RUSTON WAY

Ruston Way. An hour before sunset.

A walk along the water after dinner at Katie Downs.

BON ODORI

Bon Odori. Tacoma Buddhist Temple. 

 

Good food. Good friends. Brief worship. Dancing for the ancestors. Taiko drumming.

PLU MEADOWS DGC

It's been a hot minute since I've played, but I made it out to PLU Meadows this morning. I was going to play this nine-hole course twice, but on hole nine I had my best drive of the day and scored a birdie on this par 4 hole, so I called it quits.

Hole 1 / par 3 - 2
Hole 2 / par 3 - 4
Hole 3 / par 4 - 4
Hole 4 / par 3 - 4
Hole 5 / par 3 - 4
Hole 6 / par 4 - 4
Hole 7 / par 3 - 3
Hole 8 / par 4 - 4
Hole 9 / par 4 - 3
Front nine / par 31 - 32 (+1)

I played my favorite yellow discs. They're some of my favorite discs and just happen to be yellow: Innova Champion Valkyrie driver, Discraft Buzzz midrange, and Latitude 64º Sinus putter.

 

UKIYO-E

I have enjoyed visiting the Echoes of the Floating World exhibit at the Tacoma Art Museum multiple times, discovering something new each time.

This time, I was intrigued by woodblock prints by Kawanabe Kyosai, especially the one featured above, in detail. The museum has this triptych of prints titled as Comic One Million Turns of the Rosary. A book of prints I own titles it Comic Infinite Prayers. (Po-tay-to, po-tah-to, the joys of translation.)

The piece is political, expressing world events of 1864, and I'm glad for commentary from the museum and my book or I would have no idea what was going on. It's beautiful and weird, in its own right, but having a cultural context helps to infuse the print with even more power.

VERNARDO'S CIRCUS

The circus came to Tacoma. Vernardo's set up their tent at the edge of Point Defiance Park. Their show was a good mix of acrobatics, juggling and other shenanigans, and showmanship.

PLU MEADOWS

My best 9-hole round of disc golf at PLU Meadows today! Two under par!

Hole 1 / par 3 - 3
Hole 2 / par 3 - 3
Hole 3 / par 4 - 3
Hole 4 / par 3 - 3
Hole 5 / par 3 - 3
Hole 6 / par 4 - 4
Hole 7 / par 3 - 3
Hole 8 / par 4 - 4
Hole 9 / par 4 - 3
Front nine / par 31 - 29 (-2)

—

My body felt loose. My mind felt empty. The discs went where they needed to go.

I didn't overthink what I was playing. I just followed the discs down the fairway and into the basket.

THE VIOLENCE of CLIMATE CHANGE

I attended "The Violence of Climate Change" by Dr. Kevin O' Brien, professor of religion and environmental ethicist at Pacific Lutheran University. His presentation was hosted by Christ Episcopal Church of Tacoma.

He posed two main questions to us:

1. How should Christians respond to climate change?
2. What kind of problem is climate change.

He tackled the second question first, and admitted that it was so complex that anyone who claimed they completely understood climate change is lying. Instead we defined it as a multifaceted problem:

• It's a justice problem.
• It's a youth movement.
• It's a problem of colonialism.
• It's a religious problem.
• It's a political problem.
• It's an economic problem.

But, more importantly, it's a "wicked problem." That means that climate change (a) has no single definition; (b) adapts and changes across time and space; and (c) has no ultimate solution, although it embraces many responses.

And, climate change is a problem of violence. Creation bears our violence. Creation suffers our violence. Climate change is destroying homes, destroying land, destroying livelihoods, hence, it is violent. Ultimately, climage change is a problem of structural violence.

Some symptoms and problems of structural violence:

• All are complicit, but not equally so.
• Those who perpetrate and benefit from violence are often unaware of it.
• Multiple forms of violence intersect. 

To answer the initial question of "How should Christians respond to climate change?" Professor O'Brien highlighted the mission and ministry of two examples of pushing back against structural violence: Martin Luther King Jr. and Dorothy Day. These two modern-day prophets were shown to be beacons of hope in a difficult issue that can birth a lot of despair. But MLK and Day also didn't puch back against the extremes of the problems but those in the "middle" or mainstream.

"If you are fighting the extreme, you are more likely to feel the despair I'm talking about."

—Kevin O'Brien

In a call to action, we were reminded that because problems intersect, they need to be confronted by coalitions!

HEX and HEN

TWT reading his short story "Hex and Hen" at The Mill by J+A. Photograph by EV.

—

I was invited to participate in the 2023 Creative Colloquy Crawl. I was a featured reader for one of the events, "Spooky Tails," that took place during the first hour.

When I agreed to read, I didn't really have anything in hand to present. I asked if poetry was okay and was told that it was. So I worked on a few poems, but nothing seemed to really capture the spirit of the reading. 

Then I was attacked by a German Shepherd. I don't know why that called forth a short story (!) about a chicken stalking a neighbor living near its coop, but there it was. I wasn't sure this foray into genre fiction, and Lovecraftian cosmic horror at that, really worked, but everyone seemed to connect with it. The Wife declared it "pretty creepy." As I left the stage, one of the other readers told me, "Troy, that was disgusting." I took that as a compliment!

BOTTOMS

It's been quite some time since I've seen a film on the big screen. Even better, I saw it in the afternoon. (Hello, staycation.) ((This was the first time I could imagine myself as retired!))

Bottoms is Heathers meets Fight Club, but a Bizarro version of such. Gay teen romantic comedy peppered with violence and subverting some of the tropes. Plenty of laugh out loud moments. I highly recommend it.

Now playing at Tacoma's The Grand Cinema.

OPEN MIC

My friend David and I headed off to the monthly open mic hosted by Creative Colloquy, which is arguably Tacoma's greatest regular literary offering.



I read three new work-in-progress short poems: "Paper Lantern," "Winter of Our Discontent," and "Harpoon." During the various readings, I enjoyed Lucky Envelope Brewing's Peanut Butter Cream Stout, which was excellent and paired magnificently with Theo Organic Sea Salt Dark Chocolate.

BODY and SOUL

Zheng He Gong Fu black tea and Biscuits and Gravy at Alma Cafe this morning. But the best part of breakfast was the conversation with my friend David—about life and literature, art and auteurs, religion, muses, writing, and so much more. Nourishment for body and soul!

TACOMA DOG and TWT

Today was a day of beautiful Pacific Northwest summer weather. It was also a perfect Troy's Work Table Day, which included all three (four) TWT elements—books, art, and beer (and wandering).

The Child and I stopped by Hi-Voltage Records because the band Working Men's Club was recommended to me and somehow I missed their debut album. I picked up a copy of 2020's Working Men's Club.

Then we stopped by The Red Hot for hot dogs to go. We learned that supply chain issues have left TRH without any spicy brown mustard for The Child's "The Red Hot" dog and without Mexican Coke so we ended up with cans of RC Cola.



We stopped by Tacoma's Wright Park to enjoy our lunch. My Tacoma Dog was perfect.

We wandered into the W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory before heading off to browse at both King's Books and Tacoma Book Center. 

I picked up a couple of books. Then it was off to home for a dinner of homemade tacos and beer, followed by the final three episodes of season three of Umbrella Academy.

TWT in TACOMA

The start of a staycation meant wandering into Tacoma to visit some of my favorite spots.



The Red Hot. Am I one to pass up the opportunity to enjoy a Tacoma Dog (Chicago-style) with a pint of ale. I am not.

To drink I had the FRRMNT IPA blend, which was listed on my receipt as "Blend-O-Nator 5000." Whatever it was called, it was another delicious win for the blended beers The Red Hot has had on tap.

This pint was a blend of Fremont Brewing's Lush IPA and Ferment Brewing Company's IPA. It was approximately 6.5% alcohol by volume. The body was hazy, butterscotch yellow with a thin white head. The nose and tongue were biscuity bitterness, with hints of lemon, citrus peel, and butterscotch.

Hi-Voltage Records. I spent about an hour just bouncing from one bin of albums to another. A band would pop into my mind and off I would go to see what was in stock. Then another band or album and off to another bin. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.



It was record release day for Radiate Like This by Warpaint, so that's what I eventually purchased. I can report that it's a spectacular album. It's "quieter" than their previous albums. It's more vulnerable. More feminine. And I am really digging the second track, "Hips."

Update: It's turned into "Warpaint Week" during staycation. This album is so damn good. Songs just keep surfacing inside my skull, so I've got to go and give the record another spin!

•

And it wouldn't be a true Troy's Work Table day without books to accompany the art (music) and beer, so I also made stops at King's Books and Tacoma Book Center.

FUZHOU TING

Tacoma's Chinese Reconciliation Park: Fuzhou Ting, guardian Lion, Chinese magnolia.

It was a beautiful day and The Wife and I were down on Ruston Way. I had been wanting to visit the Fuzhou Ting and take some photos of it as references for a piece of art I was working on. Needless to say, the piece of art ended up taking a different direction, but I'm glad I stopped by to revel in the wonder of this spectacular architectural specimen.

PLU MEADOWS

TWT, The Wife, and The Child played a couple of nine-hole rounds of disc golf today at PLU Meadows. I put my Innova Champion Valkyrie distance driver into my bag and it was fun to play it again. It is light and really gets some distance. When it hits the grass right it will "skip" for a few extra yards.

—

First round

Hole 1 / par 3 - 3
Hole 2 / par 3 - 4
Hole 3 / par 4 - 3
Hole 4 / par 3 - 4
Hole 5 / par 3 - 4
Hole 6 / par 4 - 4
Hole 7 / par 3 - 4
Hole 8 / par 4 - 3
Hole 9 / par 4 - 5
Front nine / par 31 - 34 (+3)

—

Second round

Hole 1 / par 3 - 4
Hole 2 / par 3 - 4
Hole 3 / par 4 - 4
Hole 4 / par 3 - 3
Hole 5 / par 3 - 3
Hole 6 / par 4 - 4
Hole 7 / par 3 - 4
Hole 8 / par 4 - 4
Hole 9 / par 4 - 4
Front nine / par 31 - 34 (+3)

TACO STREET

Tacos? What tacos?

We read about the new Taco Street restaurant in the Point Ruston Public Market on the Dine Pierce County blog. (Thank you, Sue Kidd, for continuing to provide the best local food reviews!)

The Wife, The Child, and I each ordered one of the "Taco Street Plate Specials," which included four tacos of one style of meat, beans, and rice. We shared with one another, so that each of was able to try three different meat we selected—carne asada, barbacoa, and al pastor.

We took them to Dune Peninsula Park in Tacoma, found ourselves a picnic table, and had some of the best street tacos. The meats were moist and flavorful. Rice, beans, and four tacos was the perfect amount of meal without feeling like one had eaten too much.

We will definitely be returning the next time we have a hankering for street tacos, which is actually quite often!

PLU MEADOWS DISC GOLF COURSE

Playing some disc golf on the nine-hole PLU Meadows disc golf course. Physical therapy for the back. Spiritual therapy for the mind.

—

A good day on the course!

Hole 1 / par 3 - 4
Hole 2 / par 3 - 4
Hole 3 / par 4 - 3
Hole 4 / par 3 - 3
Hole 5 / par 3 - 5
Hole 6 / par 4 - 4
Hole 7 / par 3 - 3
Hole 8 / par 4 - 4
Hole 9 / par 4 - 3
Front nine / par 31 - 33 (+2)

—

Sign for hole 8. The course has excellent signage that is easy to understand, which makes moving from basket to the next tee a breeze.

—



Tee pad of hole nine. In addition to the signage, the tee pads were well-groomed. Turf-covered pads pointed in the direction of the fairway and basket were another welcome feature of this course.

—

My workhorse disc for the day: 178-gram Discraft Buzzz ESP midrange. It played excellently in the wind. Normally, I use a 164-gram Buzzz, so this disc usually just resides in my bag, waiting for either wind or heavy brush. Today, it was my entire "middle game" as it's extra weight made the difference between control or chaos.

—

All in all, a lovely short course. I will definitely be playing it again. And soon.

CREATIVE COLLOQUY OPEN MIC

Troy reads three related poems during Creative Colloquy's Open Mic. Photograph by Creative Colloquy.

—

The soundtrack prior to the reading: Songs for the Deaf by Queens of the Stone Age. "A Song for the Dead," "First It Giveth," "God Is in the Radio," and "A Song for the Deaf."

The beverage for the reading: Coca-Cola made with real sugar (instead of high fructose corn syrup) in Mexico.

The location: Honey at Alma Mater.

The host: Creative Colloquy.

—

There were five featured readers at the January 2020 Creative Colloquy event, followed by about a dozen or so people signed up for five-minute slots during the open microphone portion of the evening. I read three related poems based upon the death of King Saul on Mount Gilboa at the hands of the Philistines. A few lines from each of the pieces I read follow.

—

from "Gilboa"

"Saul stands atop Gilboa // and Samuel’s words clamber / up the mountainside // following its rivulets and ravines // like dark demons summoned / forth from the land of the dead // seeking the retreating king."

—

from "Ahinoam"

"weaver of a world that unravels / upon the blades of Philistines // esh meets flesh become ash / baked into our daily bread // your tears as though those cried / by the Lord your God"

—

from "Psalm for Gilboa"

"I will pluck a tender twig from the Tree of Life / and plant its ferny flag on the peak of Mount Gilboa— / at the exact spot where Saul fell upon his own sword / when I withdrew my favor, my spirit, from him."

—

My poems felt a bit out of place, when I considered some of the other pieces read during the evening, but I read them as though they were meant to be there.

WIND PRAYER

"Wind Prayer." North Hill, Puyallup, Washington.

Dusk approaches and these trees are finally still. Earlier in the day, during huge gusts of wind, they were bending at 45º about halfway up their trunks.

LANDSCAPES

We spent an afternoon of visiting the various botanical gardens and hiking about Point Defiance Park.

These are some adjacent variegated grasses that were capturing the sunlight and caught my attention.