Back in the old days, a hotel owner named John Wesley Porter (1876-1923) had a going concern in McCleary. He ran the Porter Hotel for the working men in Henry McCleary's mill and door plant. There was a place just shortly north of the door plant known as the Pig Lot. This was where Porter kept his pigs as a source of bacon and ham for his hotel guests.

Oldtimers in McCleary still call the area the Pig Lot. It is now a shallow lake formed by a dam. It covers probably 3 to 5 acres. In the summer it is shallow enough to retain enough heat to support a hungry caiman. Locals have fed the lake with fish, and lots of ducks, geese, and cranes rest there. So a caiman should do OK during the summer months.

It would have to be retrieved by September, since up here in the Coast Range we get pretty cold pretty fast. And you can't get there by motorized vehicle, so be prepared to have several friends help you transport the creature overland on foot.

Of course, if you are a millionaire playboy like Bruce Wayne, or OlyBlog's Master, Rick, you could afford to drop a caiman into the Pig Lot via Black Helicopter. But the rest of us would have to do it the old fashioned way-- manually.

There is a lot of ink devoted to Lewis and Clark's giant Newfoundland dog, Seaman. But how many scholars have really investigated the role of Skippy, the caiman, who accompanied the expedition? By my count, not one.

Someone out there in OlyBlogland needs to rise to the challenge and record the exploits of this brave caiman for the world to see. I am, according to AARP, a senior citizen now, so my opinion no longer counts as I become increasingly invisible as I age. There is a great opportunity for a scholar to devote years of her/his life to this subject.

The Neo Nazi National Socialist Movement has announced that it will run a candidate for Prez 2008. Will it be Jeff Schoep (pronounced Scoop), their commander?

Olympia will most likely get a look at the man when the NSM rallies on the state capitol steps this July 3rd.

 I'm sorry. I couldn't help it. The spirit just moved me.
 

This Sunday, April 30th, join fellow health care justice activists at Washington Citizen Action's April Thurston County Community Action Team meeting. At the meeting we will be discussing and developing organizing strategy for:

* The Campaign to Fix the Part D Disaster – Calling for a simple, guaranteed, and affordable Rx benefit under traditional Medicare
* The Hospital Debt Justice Campaign – Fighting for fair billing practices at Providence St. Peter Hospital
* The Secure Health Care Campaign – Organizing for secure, quality, affordable health care for all Washington residents.

Washington Citizen Action is a statewide nonprofit, nonpartisan grassroots organization. With over 50,000 members, we are the largest consumer advocacy group in the state. Our strength as an organization depends on our members' involvement. Our mission is to achieve economic fairness in order to establish a democratic society characterized by social and racial justice, with respect for diversity, and a decent quality of life for those who reside in Washington State. www.wacitizenaction.org.

For more information, carpools & to RSVP, contact us at joshua@wacitizenaction.org or 206-389-0050 x108.

Jennifer Harbury, the acclaimed human rights lawyer, activist and author will make a free public presentation at The Evergreen State College on May 10, 2005. Ms Harbury’s most recent book is Truth, Torture and the American Way: The History and Consequences of U.S. Involvement in Torture (Beacon Press, 2005).

The community is invited to join Evergreen students, staff and faculty on May 10th from 1:00-3:00pm in Lecture Hall 1 at the Olympia campus. The subject of Harbury’s talk is “Torture and U.S. Foreign Policy: What Can We Do?

The Pacific Northwest Labor History Association conference the Labor Center is hosting on Evergreen’s Olympia campus June 2 – 4 of this year. The conference theme is Labor Struggles on the Edge: Ports, Borders and Workers in the Pacific Northwest.

Here's the details.

Amara Pagano and the Waves Dancer will perform a piece during Artswalk in which they explore the human expression of longing. Further they explore how this expresssion relates to what is known & unknown, and the many ways that we experience the known and unknown.

Waves will also have other dance performances throughout the evening starting at 5:45.

Waves invites you to join the community dance beginning at 9:00 pm.