I left the Pacific Northwest more than forty years ago. Not because I never saw the sun here. Or because moss had begun to grow out of my ears. Or because my clothes never dried and odd fungi covered the nether parts of my body. No, I left to see the world. Well, been there now and done that. And although I have, in the decades since deserting this wet, green neck of the woods, found the place I now call home--Minnesota--I still think of the Cascade Mountains as my second home.
I love coming back. I love being reminded that it wasn't all cloudy skies and days of drizzle. That there are mountains here so lovely they take your breath away. And rivers like beautiful snakes slithering across deep, lush valleys. And people so nice they could be--well, they could be Minnesotan.
So I'll come back, next year and the next, until I've worn out my welcome. And if you're in Seattle when I'm here, I'd love to have you drop by the Seattle Mystery Bookshop, and I'll bend your ear a little. But only a little, promise.
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