Mukilteo Musings

Puget Sounders--We are such snobs. We just love to talk about ourselves.

ONLY IN SEATTLE

Westlake--Downtown Seattle last Christmas

1. This morning's Seattle PI had a front page story--even with all of the news about vote recounts, Bush's amazing disappearing cabinet, and Iraq--a headline story about OURSELVES!
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/202362_christmas04.html The article describes how wonderful our downtown is. Sorry folks, but there is just no other place in the country quite like us. We love to talk about ourselves.

"It was a picture-perfect afternoon to revel in the shimmer of a light-bejeweled city, to watch maple leaves flutter in a bracing wind.
At every street corner near Westlake Plaza, people paraded in hues Seattle allows only with the approach of winter, in a cadence reserved for sport-shopping (no browsing allowed) and gingerbread-viewing (before the kids get too tired).
In a town normally filled with earth-toned Gore-Tex, there were flame-orange hats, poinsettia-red wool coats, jade-green turtlenecks and scarves that could have been inspired only by Dr. Seuss: striped, pom-pommed, rainbowed, fringed and fuzzy."

2. Another article in the same newspaper was about Fremont. Fremont is a funky Seattle neighborhood which proudly (and probably the only place in America) sports a statue of Lenin--yes, that Lenin. This year the good people of Fremont decided to decorate him like a Christmas tree. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/202341_lenin04.html It is kind of a complicated story about why they have an honest to goodness sculpture of Lenin but they do and I love the quotes of the people--sooo Seattle; only here!

"To John Hegman, founder of the Fremont Sunday market, though, it means all of that. 'Art outlasts politics,' he said. 'Art is not supposed to be warm and funny or even pretty. It's supposed to make you think and interact and cause some sort of emotional reaction.'
But to 6-year-old Colin Sackett, who sat at Lenin's feet under the skirt of lights, 'It just makes me remember Christmas is coming. And it makes me remember Hanukkah, too.'

Ah yes, we teach 'em young here--to be politically correct.

3. One of my favorite periodicals is the magazine called simply "Seattle". http://www.seattlemag.com/inthisissue.asp It is completely full of Seattleites talking about other Seattleites or to be more inclusive--Puget Sounders. I guess I am a Puget Sounder. They always have a little chart of what is IN and what is OUT in Seattle and heaven forbid that you do anything uncool around here. Evidently, the yellow Lance Armstrong bracelets are OUT and the pink plastic breast cancer bracelets are IN. I do not quite understand how one cancer charity can no longer be as hip as another but, hey, this is Seattle. And true to form, my daughter came home from school with her pink bracelet.

4. And finally, I love the magazine "Washington Law and Politics". Even though it is entitled "Washington", it is really Seattle lawyers talking about Seattle law. http://www.lawandpolitics.com/washington/default.asp?section=ARTICLES (Spokane continues to complain about how we forget about them over on the eastern edge of our state. Well, they may have the last laugh if the republican, Dino Rossi, becomes our Governor after a third count of the votes. Spokane wants him but Seattle doesn't and with only a 42 vote Rossi lead, the votes are being counted again by hand at the democrat's expense.)

Anyway, "Washington Law and Politics" had a slightly tongue in cheek "brief" by David Volk about...guess what?....us, Seattle and how wonderful we are. He explained that Seattle is one of the 10 best prepared cities for a natural disaster; we are among the top five cities in technology and economic dynamism (ok?); and we have the highest number of arts-related businesses per capita, "um...those guys who throw fish at each other at Pike Place Market."

So, do we take ourselves seriously? Sometimes and sometimes not but always always with a hint of cynicism! But, we do love to talk about ourselves.