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Lewd "Menu" at Area Espresso Stands
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Dear Friends,
In one day I received two calls. One or the calls was from a Pastor in Everett concerned about lewd espresso stands and wondering what could be done about it. The other call came from Roger Daines who is organizing an effort in Pierce County to try to do something about the same problem.
Getting the two calls from different parts of the state within hours was a signal that something should be done. Roger is willing to take the lead. I appreciate people being willing to step up and take responsibility for what is happening.
Please read his letter below and if you feel inclined to help, please contact Roger directly. Feel free to copy me as well.
Yours for the Kingdom,
Pastor Joe
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"Baristas Gone Wild" for ALL to SEE
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The
following letter from Roger D. Daines is being forwarded to you for
your information.
Please be informed that some of the content is graphic in nature and
may be considered offensive. That, my friends, is the whole point of
this message. Please read on and you will know what I mean. Joe
From:
Roger D. Daines
P.O. Box 5255
Spanaway, WA 98387
Phone (253) 875-2503
Dated: March 10, 2009
Dear Fellow Citizens of Washington State:
I
live in Spanaway on the Mountain Highway. I have lived on this property
for thirty-five years. Most of that time I have lived in the same
house! I played in the woods with my brother Mark, worked on my
father's beaver farm, rode bicycles in the middle of the Mountain
Highway, went to Bethel School District schools from kindergarten
through high school. I played in the bands at school and played
baseball with my friends. This was a great place to grow up, but today,
you will be lucky to cross the Mountain Highway alive, let alone get in
it on a bicycle. And things are really different.
Let me illustrate:
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!
With
all of this going on around me I have been compelled to action. For the
last year I have been meeting with a group of community minded
individuals that we have named the Concerned Citizens Coalition of
Pierce County. We are working to improve the social environment of our
community.
It is our hope to add to our numbers people who, like us,
believe that these espresso stands need to be cleaned up for the
benefit of the husbands, wives, parents and children...families in our
communities.
We have studied the possibility of working on
state legislation to improve the situation and are seeking to identify
individuals across the state that feel supportive and might be willing
to assist in this effort. We are not asking for any donations of
money ... only a little time here and there.
If you are interested, please
contact me, Roger Daines,
info@GoDaines.com or call me at 253-875-2503.
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| Dr. Joseph B. Fuiten is the senior pastor of Cedar Park Church in Bothell, Washington, and he is the former president of Positive Christian Agenda. Currently, Pastor Fuiten serves on the Board of Directors for the Family Policy Institute of Washington, an associate organization of Focus on the Family.
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