Scarcely a week ago, I put a layer of lime plaster on the cob couch at the former Olympia Salvage site, and then left town to go on vacation. As I worked on it, many people stopped by on their way into Habitat for Humanity and Alpine Experience to ask questions and admire it, because the funny thing is, people like the couch, many even proclaim that they love the couch. It was highly rewarding, as it has been every time I've done work on it, to see the smiles it brings to people's faces and the enthusiasm people have for the project.

Well. Just yesterday I received a very upsetting message from a friend in Olympia that the couch had been destroyed. It was assumed that Habitat was to blame, but as it turns out, the owner of the property--who agreed to the project over a year ago--had someone come and smash the couch. I have no idea why. Maybe he hates community works. Maybe he hates inspiring people.

I'm not discouraged by this idiocy; I'll certainly continue to do community place-making projects. I do find it profoundly disappointing that a labor of love such as this, meant to create common space for people in Olympia to share and enjoy, was so unceremoniously and inexplicably ruined.

Shame on you, Bryan.