Lake Wichita Memorial Day With Big Brother & Long-Nosed Gars

 Last week I read 1984, you know, that dystonian novel by George Orwell that sort of missed its future foretelling mark when 1984 became the actual year, with 1984 not being quite as bleak in reality as Orwell foresaw it being.

And then over three decades after 1984 George Orwell's book was back being a book store best seller, along with borrowing waiting lists in libraries across America, and other parts of the world where the literate found themselves appalled to find the American president to be an Orwellian nightmare of doublespeak, doublethink and totally doubleplusungood.

The last couple days I have been having myself some computer aggravation. Every time I think I have solved the problem I find I am erroneous.

Feeling I had reached some sort of computer plateau I decided to take a break and join the throngs of Memorial Day memorializers at Lake Wichita for some sun time whilst enjoying the cooling breeze blowing from the lake.

I was not long at Lake Wichita, atop Lake Wichita Dam, when I saw that which you see above, which is the reason I mentioned 1984, because when I saw that which you see above I thought to myself it looked like what a 2017 version of 1984's Big Brother might look like.

Soon after seeing the Lake  Wichita Big Brother I saw the bucolic scene you see below.

These fisher people are fishing near the ruins of the Lake Wichita Pavilion.  All which remains of the pavilion, which succumbed  to fire in the 1950s,  are the wood pilings you see the fishing pole pointing towards.

As you can see there are also non-fisher people wandering about under the watchful eye of the Lake Wichita Big Brother.

Another view of the Lake Wichita floating dock. That dock looks nice and stable today, but if one visits it on a windy day, when whitecaps wave across the lake, the ride on this floating dock can be sea sickness inducing. The last time I was on this dock when it was in rocking mode it reminded me of being on the Port Townsend/Keystone Ferry ferrying from the Olympic Peninsula to Whidbey Island during a stormy tidal change, with the ferry rocking so much walking was extremely difficult.

As you can see fishing and walking was not the only activity at Lake Wichita this Memorial Day. The people you see here are on the Circle Trail  on top of Lake Wichita Dam, heading north away from the Lake Wichita Big Brother.

Okay, I have mentioned the Lake Wichita Big Brother a couple times. Now let's see what it is this Big Brother is looking out from.

A fishy sign. Can you find Big Brother?

This Fish of Lake Wichita sign identifies all the fish which live, or try to, in this lake.

I have never seen anyone swimming in Lake Wichita. I know in the past, long ago, swimming in this lake was a popular summer thing to do. A streetcar system delivered  people to the lake. Long ago Lake Wichita was a popular resort-like destination, with multiple attractions in addition to fishing and swimming.

There is an ongoing attempt to revive Lake Wichita and restore it to some semblance of its former glory.

Methinks this effort should be accelerated.

I have seen the Lake Wichita Revitalization plans. If those plans come to fruition it will be a real good thing.  I do not understand why there is not a more vigorous effort to bring about this lake's revitalization. I've heard other towns in America fund such developments by having its citizens approve of some sort of funding  mechanism, rather than rely on car washes and selling memorial bricks to raise money.

If Lake Wichita does get revitalized and swimming again becomes doable I sort of would like to know a couple of those Fish of Lake Wichita are no longer in the lake. Like the long-nosed gars. Or the channel catfish. The other Fish of Lake Wichita look harmless.

I have never liked fish with whiskers. Or long sharp pointy noses...