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A Surreal Encounter
I love my early Saturday morning commute. Usually. It’s the only time I can expect to have the entire interstate to myself. That’s a rare treat in Seattle. So, on this particular Saturday I was cruising along, humming my most recent earworm, which is (consider yourself warned) Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo’Ole. All…
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A Moving Experience
Picture this: I’m driving my fifth carload of stuff from my rental place to my new home. I’m sweaty, tired, and sick of traffic. I ache all over. I’m so done with this whole process. And then my car signals me that one of my doors is ajar. This is a 25 mile commute from…
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“Just” 4 Minutes
I see it happen every day. I open my drawbridge for a vessel, and at least one car does a u-turn and reroutes itself rather than waiting. This always astounds me. The average bridge opening here in Seattle is only 4 ½ minutes. But the time you take your detour, the bridge would have closed…
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My View
A reader recently pointed out to me that this blog is called The View from a Drawbridge, but I haven’t really described my actual view in quite some time. Good point. Excellent point. And it is kind of interesting to contemplate how my perspective on this view has changed over time. For example, I’ve become…
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What I Love about Seattle, Washington
I’ve been living in this delightful city for 2 ½ years now, and I have never been happier. It sort of feels like I went to bed in Florida and I woke up in the Land of Reasonable People. Not a day goes by when I don’t look around in awe. How did I get…
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The Silhouettes of Seattle
Back in November, I started seeing these 4 foot tall white silhouettes of people at seemingly random spots throughout Seattle. I had no idea what they represented. I kept making a mental note to find out, but I’d always forget by the time I got home. One is attached to a telephone pole down the…
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Rife with Possibilities
Some mornings I’ll come to work at my drawbridge and it’s quiet. No traffic on the road, no boats in the water. The joggers keep their own counsel. The only sound you hear is the occasional seagull shouting, “Keow! Keow! Keow!” This is a rare treat. At times like this I wonder if I really…
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Peace and Hi
I love thinking about things that I haven’t thought about in years. I was driving down the interstate the other day and got caught in the inevitable Seattle traffic jam. I noticed a little girl in the back seat of the car next to me. Suddenly I was transported to my childhood and the many…
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My Jacksonville to Seattle Odyssey—Part 8–Home Sweet Home!
In truth I’ve been in Seattle for a week now. When I first arrived I felt kind of claustrophobic after driving through big sky country, so my first thought was, “Oh, God. I’m not liking this.” But then I got my city legs back, so to speak. I have to say that I love this…
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Rain, Rain, Here to Stay?
For the past 24 hours I’ve been treated to a deluge of epic proportions, and from the look of the radar, there’s no end in sight. Flood warnings, traffic accidents, and dogs who refuse to go outside to do their business are all par for the course. Somehow even the open spaces feel claustrophobic. Construction…