attack. This bloody conflict, in a country of about 4 to 5 million people, took between 50,000 and 200,000 lives before the UN intervened in 2002.

One of the primary reasons for the emergence of the Kamajors as fighters in the CDF was the impotence of the military in defending against the RUF. During the height of the war, the military in Sierra Leone colluded with the invading RUF fighters to sustain the level of violence necessary to circumvent government restrictions regulating the diamond trade, thus reaping huge profits from the sale of “blood diamonds”. When it became clear to the newly elected government in 1996 that the military was cooperating with the RUF, it asked the Kamajors to assist in fighting against the RUF, as the military was not performing that duty. When the military overthrew the government in 1997, it invited RUF forces to help govern the country. This led to further atrocities, such as the common practice of amputation. In 1998, the government asked the Kamajors, to live in the capital city of Freetown and assist in defending it. Much of the violence in this region was characterized by ambushes, attacks on civilians and, to a lesser degree, violence within the ranks of certain factions. Hoffman spent most of his time there living with the Kamajors lived in the dilapidated Brookfield Hotel in Freetown, which became their base of operations. Entire families lived there and many adapted to life in the city by bringing rural communal living to the urban environment.

What did it mean, especially to the young fighters, to be a Kamajor? To them, being a Kamajor means being a man. What meaning, Hoffman asked, did the war have for young men? Many outsiders saw both sides as participating in a local blood feud with little motivation other than money and hatred for each other. Some postulated that the widespread use of drugs was to blame. What Hoffman witnessed in the Kamajors, however, was something entirely different. Hoffman took quite a few pictures while he was there, and presented them to complement the lecture. One of the slides was a picture that looked like it was taken somewhere in Freetown. On the side of a building was a huge picture of Tupac Shakur, a figure of mythical proportions in Sierra Leone. The Kamajors hold mystical beliefs that the hunter has special powers such as the ability to fly, invisibility to their enemies, and being bulletproof. Here, as elsewhere, the myth endured that Tupac was not killed in 1996 when he was the target of a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. Another important figure for the young fighters is Rambo, the personification of supposedly justified violence and war heroism. The Kamajors see themselves as freedom fighters and global citizens. They feel a connection to those in the world wide African community who are suffering under oppression.

Hoffman contends in so many words that many western observers have taken an ivory tower approach to the area north of the Ivory Coast. For this reason, concern about the region has been slow to develop and, where it has, most descriptions of the problem and proposed solutions have suffered from a shallow assessment of the situation. The popular theory for African instability before 1989 was that most conflicts were the result of proxy tensions caused by the Cold War. When the Cold War ended and violence failed to abate in Africa, a new explanation was needed. In 1994, Robert Kaplan, a well connected journalist who has since covered Afghanistan and the Iraq War, published an article in the Atlantic Monthly entitled The Coming Anarchy: How scarcity, crime, overpopulation, tribalism, and disease are rapidly destroying the social fabric of our planet. Kaplan, who spent three days in Sierra Leone, saw the breakdown of a society struggling to reconcile old ways of life in a changing world. According to Hoffman, the article viewed the conflict in Sierra Leone as little more than a tribal war caused by the nature and culture of the indigenous people. This perspective helped to inform US-African foreign policy at the time and contributed to the hands-off approach that the western world has generally taken towards

When the international community, through the UN, finally intervened, some of the CDF leaders, including Kamajors, were indicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone, a court set up by the UN to try crimes committed during the civil war. Originally asked to speak with those preparing to prosecute the crimes, Hoffman declined and later joined the proceedings as a witness for the defense. He did this in part because he did not want to close the door on further study in the region, but also because he felt that the Kamajors were not a war group that had played a major part in contributing to the gruesome violence, but rather that they had played a pivotal role in the restoration of social order.

To summarize Danny Hoffman’s argument and main points, the current popular western view of African conflict as being caused by the nature of their culture is wrong and becomes dangerous when it causes indifference or inaction on the part of the international community. Academics, those interested in the region and willing to experience and learn the realities first hand, need to become more involved in increasing public awareness and gaining a voice in the political affairs of those nations that are able to help. Globalization has played a key role in shaping the ideals and perceptions of a supposedly isolated and backward African state. International participation is vital to ensuring that the trend of bloody conflict does not continue in the region or wherever else it may arise.

Here is an update on the altruistic efforts of Edmonds students from our fearless AmeriCorps leader, Dr. Thomas Murphy! It looks like they had a blast mucking about in the dirt for a worthy cause.

Edmonds Community College Students Rescue Lyon Creek

On Friday, April 13, eleven Edmonds Community College (ECC) students of Environmental Anthropology are going to team up with the Adopt-A-Stream Foundation staff to restore 500 feet of stream corridor on Lyon Creek, a small salmon that flows from Mountlake Terrace to Lake Washington.

“It’ll be cool says AASF Technician Walter Rung who completed the ECC class two years ago. “The college students will get to see a fish habitat problem, act on a designed solution and totally transform the site in one day.” ECC’s Environmental Anthropology program headed is headed Thomas Murphy. Under his tutelage, students learn about negative human impacts on the environment and take actions to counter those impacts.

“This stream project will involve some blood, sweat, and maybe a few tears.,” adds AASF Director Tom Murdoch. “First, the students will be removing thick stands of blackberries, old concrete and other human caused debris. Next, they will plant several hundred desirable native trees and shrubs. Then, they will place mulch around the new streamside vegetation. On Saturday, everyone is going to be a bit sore.”

Lyon Creek is a small salmon stream in an urban area. It has generally poor water quality. Also, during the summer, the water temperature in the stream often rises to lethal levels for salmon and trout due to lack of shade around the creek. “Salmon and trout need cool water averaging around 55 degrees Fahrenheit,” says Senior Ecologist Tom Hardy. “When the temperature rises, water loses its ability to hold oxygen…if the oxygen levels get too low, salmon and trout suffocate and go belly up.” This effort will combat that problem.

This stream restoration project is one of 12 that the Adopt-A-Stream Foundation is doing in the Lyon Creek watershed thanks to a grant from the Washington State Department of Ecology Centennial Clean Water Fund.

Date: April 10, 2007

From: The Adopt-A-Stream Foundation (AASF); NW Stream Center 600-128th Street SE, Everett, WA 98208 (www.streamkeeper.org)

Contacts:
Tom Murdoch, AASF Director - 425-316-8592 (at the NW Stream Center)
Tom Hardy, AASF Fish & Wildlife Mgr. - 425-316-8592
Walter Rung, AASF Technician - 425-328-6095 (cell phone at Lyon Creek site)
Thomas Murphy, ECC Director of Anthropology – 425-640-1076

Event: Stream Restoration – Lyon Creek

Time/Locations/Activities:
9:00 AM to 10:15 - NW Stream Center, 600 128th Street SE, Everett WA 98208. Student watershed/project briefing, plant and equipment packing, travel to Lyon Creek site.

10:15 AM to 4:00 PM – Carrie Lewith Home, 19055 35th Ave NE, Lake Forest Park, WA 98155.

Author William Dietritch, who in 1990 won the Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on the Exxon-Valdez oil spill, exhorted Edmonds staff and students to fully appreciate Earth Month during a lecture held in the Triton Union Building, at 12:30 pm today. The hour went quickly as Dietritch read aloud excerpts from his various non/fiction publications and described his impact on the American consciousness through environmental journalism.

Dietritch began his insidious assault on eco-indifference with an exuberant description of the jellyfish, which he called a “hallucination”; his lyrical analogies of the sea-beastie (whose litheness he compared to the “undulations of an exotic dancer”) were enough to take the sting out of any unpleasant memories that an unwary swimmer might harbor. Satisfied that he had captured our attention, Dietritch embarked on a meandering journey through his personal history–from local boy at the crossroads of social revolution to Neiman Fellow at Harvard, Seattle Times journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner, to his present occupation as a freelancer and professor at Western Washington University–interspersed with startling biological facts about humans and the world we inhabit. He began by reading from one of his three nonfiction books: Natural Grace. In it, we were introduced to Coyote, Raccoon, Crow, and Possum as Warner Bros. and many Northwest Native traditions intended: crafty (and anthropomorphized) little buggers who thrive in our manufactured jungle because they–unflatteringly–bear so many traits reminiscent of humankind. Dietritch concluded with a snippet from his epilogue, where humans were compared (truthfully be also unflatteringly) to a virus, wholly dependent on other living organisms to thrive, and continually in danger of fatally draining their hosts’ resources. After having humorously denigrated our entire species, the author carried on by demonstrating his fluency in local environmental concerns and campaigns, borrowing sections from an essay he contributed to On Puget Sound.

What I remember most distinctly about this sample of writing was the melody of sorrow, as the beauties of the Pacific Northwest are exquisitely drawn out then brutally defaced by the population explosion on its banks. Dietritch gentled shaded in the triumphs of nature above and below the waters of the Puget Sound before erasing them with the harsh whining of pleasure-crafts and other manmade vessels “boiling” on the surface of the Sound. This vignette left me feeling vaguely mournfully and fleetingly panicked. All marks of an evocative writer.

William Dietritch ended on a curious note, yanking the audience away from the ravished gems of nature to the looted treasures of the Pharaohs with his latest novel: Napoleon’s Pyramids. Dietritch explained that Napoleon’s naive attempt to invade Egypt in 1798, ostensibly to “liberate” the Egyptians from their pre-existing form of government and consequentially enrich himself, mirrors America’s present-day quagmire of Iraq. Whatever his subject, Dietritch proved to be an adept writer and a speaker with the patience and credibility common to teachers everywhere. Accolades aside, I’m honestly thinking about picking up his last book; it sounds like a good read.

Edmonds Community College students (like me and the rest of you fortunate souls) can thank the Convergence Writers Series committee members: Jim O’Donnell, Nancy Kennedy, Greg VanBelle, Marcia Woodard, and Holly Hughes for inviting William Dietritch to our modest TUB 202. And, of course, Mr. Dietritch himself for accepting their invitation!

They are also responsible for the upcoming talk by Linda Lyshall on the 19th and the oodles of environmentally-geared exhibits available to students in the intervening days. I plan to experience as many as my schedule will permit.

My old classmate and fellow volunteer, HELP Club Secretary and founding member Johnny Robins, wrote a delightful vignette about the Interfaith Shelter cleanup last Saturday. Full time AmeriCorps member Kimberley Morgan has volunteered with this shelter for years!

I noticed, while volunteering last Saturday, that trees do not say thank you when you have volunteered your time, but people do. Several people told me thank you last Saturday and made me feel like the time I spent volunteering was worthwhile. Most of the projects that HELP Club has engaged in deal with outdoor native growth revitalization, so it was a welcome change of pace when the group decided to volunteer at the Interfaith Shelter in Everett last week. We were able to see, firsthand, the people that our volunteer efforts were benefitting when we served lunch and hid candy filled plastic eggs for the children.

Interfaith Shelter is a place for families that have become homeless to stay while they stabilize their lives. Families can stay from 90-120 days while parents find work and a dwelling. While at the shelter several programs help adults find employment and assistance, while children are able to have tutors that help with their homework nightly. With the shelter’s assistance families can find the tools they need to clear their way.

Saturday’s event started with donations from the campus community, local grocers, Panera Bread and the efforts of volunteers in the weeks before the event. Hours were spent soliciting donations, stuffing candy in plastic eggs and cooking food for lunch. Volunteers arrived at 10am to prepare lunch for 45 people. The effort was rewarded when we all sat down, volunteers and families, and ate lunch together. After lunch was over the children rushed the yard where the eggs where hidden while parents and volunteers watched and smiled. After 30 minutes of frantic searching for eggs the children where presented with with baskets of toys, candy, and toiletries while the parents where given laundry baskets, toiletries and other goodies.

This brings us to the ‘thank you’. When someone looks at you and tells you they are thankful, and really means it, you feel pretty good. It does not take much to spend a couple of hours helping another peson, but it can feel pretty rewarding when they express their gratitude. I reccomend everybody try it. If you would like to be added to the HELP Club email list just let me know at johnny.robbins@edcc.edu.

~~Johnny