I had errands and a simple photo shoot to do yesterday in Seattle. I rode Leah’s little 125cc motor scooter onto the ferry for the boat trip into the oh-so-hip city.
I like Leah’s scooter. It gets over 80 miles-per-gallon. Ferry tickets are much less expensive for the scooter than for a car, and the ferry workers load bicycles and motorcycles first, so getting on and off the boat is fairly hassle-free. For environmental reasons, I would have preferred to ride a bicycle, but schlepping cameras and a tripod on a bike would have been hugely difficult.
The over-loaded scooter would only go about 40 miles-per-hour, max (since, even for a "simple" shoot, I stupidly packed a ton of gear) so the ride gave me a chance to snoop around and people-watch. Based on what I saw yesterday--and what I know from experience-- I came up with a snotty, smart-alecky list of the traits and habits of Seattleites
1: True Seattleites drive old, beat-up Volvos. Bumper stickers of choice seem to be “Love Your Mother” (this sticker features a picture of planet Earth) and “Impeach Bush.” Other adornments might be Tibetan prayer flags (hung inside the vehicle,) or artifacts from some long-ago Grateful Dead tour.
2: True Seattleites have one home in the city and a weekend cabin in the San Juan Islands. Lacking the cash for a place in the ‘Juans (or the desire to spend hours in line on weekends, waiting for a ferry) a second-best choice would be to have friends who have a place in the Islands, and tag along with them while they wait in a ferry line in their old Volvo (see #1 above.)
3: True Seattleites remember the time when some magazine--Conde Nast Traveler, Backpacker, or Highlights, I can’t remember which--named Seattle the “Most Livable City” in the U.S. Though this honor was bestowed upon the city quite a number of years ago (maybe 20?) true Seattleites still walk around, half-expecting a reporter from one of the above magazines to approach and inquire--breathlessly-- what it’s like to live here. (Note: the magazine reporter expects to hear about that weekend place in the Islands.)
4: True Seattleites have their REI Co-Op numbers memorized, and attend Seattle Opera or Seattle Symphony concerts wearing an REI soft-shell or Goretex parka. Trekking pants with enough pockets to hold sunscreen, a compass, and a fold-up map of the city, complete the ensemble.
5: True Seattleites have a climbing resume and will find subtle, offhanded opportunities for mentioning their last summit climb of Mt. Rainier (a winter ascent of Liberty Ridge would earn big nods of approval.) Even old, rich guys, walking around naked in the locker room of the posh Washington Athletic Club, will tell you about their climbing exploits-- the time 50 years ago when a yeti crept into camp Muir during the night 'n stole Mr. Adventure’s climbing boots. He had to walk down the snowfield back to Paradise, barefoot. Naked man’s still got frostbite on three toes, jes’ lookey-here...
