The Seattle Fire Department: Lord love ‘em!

We had a little to-do at our house last night, one that serves as a salutary counterpoint to the irritation that I and many other Seattleites have about how our City government works—or doesn’t (remember the big snow last winter?) Last night, my wife and I discovered that water was flowing into our finished basement from what turned out to be a break in the main water line between our house and the meter. Unfortunately, I and my neighbors were unable to turn off the water at the street with the tools at hand.

So my wife called a plumber, and he said he’d be there in an hour. As you might expect in a case like this, the water was cascading into the basement and running away from the drain. So my wife and I started taking turns using a mop to slosh the water in the direction of the drain. After an hour of this, however, the water was clearly gaining on us and we were more than a bit done in. So when the plumber called to report that he’d be another half hour, I decided that the problem could not wait. I called the Fire Department.

I felt sheepish about doing so, since I was sure they had more pressing situations—real emergencies—to deal with. However, when the SFD dispatcher heard my story he was far from dismissive. He told me to hang tight, they had the solution and they’d be on their way.

As I sat on my front steps listening to the sirens coming closer and closer, I felt chagrined and a bit foolish. When they arrived, my embarrassment was so palpable (I think I started apologizing before most of them were out of the truck) that one of them turned to me and said “Don’t worry about it. This is what you pay your tax dollars for.”

The fire crew immediately took charge, assessing the situation and getting the water stopped. They brought in mop-up gear, vacuumed up the standing water and cleaned up the room. My wife was pretty impressed with how smart, articulate, organized—and attractive—the team was. When she told them we’d been bailing for an hour, one of the crew said “Next time, don’t wait. Call us immediately. You’d be surprised at what crazy things people call and expect us to take care of. Water breaks are not in that category. This is what we do. When it’s a case of your property being at risk, do not hesitate.”

Thanks guys, now we know.

[Above, the brand new (last week) engine of Fire Station 34 arrives.]

Short takes

Madison Park Beach makes Seattle Weekly’s 2009 Best of Seattle List: In choosing our beach as the “Best Spot to Run into the Random People You Thought You’d Never See Again After High School,” the Weekly claims that “the beach is literally divided into elementary-school, middle-school, high-school, and college zones, from north to south.” Who knew? Literally? Anyway, the paper designates Madison Beach as “the unofficial stomping ground of all of Seattle’s youth,” commenting on the “beer, pot, and cigarettes galore” to be found there. (The Harvest Vine in Madison Valley, incidentally, also made the paper’s list as the “Best Place for a High-Heeled Date”.)

Harasser of Madison Park Resident Gets No Jail Time: State Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Milstein, who once lived in Madison Park, has pleaded guilty in a very bizarre harassment case which was covered in some detail today by the Seattle Post Intelligencer. Milstein, who now lives in Kirkland and is married to KING-TV reporter Deborah Feldman, admits going onto sex-related websites to impersonate the victim, a married woman who resides here. As a result of Millstein’s actions, the victim began receiving dozens of phone calls from people thinking she might be interested in engaging in various sexual acts with them. Milstein, who received only 240 hours of community service as his sentence, apologized for his actions and resigned from his state position today (his job was to represent the state Department of Social and Health Services in child protection cases). However, neither the PI story nor a similar report in the Seattle Times provides any explanation of Milstein’s motivation for perpetrating this gross misdemeanor.

Hit and Runs Not Confined to Land: There have been several hit and runs reported in the general area during the summer, including one on Monday. Now comes a report from the Seattle Police blog that there was a major boating hit and run on Lake Washington about a half mile south of the Evergreen Point bridge last week. “According to the victims, their boat was adrift in the water. The adult male victim was swimming while the adult female victim remained in the boat. The suspect’s boat bore down on the victims and did not change direction. The suspect’s boat collided with the victim’s boat and went over it, damaging and disabling it. Both the male and the female sustained minor injuries from the collision.” The Harbor Police brought the victims and their boat safely to land. The suspect has not been apprehended.

Lakeside Mansions of Madison Park Featured in New Book: Lake Washington boater David Dykstra, who is fascinated by all of the mansions that ring the Lake’s shoreline, has just self-published a book, Lake Washington 130 Homes, which provides an opportunity for the curious to view pictures taken from the water side of some of the more notable examples. Among the Madison Park homes that Dykstra profiles are four in the Reed Estate (those of Howard Schultz, Jack Briggs, Gregg Maffei, and Colin Moseley, although he incorrectly identifies Colin’s father, Furman Moseley, as the current resident). Also included are the area mansions of Joel Diamond, Martin Selig, Brooks Ragen, and Russell Horowitz, whose 1929 manse is probably the classiest of the lot. (Brigg’s spectacular property, which is for sale, was featured on this blog earlier this summer in “A glimpse beyond the gates”). In addition to his misidentifications (he is totally wrong about the site of actor Tom Skerritt's residence, for example) Dykstra provides no architectural commentary or context with his pictures. Still, it's interesting to see these mansions from the water side, even if you can't trust that identified owner really lives there.

[Beach photo by David Hutchins.]

Pet peeves

In a posting earlier this summer I believe I referred to Madison Park as an oasis within the urban jungle, or perhaps I claimed that our neighborhood was an island of tranquility in a sea of troubles. Whatever overwrought metaphor I may have used, my argument was based on some sound evidence: comparing the level and types of crimes committed on our .91 square miles of the City to what goes on daily in a lot of the rest of this town shows that we’ve got it good.

Now I think there’s fresh evidence for my point about the relative tranquility we enjoy down here at the end of the road. It has to do with the story ideas for this blog that my neighbors keep coming up with. Let’s just say that these suggestions are not the kinds of things that most Seattle neighborhood blogs would find noteworthy. Not that this is much of a surprise, but I can say categorically (assuming that my neighbors are representative) that unlike many places in the City, ours is not a community with a lot of urban angst, social disconnect, or even anti-corporate passions. We’re apparently not so much “mad at The Man” as we are irritated with each other—and with those interlopers who come here and flout the rules.

Actually, I’d put most of our concerns about the neighborhood squarely at the level where they belong: in the category of pet peeves. This is not to say that there aren’t some big issues that Madison Parkers can get worked up about, such as preservation versus development. But to be frank, a lot of the things that really seem to disturb us are, well, a bit pedestrian.

So evaluate my proposition for yourself. Here’s a (semi-complete) list of the teeth-gnashing concerns that people in the ‘hood get so hacked off about that they think it’s worth my blogging about:

People who allow their dogs to roam freely and, as the British might say, foul the footpath—not to mention a lot of other parts of the neighborhood landscape. This is by far the most mentioned pet peeve.

People who walk or run their dogs and still don’t control what their dogs may leave behind. [My neighbors on the 1600 block of 43rd Avenue East provide the social commentary pictured above.]

People who park their boat and trailer rigs on the street in front of their houses for days or weeks at a time in violation of City ordinance.

People who park their boat and trailer rigs on the street in front of other people’s houses (often on a different street than their own) for days or weeks at a time in violation of City ordinance. (These are apparently people who have been warned off by the neighbors on their own streets).

People who allow their trees and other landscaping to encroach onto the public right of way, narrowing access to sidewalks and, in some cases, creating a hazard for walkers and runners.

People who drive down East Madison Street and at the intersection of E. Howe Street make a u-turn around the traffic island, ignoring the “Do Not Enter” sign, and then heading back up Madison in order to park on the other side of the street.

People who drive down East Madison Street, make the right turn on to E. Howe Street, but then turn right onto 43rd Avenue E., ignoring the “Do Not Enter” sign in order to park facing the wrong direction in one of the back-in angle parking slots by the beach.

People who hire people who use leaf blowers to blow grass clippings and other debris all over the place, often onto their neighbors property. (Okay, I admit that no one asked me to do a story on this. It’s my own pet peeve. But really, I ask you, is it necessary or environmentally or socially responsible to be using our energy resources this way while simultaneously fouling the air and causing noise pollution? And does it have to be done at 7:30 in the morning?)

Anyway, you get the idea. If these are our big issues, we’ve got it good.

[Did I not mention your own personal pet peeve? If so, please post it in the comments section below or email me. We'll get to it.]

Music in the Park returns this week

The 2009 version of the popular Music in the Park program gets underway this Thursday and continues on each successive Thursday through the end of August. Sponsored by the Madison Park Business Association, this year's series presents quite a range of musical styles, beginning with early American popular music and ending with a bit of everything.

On deck for this Thursday is the 24-piece Cornucopia Concert Band (shown above), which performs American music of the 1890-1930 period, including ragtime, roaring 20's, and early jazz. Based in Seattle, The Cornucopians, are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year. Their program is likely to include a bandstand march and some dance music, possibly even a polka or a waltz.

On August 13, the the sounds of traditional Cuban son music will fill the Park, as the SuperSones play the acoustic dance music that was a Cuban countryside precursor to the better-known Salsa. "Son is a unique blend of Spanish guitars and harmony, Afro-Cuban percussion and swing, call-and-response singing, and trumpet improvisation," and SuperSones has been playing this vibrant, happy music since the group was formed in 2001.

A piano-sax duo, Two Scoops, performs a program of blues and boogie in the Park the following week, August 20. The combo features Seattle pianist/singer/composer Eric "Two Scoops" Moore, who has performed with legendary blues musicians and with his own combo at blues festivals all over the United States and overseas. A critic calls his singing "soulful," his keyboard playing "ferocious," and his performances "roof raising."

Rounding out the concert series, on August 27, is country/folk/pop/jazz singer and songwriter, Jonathan Kingham, who apparently does it all. With four albums to his credit, Kingham's music has been used in the soundtracks to films and TV shows. He places himself within the same musical sphere as Norah Jones.

The Music in the Park concerts, which are held in the grassy area near the tennis courts of Madison Park, begin at 6:30 pm. For those interested in checking out these acts in advance, click on the hyperlinks for the music samples available on each of the groups' websites.

Which of these people called in sick today?

It seems that during this week’s unprecedented heat wave, the blog for virtually every Seattle neighborhood lucky enough to have a beach has featured at least one photo of overheated beach goers frolicking in cooling azure waters. So why should we be different?

Madison Park resident David Hutchins chose to forgo some or all of his frolicking in order to record the beach scene for us at Madison Park this afternoon (thanks Dave).

As far as we know, there were no sightings of Ursula Andress at the beach today, though there well may have been some "sugary eye candy" in evidence.

Update on girl injured at beach yesterday

It appears that the 14-year-old girl who was rescued from Lake Washington yesterday was not even diving when she passed out and hit the water. According to Seattle Fire Department spokesperson Helen Fitzpatrick, the girl was on the diving platform and did hit the water, but the girl does not remember jumping from the platform and it is not even clear that she was on the diving board before the incident occurred.

Although unconscious when she was pulled from the water, the girl regained consciousness just as CPR was being started by a Good Samaritan. She was rushed to Harborview late yesterday afternoon for evaluation and is now doing fine, according to Fitzpatrick.

Get out the earplugs & doggie tranquilizers

It's Seafair time again, and the U.S Navy's Blue Angels will be practicing at about roof-top level over the Park today, beginning at around 9:45 and continuing until noon. Another practice will occur this afternoon sometime between 1:15 and 2:30. Practices tomorrow will be on the same schedule.

The Blue Angels have two performances this weekend, beginning at about 1:00 pm on both Saturday and Sunday. So be prepared.

[Photo courtesy of the Blue Angels Official Site.]