Puget Park

I walked up the Puget Park trail in N. Tacoma this morning with one daughter and five of the seven grandchildren. The naturally watered park has a peaceful atmosphere under the green canopy of foliage.

The trail ends at the lovely little play area at N. 31st and Proctor where the children enjoyed the fine big toys.

Fluttering Glass

I had lunch with my friend Wes today at the Freight House Square food court, then took the light rail train to the museum of glass to take some photos on this blue-sky day. Here's one shot of the fluttering glass in the reflecting pool.

Wes tells me that he and others have been inspired to prayer-walk in Tacoma. I am so encouraged by that, because just beneath the veneer of our beautiful city is profound spiritual and social need. You see the need when you diverge from the main arterials and walk our side streets. Prayer makes a difference, though, both because it brings God's help, and because it spurs us to care and take action ourselves under His leading.

Ice Storm Of January 2012

With our environment so altered in this January's ice storm, I took a still life photo on our upper deck to remember it by. But it was the sheet of ice over the snow in our front yard that was eerily memorable.

The evening of the ice storm, poplar branches began to break with loud cracking noises. All through the night I hear the loud snap of a branch followed by the rushing sound of snow and ice falling to the ground. Miraculously, and unlike most of our friends, we never lost our electrical power.

The day before, Rachel and I had fun walking about in the 12 inches of snow that had fallen in our neighborhood. After the ice, it was much harder to walk outside, but great exercise!

Longmire Meadow

Kaaren and I walked the loop around Longmire Meadow this afternoon. Yes, I know it's not in the Tacoma city limits, but Mt. Rainier National Park is part of our Tacoma culture, and it hardly feels like leaving home when we go there.

We saw the signs of a great deal of beaver activity around the meadow's main pond. Mr. and Mrs. beaver were sleeping away this hot afternoon inside their cool water-access home, but they've clearly been busy.

Mt. Rainier National Park holds many delightful memories for our family. We praise God that this beautiful place is only an hour's drive from our front door. When Mr. Longmire first built his sulphur-spring spa here at the meadow, it took people days to get here, with the first leg by train, and the second by horseback.

My annual pass to the park expired last month, and I bought a new one today in faith that I'll be back soon!

Darkness & Light

My dear friend and Christian brother, Kent, accompanied me today as we walked 7th and 8th streets between Grant and Broadway. In close proximity we found lovely, bright homes like the ones above (7th and J), and spiritually dark ones exuding need.

Janet and two other ladies welcomed our prayers for them as they sat in the courtyard of Hope Guest Home; we encountered two other ladies who were loudly cursing each other as they crossed the street.

A highlight of our morning walk was meeting Claudia Mason, principal of Bryant Montessori Elementary School. She so graciously told us about Bryant and even let us peek at some of the precious children having their lunch. We wish the administrators and teachers of Bryant the best school year ever!

We also met some friendly tourists from CA who were walking to Wright Park and enjoying the beautiful day in Tacoma. They said they were thinking of moving here. We didn't have the heart to tell them about our 11-month rain festival...

Kent and I finished off our morning with an outdoor lunch at one of my long-time favorite places to eat, Greek To Me, on 6th and Division. If you've not yet tried their Greek food, don't hesitate! Try the Gyro or the Souvlaki.

Perfect Tacoma Morning

I see some spooky things on my walks, sometimes. I'm not sure I would want this 6th Avenue Griffin perched under my eaves.

Nevertheless, yesterday I walked the wedge of the pie between 6th and Division, from Sprague to J St. with my spiritual brother, Kent. It could not have been a more beautiful morning and we met some wonderful people. It was so pleasant that I decided to row part way.

One friend that we met in the beautiful garden at Tacoma General Hospital allowed us to pray for his mother, Barbara, who was recuperating from surgery. I also teased him about his "Cuban" cigar.

Kent and I made sure we stopped to smell the roses!

Then there's nothing like ending a morning walk at the Southern Kitchen (6th & Division)! Yes, the comfort food at SK is everything they said it would be. It's my new go-to place for beef brisket.

Indian Henry Trail

In our neighborhood an eroded monument marks the location of Indian Henry Trail. What are now 84th Street and Steilacoom Blvd were once the first road to Tacoma from Fort Steilacoom to the southwest. This road was the theoretical evacuation route for white folks in 1853, in the times of the "Indian wars."

Here's a closeup of the eroded portrait of Indian Henry in a full headdress.

6th Ave Wildlife

Got out to walk the 6th Ave. strip by Jefferson Park this morning. I enjoyed the wildlife.

Storm Walking

I feel for the person who never walks outdoors in a storm. The changing light on wet surfaces as the sun fights its way through dog-piling rain clouds makes for some beautiful visions of ordinary things. The sun broke through the amorphous army of gray today to light up the golden house above as I passed by (I've rendered it here as a cutout).

Animals are subdued on stormy days which makes for a paucity of birdsong. On the positive side, however, dogs are less aggressive and cats are more willing to pose for the camera from the safety of covered porches.


The maple trees are in their glory now, like the one below that's near South 8th and Pine streets.
Another variety of Maples at S. 12th and Pine streets made it look like the landscape was bleeding.

It was truly a red-letter day because I was able to spot a rare Chameleon Beetle!

Angel Of Music

My friend Don and I got out on a gorgeous morning to walk and pray in the Stadium District near downtown Tacoma. We were amazed at what one can see when walking that is entirely missed when driving past. There's good and bad, dark and light. On the one hand, fatalistic graffiti. On the other, an angel of music (just visible over someone's backyard fence).

Fire

I found this rose on fire in the Proctor District of N Tacoma.

Thankfully, the local Dalmatian fire fish was nearby.

Good Day, Sunshine!

With heat and sunshine predicted for the day, I shifted from my North End walk to Downtown Tacoma. As it got toward noon, professional workers came out to get a little sun and call home. Children with parents or day-care supervisors stuck their hands in fountains and waterfalls.

I checked in with Pete and Davey, the best barbers in Tacoma. Their shop is on Pacific Ave, near 9th street. I was shocked to learn that ladies' man and blues singer Pete is married! Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs.; I wish you God's life-long blessing!

Ground Hog Problems

Our ground hog must have gotten into some mushrooms this year. The battle between winter and spring has kept us all guessing: will we skip spring altogether and go straight to summer? Straight to autumn? God forbid! We had snowfall here in the lower elevations on March 28th, much to the consternation of the sparrows on Kaaren's upper-deck bird bath.

Jesus Has Risen From The Dead!

Crocus trio in Kaaren's garden.

Here's wishing my city and my readers a joyous Easter. The life, death and bodily resurrection of Jesus is the demonstration that life has meaning, purpose and a future. God bless you all!

Riding Is Fun Too

My walking has been curtailed this winter by work, winter colds and a minor traffic accident (we were rear-ended), but I had a great time on the first day of spring, riding Tacoma's light-rail train with my grandson Micah and my daughter Leslie. Who are you lookin' at, Micah?

A Chilling Sight!

Perhaps you have the same saying in your city that we do in Tacoma: "If you don't like the weather, wait 10 minutes." January 21st was a gorgeous walking day, and the Olympic mountain range appeared boldly on our NE horizon. And then came January 28th!

Schools closed because of snow and families stayed home to build snowmen. I took the opportunity to walk the neighborhood just east of my own. Along the way, I saw a chilling sight. It was the wrong kind of weather for an outdoor commode!

All That Glitters

We have a gorgeous neighborhood along the western edge of our North End. The homes on this slope overlook the Puget Sound and the (now double) Narrows Bridge. I had the joy of walking N Vista View Drive and its connected streets and lanes on a cloudless afternoon of perfect temperature. What a great day for a dinner party on the deck!

The only thing that tinged my contentedness while walking this neighborhood was the awareness of my city's commercial bent. Historically we have tended to prioritize profit above people. We like money. But what does it profit a family to own a fabulous home and lose their soul?

Just north of N Vista View lies a gated community on Gold Creek Blvd. What do their entrance signs communicate to you?



My prayer for Tacoma is not that our prosperity would decrease, God forbid, but that our love for people would increase.

On The Edge

I've been walking on the western edge of Tacoma's North End. Today I found a lovely ginkgo tree on N Vassault St and took this photo of one of its distinctive leaves. Considered a "primitive" species, here's a sprig of the leaves instantly fossilized in Adobe Photoshop, looking much as paleontologists find them (please click on the photo to see the detail):


The semi-secluded neighborhood of the ginkgo specimen is enclosed by Vassault Playfield on the north, N 26th St on the south, Pearl on the East and Narrows Dr on the west. Beautiful homes and gardens are interspersed with unkempt properties and dandelion breeding farms that must constantly irritate their neighbors. Ha, ha, that's life in the city! The best characteristic of this neighborhood is that it sits on a ridge, with the homes at the top able to catch glimpses of Puget Sound or parts of the Narrows Bridge, but it also has quiet cul-de-sacs shaded by giant horse chestnut trees. I saw that a friend of mine in the neighborhood has his house up for sale for $379k; I'm guessing his lovely house falls at near the median price range for that part of town.

Personality

I walked 2.5 miles yesterday in a short window of time between appointments. The north-end neighborhood I visited — or was it the hazy marine air — was photographically uninspiring, so I'm sharing a shot of a Tiger Swallowtail, newborn and flawless, sunning on Kaaren's hydrangea.

But speaking of neighborhoods, each one has its own personality. As does each house, of course, when we stop to look closely. Yesterday's neighborhood, though in an upscale part of the city, had a drab quality overall. Most of the front yards betrayed a lack of attention. I imagined the neighborhood as housing a transient population, perhaps more focused upon upward mobility than upon deepening roots. There were the exceptional houses with beautiful yards; I remember one in particular with an exquisite rock garden set off by colorful plants. On the other hand, I passed a couple of houses with overgrown brambles and broken, littered walkways -- the kind of places that as kids we would have said were haunted. Today we'd more likely say they looked like meth houses.

My city's multiple personalities keep it fascinating for me. I find both the beautiful and the ugly good stimulation for prayer.

Tacoma's Asian Accent

Almost 8% of Tacoma's population is Asian. The largest subcategory of our Asian population is Vietnamese, followed by the Korean and Filipino subcategories. Our Asian population continues to grow and is for now staying ahead of our Hispanic/Latino population numerically. In the year 2000, 48% of our immigrants were from Asia.

Tacoma doesn't have a Chinatown like other West-Coast cities our size, because of our infamous expulsion of the Chinese in 1885 (see post of August 19, 2005: City of Reconciliation). Nevertheless, the presence of our multicultural Asian community is visible in its several Buddhist temples, its many Korean Christian churches, and its beautiful flower gardens often accented with miniature pagodas or other Asian ornaments. My fellow-walker Marcus and I happened upon this large Buddha head on N 31st St.

As I walk, I pray for the different individuals and people groups that come to my attention. I'm hoping to learn more about the needs and aspirations of our Asian neighbors this year.