the 'sound, boats...

...and Whidbey Island.

"J" and I wandered up north of Seattle a month or so ago to look at a couple of "pleasure craft" that were being sold on Whidbey Island.

We took the ferry across from Mukilteo to Clinton on a pretty crappy, wet and blustery day.

We parked our car behind these two on the second deck of the ferry and went up to the third deck to enjoy some coffee during our little trip across the sound. This little storm blew in from nowhere shortly before we got to Mukilteo and stuck around for the rest of the day and well into the evening.

You see, I grew up here in Olympia and spent one heckuva lot of time on the waters of Puget Sound. Primarily, the southern end of Puget Sound.

I remember Dad taking me out in a little 10 or 12 foot Elgin rowboat powered by a Scott Atwater 7.5 horse power out board tiller motor.

There were some wild times on the sound with Dad and his boats...

When he bought a bigger boat, an 18 foot Thompson we would go out farther and stay out longer. It was a heavy, deep "V" bay boat that was perfect for Puget Sound. It would knife through those "sound" waves that would come up out of nowhere... when the squalls would blow over. It rode the water like no other boat would.

We felt totally safe in it... totally.

I remember mornings when I would be out in the 'sound in totally fogged out conditions... fishing for the elusive salmon. I'd hear a "whoosh" and then another "whoosh" sounding from the fog immediately next to the boat then I'd see the dorsal fins... Orcas in the sound. Every now and then I'd be at the right place at the right time to catch the native pod of Orcas passing through, feasting on salmon and seals.

That was when I used to think that life was almost perfect! Almost...

I, like my four older brothers, was out on the water every day I could get away and get out there.

I was a scuba diver. I don't dive anymore but did for years... sold my gear over a decade and a half ago and haven't dove since. But I've seen portions of the sound from the bottom up.

I have a huge respect and love for Puget Sound. I spent the day before I left for the Army in June of 1972 on the sound... fishing... from the old man's boat. By myself fishing.

I've only been back on the sound once or twice since. Dad sold the Thompson, bought another boat... a Starcraft and eventually sold that. He was done with the sound for awhile...

We always talked about it... always reminisced. We always wondered what the fishing was like "today". Hot days would crop up and we'd tell each other... "We should be fishing."

Dad in his 80's and me in my 50's... we're being drawn back to it... to Puget Sound. It's difficult to explain but we're being pulled back.

I want my son and daughter and their families to be able to enjoy a piece of that place... "the sound" much like I did so long ago.

I never thought I'd buy a boat... a boat for the sound at least. I never really thought I'd be back "out there"... even though I wanted to be.

I just didn't see a "need" for a "pleasure craft"... a boat. It goes back to that "need/want" thing I alluded to in my post regarding Steve's tag. I just didn't see the need for a boat but always wanted one.

But "J" and I went out looking anyway. Not real hard but looking at used boats (there's tons of them around here). Just about the time I had myself convinced that I no longer wanted one I saw an advertisement on Craig's List (Seattle) that caught my eye... an early morning ad. So I called and inquired about it and, after making arrangements to view the boat, motor and trailer, bought a boat... a 19 foot Bayliner Capri with a cuddy cabin and a 125 hp Force outboard motor on it. It was in great shape and the price was very good.

I thought getting "J" out in it would be a chore!

Not a chore at all... she's having as much fun with it as I am.

So, the old man and I... we're back out on the 'sound just putting along like the old days, having fun... drinking coffee on those foggy, chilly early morning floats.

Today we're going to take it to a lake in the county that's known for some lunker trout. I'll keep you posted!

Take care and enjoy your memorial day... we will.

you know...

...I was sitting here reflecting on a lot of things. On the kayak, on the grandkids, on "the wife", "the daughter", "the son", "Son in law", "Daughter in law", Dad, the grandkids, friends...

I was reading Cathy's blog and was comparing the attorney stuff... what a tragedy. What a shameful, self serving travesty attorneys seem to wrap themselves with. It's actually disgusting... sickening.

I was reviewing correspondence from local deputy prosecutors to some of the folks I work with today.

The attorneys of this country actually do hold themselves to a far higher "caste" than us uninformed, grovelling, blue collar citizens.

Anyways... back to my reflections...

A couple of weeks ago... Mother's Day... "J", "Son", "Daughter in law", "Daughter", "Son in law", "grandkids", "Great Grandpa" (AKA: Dad), daughter in law's parents... our friends and I had a barbeque on the beach. It was fun... nice, relaxing.

I haven't been in a fun, nice, relaxing environment for quite awhile.

So, I happened to sip the merlot...

...and kayak.

Not a good mixture... merlot and kayaking. When we got there the tide was out considerably.

This meant that by the end of the day the tide would be well on it's way in and we'd have consumed copious amounts of merlot...

...and we'd have the kayaks at our disposal.

...and the grandkids watched.

They watched as we pushed off and went out to sea... daring davey jones! Daring all that resides in the Pacific Ocean and it's bays and estuaries.

Challenging the very nature of "deep sea" itself.

Yup... we paddled out. Fortified by merlot... paddled.

Paddled into the rising tides until, alas gravity took over and promptly flopped my sorry butt upside down.
Where I was left to stand alone... by myself... humiliated... defeated.

The sea and the Merlot won out.

...and I stood alone, kayak bobbing upside down next to me.

...a derelict vessel among derelict vessels.

Merlot, kayak, sea... not a good combo.

But I laughed... at myself, with "them", with me. I laughed and enjoyed the fun we had.

okay... so Steve tagged me...

From Steve's All That I Am post. A good post by the way!

Keep in mind... this is an I thing...

Here's my answers...

I AM: a man who makes mistakes, a puzzle solver, a husband madly in love with his wife, a very proud father and grandfather, a son of a hero!
I WANT: peace, happiness, good health and prosperity for all of my family and friends, those I love to be good contributors to this world.
I WISH: for comfort for all.
I HATE: very little… there’s a reason for most everything. Ineptness, laziness. I do not like sexual predators or mean people.
I MISS: My Mom, my nephews, my father in law and mother in law. The 50’s and 60’s.
I FEAR: little… it all has a purpose… and fear of it isn’t productive. Perhaps the grandkids growing up in this odd little world and the challenges they face.
I HEAR: a rush of sound… constant hissing… whirring.
I WONDER: how I’ve lived this long. How I’ve been blessed with what I do have around me. About most anything.
I REGRET: Certain decisions I’ve made that have affected others. Not staying in the Army through retirement.
I’M NOT: a politico… a politically correct person… mean.
I DANCE: never as much as I’d like to. My own way…
I SING: when I get the urge… usually off key.
I CRY: silently… alone.
I AM NOT ALWAYS: the nicest person on earth, compassionate.
I MAKE: something of nothing… mistakes… people happy and sad.
I WRITE: more than I talk. I love to write… it’s a passion.
I CONFUSE: what is necessary from what is wanted.
I NEED: far less than what I have.
I HAVE: far more than what I need.
I LOVE: watching a sunset with the wife, a cookout on the beach, life, family, friends, challenges!
I SHOULD: Relax more. Pay more attention to the wife, those precious children of ours and our precious grandkids.
I TAG: Whoever wants to participate… but I’ll suggest DG, Ed, HarleyDreamer, (Justin and/or Andrea), (Kerri and/or Corey), Dad, Lynn and Cathy!

But don’t do it if you feel “compelled” to.

bpbil is out...

... after copping an Alford Plea.

But he's out. He's here with J and I and he's quite "jacked up".

It seems he's had quite the ride.

A female corrections officer tried to remove his wedding ring while he was in there. Why? Who knows... the other inmates were wearing theirs? Hell, the guy behind him was wearing his when she tried to twist his arm off and get to it. But then, that's another story... another blog post. There will be names and details... fun stuff.

His (gawd I have to laugh when I say this) attorney (court appointed and court re-appointed) seems to have really had a huge issue with me and the blog.

She had quite the candid discussion with him today after court. Bpbil is still filling me in... about today and other very brief conversations he's had with Deborah.

More future blog stuff.

And then we have a "man" who has pretty much revealed his soul. He claims to want to help yet buys time, does the shuck and jive, plays the "handshake", "honorable" card and sells me out in the end.

I have to admit I let him get me to agree to quit posting to the blog "and let things work".

...well they did.

Oh, he directed me to certain people so I could "expose the corruption and inequities of the Thurston County Sheriff's Office", that county's criminal justice system and a number of other things.

Yup, I made a tactical error that day when I talked to him on the phone. I agreed to "back off". I agreed to give "Deborah" some breathing room... What a farce!

I blew it!

I sold bpbil out that night without meaning to!

I should have just followed my instincts and kept on posting.

...well, those days are coming. We're going to learn a lot about this system in Thurston County, Washington.

... and I'll be linking blogs Skelly.

Deborah... I don't give "legal advice" so there's no need to discuss that with your "client". Perhaps you might want to try dishing some worthy advice out someday... that's what you're getting paid to do.

Oh, and we have some wonderful phone conversations to share as well... you know, those types between (gawd this is funny!) "attorney" and "client".

... and my maiden voyage on the kayak...

This blog ain't going to be pre-occupied with bpbil stuff.

the alford plea...

Alford plea... As defined at Wikpedia.com

"In the law of the United States, an Alford plea is a plea in criminal court. In this plea, the defendant does not admit the act and asserts innocence, but admits that sufficient evidence exists with which the prosecution could likely convince a judge or jury to find the defendant guilty. Upon receiving an Alford plea from a defendant, the court may immediately pronounce the defendant guilty and impose sentence as if the defendant had otherwise been convicted of the crime. However, in many states, such as Massachusetts, a plea which "admits sufficient facts" more typically results in the case being continued without a finding and later dismissed. (too bad this ain't Massachusetts, eh Deborah? You might have had to work for your money on this one if this were Massachusetts). It is the prospect of an ultimate dismissal of charges which engenders most pleas of this type.

The Alford plea differs slightly from the nolo contendere ("no contest") plea. An Alford plea is simply a form of a guilty plea, and, as with other guilty pleas, the judge must see there is some factual basis for the plea. Therefore, a defendant's prior conviction via an Alford plea can be considered in future trials; and it will count as a "strike" if a three strikes law applies. On the other hand, a nolo contendere plea is in no way an admission of guilt, and it cannot be introduced in future trials as evidence of incorrigibility. However, courts do not have to accept a plea of nolo contendere, and usually do not, except in certain nonviolent cases."

This plea originated in the United States Supreme Court case of North Carolina v. Alford (1970), 400 US 25. Under subsequent case law, an Alford plea generally has the same effect as a plea of guilty with respect to sentencing, and use of the conviction as an aggravating factor if the defendant is later convicted of another offense.

Some critics have spoken out against the nolo contendere and Alford pleas on the moral grounds that they undermine public confidence in the accuracy and fairness of the criminal justice system (these folks evidently have never been to Thurston County and seen their farce of a "criminal justice system"), sending some people to jail who are unrepentant or innocent (as in bpbil... his wife and his court appointed "attorney"... laughable at that... know this part very well); and that they dodge the "morality play" aspect of a criminal trial, in which upright civilization is vindicated and the community sees that the guilty are punished. Others see this as the major benefit of these pleas.

It's all a sham. The county keeps you in jail for 30-60-90 days on something you didn't do... they pile bills up against you for meds, food, etc., you start to feel the pressure... you have a piss poor attorney who's been assigned to "represent you" and doesn't talk to you or any of your witnesses for the first two thirds of your commitment, doubts what you have to say when she does eventually talk to your sorry ass and calls you everything but a liar when you claim innocence. Pretty much demanding you cop a guilty plea so she can "move on"... (thanks Deborah... damned good work... be proud!)

When you try to "flush" your (LOL) "attorney" the judge asks the "attorney" if she wishes to be flushed... and like the crappy turd she is she tells the judge she would like to remain on your case. The judge (in good faith... I'm assuming here that this judge is actually believing this attorney is "representing") denies the flush and the "attorney" (again, laughable) remains as the representative of your sorry, condemned, less than pillar of society ass.

...so you cop an Alford Plea... simply to get out of jail.

Damned good work Deborah Murphy, Thurston County, Washington State public "defender".

Be proud! Be damned proud! You'll certainly get your paycheck this month... but did you earn it?

I think not!

Skelly... thanks for the help... not!

But, I'm thinking you did try.

well, i knew better...

...yup, I knew better than to trust folks. Normally I do things on my own. I go out, do the job and get it done. I acquiesced to some folks that I shouldn't have... evidently.

I trusted when I shouldn't have.

I expected professional, unbiased responses.

In light of this I want to establish that the "pact" established earlier... much earlier is not so accomodating right now.

We've lived up to our agreements... THEY haven't.

So, when I return back home I'm going back to the slamming ways to get attention.

Oh yeah... I will name names and point fingers.

Phone calls are cheap.