Mark Brantner and his brother Jeff stand with their newly found sister Vicky.
“Bond. James Bond.” Out of all oft-repeated movie lines, this is by far the most well-known. Ian Fleming’s character first appeared in his 1953 novel “Casino Royale.” Little did Fleming know that his books would spawn one of the most popular film series of all time. There have been 25 “Bond” movies to date with seven actors playing the British secret agent.
“Dr. No” first came out in 1962 with iconic Sean Connery as Bond. Moviegoers were hooked. If you grew up with the original Bond, no doubt your children have been enamored with the movies as well. Except for a couple of less-than-stellar productions, Bond movies have intrigued generations from Baby Boomers to Generation Z. Daniel Craig has pierced the screen with his blue eyes for the last five Bond films (from age 36 to 51). What’s not to like?
No surprise then that when our local movie theater The Barnyard Cinema advertised the latest Bond “No Time to Die” on its marquis with a variety of show times, the theater’s attendance records were officially broken. Genevieve Cole, co-owner of the cinema, opined, “It’s a rare body of work that enraptures three generations and is so welcome in a time of fractured attention and general discord. I believe it’s the simplicity and familiarity people go for — the vintage cars, the finely tailored clothes, the conquests.”
The Spring Creek Bridge in Winthrop has inspired romantics to pledge their forever love by attaching a lock to the bridge and tossing the key into the Methow River. Many bridges around the world have faced this conundrum. The most famous lovelock bridge in Paris, the Pont des Arts, had over 700,000 locks removed in 2015 because of the danger of the weight (45 tons equivalent to 20 elephants) causing structural damage or potential collapse of the historic bridge.
The practice of placing the locks and the possible solutions have proven to be sticky issues for local councils, particularly with the environmental factors to consider. Keys thrown into the rivers — and in the case here, salmon habitat — cause pollution through rust, harm to wildlife, and potentially block drains. Concern for these problems has arisen locally and, hopefully, a solution will be agreed upon before the bridge and the wildlife below are compromised.
Flash Clark and his crew are progressing nicely on the long-awaited picnic shelter at the Mazama Community Club. Claire Bunney has been spearheading the project that is being funded by well-known local Red McComb’s generous donation to the club upon his passing.
What would it be like to find out you had a full sister — the daughter of your mom and dad — when you are well into several decades of your own life? Mark Brantner from Twisp had just such a shocking revelation a couple of years ago. Turns out another relative learned through DNA testing that Mom and Dad Brantner had a baby a month after their marriage in 1954. While still in college and unprepared for parenthood, they told everyone the baby was stillborn when in reality she was given up for adoption (as was common in the 1950s and 1960s).
Decades later, Mark and his two brothers, Jeff and Matthew, met their sister Vicky who had grown up down the road in Ellensburg. Mark and Vicky discovered their mutual love of horses and have remained reconnected ever since their first meeting.
A side note: Mark has a rare blood type that he donates to the American Red Cross here in the valley. Recently, a woman in the Midwest was afflicted with a rare blood cancer and through the blood bank, a match was made with Mark’s life-saving blood.
