The phone rang and my e-mail file filled up fast this morning following my choice of a word used when I implied that Interim City Manager Jim Vacalis would rather just &uot;coast&uot; in his job as assistant manager until retirement. This implied that Jim would just as soon not move up a notch.

I have been a fan of Jim’s for many years and still am. I think he would be a glutton for punishment if he stays in the job, but it’s obvious he could do the city much good in that position. And he certainly deserves the opportunity to serve; who knows more about what happens on Market Street, than Mr. Vacalis?

But I stick by my claim that Roger Leonard would make a fine city manager when that slot opens again. I’ve watched him wait patiently for his five minutes following council meetings, and then zero in on what he thought to be errors in administrative thinking and actions. He did it politely and incisively, and no one on council ever challenged his position.

He would not hesitate to make corrections in city government.

But I have great respect for Mr. Vacalis’ ability to make the necessary changes due in local government.

Much-needed rain

As of Thursday morning, we have, by my rain gauge, been blessed with 4 inches of colorless liquid and more expected. You could almost see the grass and trees inhaling it, leaves perked up and the dust settled on my daughter’s Horse Spa.

She lets me man the big tractor and 12-foot mower in the many pastures if I promise not to fall asleep and take down a row of fence posts.

I recently made my first contact with an electric fence and now know why those horses jump.

There will be no severe weather … I know because I am prepared and have my generator ready to go.

Katie who?

Are you as thrilled as I am about Katie Couric returning to the TV screen? So help me, I’d rather have Dan Rather, even with his liberal philosophy.

And did you see that doctored up photo of her for a magazine? It’s like one of those before-and-after shots of large ladies becoming much smaller girls. They want Katie to look petite; but wait till you get a load of her attitude.

They’re covering up something

Thank the powers for coming fashion changes for young girls. It was obvious designers had uncovered as much as possible below the navel when the navel was bad enough.

I have no idea who convinced millions of women that men were interested in belly buttons. New clothes will cover them up, and that alone will put millions to work in sweatshops.

Now if they will just lower hemlines enough to hide those knobby knees. God, I long for the 1940s.

Launch sinks

Remember the boat-launching ramp back of where the Hilton is? It has been closed for years, but former City Manager Steve Herbert promised a new one in Lone Star Lakes.

He also envisioned a marina in that location. It was to be about where the Nansemond Indians planned their authentic village.

The marina is out, and so is half of the planned launching site.

Our Corp of Engineers has a little to say about where you dig around in bottom mud, making a channel to suit your intentions, and they trumped all city plans.

But there is that great launching site on Bennetts Creek.

Pocklington is a Suffolk resident and regular columnist for teh suffolk News-Herald. Contact him at robert.pocklington@suffolknewsherald.com

Suffolk is great for fishing, fresh water or salt. I live on a fresh water lake but now and then we go for salt-water fish…something about omega oil being good for us. The two of us anchored in one spot in Bennetts Creek and caught the following. Twenty toad fish, one skate, one shark, ten eels, 15 fat spot, 2 horse croakers, and a dozen white, they call them brown, perch. Fellow fishermen know which we threw back.