Velkommen back PMSC
Published 2:00 pm Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Bill Austin probably won’t catch this one before he jets off to the white sand beaches of Cyprus, Greece for two weeks of much-needed and well-deserved vacation, which means we can pretty much say what we like without fearing repercussions from our favorite Englishman until the middle of the month.
That said, we figure that he’s either A) figured out how to clone himself or B) hasn’t slept a wink since the mid-1980s. Possibly both, knowing Bill, he built a cloning machine somewhere between revamping the Martinson Cabin and getting Poulsbo Marine Science Center back on its feet — he’s got that much free time. Yeah right.
After burning the midnight oil for Sunday’s grand re-opening of the PMSC, Bill and his cohorts Patrick Mus, Bruce Harlow, Dr. Susan Crawford, Barry Babcock and a host of others welcomed a sizable crowd to witness the progress.
“It was excellent. The place was filled to capacity,” he said Tuesday morning. “The kids love it. That’s what’s worthwhile, seeing them reaching into the touch tank and oblivious to everything else going on around them, that’s what it’s all about.”
Is Bill hanging up the hammer? Perhaps putting away the paintbrush as far as the center is concerned? Well, yes and no.
“My job is done,” he said, before adding that he’ll most likely be working to construct the PMSC’s floating lab at a later date.
“I don’t have to, but I will,” he explained, pretty much summing up his vast accomplishments for Little Norway over the past several decades in one statement.
Bill said the unique educational experience provided by the center is something Poulsbo should rally around in that it truly creates a sense of wonder and thirst for knowledge in our youth.
And with one foot out the door and toes poised to sink into the warm white sands of some far off beach, Bill was still beating the drum for the PMSC, pointing out that even though the touch tank is installed, and the jellyfish and octopus “guys” have yet to arrive, the center is still short about $40,000-$45,000 to get its primary tanks up and running.
Bill thanked state 23rd District Rep. Sherry Appleton (D-Poulsbo) for her help, too, but said the fate of the center is — once again — in the hands of the public.
“It’s a risk but it’s a calculated risk,” he admitted. “The toughest thing is to get people down there. Once they see it they understand.”
The hundred people who visited the PMSC certainly do. Now it’s up to the thousands who have yet to stop by to see what the center’s all about.
