A Pause for a Date with my Husband

This morning we started out by having breakfast at Court Street Dairy cafe in Salem, where I sipped coffee from the perfect cat mug for the cat lover. Witness:


Then we walked over to the Riverfront Park where there was a dedication ceremony for a new sculpture of former Governor Tom Mc Call.

It started out covered with a black sheet, which gave it a decidedly early-Halloween appearance.

The bronze statue rises nearly 10 feet and weighs more than 1,000 pounds.

It was made by sculptor Rip Caswell, who has been involved in the design process for over nine years. The actual fabrication took months.

This is Rip Caswell on the left. Tom McCall's son is on the right. I think the guy in the middle is a reporter.
When the sheet was removed, the crowd gasped appropriately. It really is a great sculpture, and the Salem Riverfront Park is the perfect place for it.

In this photo, you can see current governor Ted Kulongoski in the light gray suit, and former governor John Kitzhaber on the right with his usual Levis and sports jacket.

Governor Tom McCall was a very important Oregonian. He helped us all understand how much we need to appreciate and protect our beautiful environment. He was responsible for Oregon's bottle bill (deposits and refunds for pop bottles), and most states eventually followed the idea.

This statue depicts him as a fisherman, which he truly was. He was also famous for his "We should welcome folks to Oregon for visits, but don't encourage them to stay" ideas.

















Then Jim I went for a nice long walk on Minto Brown Island. It was a perfect day. Lots of geese, herons and humans.

Here's Jim gaping at the Willamette River.