From: Larry Smith
Subject: HSMB

Well, I thought it was time to get off my butt (or should I say on my butt) and start writing a little.

A little background here first: I was born in Aberdeen, Washington on October 4th, 1948. I lived in Montesano, Washington which is about 10 miles east of Aberdeen. I moved to Kitsap County (about 75 miles away) in 1986 to take a higher paying job working for the State of Washington. I retired last Friday. Hoop-Dee-Doo, I still have to work, because retirement isn't enough to get by on.

Montesano was a microcosm of influences: logging was King until the Hollywood Actor and President of Our United States of America, Mr.Ronald Reagan, decided to allow the rednecks to cut every last scrap of remaining old growth lumber available. Basically, once the land was completely raped, things started to change a bit culturally around Montesano and Grays Harbor. The old ethic still remains, but just not quite as stinkingly obvious. There are still many people who wear hickory shirts and red suspenders with "LOGGER'S" embossed on the left suspender and "PLAYDAY" embossed on the right.

Aberdeen was the "place to go" when I grew up, especially if you wanted to "cruise for chicks". The place has not changed much, except to possibly become drearier at times. Once the logging pissed out, the place became more of a transient haven, and there are many, many drug-rattled, hollow-eyed dudes around. Suicide is still rampant, and it is still not considered all that bad to slug your "woman" in the face if she "back talks". One only has to "cruise" through Aberdeen and Hoquiam now, and it is guaranteed that you will see at least a few turbo-liquored slimeballs lurching around the streets in a constant state of disheveled stupor.

When I went to High School in the '60's, the best way to be "the man" was to have a 4 wheel drive with a gunrack, and a baseball cap that had a logo such as "Stihl" or "Kenworth" or "Milwaukee Tools". That had not changed, even when Kurt was around. The whole "ethic" of the logging/redneck community had a large influence on Kurt (at least in my opinion). Kurt was like an agate in a field of stones. He stood out like a sore thumb because of his singular and unique self-preservation tactics. This got him into much trouble during his teenage years. He was obviously disdained (and feared) by the "redneck elite".

Okay, I am going to stop here, because I need some encouragement. It is not like I am always going to stop and ask for encouragement or direction, but I need to know if I am just being too freaking weird here. In other words, am I doing this right? Should I be giving background, or just diving into who I think Kurt was? Do you folks want detail, or should I just make a few posts and get the heck outta here? I guess my biggest worry is coming off as a "know it all" when it comes to Kurt. This is rather difficult, because my emotions are still strong. Just give me a few opinions, that's all. Nothing huge, then I can either whine about it or just stumble on.

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