Winter solstice in the northern
hemisphere signals the terminat ion of a
year past Yggdrasil, the World Tree, casts
long shadows on the landscape from its
bare branches Dark ice forces from the
north are held at bay by the sunshine
legions of the south and gradually retreat
toward A rctic climes a new year
approaches One re fle cts on tim e past and
seasons ahead, assesses and evaluates,
c ritic iz e s , and posits suggestions for
improvement
The professor has experienced certain
perturbations of s p irit w ith in himself this
past year, a biliousness brought on by what
he considers to be a creeping tendency
amongst our citizens to shirk or deny
responsibility for their actions More
alarming yet is the apparent trend in this
country to condone, and even reinforce this
behavior ,n court decisions, form ulation of
law, and the national psyche The
practices of unscrupulous attorneys,
awards of substantial sums of money by
insurance companies for redress, and
widespread use of law suits in the court
systems contribute in significant ways
A young woman leaves her car in the
parking lot of our state park She walks
some distance along the park's tra il
system, stumbles, and augers into the
bushes at the side of the tra il The State
of Oregon finds its e lf the defendant in a
court of law, accused of ignoring
hazardous conditions in its park
A college student, despondent at the
loss of his g irl friend, consumes a pint of
whiskey at his apartment He drives to the
neighborhood tavern, s its quietly by
him self, and drinks several pints of beer
On his drive home he strikes and k ills an
elderly couple The tavern and its service
personnel are held libel for his negligence
Two hunters driving on private forest
lands sustain injuries when their pickup
truck leaves a gravel road and overturns
Insurance settlem ents and legal fees
irrita te the corporation holding these
lands resulting ,n complete closure of the
area to public access
An attorney sues her fiance for breach
of promise after he breaks off their
engagement The courts assuage her
bruised feelings by awarding the jilte d
attorney an enormous financial settlement
In the construction industry, an injured
worker immediately seeks financial
compensation from someone — his boss, a
general contractor, the homeowner, his
union
One could cite examples ad disgustum
We, as citizens and voters, have begun
to accept these occurrences as right and
proper Hardly an eyebrow raises when
crim inals receive light penalties for their
transgressions Parental neglect, troubled
pasts, childhood abuse, war memories, and
various "co-dependencies' are dredged up
to explain intolerable behavior
These may be reasons, but they are not
excuses
we live in the era of the "man-child"
and "woman-child", a perpetual
adolescence w ith its concomitant
irresponsibilities, few w illin g to accept
the consequences of their actions, pointing
elsewhere for causes
I recall an anecdote related to me by a
past professor He and his w ife spent
many years among the Navajo people in the
Four Corners area of the Southwest The
professor invited a 17-year old Navajo g irl
to spend the coming summer w ith his
fam ily A decision was necessary Local
trib a l members gathered together Each
stated reasons for ano against the g irl
leaving for a v is it to the fa st Coast The
g irl then presented her views of the
matter and made her decision carefully
weighing the consequen* es She bore
ultim ate responsibility for her choice, not
her parents or relat ives Had she chosen
poorly, she would have risked triba l
ostracism Perhaps we can learn trom the
Navajo
Ours has been dubbed a youth cultur e I
fervently hope we w ill quit whining and
snivelling and grow up this year
sell consciousness b e g in n in g at about
twelve years of jg r mothers who work
rush home m a mad panic to prepare
d in n e r fo r th e ir la m ilv homeless warm
themselves over heat vents men try to
bed women w ith am azinglv stupid lines
people Work hard to im prove th e ir
economic condition groups o f strangers
are uncom lortable in elevators people
die ol AIDS Christmas is a festive time of
year
Jay Rankin
Architect
0 to * 116?
ijrrw n toach, Ok
97110
5C3 *1 3 6 2162
1H» • K It It! HIM .
ftS s V M tP tM •
( I S t l M M l .S N f f t
2 tl (HOI
Serving All Of Clatsop County
Since 1976
k A H P I C A H MO,.T n ?"
‘Cuasi a I Landscape Specialist"
8 6 1 -1 4 6 8
• Design • Construction
• Irrigation • Hockanas
• Sod A Saad Lawns
• Retaining Walls
• Water Features
• Native and
Ornamental Planting
• Tractor Services
Out of the U um In Ports
Mary Ann Radmacher Hcrshey
There are many reasons I chuse to go so
ta r from home to rem ind m yself that all
the w orld is essentially (he same Having
said (hat I also attest that the expression
of that h u m a n ity varies so w o n d e rfu lly
from place in plate
I observe the sameness c h ild re n sin
and struggle in s u ffe ra b ly w ith
Hv wav of a story let me illu stra te this
sameness of plate
Leas ing the severe
beautv of Charles cathedral 1» ant to sit
and collect me thoughts I w ind th ro u g h
the narrow cobblestone streets ah There
is a mere hant ot coffee beans teas and
accessories There is a 'm a ll table w h ich
accomodatos about 5 people 1 enter lake
o lf mv gloves and greet the two ra th e r
form idable looking clerks Ron p>ur Cafe
creme s il vous plait
In unison they
bark at me t a le Noir (1 d asked fo r
cream in mv coffee and they
em phatically told me 1 could o n ly have it
' I •
The folks huddled at Ihe table appear a
little disgruntled at the in te rru p tio n o f a
tourist asking to r of all th in g s cream in
her coffee They move to allow room fo r
me and continue th e ir discussion So
City Hall does not understand the needs
of the mere hant com m unity We pour
money into th e ir coffe rs by licenses and
taxes hut when it comes time fo r City Hall
to give back they have a short memory
With general agreem ent they re tu rn to
th e ir own shops w ith a la u g h in g
reference to coffee and cream and nod in
my direction There san anecdote from
samcnes Those fre q u e n tin g Pats in
Cannon Reach m ight see a s im ila rity or
two
Now look at the character of
expression w hich 11 find» is so d iffe re n t
People lin g e r Although they walk las«
and work hard
they lin g e r over coffee
or wine They take several hours to eat a
meal I asked fo r Coffee to take w ith me
and the cle rk was h o rrifie d Oh no1 You
must sit here and d rin k your coffee so
you can eaioy it (Hmmm Now there »a
though t i I have yet to see anyone
w a lkin g about w ilh a therm o insulated
tra ve l mug
I made a p u n base a little g ift It was
wrapped in colored tissue tied w ith a
ribbon placed in a bag w h ich was closed
w ith curled rihbon Then a business card
was placed in a decorated pocket on the
Iro n t of the bag An e xce p tio n ' No
Nearly every purchase even little
bonbons arc handled like m asterful g ilts
1 lower shops stay open late and are
crowded Pans fash tons come in (sizes
and .( colors sizes ( “5 and 7 and black
grey and red (This is o n ly a s lig h t
exaggeration I Nearly everyone smokes
Non smoking sections are now required
m public places many consist of 2 or 3
tables There is a whole lolta kissing
going on Men kiss women c e rta in ly
Men kiss men Women kiss Women I
have o n ly observed 2 handshakes As
near as I can te ll it s one kiss per cheek
It s what 1 call a grandma kiss This is
lips are throw n somewhat to the side
w h ile the sound mwah is made 11 it s
an enthusiastic greetin g the sound is
extended more bovine like and ends w ith
a pop Mwoowahp'
Had loud is close to a sin II is not
tolerated A restaurant serving poor loud
sim ply w ill not survive (Unless they
serve o n ly tourists who e ith e r don t know
any better or only come once anyway
Oops perhaps I pul this example in the
w rong category11
C ontrary to many w arnings I have
been treated w ith courtesy at nearly
every tu rn 01 course some people have
been rude Hut 1 can th in k of at least 2
people in Cannon Heath
I wouldn t
want anyone to conclude that because ?
people are rude all f annon Reach is rude
So the expression ol hum anity here is
d iffe re n t More gracious perhaps
w ith a greater attention to the small
details of o rd in a ry life Paris is at once
e n tire ly itse lf and la rg e r than itse lf It is
an honest c ity fu ll of w orkers fam ilies
and common struggles II is to these
people whom the c ity belongs A city
whose h isto ry crashes upon the shores of
many countries It is an e x c ru tia iin g city
w here a n tiq u ity in trig u e and revolution
arc squeezed from the pores of its stones
It is a place o f m ysticism where
p ilgrim age w o rship and infathom able
s p iritu a litie s have a place Art realized
and young hearts fu ll o f exquisite hope
r o ll together to form an unequaled
creative atmosphere
Hemingway said it so w ell
If you are lu cky enough to have lived
in Pans as a young man then w herever
you go lo r the rest of yo u r life it stays
w ith you lo r Pans is a moveable feast
W F E R L E F T E D G E J A N liftR Y
I1 1 Y
(3