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Seattle’s Space Needle Points to Dreams Gone By
A reflection on 20 years of dreaming of the Emerald City
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…