Gladiators take talents overseas

Three GHS students are currently touring Europe with the Oregon Ambassadors of Music, an invitation-only assemblage of some of the best high school musicians in the state. Below are a photos of the OAM band and choir. featuring Joe B. (trumpet), Delaney P. (clarinet) and Shae W. (voice) in London last weekend. Also see this brief concert clip posted by a local Londoner. 

If you happen to be in France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy or Germany in the next week or so and spot a kid who looks like Officer Poncherello with a crew cut, say hello to my son for me.

UPDATE (15 JULY 2009): Apparently, if you watch this Webcam in Rothenburg ob der Tauber Friday around 5:00 a.m. PDT, the kids will make an appearance. Like the site says, klicken Sie auf das Vorschaubild um die Originalansicht in einem neuen Fenster zu öffnen. Got it? (Simplified: Click on the little picture to open the big picture. C'mon, that's common um-zu sentence construction, easy stuff.)

Separated at birth?

Sarah Jessica Parker, 

Dee Snider

The world beyond Gladstone

It's probably good, every so often, for a reality check, one that compares our relatively insular lives to the larger world. One such check occurred for me earlier today. An acquaintance of mine serving in the military responded as follows to a recommendation to take a look at a video posted on the Internet:

I will have to look at the video later, as I am currently in Luanda, Angola. The internet here is not quite fast enough to make video viewing worthwhile. I am in a suit and tie, getting ready to go to a 4th of July party at the US Embassy. I head back to Rabat, Morocco tomorrow, and I will watch the video then. By the way, Angola is much nicer than I thought it would be. The cost of living is outragous, and the traffic in Luanda (the capital) is beyond bad, but the country as a whole is working very hard to come back from over 15 years of war (actually back to 1974, if you don't include the short break around the early 90's).

RIFfed

Quote of the Day: "Kivett is so much more than our band teacher."

Condolences to all the staff at GHS (and the kids they've influenced) who got the bad news today.

Dining on the coast

Finding a worthwhile restaurant on the Oregon Coast often seems to be a crapshoot. So I was really pleased to stumble across the Newport Cafe last weekend when I was down there for the Gladstone-Newport football game. It looks like a former '60s-era drive-in. Inside, it appears to be family-run and very family-oriented. They offer a great variety of breakfast, lunch and dinner items ranging from $3 to $25. I had an albacore tuna fish-and-chips special. It included five good-size chunks of fish, a modest portion of really good home-style fries, lemon and tartar sauce, all for less than $9. To top it off, they had the Red Sox vs. the Blue Jays on the television. I'll definitely go back, and I'll take my family. You can find in on U.S. 101 at the corner of Northeast 6th.

Coming soon to a windshield near you

Don't cars come with ash trays any longer? They all have them, don't they? So why does the knucklehead in front of me feel the need to send his burning cigarette butt airborne, in the direction of my car's grille? If you are a cigarette smoker, here's my message to you: Throwing burning material from your car is illegal, it's a fire hazard, and it could initiate a road rage incident. Face facts—your clothes and your car already smell, so just keep that stinky stub in there with you.

A thought about leadership

Hillary Clinton claims that she is more prepared than Barack Obama to lead the country. That may be true. But my question is this: Which candidate is the country more prepared to follow?

Freshman basketball: Perfection

I probably wouldn't be doing my job as a dad and a sports fan if I didn't mention the season just concluded by the GHS freshmen boys' basketball team. Under the tutelage of Mr. Ken Riggan, ably assisted by David Duong, these boys wrapped up their schedule with a win over LaSalle to finish with an amazing 20 wins against zero defeats.

Making this feat even more remarkable is the fact that Coach Riggan, while he certainly wants to win, is a firm believer that teaching trumps winning. So obviously, the boys listened and learned! Coach Riggan has been around GHS since, I believe, the fall of 1968 and cannot recall another undefeated squad. Beau, Blake, Drew, Erik, Hector, Jacob, Joe, Kenny, Mason, Sage and Ted: Great job!

Fishing fights cancer

The Sherrie Hildreth Ovarian Cancer Foundation has scheduled its second annual Fish for Life salmon derby for Saturday, April 5, at Clackamette Park in Oregon City. (Sherrie, of course, teaches sixth graders at Kraxberger Middle School.) Registration for the derby is $50 per angler, $150 in the Pro Guide division. The event also includes a barbecue, raffle and silent auction. The raffle features a hand-crafted Willie drift boat. For more information, visit the SHOC Foundation Web site.

Catching up on the news

It's been a long, long time since I've posted here, but I've got a backlog of topics. Let's see how far we can get. For now, let's talk about Darlene Hooley.

You've probably heard that our longtime congresswomen has decide to leave the House of Representatives at the conclusion of her current term. She's been a strong advocate for business, our armed forces and veterans, and the people of of the 5th District for six congressional terms (not to mention her service as a Clackamas County commissioner and in the Oregon state legislature). I'm disappointed to see her go, but I completely understand the grind and toll that bi-coastal living probably exacts, and I'm hopeful Kurt Schrader can pick up her torch and continue the thoughtful work Rep. Hooley has been doing in the trustworthy manner with which she has conducted herself.

A number of years ago, we (my family) had some difficulties with the INS. An aide of Ms. Hooley's (who now works in government relations for ODOT) looked into our situation and got things moving. I'll always be grateful.

Darlene, thank you for your service.

Gladstone to host state football playoffs

The Oregon School Activities Association has asked permission to hold the 1A State Semi-finals for 8-man football at Gladstone High School. The games will be this Saturday, November 24. The OSAA will rent the facility from Gladstone School District, and the Booster Club will run the concession stands. Crane will play Mohawk at noon; South Wasco County faces Imbler at 4:00 p.m.

Gladstone already has a reputation for putting on great track meets. This is an excellent opportunity for us to further showcase the Gladstone community and our wonderful stadium. Volunteers are needed, in shifts, between 11:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. E-mail the Booster Club (president@gladstoneboosters.org) and let them know when you would be available to help out. By showing the OSAA that we can host games and provide a quality atmosphere, our district wll be in line for more events (and income) in the future.

Remember, snack shack volunteers get to specify a contribution from the profits in the amount of $10 to the GHS sport of their choice, and high school kids 15 and older can work and get community service credit hours.

Network television worth watching

Despite the reported demise of network television, there are three primetime dramas I'm watching on a consistent basis. You might check them out, especially if you've liked the shows I used to like: Wise Guy, Murder One, Homicide: Life on the Street, The West Wing, Shark.

"Journeyman" (Monday 10 p.m., NBC) - Dan Vasser travels back in time, now and then, but doesn't know why. Complicating matters are his job as a newspaper columnist, his brother the police detective, his former love interest who supposedly had died some years earlier but turns out also to be a time traveler, his wife who was formerly his brother's love interest, his young son who once accidentally observed his dad's "magic"...it's a lot of balls to keep in the air at once. Set in San Francisco, it's a nice change of pace from the usual L.A., Chicago or Seattle. Reed Diamond is the only cast member I was familiar with previously, due to his work as Detective Mike Kellerman in "Homicide: Life on the Street." Interesting cultural and historical snippets are interspersed, such as Nixon's resignation, Neil Young playing the Winterland and the 1989 Bay Area earthquake.

"Life" (Wednesday 10 p.m., NBC) - I think this show is actually starting to generate a little buzz. It stars Damian Lewis, most familiar for playing paratrooper Dick Winters in the HBO drama series "Band of Brothers." He's been released from jail after serving a number of years for a crime he didn't commit. The resulting lawsuit has put this complex, Zen-like character back on the job &mdash as a police detective. It also made him rich, so he and his financial advisor, a former white-collar criminal he met in prison (played by Adam Arkin of "Northern Exposure," "Chicago Hope") live in a fabbo mansion. Not everyone on the force believes he was wrongly convicted, so much conflict ensues as he tries to both do his job and figure who framed him to start with.

"Numb3rs" (Friday 10 p.m., CBS) - Speaking of "Northern Exposure," this drama stars Rob Morrow as FBI agent Don Eppes, whose genius math-whiz brother helps him track down criminals and solve crimes. Math is everywhere, you know. Also features Judd Hirsch ("Taxi," "Dear John") and Peter McNichol, as well as a really cool bungalow in Pasadena.

The big plays

Dennis Dixon going down early in Oregon's game against Arizona was, obviously, huge. Kwame Agyeman's fumble at the end of the fake punt was big, too. But I'm focused on three other key plays that I think were difference makers.

• The pass dropped in the end zone. It hit the receiver right in the number and would have put Arizona down a quick 15-0.
  
• Cason's punt return for touchdown. The back judge was so intent on where to drop his bean bag that he blew the obvious illegal block that sprung Cason. The play should have come back.
  
• Grigsby's one-yard run. Late in the fourth quarter, trailing by only seven points, the Ducks intially stopped the Arizona running back well short of the first down. But a great second effort got Grigsby over the line to gain for a fourth-down conversion, and Arizona subsequently moved the ball into field goal position and put the game out of reach.

It wasn't the Ducks' night. It also wasn't ESPN's night. Fowler spent the entire first half mis-identifying the Duck who dropped the pass in the end zone (it wasn't Williams). According to one of Fowler's play calls, Stewart ran up the middle and fumbled but the fumble was recovered by Leaf; in actuality, Leaf had the ball the entire time. Later, WR Derrick Jones dropped (another) pass; when they put up a follow-up shot to get his reaction on the bench, they got the wrong number 6 and showed Walter Thurmond III. And they never did correctly pronounce the name of Oregon's kicker. Finally, maybe this is just me, but what the guys with the microphones interpreted as a lack of life, hope and enthusiasm on the Oregon sidelines after Dixon's injury I took to be a lack of panic. I think the Ducks were confident that Leaf and the rest of the team were going to find a way to win.

Missing passed classmates

We haven't lost many classmates from the GHS Class of 1980, at least as far as I know. Russ Jones and Tim Gorman come quickly to mind. We lost another this past weekend. Caroline Meyer was a star of our High-Q team and, along with her brother, one of the smartest people I've ever met.

Here is her obituary from The Oregonian:

Caroline F. Meyer
A memorial service will be at 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17, 2007, in Ross Hollywood Chapel for Caroline F. Meyer, who died Nov. 10 of cancer at age 44.

Caroline Meyer was born Dec. 9, 1962, in Wheelus Air Base, Libya. She graduated from Portland State University and was an underwriter for Standard Insurance.

Survivors include her father, John; sister, Catherine; brother, Patrick; and companion, Mark Fleming.

Remembrances to the Oregon Zoo. Arrangements by Ross Hollywood.

Not a valid reason

The two ballot measures clogging the airwaves in the run-up to this November's election are generating no shortage of misleading arguments. The most ridiculous of them is the anti-50 message telling us we "shouldn't mess with our constitution." What is sometimes forgotten is that the Oregon constitution is not at all like the relatively pristine, high-minded United States constitution. As noted in a Corvallis Gazette-Times editorial earlier this week, our state constitution "is more of a legislature- and voter-approved dumping ground than the New Jersey salt marshes" and has been amended 24 times in the past eight years alone. If I'm not mistaken, something like 240 amendments have been tacked onto Oregon's constitution.

I also don't buy the argument that taxing a product seeing diminshing use—and that we all hope disappears—is unwise because then that funding also disappears. But do you realize how much healthcare money we will save by taxing cigarettes out of existence? And how many fewer kids will start smoking due to the expense?

Regardless, you might find a reason to vote against Measure 50. But the fact that it changes the Oregon constitution really shouldn't be one of them.

Another voice talks about one of the jewels of Gladstone

West Linn writer Cornelia Becker Seigneur has discovered the Happy Rock Coffee Company on Portland Avenue in downtown (no giggling when you say that!) Gladstone. Read her very nice take on the local atmosphere here.

4A Football: Somebody's not paying attention

Gladstone and Cascade have the same record and similar results on a game-by-game basis. But somehow, barely a week removed from defeating Cascade, the Gladiators are ranked behind the Cougars in the new poll. Fortunately, this isn't like the BCS; in the long run, the polls don't matter, only the playoffs.

A Night of Celebration

Hey, Gladstoners. Just in case you’re interested, I have eight four two remaining raffle tickets at $25 each for one prize of $4,000 in travel vouchers. Only 600 tickets will be sold, and all proceeds support the Gladstone Education Foundation. The drawing will be this Saturday night—need not be present to win. Saturday is the GEF dinner auction fundraiser; if you aren’t already attending but are interested in doing so, give Tammy Tracy (some of you might remember her as Tammy Davis) a call at 503-650-2577 or visit this Web site: www.gladstone.k12.or.us/.

Some of you have already donated auction items for this event; thank you very much for doing that. Anyone who would like me to set aside one or more raffle tickets for them, just drop me a line with your address and phone number in the next couple days.

Also, this Friday night is the Homecoming football game. The boys are having a very good season, and the facility features a new track and synthetic playing surface that is fantastic, so come have a look. Those of you in the Class of 1980, following up on Ted’s idea, how about we gather near the snack shack in the northwest corner at the end of the first quarter? (Just so you know what you've been missing out on, Diane's niece was homecoming queen last year.)

Small-town barber shops are the best

If you're a guy and you go somewhere other than a classic downtown storefront barber shop of between one and four chairs, you are missing an experience that will help complete your training as a male of the species. What's there? No "Cosmopolitan" or "Us Weekly" magazine. Maybe "Time" or "Newsweek," and almost always a couple years' worth of "Outdoor Life" and "Sports Illustrated." Sometimes there's a television, in case there's a ballgame on, or golf; if not, reruns of COPS will do. But best of all (besides a fine haircut at a reasonable price) is the local flavor. By that, of course, I mean the characters.

A couple days ago I visited a fine local example of this institution on Gladstone's Portland Avenue. On this particular day, Ton, the proprietor, didn't have much to say, but that was mainly because he could not get a word in edgewise. The leader of the day's discussion just preceded me in through the door, but he graciously offered to let me go ahead. I told him I was on vacation and not in a particular hurry, but he informed me that he was coming up on 87 years of age and had been on vacation 20 straight years. So I was next.

I think the guy just wrapping up in the chair knew what was coming, because when he was finished, he didn't leave; he just took a seat.

During the course of my haircut, we covered a lot of ground. Howard Hobson had refereed this gentleman's eighth-grade football game; I'm not sure I exactly followed the story that Mr. Hobson flattened a mouthy head coach with one post-game punch. (BTW, this would have been about six years before Hobby led the Tall Firs of the University of Oregon to the first NCAA basketball championship.) Did you know Tommy Prothro was played quarterback in the 1942 Rose Bowl game that was played in North Carolina due to onset of the war with Japan? (I knew it had been played there, didn't know Prothro was involved.) At Oregon State, I learned, Coach Prothro always had a couple cases of Coke handy; "The Pumpkin" (that's Dee Andros for any latecomers), on the other hand, kept a keg of beer nearby. And the Oregon State baseball squad defeated Oregon two out of three during my conversational partner's time on campus in Corvallis. I couldn't really figure out if he actually played ball for the Beavers, but he did tell me that Oregon's baseball coach was the legendary Len Casanova; "heckuva football coach, but he didn't know much about baseball."

Our conversation wasn't completely limited to sports. Too many countries have the A-bomb. Stay healthy by walking an hour and a half every day ("that's your job"). At some point, this world isn't going to be able to handle all the people on it. China and India now have as many people as the Earth's entire population in the '30s.

That was probably about half of what we went through. I don't know how long I was there, but it seemed like the fastest haircut I ever had. And before I left, it was pointed out to me that someday I'd be eligible to pay the same price he does; those age 65 and better pay $10 instead of $12. Well, I've got a few years to go yet. But if every visit to the barber shop is as interesting and entertaining as this one, there's no doubt about the value of that extra two dollars.

Baker History: College Football

I'm initiating a page on Ralph "Moon" Baker, my great uncle and an All-American halfback at Northwestern University in the 1920s. The triple-threat halfback led the Wildcats to a tie for the Big Ten conference title in 1926. He was named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1981. Only my uncle Gerald (Dad's older brother) rivals Ralph in gridiron accomplishments (a running back for Wesleyan University, he was pictured alongside the great Jim Brown of Syracuse in a Sports Illustrated college football preview issue). See link at left.