By Jim Kinghorn
Isn’t it great how the state highway department recently decided to honor our local history and heritage by making many of the main routes to Mount Angel back into gravel roads…
Speaking of getting around here, didja notice that at long last the left turn arrow at Water and C streets has been programmed to flash yellow so motorists can go ahead and turn left on what used to be a red light (which had always been legal). Now there’s no reason to doubt, check for pedestrians, oncoming traffic and get on down, get on down the road.
Silverton’s 2016 Relay for Life is in the books and in addition to generating quite a few poignant moments, raised over $20,000 for cancer research. A major portion of this was raised singlehandedly by Carolyn Cooley (you may know her from her table on Water Street) who generated almost $6,000 by selling crocheted butterflies for donations. We all know someone affected by this horrible disease……what are you doing to help? Please consider starting or joining a team for next year’s relay. It does a lot of good and all you have to do is walk…
Are you a hop hound? A barley believer? A fiend of fermentation? Now you can connect with other local mavens of the mash by joining the Foothill Spargers Home Brew Club. Look up their Facey Booky page and prepare to give your trigeminal nerves a workout…
Is The Man the only one that finds it odd that for two weeks every four years we all huddle around the television obsessing about sports that we normally wouldn’t watch even if we were paid to?
The Man’s useless fact of the month: The fingerprints of koala bears are virtually indistinguishable from those of humans, so much so that they could be confused at a crime scene……(but I wouldn’t count on that for your alibi…)
Stacy Palmer from over at the Chamber of Commerce is happy to report that Susie’s Plant Care has emerged triumphant over the Great Aphid Plague of 2016 and the hanging flower baskets are getting back to their beautiful selves.
The mysterious and elusive “Benny” paid Homer Days a visit and quietly spread his $100 bill cheer. The benefactor, whose identity is unknown, placed at least 18 of the crisp $100 bills in tip jars, baby strollers, through cracked car windows and into items for sale. What a great way to make someone’s day a little brighter…. THANK YOU, BENNY!
From time-to-time, someone will stop The Man on the street and comment about something I said (or didn’t say) in this dopey column…. While crossing the foot bridge to the car show at Homer Days, I noticed a couple giving me the “eye” and sure enough she makes a beeline right toward me. Deciding it was too late to run, we exchanged pleasantries and then she said “You know, every month I so look forward to reading your column”….and then with a sigh, turned to her husband and said “and that pretty much tells you how sad my life really is.” Best compliment I ever received….
See you on the street…
