I’m a big fan of the smoking ban but I have to agree with West Seattle Blogger Spouse, it just seems wrong somehow for smokers to even have to take it outside at divey little joints like Chuck ‘n’ Sally’s. Quite the little clot of puffers standing outside there a bit earlier tonight, perhaps getting ready to tank up for the Big Basketball Game …

I thought the Monorail Board wasn’t supposed to decide the fate of the tab tax till they opened the bids and told us all how much $ they would reap from the real-estate sendoff. Guess not.

Also … for those of us envious of waterfront-property owners … here’s something to dunk your envy in today.

It’s nice to have this tiny nook on the Web to ramble about memories as well as what’s happening now. That said — our jaunt to Alki yesterday reminded me that I still don’t know the fate of The Bird Lady of Beach Drive. She lived in a white bungalow across from the open waterfront at Emma Schmitz Viewpoint, an older lady with wild long salt-and-pepper hair and glasses. Many mornings, you’d see her out on the grassy streetside waterfront bank across from her house, throwing food at seagulls and ranting loudly at the world as her hair danced in the breeze like a kite. More than once, I saw her at West Seattle Thriftway, continuing her semi-high-volume muttering while shopping.

In the past few years, I hadn’t seen her, but her old mini-station-wagon-type car was still parked next to her house, so I suspected she was still in there somewhere.

Then some months back — the “FOR SALE” sign went up, and the station wagon was nowhere in sight. Yesterday, in fact, as we passed the cottage, an open house was under way, and that reminded me I still didn’t know the fate of The Bird Lady of Beach Drive — dead? living with a caretaker? institutionalized? Certainly a memorable WS character, and those are in shorter supply these days.

The March issue of the Alki News Beacon is out … and our dear pals are revealing rough times. Good gosh, in a world where we can spend billions on bombs, we should be able to scrape up a few bucks for a good grass-roots community group & its newsletter.

I was going to suggest — have you guys tried brainstorming with Megawatt? Then I went to the MW home page & got an idea … how about a big rummage sale to raise $ for your group? I don’t live on that side of town any more but I promise I’d donate!

Had no idea that Fire Station 37 on 35th SW is a historic landmark.

But it says so right here, on a page I looked up after receiving a flyer making its way around this side of WS. According to the flyer, the city is going to sell off Historic Station 37 and build a new one a couple blocks to the south, on land that’s currently home to a house and a substation (apparently NOT historic).

Found a bit more about Current Station 37’s allegedly historic nature here. So will West Seattle’s Log House Museum be joined by a Fire House Museum?

–Two more Signs of Spring over the weekend: The first wave of dandelion invasion, followed by the first door-hanger flyer from the Unmarked Truck Gardener Services. Yeah, I know, my yard will never make it into the pages of Pacific Northwest magazine. But at least it’s organic. (Death to dandelions — but never by chemicals — only mano-a-mano combat.)

–Still working on the Ben & Jerry’s “investigation.” Didn’t get back to the Junction to try to read the posted permit in daylight; did search the city permit database, nothing new there; maybe it’s a different type of permit.

–If you’re wondering why TV news crews are in the Admiral Junction tonight, here’s the story.

–Found out a bit more about the Ben & Jerry’s mystery in the (Alaska) Junction. Went to the Ballard B & J’s, whose owners also ran the WS B & J’s. We asked the guy behind the counter what’s up with the WS location; he told us “It’s been sold. Might stay a Ben & Jerry’s, might not, don’t know.” Then we stopped by the Junction to take a look for ourselves. You can see inside from the south side windows, which are only partly papered. Tearing it up like that wouldn’t make sense if it’s going to stay a B and J’s. There’s a permit posted by the front door but the light was too dim for us to read it (gotta go back in daylight tomorrow). Our money’s on another food franchise replacing it – Starbucks or Quizno’s.

A bit of a rant this morning:

One of our favorite takeout places has a wide selection of brochures and other marketing paraphenalia on its counter. Not sure why, but if they can spare the space, more power to ’em. One pile of brochures is from a nearby public school, intended to entice more families to enroll (not a bad strategy considering this school may face the ax otherwise). All I can say is that if I were looking for a place to teach some child of mine how to write with something resembling clarity, this wouldn’t be it. Half the brochure is taken up by mission-statement mumbo-jumbo such as “XX School is a child-centered learning center utilizing global strategies to encourage strategic child-centric learning amid a diverse community of centered learners.” Longer, actually; sorry I didn’t pick up the actual brochure and tote it home — I was a little woozy from both the convoluted language and hunger.

Discussing this with West Seattle Blogger Spouse brought memories from WSBS of a mission statement once proposed by a church that WSBS attends from time to time. As with many church mission statements these days, it included the phrase “faith-based community.” (Faith-“based”? Doesn’t “faith” just say it all? Or is it an open door toward branching into, perhaps, “faith and cuisine”? “Faith and gardening”? “Faith and bingo,” maybe.)
Please, world, I beg you, let’s just call a church a church and a school a school. Mission-statement-ese is rampant enough out in the business world; some spaces can be kept safe.

West Seattle’s most famous music man has a new album coming out — for the first time in a long time.

Check this city-drawn West Seattle neighborhood map I bumped into.

I don’t live where I thought I lived.

And where’s Delridge?

Two things from the public sector:

–Counterpoint to my graffiti rant earlier this weekend, a much more innocent channel for public artistic expression was available this afternoon at Southwest Pool. Kids got the chance to decorate a sea/fish-themed mural that pool managers say will eventually go up somewhere in the facility. Among the more unusual creations: An octopus with a Medusa-ish human head. (You’ll see me plug Southwest Pool a lot; I think it’s one of WS’s great underutilized gems. Even if you don’t swim, you can go sit in the hot tub for just a few bucks. Megadeal.)

–Library lovers rejoice; our branch has expanded its hours.

Tidbits from a few hours out and about:

–For my fellow avocado lovers, a price war seems to be under way. The Tony’s stand on 35th is now offering Hass avocados three for a buck; the HG Market on Ambaum in the “not White Center/not Burien” zone is touting two for that price. (Did NOT personally inspect either, so I can’t guarantee they’re not all lime-sized avos.)

–Absolute proof winter has almost run its course: The decorative purple and white cabbage plants that pass for winter garden “color” around here are starting to flower, as evidenced by the ones at the base of the Lady-Liberty-on-Alki.

–The challah French toast at Alki Cafe is still the best.French.toast.EVER.

–Just thought I’d throw this in: Apolo Anton Ohno is the best.Seattle.sports.hero.ever. Edgar, move over.

For some weeks now, the Keller-Williams Realty marquee in the Junction has boasted that the office profit-shared $41,000 or so with its agents last year.

Admittedly, the only thing I know about real estate is what I learned when we bought our house more than a few years ago. But it seems to me that the whole business of real estate is about profit-sharing … the seller certainly shares his or her profits with the agents, via the commission. I remember being fairly grumped out all those years ago (pre-Internet) because I’d done all the research and used the agent for little more than paperwork assistance, yet she still got a multiple of my monthly salary out of the deal.

Not to begrudge the $ earned by the talented agents out there. I just don’t get the bit about the firm profit-sharing with its agents, and more to the point, why customers should care. Is it an attempt to sound warm, fuzzy, employee-friendly, like Costco and its Wal-Mart-beating benefits? (Which sends me on a tangent … the founder of Trader Joe’s has written a book, just spotted at the Westwood Village Barnes & Noble, and the only thing I learned from taking a quick look at it is that TJ’s is now foreign-owned! Yipes! Holy Dubai Ports, Batman!)

Saturday morning, sun’s out, no plans. So many places we COULD go … That is the joy of West Seattle. Parks, forests, beaches. No swimming this weekend; Southwest Pool is closed for a swim meet.

I’m just going to turn off the computer and force myself out the door. Really.

Just a thought, after a trip to the Westwood Village vicinity:

When Tony’s at 35th & Barton sells Christmas trees, the prices are as steep as Mt. Rainier.

When Tony’s sells fruits and vegetables, the prices, well, crater. Right now, a sign along the street touts 50-cent Hass avocadoes, available in grocery stores for a buck and up.

In other money-related news … looked up your house at Zillow yet? The values on our street are totally cattywhompers. Zillow thinks our house is worth exactly the same as the other half-dozen on the street of similar vintage … never mind that none of them have views.

While I was whining about boredom last night, some folks were gathering for a “State of the Neighborhood Summit” hosted by the city. Wouldn’t have known this except for a mention in this blog, the first I’ve found that at least alludes to West Seattle issues, in addition to semi-detailing the life of its WS-based author.

For various reasons, I tend to have more access to, and interest in, information about what our government is up to. Yet this summit was news to me. I have mucked around the Web in the past half-hour trying to find out how I missed it, and all I’ve come across is a brief mention at the end of a PDF newsletter posted online by a member of the City Council.

If I’d have known about it, I’d have blogged it. What better place to address the State o’ West Seattle, than the WS Blog? Next year, I guess.