Come Visit, But Don't Stay

Hoo boy. My Iowa lass has turned up, safe and sound. Thanks for your nice thoughts.

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In the 1970's, a friend of mine launched an organization named the James G. Blaine Society. I got in early, as Member No. 6.

James G. Blaine, you will certainly recall, was a Republican candidate for President who accused the Democrats of being "the party of rum, Romanism, and rebellion." What that got for him was the loss of New York, and the loss of the presidency.

So why it was named the James G. Blaine Society is not clear to me, but I do know that it had a purpose: To hide Oregon's many charms from other people. We had a motto in keeping with our vaunted reputation for rain: "Oregonians don't tan; they rust." We had a spokesman: Writer Stewart Holbrook, who campaigned against unplanned population growth and development in the Pacific Northwest. (He also campaigned against the phrase "skid row," which was really "skid road.")

And later on, we had a true champion: Governor Tom McCall, who said in a speech to a ton of industrialists: "Come visit Oregon again and again. It IS a state of excitement. But then go home. Fix up your own state."

McCall's point was that people were moving around trying to find better living conditions "that they then would trash, again."

So Oregon has a fine land use planning law. Its beaches are all owned by the public. Our water is clean. The sky is blue. Come visit. Then go home.

(This doesn't count if you're really nice.)


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My favorite word today is average. Adj., does it get any better? Def.: What half the people are not as smart as.