Last Friday I came home to what looked like — at first, anyway — some wind-blown containers scattered around my yard. But when I went to pick them up, I discovered some burn marks in my lawn and a circle of flammable material underneath the bedroom window, with some burn attempts there, as well. The trash piles weren’t random after all — instead, I had a serious arson attempt on my home.

I called the Portland Police non-emergency number, (503-823-3333) and I had several Police officers and Portland Fire show up. I know that Portland Police and Fire departments often don’t get positive recognition for what they do, every day, day in and day out. I’d like to say, they deserve it. Wholeheartedly.

An arson investigator was at my house, with a uniformed officer, until 12:30 a.m. getting samples and working the scene.

I’ll be honest. I was pretty frightened. Let me say that this was serious enough that arson investigators didn’t think it was just kids.

I spent most of the next week worried about every noise in the back yard. I was so jumpy, I had trouble concentrating and trouble staying focused. I worried every night before I went to sleep that I’d wake up to smoke and fire. I stayed off Twitter, not wanting to let anyone know where I was; if I was home or not. Even casual messages seemed to have too much detail. As much as I love Twitter, I was afraid of it.

This Friday, I came home early — only to find kids trying to create fires in my backyard. Again. I’m still shocked; the kids who did this and caused all this damage are six. Six years old.

Once again, Portland Police showed up and handled the scene and (this time) the kids.

The same officer who spent last Friday night with me saw the call come in and was the first one there, even though it wasn’t assigned to him. I won’t say more about the kids, they are minors, and hopefully in so much trouble they won’t see the outdoors for several months.

But, thank you, Portland Police, and the Portland Fire Arson Investigation Unit. You were wonderful, and I feel safe and happy to have you in my city. You deal with people every day on what is often their very worst day. That can’t be easy. And many times, you get recognized for something that goes wrong, not something that goes right. So here you go, and thank you.

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The Christmas spirit is alive and well in Portland’s West End.

On election night, as people celebrated a young man went around starting fires in garbage cans and dumpsters. One of those fires destroyed the front of Julia’s Specialty Gifts. The young man who allegedly started the fires is locked up, but there was the problem of what to do about the shop. This is Julia’s busiest time of year.

Neighbors came together, and a storefront across the street was made available to Julia’s, next door to Ray’s Ragtime. They’ve been busy carting stuff across the MAX tracks and are back in business. They will be opening at noon on Friday with a full-on Christmas blitz!

I know the turkey isn’t even in the oven for most of y’all, but it’s not too early to think about helping a neighbor who has been dealt a dirty hand. If you need Christmas ornaments and other goodies, stop by and say hi. They are on SW Morrison Street, four blocks west of Pioneer Square, where the Holiday Tree will be lit by KGW’s news team at 6 PM Friday.

But, first things first. It’s turkey time!

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I’ve never understood wanton hooliganism. If you’re happy, do happy things! If your team wins the World Series, don’t go out and burn up cars and loot businesses. Thoughtless destruction doesn’t make things better.

Tuesday night was a happy time for lots of people. Our country is changing, and the atmosphere was like the Blazers had won the NBA championship. (Don’t laugh, it’s happened before…) People drank, caroused, partied, and mostly behaved. But there’s always someone, a stupid thoughtless jackass who has to make things bad for others.

Sometime around 2 AM, someone or a group of someones went along the westside MAX line downtown, starting fires. Most were in trash cans, but one had disastrous results.

Julia’s Specialty Gifts has been downtown for 22 years. She and her crew had just put up Christmas stock and decorations, and the wrappings, boxes and recyclables were in front of her shop, waiting for the trashman. Someone came along and set it on fire, and the resulting blaze consumed the storefront.

Firefighters responded quickly, containing the fire to the front of the store, but soot and smoke have caused over $100,000 in damages. The store is boarded up at this point, as it is unsafe to enter and exit.

Julia has insurance, but is unsure when (or if) she’ll reopen. Neighbors have been showing support, and wish her the best. When I spoke to one of her workers yesterday afternoon, she said, “This is not the kind of change we were expecting today.”

Police and arson investigators are looking into it, but have few leads. If you happened to be in the area around closing time after the election and saw anyone doing suspicious things, please give Portland Police non-emergency a call at (503) 823-3333.

Good luck, Julia.

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