Recently Pierce County Rotarians welcomed Rotarians from Nova Scotia as part of the Rotary Friendship Exchange program. Last fall, Rotarians from Rotary District 5020, which covers the area between Vancouver Island, B.C. and Western Washington from Pierce County south to Woodland including the Olympic Peninsula. This is one of the few international districts in the […]
Westside Story – Cartoonist Wanted
If we count all the Westside Story articles I have published in The Suburban Times since the end of 2010, the number is getting close to 500. Has anyone noticed I have never published a single article without including at least one photo or cartoon? I personally challenge myself to always include a visual of […]
Little Shop of Big Gulps – Musical Review
Great music and lots of laughs. Can you ask for anything more in a musical comedy? The action takes place in the sixties with do-wopish, danceable songs by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. Their partnership resulted in the words and music for The Little Mermaid (1989), as well as Beauty and the Beast (1991). Ashman […]
The Kindness of Strangers
We received a hand addressed envelope in the mail. Inside were two gift cards and a note. I love the quotation from A Streetcar Named Desire, “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.” I don’t depend on it, but I do appreciate it, and when it happens I remember it. As a young […]
Immigrants Rights Concert – Featuring Girl Trouble
In that hotbed of political intrigue and teenage angst, otherwise known as Lakewood, Peggy and I sat and talked with Spencer Rex . . . a trombone player . . . and an 18-year-old high school senior. Spencer attended the New York Times Summer Academy last summer learning about concerts: site, promotion, security, and backstage […]
Westside Story – Faulty Logic
It is clear to me a great many pro-marijuana people suffer from a crippling defect in their ability to process logical thought as related to I-502 which was an initiative to decriminalize marijuana.
Home from Home: Casinos
Submitted by Susanne Bacon Germany is famous for its stylish casinos in Baden-Baden, Wiesbaden, and a few other cities. They used to be part of the Grand Tour rich Americans afforded their children to get a wider knowledge of the Old World in the 1800s and early 1900s. For Europeans who want to experience the […]
Katie Downs Restaurant Review
Late Spring and early summer are ideal times to visit three of my favorite sunny weather restaurants: the Topside Bar & Grill in Steilacoom, The Tides Tavern in Gig Harbor, and Katie Downs on Ruston Way in Tacoma. Katie Downs is only a mile from my home, so it was my first choice for a […]
An Empty Field and a Comfortable Chair
It was a beautiful day. I had just dropped off my wife Peggy to do some quick shopping. I was sitting in my car listening to NPR and looking around. I was parked next to an empty field. Empty that is, except for a chair about a hundred yards away. Something was on the seat […]