Act II: Archaeology

The state archeologist who last week informed us that we all knew that all of Point Roberts was an archeological site and thus should also know we needed a permit and an archeologist at hand if we so much as wanted to dig a posthole or plant a tree has reconsidered her position. I would have thought that the state had a few public relations people around who might have advised her exactly how best to make this volte-face. Apparently not.

She explains that the subject line of her email pontification was "In Maple Beach," implying that her admonitions applied only to that area. But, alas, what she wrote was,“In Point Roberts, it appears that everyone is aware that they are living on a large archaeological site. So it would be hard for anyone to state that they did not know and unknowingly dug into a site.” 

 Further, she cluelessly notes, had she known that a thousand people would read her email rather than just one person, she would have phrased it more carefully. Why it is okay to misinform one person but not a thousand, I will leave to the archaeologist's nimble mind, but I assume it's a matter of scale. Also, she has offered to come up and speak to us, but I wouldn't look for a big turnout at that putative meeting. And finally, she suggests that her warnings were accurate as they applied to Maple Beach. So now she has just ticked off those residents and not the rest of us. Again, a matter of scale?

I wish she had said, "Lordy, lordy, I really screwed this up! Can we just start over? Ask me the question again, and I'll write you the answer I should have written the first time. I am really sorry."