cll-nhl.com/2013/09/summer-...
Worth a read for an understanding of why Dr Sharman started his blog, why it has been quiet lately and what's planned for the future.
I can well understand Dr Sharman wanting to enjoy the Oregonian Summer. I've had the privilege of experiencing summer in Oregon - the year Mt St Helens blew its top. The Portland International Airport was still closed when I left home to fly there for a month's training on some newly purchased technical equipment, which was eventually received where I worked, complete with some of Mt St Helen's volcanic ash included - you just couldn't keep it out. Mt St Helens erupted again while I was there and Portland and surroundings were covered in volcanic ash. Enterprising youngsters were advertising their services to wash the ash off roofs, and other enterprising people were selling bottled ash on the roadside when the stuff was everywhere. Fire hydrants were breaking down all over the city (you were allowed to buy a hose from a hardware store and connect it to a fire hydrant to hose off your roof). The fire hydrants hadn't been used in years so the taps had rusted shut. The US Post Office had trouble because people were posting ash to friends in envelopes. The ash escaped during mail sorting and ruined the sorting machines. ATMs broke down because ash got into them (the volcanic ash was abrasive, corrosive and electrically conductive - not a good combination with electromechanical equipment). Signs popped up on bank doors asking customers to remove their masks before entering. 'Slow, volcanic ash' signs appeared on highways (and you could see where the highways were from the plume of ash kicked up by traffic). The Portland council gave businesses a week to clean up ash on their car parks or face a $500 fine. There were 2 meter hills of volcanic ash piled up in parking lots awaiting removal.
I well remember the self deprecating humour of Oregonians. They called their pedestrian crossings 'duck walks' (Oregon being so wet that if you were a pedestrian, you grew webbed feet). In Oregon, you didn't tan, you rusted. Then there was the classic joke about their summer - "I missed summer this year, I was in Church".
Oregon is a beautiful state; the Cascades are a glorious chain of snow covered volcanic peaks. One of my favourite memories is coming out of a road tunnel into downtown Portland and seeing Mt Hood's snow covered volcanic peak as a backdrop to the city.
Great memories, no wonder Dr Sharman has been enjoying his summer.
Neil
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