I don't get the relationship between more condos and fewer flag sales. Did they get a lot of foot traffic caused by people walking to Sunset Bowl and Denny's?

It seems like specialty shops like that are more hurt by online sales for exotic and big box retailers for the mundane.

I also see no correlation between condos and flags. I also doubt that working class folks buy more flags than do others. In a bad economy a business based solely on something no one needs is bound to fail. Their merchandise was nice way down the list on priorities when faced with a mortgage, utilities, increased food prices, etc. and all folks face those costs, not just condo owners.

My friend has an interesting idea about why that place has lasted this long. He thought that after 9/11 they sold so many American flags that they had been riding on that for the last 8 years.

It sucks that another local establishment has closed but like Maria said; a place that sells specialty items in a bad economy is not long for this world.

sorry to hear one more business has gone out. I just read in the paper this morning that Continental Furniture, on First avenue near Pike's Market is going out of business, as well as Black Angus resturants that started here many years ago. Companies are doing layoffs, some even cutting back on health benefits and 401k contributions....unfortunatley with all that is going on, shopping tends to come is as a very last thought...everyone who has a 401k (now known as a 201k) or retirement is looking at huge losses. I know that my family and I have stopped going out to eat, and have been clipping coupons in our spare tine and questioning the need to make any unnecessary spending....

It feels like the forces that were giddy, greedy and gleeful during the insanity of the mortgage/real estate boom are the same forces berating us for not doing our "patriotic duty" by getting out there and shopping (not you guys in particular, geeky swedes, but just a general sense).

Here at my house, we thankfully still have jobs but the uncertainty that they could disappear at any time have forced us to cut our flag budget way back.

However, we still frequent the businesses that provide a service that we enjoy/need and have no issue with keeping our OAC membership, going to Egan's, buying the occassional gadget at a local camera store, or shopping at Epiloque.

I did most of my xmas shopping on foot in the neighborhood--spent more than I should have--but everyone on my list already had all the flags they could ever need.

I stopped in there yesterday when I noticed something missing from the window. The shop kitty "Simba" passed away this Wednesday. The gentleman I spoke to in the shop said he was about 20 years old. The shop had been the only home he had ever known. I guess Simba didnt want to go anywhere else.

It's sad to see a local business like this one go, and I am going to miss going in to visit Simba with my son.

I just don't understand with all these businesses, new and old, closing, why people still think its a good idea to open up yet another coffee shop, shoe shop, pizza place, etc. Do we not see that were in a hard time? All the condo people have/will over extend themselves with their mortgages for that place they can't afford just to keep up with the neighbors and so called friends. They won't be able to shop in your trendy stores because they can't afford it and if they do, you can bet it won't last long (I didn't realize I maxed out yet ANOTHER credit card! Silly me, I'll just get another!)

Oh, it's the condo people with the over extended mortgage? I always though houses cost more but it's really condos! Boy that is interesting...

(are you dense?)

More condos = less flag sales? I can see that. When was the last time one of you condo dwellers bought something like a flag? Where would you put it? I doubt the homeowners associations in all the new buildings allow hanging displays from the flowerpot balconies.

The people who bought flags were the working class people of old Ballard (As my parents and family friends did). They had their yards with homey gardens that they liked to put a flag pole in to show their USA, Norwegian and Sea Fair pride. New people to this part of the city will not understand this. I am sure you condo folks think they are hokey anyway.

All the new businesses that are opening are planning for lots of their businesses to come from the newly generated population that reside in the condos. If you deny that it is foolish. Why shouldn't the flag store be able to count on this too?

YUPs like the ones I see en mass on Market St. wouldn't ever even consider buying a flag. Plain and simple. I know there are outliers in all situations, but in general, you have to agree.

Are you kidding me?!?!?! Is this guys serious:

“Ballard has changed for, in my opinion, the worse as far as for local business and working-wage people, as far as these condos and stuff.”

1) It seems like local businesses have been opening in our neighborhood more than ever, granted sales have dropped & a few have gone out of business but my assumption is that those who deliver a relevant product with good service at a reasonable price will ride out the recession. Time will tell, but in the meantime, sorry that a retail flag store doesn't fall in that category.

2) What was that about working wage people again?

3) And condos? Condo residents aren't buying flags in your retail store? It's their fault? Last I checked, there's still plenty of home owners in Ballard to buy your flags if demand was there.

You're right, obviously Ballard has changed for the worse, silly me.

This guy's comment fired me up. That store is in a prime location and I think the neighborhood will benefit from having a more relevant business occupy the space. I can't believe the audacity/idiocy to make a comment like that to the PI, did he not think anyone in Ballard would read it? We didn't get a: "Thank you, Ballard, for the great 19 years of loyalty & business", not even a: "we really enjoyed this neighborhood over the years". Just "Ballard has changed for... the worse". Give me a break.

And guess what, All the King's Flags isn't going out of business, they're just closing one of their 3 locations. They actually started in Phoenix and claim to be "one of the largest flag retailers on the west coast". I'll bet they aren't shutting down their online business because it is actually pertinent in today's economy.

While it's sad to know the employees will be out of a job in a time when not a lot of people are hiring, I'm glad to see a brick & mortar flag store move on...

meant to include this above:

http://www.allkingsflags.com/default.aspx

Ha, that shop owners’ comments are laughable. Ballard has been changing for 100 years. Lots of businesses have come and gone. Flags aren’t in big demand.

I agree that their store really has no relevance anymore. Just as TV and VCR repair shops all went out of business... retail comes and goes.

As far as the comment on why people are still opening coffee shops and shoe stores... well, it's because Seattlites are addicted to coffee, and until the end of time, we all need shoes.

Yes, it's sad to lose another small business. I went to All the King's Flags in 1996 when my father passed away and had no idea where else to go to buy the triangle, glass and wood holders for the flag the military provided for the service. But, with the current war, you can buy them at Fred Meyer now.

Face it, we're just not a flag-flying country anymore.

Flag shops are hilarious.

I'm sad in some way to see the flag store go, but in the few time that I did try to buy some thing form the store they could not help me out or never got back to me. It is hard time for specialty shop a friend of mine owned a gaming store in Bellevue and it went out of business after 7 years. As he said It is just the way the cookie crumbles, he went online 100% for now and when the economy get back on track he will open a B&M store again, but for now sales don't pay the rent.

Thats Econ 101. People will and can buy online. or walmart and fred meyers. ballard is doing better than ever. check out ballard ave. its packed at night time. i over heard one guy bragging how he sold his car 5 years ago, he said ballard has turned into a walkable neighborhood. i am sure whatever goes in there, we will all enjoy.

but how many tattoo parlors do we have in ballard? it's all a matter of priorities.

I tried buying an American flag there a few years back before the 4th of July & they didn't have them in stock. If a flag store doesn't have an American flag in stock before the biggest flag waving holiday they deserve to go out of business. Fred Meyer had them & I bought mine there.

@8 - indeed. This assumption that condo-owners are all fancy and swanky, and it's the Old Ballardites people in their freestanding Ballard bungalows that're the real, legitimate members of this neighborhood - I don't get it.

I'd be *thrilled* if I could afford a single-family house in a neighborhood as great as Ballard - busy street life, great people, close to downtown, you know the rest... If you've already got such a bungalow that you bought a long time ago for cheap: that's great and I have to admit I'm a little jealous. I'm a hardworking American just like you, but I was a child back in your halcyon Old Ballard days - not my fault.

But I can't afford *any* freestanding house in the neighborhood, so it's an apartment for me. And that's basically what a condo is, you'll recall - an apartment that builds some equity (well, sometimes). And I'm glad that there's lots of condos being built in this fantastic neighborhood - now I might have a chance to own a home that's close to work and walking distance to a great neighborhood.

CDC, why not ask one of the Old Ballarders to simply sell you their home at a good old Ballarders' price of, say $200k for that single family home?

I mean if they hate us folks willing to pay $400k + why don't they just sell for $200k to a working
stiff? I don't get it.

Just a quick clarification. The owner of the Patty Pan is shifting gears to focus on her market business. She's moving to a commercial kitchen that isn't a storefront. Here's her blog post about the switch: http://www.quirkygourmet.com/2009/01/closing-st...

That's sad. All the Kings Flags has been at that corner for as long as I can remember. I'll be sorry to see them go.

I wonder how many of Mr. White's flags were made in China, therefore not supporting working wage people here at home? Can I guess and say probaby all of them?

I guess it's only ok when mr. White doesn't support working wage people,, right?

Hipocrite!

Some commenters have been talking about "working class folks" vs. condo-owners. Guess what? I own a condo AND I work. That's right! Working and owing a condo are not mutually exclusive, believe it or not! Crazy, isn't it?

In fact, there are 20 condos in my building and I only know of one guy who doesn't work. He's retired. Therefore, at least 19 other people in my building are working class condo owners. The mind, it boggles.

"This assumption that condo-owners are all fancy and swanky, and it’s the Old Ballardites people in their freestanding Ballard bungalows that’re the real, legitimate members of this neighborhood - I don’t get it"

You don't want to get it cdc. Only the perpetually bitter who need to blame others for their misfortunes in life understand this kind of nastiness.

Seriously, at first I didn't care about this shop, it was a quaint relic from a bygone era, one that will be vanish with the internet, but now?

Now I hope it's turned into a $4 a cup coffee and Italian shoe emporium that Mr White can't afford to visit.

The condos make it too attractive for property owners not to sell, unless they up the rent for commercial businesses dramatically. It's just greed on their part, but that precipitates it.

It's sad to see the flag store close, but I have always wondered how they stayed in business. The flags are very nice, but I wonder how many flag customers are out there.

Ballard is changing into something unpleasant and obnoxious. Instead of bitching about the coffee shops (all of which are full all day) why not complain about the stupid high market stores in Old Ballard selling things like thirty dollar dog toys and hundred dollar aromatherapy candles? That is the kind of thing that is killing Ballard.

"It’s just greed on their part, but that precipitates it."

You mean doing what they like with their private property right?

"Ballard is changing into something unpleasant and obnoxious. "

Then move and be sure to sell your home to a working stiff for $100k so no one thinks you're a hypocrite.

I guess he should have tried a little harder to attract those "condo people" into his store - instead of just treating them with disdain.

I only shopped there once (and bought a birthday flag for a friend's kid), but I always though it was a cute little shop. He should have sold "Old Ballard" and "New Ballard" flags. Ah well.

I wonder what will replace it? It's a pretty great location.

ok so this is totally random, but does anyone know when Portage bay is suposed to open :)

"I wonder what will replace it?"

Hopefully a place selling $50 dog toys for my weimaraners.

I think instead of "working class" the guy meant "blue collar." This is still a "working class neighborhood" since most folks in the 'hood are probably not filthy rich.

I think the disdain is aimed at us wussy info/tech workers who sit behind a computer all day doing god-knows-what-kinda-pansy-ass noodling as opposed to the fishermen, welders, mechanics, lumberjacks, truck driver, blacksmithing "real-work" kinda folks.

If your brain or butt is tired at the end of the day, you're working class, regardless of whether or not you live in a condo.

Things that have made my thirty+ years in Ballard special:
The old Bay theatre, where I heard my first swear word in a cartoon(transformers), also where I cut my leg on a spring sticking out of the seat while drinking cherry coke through a red vine straw. Asking our neighbors for butter or milk when my mom ran out. Growing up on a block with 30 other kids & playing hide and seek... hiding in the neighbors backyards. Looking forward to the the hot August day when we'd block off the street and engage and enjoy our neighbors (something we still do to this day), it was little league and indoor soccer at loyal heights rec center and living on blocks with side streets that out of towners always flinched on when we drove down them... "look out for the parked cars".
Ballard was where I said mom I'm going for a bike ride, and rode to market, jumped my bike off the side steps of that one nice old looking building, (carnegies?), down market to the locks, dismounting and riding "side saddle" to the fish ladder, continuing on to shilshole, hitting Gordo's on the way, where they'd give us some free fries (every time), then hitting the rope swing at the base of the bluff. Walking up golden gardens drive to steal free candy from the Gob shop (we didn't know that at the time) and then down the few streets with alleys between 85th and 80th on our way back home (4 hours later). And now our children hopefully get to experience Ballard for all it is worth. Yes, some of the names of the stores have changed and more are changing... that is INEVITABLE.

Ballard was never perfect either, my brother almost got shot at that old Denny's, just eating some food with his girlfriend, Ballard high was a dump and couldn't give out regular homework because there wasn't enough textbooks to send home, not to mention shootings and stabbings. Whitman wasn't much better. Market street has always been changing, and had some bleaker days not THAT long ago. The recent history hasn't been utopic like some would suggest (or at least is sounds)

Ballard has always been changing, market st especially. I just hope the people of Ballard will continue being NEIGHBORLY, because that is what Ballard has been in my lifetime. And the people of Ballard get to choose that. New vs Old.... who cares. It seems really silly.

Tho it is sad to see an old timer moving out (I mean, I can't remember them NOT being there!), it is the way of the world through history. I'm sure somewhere there was a venerable button-hook shop that had to close, or some-such. It's a bad /good economy, times and tastes change = hello and goodbye! Kings Flags, and resident shop-cat, we will miss you, and hope you can evolve into something that will survive what this time is giving us.

"us wussy info/tech workers who sit behind a computer all day doing god-knows-what-kinda-pansy-ass noodling "

My daughter and I call them the overgrown fat boys. Hey they're just part of modern life is all, harmless really. Maybe we will soon see a reality show about them. "The Deadliest Keyboard"

Thank you, Grayhouse. That was a great entry.

Uh, I'm a wussy info/tech worker and so is my significant other...and we are certainly not frat boys! Like, way not frat boys...

Be careful how you generalize because a large portion of the economy around here consists of info/tech workers...

...and we buy stuff.

(like birkenstocks and subarus...)

milo--

relax, tongue in cheek my friend.

I walked by that store every Sunday for the past four years. It's sad to see the store close...but the saddest thing is that Simba -- the grey cat that lolled in the sunlight in the front windows, died. Didn't know that. My kids were mad for that cat. That's a big change. RIP, Simba.

wow - how many sweeping generalizations can we pack into one comments section?

I can't help but wonder if in the past a big part of the business of ATKF was selling the more 'decorative' flags and windsocks that had holiday and hobby themes, etc. I suspect this was more popular among baby boomer single-house owners, and has dropped off -- I see fewer of them around even in my single-house neighborhood over the past few years.

Too bad about Simba, it's kinda poetic.

50 or so years ago when Ballard really was a neighborhood where people drove less and walked it sustained many businesses. There were 5 drugs stores, each with a soda fountain offering cheap lunches. What is missing in Ballard, and why so many businesses fail now, is that they really don’t offer what people need on a daily basis. Those businesses closed up with the advent of malls and everyone driving to where he or she needed to go. If we want to bring that back we need to think differently than is currently done. A retail business cannot survive on the occasional purchase. It needs repeat business each day or week.

Take a look at Wallingford. There is a grocery, a hardware store, and Bartells all within a three block radius. Coming from my work in the U District I often get off the bus there, make a quick stop at QFC and maybe Bartells then get on the next bus. Years ago I used to do the same when I switched buses at that corner. I used to do it in Ballard. I worked downtown then and had no car. I could make a quick stop at Penny’s for some simple thing I needed and get a few things at Bartells and hit the Safeway in Ballard, (not the one on 15th) or the QFC. My bus home got me to where I could get what I might need after work, daily simple needs, groceries, shampoo, pantyhose, whatever.

What we see in Ballard today is what I call recreational shopping. I don’t go to my neighborhood for that. I go downtown, to The Market. Even on a weekend play day I prefer to get away from the daily scene. It’s what we do on vacation. It’s destination shopping. A neighborhood is not a destination, it’s where we live. What my neighborhood needs to offer is what I need to live. I don’t need a decorative holiday flag after work. I sure could use a bag of nails though. If what I needed was more available I would also then stop and eat dinner but not at an evening out type place but instead at a quick weekday dinner place. I do that still sometimes but it is usually at Anne’s where I can get dinner for two for under $15. Recreational shopping and evening out restaurants cannot sustain a neighborhood. A neighborhood is not a tourist destination.

50 years ago people also drove less because the standard of living was substantially lower and many people couldn't afford cars. You're welcome to go back to those days, just don't drag the rest of us, thanks. Personally I don't need a bag of nails, I need coffee shops, good restaurants, good clothing shops, and nice toy shops like Clover for the kids.

Fyi bags of nails are cheap at Home Depot.

@kim #38: back atcha.

Funny how we'll seem to miss Simba more than the flags.

As for Ballard's walkability and shopability: here at my house , whenever we can get away with it, we go for days without moving the car or leaving the neighborhood. New Ballard has only made that option more enticing, imho.

Meetio - Are you kidding me? The 50's were when we build the freeway system because most every family had a car, we were booming (and so were the babies), this is when one wage supported your wife, two kids and you were able to buy a house, the heyday of the middle class. Yes a neighborhood can have those shops, Ballard just been overwhelmed by them. There isn't anything else besides for consumerism. America needs to live within their means and stop buying pants for $150 or trendy shirts for $70 just to keep up with the times even though they will be outdated very shortly. Don't expect us to come bail you guys out because you spent to much or got a bad mortgage. Your fault!

FYI- Home depot isn't buying local.

You may want them Meetio but they are closing their doors. It seems you are a minority. How much again was it that Starbucks lost last year?

Milo I enjoy my city without driving not just my neighborhood. When I want recreation I like to leave the daily scene is all. If this weather holds I will go downtown tomorrow. A neighborhood can never sustain what downtown can offer me in recreation. There are just not enough people.

I maybe do that in Ballard once a month at best.

Wait -- the flag store went out of business?

No. Way.

Next you'll tell me that Spatula City is closing its doors.

What is happening in Ballard has also been occurring throughout the whole city of Seattle. Peoples’ buying habits keep changing. Obviously, if the flag store was selling electronic computer games, they’d be getting more business, but they’d still have to compete with the big box stores and the Internet. I do like the new library!

Grayhouse (#38) great entry...so true- things change..thats all there is to it. I don;t think we ever take the time to appreciate it when we had it "good" thats what being able to hop on your bike and ride down to the store, and actually feel free, and your parents didn't worry...yep, and 30 years from now our kids will reminise about 2009 and about how great it was..

If you think the standard of living in the US was higher in the 50s than today you understand nothing about economics. Even the poor are better off today.

Thanks for playing.

Starbucks? Maria, us yuppies go to trendy indie cafes that remind us of our year abroad in college in Europe. Starbucks is for riff raff, part of what's killing them now, over expansion into the masses.

I agree with Maria that we need less recreational shopping and that we need a good hardware store (we have Limback Lumber and Ballard Hardware), a butcher and other useful places that allow us to function in the neighborhood without having to give up being local when it comes to home repairs or life sundries.

I do not think Meetio is alone in saying she/he only wants places to spend money on the excesses of life. I say this because nearly every Sunday when I am at the farmers market I hear someone say as they walk out of a boutique "I don't even know how many boots I have now giggle giggle"

Andy you heard me giggling in my new boots?

FYI it's not an excess when you have enough to enjoy luxuries. It's excess when you try to live above your station.

Andy, what business is it of yours how many boots people own? And how do you know they can't afford them without being their accountant and/or tax advisor?

Man, you people are so judgmental. It must be tough be so pure.

Wiggles -

The only reason that we have a "higher" standard of living now is because we use money that is not ours to do so. If we did not have the level of debt we do in this nation, we would be second rate. Did you know the US is a third world country by definition? We export raw materials and import finished goods. Today we are the largest debtor nation.

Back in the 1950's we produced all the worlds durable goods. They were cheap and lasted a long time and the whole world wanted them. We were the biggest lender nation. We manufactured and saved, then bought. Now we push paper, or skim a percentage off of a transaction but create absolutely nothing.

How can you possibly believe that we are better off now than then? We have the noose of debt, over consumption and lack of manufacturing around our neck. The hangman just opened the trap-door and we are dangling, gasping for air.

Yeah, thanks for playing.

If you all espouse sustainable green living how can you live with yoursleves buying so many shoes?

Step back 20 feet and look at the whole picture.

"If you all espouse sustainable green living how can you live with yoursleves buying so many shoes?"

They help keep Italians employed.

...

Thanks for being so judgmental walking through the farmers market. You must be the Saint with a sneer on his face I see every week.

But please don't tell those of us who can afford nice things in life that we shouldn't, no matter how bad it makes you feel. Some of us can afford these things, we don't live in debt and we live within our means.

Thanks for being so judgmental walking through the farmers market. You must be the Saint with a sneer on his face I see every week.

But please don't tell those of us who can afford nice things in life that we shouldn't, no matter how bad it makes you feel. Some of us can afford these things, we don't live in debt and we live within our means.

Congrats for being debt free and financially secure. If only more people were like you. Like you I am debt free as well.

Perhaps we can go bring the person I saw with 10 credit cards at the market today into the fold.

>>>>we can go bring the person I saw with 10 credit cards

I have multiple cards....you need them if you have multiple accounts. Did you know this person you were judging? Did you know their financial situation?

Be careful, they may back home now wondering who that uptight, sneering, judgmental a**hole at the market was.

If you are in financially independent you do not need credit cards.

Take my SO who has worked retail and has had people lay credit cards down like they are laying out a hand of poker and say "this one is maxed, this one is maxed". This is not specific to the market, it applies to the nation as a whole.

http://bigpicture.typepad.com/photos/uncategori...

Have a look at the St. Louis Fed's data and tell me we do not have a problem.

anyone else up for wearing a name tag with their screen name on it next week at the market? Or is it just me who thinks that would be interesting?

I was just thinking that Doc.

>>If you are in financially independent you do not need credit cards.

Sure you do, you can get cards that get paid off automatically every month with no interest charged, plus you get points back, mileage points etc. We earned 4 free flights last year.

Maybe you enjoy walking around with wads of cash but remember, not all credit card users are being charged interest, only those who spend more than they have in their accounts do that and they are, quite frankly, idiots.

Andy won't need a name tag, he'll be the one sneering at people using plastic instead of cash (or are you one of these gold standards nuts who doesn't even trust cash?), looking indignant.

I'll be the one in Italian boots with the $5 coffee.

Andy, I think you and I agree. As a 5th generation upper middle class professional I'm more than familiar with the lower classes using credit to wiggle into our club.

Personally, I think credit should only be extended to those who can afford it.

Thanks for attacking what you believe to be my character as opposed to the issues at hand.

I have no problem with digitized currency or paper mediums of exchange, so long as they have a store of real value backing them and cannot be created on a whim. I carry bank cards.

I have made my point. I have rode this ship down far enough. Thanks for the rousing exchange.

If you ask me, it's time to bring back debtors jails.

ANYONE with multiple cards is in debt up to his or her eyeballs. Wealthy people spend cash and only cash even when out of the country and they have no need for frequent flier miles.

Andy you are aware you are playing here with overgrown fat boys? Wealthy people have no need to be so angry and these boys are mighty angry. Be angry all you want but it will not change the reality that the high end retailers in Ballard and all over this city are dropping faster than the value of your condo/house and the available credit on your cards. That’s happening because it is all based on credit and nonexistent money. If wealthy people were shopping there they would be thriving. If Meetio and Wiggles were wealthy they would not be so angry. It’s just basic logic Andy.

I enjoy the occasional stroll through the Ballard Sunday Market but almost never buy anything. There is nothing much to buy. Crafts I can make myself? Day old flowers purchased at The Market where I can go myself and get them fresher and pay less? Local produce for twice what Lennys’s charges? All sold buy neo hippies? Salmon? No I buy that at the Native dock. Now I am an old woman but I also have a young hip daughter who lives with me and she feels the same. She calls the neoballardites posers or suburban urban wannabes. The ‘see and be seen’ crowd. They are all so angry and it is getting more and more apparent. It’s on their faces and in these blogs. I like Starbucks and buy the occasional latte but they had a 97% decrease in profit last year. I guess the wealthy 5th generation professional elite are just not drinking enough caffeinated beverages.

I hate to see any business fail and feel bad over the flag shop, even though I have never been in the door. I’m also sorry to see many other places go. If a place that sells flags is a go then I think that’s great but I will never shop there. If a restaurant that sells vegan food is successful that’s great too but I will never eat there. They will succeed if they have customers and obviously they do not. I have no issue with any business in Ballard old or new.
This is not a personal issue for me it’s all a sign of the severe recession or maybe worse. We have hit a wall in our consumer obsession. There is no answer to foolishness except to return to sanity. Unless we want empty store fronts we will have to fill them with businesses that can be successful. Look at what has been successful in the past and is successful now. I have no concern with what the stores are but I do have concern that they work and make this a pleasant place to live.

Maria: "ANYONE with multiple cards is in debt up to his or her eyeballs. Wealthy people spend cash and only cash even when out of the country and they have no need for frequent flier miles."

Ur, yeah maybe if those wealthy people of whom you speak are gangsters walking around with a fat bankroll in a broccoli rubber-band.

Number of credit cards has exactly zero to do with being in debt. How much you don't pay off month to month does. And the richest people I know zealously rack up the most points or flier miles using their cards. Just because you have money doesn't mean you like to waste it.

“ANYONE with multiple cards is in debt up to his or her eyeballs. Wealthy people spend cash and only cash even when out of the country and they have no need for frequent flier miles."

What a completely ignorant thing to say.

No it's reality kids. Really.

Can you imagine the indigenous people sitting along Salmon Bay in the 1880s repairing their canoes and fishing gear? They’re watching all the new comers whacking down the forest and thinking “Those morons, there goes the friggin neighborhood”

No, its not. Its ignorant.

Want a counterexample? Me.

Done and done.

"What a completely ignorant thing to say."

Agreed (in fact, there's a track record of ignorance, so no surprise). I use credit cards as a tool, not a crutch. I can pay now, but why not earn interest on the money for a month? I use different cards for different purposes, but they pay ME - I don't pay them. And I'm certainly not up to my eyeballs in debt.

"If a restaurant that sells vegan food is successful that’s great too but I will never eat there."

Also silly - if the food is good, why not eat it? Because an animal didn't die for your dinner, it's not as good? I'm vegetarian, not vegan, but I don't fear a meal without cheese.

when traveling abroad, you actually get the best exchange rates when using credit cards...

http://www.independenttraveler.com/resources/ar...

WHY would someone need multiple credit cards? i get the the miles, bonus points, cash back incentives. it's all a game but it still encourages spending. growing up i was told that you need to establish credit so you got a credit card. but that doesn't mean i need to establish myself by accepting more credit cards.

wiggles, i think the number of boots you have IS my business. especially if you're being bailed out of your mortgage because of your subprime loan. your spending MY money.

i only have multiple credit cards, cuz it makes me look bigger when i stroll thru the market in my speedo with my cards in my pouch. you guys are all a bunch of morons.

"ANYONE with multiple cards is in debt up to his or her eyeballs."

Huh? You can set up your visa cards to be basically direct debit, you know that right? I have 6 cards and zero debt, all paid off monthly, automatically through my accounts. Been that way for 20+ years now. And sorry, I enjoy the free flights I get using them while paying NO INTEREST. Went to Europe last year on free flights. I have 6 domestic flights for 2009.

And why have so many cards? Well if you have several accounts in several banks, you get several cards plus Amex.

Thanks for playing.

"wiggles, i think the number of boots you have IS my business"

Spoken like a true Seattle fascist. No doubt you can tell I'm in debt by the color of my armband?

Well, lots of people need a business card, there's 1

I have a card that pays me back a goodly percentage on gas/food/drugstore, so that gets used at those places.

Another card is used for entertainment and dining, and has larger rewards on those things, so that one gets used there.

At the end of each month, I have a detailed account of what got spent on what, and where.

I also have a ballpark on monthly expenditures divided between the two categories that I can keep an eye on. And I pay it all off each month and have been CC debt free, ALWAYS.

Then every couple of months I get some nice checks for spending I would have done anyway.

I for one find it hilarious all this new puritanism about spending -- I guess being censorious about other people's business and cash-handling is now hip. I've been a cheap bastard for years and am now in style.

"being censorious about other people’s business and cash-handling is now hip"

Yep, Seattle's very own fundamentalists. Little Jerry Falwells of the left. They fail to realize some of us are adults and can handle credit and use it wisely.

I do agree though, that these people who can't pay their debts should be thrown in debtors jail. No more chapter 11 or 13.

when is someone going to admit "i have 6 credit cards that are maxed out and a 7th that will be shortly but at least I make the minimum payments each month, sometimes"?

I love how this started with a flag shop closing it's doors...

Jm I have no problem with the new Ballard. I like it and I live here don’t I? I like condos and I like townhouses. I couldn’t care less about the old Denny’s or Sunset Bowl. Black the reason I won’t eat in those places is food is NOT good. I don’t care if it is vegan or not it’s just not very good. Obviously I am not alone in that thought or these places would be booming and not closing their doors. Again, if this worked we would not see businesses failing faster than your condo value is dropping. I’m not causing it folks I am just commenting on it. If all of these new money types were solvent none of this would be happening.

The flag store failed because no one buys what they sell. When people thought their house had doubled in value they bought more flags. Now that they owe more than it is worth they don’t buy flags. It’s that simple. Your personal income is not the issue here nor are your personal preferences. Mine are not the issue either. The issue is that businesses are dropping like flies all over town, not just in Ballard. This is not a personal insult to any of you it is just reality. Unless you like empty storefronts then you might wonder why this is happening and stop taking everything so danged personal. Really it’s not about you.

FYI, sub primes were primarily targeted at low income people with bad credit scores. So go rant at them and the knuckle heads on Wall Street they teamed up with.

"When people thought their house had doubled in value they bought more flags."

Well, only if they were stupid enough to take a home equity loan out to buy flags.

how bout a mirror shop. so you idiots can go see who is really messed up. and maria i really like your post #87. tell it like it is, sis.

"If all of these new money types were solvent none of this would be happening."

I agree, thank god us old money types know how to live wisely.

People with houses buy flags. People with condos don't because they have no where to fly them. Condo dwellers also do not buy plants, shrubs, garden benches or barbeques- no where to put them.

Sounds like the condo people are leaving smaller carbon footprint and helping save the planet by not buying flags.

Thanks!

"Sounds like the condo people are leaving smaller carbon footprint and helping save the planet by not buying flags."

Didn't seem to care about about that when the item in question was Italian shoes.

hey Maria-

"Day old flowers purchased at The Market where I can go myself and get them fresher and pay less?"

All produce and flowers have to grown by the vendors.

and-

"Local produce for twice what Lennys’s charges?"

If it is not grown locally or not organic, then there is no real comparison.
If anything, Lennys is a re-seller not the Ballard Market farmers. They do sell carrots for less, but they are not the same carrots, Maria.

I loved this shop. I bought a Michigan state flag here. But, I ask all of you, how many flags did you buy here? If I bought once in 17 years in Seattle, I wasn't keeping this place open either. Still, a lovely unique store that we mourn the passing of.

People, please don't respond to obvious trolls like Meetio and it's ilk. They're just trying to get you riled up.

Ignore them and they'll go dry up.

I get a sense that some of you feel insulated from this recession because of your pristine purchasing style. Our economy is very complicated - businesses closing is not necessarily about flags, condos, Italian shoes or even about tatoos. When will the reduced purchasing at the reatil/restaurant level trickle down to your industry?!

Maria,

"the reason I won’t eat in those places is food is NOT good. I don’t care if it is vegan or not it’s just not very good. Obviously I am not alone in that thought or these places would be booming and not closing their doors. "

I guess I haven't noticed the vegan-restaurant-closure trend - are you referring only to Patty Pan? I know I waited 30 minutes for a table at an always-packed veggie restaurant Sunday morning, so I guess I'm not seeing how business is drying up.

And if you "will never eat there", how do you know the food is "not very good"?

I guess the same way you know that I am up to my eyeballs in debt because I have more than one credit card - you make assumptions that aren't backed up by reality.

Fructose I welcome them. They show people what kind of angry childish thought process is really behind the opinions they hold and that is a good thing. I think it is one reason why the internet was such an influence in the recent election. Best to have that sort of thing exposed. It is a benefit of blogs. It also makes for lively exchange which is why this local blog is so much better than those from other neighborhoods. A difference of opinion makes a horse race and horse races are fun.

Black if the population can support vegan restaurants then more power to them. I have no issue over what you choose to eat. It’s just not about you. I use a credit card and never carry a balance. It’s not about me either Black.

The reality however is that there is a housing and credit bubble going on in this country and it has seriously affected our economy. We are seeing the results of that effect in boarded up businesses. THAT is the issue. Learn to think a little further than the tip of your nose. The world is not based on you personally. That sort of thinking is a major reason why we are in such a stagnated deteriorating situation.

I never said it was about me, Maria. I'm simply pointing out that you are making sweeping generalizations about things you know nothing about.

I really don't care if you take issue with vegans (especially since I am not one myself), and I couldn't care less what you think of my eating habits. However, to state that the food is bad in ALL vegan restaurants without actually eating at ANY vegan restaurant is silly. But if you want to believe that, I guess it's fine with me - keeps my 30 minute wait from becoming a 40 minute wait.

And to state that ANYONE with multiple credit cards can't manage their debt is just calling out for those of us with multiple credit cards and no debt to correct your inaccurate statement.

Not everyone is going to live as you live, like what you like, and think what you think. Sorry.

JK,

"I’ve been a cheap bastard for years and am now in style."

I've noticed this, too - it totally cracks me up. For years, people have assumed I'm struggling financially because I don't have the newest whatever-the-hell and spend a fortune on my clothes, etc. I actually had a friend ask, "is everything ok?" when I told her I didn't have cable TV.

And when I got a second job, it must be because I'm about to lose my house, not because I actually love the second job.

Suddenly, everything you read could just be titled, "How to live like BlackSheep". Too funny.

Dang folks... judge much?

I don't think all of us would be so prone to judging people about their debt if WE didn't have to bail them out.

Nordic Woman,

That is pretty closed minded. My condo building has quite a few gardeners. My neighbor has bamboo, worms and a compost bin on her deck. The roof top deck has huge flower potting things which the old people PAY to garden.

I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the condo dwellers spend more on gardening than my parents with a house.

Kat... believe it or not some people with debt actually pay it off themselves.

While our economic woes will only be solved on an individual basis, the situation is still a general one and we can only discuss it in generalizations. To personalize every issue is the perfect example of how Americans are so infantilized today. One expects that of teenagers but not of adults.

Bail me out? I paid $40+ k in taxes last year. I got no bail out. It's the Chapter 11 and 13 crowd you must be talking about. I agree, no more declaring bankruptcy and walking away from your debts. These people should be branded for life or thrown in debtors jail. I'm glad I agree with you on one thing Kat!

Now, where did I put my Ferragamos?

Kat,

Who are we bailing out? The people sure aren't getting a bail out. The banks are sitting on billions of dollars. The foreclosure rate isn't going down. It's interesting that last month the value of condos went up 4% compared to the year before.

I still find it amusing that people are upset over condos. We could all go buy a house instead and enjoy the low density living like in Arizona. Has anyone been to Arizona? It's urban sprawl every where. Low density living makes NO sense in a city.

I am so tired of everyone wanting a hoooooooouse. You are not better for having a hooooooooose.

I hope you people realize that most bankruptcies are caused by medical bills and not credit cards.

Of course you don't because you are too busy judging others.

I don't care about the condos, when did I ever say anything about them?
I'm concerned about the level of debt in the US and the impact that the financial bailout is going to have on all of us, self supporting people.
Being that most of you seems to be the self reliant type, don't the bailouts make you angry?

"Now, where did I put my Ferragamos?"

Meetio, what is Ferragamos? They are a new customer for my company, and I just worked on their account, probably while you were typing this post. What do they do?

I am not an economist but my brother is. He did say that the bail outs were probably needed. My only complaint is that they were used to bail out big business and not the people. I would have been much happier if the money was used to re-negotiate rates/terms than for big businesses to buy more companies.

"All the condo people have/will over extend themselves with their mortgages..."

Sorry, Kat - you did mention them!

That said, though - I am also angry about the bailouts. And rampant consumerism.

Thank you, Nina - that's what I meant...I'm angry about the way the bailouts are being handled.

I got into a bad mortgage, too - it would have been nice to have some of that money go toward changing the loan terms, rather than having to pay a fortune to do it myself.

"don’t the bailouts make you angry?"

Of the banks? I'm angry at what led us here, the free market nuttiness started with Clinton and Rubin and was driven into the ditch by Dubya. The idea that everyone deserved credit even when they had no savings, no collateral . But unless you're a cretin, you have to know that when you put your money in your bank they don't put it in the back and put a post-it on it that reads: "Kat's money, she'll be back at 5 for it, don't touch".

When you put your money in a bank, starting since about the 14th Century in Venice, they now lend it to other people, at interest, and when they don't pay it back, you get left holding the bag.

So yes, I'm glad the government is trying to stabilize the banks because that’s OUR money, but also hope Obama will reverse some the deregulation that started under Clinton and ran amok under Bush, especially restrict credit to people who cannot afford to pay it back.

I have to jump back in.

Nina - I am happy your brother is an economist, I am sure he worked very hard to become one. The problem is, economists got us into this mess to start.

I think what Kat said about about condo owners can apply to many single family home owners as well. I do not believe it to be an attack on the act of living or constructing a condo.

Wiggles - Here we go again.

Many people take issue with fractional reserve banking. Personally I consider fractional reserve banking to be an evil. Just because we have a corrupt system does not mean we should bail it out to keep it in tact. Did you know the bailout lowered reserve requirements for banks?

Two wrongs do not make a right.

Just to bring up one thing that I'm shocked no one has mentioned. I'm guessing the comment about condos had more to do with his rent going up over the past few years. While I agree, the web has probably made a specialty shop like his obsolete (How many times do you here someone say, "I need a specialty flag RIGHT NOW!"). The rise of Condos in the area have vastly increased propertry values in the downtown ballard area which has increased the rents for every business owner that does not own their property. This is will be one of the reasons we will be seeing a large amount of turn over in stores in downtown over the next few years. Eventually, assuming the condo bubble is well and truly popped, the owner of the building will decrease rent and businesses that could not have survived before will be able to be in that space. It is interesting to me though that the owner of the building is now going to go through a period (perhaps a vey long period) with no revenue at all. Is it worth it to increase your rental fee when it means you will get nothing for long periods of time?

Wouldn't it be funny if Andy and Wiggles were really the same person?

Ya think so broad? DUH It’s the internet.
“economists got us into this mess to start” well not necessarily directly. A huge part of the problem is that 99.9% of economists have been taught economic theory based on an industrial economy. We no longer have an industrial economy. We have a consumer economy. The old rules they all learned no longer apply. It’s the same with business schools. Have any of you ever taken a course that is taught to the MBAs we see streaming out of schools right now? They are laughable. To even call this education is a stretch.

Recessions or panics or depressions are hardly anything new. They have existed since we invented fire and stone tools and could suddenly create more than we needed as individuals. Good grief tulips once destroyed an economy, lattes can also,. Joshua you are thinking beyond your nose. Nice to see. I recommend the book, The Trouble With Prosperity The Loss of Fear, the Rise of Speculation, and the Risk to American Savings, by James Grant.

Just a quick comment on the buy in Ballard bit, anyone mind if I veer off of the condo thang?

My partner and I would love to *buy* in Ballard, but my work told us lay-offs start in March and his work told him May, so we won't be buying much of anything anywhere. Least of all a flag for our single family home which we would like to hang on to, in its current flagless state.

If we have to sell? Won't be to a developer because our neighborhood is zoned single family, we checked it out when we moved in.

I remember quite vividly the scene in Fremont in 1996 or so, when they moved the Red Door and built condos. (Thank you, Suzie Burke.) (my family owned the Red Door until 1978.) The higher rents of retail forced many businesses out...and, as I predicted, onto Ballard Avenue where the rents were cheaper. (Bark was one of them.) The formerly cute, boho neighborhood changed as artists were forced to move because of higher rents.
The only thing saving Ballard Avenue from complete destruction is that it is a historic landmark area. Oddly enough, what preserved it was the recession of the 1970s, when no one had any money to tear any of it down, and the fact that most of it was owned by old Ballard families with no interest in doing so.
Georgetown and Columbia City, long less-desireable places to live and/or have retail outlets, is now the hip place to be...because rents are cheaper.

BTW, if someone can tell me how you can put more than one potted plant on the faux Juliet balconies of the Canal Station, please let me know.

Jojo, best of luck in surviving the upcoming layoffs - scary when it is both of you.

Recessions and depressions are not new and are not bad. They are natural corrections in the market.

The market cannot organically shake out when there are a few select people at the helm jerking interest rates up, down or way down and printing money (fiat currency to be exact) at the drop of a hat. This is where we encounter problems. If the market moved purely due to natural forces, not artificial ones we would be in a far better situation, IMO.

Thomas Jefferson sums it up:

“The central bank is an institution of the most deadly hostility existing against the Principles and form of our Constitution. I am an Enemy to all banks discounting bills or notes for anything but Coin. If the American People allow private banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the People of all their Property until their Children will wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered”

-Thomas Jefferson

PS, I am not Wiggles.

I guess the DUH is on you Maria.

Historical note: there have been several hardware stores on Ballard Avenue, the last one was Ballard Hardware. But there was one where Vera's Restaurant is today-- it had the first automatically opening doors in Seattle.

I miss Ernst Hardware, BTW!

Andy, forget coins and gold standards, let's go back to bartering! We all know why you hate bankers.

Ditto that on Ernst.

Well, DUH, Boardbrown.

(You aren't Maria, are you?)

Meetio -

To quote myself:

"I have no problem with digitized currency or paper mediums of exchange, so long as they have a store of real value backing them and cannot be created on a whim. I carry bank cards."

So you only want to go back 40 years to the gold standard?

Keep reading your Ayn Rand.

Who knew King's Flags would get more comments than Mars Hill?

40 years ago was only a partial gold standard under Bretton Woods.

How come no one can read what I have said already? Let's use papery and bank cards, lets just have the 1's & 0's and dollars and cents backed my something of value, it does not have to be gold.

Why do you defend fiat currency? Who in their right mind stands next to a pile of trash and defends its right to remain on the curb regardless of the fact it stinks.

"Who in their right mind stands next to a pile of trash and defends its right to remain on the curb regardless of the fact it stinks."

The mayor when it snows?

I agree with PDX Ballardite, I always wished I had some reason to buy any sort of flag and support that shop because I loved seeing that kitty laying in the sun coming through the window.

"ANYONE with multiple cards is in debt up to his or her eyeballs. Wealthy people spend cash and only cash even when out of the country and they have no need for frequent flier miles."

The irony is Maria probably thinks she's open minded. Never mind she's resorting to making broad sweeping stereotypes about a particular group of people (you know, like the Klan do!)

FYI, I have 3 cards and owe nothing on any of them.

Andy,

The only statement which you opined which has any merrit was that speculation is a natural occurence. The remainder is a non sequitor and frankly misinformed.

If I may assist. Lord Maynard Keynes... of whom this new administation shall rely greatly opined, in the main, that...Speculation, market "bubbles", (ergo the current demise) usually occurs after a prolonged period of prosperity. People begin to feel they are "entitled" to profits based on the some new economic order which has suplanted the old model.

During times of prosperity, people are more trusting...fraud and embezzlling floursh as no one is looking carefully. Everybody wishes to beliveve all is well. When eventually the economy contracts, which always happenes, then people become "less trusting" and the "embezzlement" and "flaws in the new economic model" reveal themselves. These "natural market forces" occur independent of the banking system which you cast as the "inner workings of a select few" which I can assure you is not the case. Even the Federal Reserve finds itself somewhat emasculated in charting interest rates and muffled in its ability to control the markets and currency. The Fed has not resorted to "debasing the coin of the nation". Your comments in that regard are so misguided.

President Jefferson was no economist...he died penniless.....he did not understand economics. You might have wanted to include that bit in your diatrob.

Read the works of Hamilton...he is featured on the $10 bill (whereas Jefferson is relegated appropriately to a $2 bill) and you might find some strength in modern monetary policy and banking. (Also may I recommend the works of Milton & Rose Friedman...strict monetarist)

Cheers!

if everyone who made a comment actually shopped and supported this failing business it would likely still be open. RIP to the place i bought my pirate flag!

t. estep, AIA -

I disagree. You forget to take into account the this bubble did not manifest on its own but was due to the fact that Alan Greenspan, chairman of the national bank was giving out money for close to free. This cheap money resulted in rampant speculation which caused people to lose their heads. How can you deny this was artificial?

The Fed is out of things to do because this ponzi scheme of debt money has crumbled under its own weight. You are here, thumping the fiat money drum as many before you have and will continue to do for some reason I cannot understand.

Since you brought Hamilton up...

You know very well that he and Jefferson were at odds with one another. Hamilton loved government spending when needed, Jefferson simply did not. That being the case I imagine that in our time Jefferson would be the one decrying Hamilton's bailout package.

Do not dangle Milton & Rose Friedman like you are some genius. I cut my teeth on their works. If you only knew how many times I have brought up the fact that he (Milton Friedman) was able to get Bernanke to admit the Fed caused the Great Depression.

Ahhhhh snap! Armchair economists mud wrestling!

Sit back with your $4 lattes and enjoy the show!

here's to all the "speciality" stores.

http://www.comcast.net/articles/finance/2009011...

“The irony is Maria probably thinks she’s open minded.” CX I have never been open minded. I think what I please and am often pleased to think others are morons and I am right. However I have no right to stop anyone from being a moron and never do so. Carry on.

#107

not enough do and that's the problem.

Kim... yeah, of course there are jackasses that get in over their head. But I have a hard time listening to Maria say that ANYONE who has multiple cards in up to their eyeballs in debt. That kind of assumption is completely narrow minded.

I pay my bills on time every month. Just because someone has to use a credit card here and there doesn't mean they're second class citizens.

You'll notice the credit card or sub prime critics here haven't supported my call for ending Chapter 11 & 13 for debtors and bringing back debtors jail!

How come?

No one said second class citizen. However, if one ‘has’ to use a credit card then they cannot afford their lifestyle. That’s dishonest.

I agree Maria, so do support outlawing Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings so people can't weasel out of their debts?

And once again, most of bankruptcies are filed due to medical bills.

Why not have a national health care program instead?

"if one ‘has’ to use a credit card then they cannot afford their lifestyle"

OK Maria, let me explain this to you, because I have been using credit cards for most of my purchasing for 25 plus years now, living in several countries , traveling to over 50 for my work.

And in those 20 years I have not once paid any interest: zilch, nada, nothing. How? Well, because my cards automatically take the payments from my accounts at the end every month and I've always had enough cash to pay the bills in those accounts. Visa/Amex etc. only charge interest if you don't pay your monthly bill. So my Visa/Amex cards act like debit cards except unlike a debit card you can use it anywhere in the world.

A lot of people do this because of the convenience (you try using 'cash' at Narita on a 3 hour layover on your way to say Hong Kong for a sushi lunch) and because it makes doing your taxes and accounting at the end of the year a lot easier. I can easily print out expenses for tax deductions and separate cards allow me to separate work from personal expenses while traveling.

Plus we get mileage points and free goodies. Last year, a flight for me and the missus to Paris on United. This year we'll take one to Hawaii, one to NYC. We just got $300 from Amex of gift cards.

Do you understand now how credit cards can be used by adults?

Now, if you can't pay those bills, I agree with Meetio. No Chapter 11 or 13. Go straight to jail. Do you agree with that?

" most of bankruptcies are filed due to medical bills"

Typical studies show around a maximum of 30-40% of bankruptcies from medical bills. I agree, they should not be forced to pay and yes, I support national insurance. I also agree with rationing but like the French have, allowing private insurance for those with funds so we can get want we want when we want it ;)

Do you agree the other 6070% can be thrown in debtors jail?

Nina, do you have a source on that? I'd really be interested to know the percentage causes for bankruptcies.

maria--

you're wrong.

meetio--

#147 i support and agree w/#149.

Forgive me Maria for having to put my husband's Christmas presant on a credit card so he wouldn't know what he was getting.

I'm sorry you find it so dishonest to use a credit card EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE to cover necessary expenses. It must be pretty awesome to be so financially stable that you need no help EVER.

But for me, as an office worker with a husband who works on minimal pay as a plumbing apprentice, sometimes life happens and a credit card is the way to go.

I'm glad you have it so nice. But us... the working class... sometimes have issues that aren't covered by what's in the checking account.

Oh, and while managing to pay our credit card, school loans and car debt... we still own our home, treat ourselves and even save. Shocking that there are some responsible Americans out there, ain't it, Maria? Get off you horse.

Another thing... if you mean "can not afford their lifestyle" as say.... an on the job injury that puts one of the money makers out of work for a month with no pay, then I guess that's my husband and me.

It really sucks that he fixes serious plumbing issues for such rich folk and he can't even get paid if he gets hurt doing so. F the blue collared middle class, right? Who needs 'em?

BTW... I'm sad so many businesses are going under. Especially in this town, my company's one of them.

Stop being so defensive wiggles. Having to use a credit and choosing to use a credit card are two different things now aren't they.

Candice if you need a credit card for necessities then you own a mortgage you do not own a house.

Teach us how to be perfect, Maria - it must be so wonderful to be you.

Life is change.
If you hate change,
Then you hate life.

I think the solution is obvious.

I think Maria would be less peevish if she got more sleep.

LOL!!

Everyone, sing now for Maria:

Oh lord, it's hard to be humble,
when you're perfect in every way ....


(I'd Buy in Ballard [other than groceries] if I wasn't unemployed! Sorry, all my very few $s go to rent and OUCH health insurance and OUCH utilities)

Foo, if you had thought to become independently wealthy before you foolishly lost your job, you would be more than able to spend your money in Ballard.

In fact, the thought of your lack of responsibility has ruined my martini.

Don’t hate me because I’m smart. Just listen to Obama,” it’s time to put away childish things.”

Yes, that's it - you nailed it. We hate you because you are smart.

It certainly has nothing to do with how condescending, intolerant, demeaning, and smug you are.

I bet you maria has more cats than an animal shelter

I think you nailed it, Stu. LOL

One should spend his money in Ballard if he had thought to become independently wealthy and he have to do this before he made foolishly lost his job..so this is very important at the time doing any task in this situation..
compost screen

Beatiful picture and store. Talking about topic, I would agree.