GRIZ BEAR COMMENTS: Are we all moved yet? The answer is: Yes and no; it really all depends

— A few weeks ago, I mentioned our move of a few blocks from one house to another. For me, the move is done but I’m not sure if Mrs. Griz sees things quite the same way.

Let me explain.

I pretty much counted the move as done once everything was hauled from House A to House B and House A was cleaned and returned in good condition to the custody of our former landlord. It didn’t matter to me that the garage of House B was still full of boxes and not everything was packed and put away.

In fact, once I had my home office up and going, with computer connected and books and materials accessible, I was moved and at home again even though there are still boxes on the floor and the photos and many of the supplies which had a place in House A are still waiting to be hung or placed in House B.

Mrs. Griz, on the other hand, is still moving in. She’s cleaning window sills that may never have been cleaned, sewing and hanging curtains, unpacking boxes and arranging and re-arranging things to make everything look nice and just so. She’s making good progress, but I expect themove won’t be complete for her just any time soon.

It’s not that I don’t care about finding the proper place for everything and getting it put there, I just don’t care about it nearly as much as Mrs.Griz. Given enough time, I might get around to it or I might not - it’s hard to say.

Though I’ve told her I would hang the photos in my office, she stepped into my office the other day with hammer and nails and hung a few of the photos which just might have been in her way. It could be that her actions should have motivated me to hang the rest. They didn’t. My photos are still setting on the floor in a box, waiting on me to get around to hanging them.

The question probably is this: Who will get around to it first? If she gets the rest of the house in shape, I expect one of us will be unpacking the boxes on my office floor and hanging pictures on the wall - either me because she made me do it, or her because she wanted it done to her standards.

As a former truck driver, I always viewed my job as done after I had unloaded and delivered the goods. I didn’t have to unpack the boxes and put everything in its proper place. Maybe that affected my thinking in regard to moving too.

Perhaps the difference in our approach is gender related; I don’t know. Mrs. Griz is focused on nest building and having everything just so. I, on the other hand, am a practical kind of guy. What matters to me is whether it works and gets the job done, not how it looks.

That could be why I jumped at the opportunity to buy a newer pickup for a good price due to some severe hail damage on the hood and top. That doesn’t mean I like hail damage, but according to my way of thinking, it shouldn’t affect the mechanics or the serviceability of the truck and that’s what matters most.

So when people ask if we’re all moved in at our new house, the answer is yes and no - yes, if you talk to me because I have everything moved and what I need unpacked and am able to carry on my day-to-day activities; no, if you talk to Mrs. Griz and there are still boxes setting in the garage or on the floor in my office.

Adding fluoride to our water

In regard to last week’s column on whether government should be able to add fluoride to our drinking water, I received a response from Scott Borman, general manager of the Benton-Washington Regional Public Water Authority, after press time.

Borman’s email response said: “We have been adding fluoride since we came on line in 1999 due to a decision by the board of directors back then. So the new regulation does not apply to us since we were already doing it.Our annual O&M costs for the fluoride addition runs from $40,000 - $56,000, depending on the amount of water we treat. We use bulk hyrofluorosilic acid for fluoridation. Let me know if you need any additional information.”

Randy Moll is the managing editor of the Westside Eagle Observer. He may be reached by email at [email protected].

Opinion, Pages 6 on 03/21/2012