A tour of the high school has changed my attitude but not my opinion. I was asked to take the tour in hope I would change my condemnation of the planned rebuild. The school is indeed in terrible shape, both meanings. But I was not prepared for the impact of an hour spent in the presence of the students. Sensing their vigor was almost a physical blow. Yes, they deserve better, but no, it is wrong to do that before addressing a completely different matter. There is a dark underside to our high school. The only manifest sign is too many cars in the parking lot. Not evident is what I hear about antisocial action. Together these form a picture of youth and adults not together engaged in living. We adults consume too much and ignore responsibility. Youth responds by pushing limits. A result is that we waste the gift of student vigor. This is a serious loss because urgent action is needed starting now on readying Vashon for the national upheaval beginning in 2009. No adult organization is stepping up, possibly excepting...

No, not your car. Not you and your barbeque. I mean Vashon Island, you know, that pile of hardpan with trees on it? Each day the green stuff gobbles carbon dioxide and each day we burn some trees in our heaters. So what is the net score for atmospheric carbon , let's say, on December 25, 2008? Hmmm.

Tree: 800 lbs, a quarter of it carbon (no, I just guessed), 200 lbs

Number burned by 5OOO fires,  say 50 trees.

Carbon in fifty trees 200 bs X 50 = 10,000 lbs went to heaven

Photosynthetic sequestration in a typical Vashon tree per day is 1/400 of a pound.

(An acre of Douglas fir trees stores approximately 1.4 metric tons of carbon each year (14). That's 1/400 pound per tree per day given several baseless assumptions http://www.scientificblogging.com/science_mom/i_wanna_go_green_so_show_me_the_math)

Number of trees on Vashon is 30 exp 6 so that 80 thousand pounds of carbon is sequestered per day

Bottom line, 80 thousand pounds of carbon taken out, ten thousand sent back...

NPR has run a story and a sequel about a family that walks on its hands. Genes were examined. Effort was made to re-train them. Some success reported. Well, in all this, no mention of the role of propriosensors in the foot. Ever wonder how a toddler takes that first step? Or for that matter, how do you stay upright? Doctor Science knows. That family probably had deficient propriosensors.

Let's hear it for Backbone's recent action against Glacier. It has been a humbling experience for me on account of my bias against the Backbone Campaign for not drawing and quartering the Democrats. Whereas local Democrats are sheep herded by a competent and wise Roger Fulton, Democrats in Congress wear sheep's clothing on the forms of wolves, carnivores to the manwoman. So let's give a hearty thanks to Backbone for turning out against Glacier.

I’d like to clarify the previous letter about rebuilding the high school.

It is my understanding that there is a drug problem at the high school.

It is my understanding that there is a race problem at the high school.

It is my understanding that we adults, not just the parents of the few who misuse drugs and say things that hurt, that we adults are complicit by our silence in the far, far worse crimes of the Bush administration.

It is therefore my understanding that it is the soul of Vashon, not the body of the high school, that most needs fixing.