I was watching an episode of a dark and brooding English countryside drama on PBS a few years ago and it struck how limiting the world was for poor people years ago . . . and then it hit me that this goes on every single day in many parts of our world. Here in […]
To Ponder
Loggers, Lodgers, and Tiny Houses
My wife Peg and I met while attending the University of Puget Sound. Over the years we’ve enjoyed on-campus art exhibits, boxing matches, theatrical productions, lectures, and concerts. For most of our married life, we’ve lived within a few miles of the school. Peg even worked in the library for a number of years. We’ve […]
Westside Story – Accidental Credit Card Fraud
What you are about to read is a true story. It happened right here on the West Side. Thus, another Westside Story. The names have not been changed to protect the innocent, because no one is innocent.
My Life with Root Beer
When I was a child living on South Ferry in Tacoma during the 1950s we played war with real military gear. I had a metal canteen that fit into a felt-lined container which clipped onto a belt. I remember the canteen because one summer day I was wearing it and drank warm Kool-Aid root beer. […]
Culture Sharing with Chinese Students
This summer you have a chance to open your home and meet new friends. Chinese students (ages 12-18), are looking for “home stays” during a summer camp from July 9 – July 18, 2018. The students are from Tacoma’s Sister City Fuzhou, China. Like Tacoma it has a busy port. “Fuzhou, the capital of southeastern […]
Here’s a thought: if the government and/or majority of people are for it, it’s probably wrong
What marijuana, tobacco products, automobiles, trains and their ilk have in common: advertising, and a too-gullible public. ‘Doggonit!’ exclaimed the owner of the puppy, pursuant to the pet doctor’s presumption that her beloved pet had probably swallowed pot in a public park.
Home from Home: Cast-offs
Submitted by Susanne Bacon Estate sales are something that I have never been to in my German past. Not that Germany didn’t have its number of those – they are usually announced in papers in specific advertising pages. Germany also has thrift shops like Oxfam or Christian organizations’ ones. It’s just that our family never […]
SOTABOTS & Learning are Number One
SOTABOTS came to my attention when my wife Peg interviewed high school senior Addie Bjornson for a possible P.E.O scholarship. Peg loved her determination to become an engineer and the enthusiasm she had for robotics and her group whose mission is to change the way society views education through implementing an innovative approach to learning. […]
The House of Caviar
In the 1980s and 90s my friend Jim Whitacre and I traveled each year to the furthest away Husky football game. Neither of us went to the University of Washington (him to Western and me to UPS), but Jim’s brother did and was a captain of the football team. Our first trip was to Houston […]