NO FAIR!

All right, if you must know, people also steal cars in Tacoma. For example, here's a photo of our front driveway and our two Toyota Camrys:That's right, the two Camrys are both completely gone. On Sep 19, my wife and I went to the Western Washington State Fair in Puyallup, a town ten miles east of us. We parked our sedan on the street a few blocks from the fairgrounds and then spent the next 5 hours touring exhibits and animal barns. When we returned to where we had parked our car, it was gone. Unfortunately, we had kept our garage door openers in our cars. With that and the registration in our glove box, the thieves were able to beat us home, take our valuables and our second car.

Ten days later, our local newspaper reported the breaking up of not one but three car-theft rings. Of course, it's not strictly a Tacoma problem. "Officers searched three private residences, in Tacoma, Federal Way and Des Moines, as well as Import Autos Sales in Puyallup…." However, the cover story in our paper on Sunday, Oct 2, explained how greater Tacoma has the 14th worst car-theft rate in the country (down from 7th three years ago).

Here's what we've learned from the experience:

• Older vehicles are not immune from theft, they get stolen and stripped for parts.
• Toyota's made between 1986 and 1992 often have nearly identical keys; since our glovebox was locked, whoever took our car probably used a key to open the car, drive it away, and get at our registration.
  
• Assuming you leave your registration (or other documents with your address) in the car, don't even think about leaving your garage door opener in it too.
• Don't leave any personal items in your parked car that you'd hate to have stolen with the car.
• If your house has an attached garage, keep the door from your garage into your house locked when you're away.
• Don't keep all your jewelry together in a single, unlocked jewelry box.
• Don't leave identity documents, like passport or social security card, in the same container or drawer with jewelry or other easily fenced items that thieves prioritize; you don't want them to scoop up your identity along with the material valuables.
  
• Backup your computer files, especially if you use a laptop.
• Join a spiritual community; our church friends responded to our crisis immediately, but we're still waiting to hear back from our homeowner's insurance carrier.
  
• "Theft" falls under "comprehensive" on your auto insurance policy; if you don't carry comprehensive coverage you get zip for your stolen vehicles. Good thing I like to walk. : )

P. S. My camera gear was in my backpack, safely with me at the fair.

City of Palms II: Landscaping Larceny!

I knew my city wasn't crime free; after all, someone stole Soul Salmon and traded it for bicycle wheels. But a gang of palm tree thieves? Kathleen Merryman reported in the August 15, 2005 edition of The News Tribune that Tacoma chiropractor Michael Milasich and his wife Joan keep getting their expensive palm trees stolen.

Ms. Merryman writes:

This, the Milasiches believe, was no random theft. This, they say, the work of shady landscapers. "A friend told us there is a ring of thieves that steals palm trees," Joan said. The wily couple devised a plan to protect their replacement palms from pillaging gardeners. "We chained them to the building," Michael said. "Then they tried to steal them even though they were chained." Thieves, he understood, appreciate our urge to replace that which we have lost. In fact, they bank on it. So the chains resting under the red landscaping blocks next to his building are significant. And a surveillance system records action in the lot.

The Milasiches are not alone in having to protect their palms. On my last couple of walks, in the University of Puget Sound district, I passed my friend Dan's house. Dan has this palm tree with a beautiful stand of canna and other plants around it:

Nice, but if you walk around behind, here's what you see:
Yes, that's right. Dan had to chain his palm tree because someone has already tried to steal it. Oh, buying the chain and padlock wasn't a problem; it was planting the telephone pole nearby to chain it to!

I've been praying a lot as I walk Tacoma's streets. Is their a blessing for palm trees?

The Camera

I enjoyed walking 4.2 miles in the UPS district this afternoon. A heavy rain fell around noon, but then the NW clouds thinned slowly to brilliant sunshine by late afternoon, and that after-the-rain air was a treat.

My sympathies to the folks trying to hold one last autumn yard sale today. At midday sellers had to scurry to get remaining moisture-sensitive items under cover. By the time I arrived at N 15th and Oakes streets, the rains had finished and the sales were winding down, but I looked in on one backyard sale and enjoyed chatting with Brenda. I bought a jacket for our new grandson, and enjoyed seeing some original pottery that hadn't sold yet. Brenda asked about the camera I was using, so we chatted about that and I took a picture of her daughter, Ava.
The camera I use is the Nikon Coolpix 8700. This digital 8MP model originally priced at $999 now sells new for $450. (I'd love to have a second one, though I'll probably spring for the slightly newer Nikon Coolpix 8800 when the time comes.)
I love everything about the 8700. It fits very lightly and comfortably in my hand, has astounding versatility (note how you can flip the monitor completely around to face the same direction as the lens), and has automatic modes for snapping pictures that I wouldn't know how to take manually. As an example of a photo I wouldn't have expected to turn out, here's the Pieta window I found in a dark landing of the Church of St. Patrick on N 12th and J:
By the way, Sue at Turning Point tells me that the Walking Tacoma blog has inspired one of her daughters to start carrying her camera with her more often. Thanks for the compliment, young lady; I wish you beautiful memories! And thanks for the encouragement, Turning Point!

My Magenta Miles: August 2005 Progress Report

The magenta shows where I've walked so far, for a cumulative total of 64 miles on the city streets of Tacoma. I've barely begun this project, and I already feel I know my city much better than I did before. The more I walk our streets, the more motivated I am to get out again and discover something else I've never seen or noticed before.

For anyone interested in the technical toys, here's what I'm using for this project. I use the Omron HJ-112 pedometer to keep track of my actual walking distance. For mapping my tracks, and for marking the coordinates of monuments and the like, I use the Garmin e-Trex Legend GPS receiver.

I Spy!

I'll bet you didn't know about this outdoor art installation! I certainly didn't until I happened upon it today on N 11th, between Sheridan and M streets. It's fascinating. It's virtually a 3-D "I Spy" game created by Darrell Talbott. Darrell told me that his collection of artifacts grew as neighbors donated items. Apparently this work of folk-art is somewhat of an archaeological record of the immediate neighborhood. (Yes, you can click on the photo for a larger view.)
So, let's play! In the first close-up below, I spy a wasp nest. A thermometer. The skin of a baseball. A Louisville Slugger. A funnel. A bottle cap opener.
Okay, if you found those, try the second close-up below. I spy a sunflower. A bald eagle. Two mousetraps. A sled. An old-fashioned telephone. A mouse with big eyes. A horseshoe. A Maverick insignia. A blue car hiding.
Leave me a comment if you found all the items I named, or if you need help.

After telling me about his artwork, Darrell walked with me for a few blocks and told me about his life. He also wanted to pray for our president, so we did that for a moment on the corner of 11th and "I" streets before we parted company. Keep up the creative work, Darrell, and remember John 7.38!