Let me begin this column by saying I am not by nature a salesperson, so I won’t try to “sell” anyone on this situation, but I do want to mention it. Over the past 13 years, give or take a weekend, the family one house north of the house wherein I rent a room have become more than just neighbors, we have become people who trust each other.
Of the family of four now in the house, Angie is the youngest (that’s what she is called, her name is Anamari) and does most of the translations when needed; through which over time both her parents’ English and my Spanish have improved. Dash is a sus scrofa domesticus, that is to say, a pig. Moreso, a black-and-white pig and as this is the merry month of May, you all know where this is headed. Angie is a member of King City FFA (she and her parents just a few minutes ago set off for Gilroy to purchase white FFA uniform pants), and Dash is her entry in this year’s Fair.
And that is where it ends for me. I could tell you Angie lost her first pig this year to pneumonia and chose to not give in but try to recoup her losses, that she either alone or sometimes with her brother or a parent, but mostly alone, walks to the Stampede area Quonset-type pens (where Dash is living his all-to-short-existence) to clean, feed and walk her animal in preparation for show and auction. But I won’t go into all that.
What I will say is go to the Fair and enjoy yourselves and if you happen to be one of those people, or know some of those people, who purchase Fair animals, then good for you, and them, for helping out young people like Angie. ‘Nuff said here.
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On one of John and Karen’s notable tours of downtown King City, this one held last Friday, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting and conversing with Andy and his driver, a very nice lady named Kimberly. Andy is the great-grandson of Charles King, who as most of you know is the founder of our fair city. Or maybe he is the great-great-grandson; you’ll have to ask someone on the tour over taking my word for it. Whatever type of a son he is to ol’ Charlie, Andy and Kimberly were very pleasant company.
While walking down Broadway, I gave them a brief rundown on what was happening in KC 13-14 years ago within city government, police especially, and what downtown Broadway looked like as compared to the city now. That impressed them, as it does residents and visitors whose name isn’t part of the heritage of our city. Andy mentioned that what he thought would be a group of people more or less sightseeing was in fact filled with photos, historic references and stories of the city’s early growth years; he was impressed. In fact, everyone gathered was impressed with all Karen and John were able to present on that tour. Good for them.
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“We have met the enemy and he is us.” Those are the words of an opossum named Pogo living in the Okefenokee Swamp; well, kind of. The words actually come from Walt Kelly, the creator of the comic strip that bears the ’possum’s name which, according to some brief research, first appeared in 1962. I was an avid reader of comic strips and remember the quote well but did not remember it was from a 1970 Earth Day poster and a 1971 Earth Day comic strip. In those cases, the intent was to show responsibility for human assaults on Mother Earth and the consequences to follow. Fair enough.
Why the quote is remembered and still in usage 55 years later finds agreement on several quote-oriented websites. All sites refer to the words which led to Pogo’s pronouncement; they were uttered during the War of 1812 by Commander Oliver Perry to Major General William Henry Harrison after the defeat of the British Navy at the Battle of Lake Erie. (“We have met the enemy and they are ours.”) One citation states the quote “reflects the idea that often, the challenges we face are self-created, highlighting a profound commentary on human behavior and responsibility.” Again, fair enough.
I say that in reference to myself, but I think we can all agree we humans can oft times interject an unwanted challenge into our lives. Not into the whole of our lives, just some aspects of daily existence. I found this to be my situation in a couple areas and so a few behavioral and responsibility changes need implementing and that requires some time. That said, I’m going to take a break from the column for the remainder of May. Funny Papers Again will return in the June 3 issue.
Take care. Peace.
