There was a lightning storm with hail and thunder.
The lightning hit someone’s carport and made a puff of smoke. It downed trees and sacred dogs. No one was hit by lightning, but we shared stories of people we know who’ve gotten hit, including one islander’s sister-in-law, who was out trying to rescue a goat in a lightning storm, got struck, and was thrown 10 feet by the impact. It sounds terrifying, but the islander reassures us that the goat made it through the storm unscathed.
Am I including this radar image because the storm looked phallic? Yes I am.
An islander got a strange call asking if they would want to see Psalms printed in their local newspaper. Of course they don’t! Local newspapers are for unhinged letters-to-the-editor and detailed info about how to join the local bowling league. The best thing about the local paper is opening it up, pointing to all the pictures and saying, “Hey, I know that guy!” I don’t personally know anyone mentioned in the Psalms.
Did you know that in 2018 I was on the cover of the Beachcomber three times? Once for library mini-golf, once for Scouts, and then again for Picnics in the Park. By comparison, Pearl Jam only made it to the cover of the Beachcomber once that year.
And speaking of strange communications, an islander got a letter in the mail inviting her to join Nextdoor, which is the app where people complain about their neighbor’s holiday decorations. Some of us find the app useful, while others have tried and ended up flooded with notifications about all the lost pets and stolen packages in Port Orchard. The app connects you to local neighborhoods, whether or not there’s a body of water (and no bridge) between the two.
It’s the second anniversary of Stackable-Washer-Gate, a Facebook thread so bizarre that we now reference it regularly, especially when someone asks about stackable washer/dryer combos (which happens way more often than you’d expect.).
The original poster asks that we commemorate by donating a laundry bag full of food to the food bank or pet food to Vipp.
Some islanders would like us to stop bringing up the whole washer/dryer thing because the person who turned a basic ISO post into a legend was clearly going through something, and maybe we should just let that thread die. I don’t have an opinion on this as I have never read the original post and only know its content through inference from later references, akin perhaps to how we know of Aristotle’s Dialogues or how my children understand Star Wars.
And someone is actually looking for a stackable washer and dryer this week, and had to add that they are serious, because lord knows we would all just turn it into a joke.
A new neighbor is moving to Vashon to be the Food Service Manager at Camp Sealth and we were all, for over 200 comments, friendly and kind. I’m proud of us. We’ve offered to hang out, have dog play dates, be taste testers, be bridesmaids at her wedding, be her second should she ever get into a duel, etc.
We only briefly got derailed to hash out the difference between “sometimes vegan” and “vegetarian.” Is vegan all-or-nothing, or are there degrees of veganity? Can someone be somewhat-vegan? We recommend books about vegetarianism to each other in the comments.
An islander is looking for hides if any hunter has some that they aren’t using. A surprising number of us have raccoon hides just hanging out in the freezer.
Author: Anna Shomsky
I'm a former teacher and a data engineer living on Vashon Island. My writing has appeared in Five on the Fifth, Women on Writing and on the Post-Culture Podcast. I wrote and produced the radio show Whispers of Vashon for 101.9 KVSH. I’ve had short stories published in the anthologies Island Stories and Chicken Scratchings, as well as through the Open Space Literary Project.
