I’m proud of my adopted state – the Northern part anyway

My parents are suffering age-related problems, so I have spent a lot of time in Portland the last few months. In the course of my day, running Dad to this appointment, or Mom to that treatment, it often comes up that I am from out of town, and that North Idaho is where I call home. I say North Idaho with pride, and with a wish to differentiate myself from a mere Idahoan. The responses are interesting and varied.

Having grown up in Portland, I had my own early ideas about the North Country. It seemed like the kind of place Paul Bunyan would hail from. I first drove through the area in the early 1970s when the freeway system had not yet been completed. It seemed rather primitive compared to the other 30 states we drove through that summer.

I admit, though, that I knew very little about North Idaho before I moved here. I had gone to school in Pullman and briefly visited Coeur d’Alene several times, but still had no feel for the area. It wasn’t until becoming a resident that I learned about the Aryan Nations or heard stories about the goings on in the shacks along dirt roads in areas such as Athol. I had to wonder, was Athol a real name? Were there really clans of toothless, inbreeding hillbillies out there?

Then I began to wonder what people from the outside might be thinking. Certainly any of the rich and famous who frequent the Coeur d’Alene Resort see the better side of North Idaho, but what does the rest of the country think?

I know that some think Coeur d’Alene must be a part of French-speaking Canada. I still close my eyes, take a deep breath, and rattle off the spelling any time I have to give my address over the phone.

To many in the East, just about all the West seems pretty foreign. I once visited Portland, Maine, and proudly announced to a gas attendant that I was from the other Portland. “What other Portland?” was his reply. When I explained that it was Portland, Ore., he was still puzzled and explained that he had never traveled in western Canada. I doubt that he could have placed Idaho, either.

So, despite having great pride in my adopted home state – at least the northern part of my home state – I have wondered what sort of response I will get when I answer that “Where is home?” question. In California, the response often has to do with our weather. It’s such a novelty to those living in perpetual, seasonless sunshine how anyone can live full time with snow. However, I recently spent a weekend in San Diego, and I came back kind of wondering the same thing.

In Portland, the response, I have realized, usually has to do with some firsthand experience. Many people stop for a moment to think, then sort of place Coeur d’Alene on the map. They have driven through, or have visited Spokane, but obviously weren’t terribly impressed.

One woman, a nurse, got totally mixed up during the typical exchange just a few days ago. She went on about how much she had loved the area on a recent visit, but then admitted that she couldn’t recall if the city was closest to Boise or Nampa. I told here it was closer to Spokane, but that only confused her more. I never did find out where she had actually been.

Mostly, I get comments about the beauty of the area. Some comment about the mountains, although Portland is surrounded by mountains. Many have enjoyed the lakes of North Idaho even though Portland has terrific boating, if you like that sort of thing, all around. Others have been impressed with the local skiing, despite Portland having Mount Hood a short drive away.

All in all, the big-city impression of Coeur d’Alene and North Idaho is quite positive. If they once knew of Hayden racism, they have forgotten. If they drove the back roads of north Kootenai County, they didn’t notice. And Oregon being the progressive sort of state that it is, people there have never paid any attention to Bill Sali.

In the end, why should I worry about what Portlanders might think about North Idaho, anyway? Racists and in-bred hillbillies are obviously not what drew me to the area. Besides, Portland has its own explaining to do. How stupid can Portlanders be?

The Oregon Health and Science University just spent $145 million on their Center for Health and Healing. It is 16-stories and 400,000 square feet of the most advanced architecture and engineering available. They recycle their own wastewater. In the bathrooms, however, they have a warning for Portlanders posted in each stall: “Toilets and urinals flushed with reclaimed water – DO NOT DRINK.”