Dangerous Floods All Around, Trying to Holiday Despite

From the Weather Channel: Snoqualmie Falls before and after

Dangerous Floods All Around

It’s been one of those weeks here in Washington. People I knew and cared about were trapped in their homes—places I frequent, like North Bend, Snoqualmie, Snohomish and Skagit Valley—all experiencing record-breaking water. Bob’s Corn and Pumpkin Farm (where I took many pictures just a month or so ago) reported on Facebook that its corn maze was 16 feet underwater at one point. So many familiar places were shown in the news, sandbags in front of businesses, people anxiously evacuating their homes. I watched more news this week than I have in a long time. I had to cancel a bunch of plans—minor annoyances compared to what others were experiencing—and huddled indoors as we kept hearing “stay home, stay off the roads.” So many roads flooded that people trying to get home on a commute that usually lasted fifteen minutes lasted hours—and those were the lucky people whose access to home was not cut off by a bridge underwater.

Glenn and I at Willows Lodge with holiday decorations

Trying to Holiday Despite…

Despite all this, I tried to be useful this week. I signed up for a French online seminar. I read seven novels (possible candidates for the Winery Book Club—all art mysteries), wrote several Christmas cards, and bought presents for people. I even sent out a submission or two. I had problems with my web site that coincided with a week of a lot of rejection, which friends reassure me is “normal end of the year clearing house” but still feels personal, although I remind myself it is part of being a writer. (Not the fun part.) Saturday night, Glenn and I went to the Fireside Lounge at Willows Lodge, listening to live jazz (holiday themed) and trying out food (and cocktails) from the new Hawaiian chef at the hotel, Lyle Kaku. I can recommend their “zero proof” cocktails and their peppermint ice cream and pineapple tarragon sorbet, so far.

Me with peppermint espresso something – matched my outfit!

It was just nice to be out doing something normal and not stressful after the long week. We are reading Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower for this week’s book club (join us at the J. Bookwalter Winery in Woodinville on Wednesday at 6:30 PM if you like!), and it made me think about the power—and the weakness—of high empathy human beings (the main character has a defect that makes her “hyper-empathetic”—she literally feels other’s pain—and this disability/superpower also helps her build community). It reminded me that feeling pain for others is only helpful if it leads you to do something—take action—build community. I also watched the new Knives Out sequel, Rise Up Dead Man, which like Parable of the Sower, had a lot to say about good and evil in the human race, in religion, and the power of empathy over violence. It had really interesting things to say about the way Christianity (the example was in a Catholic setting, but it could just as easily been set in a fundamentalist megachurch) has dual roads—one consumed with power, vengeance, punishment, and oppression of women in particular—and another that decides that love and empathy are more powerful than fighting and hate, and the fruits of evil tend to be, well, more evil. Some of the lines in the film seemed ripped straight from social media. Even more than a murder mystery, the main conflict seemed to be between bowing to impulses like greed and prejudice and trying to do your best to be kind in an unkind world. I’d love to hear your thoughts about the movie (I also really liked the use of light in the movie, maybe more than any of the director’s previous films. It felt very film-noir-y, in a good way.) It seems like a good time of year to remember the goal of Christianity used to be “peace on earth, good will towards humanity” and “love thy neighbor” and you know, welcoming the stranger and the immigrant because after all, Jesus was born in a foreign land and no one gave his family shelter—all that stuff that seems to have fallen out of fashion among too many who call themselves Christian. Whew! All right, maybe this post got heavy. I also lost another poet friend, the great Connie Walle, who was a fixture in the Tacoma poetry scene and a great poet besides. It made me sad I had not expressed my admiration to her more while she was still here—a theme of this year for me, as I cross the names of old friends off the holiday card list because they are no longer with us. We really do a bad job of this remembering to express thanks, love, and appreciation for those friends and family, writers and artists, who have made our lives better, our memories short, our ability to remind ourselves that even our lives are not “forever,” and even small things cannot be taken for granted. This week I was made aware to be thankful that my home was dry and warm (for the most part—we did get a power outage or two) and that safety here in not guaranteed. It’s a time to give—not just presents, but happy memories, or thanks, or a donation. It’s also the Solstice approaching—I can feel the shortening days coming to an end soon—and a time to think about the past year, and what we want 2026 to look like. Well, happy holidays to you, and I am hoping you stay safe, healthy, and warm for the rest of the year.