Even in Mazama: graffiti under the Methow River bridge.
By Mandi Donohue
While grooming for the Nordic ski trails this winter, my husband noticed that there was graffiti under the bridge in Mazama. I was really surprised to hear this so I went down to take a look. Sure enough, there they were. First, a Rastafarian “One Love” tag, and two others are initials. A majority of the time, the purpose of graffiti or “tagging” is to gain notoriety or respect among one’s peers as a sense of belonging and to feel “cool.” It’s also used as an opportunity to mark your territory within a gang or graffiti crew.
Regardless of the fact that it is illegal and I hate the idea of defacing our home, I had to laugh. Mazama, kids? Really? We’re not even a “town” of 200. There are 13.25 of us that live here year-round. Was Conconully just too overwhelming? I kind of want to sit these hooligans down and have a conversation to say, “You know, with the right attitude and work ethic, you might be able to tag in Seattle one day!” But Mazama as a means for fame and marking your territory? This tickles me. Dream bigger, kids. There’s always Spokane. (Not that I’m inviting that).
It was the same chuckle I gave when someone responded to a post on the bulletin board last week. I posted that I was taking a lighting photography class in Seattle and needed “models” for my various homework assignments. (I got lots of wonderful responses – thank you!) However, one headless and hairy individual thought it would be amusing to send me a picture of himself in awfully tight ladies underwear. Just to make sure I knew he’d be right for the project, he also included a close up.
Well, you can imagine my disappointment when no contact information was given. I thought about putting up signs with his faceless picture: “Have you seen this man?” But I didn’t want to scare grandma or the children. Needless to say, I’ll let you know when my eyesight returns and the vomiting fits stop. I’ve never had my eyes melt out of my head before but (spoiler alert), if you watch the end of “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” you’ll begin to understand what I went through. Now I’d like to lighten it up with the top four unobvious reasons I know it’s spring in Mazama:
One, everyone down-valley has started their gardens and we have started garden envy support groups. Two, you hear about a lot of snow tire tickets being given in Twisp and you breathe a sigh of relief for where you live. Three, there are frozen pie crusts available at the Mazama Store. When those hard-working bakery ladies are actually looking for things to do in the kitchen, you know it’s spring. And finally, when my husband busts out the infamous white Volkswagen Rabbit with red doors. If you live in Mazama, you know the one! She’s as light as a feather, you can literally hear her a mile away, but this labor of love runs on diesel and gets 50 miles a gallon. Happy spring indeed!
Finally, a reminder that Sunday, May 7, is annual cleanup day at the Mazama Community Club. Bring gloves, rakes, gardening equipment, etc. For info, call Midge at 996-8080.
