Ruston Way Musings

After reading one book and two articles that stated, unequivocally, that aerobic exercise was a primary (actually, only) factor in reducing the incidence or severity of senile dementia ("short-term memory loss" sounds so much less creepy), I decided I'd better get with the program. I started walking around my immediate neighborhood, then realized a five-minute drive would get me to the waterfront along Ruston Way.

I park my car at the northern-most end of the sidewalk along Ruston Way, only because it's the closest to my house and it seems quieter at that end. I notice after parking there a few days/weeks in a row that the same boat is anchored there, just offshore. It's not in a marina and looks deserted. What is it doing there? Are people living on board? If so, I never see them or even a curtain moving. When I was taking the picture, a woman getting out of her car asked if I was interested in buying the boat, then offered that if she ever buys a boat it will be a much nicer one! Ha! I liked that.


At the beginning of my walk, I see that a helpful someone has taped on a bollard distances to various points. Hmm, it's .73 miles miles to the Lobster Shop and although I usually walk just beyond there I'm sure it must be farther than that!

The next thing I encounter is one of the old foundations from a business that was located there in the past. When the City of Tacoma developed the linear park along Ruston Way, preserving and celebrating the past industrial uses was a key consideration. At low tide, I've seen people scramble around it and sunbathe on top (how do they get up there?). But I can't help thinking how cool that concrete hulk could be in a video--I'm sure it could serve some spooky purpose.

Next Post: more Ruston Way musings and pics

What is "community"?

I have been whining and complaining and yearning for years for "community." I had a sense of what I meant and knew that I would "know it when I saw it" (similar to the method Justice Potter Stewart used to define pornography, Jacobellis v. Ohio).

Then, in one of those "aha" moments, I realized that my geographic community gave me a great deal of pleasure; that I loved my neighborhood, my shopping district, my access to Puget Sound. Hmmm, that wasn't quite it, but that discovery led me to think about other communities that give shape to my life. And it gave me the idea to document my various communities, if for no other reason than to regularly remind myself of what I do have, rather than what I don't. Good idea, right?

And because it's fun to share discoveries and pictures with others (at least my family will read it--won't you?), this blog was born.