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Seattle’s Space Needle Points to Dreams Gone By

A reflection on 20 years of dreaming of the Emerald City

4 min readMay 28, 2025
Photo by Eric Zhang on Unsplash

The first time I stood at the top of Seattle’s Space Needle and took in the beauty of the so-called “Emerald City,” I was 30 years old.

That visit transformed me — took me to another place in my heart and mind.

For the first time, I visited a place and felt at home. Felt as if there were stories there for me. Stories in which I played a part.

At the time of this first trip, I’d recently celebrated 5 years of marriage. I spent the trip attending a conference in the day and writing my dissertation proposal by night.

I would return to take my doctoral comprehensive exams, finalize my proposal, and, in the months that followed, learn that I was soon to become a father.

An exciting time, to be sure.

What I kept thinking about, though, was a way to build a life in Seattle.

To finish that doctorate and teach in the Pacific Northwest. To write stories there.

Today, I’m in Seattle again.

20 years later.

I didn’t leave Nashville all those years ago — didn’t chase that home feeling found in the rainy, coffee-scented streets of a…

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Andy Spears
Andy Spears

Written by Andy Spears

Writer and policy advocate living in Nashville, TN —Public Policy Ph.D. — writes on education policy, consumer affairs, and more . . .

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