Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

The Department of Inquiring Minds Want to Know is one of five departments I run with a free hand to manage as I see fit.

The others are the Department of Pet Peeves, the Department of “Just Saying,” the Department of Words Matter, and the Department of Good Quotes Worth Remembering.

So, inquiring minds want to know:

1. DO PURCHASES BY CREDIT CARD REQUIRE SIGNATURES?  The Wall Street Journal says no.

So, why do we still sign?  The answer is that signatures have been customary for many years, though, in fact, under law and management processes, they have been optional since 2018.

The Journal reports that Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express dropped the requirement to sign for charges like restaurant checks in 2018.

They don’t look at our scribbles to verify identity or stop fraud.  Taps, clicks and electronic signatures took over the heavy lifting for many everyday purchases — and for many contracts, loan applications and even Social Security forms.

The John Hancock was written off as a relic useful mainly to inflate the value of sports memorabilia.

• WHY DO BIG TRUCKS OFTEN PARK OUTSIDE REST AREAS ON MAJOR HIGHWAYS, EITHER AT THE ENTRANCES OR EXITS TO THOSE AREAS?  Here is what Mr. Google says.

“Big trucks often park at the entrances or exits of roadside rest areas because there is often a shortage of available parking spaces within the rest area itself, forcing drivers to park on the ramps when they can’t find a spot to rest inside; this is primarily due to the high demand for truck parking compared to the limited capacity at most rest stops.”

I beg to differ, at least on occasion.  I have seen rest areas open for more trucks, with some still sitting at the entrances or exits.

Oh well.

•  WHAT IS “OLD GROWTH” TIMBER?  I found out the answer last week.

And, to state the obvious, I am not someone who worked in forests all his life, but I thought I knew what the term “old growth” meant.  Just old trees.

No.  I found again that I am not as smart as I thought I was.

The issue came up because a few of us at Illahe Hills Golf and Country Club, where I play most of my golf in Salem, Oregon, were asked to help with a club project.  It was to spread wood chips on a walking path toward a stand of old growth timber.

A retired forester friend of mine – we were together on the path project – said the definition of “old growth” refers to trees that are at least 200 years old.  The ones at Illahe are “only” about 150 years old.

There.  Aren’t you glad you know more about this than you did before I wrote this blog?