You Want Fries With That?

Mt. Rainier dominates the Puyallup skyline.

My sister was having some work done on the truck at Les Schwab Tires and walked up the highway to the shopping center to do a few errands while she waited. She got coffee at the bakery/coffee shop [eschewing the Starbucks in Freddy's] so she could sit at the corner table and people watch for a while. She phoned me and filled me on what she was having done to the Ed-mobile [our late Dad's old pickup] and what she had to do later in the day.

We chatted for a few minutes and I reminded her to drop in on Heather at the salon to pick up her favorite shampoo and she said it was on her list. We both wished I had gone with her, as it was a fine day, clear and sunny and going to be warm, actually around 70, a rarity this early in the season. And I could have used an outing, a distraction of any sort.

But I had appointments elsewhere a little later, and couldn't have gone with her, and she said, "I'll take a picture for you." So she did. I had a lot to choose from -- inside the coffee shop at her table, from the parking lot, and from the highway on the walk back to pick up the truck.

I chose this one. I know there is a message in there, beyond the obvious. But I picked it because I liked it. A very common symbol in the front -- McDonald's Golden Arches -- and in the back, a one-of-a-kind work of Mother Nature's art, Mt. Rainier.

Next time you're in your own Mickey D's ordering your favorite item, and they ask you the inevitable question, look around and take note of your own very local, very uncommon object, your own Mt. Rainier, if you will. Embrace the buildings and the terrain and the features that make your home unique and be proud. Then grab your fast food and find a good spot to people watch and enjoy -- but go easy on that ketchup. The white shirt you ruin just might be your own...