By David Morse
You may see some very angry letters in the paper from fellow commuters. Mine may be one of them. When it all comes down to it, what we want and what would benefit the community is “regular and reliable” ferry service. More frequent boats would be a huge plus ~ but we’ve dealt with that for the past 7 years. I don’t see things getting better and it’s time to move on.
We’re angry. We’ve invested lots of time, money and effort into trying to make Bremerton a better place. We moved to a town which was pretty down-and-out. Did many of us from Seattle move to the “nicer” but boring parts of Bremerton? No. We purchased in the older parts of West Bremerton, the areas with the more interesting houses and sketchy neighborhoods. When we leave, our homes will become rentals and the downward cycle begins again…
We’re sad. We liked the community. We made connections here and became true “customers” of local businesses. I’ll make it very clear to those shop-keepers that I’m moving because I can’t get to/from work and not because of the town.
Yet… we’re disappointed. Did the town/county support US when we needed help getting to our jobs? It’s been 10 years of being told that we’re “rich city folk” who want “luxury ferry service” to our “high paying jobs.” It’s our income which we spent over here which helped keep some businesses afloat. Where has the city council been? Was ANYONE from the city at the ferry terminal last week when things utterly broke down?
We’re exhausted. We get up at 4.30 AM to get to work by 8 AM. Get off at 5.05 PM and I walk thru my front door after 8 PM. It wasn’t like this when we moved here…. but we stayed because we liked our homes and the community. When we watch our boats snatched away every time there is a problem elsewhere, we’re scrambling – and with no help from the city or WSF. WSF put its “temporary” schedule up on their website on FRIDAY. Bainbridge crashed their boat the previous Sunday.
The main issue, “regular and reliable” ferry service is going to get lost in all the arguments over class & money. Those of us who invested in this town and are now leaving realize that we gave it our best shot – it just wasn’t the time. We’ll pass the torch onto those who do want to make things better and have the time to do so…. 11 years was enough for me. I can’t do this for the rest of my working career. We wish the town well in its endeavors.
I’m completely burned out. Back in Seattle, my condo is just but 4 blocks from Seattle Central and possibly I could work with students… or volunteer… or do all those things I used to enjoy doing but haven’t because 20+ hours/week is spent merely getting to/from work.
Bremelog.com 
September 15, 2009 at 5:17 pm
C’mon, bud. Stop yer whinin’. You didn’t move to Bremerton to lend your good offices to improving the community. You moved here to take advantage of cheap real estate prices where you ‘just knew’ you were poised to make a killing. Houses plural? Yup, methinks you fit the category. Hope yer not upside down on your loans, or did you just pay cash?
Even if the ferries were scheduled for your personal convenience, you knew it took a couple of hours each way before you moved here. I think you finally just couldn’t take it anymore and are searching for a convenient scapegoat so you don’t have to take personal responsibility for your own decisions. Blaming the ferries is a cheap shot. Grow up. And good luck in the Big City.
September 15, 2009 at 5:21 pm
[…] Ferry, Patty Lent, The Race For Mayor, Will Maupin | Leave a Comment Thinking about David Morse’s guest column today, here’s a look at what the mayoral candidates said regarding passenger-only ferry […]
September 17, 2009 at 2:27 pm
David, thanks for taking the time to offer your perspective.
Don’t mind Marvin, he’s one of those internet tough guys. Thinks he was here first.
September 19, 2009 at 3:13 pm
[…] Nobody wants to go back to Bremerton. The idea is to get the hell out of Bremerton as fast as possible. Notice that everyone with half a brian, a decent chance of assimilation, or a public case of herpes gets the hell out. The rest of you are a collection of toothless drones content to eek out an existence taking your pants off in public and whining incessantly about how Washington State Ferries doesn’t do you right anymore. Which brings me to your guest “columnist” Steve David Morse. […]
October 6, 2009 at 12:10 pm
I agree with so many things you said in this post, and have a few to add…
Marvin’s comment, and his obvious bitterness toward people who live in larger cities, reflects this strange small-town mentality that Bremertonians have, despite being a reasonably-sized city with so much potential. And I’m not saying that as someone who came here from a far-off land. I grew up in Bremerton and left when I was about 22 years old (roughly 10 years ago). I am currently back to living here temporarily in my mother’s old house while I prepare to buy a permanent home in Seattle. My husband and I commute to Seattle for work, school, and socializing on a regular basis.
If Bremerton wants to grow and flourish they must accept that Seattle (currently) has much more to offer in both employment and entertainment. In order to do this the city must attract new businesses and residents, and this won’t happen unless the city finds solutions to the commuting and transportation problems. Reducing the number of runs to accommodate other routes and eliminating the one fast option that once existed (the passenger-only ferry) are counter-productive. The easier it is to get over to “the big city” the more attractive this city will appear to Seattleites that are fed up with skyrocketing real estate prices or potential new residents from out-of-state.
I’ll be honest, I couldn’t wait to get the hell out of Dodge when I was a kid. I hated the lack of opportunity in this town and, to be honest, the type of people that kind of environment breeds. But every time I came back to visit my parents and saw my the city growing (especially in the previously underused downtown waterfront) I couldn’t help but to feel a sentimental happiness that maybe my hometown was going to reach its potential. But I can see that the mentality of its residents will prevent that from ever happening. It seems that long-time residents will always see growth (or more accurately change) as a bad thing. And this is why my permanent home will always be Seattle.
And one final comment @Marvin: Your bitter comments referencing the perceived wealth of the author of this post reek of jealousy. You should think about what it is about your own financial situation that makes you so unhappy and determine how you will fix rather than waste time attacking those that have worked so hard for what they’ve achieved. As a resident of a military town, I’d think your patriotism would make you proud of people who have used what this country has to offer to attain so much.