New Paradigm for South SeattleWhen I tell anyone residing north of the I-90 corridor that I’m from Rainier Beach/Skyway, most are stunned that I have no visible battle scars or PTSD from all those years spent surviving drive-bys that you might think take place 15 minutes past every hour—more reliable than the Metro bus system, mind you. Seriously—statistically we have less crime and more artists per capita than the northern portion of the city. Shocking? It shouldn’t be.
Compassionate Light-Rail Fare Enforcement$2.50. Sure, that’s barely enough for half a meal at any fast-food place, but for those who can’t pay that amount for fare, it’s enough to get you kicked off, detained, arrested, and/or fined should Sound Transit’s uncompromising sentinels discover you’re riding “dirty.” There are warlords who would look down in disgust at leaving the elderly and children stranded in torrential rain and cold without recourse to get home. There’s got to be a better way.
Moratorium on the Word “Awesome”Over one million words in the English language and this is the one we’ve designated as the only perishable adjective that must be used up before expiration. If we could stop using it in response to everything from the extraction of belly-button lint to the exhalation of oxygen that would be so . . . so . . . damn, you got me.
For more gift ideas, check out Part Four of Seattle Weekly ’s Holiday Gift Guide.
The Undoing of RacismAfter 250,000 years of civilization, maybe a technological advancement could solve society’s most vexxing problem—perhaps an app that reminds us that the pigment of someone’s skin isn’t an automatic “Danger, Will Robinson!” moment. We’re moving into 2015, and we’re still shooting first and (maybe) asking questions later.
An Italian Family Pizza Location in South SeattleI normally loathe pizza, but this downtown-Seattle staple has me in its grip. When money was low, in between book residuals, I have sold televisions, iPads, and a portion of my childhood comic-book collection just to get a taste of Italian Family Pizza and briefly experience an amalgam of Christmas, Utopia, and what Idris Elba must feel like every day of his life. E
Read Green’s coverage of his community in the South Seattle Emerald. Purchase his novel, A Year Without April, here.
