What Is It About This Place?

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Seattle is such a clean city. Must be because it showers more than most other metropolitan areas. And it's people are pretty laid back, despite drinking so much coffee from the ubiquitous Starbucks or Seattle's Best. I also noticed for the first time that in just about every older residential neighborhood of white, beige and otherwise neutrally-toned homes, someone's gotten away with siding their house in robin's egg blue, royal blue, sky blue or orange. My cabbie couldn't explain the odd color scheme either. And how cool is the morning or afternoon commute with a snow-covered volcano in view?! The image of the sun-dappled Mt. Rainier from my plane in the late afternoon was truly a site to behold. And, as always, I thought to myself: Why the hell didn't I bring my camera?!

As with too many other visits I've made here, I can't fully enjoy all the city has to offer because once again I encountered major airport delays that ate into my leisure time. It started in San Diego when the check-in kiosk said I'd miss my connection due to a plane delay. It rebooked me on an earlier flight (that also left late) but then had me standby in San Francisco. There was no reason not to honor my first reservation from SFO to SeaTac, but try telling a computer that.

That said, I got here two hours late and had just enough time to gush to Gilbert about my posh room at the Elliott Grand Hyatt, meet up with a co-worker for dinner at the Gordon Beirsch brewery restaurant across the street and then check e-mail and work stuff before bedtime. That's when I discovered that a truly beloved member of our track club had passed away. Some of you may remember me telling you about Ursula this summer. She was struck by a car in Balboa Park during a warmup before a Tuesday night workout. Even those track club runners who saw the commotion immediately afterward had no idea one of our own had been severely struck head-on by a Volkswagen Beetle. And because Ursula wasn't carrying any ID, it was awhile before doctors identified her and contacted her daughters, her next of kin.

Those daughters have been wonderful in keeping the track club informed of Ursula's ups and downs in hospitals and convalescent homes in the months since that fateful afternoon. But Ursula never really recovered from such a harsh head blow. She inspired a lot of new and seasoned runners over the years with her dedication and age group awards. By the way, she was in her early 60s when the accident happened; I heard the doctors had her at age 45 before they learned who she was. She was that impressive.

[Photo grabbed via Google from the photoblog Brainfuel.]

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