The Tri-Cities: The Bomb

I'm back from several days in Washington state's Tri-Cities (Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland), where I helped my brother get ready for his move to Los Angeles. He's spent the past two years in Kennewick, working as an in-the-field camera operator for the local NBC affiliate, and now he's moving up to the big leagues (and hence, at his going away party, I dedicated a karaoke performance of Rush's "Limelight" to him. This delighted a few of the locals, one of whom commented "I didn't know anyone who came of age after the 1980s knew about Rush." I assured him there were a devoted few among my generation dedicated to keeping the memory of dorky 70s prog alive.)

Some interesting facts about the Tri-Cities: It is home to the largest nuclear waste dump in the Western Hemisphere, as well as a high school with what may be the most un-P.C. mascot ever - one that puts all the "Indians," and "Chiefs," and "Tribes" of the world to utter shame. I refer here to Richland High, home of the "Bombers" - a name chosen to honor the nearby Hanford nuclear plant, which supplied the plutonium for the bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki. In fact, in case there exists any doubt as to what their name refers, their "mascot," if you will, is a mushroom cloud. No joke. Makes you wonder if the high school near Dow Chemical's former napalm manufacturing facility has, as its mascot, the "Fightin' Flesh-melters."

Suffice to say, my brother is pretty happy to be moving on.

Comments

[Bob Myers]

A fascinating detail, which I wish I had known about earlier so I could have included it in my recent book "Bobby and the A-Bomb Factory" (for more info see my home page), which includes an off-beat history of the Hanford project from the eyes of a child growing up in Richland in the 1950s (me).