Ponders Corner is full of memories for me . . . from my parents and my little sisters to beef stroganoff and switchblade knives. A few years ago my friend Rob Erb complained he hadn’t been on an adventure in years. I said, “Oh . . . I can fix that. Pick us up next […]
Southern Kitchen Restaurant Review
Twenty some years ago Peg and I used to eat at a place on Tacoma Avenue South. I think it was called Mrs. C’s. The owner served southern cooking. She later moved on to South Tacoma Way near the intersection of 512. Either the place there had been a failed Burger King, or it became […]
The Return – A short Story
Ray Miller stepped off the plane at JBLM (Joint Base Lewis McChord) in Lakewood, Washington. He was just back from a tour of duty in Afghanistan. It had been his third tour overseas and his last. His enlistment was up and he was leaving the army. This caused him some worries. He had been in […]
Shaking in Their Boots
With a few more sexual allegations each week eventually all of these cold snowballs to the forehead could start an avalanche of allegations, confrontations, complaints, and lawsuits. If I were a chairman of a major corporation hoping to end out my days in comfort and respect with a history of half-forgotten slap and tickle or […]
Autonomous is not Anonymous – Self-Driving Cars
From a fantastic meal to a fantastic show, self-driving cars make an evening out easier . . . and there is no one to tip except for the food, of course. We step out of our car and walk into Pacific Grill on Pacific in downtown Tacoma for dinner. We have pre-ordered parsnip soup and […]
Mr. Heany – A Voice of the City
In October we were lucky enough to have Antonio Edwards, Jr. return to Tacoma for his spoken word performance of Speak No Evil. Homelessness is an ongoing problem here in the Pacific Northwest. Most of us don’t see it and so it grows. But, Antonio has dealt with those who have no home and sometimes […]
The Great Thanksgiving Listen – StoryCorps – Sharing Memories
I wish I had tried harder to convince people to record stories and recollections of their parents. Initially, I was suggesting that people record members of what Tom Brokaw called the Greatest Generation. Wikipedia: The Greatest Generation is a book by journalist Tom Brokaw which profiles those who grew up in the United States during […]
Beware of Talking Dolls That Listen
In the Suburban Times article “Roomba with a View, a Memory, and Data” I warned of the possibilities of stored data being shared with products from the Internet of Things (IoT) – “Current Roomba compatible internet devices like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant give you a small hint about the future and reasons to be […]
Bamboozling and Warming the Heart of Downtown Tacoma in the 1970s
It was a deathly quiet time in downtown Tacoma. There were more vacant lots than people. The Tacoma Mall had lured away most of the shops and those left were struggling. In 1969, the Downtown Tacoma Association was created to promote and develop retail trade in the City of Tacoma. During the same time I […]