I <3 Seattle: Happiness is... Part 1

So many people who live in this fantastic city whine and moan about the traffic problems. I'm not one of them. I've lived many places all over the country, one of them being Washington, D.C. (Second Worst Traffic in the Country, according to studies run late last year); while there, I worked in Bethesda and lived in Baltimore. Overall, it was about a 50 mile commute during Washington, D.C.'s rush hour, taking me anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half to get to and from work.

I learned the meaning of patience doing that commute for a year, but I loved both cities and loved my job, so I gritted my teeth and did the stop-and-go traffic. Moving to Seattle after doing that commute for so long was a breath of fresh air; the motorists are exceedingly polite, people understand the definition of the word "merge", and motorcyclists are not the crazy, death-defying speed-demons that I'm used to, cutting me off and crossing four lanes at a time.

With today's launch of Localism, and after about a week of laboriously hand-approving posts from around the country, I found myself inspired and mystified by the sheer knowledge that is stacking up on that site. We have a lot of extremely intelligent agents writing about the place they know best: Home. Unfortunately, I was sorely disappointed that my favorite neighborhood was sadly unrepresented in the vast scheme of knowledge that is currently being compiled.

Downtown Seattle is not the traffic chaos that people make it out to be. Those of us homegrown Seattleites will tell you that yes, the traffic sucks, solely because there are so many cars on the road. To that, I say pish tosh. I say: Look around you! I do, everyday, and usually, what I see are the transplant Seattleites tightly sealed into their hybrid vehicles with the A/C gusting through their hair and their sunglasses blocking out the natural light that we so rarely see throughout the year.

There are a few, though, a few of us homegrown Seattleites, who are like me. They have their windows down, their music up, the wind rushing through their hair, and they're singing. Sure, they may be singing the worst possible version of the latest boy band craze or some organic alternative song from the nether reaches of Olympia, but they're singing. To them, this scene is perfect. I'll tell you... we live in the most beautiful city in the country. Those of us who know this are the ones who have the urge to pull over on the I-90 bridge to watch the water as it waves against the concrete. We're the ones who hear the gulls and smile. We're the ones who can't wait for traffic to slow down a little so we can smell the salt in the air as it breezes through the car windows.

Transplant Seattleites, the ones who have moved here from other places, whine about the rain when it comes, but they forget how much the rain makes us appreciate the sunlight when we have it. Those of us who are born and raised on oysters and Dungeness are the ones who will tell you that Seattle isn't about the rain or the traffic. It isn't about the clogged highway or the sealed up, air-conditioned vehicles. Seattle is a sprawling mecca of natural beauty and a showcase for the simple luxuries that we all take for granted: clean air, blue water, and brilliant, unfiltered sunlight.

That's my Seattle. That's my Downtown. Why do I <3 Seattle? Because happiness is standing on the I-9 bridge, eyes closed, face misty with the spray off the water, the wind whirling around you, and the gulls calling. My Seattle has traffic problems, but they pale in comparison to the earthly wonders that we are so lucky to have on our proverbial doorsteps.