On the Streets

On the Streets: First Hill

Scott Baerst

Jan 9, 2021 • 2 min read

Good news, bad news.

Bad news first. Some of my childhood buddies and I play the lottery when the jackpot gets insane. It's stupid and fun. It's stupid fun. Tonight was my turn to buy the tickets. We lost.

Good news - I won't be abandoning this blog for a debaucherous life in Tahiti! Wait, where's the good news?

I know I'm repeating myself here - my walks are getting shorter and shorter. I need to turn that frown upside down. But tonight's walk did randomly put me over on First Hill. I haven't been over there for a while.

Given the awfulness of the past few days it feels a little oblivious (not the word I'm looking for but it'll do) to be posting snapshots of First Hill. But we've got to keep on keepin' on, right? (Can't bring up the past few days and leave it at a passing reference. Awful, just awful. With a side order of cautious optimism. My amateur political calculus tells me that the stars had to align perfectly for Trump to lose the election. It's as if someone gave him a list of 10 actions and told him, "As long as you don't do ALL 10 of these things, you've got another 4 years." "Roger that, DO ALL 10 of these things and I'm golden...sweet." I don't think we've heard the last of Trump or MAGA / QAnon, but two months ago I thought it'd be another 4 years of them in the White House with a GOP Senate.)

St. James Cathedral Seattle — St. James Cathedral, First Hill, Seattle, 9 January 2021. Twin towers x2. That view has changed.

Hotel Sorrento Seattle — Hotel Sorrento, First Hill, Seattle, 9 January 2021. I will stay there, mark my blogs.

Sugar Bakery & Cafe Seattle — Sugar Bakery & Cafe, First Hill, Seattle, 9 January 2021. I blew the framing. I wish I had all of the footwear sign. There was a surprising amount of traffic for a Saturday, and people were lingering out front - I didn't want to invade their privacy. So I waited and waited. Lined up a shot and waited for a big UPS truck to exit right, figuring I might get a break in between the next car. I should have taken 5 steps to my left.

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