1. From the time I was a little boy and our family visited my grandmother there, until now, I've, well, I've loved Spokane. To keep it brief, I loved our visits there, I loved going to ballgames and concerts in Spokane, I really loved going to school at Whitworth and I loved working at Whitworth in the Chaplain's Office and as an English instructor.
Debbie lived in Spokane at different times in her life and for the nearly thirty years we've been friends, roommates, and spouses, she's told me great stories and we've made some fun tours, looking at landmarks from her life in Spokane and when she lived in Cheney.
Needless to say, but I will anyway, I've enjoyed my regular (now less frequent) medical related trips to Spokane, most of them by myself, the fact that our monthly sibling outings are all happening in Spokane in 2026, and am really enjoying the trips Debbie and I have made (and have planned) together since Debbie returned home.
2. Take, for example, our trip on Saturday, April 18th.
We started our afternoon/evening Spokanealooza at Paradise Fibers, and Debbie found some yarn she was happy to purchase.
We had plenty of time before tonight's main event and we scampered up to Trader Joe's on 29th and, among other things, purchased items so we could fulfill Christy's assignments to us for Sunday's family dinner.
We wanted a light bite to eat and buzzed across South Spokane to Huckleberry's Natural Market at 926 S Monroe. We visited the 9th St. Bistro where Debbie made herself dinner at the salad bar and I had a turkey sandwich custom built.
3. This weekend is the annual writers and literature festival in Spokane, Get Lit.
Get Lit and Spokesman Review's community book club, Northwest Passages, collaborated to create the event we attended tonight.
Tonight's event at The Bing featured Spokane author Jess Walter interviewing Portland writer and alt-country musician Willie Vlautin about his latest novel, The Left and the Lucky.
It was a terrific hour. Vlautin talked about growing up in Reno, raised by his hard-working single mother and how, at a very young age, he began writing songs and later stories reflecting what he saw in the working class and underclass environment he grew up in and the feelings he experienced, and still does.
He wasn't like most (or any) of the young guys at Reno High School. He loved to read. He hung a picture of John Steinbeck next to posters of The Clash and The Pogues in his bedroom. He loved writing songs and listening to and making music. He loved writing and, together, music and writing became his life.
He's been a longtime member of and songwriter for two bands: Richmond Fontaine (no longer together) and The Delines.
The interview featured excerpts from two songs by The Delines: "Lil Earl" and "Christmas in Atlantis".
Neither one of us had heard of Willie Vlautin, even though he is not obscure. (This weekend he was interviewed by Scott Simon on National Public Radio.)
We've decided, though, that if we don't have conflicts, we are going to every Northwest Passage night we can, whether we are ignorant or knowledgeable about the featured author.
We loved being in a theater full of enthusiastic people cheering on the efforts of Get Lit and Northwest Passage.
As a bonus, we saw Teri, the leader of the Science/Nature Book Club we have joined at Auntie's Bookstore. We were all excited to see each other and it was fun, in a venue full of strangers to us, that we saw, talked to, and shared excitement with someone familiar to us.
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