Observations on the State of Washington
Hey everyone! Hope all of my readers are doing great. I haven't been writing as much on this particular blog partially because I have also started a new blog, where I am serializing my novel-in-progress "The Princess of Infinite Tomorrows." If you're interested in an epic fantasy-in-progress involving magical princesses, giant hummingbirds, extremely evil villains, and much more, then check it out at https://princessofinfinitetomorrows.blogspot.com. In addition I have been working at my day job, looking for new jobs and opportunities, and all of the other endeavors and things that go on throughout my day.
Anyway, today I would like to talk about the state of Washington. From the year 2000 until about 2012, I lived in Florida, having gone through middle school, high school, and college there. I then spent nearly two years living abroad in Israel, where I volunteered as a gardener; honestly one of the most transformative times of my life. Rather than go back to Florida, a state that I do love, I ended up moving to the state of Washington for a variety of reasons. I had previously visited this state a few times, since my grandparents and very dear friends of my family also lived there. So when I moved up here, I wasn't totally unfamiliar with this place. However, here are a few observations I've made about this state since actually moving here.
1. Stories of Bruce Lee
When talking to men of a certain age, typically men who were children back in the 1960s who grew up in Seattle and surrounding cities like Bellevue and Redmond, they will talk about their alleged encounter with Bruce Lee. In case you didn't know, the late great martial artist and movie star Bruce Lee spent many years of his life in Seattle, going to the University of Washington and teaching martial arts. Later on he would move to Los Angeles, and then Hong Kong, for opportunities in the movie business, although he was eventually buried in Seattle (I actually wrote an article about visiting his grave, which you can view here).
Anyway, if you get to talking to men of a certain age, you will inevitably hear them talk about the time they were walking about, whether at the play ground or the bus stop, and saw Bruce Lee. Now, these stories are never about Bruce Lee doing something mundane like getting groceries or a cup of coffee. No, in each and every one of these stories, Bruce Lee is just minding his own business when all of a sudden, a gang comes upon him, and he uses his legendary martial arts skills to defeat them.
Now, I'm not necessarily calling these men liars, but I find it a bit odd that in all of these stories Bruce Lee is always in a martial arts battle. I'm sure that even Bruce Lee had moments where he was out in public doing everyday things. And I've never heard a woman who was a little girl at the time seeing and later talking about Bruce Lee being engaged in a martial arts battle. The way these men I've heard talk about their Bruce Lee encounters oftentimes sounds like the stories a farmer out in the Midwest might tell of being abducted by space aliens. Maybe they saw someone else get into a fight, and figured later on, "Hey, I bet that was Bruce Lee."
2. Back in my Day...
Speaking of people of a certain age, I have on several occasions heard both men and women talk about how much the Seattle area has changed since they were young. They will talk about their childhood and early adult years in pre-Microsoft Washington as if it was a Golden Age with utopian ideals, a time when it was less crowded and the rent wasn't nearly as high.
I often get this in my day job in downtown Bellevue, a city bordering Seattle. I work in sales, and oftentimes people of a certain age will come up to me and tell me tales about how back in the day, the movie theater across the street was filled with cows roaming free, or about how there wasn't nearly as much traffic, and how Dairy Queen got replaced by a Thai food restaurant.
3. Less Shirtless People
Florida is a pretty warm place to say the least, and whether or not someone is actually at the beach, one can often see a person going about shirtless. I remember in high school oftentimes seeing my school's track team running around downtown Oviedo (the city where I lived and went to high school in). Inevitably they would always be without a shirt during their practice runs, with the guys being completely shirtless and the girls going about in sports bras. This included the wintertime.
In the state of Washington this is much less so. Partially this is due to the weather (winters can be brutal!), but I think it's also kind of a cultural thing. It's pretty hot right now actually here in the Seattle area, but I've only seen a few shirtless people out in public; two of them were actually runners, and another one was homeless. Back in Florida it seems like I would end up seeing someday going about half-naked in public every single day, whether they were out and about running, sunbathing in trunks or a bikini, or some other activity.
4. Gaps Between Rich and Poor
One of the saddest observations I've made of the state of Washington (particularly the Seattle area) is the gap between the rich and poor. I live in what is basically a digital Mecca, where the richest and most influential people tend to be those in the computer industry. But sadly there are also a lot of homeless people; in Seattle you will see a ton of tent cities and people in the streets, just a few blocks away from high rises and art galleries.
About a month or so ago I actually went up to Canada for a short trip, where I visited Vancouver. While exploring the city and getting coffee at Tim Hortons, I saw less than five homeless people begging on the streets. When I arrived back in the States and took an Uber from the Amtrak station to my home, I remember seeing an entire tent city right outside the car window while waiting for traffic light.
Something needs to change.
Anyway, today I would like to talk about the state of Washington. From the year 2000 until about 2012, I lived in Florida, having gone through middle school, high school, and college there. I then spent nearly two years living abroad in Israel, where I volunteered as a gardener; honestly one of the most transformative times of my life. Rather than go back to Florida, a state that I do love, I ended up moving to the state of Washington for a variety of reasons. I had previously visited this state a few times, since my grandparents and very dear friends of my family also lived there. So when I moved up here, I wasn't totally unfamiliar with this place. However, here are a few observations I've made about this state since actually moving here.
1. Stories of Bruce Lee
When talking to men of a certain age, typically men who were children back in the 1960s who grew up in Seattle and surrounding cities like Bellevue and Redmond, they will talk about their alleged encounter with Bruce Lee. In case you didn't know, the late great martial artist and movie star Bruce Lee spent many years of his life in Seattle, going to the University of Washington and teaching martial arts. Later on he would move to Los Angeles, and then Hong Kong, for opportunities in the movie business, although he was eventually buried in Seattle (I actually wrote an article about visiting his grave, which you can view here).
Anyway, if you get to talking to men of a certain age, you will inevitably hear them talk about the time they were walking about, whether at the play ground or the bus stop, and saw Bruce Lee. Now, these stories are never about Bruce Lee doing something mundane like getting groceries or a cup of coffee. No, in each and every one of these stories, Bruce Lee is just minding his own business when all of a sudden, a gang comes upon him, and he uses his legendary martial arts skills to defeat them.
Now, I'm not necessarily calling these men liars, but I find it a bit odd that in all of these stories Bruce Lee is always in a martial arts battle. I'm sure that even Bruce Lee had moments where he was out in public doing everyday things. And I've never heard a woman who was a little girl at the time seeing and later talking about Bruce Lee being engaged in a martial arts battle. The way these men I've heard talk about their Bruce Lee encounters oftentimes sounds like the stories a farmer out in the Midwest might tell of being abducted by space aliens. Maybe they saw someone else get into a fight, and figured later on, "Hey, I bet that was Bruce Lee."
2. Back in my Day...
Speaking of people of a certain age, I have on several occasions heard both men and women talk about how much the Seattle area has changed since they were young. They will talk about their childhood and early adult years in pre-Microsoft Washington as if it was a Golden Age with utopian ideals, a time when it was less crowded and the rent wasn't nearly as high.
I often get this in my day job in downtown Bellevue, a city bordering Seattle. I work in sales, and oftentimes people of a certain age will come up to me and tell me tales about how back in the day, the movie theater across the street was filled with cows roaming free, or about how there wasn't nearly as much traffic, and how Dairy Queen got replaced by a Thai food restaurant.
3. Less Shirtless People
Florida is a pretty warm place to say the least, and whether or not someone is actually at the beach, one can often see a person going about shirtless. I remember in high school oftentimes seeing my school's track team running around downtown Oviedo (the city where I lived and went to high school in). Inevitably they would always be without a shirt during their practice runs, with the guys being completely shirtless and the girls going about in sports bras. This included the wintertime.
In the state of Washington this is much less so. Partially this is due to the weather (winters can be brutal!), but I think it's also kind of a cultural thing. It's pretty hot right now actually here in the Seattle area, but I've only seen a few shirtless people out in public; two of them were actually runners, and another one was homeless. Back in Florida it seems like I would end up seeing someday going about half-naked in public every single day, whether they were out and about running, sunbathing in trunks or a bikini, or some other activity.
4. Gaps Between Rich and Poor
One of the saddest observations I've made of the state of Washington (particularly the Seattle area) is the gap between the rich and poor. I live in what is basically a digital Mecca, where the richest and most influential people tend to be those in the computer industry. But sadly there are also a lot of homeless people; in Seattle you will see a ton of tent cities and people in the streets, just a few blocks away from high rises and art galleries.
About a month or so ago I actually went up to Canada for a short trip, where I visited Vancouver. While exploring the city and getting coffee at Tim Hortons, I saw less than five homeless people begging on the streets. When I arrived back in the States and took an Uber from the Amtrak station to my home, I remember seeing an entire tent city right outside the car window while waiting for traffic light.
Something needs to change.
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