Part I “Kenjiro Nomura American Modernist, An Issei Artist’s Journey” (Cascadia Art Museum, Edmonds, until February 20) Kenjiro Nomura (1896-1956) came from Japan to Tacoma at the age of ten. When he was barely seventeen his parents returned to Japan leaving him to fend for himself. He managed to not only survive but to find art training and then to be recognized as an artist. He moved to Seattle from Tacoma when he was 19 and began to study art with Fokko Tadama who had recently relocated from New York City bringing East Coast styles with him. Nomura supported himself with his own sign painting business in the Nihonmachi, the heart of the Japanese immigrant community. As discussed in Barbara Johns excellent book of the same title as the exhibition, Nihonmachi provided a rich cultural environment. Nomura made a major contribution to American scene painting with his 1930s urban street scenes. He carefully observed complex intersections in such familiar locations as 4th and Yesler. By the end of the decade Nomura was acknowledged as a major artist. But suddenly it came to an end when on February 19, 1942, U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the infamous executive order 9066 authorizing the relocation of all persons considered a threat to national defense from the west coast of the United States inland. The order fell like an ax on the lives of people of Japanese descent regardless of whether or not they were citizens. This February is the 80th anniversary of that order. Nomura and his family were forcibly incarcerated along with 120,000 other people of Japanese ancestry. They first went to the State Fair Grounds in Puyallup, then to Minidoka, in desolate Hunt, Idaho. But Nomura never stopped painting! He made over 100 watercolors of the buildings, the people, and the natural environment in the camps. They remained rolled up in a closet until the 1990s. Curator David Martin carefully chose twenty of them for this exhibition and orchestrated their donation to the Tacoma Art Museum. After four years of internment, Nomura returned to Seattle. In spite of severe personal challenges, he began painting dynamic abstractions up until his early death in 1956. Part II “Imogen Cunningham: A Retrospective” (Seattle Art Museum, until February 5) These two hundred photographs by Imogen Cunningham (1883 – 1976) span the history of twentieth century photography! Cunningham first supported herself in Seattle with soft focus portraiture of society women. She gained notoriety in the early teens with photographs of her husband Roi Partridge nude on Mt Rainier (only one distant view of this group is included.) When she moved to California in the late teens, she turned to the close ups of flowers that made her famous. Transitioning to hard edge modernist imagery, she affiliated with the f64 group (named for the small aperture that gives depth of field). Other members of F64 such as Edward Weston and Ansel Adams are also included in the exhibition. The exhibition next highlights Cunningham’s portraiture, which I found a bit impersonal, and her experimental work in the 1960s. I was most excited, though, by her last project when the artist sought out people, like herself, who were still actively productive into their nineties. The project was published posthumously as After Ninety . The subtle and unique wire sculptures by Ruth Asawa (1926 – 2013) fill one corner of a main gallery. Asawa was interned during World War II, as Nomura was, although for a shorter time. Her recognition as an artist was hampered by her gender, ethnicity and the medium in which she worked. But Cunningham played a major role in promoting her work by revealing the intricacies of the sculpture in close-up photographs. What a special opportunity to see them. Carrie Dedon, Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, created this show within a show. Dedon also procured a video of Martha Graham performing the iconic “Lamentation,” created in 1930 and first performed in 1940. Cunningham took over 90 photographs of the dancer in 1931, but they are rarely seen (only two appear in this exhibition). Imogen Cunningham is a household word. Martha Graham is, of course, famous. Both artists were good at self-promotion. Asawa is only now getting the recognition she deserves as an innovative modernist. Nomura is little known, but hopefully that is about to change thanks to the expertise of Barbara Johns and David Martin. ~Susan Platt, PhD www.artandpoliticsnow.com

Looking for a school? Zoom to our January meeting with Stephen Liu, Leschi Elementary School principal. Learn about the various special programs and the talented teachers who would guide your child through their educational journey. This community school is supported by a strong PTA as well as local businesses and the Leschi neighborhood. Jan 19, 2022 7pm Pacific Time (US and Canada) https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87413791062?pwd=aWpXSE8xcFVaWUd6Z1QzS0FiZkd6UT09 Meeting ID: 874 1379 1062 Passcode: 590998 One tap mobile +12532158782,,87413791062#,,,,*590998# US (Tacoma) +13462487799,,87413791062#,,,,*590998# US (Houston) Dial by your location +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)

Molly Hashimoto has done it again! She has created a beautiful book on Mount Rainier that will appeal to all who see this mountain as the icon of our environment. I first learned about the expression “the mountain is out” during my years of trekking across 520 to my job in Bellevue. When it was sunny and the eastbound traffic slowed significantly, I soon learned the reason was that the mountain was “out!” Not shrouded in clouds, but there in all its glory! Molly visits Mt. Rainier in all the seasons; she sees her visits as pilgrimages, “a Northwest version of El Camino de Santiago in Spain.” And Molly captures what she experiences in lovely watercolors. She visits the main areas, portraying the landscape, the flora and the fauna. She spends little time on the larger buildings, except for some small historical cabins one might otherwise overlook. Molly feels that Rainier has restorative powers and cites Quaker Floyd Schmoe’s stay there in the 1920’s to recover from what he had experienced as a pacifist worker with refugees from the first world war. As Schmoe went on to live to the age of 105, one might give credit to these restorative powers, although he credited his good choice of ancestors! One of my first trips to Paradise was with a friend visiting from the East Coast and I was surprised to see snow still on the ground in the summer, but on our walk, we spotted flowers poking through the snowdrifts heading toward the sun; they were avalanche lilies. Molly paints these hardy flowers and others more colorful that bloom at high elevations. One learns about the volcanic origins of Mount Rainier and lest you think as I did, that the volcanic action was all those many years ago, she cites more recent lahar events when slurries of rocky debris and water swept violently down from the mountain to areas outside the park! The mountain lives. I have not seen many animals there except for the chipmunks and the shy pika, but we did have a deer crash through our campsite one evening as I was preparing dinner. It happened so fast that the dog was caught without a bark! Molly, however, takes solitary hikes and has been able see the red fox, mountain goats and the hoary marmot which she faithfully reproduces in color. She gives us a glimpse of the importance of the area to the first people who would gather for two weeks in the summer to gather the abundant blueberries to dry and store in baskets for use in the winter, reconstituting with water. The mountain goat was hunted for its coat, which provided much needed warmth during harsh winters. My most recent Mount Rainier experience came on a plane heading home from the East Coast. My seat mate at the window had never been to the West Coast and was anxious to see Mt. Rainier; he had been assured that he would be able to see it from the plane. He kept querying about lesser peaks, and I finally said I think you will know when you see it and went back to my book. It wasn’t more than ten minutes later, when I heard him gasp and whisper Oh my god! I looked up and said “Yep, that’s it!” And put my book aside. You can never get too much of it! This beautiful book will make a delightful holiday gift to our enthusiastic friends and relatives. ~Diane Snell

Slate of selected board members elected The Annual Meeting was held November 17 at 1pm at the Senior Center which is still following covid precautions. Wear a mask and be prepared to have your temperature taken! This is a vulnerable population. Director Dian Ferguson explained that this was the first annual meeting since the Center was able to get their own 501(c)3 as they had been operating as a program under Sound Generation prior to that. There is still a relationship with Sound Generations as both the Dining program and Enhanced Fitness are programs that are considered as Sound Generation property. The Center seems to be in good financial shape; no written figures were disbursed, and it was difficult to keep with the rapid fire presentation, but the bank account has $483,848 in the bank and other generously endowed restricted funds. Restricted funds specify grants and donations made for a specific purpose and cannot be spent on day-to-day expenses. Dian has been writing grants to keep the Center financially able to continue. Their achievements during these difficult times of a pandemic have been considerable. Rather than just shut the doors, the Center kept lunches going in the form of take-out only. They identified seniors who needed help obtaining groceries, prescriptions, etc. and staff was identified to assist these families with deliveries and pick-ups. When the vaccine became available, the Center partnered with Safeway and First AME church to offer clinics to seniors. It was a massive undertaking, and 4200 seniors were vaccinated. Another clinic was held recently offering booster shots and seasonal flu shots. Thanksgiving baskets with turkeys were being prepared that afternoon after the meeting. There is no doubt that the Center is doing good work and addressing the needs of seniors, but there were concerns. NOTIFICATION : Many of the attendees had not been notified of the meeting and only heard of it through the grapevine. There is no way to know how many members might have attended should there have been the individual notice that was given in the past. We would receive a letter each year giving the date and time of the annual meeting but not this year. Concerns were expressed and met with excuses like using the newsletter to give notice. The newsletter has not been published in about two years. However, the Center does have email addresses and used that method to advertise the vaccine clinics. That seemed to work well given the enthusiastic response. Non-profits have specific laws the Center needs to adhere to under the revised code of Washington. The RCW is the compilation of all permanent laws now in force. One needs to compare the RCW with the current by-laws of the Senior Center to understand the concerns. Notice of meetings is defined under the law RCW 24.03.080: Notice, in the form of a record, in a tangible medium, or in an electronic transmission, stating the place, day, and hour of the annual meeting and, in case of a special meeting, the purpose or purposes for which the meeting is called, shall be delivered not less than ten nor more than fifty days before the date of the meeting, by or at the direction of the president, or the secretary, or the officers or persons calling the meeting, to each member entitled to vote at such meeting. Notice of regular meetings other than annual shall be made by providing each member with the adopted schedule of regular meetings for the ensuing year at any time after the annual meeting and ten days prior to the next succeeding regular meeting and at any time when requested by a member or by such other notice as may be prescribed by the bylaws. If notice is provided in a tangible medium, it may be transmitted by: Mail, private carrier, or personal delivery; telegraph or teletype; or telephone, wire, or wireless equipment that transmits a facsimile of the notice. If mailed, such notice shall be deemed to be delivered when deposited in the United States mail addressed to the member at his or her address as it appears on the records of the corporation, with postage thereon prepaid. Other forms of notice in a tangible medium described in this subsection are effective when received. If notice is provided in an electronic transmission, it must satisfy the requirements of RCW 24.03.009. Additional information on notices is given in RCW 24.03.009, too long to cite here but it may be Googled. A question was asked about what is a quorum? The RCW 24.03.090 Quorum. (Effective until January 1, 2022.) The bylaws may provide the number or percentage of members entitled to vote represented in person or by proxy, or the number or percentage of votes represented in person or by proxy, which shall constitute a quorum at a meeting of members. In the absence of any such provision, members holding one-tenth of the votes entitled to be cast represented in person or by proxy shall constitute a quorum. The vote of a majority of the votes entitled to be cast by the members present or represented by proxy at a meeting at which a quorum is present, shall be necessary for the adoption of any matter voted upon by the members, unless a greater proportion is required by this chapter, the articles of incorporation or the bylaws. Greater voting requirements. (Effective until January 1, 2022.) Whenever, with respect to any action to be taken by the members or directors of a corporation, the articles of incorporation require the vote or concurrence of a greater proportion of the members or directors, as the case may be, than required by this chapter with respect to such action, the provisions of the articles of incorporation shall control. Central Area Senior Center Bylaws re: quorum for annual meetings: All Members–Senior, Associate, Lifetime and Honorary and designated members of Business/Corporate Memberships–may vote. All Members present at an annual meeting make a quorum and may conduct business. DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN SENIOR CENTER BYLAWS AND ACTIONS TAKEN : The bylaws of the Senior Center specify a written ballot but there were no ballots at the meeting; hands were raised and counted at this meeting rather than a written ballot. The bylaws specify that up to 9 Board members may be elected; at this meeting 10 members were voted onto the Board. No nominations were accepted from the floor. The bylaws specify a term of one year, but these Board members were voted in for a 2- or 3-year term. It appears that the center’s bylaws do not agree with the laws of Washington State for non-profits and the center’s bylaws as written were not adhered to at this meeting. This raises concerns for the members and for the greater community as non-adherence may jeopardize their non-profit status with the IRS. This would be a tragedy as we know the Center does good work for the senior community; we would hope that the proposed revision of the bylaws will bring them into compliance with the laws. The RCWs are being changed and tightened for January 2022 so it is a good time to make the necessary revisions. ~Diane Snell

Happy Holiday Season Leschi! Giving the gift of wine can be equally as fun for the gift giver as it is for the recipient. When choosing a bottle of wine (or two) to gift, keep a few basic ideas in mind. Know what the recipient tends to like and have a rough estimate of what you would like to spend. Many great wines can be found across all ranges of price points. When in doubt–ask an expert–like US! Leschi Market will be well staffed with wine experts throughout the month to assist you with all of your wine questions. A comment that I will never forget, was said to me one of my first holiday seasons at the Market. “Giving wine just seems so last minute.” We have discussed the art of gift giving many times before. As we embark on the biggest gifting season of the year, let me offer some ideas on putting a little meaning behind those gifts. Trust me, in general, everyone loves to receive wine as a gift, and if you put just a tiny amount of thought into it, it won’t seem so last minute at all. Personally, I anticipate quite a bit of wine gifting this year! We’ve explored several options in the past of theme based wine gifts. These definitely show some amount of thought. They are just as fun to assemble as they are to receive. All you need to do is choose your price point and choose your theme. Here are some of my favorites from recent years. For the bicyclist on the list, for example, a “Tour de France” package can include a wine from several different regions in France: Alsace, Beaujolais, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Chateauneuf du Pape, Gascogne, Languedoc-Roussillon, Loire, and Rhône are great starting points. These regions are so diverse themselves that you could easily choose a few wines from within each region. With the increased hope of future travels in 2022, the “Around the World” packages might be a great way to anticipate those far off destinations. Focusing on one country, or several, is easy enough to do. Rieslings from Germany, Barberas from Italy, Tempranillos from Spain, Bordeaux style wines from South Africa, Malbecs from Argentina or our unique “stamp collection” section that houses wines from Georgia, Greece, Mexico and Morocco. Domestic sets can be great too. Walla Walla, Willamette Valley or Napa would provide great themed packages. The possibilities and spin-offs are endless. From an “Italian Getaway,” to an all-organic grouping, from all under $10 wine, to an all animal themed label, use your imagination and creativity, and most of all, have fun with it. This brings me to Champagnes and Ports. These are ultimate gift wines, if not for the sole fact that people rarely buy them for themselves. Who knows why, but I’ve seen the trend that we tend to put off splurging for these special wines for ourselves, yet are ecstatic when we are gifted them. When in doubt, look to the Port and Champagne sections. Many of these wines are discounted during holiday months, and great finds can be had for under $40. Vintage Champagnes and Vintage Ports are more expensive and harder to find, however “Colheita” Ports (years of ports not designated as “vintage”) can be found for a lesser dollar amount and for nearly every year; a great idea when trying to match birth years, anniversary years, and other significant dates in one’s life. Finally, let’s conclude with highly sought-after wines that are in fairly limited supply. Collectors, cellar builders, and new winos alike will appreciate getting their hands on some of these rarities! These are just a few of our offerings. Take a look at our lockbox, located next to the Champagne in the wine aisle. It is full of treasures as well! 2011 Dow’s Vintage Porto ($200) 99-points , Wine Spectator 2013 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley ($159.99) 99-points , Robert Parker 2018 Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf du Pape ($89.99) 96-points , Robert Parker 2011 Muga Prado Enea Gran Reserva ($79.99) 99-points , James Suckling 2005 Bouchard Pere & Fils Gevrey-Chambertin Burgundy ($75) 90-points , Wine Spectator 2015 Collemattoni Brunello di Montalcino ($59.99) 95-points , Vinous 2018 Cadence Camerata Cara Mia Vineyard Red Mountain ($55.99) 98-points , Wine & Spirits Champagne Pommery Brut Royal NV ($39.99) 93-points , Decanter A2017 Querciabella Chianti Classico Toscana ($27.99) 92-points , Vinous 2016 Chateau Magnol Haut-Medoc Bordeaux ($24.99) 95-points , Decanter Still unsure what gift to give the wine lover on your list? One of my favorite reminders is that accessories like wine glasses and decanters rarely need a gift receipt! Have a safe and memorable holiday season and we’ll see you next year! CHEERS! ENJOY! Kenneth Benner, a Seattle area native, is a trained chef and has worked in such restaurants as Barbacoa, B.O.K.A. Kitchen + Bar and Dahlia Lounge. Ken is the wine buyer at Leschi Market. He has a passion for learning, a meticulous palate and a tenacity for searching out the best for his customers while offering some of the most highly coveted wines in the area. His monthly column is intended to inspire and explore new choices in wine, learn about wine with his readers and share his knowledge and experience in the wine world. Check out the latest at www.LeschiMart.com or to request to be added to email updates at wine@leschimarket.com .

The Giving Garland is a charitable event to support Leschi Elementary children and their siblings, and every family receives gift cards to an easily accessible grocery store. In non-COVID times, tags hung from the garland in the main hall at school, each tag representing a gift; some items are fun: toys, bikes, art supplies, board games, balls, books and sports gear and others are basic essentials: clothing, bedding, warm coats, diapers or car seats. While we are settling into the “new normal” as we close out 2021 with most students back to school in person, our Giving Garland is still virtual. So this year there is no garland and colorful tags with “wished for” items, but the need for support in our community is still significant…the impact of the past 20 months continues to present challenges for so many families. As we near the donation deadline of Monday, Dec 13th ways you can still give are… GIFT CARDS – In increments of $25, $50 or $100 - for groceries, clothing and gifts for the children who enjoy shopping for themselves. Gift cards may not feel as fun to give, but the kiddos LOVE getting them. Safeway Target Ross Dress for Less Walmart Amazon Old Navy MONETARY DONATIONS – your cash, check or PayPal donation will make sure every child gets their wish fulfilled – whether the ask is a bucket of baseballs or a box of diapers & wipes, a winter coat or new bedding. Checks made out to “Leschi PTA”, in the memo add “Giving Garland” PayPal - go to the school website : (there is no option to note what the PayPal donation is for, but we will get it!) Checks and Gift Cards can be dropped off (or mailed) to the school office weekdays from 8am to 2pm or to Katie Busby - 330 30th Ave S. Seattle 98144 All gifts and donations need to be made by Monday Dec 13th at the latest. Gifts do NOT need to be wrapped. If gifts are delayed and will arrive after 12/13, please let us know what the gift is and when it will be delivered! Over the past 11 years the Giving Garland has supported over 1500 children and their families in need of support during the winter holidays. We know there are so many worthy organizations and people who are still in need of support. We are so grateful for your consideration and anything you can give. Thank you, The Giving Garland coordinators: Jennifer Marquardt and Katie Busby (Leschi Elementary forever supporters & parental alums) Any questions please let us know - email, call or text - (jrmarquardt1@gmail.com, 206-423-2781) - (katiebusby@gmail.com, 206-251-3411)

Cop 26 was a failure, and the reporting on it was shocking. Only “Democracy Now!” focused on the 100,000 youth and others protesting in the street. If we want to know why COP 26 was a failure, we don’t have to go any further than Amitav Ghosh’s newest book, The Nutmeg Curse . It starkly lays bare the ideology of “world-as-resource.” Ghosh traces the centuries long devastation of the planet for commerce. He starts with the nutmeg and the Dutch so called Venerable East India Company (VOC). VOC arrived on a remote Indonesian island, the only place where nutmeg grew in the early 17th century, to force the inhabitants to give them a monopoly, a product that the residents had been trading with other islands for centuries. When they refused to do that, they were all killed. When the price of the spice fell in the 19th century because it was suddenly considered “harmful to the moral fiber of the body,” VOC decided to keep the price up by eradicating nutmeg trees to create scarcity. The VOC was the embodiment of early capitalism, it was run by stolid burghers who prided themselves on their rationality, moderation and common sense. Yet they pursued a policy that perfectly illustrates the unrestrainable excess that lies hidden at the heart of the vision of the world-as-resource–an excess that leads ultimately not just to genocide, but an ever greater violence, an impulse that can only be called “omnicide, the desire to destroy everything. We can draw a straight line from the VOC to the British control of India, to the conquest of the Americas for profit that “justified” the genocide of Native Americans, the slave trade, and today, the extracting of coal and oil, all examples of domination in the pursuit of “world-as-resource.” He goes on to discuss the “role of fossil fuels in war-making” and military power. And now we come to why there can be no climate agreement: “The Pentagon is the single largest consumer of energy in the United States. . . but the job of the world dominant military establishment is precisely to defend the most important drivers of climate change, the carbon economy, the systems of extraction, production and consumption that it supports.” In other words, it isn’t just about the military as a profligate consumer of fossil fuels and generator of eco destruction, but its purpose is to be the protector of global energy flows, so we can maintain global hegemony. Ghosh states “To be ‘civilized’ was to accept the Earth as inert and machine-like, and that no aspect of it can elude human knowledge. A defining characteristic of ‘savagery’ … was ‘the belief in the vitality of natural and celestial objects.’ … Vitalism, savagery, and extinction were a series in which each term implied the next.” Subduing “savages” seeks to destroy their belief in the sacredness of nature. Fortunately Indigenous peoples are still with us and perhaps our only hope of survival. So now I turn to two art exhibitions, briefly, that connect to these themes. “Frisson” at the Seattle Art Museum is a recent donation of 21 Abstract Expressionist works from the estate of Richard E. Lang and Jane Lang Davis. These are benchmark artists from the post World War II era, when America dominated the “free” world. Jackson Pollock, Willem De Kooning, Clyfford Still, Franz Kline, and others, were championed by critics as giving us “universal truth” and circulated by the government as propaganda for “freedom.” The only human figures appear in the distortions of Francis Bacon, and one work by Philip Guston, a biting satirist who accepted abstraction only briefly (the collection includes an example). One sculpture by Giacometti presents a deeply emaciated female. If we look at the two Rothkos, we see domination at work. In Untitled 1945, Rothko explores surrealist imagery drawn from mythology. The intricate spiny lines reach out of the depths of darkness to suggest growth in a substrata of the earth. The second work, also Untitled, 1963 has only the dark horizontal bands of color without any indication of life. Installation view, Morgan Peterson, “Born of Our Culture, American Excess” Method Gallery In contrast to these “universal abstractions,” we have Morgan Peterson at Method Gallery. In “Born of Our Culture, American Excess” she lays bare examples of power and control, racism and classism intertwined with drugs and murder. One installation features a glass platform with large oxycodone pills, and other drug paraphernalia. It references Martin Shkreli who raised the price of life saving drugs from 13. to 750. per pill. Nearby is a music box with a gallows, and lynch rope woven from pearls (think about that). In a second installation, Fred Hampton’s iconic chair references his horrific murder by police just after Charles Manson’s effort to link Black Panthers to multiple murders by his cult members in 1969 in order to start a race riot. These historical events clearly demonstrate Ghosh’s thesis of the brutal manipulations by people in power. That same brutality emerged at the COP 26 as the thousands of youth asking for a future were ignored by both the participants and most of the media, and the focus on the need of powerful world leaders to maintain their control took center stage. ~Susan Platt, PhD www.artandpoliticsnow.com Correction : An earlier version of this story incorrectly named Morgan Peterson’s show at Method Gallery. The show is titled “Born of Our Culture, American Excess.”

This summer I had to arrange a wedding rehearsal dinner for 20, something I had not done before. I began by looking at restaurants in the vicinity of the wedding venue for convenience. I chose four and emailed the details to each place. I heard back from one, Pomodoro. They seemed set up for this kind of event with a special menu of five pasta dishes. The price was $35 per guest with a dinner of Caesar Salad, pasta dish and Tiramisu for dessert. Servings were generous and there was a special menu with the names of the wedding couple. I worked closely with the chef with whom it was quite easy to negotiate. We had half the restaurant with the other half serving unrelated customers. The space was comfortable and like with all large groups, you only hear the conversation right around you. There is parking under the building after office hours are over, so it was easy to come and go. And best of all, the food was good. I had the linguine alla Puttanesca and I was glad to take home a box of leftovers for the next day. The College Club’s wedding venue is also nice. The celebrated couple is married under an arbor at the end of a pier on Lake Union with boatloads of strangers going by, clapping and shouting their congratulations! It made it seem as though all of Seattle was celebrating this union of two young and happy persons! The reception room is bright and sunny with views of the lake. Pomodoro 2366 Eastlake Ave. E, 206-324-3160 Tues–Thurs: 5:30–11pm; Fri–Sat: 5:30–12pm; Sunday: 5:30–10pm, closed Mondays https://www.restaurantji.com/wa/seattle/pomodoro-ristorante-italiano-/ ~Diane Snell

Gonna lay down my sword and shield…if only that were true! I have been a peacenik since I was too young to know what that meant. I can remember covering my eyes during the newsreels at the Saturday matinees. When I grew up, I joined the thousands of peaceful demonstrators against the Vietnam War in the Bay Area and that other Washington. I felt that war was senseless, and no one really “won.” The losses on all sides were astronomical. When I heard we were ending the war in Afghanistan, I was elated. Not so much later during the withdrawal; I guess we are more proficient at getting into war than getting out of war. My naivete became apparent when I read an article about drones: “War in Afghanistan isn’t Over—It’s Taking the Form of Illegal Drone Strikes” by Marjorie Cohn in Truthout 9/26/21. Cohn reports that US forces are on the ground fighting in at least 6 different countries: “Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Libya, Somalia and Niger.” And she points out that Biden has promised “to mount over the horizon attacks in Afghanistan. ‘She mentions the “Drone Papers (which) disclosed that nearly 90% of those killed by drone strikes …Jan. 2012–Feb. 2013 were not the intended targets.” It is important to remember that the “UN Charter forbids the use of military force except in self-defense under Article 51. (The Drone Papers were leaked by Daniel Hale who is in prison for 45 months because he told the American public something they should not know.) And then there’s the bases. I learned from David Vine’s Base Nation that we have over 800 bases (declared or undeclared) across the globe. They range from huge installations like Ramstein Air Base in Germany to small installations called “lily-pads” and then there are the “temporary” installations like Soto Cano in Honduras which has been staffed and operational since 1980. Anything in my life since 1980 is considered permanent. We have 50 bases in Italy alone—that slender boot-shaped country that doesn’t seem to be threatening us or anyone else. Only Germany, Japan and South Korea have more bases than Italy. In addition to the expenses incurred (which Vine laboriously estimates to be in the trillions), other issues abound. Italy is a prime example; garbage has long been an issue in the south and one usually contracts with the Mafia, a group that does not follow any regulations in disposal of toxic materials. Another author who has written about this problem in her entertaining series about Inspector Brunetti is Donna Leon. She lives in Venice where her novels are set, but she does not allow her books to be published in Italy. Perhaps it is best not to annoy the Mafia. And then there is the profitability of war. Your cell phone carrier is probably the beneficiary of Defense funds. I need to switch from the gospel song “Ain’t Gonna Study War No More” to something a little more recent: “When will they ever learn?” from Where Have all the Flowers Gone?” (Pete Seeger) ~Diane Snell

Beautiful and sacred and a darned nice home for some Over the past few weeks, I have been enjoying the acorns along Ravenna Boulevard. I first noticed them crunching under my tires as I rode along the road. Up to an inch long, the acorns were also abundant on the grass under the trees. All lacked their handsome, little beret-like cupule but were still quite wonderful to behold. And, gather; several times in past years, I have seen people harvesting acorns along the road. Loaded with carbs, proteins and fat, acorns are a splendid food source not just for people but for animals ranging from mice to black bears. In Lynda Mapes’ wonderful Witness Tree , she writes that the scientific name for oaks Quercus could be derived from the Greek “choiros,” or pig, an animal well-known for relishing acorns. Taking their relationship further, some animals convert the acorn’s hard shell into a home. When I lived in Boston, one of my favorite “discoveries” was a colony of wee ants inhabiting an acorn. Unlike many ants, which build their own nest, this species ( Leptothorax longispinosus ) is an opportunist moving into a prefab-site such as an acorn, rolled-up leaf or grass stem. In an acorn, the ants usually are the second shell-exploiters, following beetle larvae or millipedes that bored a hole through the shell and ate the energy-rich acorn. After their fellow acornophiles exit, ants move in, clean out the debris (usually frass), and establish a home. Sadly, I don’t know of any acorn-dwelling ants in Washington, most likely because the state has only one native oak, the Garry or Oregon white oak. David Douglas bestowed the scientific name, Quercus garryana , to honor Nicholas Garry, secretary and later deputy governor of the Hudson Bay Company. More common south of Tacoma, particularly on the prairies around Nisqually and Ft. Lewis, Garry oaks prefer sunny, open, well-drained sites. In Seattle one can find large Garry oaks at Seward Park, Oak Manor and Martha Washington Park. (Two streets, Oaklawn Place and Oakhurst (hurst is an ancient word meaning grove of trees ) Street, indicate that oaks were common or unusual enough to merit street name recognition near Seward.) Edward Curtis wrote in The North American Indians that Indigenous people from around Puget Sound would canoe down to the Nisqually plains and collect hundreds of bushels of acorns, which they roasted, ate raw and used for bread making. Harvesting these delicacies involved active management of the land. Using fire, they killed Douglas fir seedlings, which grow faster, eventually shade out oaks and can take over an oak prairie, if not prevented so by fire, a process now occurring around Ft. Lewis and on the Mima Mounds, south of Olympia. Piqued by seeing the acorns along Ravenna, I have continued to seek out oaks and acorns around Seattle; they are everywhere. It’s not clear why the Ravenna oaks (which appear to be English oaks) are having a mast, or high quality production, year, but apparently they are special. I have found only one other location with acorns, despite there being more than 44 species and cultivars in the city, according to the amazing Arthur Lee Jacobson. (Worldwide there are more than 500 species; many are notorious for their promiscuous interbreeding!) The acorn bearing oaks grow near what used to be Oak Hill School, in northeast Seattle. As Lynda writes in her book, oaks have long been intertwined with people. The Druids worshipped and whooped under oaks; the Vikings sacked and terrified in their ships of oak; and King Arthur and his pals discussed the great ideas of the day around their circular table of oak. And, of course, they are beautiful and inspiring, especially in fall as their leaves turn russet and red. The PNW is justifiably famous for our conifers but we also have lovely deciduous trees, many, such as oak, which are showcasing their fall colors. Such trees are one advantage of living in a city with its diverse population of trees from around the world. ~By David B. Williams, reprinted with permission from author. Editor’s note: David B. Williams is the author of many books focusing on our region including Seattle Walks and Homewaters: A Human and Natural History of Puget Sound. You can sign up for his newsletter “Street Smart Naturalist: Notes on People, Place, and the PNW” at streetsmartnaturalist@substack.com.

We had a delightful afternoon with “Walk the Block,” a fundraiser for WaNaWari, the cultural center that is a major stimulus for revitalizing the African American presence in the Central District. We enjoyed art, music, dance, food and drink. We were thrilled to see so many friends, so it was a special social event as well as a fundraiser for the cultural center. You can still donate if you go to their website wanawari.org/donate.html . Their anthology “joy has a sound” from Black Sonic Visions, is available for pre-purchase from “The 3rd Thing” publisher or go to the launch party on November 16. Such a great idea to have an outdoor walk to keep everyone comfortable. We saw artwork by Marita Dingus, Inye Wokoma, Barbara Earl Thomas and Martine Syms, among others. There was art in traffic circles, cafes, a pea patch and a “nanoforest.” We stopped for hot cocoa at Central Café on Cherry, one of my favorite places in the Central District because it has outdoor seating, then watched extraordinary dance by the “Bring Us Collective” on the theme of “Bring Us Community, Bring Us Together, and Bring us Joy.” We ate samosas from Mama Sambusa Kitchen at the Emerald City Community Church, and a sandwich by Chef Tarik Abdullah at Coyote Central. There was jazz trumpeter, Owuor Arunga and the Gary Hammond Band playing original compositions from the front porch of a black-owned house. Barbara Thomas’s work “Cure” in front of WaNaWari is part of her ongoing series of cut out portraits. She began with the “Geography of Innocence” on until January 2 at the Seattle Art Museum. The Henry Art Gallery just opened “Packaged Black,” in collaboration with the artist Derrick Adams. Thomas reconfigured the white fairy tale of Cinderella with black courtiers in her signature cut outs, as well as creating a very tall Cinderella dressed in pink cut out Tyvek. Also part of the court are Derrick Adams detailed homages to Black women’s hair styles and to the pioneering couture designer Patrick Adams. On view in the basement at the Henry is Diana Al-Hadid, a Syrian artist, who majestically invokes the ruins of culture in monumental sculptures that look like they are disintegrating as we look at them. Finally at the Henry “Viewpoints: Queer Visibility,” two starkly contrasting paintings. “BOYZ OF THE WILD” by Anthony White is a lusciously detailed expression of desire. Facing it is Dean Sameshima’s “Torso (Black on Silver)” a minimalist flow chart that transforms a pornographic image into a connect-the-dots image! (Henry Art Gallery, 15th Ave. NE & 41st. Ave. NE on UW campus) ~Susan Platt, PhD www.artandpoliticsnow.com

Seattle’s art museums are pricey for the average budget, but you can have a rich art experience exploring some of our intrepid art galleries. Here I focus on Pioneer Square. Several of these galleries have such a range of art that it is almost better than visiting a museum because it is more intimate. But even the small galleries with a single artist are fun to pop in and visit. You no longer need to plan ahead or make an appointment. Friday and Saturday are the best days to go, between 11am and 5pm (but check for small variations). So I started in the Toshiro Kaplan building to see what had survived the pandemic. I started at the revitalized Center on Contemporary Art, although they wouldn’t let me in because they were having an event! But the exhibition is Tunisian American Rajaa Gharbi. A powerhouse personality and longtime friend of mine, Gharbi says “My art is a search for medicine laughter. “The exhibition is up to the end of October and there will be a celebration on October 7 from 5–8pm and a conversation with Rajaa on October 14 at 6pm. There are several artist-run cooperative galleries in the Toshiro Kaplan Building each with a different personality. I recommend stopping in at SOIL, Gallery 110 and SHIFT. SHIFT was featuring “Karey Kessler/ Imagined Topographies of a Vanishing Wilderness” lyrical black and white ink drawings based on topography maps and her own “wandering lines” as she calls them. They connect to her concern about how little wilderness is left on the planet. In an enticing conversation with Kessler’s drawing is “Sung I Chun/Liminal Space.” The artist demonstrated how one of the pieces that appears to be a puddle of water creates subtle and changing reflections on the ceiling. I found her work delightfully subtle. She explores the boundaries of dark and light. You can meet both of these artists (in person!) at the closing on October 2 from 2–4pm. The METHOD Gallery focuses on installation, often a single large piece, as was the case with Fumi Amano’s “Where are you from?” The bright red woven sculpture that filled the gallery was intense. I was invited to climb inside of it. Although I declined, I could imagine balancing on the network of red string. Furthermore, the piece was actually a giant representation of ovaries and a uterus, so in climbing inside we are reverse birthing. On to the long-established commercial galleries after coffee at the Caffe Umbria. The Davidson Gallery on Occidental Square always features contemporary artists as well as historical work and has an extensive antique print collection. I particularly loved Seoul Kim’s hand-colored etchings speaking to the absurdity of consumerism. But as you move to the back of Davidson’s you will find stacks of prints to enjoy in bins. The Greg Kucera Gallery is also a mini museum experience. Aside from the featured exhibitions, one of which currently is Richard Gilkey, that haunting second generation Northwest artist, if you keep going into the back, you will discover treasures including the always tantalizing Humaira Abid, as well as world famous artists like James Washington Jr, Jacob Lawrence, Michael Spafford, Roger Shimomura. Another favorite is Gregory Blakelock an obsessive recorder of, for example, “Lilies, Piranhas, Saws, Wild Cats, German Shepherds, Beets, Pumpkins, Flags and Airplanes.”! Way in the back, if you keep going, you will discover another large gallery space. It features what is called the garage sale, or resale room: just a few examples there are Kiki Smith, Gaylen Hansen and Alden Mason. The fun of the gallery is you can go on discovering and exploring. The ladies’ room is filled with work by Roger Shimomura and there is an outside deck with sculpture by Deborah Butterfield, John Buck and others. And finally, the Stonington Gallery is another museum experience. The featured exhibition up front included Drew Michael, with amazing masks such as the “Brown Angel-Owlet” illustrated here. He explained that four moths appeared in various places in his studio while he was experiencing extreme anxiety during isolation. This mask was designed after the Brown Angel Shades-Owlet Moth. “I named the piece Brown Angel to pay tribute to the BLM and POC movements and to share some of the beauty that has given me some relief.” Go into the back rooms (one after another, don’t stop too soon!!) and you will find works by Preston Singletary, Lillian Pitt, Rick Bartow, Robert Davidson and much more. You can have a thrilling up close view of these outstanding artists. I loved the informality and serendipity of these experiences, not to mention that they are all free. Since exhibitions change over in October, there will be different artists to see, but I encourage everyone to take a Friday or Saturday afternoon and explore our valiant Pioneer Square galleries. They survived the pandemic. Let’s show our appreciation for what they contribute to the art life of Seattle. ~Susan Platt, PhD www.artandpoliticsnow.com