I love Seattle!

Back in "the day", which for me was the early 80's, I spent some time in a volunteer organization, called "Agape Force". which, for a while was based in Lindale, tx. It moved it's operation to Tacoma, Washington, and I spent alot of time in Seattle while in this organization. It was during my trips to Seattle that I came to love the Pike's Place Market, an amazing open-air market situated spectacularly over the Puget Sound, and on the rare days that you can see Mt. Ranier, it is a magical place to lose yourself for hours on end. It was here at the market that I searched my soul for answers, and beseeched the heavens for understanding, and to be understood. In some small measure, I have received all three of these at some time or another, though never in the measure I have desired, but then again, enough that I would not sit back and pat my stomach and forget my appetite for understanding and purpose. I am in a hotel in Chattanooga, Tennessee tonight, and it is raining outside my window. But somehow the constant rain in Seattle is far different from the drizzle in other parts of the country. The rain in Seattle is as dependable as the sun rising and setting, it surrounds you, but doesn't overwhelm, it almost feels like it can wash away the sins that we hide in our hearts, the grave secrets that we vow we'll never tell a soul. It doesn't beat you down, it doesn't drive against you, and it doesn't chill you to the bone. walking through Seattle is very much like the beautiful snowglobes my daughter collects to sit on the top shelf of the bookcase in the corner of our livingroom. Seattle for me is like the American Express card commercials on TV. It is where my heart wanders when I am lonely. It is where I fantasize about living with my Chi-mate, and growing old welcoming each morning with coffee and a smile from the one I love. And the little nook of a corner of the sidewalk with the wrought iron rail that is almost secretly positioned between the used bookstore and the coffee shop with the old dark wood floors and walls, that overlooks the water and has not been blocked by new buildings. That is the place in the world that I have felt the closest to God, in 1983, and then again the last two times I've visited in 2003, 20 years later.