WRITERS AT LITTLE PAT'S PLACE/OFFICE GREENS

Summer Solstice, 2008

Midyear Haiku:
Summer drizzle sings
through crisp roadside grass, whistles
strawberry moon tunes.

The Burien Senior Center Writers’ Workshop is officially on summer vacation - which doesn’t mean a heck of a lot since our only concession to the vacation spirit is that we meet one friday a month, not four - and instead of congregating at the Burien Community Center we meet up for breakfast at Little Pat’s Place on Ambaum.

There is a twenty year history behind our choice of vacation writer’s group venue. Until a few years ago when the original Senior Center on Ambaum was condemned by the city of Burien (the ceiling fell in one dark and stormy night), our Writers’ Workshop met at Little Pat’s every friday morning for breakfast before our 11 o’clock stroll across the street to a classroom we shared with the Senior Center computer lab.

Little Pat’s is a treasured example of that rapidly vanishing American institution, the neighborhood “greasy spoon”. The eats are plentiful and cheap, the colorful table cloths change theme with the seasons, Tabasco is served with every meal, and people not only know your name, they know that you like your eggs sunny side up, your teriyaki steak medium rare, and your coffee black (“Keep it coming!”). You won’t find free Wi-Fi, fancy vintage wine, or cloth napkins. You won’t need reservations but you might considering wearing your stretch jeans because you will be tempted to pig out. And you had better remember to bring cash because Little Pat’s is probably the last place on the planet not to take credit cards! (Which could be how they manage to charge less than $10 for a salmon supper with all the fixings.)

Pat and Nena Payoyo have been treating their customers like cherished family since they opened Little Pat’s back in 1974, five years after coming to the United States from the Philippines. Theirs is the classic success story of an immigrant family (most of whom help in the cafe) carving out an important place for itself in its adopted community - and, lest we forget sweeties, every one of us comes from a family that originated somewhere else! For all its faults, dear old America is rich beyond belief in the bountiful contributions of its varied populations - for sure Burien would have been poorer without the Payoyo family - poorer and hungrier!

OFFICE PLANT CARE TIP: Keeping the Office Green. I haven’t included a plant care tip for a few posts but there is an issue that came up this week I thought I would address - with the price of petrol in the stratosphere many of you are “calling it in”, working from home part of the week or shifting to the four-day work week - you are trimming your carbon footprint, lowering your operating costs etc., etc. Good for you!! Keep it up!

But don’t forget that your office plants did not volunteer for the program. Please arrange for the lights to be on eight hours a day even when there are no humans on site. Plants are living organisms and (unless they are mushrooms) they need light to live. Also, if you have a plant service make sure your plant care technician can easily access the plants - provide a key to your office, or leave one with someone who is sure to be around when you are gone (receptionist, facilities manager?). Plants locked in dark offices DIE! Quite rapidly too. Remember, healthy plants are vital to the “greening” of your office - they provide oxygen and clean the air of harmful pollutants. So keep them happy and you will have a happy office (when you finally decide to show up).