Perhaps the most temporarily frostbitten man in Southwest Seattle, Mark Ufkes is willing to endure the icy cold waters of Puget Sound for yet another 35 to 40 seconds of whooping and hollering as the annual Polar Plunge is set to happen on Alki Beach at 10am New Years Day.

Ufkes writes:

"The West Seattle Alki Polar Bear Plunge is on again. We line up along the beach in front of Dukes on Alki, hold hands, and with a countdown, we all run into the water together.  Over 500 of us did it last year. We plunge into the water at 10 am sharp January 1, 2018.  Don't be late.  Bring water shoes, a towel, a warm change of cloths and your hopes and dreams for the new year.   

This year's event is a great way to wash away the complexities of the first year of a Trump Administration.  And the cold, crisp 47 degree Puget Sound water will wash us with an understanding of why Trump and the mostly white, Republican men who run Congress, after attacking President Obama on a daily basis for eight years about the deficit, would add $1.5 trillion to the deficit during an economic boom to give tax benefits to mostly the wealthy in society, while taking away our net neutrality and reducing lands preserved in our national monuments.   

Wear Pink Into the Water:  After 62 years of life, and as a white man, I have come to the conclusion that white men (mostly Republicans) are not capable of running our federal government in an honest, equitable manner.  Therefore,  I will be wearing pink into the water to acknowledge the reality that we need to elect women into every position in the U.S. Congress and fully hand over the reigns of federal government power to women.  We all know that they will do a better job. "