by Georgie Bright Kunkel
 
        The Hebrew  Bible states that the land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates River was promised by God to Abraham and his descendants. My interest in all this came about after I recently viewed an old film about this time in history. I got to thinking about the Puget Sound region with its beauty and temperate climate. How fortunate am I to have been born into this wonderful part of the world.

Television brings views of war torn countries with famine and pestilence plaguing the population. But here I am in the best place in the world I could have chosen to live my life.

        West Seattle is still neighborhood friendly so I still know most of my close neighbors. In fact we will soon gather for a neighborhood meeting.

The one who has taken over planning this neighborhood meeting has young children.  She brought two of her little ones over to visit recently and they had fun playing with my Russian dolls. They open the big doll  only to find a doll inside and then open the next doll only to find still another doll. I purchased this big doll at the World’s Fair which was in Seattle many years ago.

         Contrast our comfortable region with areas of the world which bring violence and pestilence to the population. I often wonder why some parts of the world are fraught with such challenges while other areas live in relative peace. I grew up in a small,  peaceful town where the only hint of chaos was on the football field. I often wondered if men, with their natures more attuned to violence than women, needed football to fulfill this need.

        When traveling around the world some years ago I felt sorry for the street beggars and the people who live below the poverty line.

It was an enigma to me that while I was able to enjoy traveling, many people were still living in substandard housing and often went hungry.

So I often rail against the universe which is so unfair in so many ways. I know. I should have learned a long time ago that life is not fair.

In rural and small town communities people are more aware of the needs of those less fortunate who, in the big city, often fall between the cracks, as they say.

Instead of neighbor helping neighbor, we now contribute funds to agencies that look after the less fortunate. 

        And of course change is always a fact of life. Driving along 35th Avenue S.W. and on into West Seattle Junction this change is very evident. Building equipment is springing up everywhere. Buildings are torn down to make room for the new.  However, the W.S. Junction still is a place for modest shopping or browsing. We have Arts West, a local playhouse, as well as the movie theater in Admiral and a variety of interesting shops and places for a meal. If you are looking for a view there is no better place than Lincoln Park to sit and watch the ferries come and go. Alki provides a great view of the Seattle shoreline. But I don’t have to remind you of all this.  If you live here you are enjoying it all.
 
 
Georgie Bright Kunkel is a freelance writer who can be reached at gnkunkel@comcast.net or 206-935-8663.