20th Anniversary of Spokanarama

Twenty years of Spokanarama? Where has the time gone? 

Spokane has gotten even more weird and wonderful, over the past 20 years. Definitely, there is a prosperity here that wasn't here before and also extreme poverty.

Back then, I frequently put up wacky pictures of the odd detritus of drunk or methed-up denizens. A lot of shopping carts in really weird places, stuffed animals staring forlornly from a heroin shooters gallery, things like that. My work at the fire department provided so much fodder and when I wrote about it, I felt relieved of the burden. Like taking a shower, but with words, and no soap. Spellcheck but no soap. And now these messes aren't as fun and there are more of them. 

Then Facebook and Twitter came along and I found myself just copying and pasting what I wrote on these social media platforms into the blog. It didn't take long before my postings here became more and more sparse. 

I would imagine that this was the fate of many a blog. 

The last twenty years has been full of so many changes  - gender marker changes, artistic expression changes, Soccermom Susie.  I've been retired for a while. I am not much of a drinker anymore ( maybe four drinks in a month). Not drinking hasn't been hard. If I am going out with a friend for a beer, I will have one, unless they have a good NA beer. Luckily, I don't have much of a social life. So, I don't have the beer quandary very often. Before I quit, I was probably having four to five drinks every day and my doctor told me I had to stop doing that. So I did. Don't miss it. Got rid of all my brewing stuff. 

Seems like all I do these days is write, paint, act in plays, read, make stuff, camp and run. 

Ever since I transitioned, my running is super slow. But, I still do it. Sarah is so much faster than me. 

The blog format is superior to Twitter and Facebook for thoughtful writing.  The only people who are going to read it are people who are interested in what you have to say. And they usually don't weigh in. No thumbs up. No comments. It's nice. 

OK. For old-times sake, I will tell you about a backpacking trip Sarah and I went on last week. We spent two nights at our favorite lake in the Selkirks. They had moved the trailhead from last year, making it only 3.5 miles instead of 4.5 miles. It was a nice hike in. This place is so beautiful and so different from the other lakes in the Selkirks. I am purposely not saying where it is, but if you message me, I will probably tell you. Night one was extremely cold and I lost feeling in my feet (I bought a better sleeping bag when I came home). Night two was nicer and I did some hacks to make my bag warmer. We had some great little hikes and I spent a lot of time doing watercolor. I always take a watercolor set with me, so I can doodle just about anywhere. The huckleberries were amazing. I have never seen anything like it. You could put your butt down and pick a quart off of bushes within reach, easily. Here are  some pictures. Most of these I have not shown on Facebook!