Our raccoon piece about a week back got a former Portlander, now in Texas, talking on his own blog about his own raccoon experiences in the Rose City. Now, in his followup comments to his blog post, he's written some thought-provoking words about Portlandia generally. You may disagree with the sentiments expressed, but you must admit the fellow does have a way with words:
A few months back, I realized that the sign of a truly great city is when outsiders and locals can point to serious flaws in the city's organization, layout, or government, agree that these are major flaws, and start suggesting ways to fix those flaws.... Portland, though, is the left-wing fundamentalist opposite of Biloxi, Mississippi: both cities don't take criticism well, any residents who frantically attempt to validate their decisions to live there by screaming "So what do you think?" get incredibly pissy or even violent if the response is anything but positive, and both figure that the best way to counteract negative publicity is to stick fingers in ears and hum really loudly.
I don't completely agree with the TxTriffidRanch's point of view, but I do hold that this area has been resting on its reputation for a heck of a long time.
We were innovative back in the 70s and 80s, but we've rested on our laurels since then. Remember Vera and her "cap the 405" campaign? We think big but we don't walk the talk so much anymore.
Ah, yes -- not enough money in the world to sink I-5 on the East side, so the city could be connected to the river on both sides again, but plenty to cap 405 for more condo towers. Never enough for an inner East side community center at the sitting-empty Washington HS, but plenty to turn Lincoln HS into another humongous high-rise give-away of public money for the usual fat cats.
Portland is nice, but, oh noes11!1!!!!11, SE 82nd is not so nice.
Really, is this some sort of special news bulletin? Does this guy really think he's the first person who ever discovered this startling bit of knowledge?
If Vera wants to eat pasta overlooking I-405, what is the big deal? I'd be glad to set up a stool for her.
Regarding not accepting constructive criticism, so true, imo. That Portland and Oregon need improvments hardly means they aren't nice. Being open to improvment is what life is about and what any good relationship is based on: helping each other be all they can be. The inability to engage in give-and-take does strike me as a kind of rigid fundamentalist orthodoxy.
I think the fear of dialog in some quarters is related to the fear of having high level corruption exposed, but the inability to handle criticism here seems to extend to those charged with investigating those charges. Weird indeed.
Here is my own personal Portland raccoon story:
My elderly neighbor lady told me that she was pretty sure that a raccoon had taken up residence in her attic. It had pulled away some roof shingles next to a dormer and was in a enclosed area not accessible from the inside of the house.
Not knowing what to do she asked me for help.
No problem.
I called Multnomah county animal control to report it and was advised that they do not deal with "animals" only dogs and cats.
After some questioning they said I could trap it myself provided I used a humane trap... and oh by the way, if I was successful I would need a permit to transport it!
There are regulations that need to be followed!
Needless to say after five nights of trapping neighborhood cats (catch and release) I gave up and called Critter Gitter who came out and advised me that I was not using the right bait.
Marshmallows...It's what raccoons like and cats don't.
So he set his trap and after two nights of catching the same cats that I had, he decided to go a different route.
He put rags soaked with coyote urine in the void in the attic.
That night, as my neighbor tells it, she heard the raccoon leaving with it's three babies. She counted three thuds as mom dropped them off the roof onto the deck.
Apparently they moved three doors down and took up residence because Critter Gitter was hired by the owner of that house.
Hahahaha... look I love Portland as much as the next person, but uh, there's a reason we're called Stumptown, and it's not because of our diverse and inspiring skyline.
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (10)
LA LA LA LA etc.
Posted by Allan L. | June 30, 2008 7:01 AM
Some find it uncomfortable to have (some outsider) force you to look into a mirror.
Posted by David E Gilmore | June 30, 2008 7:45 AM
I don't completely agree with the TxTriffidRanch's point of view, but I do hold that this area has been resting on its reputation for a heck of a long time.
We were innovative back in the 70s and 80s, but we've rested on our laurels since then. Remember Vera and her "cap the 405" campaign? We think big but we don't walk the talk so much anymore.
Posted by Samuel John Klein | June 30, 2008 8:35 AM
Ah, yes -- not enough money in the world to sink I-5 on the East side, so the city could be connected to the river on both sides again, but plenty to cap 405 for more condo towers. Never enough for an inner East side community center at the sitting-empty Washington HS, but plenty to turn Lincoln HS into another humongous high-rise give-away of public money for the usual fat cats.
Posted by wants a ward system | June 30, 2008 11:08 AM
Breaking News: nice city has not-nice parts.
Portland is nice, but, oh noes11!1!!!!11, SE 82nd is not so nice.
Really, is this some sort of special news bulletin? Does this guy really think he's the first person who ever discovered this startling bit of knowledge?
Posted by Dave J. | June 30, 2008 11:48 AM
If Vera wants to eat pasta overlooking I-405, what is the big deal? I'd be glad to set up a stool for her.
Regarding not accepting constructive criticism, so true, imo. That Portland and Oregon need improvments hardly means they aren't nice. Being open to improvment is what life is about and what any good relationship is based on: helping each other be all they can be. The inability to engage in give-and-take does strike me as a kind of rigid fundamentalist orthodoxy.
I think the fear of dialog in some quarters is related to the fear of having high level corruption exposed, but the inability to handle criticism here seems to extend to those charged with investigating those charges. Weird indeed.
Posted by Cynthia | June 30, 2008 12:12 PM
Couldn't agree more.
Posted by Matt Davis | June 30, 2008 2:07 PM
I used to live just minutes from Gary, IN and I'll tell ya- the difference between PDX and GI are like night and day.
GI (Gary) is a grey-aired, run down, stank-ass pile of crap with gang problems up the wazoo.
PDX is not anything like that, at least where I've been.
Posted by crallspace | June 30, 2008 4:08 PM
Here is my own personal Portland raccoon story:
My elderly neighbor lady told me that she was pretty sure that a raccoon had taken up residence in her attic. It had pulled away some roof shingles next to a dormer and was in a enclosed area not accessible from the inside of the house.
Not knowing what to do she asked me for help.
No problem.
I called Multnomah county animal control to report it and was advised that they do not deal with "animals" only dogs and cats.
After some questioning they said I could trap it myself provided I used a humane trap... and oh by the way, if I was successful I would need a permit to transport it!
There are regulations that need to be followed!
Needless to say after five nights of trapping neighborhood cats (catch and release) I gave up and called Critter Gitter who came out and advised me that I was not using the right bait.
Marshmallows...It's what raccoons like and cats don't.
So he set his trap and after two nights of catching the same cats that I had, he decided to go a different route.
He put rags soaked with coyote urine in the void in the attic.
That night, as my neighbor tells it, she heard the raccoon leaving with it's three babies. She counted three thuds as mom dropped them off the roof onto the deck.
Apparently they moved three doors down and took up residence because Critter Gitter was hired by the owner of that house.
Posted by James J | June 30, 2008 4:26 PM
Another sign that the media loves Portland just a little too much:
Portland is ranked 5th in the Nation for Architecture and Design.
http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/2008/06/new-study-chica.html#more
Hahahaha... look I love Portland as much as the next person, but uh, there's a reason we're called Stumptown, and it's not because of our diverse and inspiring skyline.
Posted by Justin | June 30, 2008 5:58 PM