Old Ben Cooper used to have a gas station/store down the road from our place. It was a good place to buy a bottle of pop. He was always kind to us kids and had a good word for everyone. Where he used to be located is a gas station that I don’t frequent anymore because they sell T-shirts with pornographic pictures on them.

Two houses away from me is an old store that used to be woody’s Market. It used to be a grocery store and the only one for miles around when I was a kid. In fact, my brother Mark and I worked there. We went down one day and convinced the owner to hire us to sweep his parking lot and clean up the gravel that had splattered into it from the road. As time went on and we proved our work ethic, we were hired as box boys and later as a produce man and a checker. That old store is now a “tobacco shop” that purportedly sells adult videos, sex toys and smoking products. Exactly what kind of smoking products, I am not sure.

Across the road from that old store is a newer, larger one that came later as an O’neils Grocery Store. That became the place that everyone shopped in our neighborhood. That also has gone the way of the world. It is now a collision repair shop. Right next to it is an espresso stand called “Baristas Gone Wild”. This is one of many such stands that seem to be popping up all over the state. In fact on the road I live on there are five of them within five miles of each other!

I frequently pass this espresso stand because it is almost across the road from my home. At 5:30 in the morning I drive my son to a church class. I am appalled that even though the baristas wear bikinis, they are very vulgar in their appearance. They dress to provide sexual stimulation and to be a seduction to men who, having learned of their existence, frequent the espressos to get “coffee”. I know of the reasons men visit these places and what they can expect from them because friends of my friends are among those who frequent them. They have related to me what goes on and how there is an underground sort of advertising about what is available to see (or do?) on any given day.

“Baristas gone wild” is right on the highway with a lurid red sign depicting a stripper. This espresso has tall windows on three sides. In the morning in the dark it is a lit up peep show for all to see. Those who see it are men women and children. Yes, children on school buses…my son, myself, my neighbors and every person who passes by cannot help but be exposed to the degrading view.

One morning as I drove my son to church I noticed at the window the barista standing totally naked from the waist up. I could only see from the waist up and do not doubt that she wore nothing else below. She wore no see through clothing, no pasties on her nipples, just nothing. I immediately called 911 to report this violation of the Pierce County Code but more importantly the violation of the common sense laws of decency. I am outraged that this could happen in a residential area on bus routes where my children and grandchildren are exposed to such a filthy view! You may not believe it, but our neighborhood is rated medium high density residential by the Pierce County Zoning Board!