my daughter ran into him in a grocery store when we lived in Seattle. Literally. As in walked into his leg. She looked up to say "I'm sorry," recognized him, screamed and yelled at the top of her lungs "BILL NYE THE SCIENCE GUY MY DADDY WATCHES YOU ALL THE TIME!" I was most proud. Mr. Bill slowly backed away, a small trickle of blood dripping from his ear. 6 year olds can hit some pretty painful SPLs. Their frequency range is considered a deadly weapon in some jurisdictions.
My dog has a Mr. Bill which, when disturbed, emits the requisite "Oh No." It's the only toy she hasn't destroyed. Mostly because she's both fascinated by it, and terrified of it. I don't want her near something, I put Mr. Bill on it and she stays away. Once I put it in her bed as I was picking stuff up while she slept. She wasn't amused. But more to the point... I think everyone in Seattle called him "Mr. Bill" after he left Boeing. He did a periodic thing on Almost Live ... late night Saturday on KING (I think it was KING...whoever is channel 5 up there....is it still going? It's been a really long time for me). It was where he developed the Science Guy schtick. Well, that and Cornell... I think he lived in Greenlake and would often (meaning once in a while when a friend of his was playing) come into The Scarlet Tree" on Jazz/Blues jam night. We would accuse him of coming up from Kent...the subject of many disparaging routines on Almost... My daughter didn't get to stay up for Almost. She got to know him on the Science Guy thing when it aired on channel 9.
Moon Rising Between Starships Image Credit & Copyright: John Kraus In many ways, Seattle is long gone.
Liked the image...the death of Emerald City...not so much. When I returned to Portland after living in Seattle, I didn't recognize it. It bore no resemblance to the city I'd left. Dirtier, meaner, more crowded...less human. Maybe more human and it's just I who has a skewed sense of livable. Why should Seattle be any different...
