The river begged to be explored so, its rushing water on occasion wetting her little bare feet, my granddaughter and her tiny backpacking companion hopped from protruding boulder to boulder under the watchful gaze of her nearby mother, all while leaving a trail of footprints of where she had been. Then she paused and sat […]
To Ponder
Coffee, Salmon, Shipping and Local Waters
I’m looking forward to a special meeting about local waters via the Port of Tacoma. I’ve been a member of the Transportation Club of Tacoma for about ten years. The five Port Commissioners are: John McCarthy, Dick Marzano, Deanna Keller, Don Meyer, and Kristin Ang. The hub of the Transportation Club is roads/freeways, railroad tracks, […]
Let’s Talk! – On the Train
Have you switched off your screens, already, to ponder or discuss another prompt from my friend, author Tyrean Martinson’s book, A Pocket Sized Jumble of 500+ Writing Prompts? Maybe you would like to read my take on it? Well, here it is. My very first memory of traveling on a train was from my German […]
Letter: The Wayfaring Stranger of Grief
The place I pitched my tent the night I camped at Cape Alava recently on Washington’s coastal shore of the Olympic National Park, was a bit beyond the reach of high tide and in the shadow of Tskawayah Island. Or might have been in the shadow of the forbidden, fog-enshrouded, formidable spruce-encrusted island, a sacred […]
Tiny Black Ants and a Super Charger
Leeandro was a pain in my . . . well a pain anywhere. He was new to the group and came across as someone who liked to one-up everyone so he can look down his nose at the others. His dad owned a couple of different businesses. From what I had heard off-hand, is that […]
Across the Fence: Behind the Scenes of Real-Life Police Work
“Apply today for the Lakewood Police Citizens Academy” – this article ran this last May 2 in The Suburban Times, and it electrified me. I had known about the program for a while, but hadn’t been ready to apply in the past. I had always wanted to know how law enforcement works – not just […]
Red Suzi
Like her mom, Susan had red hair. She was shy, but dreamed of great things. She just didn’t know what great things she wanted, but her mind was always thinking. Unlike her mom, she didn’t know how to interact with people . . . especially anyone her age, and most importantly a boy. After getting […]
Letter: Sweet to Be With
Three miles beyond the northernmost point of the wild and mystical hike hauntingly and appropriately called “The Shipwreck Coast,” on a small bluff overlooking the surreal landscape of jagged rocks and boulder strewn shoreline, there is a monument, the engraving of which reads in part, “From Osett endings have become beginnings.” The Makah Indian Nation […]
In the Book Nook with … C.J. Booth
Author Charles “C.J.” Booth, who grew up in Delaware and lived in Minnesota for years, and his wife raised their kids on Mercer Island, retired to Whidbey Island, and now live in Gig Harbor, Washington. C.J. started life in broadcasting, moved to film and video production, then started writing film scripts and toyed with fiction […]