Knock Knock. It’s your friendly neighborhood census enumerator

Last week I made a few calls to find out more about our upcoming census in the Benson Hill neighborhood. Here’s the latest:

So Saturday afternoon there was a knock at my front door. No one ever just stops by anymore, well unless they think we’re having a yard sale because our front yard is kinda cluttered if we’re say, oh, cleaning out the garage, or just looking hard for something we might have stored in our garage. But our yard was clear and I was the only one home. I figured there was a real reason for this knock.

Sure enough there was my friendly neighborhood census enumerator, wearing her City of Renton badge and kindly asking me if I would be willing to take the annexation census survey. The poor, poor woman! I was headed out to a church meeting, so I was dressed like a normal person, but when I opened my mouth she clearly thought I must be extremely strange.

It’s just a census survey. It’s just our names.

Yep, but I’m still all worried by it.

Today I was talking with my favorite punk-rock-girl-scout teenager about the annexation census. She was of two minds, just like me. (see? I knew I liked this girl) She said that maybe it’s the “stand-up-guy” kind of thing to do, if you’re going to use the fire department and the street sweepers and all the good city services, maybe you owe it to the city to tell them your names and be counted. But she also thought that maybe just opting out wasn’t the worst thing either. Her green hair distracted me a little, did she dye it green because she’s a girl scout? Probably not. But I agree, with both her points.

So, this week I’ll probably send in my census survey on line so that nice woman doesn’t have to come and knock on my door again. I’ll be the stand up guy.

And maybe I’ll even dye my hair green! OK, not. But it would take my mind off this census!

That’s my news from Benson Hills for this week.

Kari Kopnick