Rediscover the energy and vision of Expo ‘74

Can you remember ‘making a list’ when you were a child, re-arranging the order so there wouldn’t be any doubt about what you really wanted?

I haven’t done that for many years, but this year I do want something very special for Christmas – I want my city back!

I think Spokane has been hijacked by people with special interests and, as a result, it is not the city I remember in the years following EXPO ‘74.

A group of city fathers (and a few mothers) had the vision and energy to prove that Spokane was a logical site for a world’s fair, and nothing was ever the same after that. We began to think of ourselves as world-class and that positive attitude resulted in newcomers moving here, higher education flourishing, restaurants and retail shops blooming. Boards and commissions were created to provide social services for all citizens, regional artists were proudly displaying their work and the Spokane Symphony and civic/professional theater companies were all growing. We looked at our river, lakes and parks and vowed to keep them pristine for all to enjoy.

I’m not sure where we got off track – some say it was the “trash burner.” In any case, I look at Spokane today and see defeat, cynicism, apathy, budget chaos and too few strong, honorable leaders who put the citizens first.

Many citizens are reluctant to step forward because they see the politics of personal destruction being played out every day.

But the truth is that we who care about Spokane can take the City back, we can make it clear that we hold our leaders to the highest standards. We don’t need experts to tell us what is wrong with our City. We are the experts when it comes to making Spokane the kind of place it has been and can be again. It’s what I want for Christmas and I hope it’s at the top of your list too.

And more gifts

Every woman in Spokane deserves the hot new calendar “Spokane Authentic Beauty 2006 – Women Celebrating Life at Forty and Beyond.” Created by Rebecca Bales, and featuring 12 Spokane women, it is available for $16.95 at Auntie’s, Great Harvest and many other locations. Proceeds go to the Shirley and Betty Fund at Community Colleges of Spokane, to assist women in transition.

And if the women in your life have absolutely everything, try this: a gift subscription to a handbag rental service (similar to Netflix for movies). Based in Seattle, www.bagborroworsteal.com, features high-end purses which are shipped for $9.95 round trip, with memberships running from $19.95 to $99.95. With more than 2,500 bags in stock, minimum value $1,000, labels include Chloe, Chanel, Balenciaga. Lloyd Lapidus, co-founder, is banking on the “universal obsession” he says women have with their handbags. Can’t argue with that.

And, during the holidays,

Ring the bells

That still can ring.

Forget your perfect offering.

There is a crack, a crack in everything.

That’s how the light gets in.

Leonard Cohen, Living Wabi Sabi, Tao Gold