Favorite Photos of the Post-WWII Presidents

By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Ed.

This is a compilation of some of our favorite pictures of the post-WWII presidents, Including HST, since he was President both during and after World War II. . .

Harry S. Truman:

on piano with Lauren Bacall

Harry at a hootenanny?

Dwight D. Eisenhower:

Ike cooks

Ike Lasso'd as part of the Inaugural festivities

John F. Kennedy:

Camelot

Jack

Jack attempts to stifle Lyndon

Lyndon B. Johnson:

Giving the Johnson treatment to his pal Abe Fortas

 Johnson, enjoyed spooking visitors at his Johnson City, Texas ranch by driving them downhill in his Amphicar, into his property's lake, shouting that the brakes wouldn't work.

Dick Nixon cornered by multiple LBJs

Richard M. Nixon:

Dick and Mao and history

Clowning for the press

The famous kitchen debate with Nikita Kruschev

Gerald R. Ford:

Watching election returns with his pal Joe Garagiola. He was stomped by Jimmy Carter. 

The President meets up with Billy Preston, George Harrison, and Ravi Shankar

Near the end of his life, a sweet moment with President Clinton 

James E. Carter:

On a campaign stop at his notorious brother Billy's gas station

Five Presidents

Jimmy plays harmonica for his pal Willie Nelson

Ronald W. Reagan:

George Bush:

William J. Clinton:

George W. Bush:

Barack H. Obama:

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Poem: Bird

By Jack Brummet

Carrying his dented horn in a paper sack, 

Pawned, lost, fifty times found and bought back,
He paid the price of a Stradivarius
To unhock his horn and blow for us.
           ---o0o---

The Maldives+Ken Stringfellow at Barboza (with openers Sons of Warren Oates)

By Jack Brummet, NW Music Ed.

The Maldives and Ken Stringfellow played last night at Barboza. Barboza is in the basement below Numoes, which also means there is sonic competition with the metal bands playing upstairs.  This was a really fun, but poorly attended show.  The Sons of Warren Oates opened and were an unknown to me (I'd heard their name before and loved it).  They were one of the most listenable warmup bands I'd heard in ages...a trio with fiddle, guitar, and banjo.  They played for about 40 minutes.   The banjo player  (Kevin?)  joined KS and the Maldives for a couple of tunes on the accordion.  Ken played a lot of his album Danzig and a few earlier nuggets from his album Touched.  I bet there were never more than 60 people there, and at the end, maybe three dozen.  Before the Maldives came out, Ken got off the stage and told us to gather around and he sang un-mic'd with his Telecaster. Then he played a tune on the piano and brought out the Maldives. I look forward to seeing The Maldives on their own sometime soon. 

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The Alvord T. Bridge Closes

By Jack Brummet, Green River Valley Ed.

A protest against the T Bridge earlier this year

The Alvford T. Bridge was a couple of blocks from where I grew up and we spent a lot of time playing on and under it, riding bikes on it, and hanging from it and dropping into the river.  I never knew its name before.  We always called in The T Bridge.  It led to three junkyards and some farms.  

The bridge (a through truss bridge), built in 1914 over the Green River on S. 3rd Avenue in Kent, is scheduled for demolition and removal.   The bridge has been considered structurally deficient for years and the county closed the bridge and will demolish, but not replace it.  There are two other bridges across the river very close by.  

A snapshot I took last week

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Middle fingers of the month roundup

By Mona Goldwater, Signs and Gestures Ed.

Our irregularly appearing round-up of reader-submitted fingers. . .

Youth fingers:

"Grown-ups":

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Drawing: Faces No. 530 - We only have room for two more

by Jack Brummet

click to enlarge

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My cat Chaka in a ferocious yawn

by Jack Brummet

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The Lake of Fire: a very short tale

By Jack Brummet [source: unknown]

A man died and found himself in limbo, waiting in a long line for judgment.

The man saw that some souls were allowed to march right through the pearly gates. Others were led over to Satan, who threw them into a lake of fire. Every so often, instead of hurling a condemned soul into the lake of fire, Satan would toss him or her off to one side.

After watching Satan do this several times, the men's curiosity got the better of him. He strolled over The Great Deceiver.

"Excuse me, there, Your Darkness," he said. "I'm waiting in line for judgment, and I couldn't help wondering why you toss some people off to the side instead of flinging them into the fires of hell with the others?"

"Ah," Satan said with a grin. "Those people are from Seattle. I'm just letting them dry out so they'll burn."

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