KAJ BERRY

Artist was a motivating force

I was so pleased to see the lovely obituary honoring Kajira Wyn Berry. I feel very privileged to have been Kaj’s calligraphy student on Vashon. I can still hear her kind words as a disciplined instructor when she would come to me and say, “I’m not criticizing you, Leanne, I’m criticizing your work.” I’m still a calligrapher, thanks to her. As a photographer, she also took wonderful portraits of our young family. She was such a motivating force in everything she took on. She recently came to me in a dream and I know she is well and free.

— Leanne Chattey, Santa Fe, NM

PARKS

Do the right fling

Don’t forget Disc Golf in the new BARC Project. It might come back to bite you.

As an avid disc golfer, involved community member, and educator, I am surprised and disappointed in the plans for RJ’s kids at BARC.

The disc golf course and indoor skate parks were the first attractions establishing this park after the closing of Burton Elementary School.

As the popularity of the park increased, I served as a steward for BARC, working with the skating and biking communities to plan a recreation area for all activities to coexist.

Disc golf’s popularity has steadily increased over the past decade, both nationally and locally. If you visit BARC any given afternoon, you will see groups of people playing the course, rain or shine.

So it surprises me to read about the plans for RJ’s Kids’ project with little coordination or input from the disc golf community. The first any of us heard about it was through a spread in The Beachcomber on Christmas Eve, a time when most of us are concentrated on family here and abroad. Then in the extensive article in the January 20 edition of The Beachcomber, there is no mention of the disc golf course that will be displaced by two holes with the construction of the new pump track and walking paths.

It is in the best interest of the parks department and RJ’s Kids to work with the disc golf community, the largest contingency of park users, before moving forward on their project. The disc golfers on this island have started forming a strong alliance that looks forward to working with the other stakeholders in maintaining our established course.

It may seem paradoxical, but we take our frisbee seriously.

— Tim Heryford

ENVIRONMENT

Lesson in hubris

The sinking of the Titanic in 1912 revealed the hubris of nearly everyone connected with the ship.

Fortunately, there is no hubris in the face of global warming. Everyone is scurrying about attempting to reverse climate trends — in my dreams.

The sinking was 110 years ago, more than enough time to forget lessons learned. The builders and owners of the Titanic, knowing it could not sink, furnished it with nineteen lifeboats, enough to hold about one-third of the people on board. Knowing it could not sink, no effective lifeboat drills occurred. Knowing it could not sink, the captain had the ship traveling at 22 knots, an irresponsible speed through an ice field. 1500 people died, many of whom could have been saved if the lifeboats had gone back for them.

With respect to global warming, we are where the Titanic was, speeding through the North Atlantic, just prior to striking the iceberg. But our failure will not be evident from one event, but rather a series of events. The storms, fires, and floods will continue to worsen until we reach the tipping point, the point when global warming is no longer reversible.

Scientists say it is less than ten years away. Everyone from the President to the Congress, to the news media, down to our own Beachcomber are filled with hubris. They pretend to care, but what’s being done? Life goes on unchanged on Vashon with gas-guzzling SUVs and people burning firewood for heating. In Washington, DC, Republicans continue opposing any legislation combatting global warming.

The spirit of the Titanic lives, except now it’s called earth.

— Shelley Simon