Alexander Barrett

“When the sun comes out in Portland, the city changes. All spring, there are hints of how good it’s going to be. It’s a Saturday morning, you walk outdoors and there are no clouds. Suddenly, you see people emerging from their homes, looking at the sky, confused. Everyone just stands there, soaking up the vitamin D. A few minutes later, they snap out of their stupor. They say: “Oh. Outside! I get it! This is how life used to be!” Sunglasses are uncovered, bikes are taken out of storage, and men remember what women are. People point their cameras toward the sky, take a picture of pure blue and immediately post it online. The caption will be a series of capitalized vowels followed by a field of exclamation points. But this is just a tease, because it will rain again. The city has to wait for the Fourth of July. After that, there won’t be rain for four months. That four months is what Portland is all about.”
― Alexander Barrett, This Is Portland, 2nd Edition: The City You've Heard You Should Like