Inaugural déjà vu

Four years ago, Dorothy Harris and her four children were at the National Mall on a frigid Inauguration Day warm with the energy and optimism of hundreds of thousands of others gathered there to watch the country’s first black president take his oath of office.

The last four years haven’t produced the a sense of unity that she had hoped.

“We were totally aligned with the hope theme of his campaign and inaugural speech,” said Harris of the family’s desire to be there. Her husband, Ephrata Mayor Chris Jacobson, fell under the weather and stayed home at the last minute. “It felt like a great opportunity to come together and celebrate the diversity and multicultural aspects of our society.”

Their family is all about diversity.

She brought a young son, Zach, with her, when she rolled into Grant County 20 years ago in her green minivan with its “Jesus is a liberal” bumper sticker. Jacobson, who she met a couple years later, had a daughter, Sally.

After they married, the couple adopted a son and daughter, Cole and McKyna, from Vietnam. Now both are 17. McKyna is gay.

“I had high hopes that his election would bring the different factions of our country together more than it has,” Harris said. “The messages of his themes continue to resonate with us, but I think I’ve seen greater divisions culturally. I’ve heard more racial statements. Maybe I’m more sensitive to it, but I think statistics would back it up. In this part of the world, the divisions are greater.”

She added, “The benefit of being able to watch it at home on television is that you pay more attention to the words of the speech,” she said. “I wasn’t pining to be there again, but I would certainly go again. To be there first hand was pretty amazing.”

First Lady’s new look

The national news media has been abuzz over First Lady Michelle Obama’s new hair style, with its eyebrow-length bangs.

But the look doesn’t appear to be sparking any local trends, according to Wenatchee-area stylists.

A quick phone survey of stylists in 10 shops said no one has come in asking for a Michelle Obama cut. But several of the stylists said they like the look.

“I think it’s a really cute look,” says Becky Mathews of Hotheads Hair Center in East Wenatchee. She has a really strong face; really strong features. The bangs just make her look a lot softer.”

Autumn Boyce at JC Penney Styling Salon said the look may catch on around here if the media keeps making a big deal of it.

“It’s fun and different,” she said. “After the holidays, people are wanting a change, I think. “New year, new look.”

State of cattiness

The American Veterinary Medical Association recently revealed that Washington ranks fifth for cat ownership in the nation with 39 percent of households owning a cat. This is not that new. The association ranked Washington fifth in 2006 and sixth in 2011.

The state has a long ways to go before it catches up to Vermont, however. That’s probably a good thing. Vermont is first in the nation in cat ownership with nearly 50 percent of households having one or more cats. New Mexico, South Dakota, Oregon and Maine are also higher than Washington in cat ownership. The District of Columbia is by far the lowest rate of cat ownership with 21.9 percent.

Washington’s about average in dog ownership. The state made neither the Top 10 nor the Bottom 10 dog-owning lists.

The stats are from the AVMA’s latest “U.S. Pet Ownership Sourcebook.”

This week’s Worm was compiled by reporters Christine Pratt and Rick Steigmeyer. Got a tip? Email it to newsroom@wenatcheeworld.com.