"A warrior knows no gender," Edith told me. "Never forget that, lest you imprison yourself."

I wish to personally thank the Ballard News-Tribune and writer Steve Shay for sensitively portraying my friend Edith Macefield, and for giving our community an insider's view of an amazing local icon.

"Maybe all those damned reporters will all get re-assigned to the Mideast," she mused a few months before her passing. "In my day, overt rudeness got rewarded with a switch!"

Now, can the community put her to rest? We were blessed by her presence, so let's truly honor her last request - to be remembered, but not deified. There are many living legends in our community well into their eighties, and to quote John Prine: "So when you spot some hollow, ancient eyes, say hello in there... hello."

Edith would like that.

Richard Andrews

Ballard