An Old Mural in Bremerton, and Misery Whip

I went back to Bremerton for a friend's son's party, and stopped in to get some shots of a mural I helped on in 2001. I was amazed it still existed.

First of all, let me show you a photo of Jack Moriarty's band, Misery Whip. They were wonderful. I'm not necessarily fond of country, but when it's done well, I enjoy it. I've been watching Jack play since his guitar was bigger than him. He plays the pedal steel, too. The band is really something. The lead-in band was Jack Habegger's Celebrity Telethon, which was - well, if I can describe it - kind of like if Laurel Canyon went HARD rock. I really enjoyed those guys. 

Then we'll have the mural photos. I expected the colors in the deer mural to fade to autumn, because we'd been running out of paint as we got to the right side of the art. But somebody's been doing more green trees on it, which is just fine. I was amazed to see any of it was left. The street kids originally suggested the deer, and the bear, and the two cubs, which they named Frick and Frack. I think the stream is new, too.

Appropriately, the homeless of Bremerton seem to treat the area around the murals as a forest sanctuary. Yeah, there's a lot of tagging, but what the street kids can't reach, still remains. It looks cool and pleasant. Enjoy.

Stolen Artwork - "You Shouldn't Have."

"You Shouldn't Have!"

I did this colored pencil drawing for a series of Christmas cards for Piers Anthony, featuring his characters. I had an especially fun time doing this one.

He kindly bought only the publishing rights to the artwork, and allowed me to sell the originals.

The drawing was displayed in a small art gallery in Bremerton. When the gallery closed, the artwork was not returned to me, despite my repeated attempts to have the owner do so. Nor did the owner ever contact me about the artwork.

If you were sold it, you bought stolen artwork.

This is not your fault, and I'm not going to ask for it back. But this was bad business, for both of us. Sci-fi fantasy is better than this.

Shadow Gone

On February 27, our last Bremerton cat, Shadow, passed away. He was old, and had long-standing

Shadow in the sun

kidney failure.

He passed without pain or struggle. 

Here are some photos of our boy.

Shadow once tried to save us from the Nesqually earthquake, jumping up and down and yelling, trying to get us out of bed. We didn't listen, but he tried anyway. No harm done. Brave kitten. And the only cat at the time who came back in to save us!

Shadow on the storage chest, when he could
still use the steps I'd made.

Asleep on the storage chest

Another angle on the storage chest

Transfolk Treated Right

A recent interchange of emails between myself and a Fred Meyer store in Bremerton. I also sent this message to the Bremerton police chief, who immediately said, since the store was in Kitsap county jurisdiction, he would send it to the Sheriff. Bremerton has a bad rep, but there is a steady undercurrent of decency, acceptance and multi-culturism in that town (as well as an vibrant and interesting arts community).

My first email to Fred Meyer: 

Hi - Have always loved your store & the folks in it. But on the 30th of April, 2016, I think I might have witnessed bad behavior connected to the trans bathroom controversy. While I was in one of your women's restroom stall, I heard someone come mumbling in to use the stalls; it was a man's voice. I wasn't upset; sometimes we wander into the wrong restrooms, if no one else can be seen. Perhaps it was a transwoman. I don't know; I didn't stay to verify. But when I left, I found a group of men and a boy standing against the wall opposite the restroom, as though waiting for something. They were probably waiting for a friend to use the men's restroom. BUT - lately, restrooms have been targeted in an attempt by certain groups to humiliate and harm transfolk. I'm hoping I was just being paranoid, but just in case, I thought I'd give you a head's up. Bremerton has always been an admirably politically-involved town, so anything can happen. And thanks again for being such a good store and giving me the opportunity to contact you (I know - arguing over who gets to use the bathroom; childish, but transfolk get beaten, raped and killed all the time. And need a place to pee in safety).

Their email to me:

From: CustomerService@kroger.com

To: donnabarr@hotmail.comDate: Thu, 5 May 2016 07:08:35 -0400Subject: RE: Your Comments (#23812679)Dear Donna,

Thank you for contacting Kroger Customer Connect. 

I am sincerely sorry for your negative experience at the rest room of our Fred Meyer store located at 5050 State Highway 303 Ne. Your concerns regarding the issues faced by transgender people are commendable and I really appreciate them. I have shared your experience in detail with the Store Management Team so they are aware and can review the situation and make your future visits to the store pleasurable..

Please know our Store Manager is always open to direct feedback. It is important to the Manager to speak personally to our customers about areas that need improvement as well as our successes.

Please feel free to reply to this email or call us at 1-800-576-4377 and reference case number 23812679 should you have further questions or concerns. We appreciate hearing from our valued customers and will assist in any way possible. 

Thank you for shopping with us and have a great day. Sincerely,HarpreetKroger Customer Connect The Kroger Family of Stores 

Dear Harprett:

Thank you so much for your quick answer, and your caring view of all your customers.

I've always been very happy with your store, and this is one more reason to appreciate you all.

I'm very involved in making our world a better place, and a steady user of social media. My internet friends will be happy to discover that the Bremerton Fred Meyer is even better than we could hope.

Donna Barr