Did I just agree with Peter Callaghan?

Sometimes I agree with the TNT's Peter Callaghan and cheer at the breakfast table; sometimes I want to scream, "Oh no you didn't! You just don't get it!" But I suppose that's what makes him a good newspaper columnist.

Today, I rallied with him as I listened to him defend the culture of Tacoma neighborhoods. Did I optimistically interpret? Perhaps. That's what I tend do. But I like to think that I agree with Peter more than half of the time vs. less.

Why do I love Tacoma? Its neighborhoods.

I love mine. I'm a bit far from Proctor, though stick the kids on their bikes or in the red wagon and it's walkable. But I love that I know my neighbors. I have a coffee shop to walk to. I can walk the kids to school ... we can walk to the park. We can watch the Freedom Fair 4th of July fireworks from mere blocks away. I CAN trek to Proctor and the farmers market in mere minutes by car or several by foot. I can get groceries on my way home. Plants on my way home. Take-out on my way home. I grew up on a farm, and while I miss some bits and pieces: I thrive on my neighborhood's convenience.

While I do wish downtown was more "revived" and mourn for my grandmother's memories and her history of once upon a time working for Woolsworth's and other downtown locations, that doesn't mean downtown is all that for me. (Though it's definitely something ... and a something I love and a place I spend money in.) But I love that each Tacoma neighborhood has a special characteristic. A special attitude. Tacoma is not too big, not too small. It's the same reason when I studied abroad in Ireland I went to the city of Cork, not Dublin. It's a city I can grasp, that I can make a difference in, not one that swallows me whole.

Looking for life after 5? Sixth Ave. has it. Some in the Proctor District, too. My PDX musician brother is doing a show on South Tacoma Way at Club Vertigo on May 11. Stadium has nightlife. St. Helens has nightlife. Then there's East Side action, the Lincoln District (where I got my wedding cake ... though the location is now closed), the Dome District action and so much more. And yes, Tacoma's downtown has much to offer, and will continue to grow ... but it's not like Tacoma dies after 5. You just need to know where to go. Seriously need to know and can't find? Just ask.

Go listen as KUOW pays a bit of attention to Tacoma. Steve and Derek Young and Peter Callaghan chat about T-Town in general. Then Roxanne Murphy, Steph Farber and others join in during the second hour. It's good stuff ... though definitely shows some KUOW naivete as to all Tacoma has to offer.

In the meanwhile, currently T-Town film-addict brother pursues the Grand Cinema's 72-hour film festival.

There's lots to do in T-town.

And thank you Tacoma. I was driving through downtown Seattle just last weekend ... and I noted that it was different. The people, the faces, the places: It was not Tacoma. And for that fact, I cheered ... and drove home.