How a name caused an unnecessary kerfuffle | LETTER TO THE EDITOR

To the editor:

This letter goes out to all Bainbridge Island residents and those that will visit our fair island in the future.

I am the responsible party that came up with the Waypoint name, and recent kerfuffles (as pointed out by the Review’s Brian Kelly on June 25) are squarely my fault. I am the instigator, but I wanted to take a moment to explain why.

First, I enjoy kerfuffles. More about that in a second.

Second, calling this esteemed strip of prime property Gateway Park in perpetuity is not a good idea. On the interwebs, there are more than 12 million references to Gateway some-such subdivisions peppered around the United States.

Yes, we could have called it Gateway, but that overused name has been diluted and is unoriginal.

I even have trouble passing by Baywatch on my way to Poulsbo, afraid that David Hasselhoff will leap in front of my car running to the beach like a frenzied deer. Yes,

I think Gateway should be reserved for its intended use — to describe ticky-tacky subdivisions and for headlines on drugs.

Back to the kerfuffle. I watched the city council meeting with grand amusement as the deliberations on naming the park unfolded. This wasn’t about the need for a new city manager, a discussion about city finances or the state of our esteemed police department. This was 12 minutes on the need for inclusion on a decision that had already been made on a name or a small strip of land, albeit an important one.

The parallels to the U.S. Congress tabling issues on war, health, and student loans to focus on the need to proclaim today as National Whatever the Hell Day were uncanny. And sad. Council members that need to get some perspective – you know who you are.

Lastly, the name itself.

I came to this island 12 years ago. I found Bainbridge to be magical and the citizens delightful. I had finally found my people — the ones I could discuss real issues with and enjoy our wonderful sense of place with. I’m hoping a few other like-minded refugees from the climate kerfuffle will see it the same way and hop a ferry and find their way here.

Join us. We’re good people. The city council will park their differences and focus on the real issues we all need to grapple with real soon. We just need to set an example and show them the way.

Way. Isn’t that the point? Hmmm, I think I have an idea for a name.

MARC ZOCHER

Bainbridge Island

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