Good morning, everyone... Well, it's a START, isn't it? I'm speaking, of course, of the late-night dusting of snow that actually fell on Spokane last night, and like a savvy traveling salesman who knows when it is time to get off the front porch and try another spiel, another doorbell, the snow didn't stick around very long here in the lowlands. As of 4:00 AM this morning, streets in Northwest Spokane were wet, and although some of the higher ground, particularly East toward Post Falls and West on Sunset Hill and Tower Mountain, still had a small dusting of snow, the snow storm was over by the time most folks greeted the dawn with bleary eyes.
The so-called rain event, which began last night at approximately 10:00 PM in most areas, didn't really do THAT much to address the drought, in my opinion, although from hearing the talking heads on television this morning, they need to reduce their trips to the espresso bars and *actually* go see what the weather is doing. For the record, we received .22 of an inch of rain; not exactly a gully-washer, by any means, but at this juncture in time, the farmers will take what they can get. In fact, I don't know ANYONE who gives much credence to what the Spokane "news leaders" or their minions, the weather forecasters, have to say. They are as self-serving as a rule as they are supposedly accurate and informed. They spend more on their pearly smiles than they do actually going out and covering the news, which isn't a lot. They attempt to foist themselves off on an unsuspecting public as "in the know" when under even cursory examination, that is not at all factual. Take the current drought, for example. Nearly four months ago, when I announced that Eastern Washington was staring a full-blown drought in the eyeball, I cited a number of technical resources, any of which are available and accessible to anyone with a reasonable Internet access. I capped that statement off with a whirlwind tour of the Palouse, Eastern Washington's premiere wheat-growing region, where I found a gathering of worried wheat farmers sitting on their hams at a popular coffee shop in the heart of wheat and barley country, equally cursing the weather forecast AND the people who deliver it on TV. Feeling a bit frisky, I offered the questionable services of Tunpah Flies with Vultures, one of the medicine men of the Yukapatooie Band of Indians, to perform one of his patented rain dances. I swear by all that's holy, it is one of the first times in years I had *anyone* evince any interest in such a deal. Nobody gives any credence to my buddies inside one of Eastern Washington's most-mythological native presences except farmers desperate for any possible way to get some rain in time for spring planting. Traveling through South Stevens County the other day, I briefly contacted Ol' Tunpah for some help with the drought. He stated to me that it would cost a six pack of Olympia to get the job done, and shut the door of his sagging shack on the Spokane Indian Reservation in my face when I didn't produce the beer in what he considered the appropriate amount of time. However, when I returned an hour later, cold beer in tow, he obliquely stated although he was busy working for other clients, he would handle my request in the order received. Hell, that is obviously a better offer than I've EVER gotten from the television weather forecasters. All they do is try to sell crap that not even members of indigenous native tribes are buying. I hear this morning that we might get some more moisture by the weekend. I may need to buy another six pack if I want more rain. Dave -- Dave Laird ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) The Used Kharma Lot Web Page: http://www.kharma.net updated 11/24/2004 Usenet news server : news://news.kharma.net Fortune Random Thought For the Minute It is very vulgar to talk like a dentist when one isn't a dentist. It produces a false impression. -- Oscar Wilde. _______________________________________________ Libnw mailing list Libnw@immosys.com List info and subscriber options: http://immosys.com/mailman/listinfo/libnw Archives: http://immosys.com/mailman//pipermail/libnw
