congruency

Jeff Kingsbury smiling in spite of the pickle he's created.

This week, Olympia City Councilmember Jeff Kingsbury found himself in quite a pickle–a pickle he admits was of his own making.  “I really thought it would be a simple thing to do,” groaned Kingsbury, “but, I gotta tell you, more than once after I got into it I was wishing I had just left that cucumber alone!”  Kingsbury, who has long held an anti-cuke stance, brought up the pickle question three weeks ago after serving for 8 months with three new Council colleagues. 

One of those colleagues, Rhenda Strub, was more than a little surprised that Kingsbury would raise the pickle question in September, with so much else going on.  “Well, I stated many times during the campaign where I stood on the cuke issue.  I am no fan of cukes.  Still, I am unwilling to initiate the pickling.  If someone else starts the process, I will join them in the pickle.  But, I will not undertake it myself.” 

Rhenda Strub in the pickle with Kingsbury.

On Thursday, Kingsbury bought 40 pounds of cukes at the Farmer’s Market in Olympia, where he also rounded up some fresh dill and garlic.  True to her word, Strub followed him into the pickle at Aunt Jan’s house Friday morning.  There, following an old Kingsbury family recipe, the two saw the pickle project through to its end.  Worn out and smelling of vinegar, Strub said Friday evening “I have no regrets, but, I need to take a break from reading the pro-cuke email I’m getting.  Some of it is just radioactive.”

Only time will tell whether the effort Kingsbury and Strub expended to resolve the pickle will produce tasty results.  Stay tuned for a future pickle update.

Kosher garlic and red pepper dill pickles made by Kingsbury, Strub, and Auntie Jan