In Your Neighborhood: Local Students Write Love Letters to Their South Sound Hometowns

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Local Students Write Love Letters to Their South Sound Hometowns

Readers and South Sounders: Tacoma School of the Arts Humanities students are participating in writing "love letters" to their hometowns. The writing exercise combines creativity, editing, and getting the letters published. Join me in celebrating these students and their wonderful letters in the upcoming letter series featured on the In Your Neighborhood blog. Read on and enjoy!

11-28-10
Dear Weathervane Drive Street,
    You’re not a city. You’re not a town. You’re my quiet street. You wake me up each morning with plans for the day when there’s no school. You fill my days of being on the computer and spending time with my best friend Charles, and I do all that at my new house I moved in a few years ago. You provide me friendly neighbors to say hello to and a great house to live in. You inspire me to learn, to create, to walk, and to play. And you put me to bed each evening with nice video thoughts and a nice smile on your face.
    But you don’t just make me feel like I’m in a new street. You constantly make me think like I’m in my old street again. You remind me of my old friends and their families in my old street in Puyallup. You don’t even care when I go trick-or-treating on Halloween, even though there are very much less kids around, but there are some very nice people to give out the candy to me and my brothers. You remind me of the absolute joy of being myself in my old/new home.
    You remind me how much I’m going to do in this place. You teach me how old this neighborhood is. You remove the screaming children and replace them with fewer cars and people walking about.

                                    Sincerely,
                                    Carly Petersohn, student
                                    Tacoma School of the Arts

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Our regulars

Stephanie Frieze

Stephanie Frieze
…has always liked to write. Her experience includes three years at the University Washington School of Communications studying journalism. She had a stint at the Chinook Observer in Long Beach. Raised in Bellevue, she’s lived in Gig Harbor for nearly 18 years. She and her husband have a home in Ilwaco, where they spend as much time as possible. This mother of four loves books, spending time with family and the color purple. Contact her at dbandstefery@comcast.net.

Lorraine Hart
…was born a nomadic mutt. She spent her life observing, writing and making music. She’s an unabashed carrier of the titles “hippie,” “feminist” and “liberal.” She’s resided in the South Sound since 1996 and is currently living above Joe’s Bay in Home. She juggles her time between being a caregiver, a writer, an artist, a musician, a minister, a wife, a mother, an advocate, a friend and a pilgrim – not necessarily in that order. Contact her at matlox@cablespeed.com.

Jaynie Jones
…is a Tacoma resident with diverse career tracks in broadcasting, journalism, teaching, health care, desktop publishing, floral design, special event planning and photography. She’s best known as long-time KOMO radio personality Jaynie Dillon and was once a familiar voice on Tacoma stations KTAC, KBRD-FM, KTNT and KNBQ-FM. Formerly a resident of Tacoma’s East Side, she’s volunteered in the Eastside Substation and with Safe Streets. Contact her at jaynie.jones@gmail.com .

Tracy Lebenzon
...is a blog contributor from Greenwater. Greenwater is the last stop before Crystal Mountain, Mount Rainier and the surrounding wilderness areas. When not exploring the next mountain peak or forest trail, Tracy also contributes to the Greenwater Community Council and the Explore-Greenwater.com web site. He writes about topics ranging from favorite foot, bike, and snow trails to community events, local merchants and politics. Contact him at dmountains@explore-greenwater.com.

Joseph McGowan
…is a chaplain who supports patients, families, friends, nurses and doctors at St. Joseph’s Hospital. Being 67, he’s learned this about living: Meet people on their own ground and you will discover that this Earth is our special place to meet and support each other. His motto: Live now. Share yourself now. Every living thing you experience is a pure gift. Love all life unconditionally. Contact him at mcg9940@yahoo.com.

Mizu Sugimura
…is a third-generation Japanese American living in Federal Way. She’s married and a parent of one adult child. A lifelong resident of the Puget Sound area, she graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of Washington School of Communications. and served on Federal Way’s Diversity and Art Commissions. Her interests are politics, art, the history of minorities in Washington and family history. She’s written a self-published family history about her paternal grandfather. Contact her at mizusugi@yahoo.com.

Kim Thompson
…is a Grit City native who was born and raised in Tacoma’s Old Town neighborhood by the gulch. She boasts that she’s a former Lowell Leopard, Mason Mustang and Wilson Ram, a short-time PLU Lute and a longtime UW Husky. This former corporate businesswoman is a wife, a mom, a school volunteer, a substitute teaching assistant, a writer and a born-again distance runner. She has convinced friends from Bellevue that Tacoma is worth the drive. Contact her at kimricksy@comcast.net. ugi@yahoo.com.