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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2017
CONTACT US
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IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN
HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
H
W
here’s Santa? The North American Air Defense Command
(NORAD) knows, and you can track him Sunday night,
too, on their website, noradsanta.org (which also has Christmas
music performed by the U.S. Air Force Academy Band, videos
and other goodies).
Ever wonder how NORAD got involved with Santa track-
ing? “The tradition began in 1955 after a Colorado Springs-based
Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement misprinted the telephone
number for children to call Santa,’ the website says. “Instead
of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to the
CONAD Commander-in-Chief’s operations ‘hotline.’
“… Col. Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for indi-
cations of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Chil-
dren who called were given updates on his location, and a tradi-
tion was born.” Pictured, courtesy of NORAD, Col. Shoup and
the advertisement that roped him in.
So, how do they track Santa (and yes, there’s an app for that)?
Rudolph’s bright red nose gives off an infrared signature —
similar to that of a missile launch, apparently — which allows
NORAD satellites to detect the location of Santa’s sleigh on
Christmas Eve. Now you know.
THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL
B
uddy the cat has had a tough time of it. Recently
he turned up, worn out and wretched-looking, at the
Helping Hands homeless shelter in Tillamook. Luckily
for him, he wound up at United Paws of Tillamook,
who posted his photo online, and actually found his own-
ers — who are in Louisiana.
When his family left Buddy with relatives about
two years ago, while they organized their move to Lou-
isiana, Buddy ran off. He’s been missing ever since.
They flew back to Oregon twice to look for him, and
had almost given up hope of ever seeing their beloved
Buddy again.
United Paws wanted to get Buddy home in time for
a Christmas reunion. It would be expensive — between
airfare for Buddy and a companion, hotel expenses,
etc. — so a GoFundMe page was set up by Anne Har-
ris tinyurl.com/Home4Buddy). Money was coming in
steadily, but there wasn’t enough to get Buddy home
by Dec. 25.
Christmas spirit saved the day. “Buddy is going
to hitch a ride with someone already traveling to the
area,” Anne told the Ear. “One of the United Paws vol-
unteers will be taking him to PDX on Friday. His owner
will then be meeting him when he gets off the plane,
hundreds of miles away.” Mr. Buddy will be his fami-
ly’s best Christmas present, after all.
“We are so appreciative of all the offers of help, and
of course the donations,” Anne added. “We will need
some of the money raised for Buddy’s expenses, but
much of it can now be used to support other adult stray
and homeless cats. … It’s nice that, in a way, Buddy is
now taking care of other cats.”
J
• Two hundred visitors in Portland are weather-bound. About two
thousand residents of the city are hide-bound.
• Seldom has there been more ice seen in the bay than on yester-
day morning. Large masses of mush ice and clear crystal blocks were
floating past the city, and on the Washington Territory side it looked
as though the ice had packed solid. A gentleman from Tongue Point
said that it seemed a solid sheet from there to Pillar Rock.
The east wind blew cold all day, and everything that could go on
runners was utilized. The boys especially made the most of it and
coasted down Main and Benton streets plenty. The Reed came down
at 3:30 and reported tough work getting through. There was a steady
freeze all day, and it may be that a Christmas blockade is in store for
us yet. But after last week, we can stand anything.
ince Astoria is a fishing town — among other things bright
and beautiful, of course — it’s only fitting that there should be
a maritime version available of Clement Clarke Moore’s classic
Christmas Eve poem, “The Night Before Christmas.”
And indeed, there is one: “The Bight Before Christmas,” by
Alaskan fisherman and journalist, Will Swagel. A bight, if you
didn’t know, can be a loop of rope, or a curve in the coastline,
among other things.
Swagel’s version has Santa not in a sleigh, but in a “mythical
skiff drawn by eight ocean creatures.” Santa, “a right salty old
tar,” is dressed in red and green rubber. He’s also quite aromatic,
since he’s “all covered with slime and remains of fish heads.”
This Santa doesn’t need milk and cookies, he needs a bath.
You can hear Swagel reading his poem online, and enjoy the
clever illustrations by Sitka, Alaska, artist Colin Herforth (one of
which is shown), on Swagel’s website, thebightbeforechristmas.com
LOOSE MOOSE
ne lucky bull moose in Spokane, Washington, is going to have
a Merry Christmas, after all. Things looked pretty grim Dec. 5,
though, when he somehow horribly entangled his antlers in a swing
set, UPI reports (tinyurl.com/mooseknot). The more he struggled to
free himself, the worse the situation became.
Thankfully, the homeowner called Washington Department of
Fish and Wildlife, who sent Wildlife Conflict Specialist Kyle Wes-
terman and Wildlife Officer Jolynn Beauchene to the rescue. As
the first order of business, Officer Beauchene shot the 900-pound
moose in the rump with a tranquilizer dart.
“We had to wait for the perfect shot,” Westerman said, “because
you want to make sure the dart goes into a big muscle mass.” As
soon as the moose was safely napping, they got to work cutting off
the chains wrapped around the moose’s antlers. Just for good mea-
sure, they tagged his ear before they woke him up and let him loose.
A still shot from a WDFW video is shown.
It was a relief to learn that the next day the moose was just fine —
and avoiding the swing set.
• Best sleighing ever seen in Astoria — since last time.
S
ere’s a Christmas present for fans of “The Goonies,” red
bow and all: The film is among the 25 selected in 2017 to be
listed in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.
Which is a big deal, since a movie has to have “cultural, historic
and/or aesthetic importance” to even be considered (tinyurl.com/
NatFR2017). A screen shot from the movie is shown, courtesy of
Warner Brothers.
“With its keen focus on kids of agency and adventure, ‘The
Goonies’ protagonists are Tom Sawyeresque outsiders on a magical
treasure hunt, and the story lands in the continuum between where
‘Our Gang’ quests leave off and the darker spaces of Netflix’s recent
‘Stranger Things’ pick up,” the Film Registry explained. But Exec-
utive Producer Steven Spielberg’s “fingerprints” on “every sec-
ond” made it a shoe-in.
Richard Donner, who directed “The Goonies” and another
film selected this year, released a statement after hearing the news.
“I thank the National Film Registry for choosing ‘Superman: The
Movie’ and ‘The Goonies’ as films to be treasured,” he said. “They
are both special films in my life, as was the cast and crew for both.
It’s wonderful to see them listed among so many great films.”
Hey, you guys … a celebratory truffle shuffle or two are in order.
O
DEAR SANTA
ust in case you were thinking about whining about the weather
this holiday season, please note these snippets from the Wednes-
day, Dec. 24, 1884 edition of The Daily Morning Astorian:
‘A RIGHT SALTY OLD TAR’
IT’S ON THE LIST
WHERE NEXT?
A
ccording to the Oregon Digital Newspaper Program,
children were writing Dear Santa letters to newspa-
pers by at least 1874, certain Santa could not miss a letter
that had been published in a newspaper (tinyurl.com/san-
taltr). Apparently, the oldest such letter found in Historic
Oregon Newspapers is from 1890, in The Daily Morning
Astorian, dated Dec. 19:
“Griffin & Reed of this city are daily in receipt of a
number of letters addressed to Santa Claus. The follow-
ing is a specimen of one received yesterday from Gray’s
River ... ‘Dear Santa Claus; bring my little sister a doll
and a doll wagon and some candy and some nuts and
some peanuts, and a tin horn. Bring me an air gun and a
buck saw and a knife and some candy and some nuts and
some peanuts. Frank.’”
From the Oregon City Courier, Dec. 18, 1908: “Dear
Santa Claus, I want a horse, a train of cars, a drum and
a football. I guess you can send a horn. My Grandpa
Burns is the policeman, and I’ll tell him not to bother you
on Xmas, cause he might think you was a robber going
down the chimney. Please send my little sweetheart Willa
Jones a dollie and a go-cart. Her stocking is small, but
you can put them under the foot of her bed. Good-bye,
Santa Claus, from your loving friend, Orville E. Burns.
P.S. Please bring Emma Ellis a real live horse. She wants
one.”
As a parting shot, this whopper from The Sunday Ore-
gonian is dated Dec. 21, 1919: “Dear Santa Clause. I’ve
been waiting for you a long time. I am nine months old.
I want a trunk full of silk dresses and a necklace with my
Mothers picture and a ring, with a ruby. I’ve been a awful
good girl. Arvilla”
T
he saga of Astoria’s wayward sailor/Kon Tiki drifter, 65-year-
old Russian immigrant Rimas Meleshyus, continues.
In his ongoing quest to sail around the world alone, he wound
up being towed into Saipan in October, after his calls for help were
finally heard. He’d been at sea for 137 days (missing for 77). Rimas
planned to stay there for a while to rest, restock and refit his boat
for a trip to Japan. Or Alaska. Or Australia. The dream lives on.
Normally very active on his Facebook page, Rimas has been
unusually quiet for several weeks. Now the news comes in via the
Facebook page of Saipan’s Sherri Riggs TV that he’s gone. He got
a tow out of the reef, and, without a tracking device, is heading for
Guam. One problem: The currents in that area apparently don’t
head that way, and his specialty is drifting, not sailing.
Looks like it’s going to be a Christmas at sea for Rimas. Where
will he turn up next?
COMMUNITY NOTES
SATURDAY
Sit & Stitch — 11 a.m. to 1
p.m., Homespun Quilts & Yarn, 108
10th St. Bring knitting, crochet or
other needlework projects to this
community stitching time. All skill
levels welcome.
Columbia
Northwestern
Model Railroading Club — 1
p.m., in Hammond. Group runs
trains on HO-scale layout. For in-
formation, call Don Carter at 503-
325-0757.
Spinning Circle — 1 to 3
p.m., Astoria Fiber Arts Academy,
1296 Duane St. Bring a spinning
wheel. For information, call 503-
325-5598 or go to astoriafiberarts.
com
SUNDAY
MONDAY — CHRISTMAS DAY
Line Dancing — 5:30 to 8 p.m.,
Seaside American Legion, 1315
Broadway. For information, call
503-738-5111. No cost; suggested
$5 tip to the instructor.
Senior Lunch — No lunch is
served today.
Karaoke — 7 to 8 p.m., Sea-
side Lodge and International Hos-
tel, 930 N. Holladay Drive, Sea-
side. Free session, all ages, for
those who love to sing karaoke.
Refreshments served. For infor-
mation, call 503-738-7911.
Seekers Group — 6 to 7:30
p.m., Pioneer Presbyterian Church,
33324 Patriot Way, Warrenton.
Group discusses issues facing re-
ligious faith in the modern secular
world. All are welcome. For informa-
tion, call 503-861-2421.
Columbia Senior Diners — No
lunch is served today.
Warrenton Senior Lunch Pro-
gram — No lunch is served today.
TUESDAY
Stewardship Quilting Group
— 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., First Lu-
theran Church, 725 33rd St. All are
welcome. Donations of material al-
ways appreciated. For information,
call Janet Kemp at 503-325-4268.
$6.75 for those younger than 60.
For information, call Michelle Lew-
is at 503-861-4200.
Do Nothing Club — 10 a.m.
to noon, 24002 U St., Ocean Park,
Wash. Men’s group. For informa-
tion, call Jack McBride at 360-665-
2721.
Columbia Senior Diners —
11:30 a.m., 1111 Exchange St.
The cost is $6. For information, or
to have a meal delivered, call 503-
325-9693.
Senior Lunch — 11:30 a.m.,
Bob Chisholm Senior Center, 1225
Avenue A, Seaside. Suggested do-
nation of $3 for those older than 60;
Astoria Lions Club — noon,
Astoria Elks Lodge, 453 11th St.
See NOTES, Page 4B