Oh, Spokane

The irrational attachment I have for Spokane wells up in my little heart. Oddly enough it's not only the people here I hold dear. It's the familiarity too. It's just so delightfully tacky. It is still December according to the lawn decorations, and there have to be more coffee shops per capita than most other cities, especially those sketchy little drive through coffee shack things. The house across the street has three trucks parked on the lawn. Things seem to change a lot slower here than in other places. Every time I return to Colorado it seems like there is a whole new subdivision, mall, and shopping center. But here Didier's and Bruchi's and Hastings and Rosauers are still staples. Campus is different. Other than everything saying Whitworth University now (I had to work to find paraphernalia that says simply Whitworth) there are only 4 village buildings left standing, there is a whole new dorm and a new art building under construction, and the coffee shop in the HUB is super swanky. But Stan made me a Special Tea, and they are just as amazing as ever.
So far I've been graced and blessed by some fantastic people - Anna, Mary, Fishy, Toni, Terry, Roger, Dottie, Andi, Adam, Jerry - with more to come tonight and tomorrow - Jaime, Heather, Justin, Jim, more Adam. And I've even done a little reading and maybe found a topic for my Bonhoeffer midterm. The moral of the story is, I heart Spokane. And Spokompton, Spokangeles, Spokantinople, and Spokanistan.