Saturday, August 26, 2006

Signs That Haven't Lost Their Appeal

Posted by Picasa It's nine in the morning, the Seattle Public Utilities worker is reading a water meter on 1st Ave. in the heart of the old Skid Row area of Seattle, now known as the Pioneer Square historic district. This lovely well-maintained brick building with its blue curved bay windows, interesting period detail, and bright flower cascades is typical of the "spruced up" building faces one finds all around this now charming area of town. One of the remaining indicators of the not so charming past legacy of the neighborhood is the pretty neon sign in the window announcing Henry's Bail Bonds is open for business. Henry's motto is "Get out of jail fast!" and he offers his bonding service not just to Seattlites, but to anyone anywhere in the world! (So, just in case, keep the above link handy, wherever you may be on the globe).

Henry "Fireball" Lewis' is quite well known, not only for the compassionate way his company wishes to serve those in jail and their families, but for his own bounty hunting activity, for which he has been featured on television. Now you thought bounty hunters were something from old western movies, didn't you? Well, the wild west must still have an edge. Another reminder of the hard circumstances folks face in a painful world. There are many signs of hope in this old district, but not that you would see written in neon. They are quieter, more subtle, and involve people and agencies offering assistance to others who could use encouragement in a hard spot.


4 comments:

Kate said...

Enlarging the photo further brings out the details of the building. Very nice narrative, too.

Anonymous said...

Anywhere in the world you say? Hehehe I'll surely bookmark this post for "future reference" ;)

Jazzy said...

I like the building and the post in whole.

Anonymous said...

That is a beautiful picture of the building.

Great post!
Cheers,
Haley