A heavy rain seemed to come down my first night in Vientiane. Sounded just like the needs-to-be-repaired dripping gutter outside my window in Tacoma. About midnight, big thunder hit. I was deep in dreamland. There are no windows in my hostel room, the sound of rainfall was created by the whirring fan, and the thunder […]
Tacoma
The American Idiot is the Smart Ticket
In the film “The Wild One” starring Marlon Brando as Johnny is asked ” . . . what are you rebelling against?” He replies, “Whadda you got?” Rebellion, rage, and sex, are front and center in punk music. You have to look for it, but love is hiding in there somewhere, too. Punk began in […]
Sharing an Interest in Science with a Pocket Microscope
World traveler Richard Dorsett saw a Ted Talk on the internet about the Foldscope, a fully functional microscope that you put together on your own using origami principles. He dreamed of being the Johnny Appleseed of Microbiology. He wanted to give away the microscope to young students to see what they could do with them. […]
Creepy Crawlers and Rats in the Toilet
I walked into the bathroom and turned on the light. I saw what looked like a black pine needle about an inch and a quarter in length on the floor near the toilet. It moved. I moved quicker and my size 13 6E stomped on it and pulled back to reveal a shorter pine needle […]
The Dirty Dozen and Western State Hospital
Whenever I see Charles Bronson, Lee Marvin, or Ernest Borgnine I think of the movie The Dirty Dozen. I love that movie. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen it over the years since it first came out, but I loved the story even before that. Before it was a film, it was […]
Turning Corners – the New Year
The CD featuring the music from the film “Bowfinger” starring Steve Martin had been sitting on my desk for a week. In the two weeks leading up to end of the year I had been involved in an uphill battle to de-clutter and clean up my office space. I came across the CD as I […]
Letter: Community Matters
As Tacoma bids farewell to Mayor Marilyn Strickland, so does Tillicum. One day – one of the first days of our baseball practices for seven-year-olds in our tiny town of Tillicum – I received a phone call from Mayor Strickland.
Investing in Vintage 1960s Clothing and Memories
My friend Denny Flannigan commented recently about the younger generations not being interested in collectible cars. Automobiles stopped being unique and stylish in the 1980s when new cars began to resemble one another. Older and more stylish cars have turned really expensive and require an experienced hand at repairs instead of clicking on apps. Numerous […]
Take Care of Your Trees or Your Trees Will Take Care of You!
Trees become our old friends. They provide shade, beauty and often give shelter to our Pacific Northwest wildlife. But the older trees become, they more damage they can do. Wind storms can wreak havoc on houses and large limbs and trunks can come down on fences, houses, garages, vehicles, and people. If whole massive tree […]