Zumiez is back. After a two-year, COVID-related hiatus from the annual Methow Valley convocation of its corporate leadership and store managers, the global retailer of recreational gear and garb for young people returns at the end of this month. Zumiez’ return is another example of our gradual return to pre-pandemic “normalcy.” For the first time […]
No Bad Days
No Bad Days: Not banking on it
The Methow Valley has been remarkably successful at tackling high-minded projects that seem outsized for such a small community. The Methow Trails system (and all its year-round iterations). Westernization. The Winthrop Rink. Loup Loup Ski Bowl. The Susie Stephens Trail. The new Winthrop library. The new Okanogan County Fire District 6 station. You can add […]
No Bad Days: Leading questions
I was reading the Seattle Times this week — I still follow my home-town happenings even though I increasingly despair of the city righting itself — and came across a story that got me thinking. Stories will do that. This one concerned the suburb of Sammamish, east of Lake Washington, and its struggles with keeping […]
No Bad Days: Seeing things differently
I have involuntarily added a new bit of raiment to my wardrobe: an eye patch. It doesn’t make me look dashing or mysterious or, absent a hat and sword, much like a pirate. It does suggest an injury. Last week, about the same time I’m writing this on Monday afternoon, I suffered a burst blood […]
No Bad Days: We’re all making history
If I ever lose the desire to continue learning things, I know it will be time for me to just toddle off into the woods and disappear. The sum of all human knowledge is unknowable and continues to grow exponentially, but at least I can keep pecking away at it. That’s one of the reasons […]
No Bad Days: A language lesson
A few days ago I was reading the comments on our Facebook posts and chanced upon a comment about the “tyrannical” behavior of our state government in imposing COVID-related protocols for wearing protective masks. This while an entire sovereign nation in the heart of Europe is dealing with what tyranny really looks like, and bravely […]
No bad days: Things to celebrate
On the good news front — and contrary to some perceptions, we really like good news — there’s a lot to appreciate as we advance farther into 2022. Our trio of Liberty Bell High School wrestlers certainly acquitted themselves well at last weekend’s Mat Classic in Tacoma, as Noah Holston extended his family’s legacy with […]
No bad days: Compromising conditions
“Compromised” is one of those words that can have a positive or negative connotation, depending on whether you use it as a verb or a adjective. “We compromised to reach a mutually agreeable solution” is a good outcome. It means that the parties each gave a little bit of ground to achieve a common goal. […]
No bad days — Resuming a familiar role
I received an email this week with information that raised my spirits both personally and as a resident of the Methow Valley community. It’s hardly a big breaking news story, more like one more incremental reminder that the valley is moving out of neutral in anticipation of post-COVID’s new normality. Not shattering any big confidences […]
No bad days: A different space
Winthrop’s new library will be different than what we’re used to, and not just because it’s so much larger than the repurposed little building on Highway 20 that it will replace. From the beginning — and that was several years ago now — Friends of the Winthrop Library (FOWL) conceived of the new space as […]
