New Years Resolutions For Tacoma from the Weekly Volcano

A dozen glossy magazine ads don't a vibrant city make. The Weekly Volcano has a few recommendations for Tacoma in 2010. Here are two relevant to ABJ from Volcano staff members Paul Schrag and Mark Thomas Demming. They suggest Tacoma get real and do a daily affirmation...

Paul Schrag:

"Get real
I had a friend visiting from Brazil last winter, and remarked as we were walking through town that Tacoma looked like “a big picture.” And he didn’t mean picturesque. He noted that Tacoma was full of beautiful buildings, but had no people.

When he said “big picture,” he meant “static.”

Tacoma currently contains a massive surplus of overpriced condos, a convention center that doesn’t get used nearly enough, museums and businesses that struggle to stay afloat, a parade of events and cultural offerings that appeal to a small percentage of the existing population, and a lot of big, beautiful, empty buildings. Yet talk to the most vocal Tacomans, and you get the sense that we all live in a bustling metropolis that’s well on its way to becoming the next Houston or Portland.

But we’re not. Not even close. It’s time to stop playing major metro and figure out where and who we really are, and what we have that’s worth cultivating. All the things that will make Tacoma great are already here — people, history, diversity, and unrelenting drive. Slow down Tacoma. Be proud of what you really are, and the rest will take care of itself."

Mark Thomas Demming:

"Daily affirmation
We deserve good things. We are entitled to our share of happiness. We refuse to beat ourselves up. We are an attractive city. We are a worldwide shipping hub, and a famous glassblower once lived here. 2009 was not our best year, but that’s OK. We have to give ourselves permission to have a bad year every now and then. It’s time to get out of bed and put away the Fig Newtons, once and for all! Starting now, we’ll look ourselves in the mirror each morning and tell ourselves the happy truth. Our soil is only marginally poisonous. Only a fraction of our residents murder gruesomely. Potholes, while they get all the attention, comprise only a small portion of the actual road surface. Our homes are worth at least two-thirds of what they were three years ago. In five more years, with hard work and a little luck, our downtown could be half as cool as Spokane’s. And anyway, it wasn’t us, it was Russell. It’s time to look at ourselves in the eye, point, nod and wink. Every day. We deserve it, because we care, we try, and doggone it, we’re doing alright."

Volcano Staff. "Self betterment for 2010." The Weekly Volcano. December 31, 2009. Accessed January 7, 2010. http://www.weeklyvolcano.com/2009-12-31/cover/4506/