Seattle is a city where it’s okay to be weird.
It’s not all that unusual:
To wear Birkenstocks to the theater;
To hear stories about a mellow workplace decorum at local corporate giant Microsoft, where frisbees supposedly sail from office cubicle to cubicle;
To attend a tres informal wedding ceremony held in a city park, where the groom wears a Hawaiian shirt, the bride her running togs, and the wedding reception is marked by the happy couple dancing around a bonfire.
Therefore, I wasn’t at all surprised when Leah called from her cell phone this morning, happily giving me a live report about her ferryboat commute into the city to work: She said the boat was filled with professional men and women wearing suits, probably dressed for a day at the law firm. There was also one guy who had a beach towel wrapped around his shoulders (the weather today is cloudy, spitting rain, and something like 50-degrees.)
Leah said the guy reminded her instantly of a wonderful friend we made in Nepal, a jaunty fellow whose Himalayan trekking outfit (it was chilly up in those high mountains) included a wool cap, a fleece jacket, and a beach towel. Our friend is Nepali but perhaps he was a Seattleite in another life.
Today happens to be Leah’s birthday, and this feels like a day I’d like to audition for a role in Seattle's Let’s-Be-Goofy street theater. Leah and I have plans to meet for dinner this evening at a restaurant in the city. There’s a very good chance Birthday Girl’s husband might show up wearing nothing but a "Happy Birthday, Honey" smile, and a beach towel.
