This old phone box was standing on the corner of First and Jefferson, crying out for a bit of attention. A quick whip of string and tin can later we have a play on outmoded technology and the connections we make in our modern lives.

My son is a natural in front of the camera, that stance is all his own. The way his left knee bends and head tilts recall his no fuss attitude.

As of today, the tin can is no longer hanging there. Given the area the phone box is in, I’m guessing the can was clipped from it’s string for recycling money.

This woman is a hair product representative and was on a sales call to a downtown Spokane salon. I have a friend who put her son through Gonzaga Prep doing this work. It is not for the faint of heart. How can you not agree, Spokane is gorgeous and so are the people in it.

He started to explain, “Well back in the late 1890s they held a design competition and this was the winning design. The architect was French, or maybe he wasn’t French, but at least I know he was European.” Then with a note of pride, “My wife actually went to high school with the artist of this painting,” then finally the big reveal, “and I built the frame myself!”

“Wow, that is so cool!” I exclaimed. I don’t think that was the response he was expecting. The eyebrows went even higher when I asked to take his picture.

How neat that this guy, who has presumably worked at the courthouse for goodness knows how many years, hand made this enormous frame to set off this triumphant work of what I used to think was Cinderella’s Palace.

“There are actually several of these period buildings throughout the region,” he admitted as we walked away, “but Spokane does have one of the nicest.”

Mural (background) by Tom Quinn

Spokane is in a peculiar place where style cycles have sped up to where they are lapping our lag in following fashion trends. While Urban Outfitters spends millions marketing the new 90′s look all over the world, a good chunk of people in Spokane never gave it up to begin with. And why should they?

What really caught my eye were these boots. I used to rock a pair like this in the 4th grade at Brentwood, but they were a little too forward for the times and I was teased for wearing “hooker boots.” I had proudly bought my laced-up beauties from my Uncle in our family’s Wolf Point, Montana department store. “I’ve replaced the heels twice,” she bragged. I would too if I still had a pair like that. Let’s hear it for eco-friendly thrift!

Spokane is a city full of khaki, blue and gray. When people deck themselves out in black around here it is often meant to signify something. To some it is anti-social and threatening. To others it is a sign that someone isn’t bound by confining social norms and is more likely to accept you for who you are.

Next time I’m riding around without my backpack I’ll just follow suit and clasp my U-Lock around my neck. Problem solved!

“I’ve done it all,” he said, waving to a broken cheekbone.

Pick-up line: “You’d make a good jockey with that slim figure of yours.”

Another verbatim quote: “I love Spokane. I live in that tower there and have a great view out over the river. I’ve been riding for thirty years. When they tore out the track I was through. That was it for me.”

Do you think people in Spokane are more likely to wear red and green during the holidays than in other places?

Three cheers for the three piece suit!

Spokane needs a street style blogger, to hell with fashion!

Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say and not giving a damn. – Gore Vidal

Spokane has a proud blue collar heritage. Dickies canvas jackets and Carhartt boots are staples among the working class wardrobe around here. Some people really know how to rock their uniforms.

Every once in a while I will see a nurse that wears their scrubs so well I’m tempted to ask where they buy them. Given our medical sector I always thought it would be cool if one of our style exports could be locally made “signature scrubwear”.

Uncle Gean