Date: Tuesday, 02-Jan-96 08:43 AM

Subject: Postcard from Portland

Dear far-flung family & friends,

We ushered out 1995 with a month to remember - it was Mr. Toad's Wild
Ride! The evening of Friday, December 8th we had a significant ice
storm. Here is Liz's description (excerpted from email to her
folks)...

I've just been through my first ice storm! Well, it went on outside all
night, while we were home safe in bed. We awoke for awhile at 0300 and
put the scanner on. The world is full of idiots, and they were all
stuck out on the road, whining to friends and family on cell phones.
Many had been out since before 0000, and hadn't moved. A semi had slid
over and pinned two cars against the center divider...what a nightmare!

This morning, all of our east-facing windows are covered with a
ripple-textured ice "privacy glass" (like your downstairs shower
door).  All the trees and lawns are crystallized. It's actually quite
beautiful. It's supposed to "warm" up to the 40's and the roads should
be safe to drive on later - we each have appts at the hair stylist at
1500 and the party tonight (warm temps expected to continue).

Well, it's been quite an experience. And I've enjoyed it vicariously,
the best way--safe inside with my husband and my $387 studded tires.

We never did make it to the ADP Christmas party - it didn't warm up
enough to melt the ice. They had booked the OMSI (Oregon Museum of
Science and Industry) for the soiree and we were sad that we had to
miss it :-( In fact, we didn't go out at all on Saturday. Finally on
Sunday the conditions had improved enough for us to venture out for
provisions.

Just when we thought we were out of the woods (so to speak :-), on the
following Tuesday (12/12) we got whipped by Windblows 95. The
forecasters had given plenty of warning of the approaching storm. ADP
shut down at noon and sent people home. Liz took it upon *herself* to
leave work in the absence of any sensible cautions from her employer.
We both got home just in time - about 12:30. Around 1:30 gusts blew
down the 60' Douglas fir tree in our back yard. Thank God the tree
missed the house!!! There was only minor damage to the fence and the
neighbor's rain gutter. Power went out shortly thereafter. The storm
left 200,000 Oregonians without power. The first night we had a
candlelight dinner of smoked salmon and ice cream and went to bed
around 7:30 (hey, it sure beats lutefisk :-o). Aside from having no
power, we were also without heat since the gas furnace relies on an
electric fan to pump the heat.  Fortunately, the temperature set a
record high (see weather summary at the end of this email).

Day 2 - Wednesday, December 13th
================================

We still had no power when we awoke. I called Portland General Electric
and filed a report before leaving for work (ADP never lost power).
There was still no power when Liz and I returned home from work, so we
went out to dinner. First we tried Newport Bay, a nearby restaurant
that serves up a mean New England style clam chowdah. We weren't the
only electrically challenged diners - the wait was 1 hr., so we decided
to eat elsewhere. As we were leaving a crew from PGE came in. They were
a dirty and tired lot. The hostess told them there was a one hour
wait.  They explained they hadn't eaten all day and had only twenty
minutes to have dinner. In spite of their pleas to make an exception
for them the hostess was unyielding. They left in a huff muttering that
_they_ shouldn't be blamed if the restaurant's electricity went out.
Liz and I were tempted to tell them we'd fix them anything they wanted
if they'd restore *our* power. We ended up at Carrows where we were
seated in 1/2 hr. - but waited an hour for dinner. The meal was nothing
to write home about, but it was hot. Afterwards we left for home and
went to bed in the dark, and now very cold house.

Day 3 - Thursday, December 14th
===============================

Power was still out, so I again called PGE. They asked if there were
any poles down in our neighborhood. I told them that from my window I
could see a pole leaning and assumed there was a tree down on some
wires. I also indicated I had seen several flashes of light during the
storm which I assumed were transformers blowing their brains out. They
couldn't give me any idea when power might be restored. I indicated
that we were going out for breakfast and if I didn't see a crew working
on our street by the time we came back I would take it up with the
mayor's office. I'm sure it was a coincidence, but the crew showed up
shortly thereafter. I went out and greeted the foreman, telling him,
"Boy, are we glad to see *you*!" He replied, "Yeah, we hear that a lot
lately :-)" I responded that I knew there was a tree down and asked him
if he could estimate when power might be restored. He exclaimed,
"*Tree* down?! Have you looked down there (pointing down the road,
which was closed)?? *EVERY* pole is down and all the transformers need
to be replaced! We'll be here all day, all night and into tomorrow.
You'll be lucky to get your power back during the night." Swell! I
quickly made reservations for the evening in a local motel. Liz and I
then went out for breakfast. We were served by an insensitive twit who
gloated over that fact that *she* had never lost power. It had been a
long time since I had left a measly 10% tip - but that's what she got -
to the penny! That evening on my way home from work I noted that the
power to street lights had been restored as well as to the houses
bordering the street with the downed poles. My heart lept! But as I
turned the corner into 39th Ave., all was dark :-(. We checked into the
motel and this time got into Newport Bay for dinner.  After a delicious
meal we went back to the motel and enjoyed a WONDERFUL shower, TV and a
warm bed. It's amazing how much the simple pleasures mean - ones we
normally take for granted. I guess we would not have been cut out to be
pioneers roughing it on the Oregon Trail!

Day 4 - Friday, December 15th
=============================

I again called PGE to report that we did not yet have power. They said
that there were still 42,000 customers without power and indicated that
all substations were online and all main lines had been repaired. I was
advised that we might not see our power restored until Sunday or Monday
since it was a time consuming process to repair the remaining feed
lines that were causing isolated problems! I went to work and, in the
hope that we might get lucky, called home every now and then. If the
answering machine picked up, it would be time to rejoice. Around 10:30
my prayers were answered and I went into some endzone showboating right
there in the office. My associates understood ;^)

But alas, our reason to rejoice was just as quickly dashed by the theft
of Liz's wallet from her desk at work that same day #^| We're sure it
was the work of a pro. The thief quickly ran up charges of $5,300 and
then tried to get a $2,500 advance. When the bank took too long to
approve the transaction, she became nervous and left - without the
credit card. But later on she did manage to use Liz's driver's license
to cash a $900 check she had written on someone else's account. The
thief was approximately Liz's size - but had dark hair according the
bank where she tried to get a cash advance. How she managed to pass
herself off as Liz and use her id to cash a check is hard to fathom. We
assume the transaction occurred at a few-questions-asked check-cashing
place. Fortunately, all concerned institutions had been promptly
notified, so we suffered no financial loss save the cost of getting a
new driver's license. Nonetheless, it was an unsettling experience for
Liz - to say the least!!

On Sunday (12/17) we discovered that the storm had a silver lining. We
awoke to a glorious sunrise that bathed the entire sky in shades of
gold, pink, purple and blue. And the icing on the cake - with the tree
gone we now have a commanding view of snowy Mt. Hood!!

We ended the month (and year) on a high note by spending the week
between Christmas and New Years visiting Liz's parents and what few
friends our limited time permitted us to see. This included an
absolutely delightful breakfast with the four Hildebrands (at Benjies,
where we bumped into Don Rado of all people!) and a small gathering at
Mongolian BBQ. Unfortunately, our visit with the Denneys was limited to
a phone call due to their concern about exposing Jonathan to an
infection. We were delighted to learn that he's up to 9 pounds and
doing well. We would like to apologize to the many SoCal friends that
we could not visit. The seating at Mongolian BBQ is very limited.
Moreover, we had time for only one such dinner and did not want to plan
a large affair akin to our farewell party. That would have spread us
too thin to have very much time with anyone. Please forgive us. We hope
you will understand that spending time with Liz's family was the top
priority.

Liz was able to squeeze in an evening to entertain several junior high
school friends she hadn't seen in a long time. They had come home for
the holidays from as far away as France. I had a chance to meet them
and join in the conversation. Quite a zany group :-)

The better part of the week was spent with Liz's parents. We were
amazed at how quickly the week whizzed by. Liz and her mom got in a
good deal of shopping together (one of their favorite activities ;-),
and her dad and I logged a lot of time on our computers - one of *our*
preferred pastimes. It took a half day to unwrap all the gifts that
were crammed under the tree! Santa had stuffed Bill's stocking with a
new modem as well as Windows 95 - both of which we successfully
installed. We also had a good deal of time to enjoy each other's
company - which was the best gift of all. The week was capped by a
marvelous meal at Pascals, one of the finest restaurants in SoCal.

Before we knew it, we were on the flight back home. The return flight
was a marked contrast to the PDX-LAX leg. The Alaska crew on the way
*to* California had us in stitches. They could have easily been booked
at the Improv. There was nothing comical about the crew on the return
flight - they were rude and stern. I won't bore you with the details,
but Liz _will_ be writing a letter to Alaska's corporate officers.

We went out for breakfast on the 31st to a new place we took a chance
on and had one of the best brunches we've ever enjoyed. It will be a
mandatory stop on the PDX tour for any of our out-of-town guests. So,
when are *you* coming for a visit?! - yes, we're talking to YOU!!

Liz and I spent a quiet New Years at home, safe and sound. We managed
to kill an entire bottle of champagne! Unfortunately, Liz had to work
on the 1st as her company (in Liz's words) "no longer recognizes
holidays".

We hope you all had a good year in 1995 and that the new year will
prove to be even better. We miss you all and hope you'll manage to come
see us in Portland sometime in 1996.

BTW, I neglected to mention in last month's postcard that the Oregon
plates I ordered for my car finally arrived. No more PRFXNST - Oregon
doesn't have enough people for seven character plates. I now have
SRFWWW.

Until next month...

love,
Sandy & Liz

STATE WEATHER SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
630 AM PST WED DEC 13 1995

...SNOW ADVISORY TODAY FOR THE OREGON CASCADES...

THE STRONG STORM THAT BRUSHED WESTERN OREGON TUESDAY HAS MOVED INTO
SOUTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA. THERE WERE MANY GUSTS EXCEEDING 100 MILES PER
HOUR ON THE OREGON COAST. IN THE WILLAMETTE VALLEY, THERE WERE GUSTS OF
AT LEAST 70 TO 80 MPH. A SPOTTER AT CAMAS WASHINGTON REPORTED A GUST OF
95 MPH.

MOST WESTERN SITES HAD UPWARDS OF ONE INCH OF PRECIPITATION WITH
BROOKINGS REPORTING OVER ONE AND ONE HALF INCHES. ELSEWHERE...EUGENE HAD
1.38 INCHES WITH PORTLAND AND SALEM REPORTING SIX TENTHS OF AN INCH.

AT ASTORIA...THE BAROMETER READ 28.51 INCHES. THIS PRESSURE WAS LOWER
THAN THE PRESSURE RECORDED DURING THE COLUMBUS DAY STORM IN 1962.

HIGH TEMPERATURES WERE AT OR NEAR RECORDS FOR THE DAY AT MANY WESTERN
OREGON SITES. PORTLAND SET A NEW RECORD FOR THE DAY. THE HIGH
TEMPERATURE AT PORTLAND WAS 63 DEGREES WHICH BROKE THE OLD RECORD OF 58
DEGREES SET IN 1956.

LOW TEMPERATURES THIS MORNING WERE GENERALLY IN THE MID TO UPPER 40S ON
THE WEST SIDE. EAST SIDE LOWS WERE IN THE 30S IN SOUTHEAST OREGON AND
40S IN NORTHEAST OREGON.


CLIMATIC SUMMARY FOR PORTLAND 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NWSFO PORTLAND OREGON         
 434 AM PST WED DEC 13 1995

 ...TEMPERATURE...

HIGH YESTERDAY... 63  ** EXCEEDED RECORD **  58 IN 1956
LOW YESTERDAY...  45 
MEAN TEMP........ 54   DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL...   13

NORMAL HIGH FOR TODAY... 46
NORMAL  LOW FOR TODAY... 35
RECORD HIGH FOR TODAY...  61 SET IN 1977
RECORD  LOW FOR TODAY...  18 SET IN 1972

...DEGREE DAY DATA...

HEATING
YESTERDAY...     11 DEPARTURE...   -13
MONTH.......    266 DEPARTURE...   -17
SEASON......   1013 DEPARTURE...  -328

COOLING
YESTERDAY...      0 DEPARTURE...     0
MONTH.......      0 DEPARTURE...     0
SEASON......    453 DEPARTURE...    82

...PRECIPITATION...

YESTERDAY.............   0.69
TOTAL FOR THE MONTH...   3.14
NORMAL MONTH TO DATE..   2.40
TOTAL FOR THE YEAR....  40.55   TOTAL SINCE OCT 1...  17.54
NORMAL YEAR TO DATE...  32.57   NORMAL FROM OCT 1...  10.41

SNOWFALL YESTERDAY... 0    
SNOWFALL THIS MONTH.. T    
SNOW FOR THE SEASON.. T    

...WIND DATA IN MPH...

AVERAGE WIND SPEED YESTERDAY... 20.8 
FASTEST 2-MIN WIND YESTERDAY... 51  FROM 170 DEGREES
PEAK WIND GUST YESTERDAY....... 62  FROM THE S  

...ASTRONOMICAL DATA...

SUNRISE TODAY...742 AM    PST
SUNSET  TODAY...427 PM    PST
SUNRISE TOMORROW...743 AM    PST
SUNSET  TOMORROW...427 PM    PST

--
Sandy & Liz Herring         permanent address: sherring@ACM.org
Portland, Oregon            provider du jour : pickled@ix.netcom.com
home away from home ....... http://www.paciolan.com/~gdh/friends/sandy

                And that's the news from Lake Oswego,
           where the women are strong, the men good looking
               and all the children are above average.

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