Monday :: 08 February 2010 :: 03:06 PM
320 days to Christmas!
See also: The Isaacson Clan
The Waley Home In Fife Circa 1960s
Grandpa and Grandma Waley, my maternal Grandparents, were upholsterers. When I was very young, I remember visiting their shop near Greenlake and Woodland Park, in Seattle. There they catered to the general public, upholstering furniture, car seats and such. Once they obtained the contract to build and upholster all the seats for Bell Boy and Sabre Craft boats, a contract they held until they retired, they moved their business to the Port of Tacoma, where military buildings were converted to industrial businesses after the War.
With the move of their business, some thirty-plus miles to the south, they also moved their home from Lake City, an area in North Seattle, to Fife. I spent a week or two for several summers in this home. Actually, I spent my days at the shop, creating things out of the pile of scrap wood and riding carts and dollies around the spacious storeroom. We went home at night to eat, watch a TV show and sleep. I remember the smell of the pulp mill on the waterfront and to this day, when I smell pulp mills, I don't complain - I think back to the good old days at the shop.
About seven or eight years ago, I tracked down the long lost Fife home. I thought I took photos but I can't find them. So, on a recent trip to Seattle, my wife and I stopped by again. This time, the property was not kept up as well as before and there was a large truck parked in front of the garage. I wish I had the old photos, if they ever existed.
This image is of the long, inclining driveway to the house. There it is, at the top, behind the truck body. I think the house is the same color it was when it was new. The style is a split level with the single car garage downstairs. There is a concrete bulkhead with a set of stairs through it between the garage and the front door due to the rise of the land. And the entry door is level with the grade in the front yard.
One evening, Grandma had gone out and come home smelling like skunk. I was supposed to be asleep but I remember her making a big deal of it when she got in the door and taking a tomato soup bath. I also remember the smell when she opened the front door. This may explain why I also enjoy the smell of skunk, from a distance, of course. Because, these are part of wonderful childhood memories.
This home was new in the early 1960s. Everything was in much better condition and display back then. Instead of this junkie van, my Grandma parked her new T-Bird and Grandpa parked his '56 Ford F100. You will notice the garage door is walled off and they have built a rickety garage attached to the side of the house, which you cannot see.
My siblings and cousins used to camp outside, in the front yard, in our sleeping bags and listen to the trucks on the highway. During the day, we sat high enough and watched the construction of the freeway (I-5) in the valley. We didn't know what a freeway was, but we heard they were roads with no traffic lights. How they were going to rig that was a mystery to me.
If I find the early photos, I will be sure to post them here - probably with a little re-write of the story to go along with it.
Random Humor: Atheist And The Bear
An atheist was taking a walk through the woods, admiring all that evolution had created.
"What majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!", he said to himself. As he was walking along the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. When he turned to see what the noise was, he saw a 7-foot grizzly charging right towards him. He ran as fast as he could. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the bear was closing, He ran even faster, crying in fear. He looked over his shoulder again, and the bear was even closer. His heart was pounding and he tried to run even faster. He tripped and fell on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up, but saw the bear right on top of him, reaching for him with his left paw and raising his right paw to strike him.
At that moment, the Atheist cried out "Oh my God!...." Time stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent. Even the river stopped running.
As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky, "You deny my existence for all of these years; teach others I don't exist; and even credit creation to a cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer?"
The atheist looked directly into the light "It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask You to treat me as Christian now, but perhaps could you make the bear a Christian?"
"Very well," said the voice.
The light went out. The river ran again. And the sounds of the forest resumed.
And then the bear dropped his right paw, brought both paws together, bowed his head and spoke, "Lord, for this food which I am about to receive, I am truly thankful."