Cheers To My Spokane

By Anonymous on Pg. 58 in the September 3rd Inlander, 2009

Cheers to the mid-size city by the river, my home. To all of its grittiness and subtle beauties, to its modest residents and unexpectedly varied urban scene, to its self-consciousness and self-depreciating sense of humor, to its neighborhoods, and to the shared experience of belonging someplace completely average and loving it and hating it all at once.

Cheers to the river that cuts so vigorously through the center of town and to the many spots along it to feed marmots, eat blackberries, and to sleep undisturbed. Cheers to the not overly quaint park that borders the river and cheers to the large servings of ice cream at the carousel always under repair and to the garbage-eating goat also frequently clogged.

Cheers to the aging architecture that softens the skyline and reminds us of the booming city it once was and cheers to the cheap apartments with vaulted ceilings that now occupy them. Cheers to conveniently located watering holes centering on a main arterial and cheers to their non-west-coast-like oeuvres.

Cheers to the taco trucks open ’til three and cheers to the drag queens that pour out of the local establishments at that time and call you honey. Cheers to the potholes and the unplowed streets in winter. Cheers to the cougars in the bus plaza and to the dead end skywalks and to the mysterious unoccupied, art deco food court.

Cheers to the flute player in the king hat who serenades my neighborhood every morning. Cheers to the unassuming. Cheers to the resilient, hard-working residents who make time to pig out at the park every summer. Though not glamorous or worldly, no city can hold a torch, or a light, or a parade to my working-class, lilac-fragranced city by the river.

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[Couldn't have said it better myself.]

[Can you tell I'm a little excited to be home!?]
[10 days!]