Space Needles, Wine, Inspiration and a big surprise.

We concluded our weeklong visit with our friend from Boston (whose considering moving out this way) with a wine tasting at the top of the Space Needle. Built for the 1962's World Fair, it dominates the sky line of any Seattle mug, poster or T-Shirt. Cougar Crest was the presenting Washington wine that night as the view of the city was spectacular! We could see the arteries flowing into the city, the Sound, and well known land marks. It would have made a fantastic view if we had been there at dusk - we would have caught a glimpse of the Cascades, Olympics and Mt. Rainier. We sent off our friend, pretty sure that the week of movies, museums, and bus adventures would convince him to head west.

Saturday found myself inline for a lecture featuring Senator Maria Cantwell. Stomping with her was Senator Barack Obama. I felt like I was going to a protest. I went to the grocery store before hand to grab some snacks knowing we had a long wait a head of us. Picking up Annika, we zoomed to Garfield High School in the Central District Neighborhood (where our offices are). It was one of the first school to be desegregated in the late 1960's. Annika's mother was in the first group shipped to the school - absolutely loving the experience (disliking the high school she went to). The line snaked around the school and down the street - being as early as we were we got a good spot on the bleachers - there like many people - to hear the Illinois Senator speak more than our very own Senator. It was the most mixed group of people I had seen in Seattle to date. We found ourselves in a cluster of older African American women who booed the anti-war protesters who started showing when Senator Cantwell started to speak, demanding respect for our speaker. (Cantwell voted in favor of the war - I mean all but two Senators did.) When Senator Obama got up to speak the crowd went wild. He was dynamic, passionate but not swarmy like most politicians are. He told us, like Gloria did, we have to personally be responsible. He told us that politics can be discouraging but if the politicians make a change that we, the people demand, we have to change with it - we have to uphold our end of the bargain. He told us not be cynical because of the way things are going. He quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by agreeing that an injustice anywhere was a threat to justice everywhere - and we needed to be responsible for not only ourselves but our community and those whom the injustices are inflicted upon. He's young and dynamic. I left with a sense of hope. Annika left with a sense of responsibility and cleaned up the garbage around her apartment. She was the change agent.

The surprise came in the form of a new mattress that I finally bought for myself. Kitty friends were the first to sleep on it stretching out as if I had finally bought it for them, that their puncturing my air mattresses was really a tactic to get to buy a bed. Now I have a bed - indoor camping is done - I'm starting to feel a sense of home.