One Alternative I Saw In Seattle

Shortly after I snapped this, a young mother and her small child returned to this scooter and sidecar, donned their helmets, and away they went, spare tire and all.

Thanks so much to the many of you who responded with the current price of gas in your area. Sadly, none of our friends from Asia, Africa, or the Middle East responded, so I'm still curious about those regions. If you have info, please comment today. Here is a summary of cost per gallon in US dollars from the information gleaned from yesterday's comments. I used today's conversion rate for all currencies, and converted liters to gallons (1 gal = 3.7854118 liters). This was a very informal and unscientific poll, so take it as such:

Europe: UK $7.14/gal; Italy & Portugal $6.81/gal; France $6.51; Bosnia $4.85/gal.

North America: Canada $3.07; USA mainland average is 2.85/gal (west coast $3.00/gal, mid & south $2.60/gal, east coast $2.93)

Pacific/Oceana: Hawaii $3.60/gal.; Australia $3.67/gal; New Zealand $3.97/gal

So it looks like our friends in England spend the most for fuel out of all respondents, followed by our other European friends, then our friends NZ and Australia, then Hawaii having the highest US price. Ontario Canada appears to be paying about west coast US equivalent, the highest mainland price.

Some of us ride bikes and scooters, take public transit and walk as much as we can (except folks near Luggi, of course ;^). I wonder what ideas you've tried?

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Pony-Up at the Pump

Yesterday's photo of the castaway flying red horse gas station sign from my youth reminded me of current times. I took this shot at sundown in Seattle's University District.

LEAVE YOUR COMMENT: So, here is a global survey: what is the price per gallon/liter of gas/petrol where you are? (Please state your city, country, current pump price for unleaded regular gas, and indicate your country's currency, i.e., Euros, Canadian $$, US $$, Japanese Yen, Mexican Pesos, etc. . .)

I've heard Americans bellyache for years about the price of gas, yet I know Europeans have been paying twice the price and more. In a time of record profits for oil companies, I'm curious to know the going rate for gas at the pump in different regions of the world.

gas gas+prices oil oil+prices petrol petrol+price price+per+gallon

For John Gorka

I have heard John Gorka in concert on several occasions. When I spied this former gas station sign, common in my youth, among the cast off lighted signs in a Seattle junkyard/resale lot, I thought of this oft' requested Gorka song:

Flying Red Horse by John Gorka

The flying red horse from the gasoline wars
Took off from her station in the sun
Turning her back on the pack at the pump
She jumped down from the sign to run

Full serve attendants were spilling their hoses
Self-serve was doing the same
The manager dialed the emergency numbers
Insurance man won't take the claim

The sight of a horse crossing highways is frightening
But not with the breed that can fly
She's risen up to the level of oak trees
Too low for the radar man's eye

I am not much of a joiner she says
That's not where I draw my strength
Some of them go for the depth of field
While most of them go for the length
Me I will go for the hard combination
'Cause I have some need to belong
But I'm leaving this unkind of sign life behind me
I'll take what is mine and be gone

If you see something red flash across the horizon
It's not that your eyes aren't right
She's taking her place with the red-tailed hawks
And the broadwinged birds in flight

The flying red horse from the Ruby Red North
Took off from her station to the south
And I swear to you that this story is true
I heard it right from her mouth

They think they can tame you, name you and frame you
Aim you where you don't belong
They know where you've been but not where you're going
And that is the source of the songs

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Seattle's Saint Mark's Cathedral

Yesterday's photo was from just inside, and today's is from the front interior, just to the right of the altar at Saint Mark's Episcopal Cathedral on Capitol Hill. Saint Mark's is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. It was designed as a rather ornate building in the late 1920s, however, the stock market crash of 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression curbed much of the planned ornamentation. It is a rather plain and unadorned cavernous box. It is huge and a very visible landmark from the west and north. This shot looks up at one of its classic lighting fixtures, a true period piece. I noticed it is a circle of 12 lamps with three central lamps grouped within a cross made by the supporting structure. These pendant lamps are quite lovely (see more cathedral photos here.) You can see the arch top of one of the huge windows, the rather poor condition of the plain cement walls, and the water damaged wood of the ceiling. This is a humble cathedral, much beloved, with an interesting history. It is a vital part of the Capitol Hill community, and of Seattle as a whole. Bishop Desmond Tutu spoke there in May, and there will be a city-wide interfaith peace observation held there on the 5th anniversary of the September 11th attacks.

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Seattle's Popular Cheap Date Night Destination

It's a Seattle phenomenon. The most popular destination for a cheap date on Sunday nights in Seattle is known as "the holy box on the hill." Hundreds of young people come to the Capitol Hill neighborhood each week to hear a late evening service of worship in mediaeval plainsong. For over 50 years Seattle's Saint Mark's Episcopal Cathedral has been attracting young people in droves to its 9:30 PM Sunday Compline service. The Compline Choir is broadcast live on the radio each week, and if you'd like to listen from anywhere in the world, it is also streamed over the internet here. The service grew out of a Gregorian chant study group in 1954. It has become so influential, other choirs have grown out of the Seattle Compline experience in: Honolulu, HI; New Haven, CT; Pittsburgh, PA; Minneapolis, MN; Austin, TX; Chapel Hill, NC; Savanna, GA; Williamsburg, VA; and several other Puget Sound area choirs.

I took this photo at the cathedral's entrance. The sun through the cathedral's high circular window was reflecting in the water. A sign was nearby stating that a mentally ill person had recently vandalized the original container, and that this was a temporary one. A wish for peace and a peaceful Sunday for you all!

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Signs That Haven't Lost Their Appeal

It's nine in the morning, the Seattle Public Utilities worker is reading a water meter on 1st Ave. in the heart of the old Skid Row area of Seattle, now known as the Pioneer Square historic district. This lovely well-maintained brick building with its blue curved bay windows, interesting period detail, and bright flower cascades is typical of the "spruced up" building faces one finds all around this now charming area of town. One of the remaining indicators of the not so charming past legacy of the neighborhood is the pretty neon sign in the window announcing Henry's Bail Bonds is open for business. Henry's motto is "Get out of jail fast!" and he offers his bonding service not just to Seattlites, but to anyone anywhere in the world! (So, just in case, keep the above link handy, wherever you may be on the globe).

Henry "Fireball" Lewis' is quite well known, not only for the compassionate way his company wishes to serve those in jail and their families, but for his own bounty hunting activity, for which he has been featured on television. Now you thought bounty hunters were something from old western movies, didn't you? Well, the wild west must still have an edge. Another reminder of the hard circumstances folks face in a painful world. There are many signs of hope in this old district, but not that you would see written in neon. They are quieter, more subtle, and involve people and agencies offering assistance to others who could use encouragement in a hard spot.

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Before Check Cashing Joints in Strip Malls. . .

. . .there was Barney's for the short-of-cash in the Pioneer Square area. I love this old sign with its peeling paint and bygone days feel. Barney's Jewelry and Loans is still a busy full service pawn shop in the heart of this historic neighborhood. It's just a short block from Seattle's original "Skid Row," Yesler Way, the road down to the water on which the logging skids of the 1880s were located. There were many Skid Roads on the Pacific coast back in the heyday of logging, but it was Seattle's that gave rise to the term which, during the Great Depression, came to stand for a rundown urban area populated by derelicts, vagabonds, and alcoholics. This area of town is no longer called Skid Row, but was redubbed Pioneer Square and made a national historic area. It's gone upscale a bit, but still bears witness to hard times in many lives. At Barney's one can browse the window for instruments, engagement rings, and other treasures hocked for a short loan. Each piece seems to have a sad story to tell.

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