politricks and other distractions

There's just nothing like a city. Maybe that's why I lament my inability to afford living in one, but at least they're great to visit.

My blog pause was due to a trip to Portland and Seattle, both great working port cities. Big cities in the Pacific Northwest are different beasts from those on the East Coast. At least from what I've seen so far. There's a scale to them that's just HUGE-r. Except for Seattle's streets, which seem much too narrow for the size of everybody's cars these days.

I think what I miss most is the culture of neighborhoods. Where I live has some neighborhood definition, but nothing to write home about. It's just different flavors of hippy. Seattle and Portland have distinct areas with their own looks and stores and specialties. They also have people who aren't white, which is something I really miss.

Seeing working port cities doing their thing also puts a lot of the issues of the West in perspective. You understand why there are such controversies on things like the environment and extraction industries. The stakes are huge for all sides and it can be a zero-sum game. If one side wins, the other side can lose big.

Politics and all its repercussions are intensely local here, which may be why so many distrust government. I'm still not sure where the line is between the Western "independent voter" and your average conspiracy theorist. The wide open spaces have been a broad canvas for an understanding of How Things Work that is unlike New York and DC - even L.A. (which basically is an East Coast city that happens to be on the West Coast).

But essentials - coffee, traffic, boutiques, street musicians, homeless, restaurants... and the occasional porn store -- all seem familiar. It's a fix I need in between my months at home, in the Valley, with the lonesome whistle of the train blowing across at 2:30, 3:30 and 5:30... am and pm...

The spark of the occasional city wakes me up.