Tag Archives: Seattle

Running on Empty

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Posted by on in Community, impediments, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

October 28, 2024- The van driver called out what was music to my ears: “Who’s getting off at Yavapai College?” I had designated a stop at Hassayampa Inn, downtown, as my debarkation point,but YC is so much closer, so when the student got off there, so did I. It was a seven-minute walk to Home Base, instead of ten-fifteen.

Between the long wait on the tarmac, leaving Manila and a shorter, but still nettlesome wait on the tarmac in Seattle (One, a ‘technical issue’ on our plane; the second, a ‘technical issue’ on a plane that was sitting in our plane’s designated gate), and having to wander a bit at Sea Tac, to find an escalator that worked (All elevators and one escalator were down, this morning) and the general effects of jet lag, I was beat.

I did push myself, once back at Home Base, to plow through the two boxes of mail that greeted me. I managed to fill out my ballot and prepare it for placement in the drop box tomorrow. Landlord came by and lit the pilot on my furnace. I noticed a new ceiling fan had been installed in the living room and a nice hand-made wooden bench now sits in front of HB.

It was, overall, an enjoyable visit to the Philippines and a change in Home Base, around May of next year, is still a strong possibility. For now, I am focused on getting back on track, with several matters that need attention here, and in Carson City and Grapevine (TX), later in November.

I will be back to full, in a few days.

Owning Up

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, distraction issues, Historical, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

July 18, 2024, Bellingham, WA- I went in the out door, so to speak, this morning. Parking with Sportage’s nose to the curb, in a “back-in” zone, I took two photographs of nearby buildings, got back in the car and carefully backed out, watching for any vehicles that might have come along-and which would have had the right of way. There were none, so on I went to Tacoma’s Old Town. I rarely, if ever, do such things, but have learned to not hide from judgment or ridicule, when they do happen.

Ownership of missteps is often absent, or only grudgingly done, in modern life. We fear judgment and ridicule, but you know they are going to come along, anyway. So, why fear, run or hide? I apologized to someone I love dearly, this evening, because it was the only thing to do, under the circumstances. Erich Segal was off-base, when he wrote “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” It is the first thing that someone who has heart must say, when a loved one is hurt. Apologizing to my late wife, to our son, to a beloved student or client, to a dear friend, has been de rigeur, when I go on a wrongful tangent.

Today, otherwise, was a fine day, partly spent in and around Tacoma’s Old Town and waterfront area, meeting with an old friend from Xanga, and her husband and patiently navigating the heavy traffic, from Federal Way to Mount Vernon. Seattle rivals any other major city, in the thickness and slowness of its major thoroughfares’ traffic. It is best to make do. Owning up also means pushing forward, without moaning about short-term circumstances.

Here are some scenes from Tacoma, an underrated gem of the Pacific Northwest.

Northern Pacific Office Building, City Center, Tacoma
Clock Tower, Old Tacoma City Hall
Job Carr’s Cabin, Old Town Tacoma

Job Carr was the first settler to make Tacoma his home, building this cabin in 1865. He got along quite well with the indigenous Puyallup community, and was well-known for navigating Commencement Bay, where he encountered whales and dolphins, whilst going back and forth to Puyallup, in his canoe.

Job came to the area because he thought the Burlington Northern Railroad would have its western terminus at the spot where he settled. When the BNR stopped two miles east of his cabin, he was rattled, but made do.

Burlington Northern railbed, near Commencement Bay
Commencement Bay, at Tacoma (above and below)

The afternoon found me back at another gem: The Muse, at the edge of Everett’s waterfront. I visited this lovely Victorian coffee house/bar, a year or so ago. This time, I was honoured to be joined by these fine folks:

Debra (“Ampbrea”) and Jeb Watts

I will not forget those friends from the 2000s and 2010s who stuck with me, even during the times when I “flaked out”.

The Road to 65, Mile 14: A Few Thoughts on Water

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Posted by on in Social

December 12, 2014, Prescott-  At long last, virtually the entire North American Pacific coast, from Anchorage to Ensenada, was getting a taste of intense moisture, yesterday and today.  The interior will start to get it tomorrow.  This makes me glad for some of the coastal places, dear to my heart, which have suffered, to some degree, from a lengthy drought:  San Diego, Malibu, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and for those, like Bandon, Portland, Kalaloch and Seattle, that do get rain frequently, but can’t go too long without moisture- because of their ecosystems.

We in the Colorado River watershed have come upon the ingenious idea of using our precious reservoir, Lake Mead, to- STORE WATER!  Those who have gone to Las Vegas over the years can attest to the fact that this western of the two great river-lakes derived from the Colorado has come into grave danger of turning into a dust basin.  Let’s now see who is serious about the conservation effort.

There has been considerable talk, over the years, but more lately, about the efficacy of fluoridation of water and toothpaste.  It’s now common knowledge that fluoride is a waste product of coal production, in some parts of the world.  I have been scolded by chemical advocates for my own advocacy of filtering out fluoride, as well as lead, arsenic and selenium.  It’s true that we can’t be perfect in our filtering, but we can come close.  Perfection does not have to be the enemy of the good.

All in all, though, water is as good a beverage as any, unless one is a barkeep working for tips- in which case, making a sour face and getting brusque with water drinkers  may be sorely tempting, but remains counter productive.