Island Voices

Up the Mast
Island Voices, November 2024

Up the Mast

By Suzanna Leigh July 15, Sunday Terns were diving for fish as we passed the red nun buoy at the mouth of Quartermaster Harbor. We motored into the teeth of the wind, hoping to get through the Narrows before the current was so strong against us we wouldn’t be able to make headway. We raised…

My COVID Story
Island Voices, November 2024

My COVID Story

By Pam (aka Gates) Johnson It got me. After these many months of dodging the COVID bullet, the vaccines, the masks, the keeping my distance … it finally got me. It all started the night before my birthday. I was enjoying a warm, cozy sleep when my nose faucet turned on at warp speed. Wha?…

Editorial Page, Island Voices, October 2024

King County Zoning

By Andy Valencia Vashon is awake and very, very interested in what the upcoming zoning changes for our Island will mean. One of our leading citizens helped the Vashon Loop highlight some important questions in our previous issue, and follows that with more commentary in this issue. Our Community Council has also spoken clearly to…

Disconnect!
Island Voices, October 2024

Disconnect!

By Michael Shook And so, here we are, barely a month away from the BIG DAY. I speak, of course, of November 5th. In a season that (so far) has seen two assassination attempts on one candidate, and the sitting President firmly, actively running, then dropping out (or being forced out) over concerns he’s dotty…

Artist Profile – Anne Gordon
Commentary, Island Voices, October 2024

Artist Profile – Anne Gordon

In August, our front page featured an eye-catching visual by Anne Gordon regarding undergrounding Vashon-Maury power lines for fire safety. When we pondered how we might depict Island concerns regarding the potential zoning changes, we thought immediately of Anne. As you can see on the front page, Anne has a wonderful ability to create art…

Running for the Ferry
Island Voices, October 2024

Running for the Ferry

By Seán Malone and John Sweetman Seán and I had just returned from an extended trip to Hunters in Eastern Washington where his brother Mike has a large ranch that we frequently visited as “unpaid interns” to work in various neat projects, such as restoring old fish runs from Lake Roosevelt.  After a long drive,…

Getting Old on Vashon 
Island Voices, October 2024

Getting Old on Vashon 

By Pam (aka Gates) Johnson As I’ve said to anyone who will listen, getting old is not fun. Many of those things I used to do with ease are now next to impossible. Things not impossible are now just too darned hard.  Here is an example of the unexpected difficulties I have encountered. A few…

Going Aground in Mystery Bay
Island Voices, Literary, October 2024

Going Aground in Mystery Bay

By Suzanna Leigh “This t-shirt says ‘Nordland General Store’ on it,”R says as he folds the laundry (I wash, he folds). “I don’t recognize it.” “It’s mine,” I say – and I am flooded with memories. Bob and I went aground on our boat Sea Change, on the way to Nordland. Nordland is a community…

The History of Minnie the Heifer
Island Voices, September 2024

The History of Minnie the Heifer

Editor’s note: Even before coming to Vashon, a calf named Minnie showed off her early escape skills, thereafter aided by her bullock brother Chuck. Minnie’s original owner has written this story to fill in the many blanks in Minnie’s life before she became Leslie the Cowzilla. By Pam (aka Gates) Johnson A bunch of years…

First There Was Cardaea
Island Voices, September 2024

First There Was Cardaea

By Suzanna Leigh Don’t get me wrong; I love my husband very much. Rich has enriched my life and makes me quite happy. It’s just that … sometimes, sometimes, I miss my late husband Bob so much I could curl up and cry. It was a beautiful day for sailing, my first sail of the…

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