Editor's Note: Ready for Vet’s Day suggestions

If you weren’t on the sidewalk on that gray Wed­nes­day morning, you missed a short but inspiring show. Even though Nov. 11 is the anniversary of the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front in World War I, our WWII veterans were the parade grand marshals. When the procession ended, they were honored during a brief ceremony outside Memorial Hall.

Attendance was good at a dinner in the hall that night to honor veterans, but the organizers would have liked to see more spectators along the parade route. While the gloomy weather was no doubt partly to blame, they discussed what besides sunshine might bring out more folks next year.

They’d like to hear suggestions from the public. After all, these are our veterans. How can we best honor them on the day the nation has set aside for that purpose? Were the events adequately publicized? Should the parade route change? Could the procession attract more entries?

Send your suggestions to Duane “Sparky” Countess by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 464-7471.

There’s this little matter of a football game to be played Thursday night a couple hundred miles up the road in Eugene. It’s the 113th renewal of the Civil War between Oregon and Oregon State, and for the first time, either school can clinch a Rose Bowl berth by winning.

Knowing I was headed for the Willamette Valley for Thanks­giving, I dug out my most in-your-face UO sweat shirt. It depicts an angry Duck with roses protruding from its beak. Reactions, I figured, would provide my personal gauge of the pre-game intensity in the land of Ducks and Beavers.

So I wore it to Thanksgiving dinner at the home of my cousin, a known OSU supporter. Another Beaver was also at the table, but my garb elicited mainly eye-rolling, even after I threw out the term “bark rats.” I still was wearing it the next day as my brother and I did some low-intensity Black Friday shopping. A couple of passersby said “Go Ducks,” but the response was underwhelming. The manager of my parents’ apartment complex did a worshipful, hands-outstretched bow before my angry Duck — not surprising since he was decked out in a UO shirt as well.

All in all, people were keeping their cool. Maybe most of them are like me. In spite of my wardrobe, my dirty little secret is that I don’t dislike the Beavers. As much as I want the Ducks to win Thursday, I’m pleased that an Oregon school is going to the Rose Bowl either way.

THE LOOK OF DECEMBER

Here’s how the new month arrives before dawn Tuesday in Crescent City: A fat moon hovers to the north, its watery reflection only the biggest source of illumination on a black sea dotted with the pinprick lights of at least 20 crab boats.

The moon won’t be full for one more day, but the wait is over for the crabbers. It’s December, and the crews can finally pull up their catches and head for the harbor.