Search Results for 'aF'

[Bonnie]

Well, I’m not bashing you CMP because I can remember sitting in the front while my younger sister was bouncing around in the back with no seatbelt on. I don’t even think our old car had a seatbelt back then! (ages and ages ago!)

BUT of course you’re still alive…those who are not can’t say that.

When it comes to my kids I’d rather be safe than sorry. Of course, I don’t know how a 12 year old would want to sit in the back but my kids aren’t at that age yet.

[CMP]

Before anyone bashes on me, I always wear my seatbelt, even if I’m only driving a few blocks. I remember when I was five years old, my parents would let us kids fight over who got to sit in the front of our VW van and I’m sure the two in the back were not strapped in. And we’re still alive, somehow. However, we lived in Mississippi at the time so we were “country”, just as Britney Spears justified her baby in her lap episode. Cars are much safer nowadays so I don’t see the need to keep a 12 year old in the backseat for those reasons. Unless there’s a DVD player and TV back there…another stupid invention. Any parent that has that in their car should be ashamed. Talk about boring road trips with no fights from the kids or having to find ways to pass the time by making up games.

[Ken]

The 8 year old grandson still believes my car won’t start unless his belt/ booster is “Clicked”

Since I have remote start and a few other aftermarket toys n stuff, he won’t figure it out until he gets his own car…

[Anonymous]

I am posting this here as a reminder to all parents and child-care givers to please place all chidren in back-seats and to restrain them in booster seats or infant car seats. This past weekend my husband and I saw several women driving around town with children as young as 2-3 in the passenger front seats, unrestrained. God forbid what would happen to those children if the driver had to slam on their brakes. We saw 1 child fall off the seat when the driver turned a corner. Too bad we couldn’t catch up with this driver and the child that had fallen on the car floor.

Washington’s New Child Restraint Law

Effective June 1, 2007, children less than eight years old must be restrained in child restraint systems, unless the child is four feet nine inches or taller. A child who is eight years old or older, or four feet nine inches or taller, must be properly restrained either with the motor vehicle’s safety belt or an appropriately fitting child restraint system. Children under thirteen years old must be transported in rear seats where it is practical to do so.

The fine for improperly restrained children in motor vehicles is at least $112 per child.

For more information on choosing the safest seat for your child, please call 1-800-BUCK-L-UP toll-free.

Washington Child Restraint Law

On June 1, 2007, Washington’s revised Child Restraint Law went into effect. This law, also known as the Anton Skeen Act, is one of the strongest child restraint laws in the nation. It requires the use of booster seats for older children. In 2000, Washington was the first state in the nation to pass this type of law.

Key provisions of the law:

Children under the age of 16 years must be restrained in a vehicle according to the following steps:

. 1 year of age AND under or weighing less than 20 pounds:

a rear facing infant seat

. Between 1 – 4 years old or 20 – 40 pounds:

a forward facing child safety seat

. Children under 8 years of age, unless 4 feet 9 inches tall:

a booster seat with a lap and shoulder belt

. Children over 8 years of age:

a properly-fitting seat belt or a booster seat with a lap and shoulder belt

NOTE: Doctors and safety experts recommend that children ride in booster seats until the lap and shoulder belt fit right, usually when they are at least 4’9″ tall, or around 8 years old.

As of June 1, 2007, tickets cost $112 for each improperly restrained child, including if the child safety seat harness is not buckled, or if the older child has put the shoulder belt behind his back.

Shoulder belts must be used with booster seats at all times! A child is exempt from the booster seat law requirement, only when a child weighs 40 pounds or more and is in a vehicle with lap-only belts.

The law was the work of a bi-partisan legislative effort spurred on by a Walla Walla parent, Autumn Alexander Skeen.

Autumn lost her four-year-old son, Anton Skeen in a rollover collision. Anton was using a seat belt in accordance with state law at the time. Yet, because seat belts are built for adult bodies, he slid out of his seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle and crushed in the collision.

[Ken]

I guess I never noticed any “freeze” even though it appears to be a common enough occurrence to be legendary.

I am a large guy with a face that scares children so I assumed anyone who appears shy or evasive feels they have good reason.

As a transplant from NC (by way of a dozen cities on the east coast both north and south), I find Seattle natives to be, by and large, more honest about their feelings, fears and social interactions than many other places.

I have been in the state since 88 so I am still considered a transplant after 20 years.

The myth of southern hospitality is just as pervasive and misunderstood. I would rather cut through the surface friendliness to the core distrust of the stranger than go through that crazy dance of fake politeness, insincere smiles and the Q and A designed to classify you into one of their acceptable compartments of class, religion or politics.

I meet people without expecting them to automatically want to interact with me. Friends happen if your honest, sincere, and willing to help strangers without the calculation of what you will get out of it.

Of course if you want to meet your neighbors, one way is via politics. I go up the walk and knock on the door and ask if everyone in the house is registered to vote. That’s an ice breaker here in West Seattle. Some of you who might live in Highpoint have also found it is not safe to jog by my house, with or with out dog since I ask every pedestrian and even those in slow moving cars if they are registered to vote.

There are still some residents of my precinct who run when I try to talk to them or refuse to answer the door. I consider that any residents prerogative and am not offended by it. :)

If you are interested in meeting your neighbors in the near term, show up at the party caucus location of which ever party you feel closest to, and you will probably meet those who have similar political views (with some wide variations on the Dem side). Apparently you can meet every republican in West Seattle if you attend the single caucus location at SW community center.

For caucus information see the other posts on the political forum of the main page updates.

[JanS]

DJ…first…thank you for the wonderful job you do….and your lengthy advice. You see it all firsthand, I’m sure.

Having said that, 12 years ago next month I became deathly ill, and as I was being taken out to an ambulance from my home they asked me where I wanted to go. I said “Harborview” off the top of my head…I didn’t care, I was in pain, just get me there – lol. Well, it was one of the best decisions I could have made. I spent hours in the ER…a Feb. Thursday evening, cold, rainy, close to 5pm, rush hour, and auto accidents came before me. But…I ended up being admitted, and was there for 5 weeks….and the care was incredible. It’s a teaching hospital, and I had so many docs on my case that I couldn’t count them all.I know there are some down sides to Harborview, but for me, it was a life saver, literally, and I just picked them at random.

I hope they give you a bit of time off after a 14 hour shift, that you get to sleep in in the morning :)

[JoB]

This thread is growing cold, but i would like to remark that beliefs are just that… personal beliefs. Any of us can believe anything we want, whether that belief is in sync with current science or not. However, we are talking about who will sit in the President’s seat and we have just had 8 years of a president who crafted American policy based on nothing more than his personal beliefs. Look where that got us. I care more what my next president will base their policy decisions upon than their personal belief system. Jimmy Carter is both Christian and baptist and i would vote for him again tomorrow because he based his decisions more on science and fact than his religious beliefs.

[TheVelvetBulldog]

Just did a little experiment: took myself for a walk along Beach Drive past the Emma Schmitz viewpoint and kept track of people who would look at me/say hello/smile, etc. Bear in mind that *I* am the Seattle native here – I looked at everyone and smiled. Of the 12-15 people I passed I got one “hello”, one “sorry” as her dog tried to run me down, one “thanks” as I let someone go by, and a couple of smiles. One from a runner who I was determined to make look at me (I’m sure she thought I was a lunatic.) Otherwise, people looked down or at their dogs as they walked by. I observed a guy across the street from me walking at a very brisk pace past a steep driveway where another guy was backing down his obviously heavy recycle bins. Walking dude didn’t say anything or break stride, just let driveway guy back right into him, and walker kept walkin’, driveway guy was clearly a little baffled and tried to say something to him. Walker kept walkin’. Geez, at least say something so you don’t get run down by recycle bins!! I guess I see why we don’t seem like the most gregarious bunch of folks!! :-)

[WSB]

Trivia point, the people behind smalltownpapers.com are based here in West Seattle, south of The Junction!

Speaking of old papers, we were just going through some shelves here in the utility room near WSB Nerve Central Desk-By-The-Washer-Dryer, trying to clear space for business-related stuff now that we’re working from home, and I found my stack of newspapers from the Kurt Cobain death and aftermath. Haven’t saved that many clippings about any one news event before or since.

[JanS]

Bonnie, funny about your friend from Texas. I had a neighbor who rented the next door apartment for 6 months. He was from Austin..a musician who wanted to try the music scene here…and was totally homesick for Austin. After 6 months he up and left, went home, met a girl, they’re becoming parents, and is totally happy now. He, too, said that he was lonely here, even with friendly neighbors (Happy Hour once a week – lol)

[Bonnie]

Well, after reading some of the responses I guess some of it could be true. I wouldn’t go confront my neighbor if they were having a party (maybe I’d call the cops…but not confront them!). I probably wouldn’t show my true feelings to someone. Also, I can be in an exercise class at the Y and be right next to someone and still they don’t say a word to me and I don’t say a word to them. The Moms in my daughter’s preschool just make small talk but that’s it. Don’t know why, but I don’t think it’s because people are meaning to be RUDE.

As for the people who always compare their home to Seattle and Seattle comes up short…I agree. Go home. (but of course I wouldn’t SAY it to them because I’m too polite. LOL!)

Now, I do have a friend who is from Texas (and other areas) who says that Seattle is the loneliest place to live.

[CMP]

I think a majority of Seattle residents put on the freeze. Sometimes I’m guilty (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to confront my upstairs neighbor at 2:00 am for being loud…or even go up there during the day to calmly talk about it), but I won’t b/c I’m afraid of the reaction I’ll get. I went running on Christmas morning and encountered at least 15 people and only two acknowledged my “Merry Christmas” or “good morning”. I’ve stood at the bar at Matador and Peso’s for 20 minutes waiting for friends to show up and not a single person approached me to talk. And no, I’m not an unattractive or mean looking person. My sister and I joke that if anyone approaches us while out and about, they must not be from here. And we’re usually right. I think our brother is the exception but he traveled solo for a year around the world so he can talk to anyone after that experience. Make eye contact and smile a bit…makes a world of difference!

[hopey]

Just to be clear, and I know Joe wasn’t necessarily talking directly to or about me, but I’m not at all unhappy here. (Although my fiance thinks I’m NUTS for actually missing the Chicago winters!) In fact, West Seattle is everything I thought living in Seattle would be, and I’m so glad I finally found it!

I understand the attitude of “go back where you came from” — I was the same way about those who couldn’t handle the Chicago winters. (My fiance, who is from Oregon, regularly gets called a “wimp” when he complains about being cold!) But it also doesn’t mean every out-of-towner is automatically that way. Besides, I know where to get my true Chicago style pizza: mail order! ;)

It could very well be that the climate in Seattle, especially the winters, drives away folks who can’t handle a few months of darkness and relative solitude. It could also be the wide open spaces which are so close, making it easy to go off into the woods or mountains by yourself or with a few dear friends, which creates the “boundary” issue. When you live in a large city where after driving for an hour you’re not in the foothills of mountains, you’re just barely out of the city and into the beginnings of suburbia… that makes for a very different sense of “personal space”, I would think.

I would be happy to join in a coffee klatch sometime, but honestly I would prefer a night or weekend when there *wasn’t* live music, so we could sit and talk and be able to hear each other. I promise to bring a board game as an icebreaker.

[JanS]

hehe…jo…true…when they come here, I suppose they shouldn’t expect things to be just like at home. I certainly miss some of the “delicacies’ of where I grew up, but, really, Seattle is it’s own place, with it’s own special things. Smiles matter, asking if people need help, as you do, matters. I see clients everyday, sometimes new ones, and I have to be able to be friendly and welcoming, to be interested and a listener. After 33 years in West Seattle, I’ve made a few friends, and a lot of acquaintances…you just need to make an effort, and not wait for the other person. Life is too short for it to be otherwise :)

[WSMom]

I’m in! We could make it a time when C&P has live music or something…that would be fun!

A West Seattle Blog coffee club, be there if you’re not afraid of blowing your anon cover. :)

[JimmyG]

I can’t recommend Dr. Kraabel at Lien Animal Clinic (on SW Alaska) enough. I’ve taken my dogs (all large ones) there for over 10 years. Two of my friends with large dogs see him also.

Groomer: when we picked up our latest Golden Retriever rescue he was covered in mats and a real mess after living in an outdoor holding kennel for over 3 months. The groomers at The Wash Dog (on California near Fauntleroy) did a wonderful job of getting him presentable.

PS I love Newfies, someday maybe I’ll get to have one.

[JenV]

we usually celebrate with a nice dinner at home. this after a few years of trying to find some place in WS to have dinner and finding everywhere packed to the rafters. one year we ended up at Ho-Win- and we were the only people there! that same year we ended up there for Cinco de Mayo as well… ;)

[hopey]

Here’s my experience as a transplanted Chicagoan…

The Seattle Freeze is real. After some discussion with a friend who relocated here from Iowa, we have decided that a lot of it actually results from an overwhelming fear of offending *somebody* by saying *something* wrong. Let me give you a really specific example.

I am nearly 40 years old and recently had braces put on my teeth. Not a single coworker in my office said ONE WORD when I walked into work the first day I wore braces. No one acknowledged there was *anything* different about me that day, outside of the surreptitious looks and a bit of a startle response the first time I opened my mouth to speak. It was my boss’s boss (who is from the Midwest) who casually remarked, “Oh hey! You got braces! How long will you have them on?” and chatted with me in a friendly way about it. I think the rest of my coworkers were worried that if they acknowledged I had changed anything, I would somehow be offended. Better to not say anything at all.

This is very different from the Midwest idea, which is that by commenting on changes in appearance, you are showing that you notice — and therefore, you *care*. It is an expression of interest and caring, not an insult or intrusion into an intensely private matter.

Extrapolate this into the way neighbors and people on the street interact, and you get a “friendliness” which exists on the surface but never delves any deeper. I know it’s not just me, because when I discuss this theory with other transplanted Midwesterners, they agree that I am spot-on. If it were not for my fiance and his circle of friends, I’m convinced I wouldn’t have made a single friend here in Seattle.

[swimcat]

I think people in Seattle do tend to keep a distance from anyone they don’t know well. I don’t know how many people I’ve come across while running through my neighborhood that won’t even look me in the eye when I go past! I’m certainly not scary looking; a younger, fit female in workout clothes, ready with a smile and wave and an out of breath ‘hello’ if I get any sort of look my way. And I’d say 50% of the time the people I pass don’t acknowledge me at all. I don’t think we have that large of a blind, deaf, mute population do we? Or are people just so shy they can’t even smile at a fellow neighbor? I’m extremely shy but make an effort to project warmth and approacability because if no one does, everyone will think this city is unfriendly.

[JimmyG]

A lot of response to this since I left yesterday afternoon.

I’ve got two words that all of us should keep in mind: “Personal Responsibility. Especially for the now-fired worker and Lattemom.

Lattemom keeps telling us she didn’t fire the guy, as if this makes it not of her doing. Yet it was only at your impetus (your initial complaint) that he was fired. Yes the worker chose to use foul language, he’s an adult and now he’s paid a very high price for using swear words.

I’m still waiting though for lattemom (or anyone) to link me to any study which shows the permanent negative effects to a child of hearing swear words from a stranger. Even though that’s not what happened in this case. I also find it interesting how diligent lattemom has been in posting after posting in order to justify her stand.

What’s that saying about protesting too much?

[Franci]

Lattemom – I’ve been following this conversation since yesterday. I’ve waited to see how things played out before posting, but I have to say that reading your posts yesterday afternoon, I felt a lot of angry energy coming from you in those posts, simply because people were expressing their own opinions, which don’t happen to be in agreement with yours.

It sounds like this guy was having a really bad day, made some unfortunate choices, maybe he did or did not deserve what he got, I don’t feel like I’m in a position to make that judgement.

I do believe that in any given moment people are doing the best they can, and if that was the best he could do in that moment then he was obviously hurting in some way and was in need of compassion from those around him. I completely agree with JT that expressing concern for someone instead of judging them could have brought a completely different outcome.

[Anonymous]

Lattemom- you keep explaining that you yelled back “nice language” as if that was asking him to stop when in fact you were contributing to his rage. If you felt so strongly about reporting him, just do that instead of inciting him further. Or if you really wished for him to just stop, how about a sincere “are you OK?” That usually jars people out of there trance and maybe you would of genuinely made him reflect on what he was doing. By the title and contents of your first post, what I’m hearing is the hall monitor tattling and hoping we’ll all somehow be proud. Now we’ve got one pissed off dude out there somewhere. I’m worried about who he’s going to take it out on now. Protecting invisible children might be making one at home less safe. That doesn’t mean we should tolerate a free for all in society, but you seem to be more concerned about being right than actually making a difference.

[Sue]

I don’t know if it happens here, but in NYC and NJ, I know many people who were evicted for lying about pets that they sneaked in without disclosure. And I saw the stress they’d go through to hide the pets, not let them in the windows, etc. – it’s just not worth it. I always disclose it and if they won’t accept my pet, I move on. One thing I learned back east was that some people simply don’t want pets around and some are just afraid of damage. I’ve offered to pay an extra month’s rent up front in case of potential pet damage, and some will consider it, some will not.

[JasonParker]

We hired Joe The Plumber (206-285-2434) based on advice in an earlier posting (Thanks, JT!). What a great find! Joe fixed a shower valve that I had taken apart and couldn’t replace (doh!). He was very nice, researched it online during the evening at no charge, and fixed the problem. He charged us only half the time he was on site because he couldn’t fix it right away. Now that’s integrity! Joe is very fair, communicates well (not something you always find in your plumbers), pleasant and affordable. Highly recommended!

[Erik]

Wes –

No that’s not what I said. If I listen to heavy metal music I’m not then going to go out and kill people…that’s more my point. I can choose how to react. Whereas others that never learned how to modulate their feelings might go out and kill after hearing those lyrics. I know I have a choice in how I’m going to act.