People Hive

9-14-2012

08:16 PST

Downtown Seattle



We've got T-minus five days and change on the countdown. The volcano right next to Antigua is blowing up. Awesome. Hopefully the town is still there when I get there. I TOTALLY forgot to pack my lava suit. I'm not sure what I'm going to do if I get there and everything's been covered in liquid hot burning magma. Maybe a snorkel will do. They're handy like that.

I'm posted up for a couple of hours. Soakin' up the Starbucks WiFi. Trying to catch up with this blog and tie up loose ends before my train. 


I dropped south from Sedro-Woolley, WA to see a few friends along the I-5 corridor. A couple days in Bellevue, Tacoma and Portland and then I'm outta here. I've got deep roots in ye olde Pac Northwest; some of my first memories and first friends. It was good to see them before taking the big plunge.


Going back to a big city after nights beneath the stars is a rough reality check. POW! Stimuli slaps you right in the face. Everything sprints away from each other at fast right angles, bumping and clunking and squeaking along. Nobody comes up to you to ask you how your day is going. They've got somewhere they're supposed to be. Life on the block is a little bit quicker. You've got to think fast. Move fast. Even the pigeons dodge tardy commuters.


This truly is a melting pot. I read an article today that said Seattle's Rainer Beach zip code speaks over 167 languages. That's a lot of diversity. I think the technical term is: "shit ton". I can't remember seeing this many different kinds of people in a long, long time. It's revitalizing. Monoculturous chain store suburbs stagnate quicker than a bowl of hot mayonnaise. Here, the city is a constant flow of fresh ideas and varied lifestyles. Many, that I do not ascribe to. But none that I do not respect. It's one last dip in the social cesspool. It's that funky, stinky kind of goodness. The stuff the world is built on. 

It's the People Hive. Buzz, buzz. Welcome to the concrete jungle, monkey boy. You ain't in Kansas anymore. Tires are humming. Lights burning. Delivery trucks spray tangy exhaust right straight in your eyes. We've got five shades of white dude and sixty shades of brown. It's a rocking, rolling, spilling, flowing turntable town.

Don't forget the restaurants. There's every kind you'd ever want that the homeless will never afford. The clash of the titans, baby. Rolex's vs. roller carts. Ties vs. tries. Bluetoothed businessmen wage conference call battles while smiling crazed hobos laugh with the air.

"HEEEEEEEEEY!!! Hi. Yeah, I'm talking to yooooou! WEEEEEE YOOOOOOO! Anybody got a dollar?! Yarrrrrg! I'm not a pirate! Wanna go on a date with me? Ok. Buh Bye! See you later! HAHAHAHAHA...."

Everybody's talking to someone. 


The People Hive. Scientists say that humans and our infrastructure relate more closely to ants and bees than any other creature. No other living thing manipulates its environment in as calculated and specified ways as we do. Each individual performs out of selfish necessity, but eventually, they all contribute towards the whole. I will admit that our society is a little more advanced than bee colonies. I don't think I've ever seen a bee hive spitting WiFi. But on the other hand, I don't recall finding too much inequality as well. I guess the trick then, is finding our place.