"In my opinion..."
June 21, 2003
The Summer Solstice
Fremont, across the canal from Queen Anne Hill, prides itself as the "Center of the Universe," hosting an original larger-than-life statue of Lenin, a rocket ship, and a giant VW-eating troll. One of Seattle's most popular public arts works is the whimsical "Waiting for the Interurban" sitting at the south entrance of Fremont. Fremont oozes with energy and tension as its 60s-era hippie roots clash with its 21st century gentrification.
Today Fremont will explode with enthusiasm as it honors the Summer Solstice. The annual fair draws crowds and criticism alike because of its wildly eclectic non-mainstream parade. Free-thinking and free-balling bicyclists unofficially enter the parade, always under threat of arrest and always loved and embraced by the vast majority of parade watchers. The nude cyclists paint their torsos and brave the unpredictable elements (cold and rain today) in order to celebrate their freedom of expression.
I have little tolerance for the few whiners who lodge complaints about this minor display of public nudity. For God's sake, it's not like ANYONE going to the fair and parade is unaware of the cyclists. Every year the issue comes up in the papers, a great bit of free publicity for the fair, and every year it's no big deal. All it does is draw larger and larger crowds.
I have yet to attend the fair, although I inadvertently got caught in a traffic jam one year as I ignorantly tried to come home via the side streets. My reason has always been because of my dislike of large crowds. They make me physically uneasy and even ill. It's a real phobia. It's also odd, since I adore big cities and all that they have to offer; I apparently just don't like to share my experiences with more than 25 people at a time.
Today won't be any different. My husband has been pressing for us to go down at noon, and I am wavering. The dreary weather might be giving me a false sense of security, lulling me into thinking that the hordes won't appear simply because of a little chilly rain, but I will still resist. Regardless of my attendance, the parade will go on, and I hope that the nudists will wheel gleefully and without arrest through the streets of Fremont, keeping our hopes alive that right-winged, uptight prudes haven't crushed the last breath of life out of America.
