Old does not equal good

Where do you draw the line between preservation and hoarding? What makes the crazy lady on Dr. Phil with 3 year old cabbage in her refrigerator any different from the guy who insists on saving the Luzon or the Murray Morgan? The gap between them is diminishing, much like their common sense. Safety, practicality, health, intelligence and fiscal responsibility are being ignored, all in the name of… keeping old stuff around…  for the sake of preserving old stuff… because it’s old.

Old does not equal good. I am increasingly tired of the notion that something needs to be preserved at any cost because it has years under its belt. The concept of age and importance being synonymous has potential to keep me up at night. If this is true, I will stop trying to be a good person and focus on aging. Apparently, the older I get the more respect I will garner from many people in Tacoma.

This will be great for me. I will become more important, significant, interesting and beautiful as I fall apart internally. Failing health, poor attitude, and lack of morals aside, I will be better than I was yesterday, apparently by definition. All I need now is for someone to start fundraising on my behalf. For an unjustified sum of money, I can get plastic surgery and some counseling to revert back to the way I was yesterday.

Tacoma needs to focus efforts and money on the preservation of things that haven’t already passed the point of no return. The Luzon and the Murray Morgan were/are both ugly and dangerous and expensive to maintain…  and by maintain, what I really mean is maintain in a state of dysfunction. Look at all the money thrown at both of these structures, for what? Neither of them has contributed anything positive to society in years.

City planners, please get back to work on fixing things that actually have life left in them. There are plenty of historic buildings in downtown that are not in a state of disrepair yet. Fix them NOW. Fascination with the hopeless must cease. This is a classic case of “careful what you wish for”, people. If this infatuation with the hopeless continues, you will soon have the entire downtown corridor on which to focus.

Central treatment plant visitor center and Tagro office upgrades

Tacoma has unleashed cutting edge technology on the city’s waste water. Ever heard of “ballasted sedimentation”? This new process allows the plant to process more waste water faster, allowing for zero overflow even in the event of a big storm. The old system would back flow into the Puyallup River when overwhelmed with heavy rain runoff. Not anymore.

Micro sand and polymers (hopefully natural ones) mix through the dirty water, settling all solids quickly to the bottom, leaving clean water above. The new waste water facility, Tagro office and Visitor Center are located at 2201 Portland Ave near the Port of Tacoma. The project totaled $95 million and provides excess capacity to the city, now capable of handling future growth, to the tune of an additional 75,000 residents.

Tagro

Sunny Day Real Estate playing Hell’s Kitchen

Tonight! $5 will get you a Sunny Day Real Estate show in the heart of Tacoma. Hell’s Kitchen hasn’t formally announced anything and their sign is still mysteriously void of any details, but I’m on my way back down there now to see what I can see. If all goes well, I’ll be reporting back in less than an hour with a pocketful of tickets and more information on how the ticket process works.

Sunny Day Real Estate was one of the first bands to go by the categorization of “emo” in the early 90’s, before breaking up after 2 albums. This recent reunion marks the first time all original members have returned to participate. Should be a lively one.

Wednesday on the Water Tuesday

We’re running Wednesday on the Water a day early this week. Instead of the usual routine on Ruston Way, we’re launching 3 boats at Chambers Bay at 8:15am tomorrow, 9/15/09. If you are interested in taking the tide for a ride, park by the bridge and drop next to the chain link fence. Extremely low tide around 8am means you’ll get one heck of a free ride back to your car after riding the current out into the bay. Haven’t checked the weather – don’t care! I’m bringing a raincoat and a hat with me, but I hope to keep those tucked away in the dry bag.

There’s nothing like a steaming breakfast sandwich, a hot cup of coffee and morning mist on the sound in a kayak. Give it a try.

CAUTION: We have been experimenting with different drop times to see what we can learn about the tide flow in Steilacoom. There is a chance you will run aground in the mud for a few minutes due to the extremely low tide tomorrow. This is, of course, no big deal as worst case scenario means you will be back afloat within a few minutes. You could even get out and walk a bit if you’re impatient.