Not really a good-bye, just a new address

For many years, the last leg of my commute to work included a walk across the Monroe Street Bridge into downtown, reminding me of some things I like best about Spokane.

The river below, which rushes so fast in spring the mist rises above the bridge, and the banks below that are green in the summer and golden in the fall. Riverfront Park is on the left, and Peaceful Valley the right. The downtown in front has interesting buildings like an art deco City Hall, and a few strange ones, including the one where I work which is topped by a witch’s hat strung with Christmas lights.

I started making that walk more than 28 years ago as a beginning reporter saving money for a baby on the way, because one can park on Ide Street for free. I kept making it, not just because I’m thrifty (or cheap, as my two kids might say) but because it could jump-start a day covering government and politics around Spokane.

The people along that route –