ITEM With news that famed actor Marlon Brando had died at 80, Washington Indian tribes recalled his 1964 visit here, when he illegally fished with them in their battle over fishing rights and was arrested for it. They remembered him as “a caring person, a very conscientious person. Marlon Brando had a loving heart,” said Suzan Satiacum. “We’ll always be grateful to him. “
   COMMENT I remember him too. I was there when he visited the governor’s office and was surprised at how short he was — and balding, Yet he exuded a sex appeal that was like electricity in the air. I was the only woman political reporter present as he sat at a table with various officials and he obviously noticed that too, because he looked me in the eye and gave me a smile that wasn’t shared with the others. The only other public figure I ever met who exuded that same kind of animal magnetism was the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who also visited Olympia, except that instead of being mobbed as Brando was, the Senate boycotted him. Lt. Gov. John Cherberg had to recruit staff and visitors to sit in the seats in order not to insult the visitor. But that’s another story.
   ITEM German researchers have found a border collie named Rico who understands more than 200 words and can learn new ones as quickly as many children. The researchers found that Rico knows the names of dozens of play toys and can find the one called for by his owner.
   COMMENT A friend of mine with a long experience with dogs says that, actually, they only know a few words like their names, “walk,” “sit” etc., and the rest of your remarks when you talk to them, even if they cock their heads and look interested, is just gibberish. She did admit, however, that one of her dogs responded immediately when she yelled “Meaty Bone!”
   ITEM After three weeks of investigation into the deaths of some Enumclaw dairy cows, which were among 10 cattle found splashed with a red substance on their backs, the FBI declared it was not a crime committed by a neighbor suspect or terrorists, but toxic material that dripped from a container stored above where the rancher fed his cattle. It corroded through the container and dripped onto the cows. The rancher and the neighbor found the source by climbing into the loft.
   COMMENT Wouldn’t you think the first place to look would be up above the feeding area since it was all on the cows’ backs? No wonder the FBI didn’t tumble to the prospect of 9/11, even after learning Arabs were taking lessons in how to fly commercial jets but not to land them. They probably figured the Arabs thought landing was the co-pilot’s job.
   ITEM Vice President Cheney was vilified for telling U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, to go “F” himself after the two got into a disagreement during a picture taking session on the Senate floor. Among the offended was Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton who said, “So far as I know, no colleague has ever used profanity of that sort on the Senate floor. For the vice president to use his position, as president of the Senate, to insult a senator and then be unapologetic about it introduces a level of discord into Senate procedure that is unfortunate.”
   COMMENT Apparently, Sen. Clinton considers the Senate chambers holier than the White House since she was reported by a number of sources, including the FBI agent who wrote a book about his duty there, to have employed the F-word as one of her favorites during her days as First Lady. Nice to know she’s cleaned up her act, if such is the case.
   ITEM Attorney General Chris Gregoire’s office settled a lawsuit brought by a former employee who was fired after being blamed for missing a deadline in appealing an $18 million verdict against the state four years ago. Janet Capps was awarded $195,000, a fulltime $50,000 a year job with the Department of Archaeology, three annual $10,000 raises and $100,000 to cover attorney fees.
   COMMENT Quite a payoff in addition to the original $18 million, because our AG isn’t inclined to mind the store and thinks the buck stops anywhere but at her desk, which flaws would have been highlighted if she’d had to go to trial during her campaign for governor.

(Adele Ferguson can be reached at P.O. Box 69, Hansville, WA., 98340.).