Elfin Cove & Knob Noster

I saw the names of two towns I never heard of before yesterday: Elfin Cove & Knob Noster. Elfin Cove sounded so magical. And, Knob Noster, I misread as Knob Monster so I got curious as to how it got it's name.

From www.commerce.state.ak.us:

Elfin Cove lies on the northern shore of Chichagof Island, approximately 33 miles west of Hoonah and 70 miles by air and 85 miles by boat west of Juneau. The community is only accessible by small seaplane or boat.

This protected, flask-shaped harbor was originally called "Gunkhole" by fishermen anchoring here. Its safe anchorage and proximity to the Fairweather fishing grounds made this a natural spot for fish buyers and supplies. Ernie Swanson built a store, restaurant, and dock here in the 1920s. His wife Ruth applied for a post office in 1935 and gave it the new name of Elfin Cove. John Lowell, another fish buyer, arrived in the 1940s and built a second dock, warehouse, store, and restaurant. According to locals, the Tlingits who visited the harbor would not stay over winter because of the "evil spirits" there.

The population of the community consists of 0% Alaska Native or part Native.

From www.knobnostergov.com:

Knob Noster is located on U.S. Highway 50, approximately 60 miles east of Kansas City, Missouri.  A short distance northeast of town there are two hills, called knobs. The hills have become a landmark for the community and are closely related to the organization and background of the town.

According to historical information, the name Knob Noster is taken from the hills.  Knob, meaning the hills, and "noster", being the Latin derivation meaning "our", were formed together to create "Our Knob", or Knob Noster.

Poetic Medicine

Poem below is from the website, for The Institute for Poetic Medicine - To Awaken Soulfulness in the Human Voice, www.poeticmedicine.org

Say this:

...say threshold, cottonmouth, Russian leather,
say ash, picot, fallow deer, saxophone, say kitchen sink.
This is a birthday party for the mouth—it's better than ice cream,
say waterlilly, refrigerator, hartebeest, Prussian blue
and the word will take you, if you let it,
the word will take you along across the air of your head
so that you're there as it settles into the thing it was made for,
adding to it a shimmer and the bird song of its sound...

--Marilyn Krysl from Saying Things

The first book I purchased when I moved to Washington state, over a decade ago, was a book about poetry. The title of the book is what caught my eye rather than the subject. Finding What You Didn't Lose: Expressing Your Truth and Creativity Through Poem-Making by John Fox.

I have yet to do much more than thumb through it though it is a wonderful, rich book.

I still remember finding it on a shelf in a small bookstore area that resided over an artist co-op store in Olga on Orcas Island. There was (is it still there??) a cafe attached to the store that baked their own cinnamon rolls. Beautiful handcrafted art wrapped in cinnamon.

Yesterday, I started reading another book by John called Poetic Medicine: The Healing Art of Poem-Making. Right after the title page, I found the poem below(which I loved):


The Sleepless Ones

What if all the people
who could not sleep
at two or three or four
in the morning
left their houses
and went to the parks
what if hundreds, thousands,
millions
went in their solitude
like a stream
and each told their story
what if there were
old women
fearful if they slept
they would die
and young women
unable to conceive
and husbands
having affairs
and children
fearful of failing
and fathers
worried about paying bills
and men
having business troubles
and women unlucky in love
and those that were in physical
pain
and those who were guilty
what if they all left their houses
like a stream
and the moon
illuminated their way and
they came, each one
to tell their stories
would these be the more troubled
of humanity
or would these be
the more passionate of this world
or those who need to create to live
or would these be
the lonely
ones
and I ask you
if they all came to the parks
at night
and told their stories
would the sun on rising
be more radiant and
again I ask you
would they embrace

~ Lawrence Tirnauer

Missing

Haiga 6

"The feeling remains that God is on the journey, too." -Teresa of Avila

Haiga 5

Seen, Heard, Uttered

Bumper Stickers

"This is not an SUV, it's just a really big purse"

"Wag more, bark less"


Corporate Confusion and Mirth

I

Our new corporate logo was unveiled, and an email was sent with our logo, address format for emails. We all dutifully pasted and copied the new information sent out by Bob Brown. Fortunately for me, I was a little uncertain if I had done everything correctly. This time being a little less certain of the computer led me to discovering a
potential problem with the new address, and fixing it before I emailed clients.

The next day, the new signature, logo, and address format was attached to most everyone's email, along with the mistake I saw. If someone clicked on an email link to reply, the mail went to Bob Brown regardless of the typed email address. We all copied his hyperlink. For some reason, I had a great time emailing people who emailed me letting them their email hyperlink was directing their email to Bob.
(an email was sent out letting people know about the error so it looks like it was handled before emails went to external customers).

II

With our new name just unveiled, we have to make sure old clients recognize us we are when calling. Protocol requires that we use both name, but it can be cumbersome. So my phone call to a regular client whose company, also, just had a name change went like this:

"This is Lynn calling from ABC Blank Blank Blank formerly known as Blank Blank Blank."

"Hello, this is Chris with Blank Blank Blank formerly known as Blank Blank Blank"

"Hi, Lynn"

"Hi, Chris"

Bemusement all around

III

Another part our computer systems was converted this past weekend, adding a new element into the mix. Two of the three systems we use now are on Pacific Standard Time(PST), and the new added in is on Central Standard Time(CST). Sunday, I was pleased and amazed lunch time had come so quickly . . . then, wait a minute, oh rats, I am looking at the system operating in CST.

IV

A co-worker asked a client for his address, He replied (seriously), "I don't know I haven't seen it in two days."

V

A co-worker received a call from Mr. Flaghorn (name she actually heard). She became concerned when she couldn't find a file for him. It seemed a pretty straightforward spelling even if she was slightly off. But, not finding it, her last resort was to have him spell it. He said, "B - R - O - W - N" . . .


Sad & Touching

A friend took a call from someone who called her to report a stolen credit card. He found the card on the street, and picked up. He hadn't eaten in several days, he was an out of work fisherman living along the U.S. Gulf Coast. He went to a local restaurant and ate a $9.72 dinner. After he finished eating, he felt horrible about what he had done so he knew he had to report the card stolen by himself. My friend said the man insisted on leaving his name and phone number, promising he would find a way to pay the person back, and apologizing profusely.

'Tis the most tender part of love, each other to forgive. - John Sheffield

Undefined

"When we understand the outside of things, we think we have them. Yet the Lord puts his things in subdefined, suggestive shapes, yielding no satisfactory meaning to the mere intellect, but unfolding themselves to the conscience and heart." - George MacDonald

Haiga 4

Haiga 3