Was listening just a few minutes ago to a radio interview with Ryan Crocker.

The host on NPR's "Morning Edition" referred to him, with some justification, as the former U.S. ambassador "to everywhere."

Reminded me of my courtship of his wife a year or so ago.

Well, perhaps that's not the right word. But I did speak with her on the phone several times about the possibility of my interviewing her on the subject of her reaction to Spokane.

She never said "No." But neither did we ever manage to move forward in our discussions about getting together.

Too bad. I think it's interesting to hear what people who have seen the world think of Spokane.

We had an editor here at the SR a few years ago who had come from a big city regarded to be one of America's cultural centers. I never met him. I work early, he worked late. Besides, he was not here long.

The story I heard is that his wife absolutely hated Spokane. Loathed it. Couldn't take five more minutes of being here.

To each her own. But I always wonder how people can make up their minds so quickly.

Don't we all, to a certain extent, make our own reality?

I firmly believe you can do that here about as well as you can most other places. But I guess not everyone agrees. 

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