Blue Angels Brush-Back

The great thing about Switzerland -- we'll tie Seattle in shortly, hang on -- is that there's no convenience too small for the Swiss to consider. Everywhere you go, some Swiss person has already been there and added a neat little touch. Not that we don't show that consideration here in Seattle -- last night at the Hopvine we noticed they have little coat hooks just beneath the bar so you don't have to throw them over your barstool. Thoughtful, see. Could still use a foot rail, but one thing at a time.

In that spirit, after the latest Blue Angels appearance at Seafair -- highly anticipated by some lobes of the Seattlest hivemind -- we decided to curtail our usual offering a of a snarktail with a dash of disempowered snide and make our voice heard in the highest reaches of local gov't. We wrote the Mayor's Office and asked about getting the Blue Angels on a rotating, year-on, year-off schedule so the haters and lovers could both have their kind of Seafair. Here's the response we got from the Mayor's Office:

Thank you for your suggestion about hosting the Blue Angels every other year. The Mayor's office has received a number of thoughtful comments and concerns regarding the Seafair air show. As you may know, Seafair is a summer long festival and celebration of the community spirit of Puget Sound. For nearly 60 years Seafair has been the largest festival in our region, drawing more than one million spectators. Seafair is a long standing tradition in Seattle, and the City of Seattle has long supported and welcomed the Blue Angels to Seafair.

Who cares? This doesn't address our question at all. Sailors in fistfights are more traditional than the Blue Angels. What is interesting is that, according to Seafair: "The U.S. Navy Blue Angels have been a major part of the Seafair family since the mid 1950s and a mainstay at Seafair since 1972." Mainstay, eh? So there's almost twenty years of historical tradition where they didn't show up every year. Good to know. But back to the Mayor's Office, still outfitted in full boilerplate regalia:

Bringing the Blue Angels to Seattle is a lengthy process that begins in September of each year when Seafair applies to the Department of Defense to have the Blue Angels perform during Seafair. blah blah zzzz The Special Events Committee then reviews the application in an open public meeting.

Zzz--whoa, what's that? An open public meeting? Can we attend?

If you wish to attend next year's meeting, Seafair’s application may be considered in May or June 2008. You may contact the Customer Service Bureau in late April/early May to determine if the meeting has been scheduled. We can be reached at 206-684-CITY (2489) or visit our website at www.seattle.gov/customerservice. If you have comments for Seafair, please contact Seafair at (206) 728-0123, ext. 853, where you can leave a voice message.

Now you might think that having contacted the Mayor's Office with our idea, they'd take the ball and run with it. Or at least, you know, put it in the "File of Things To Be Considered at the Next Seafair Application Meeting." But we're convinced the Mayor's Office, impressed by the cogency of our suggestion but wanting to avoid appearances of partisanship, simply wants to *wink* *wink* offer us the chance to speak in person. We're amped. We'll totally put that on our calendar. Let's see, sometime in May or June, maybe. Call in April...or May. Great. Got it all nailed down. Annual event like this, every year since 1972, they've got it down to an exact science. Thanks, Mayor's Office!