Reflections on City Lights, City Sounds

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I didn’t notice until the topic arose at a gathering of neighbors, but the people who own our apartment building seem to crave attention. They’ve added lights. Lots of lights. Around every edge of our building’s roof, and there are lots of edges because of the way the building is constructed. Our specific apartment doesn’t face the lights, but for our neighbors, the new lights definitely brighten their bedrooms at night. 

We drove home after dark yesterday, and our building is, let’s just say, conspicuous. No one who lives here could fail to find their way home in the evening. We’re like the north star a million times over. Nothing around us has more than a lightbulb in a doorway to guide folks. As one who craves the sight of stars at night, I’m saddened to see this “improvement.” Why? What were they thinking? Do they have any second thoughts? Do the owners even live where they can see what they’ve done? 

As I get closer and closer to the point at which I will nod off and never wake up again, I’ve started to think of good things that could happen after I pass away. Two things come mind: lights and sounds. I don’t think we will go back to the stone age, but I do think that people in the future will crave darkness and silence and find ways to access both. People who live in urban areas today are fortunate if they can see Venus in the night sky, much less Orion or the Big Dipper, much less the Milky Way. Yet for most of human history, people relied on the night sky to guide them, land voyagers and seafarers alike. 

Little did I know when I was young that I would lose my ability to see the stars long before I lost my vision. I grew up in a small city with porch lights, street lights and some neon business lights, but we could still see stars and identify constellations. Today, I have to make a determined effort to get far enough away from city lights to get my fill of the night sky. We lived for a few years six miles from a very small town where we had the good fortune of being able to enjoy the stars, and on very dark nights, the Milky Way. My heart aches for the thrill of walking out our back door and looking up to take in the glory of our bit of the universe. Every move we make involves tradeoffs. Sigh.

City sounds are another mixed blessing. Sirens are annoying, but it’s reassuring to know that help is within reach if we need it. Street cleaners are perhaps the major annoyance where we currently live. I’m not sure why our small city thinks that 6:00 a.m. is the right time to send the very noisy street cleaner to our neighborhood. It takes an hour to go up and down the street in front of our building once a week like clockwork. Seriously? Who created this schedule? Bet that machine doesn’t work in their neighborhood ever! 

And then there are the garbage trucks and the food delivery trucks that service us and the restaurants that are nearby. These I value because I love for the garbage to go away, and I love to have half a dozen restaurants so close that we can easily walk to them. (Plus, the garbage and delivery trucks don’t start work at 6:00 a.m.)

Of course we have guys (yes, I’m sure they’re all guys) who make their motorcycles and cars as loud as they can, then rev their engines repeatedly – just to make sure they’re working –before they charge off into the night oblivious to the irritation they leave behind. I once asked a police office if there isn’t a noise ordinance just waiting to be enforced. He looked at me, cocked his head, and asked which crimes I’d place lower on the list of things he should attend to as he chased obnoxious vehicles around town? OK. I get it. But I still believe that eventually noise will become a higher priority than it is now. Maybe we’ll tamp down all other crime and finally be able to chase noise monsters. 

Truck noise is something else again. I don’t know why we can’t require trucks to rein in the noise they make. Some towns have highway signs saying they enforce rules agains certain brakes. Does that work? Do truckers obey such signs? And what about refrigerator trucks that keep their refrigerated trailers cold when the drivers are off eating or partying or who knows where? One more annoyance. 

I could comment on the Navy’s Growler aircraft, but I’m far enough away from them now that they no longer affect me. I learned last year that they their job is to mess with enemy communications, and I want them to do that. But damn those planes are noisy. I’m confident that some future generation will find a way to do their job with less of that bleeping “Sound of Freedom” noise. 

Perhaps the most aggravating noise I’ve heard in the past year was the sound of someone else’s music being shared with the world on a hiking trail of all places. City noise is irritating, but at least it’s in the city where we expect it. It’s bad enough if a group of hikers are yukking it up while hiking, but playing music via a bluetooth speaker when earbuds are the proper way to listen? What the f*ck!!! I’m not on this trail to listen to your music! Do we have to make a rule about not blasting your music to the world? Can you not just know that’s not polite? 

Some noise is inevitable in a city, but I really, truly believe the day will come when we realize that too much noise sets people on edge, and we need to tamp it down. We’ll also realize that the night sky has a calming effect, and we need to find ways for more people to get more of it. I don’t expect to be around when people make darkness and silence a priority, but I know it will happen!

Why Can’t ICE Just…

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Behave? Disappear? Wear body cams? Take off the masks? Focus on actual criminals? Stay away from schools? 

And while we’re at it, why can’t the administration stop with the lying after agents kill a protester? I’m tempted to order a sweatshirt that reads “Domestic Terrorist” to display solidarity with protesters. Protesters with whistles and cameras are not domestic terrorists. Period.

That said, what do you think of the whistle strategy? This is a serious question. They agitate me. Yes, I’m sensitive to sounds, but when I watch the videos of protesters whistling, I tense up. I wonder what the whistling does to law enforcement. Does it make them edgier than they would otherwise be? More trigger happy? 

Most city cops in the US are trained in de-escalation tactics, that is, if protesters and targets are of a mind to de-escalate. They could help in some of the deportation efforts except where local jurisdictions have sanctuary policies. Sanctuary policies vary, but in general, they prohibit local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement actions. So, are these sanctuary policies wise? 

I get why they were enacted. Sanctuary provisions enable undocumented aliens to seek help if they are victims of crime. That’s important. Everyone who is a victim of a crime should be able to talk to police without fear that their immigration status will be used against them. But if local laws protect undocumented people who’ve been convicted of crimes, I’m less enthusiastic. Aren’t these the people who need to be deported? Is there a useful middle ground? 

I know I’m a wimp. I balked at “Defund the Police,” I can’t go all the way with trans activists: I think black lives matter, but I also think all lives matter, I support the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state, but I’d support a Palestinian state if the Palestinians would support the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state. 

Regarding immigration, I don’t see the need to be brutal in enforcing deportation of people who crossed the border in more lenient times. If people requested asylum, they have a right to plead their case. If we need more immigration judges to process an unusual number of applicants, then I’d rather add more judges than ICE agents. We will need young, healthy immigrants in the future. If someone survives the walk across the border, perhaps they’re healthy enough to be useful to us. That said, I’m fine with deporting criminals and policing our border as long as there is a realistic possibility of coming here legally. 

I’m torn because I want “reasonable” border policies. Still, Renee Good and Alex Pretti did not need to die. The vision of thugs in law enforcement uniforms is so abhorrent to me, that I just might need to join a protest in the near future. 

I’ll keep you posted. 

The Complex Landscape of Immigration Protests

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Update: My apologies to Alex Pretti for misspelling his name In the first edition of this post. Also and apology to ICE for naming them as the killer of Pretti. I later learned it was CBP *Customs and Border Patrol” that killed Pretti. Both wear masks. Neither wear body cams. GP

I got dressed this morning in order to sit in on the informal chat group that meets here daily to catch up on whatever’s going on. When I arrived today, politics was on the menu (something generally avoided), and steam was rising – and not just from the coffee cups. Olympia’s resisters would like to be in the news just like the big guys: Minneapolis this week, but Seattle at times, and other places occasionally. But we are too small to get noticed. Doesn’t stop folks from trying, however.

The steam today arose because our most committed resister (Resister A) was scolding a sympathizer for not showing up in person to yesterday’s rally. In turn, a fellow rally attendant (Resister B) was scolding Resister A for trying to shame a person into attending the rallies. Her position was that shame wasn’t useful when trying to gather steam for the cause. Well, I’ll leave them to work that out. 

The basic issue for now, what to do about ICE, is serious. Alex Pretti and Renee Good did not need to die. We have a right to protest. Neither Alex nor Renee was a threat to an agent. Nuisance, yes, but threat, no. So the question is this: Can non-violent action, such as whistling and photographing ICE actions bring about the change we seek?

Sadly, we have no one near the stature of Martin Luther King, Jr. to lead us today. Furthermore, the goals of current protests are murkier than the civil rights protests of the 50s and 60s. Some want ICE abolished; others want ICE to just be nicer, i.e. take off the masks, wear identification, stay away from children and workers, only go after actual criminals while letting other immigrants work their way through the system. And even when going after criminals, afford due process for all. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect that most of the whistling protesters today are true open borders aficionados, while sympathizers who are not on the streets want orderly immigration with effective screening of who’s coming in. ICE supporters most likely want the border closed with few permitted to enter. (I could be wrong.)

As I search for leaders, no person or organization stands out today. We have Indivisible and, well, Indivisible. Christians have Undivided, and yes, there are others, but not really as far as national work is concerned. (Prove me wrong, please!) The problem with Indivisible from my perspective, is that it’s all over the place regarding issues. It doesn’t want to leave anyone out. So if I put on my winter attire and attend a protest, I could be standing next to someone who’s working against issues that I really care about. In fact, I would definitely be standing next to someone who’s working against things I care about. So I’m not there. 

Frankly, I don’t quite get the name “Indivisible.” Of course we’re divided. Democracy assumes division. The point of democracy is to resolve differences without violence. Not sure what name I would have selected, but probably something other than Indivisible. I love that Indivisible claims to be committed to nonviolence, that “Indivisible prohibits carrying or bringing any weapon to an Indivisible event, whether or not the person is licensed to carry a firearm or weapon.” Source: Indivisible.org But the whistling protests in Minneapolis are not officially sponsored by Indivisible. So Alex Prettii, who had a legitimate concealed carry permit for his weapon, which was, indeed, concealed, might just be alive today if he had followed Indivisible guidelines and left his weapon at home. We’ll never know, but I do wonder what he was thinking he would do with his weapon in the face of multiple agents with bigger weapons than his. 

So: what’s a concerned citizen like me to do? At this point, I am on the brink of joining a protest that specifically targets ICE. I really, really want ICE to behave. If they can’t behave like a well trained law enforcement agency that gets rid of the masks, identifies individual agents, stays away from schools, leaves children and protesters alone, and focuses only on actual criminals (not just people who come here outside of proper procedures), then do we really need them? The border is secure, as Kristi Noem frequently reminds us. Let’s let whatever undocumented immigrants we have who have applied for asylum, overstayed a visa, or are basically working and minding their own business work through the system using their due process rights to try to become legal residents. IMHO.

Your thoughts?

Good Grief! We Moved into a Flood Zone!

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What were we thinking? A flood zone? 

Thank goodness we are renters; we can move out if need be. That said, why did no one tell us when we moved? Only when we got a notice from the city of Olympia six months in, did we learn about this risk. But we’re chill. Our risk is limited to freakish weather events in which heavy rain coincides with King Tides, and our residence will not be impacted – just our ability to walk or drive along our waterfront haunts. 

We are not in what would normally be considered a flood zone. We are not on the bank of a river that floods periodically. Rather, we are on the edge of a salt water bay with a near 20 ft tide (that’s max, not every day), and the terrain is flat. Extreme low pressure allows the tide to rise higher than it normally would. If it’s also raining heavily, as is the norm during such spells of low pressure, the salt water just ignores the high tide line and keeps coming, right into downtown. This last happened in 2022 when several waterfront businesses were impacted. 

The water got high enough to keep people indoors, but no so high that an ambulance couldn’t get to the door of our apartment building, so chill is the appropriate mood. Plus, tides move out as well as in, so this is totally different from massive river floods or hurricanes. I’ve known of this risk in other shoreline neighborhoods around Puget Sound, but never gave it a thought here. Silly me. But I’m guessing that I would have opted to live with the risk since I love living where we do. 

People are just not rational about all things at all times. Hmm. How have we survived so long?

Live Sports are a Great Diversion

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Historically, I’ve been a fair weather sports fan. I’ve only watched “my” teams, and then I’ve only watched when they’re winning. This fall, however, I’ve discovered the value of watching live games that aren’t even my teams. Even a loss, if well-fought, can be better than paying attention to the news. 

A bunch of reasons support my recent inclination to watch live games. One, it’s real. Let’s just gloss over the recent news of NBA players possibly cheating. Most games involve actual athletes competing to win. If a game is going badly, they can still compete for a good play. Football and baseball both allow time for high fives and lots of happy jumping around after an especially good play. I swear, it’s contagious. In addition to celebrating good plays, we also get to see some good sportsmanship. Most often, players accept the ruling of umpires and referees. If they don’t, teammates generally intervene to calm things down. This is all proof of games being “real.” 

The alternative to live sports is political posturing. Yes, this is also a game, but it’s a disgusting game. There’s no such thing as good sportsmanship in politics anymore. Colleagues do not intervene when someone goes off the rails. Mudslinging is the name of the game, and with the current trend of challenging election results, insulting judges, slamming through guardrails, and simply making stuff up, the sense of fair play that is evident in live sports is gone completely.

There aren’t even any great personal stories of people who overcame a variety of obstacles to accomplish something good in politics. “Aargh!” you say, of course there are. Just think of JD Vance, or Joe Biden, or… well I won’t go on. Of course there are regular people who’ve become accomplished politicians, passing laws that have benefitted regular people back home. You’re right, there are some. But, seriously, most of them have been corrupted somewhere along the way. Sorry, but I’m with Yesavage, that rookie pitcher for the Blue Jays who pitched an amazing game yesterday. Will he get corrupted somewhere along his way? I don’t know, but for now, he’s gold!

I’ve always objected to the amount of money that goes into professional sports. Money for ballparks, money for players and coaches, the price of tickets, the price of food at the ballpark, the price of parking for a game, the “fan gear,” it all adds up a pile of money that could surely be spent of more important things. And yet, here I am watching. This year, it’s keeping me sane, so thanks to everyone who’s paying for all that. 

College sports are pricey, too. But many of the players are kids who earned good scholarships by developing their athletic talents. I’ve known people who would not have gone to college otherwise, but have obtained graduate degrees and are thriving due to a scholarship for track and field or some other sport. Good for them. Let’s have more of that.

One thing I’ve always hated about live television is the need to live my life around its schedule. I loved it when we could tape shows on VHF, and I love the ability to stream shows whenever I want to watch them. Yet here I am, watching the clock so I can turn on the TV at the right time to watch a game. So retro! And yet, I’m doing it. I must really be in a funk to suddenly, at this point in my life, find myself tuning in to live sports. 

Once in a while, we are able to watch something with friends. Example: a college girls’ volleyball game. Yes, it was intense, and great fun! Another example: local baseball playoffs in a small theater in our apartment building. Great to cheer with some neighbors! A third example: texting silly comments during a game with a friend across the ocean! I like this kind of “in the moment” sharing that just doesn’t happen with politics.

Politics will never be like live sports, but wouldn’t it be great if we could get past the mudslinging, distortions, and outright lies that dominate the political airwaves lately?