July 5, 2009, part 2
This morning we were up early, thanks to our train horn alarm clock. We packed a lunch and headed out for the ½ hour drive into Spokane to the Spokane Friends church. They have an unprogrammed worship time at 8:45, an adult education class at 9:30, and programmed worship at 10:45. We participated in all of it and it was quite an interesting experience. I found the discussion in the class to be very thoughtful with people thinking about things in really insightful ways. I enjoyed it very much. It ranged from how things worked in various places historically, the way culture works, mental illness, and much more. To begin with, there was an article in a local newspaper insert or something that people read and discussed. I guess they do this each week. Someone brings in an article and they discuss it.
The programmed meeting was quite nice and different from what we’re used to. It was very meaningful, though. The people were very friendly and welcoming. I got the feeling that the people who attend came from a mix of backgrounds and political inclinations. Seems to me that this is a sign of a good, strong community. It was clear that whatever the differences, these people have genuine care and concern for one another. This is very hopeful.
After we left the church, we went looking for a place to eat lunch. We drove through parts of town that looked very run down and very rough. They were not places I would want to be walking around in. Buildings were vacant and boarded up. Some of them were in very bad shape. Nothing was going on in these areas.
Then we turned a few corners and we were at Riverfront Park. Found a place to park and walked there. We sat down on this sculpture to eat our picnic lunch, since it was an available shady spot. The sculpture consisted of flat-topped rocks of various heights arranged in a semi-circle.
In the center was a goat statue. We were munching on our cheese and crackers when a family of bicyclists rode up. Dad was on his bike pulling the baby trailer--complete with baby--behind. Mom and the other two kids each had their own bikes. The kids got off their bikes at went up to the goat. Mom asked us if it wasn’t working today. Bill said, “I don’t know. We’re not from around here. What’s it supposed to do?” Turns out that if it had been working properly, the kids would’ve been able to push a button and the goat would have consumed their garbage! After that, several other people appeared to feed the goat and we had to be the bearers of the bad news that the goat was not working today. Unfortunately, some people had left their garbage there anyway, so whenever he is back to normal, he will have plenty to do! I thought it was kind of funny that we had unwittingly sat down in front of one of the parks more popular attractions--at least for the kids!
We got back to the Kampsite and discovered that most people had left. The place was packed when we left and full of lots of empty space when we returned. We plan to claim some shade in one of those empty sites--at least until someone comes to take it for themselves!
