Hello everyone. I am excited to be here. I am completely green to this but am estatic to learn. I have been living in Olympia's Westside for about 3 years now. I love this city and am happy to be doing something for it. If anyone could give me a nudge in the right in direction in how to start, I'd love to run with it. As Karin said; I look forward to many thrilling conversation about our great town.

At my summer home in Long Beach, WA, summer of 2013, I am carefully reading John Patric's (Hugo Frye) book 'A Yankee Hobo in the Orient'The 512 page book is a slow read because John Patric uses old fashion words and vernacular, but he is a keen observer of the Japanese family, business operation and manufacturinga practices to conserve meager food and raw material supplies.while traveling in Japan in the mid to late 1930's.    The book was written in 1951 after the war since he comments on government, places and people in Japan before the war when foriegners were held in awe and repect and assumed to be all rich.    During the book's passages, he relates strategies for traveling cheap, eating cheap and sleep cheap.   He occasionally gets tricked into spending his meager money by families who invite him to spend the night, not knowing he was would be expected to buy the fancy canned food and fresh fish expected of him by the hosts.    John Patric's attitude toward the U.S. & Japanese Governments is along the lines of Ayn Rand's view of how governments screw everything up and should l let the market place rule with less government interference.     John walks long distances to save cab  and bus fair.   He sleeps on the grass mats overnight hotels.    Patric observes total devotion to the Emperor.  Patrick is an early day 'ethnologist' who watched every facit of Japs making lumber and offer explanations for the various economical approach to conserve energy and materials before and during the war.    In 1955, I met John Patric at his house in Snohomish, Washington.   I recall a house with clutter everywhere.   Suggesting there was no woman of the house.    More comments as a read further.