When I started writing The Slice in August of 1992, Spokane had a thinner skin. At least that’s the way it seems. Back then, even the mildest form of subjective truth-telling about the Lilac City’s shortcomings evoked wounded cries of “Spokane bashing.”
I’ve spent a lot of time in busy medical waiting rooms in recent weeks – my wife has been experiencing some troubling eye issues. And I’m here to tell you that senior citizens, a lot of them anyway, do not dress up when going out in public. Which is fine.
It’s my belief that a significant percentage of Inland Northwest residents would not admit it if they had never heard of an obscure area lake that came up in conversation.
Longtime residents of the Spokane area sometimes stretch the truth a bit when informing recently arrived transplants about just what will be expected of them here.
Spokane isn’t always the easiest place to get to, at least from far away. Our city is a bit remote. (Extremely remote by some definitions.) For many friends and relations, ours is a connecting flight/long drive destination. So once far-flung loved ones actually get here, we’re sometimes reluctant to let them go.