Dear manufacturer of the infant swing, the bouncy seat and the yoga ball:
Despite your best efforts, the car remains king for calming the crying child.
Praise goes to Henry Ford for his foresight. For the smooth, effortless ride, the gentle white noise of engine hum, and the murmur of tires on asphalt.
Bound to the home, dear manufacturer, your swing, seat and yoga ball aren’t symbols of freedom.
Nor can they deliver the soothing salve needed by a baby who has eaten too fast, burped too little, cried too much.
Dinosaurs died, millions of years passed and the power of the internal combustion engine is harnessed in the name of peace and quiet.
So here I am, riding along in my automobile. My baby beside me at the wheel.
(Well, not really. Airbags and state laws say otherwise: Put the child in the back seat.)
Cruising and not playing the radio, with no particular place to go.
Forgive the sleep-deprived parent for not thinking clearly, for clinging to a last-ditch way to silence the fussing.
Surely driving by moonlight, away from the commuter crunch, burns less fuel. It doesn’t matter that gas prices are flirting, courting and soon to marry $3 a gallon.
Renting an all-night merry-go-round to be delivered to my backyard from the fair would be cheaper.
So in closing, I deflate you, once dear yoga ball. I dismantle you, clunky swing and vibrating bouncy seat.
At least until gas prices reach $4 a gallon.
Question: “I have noticed a lot of cars running red lights coming out of Maple Road westbound into Alderwood Mall Parkway. I don’t see a lot of traffic enforcement there either. The problem is worse during rush hours and weekends. I don’t know if Lynnwood police are going to do something about the problem.”
Steve Ly, Lynnwood
Answer: “Whether you can see them there or not, Lynnwood traffic officers are at that intersection persistently and consistently during a variety of times during the weekdays and weekends,” said Shannon Sessions, Lynnwood Police Department public information officer.
“Officers haven’t seen many red light violations there, but do catch a lot of speeders. On the average, these officers are handing out at least 50 moving violation tickets there a week.”
We’ll talk with state Secretary of Transportation Doug MacDonald.
MacDonald failed the eye test required to renew his driver’s license, according to The News Tribune in Tacoma and The Associated Press. MacDonald turned 61 last week, has had diabetes for 29 years and has trouble seeing signs at a distance.
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