Every time it snows I am compelled to take a photo and write about Uncle Melvin’s bicycle. Uncle Melvin, who is actually my wife’s uncle, was born in Tacoma in 1925. In those days kids were born right in the family home. Uncle Melvin’s birth home was in the Norwegian section of what was known […]
Westside Story – "Braggin" Rights
In the vast majority of my 500 or so articles, the ideas for each and every story came to me on my own. I am blessed with a creative and active mind that has become more creative and observational as I finished 75 years of life experience. My mind is always observing, and working on […]
Film Review: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
This may sound especially sacrilegious coming from me, a lifelong Spider-Man fan, but hear me out. Spider-Man has never been perfect, especially in terms of cinematic portrayals. I have a soft spot for the Sam Raimi trilogy, and I thought his recent addition into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: […]
The Harmon on Pacific – Restaurant Review
It was a couple of days before Valentine’s Day. I had my present ready for Peggy, but had done no planning for dinner. We decided, since we hadn’t dined at The Harmon (multiply locations in Tacoma and Gig Harbor) for some time, perhaps we should give them a try. I checked online for both The […]
Letter: The trains – and their representatives – are coming
The board of the Tillicum Woodbrook Neighborhood Association (TWNA) has received a request from the design-build contractor for the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to update this community concerning I-5 construction as it relates to the two interchanges for Tillicum. There are two parts to this presentation scheduled for May 2, 6:30 P.M. at […]
Across the Fence: A Stuttgart Hunting Lodge
Very recently, on Facebook, I came across photos of a German friend of mine, who had walked one of my favorite hikes in my former hometown of Stuttgart, Germany. During weekends it’s usually overcrowded. But choose a weekday morning, especially when it’s cold, and you will find it to be a magic place to refresh […]
Fighting Fake News and Outright Lies – David Mikkelson – Snopes.com
CLAIMS sent to Snopes.com for verification: Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has experienced two “sheriff evictions,” two closed checking accounts, and a credit score of 430. Some 18 million illegal immigrants received benefit checks during a government shutdown in January 2019. The FBI raided a retirement home to break up an elderly fight club. Nathan Phillips falsely […]
Letter: Democrats ‘washing their hands’ of sports wagering
Eight Washington state legislators, only one of whom is Republican, are sponsoring House Bill 1975 that would authorize tribes to conduct sports wagering “on a very limited basis.” ‘Very limited.’ For now. Under the category of “other sports”, as opposed to say the Seahawks, the Huskies, or even the Cougars, fantasy sports – where participants […]
Good Food and Low Noise
Why do you go out to a restaurant? To eat? I don’t think so. Not me, anyway. I go to a restaurant not to eat, but to enjoy eating. This means eating with someone . . . and generally having a conversation. You can’t have a decent conversation if you can’t hear. It’s tough to […]