15 October, 1990 (read on the air in this slightly edited version)

To: The Car Guys at CarTalk Plaza, WBUR

"NPR has asked me to read . . . they don't usually do commercials, but they asked me to do this one:"

Is your car plagued by high cholesterol? Show your car you care by converting that American tank you're driving into a sporty little Italian job today, simply by adding a litre of PENNZOLIO: the vegetarian, politically correct lubricant. PENNZOLIO guarantees your car a long, clog-free life.

Show your support for OUR BOYS by leaving crude oil where it belongs -- in the ground. Other drivers will recognize your commitment to world peace by the exhaust you make, and recent research indicates that garlic is actually beneficial to the ozone layer.

"Yes, we've known that for years actually."

Help Italy get involved in the world crisis, and take the heat of the good old U. S. of A. PENNZOLIO is attractively packaged in recyclable glass bottles for only five dollars a half litre, also available in extra extra virgin thirty-weight for new and foreign cars, cold pressed, but ready to warm and soothe your car's moving parts And yours too!

"Where does one send the money . . . if?

. . . Available in the produce section of your grocery store. Ask for it by name and don't accept substitutess: PENNZOLIO: the healthy alternative for your automotive needs.

"According to Nancy Merrill of Seattle, Washington at least."

"Is she selling this stuff?"

"Hey, great idea!"

"I sent the twenty bucks!"

"Well look, it's time for the new Puzzler . . . "

I Gave at the Park

Published Letter: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2003621815_satrdr17.html

Dear Editor (Seattle Times):

What the heck is going on with Wallingford Playfield? As a Friend of Wallingford Playfield, my volunteer work and play there go back eight years at least, and the same goes for our very devoted core group of planners, weeders, play equipment assemblers, gardeners and our families. For example, at my house the price of admission for unexpected overnight 20-something guests has been participation in any number of "weeding parties." Volunteers with younger children have watched their participating kids move from the wading pool to doing homework on thepicnic tables, and many birthdays have been celebratedthere as well. Hamilton students, Garfield-at-Lincoln and many other groups share this space successfully in the light-use manner for which it is intended.

Because FOWP has worked successfully with Seattle Parks and Recreation to define this space for light recreational use by people of all ages, children enjoy the multi-faceted play structure, the largest one in Seattle; seniors from neighboring dwellings and University House regularly utilize the circular walking path; and the Sunken Garden area is a maturing haven for birds including hummingbirds, bees and beauty.

We actually accomplished something in Seattle! Or had the illusion that we did for a time . . . It took lots of negotiating and lots of work and several thousand e-mails and hundreds of meetings; now this jewel is used by people of all ages on a daily basis, year-round. We believed what we were told at the time, that Hamilton would eventually inhabit the old Lincoln school site and the Hamilton site would keep its current footprint.

This volunteer is very fatigued by this version of "Seattle Process" and now extremely wary of bureaucratic promises. The volunteers I have brought to the playfield from Alaska, Japan and New Zealand will be disappointed as well. This city has a way of running through volunteers as if there is an unending supply. Situations like this teach people to charge for their time.

Nancy Merrill

A tree goes in Ballard

Full story: http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=satrdr23&date=20041023

By Nancy Merrill
Special to The Times

I appreciate community activist Randi Hansen for her quiet protest in Ballard. She is quoted in The Times as saying: "I have a religious belief that we are responsible for what happens to the Earth." ("Activist plants herself under Ballard tree," Times, Local News, Oct. 9.) Very moving.

While that 20-foot-tall tree goes the way of so many other large trees in our region ("Ballard tree taken down this morning while activist sleeping," Local News, Oct. 12), Hansen's action brings increased awareness to the plight of Seattle's urban forest. Thank you, Randi.

I suspect that the foliage on the four new trees Noland Homes, the property developer, intends to plant (replanting is a matter of city code) will not equal that of this decades-old evergreen soon, if ever.

One way to make up the difference would be to plant Right Tree/Right Place trees (with a Seattle Department of Transportation permit) on the treeless planting strip areas of that block if residents would welcome them. What exists now are some established planting-strip trees, newly planted trees and several blank spaces.

And perhaps a fruit tree in every backyard?

There is an opportunity for Noland Homes to go the distance here, and set a meaningful example for future projects as our communities evolve. Noland Homes can get assistance with this community building/healing idea by contacting Nolan Rundquist, the city of Seattle's arborist.

I have volunteers in Wallingford ready to help with planning and planting. We'll call it Randi Hansen Day, and can teach other blocks to do the same while we're at it.

Tree Cheers!

Nancy Merrill of the It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood tree planting project, is an SDOT tree steward who lives in Seattle. Contact the Wallingford neighborhood office at 632-3165. www.cityofseattle.net/transportation/treenewsfallwinter2001.htm