Robert Kennedy, the Seattle World's Fair and the Winds of Change

Nothing endures but change
~Heraclitus, 540-480 B.C. from Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers

Last week the first day of autumn arrived. The change of seasons, especially fall, transports me back to childhood. I remember the thrill of returning to school with brand new notebooks and folders, school clothes, and shoes.  The anticipation of reuniting with  classmates I'd lost touch with over the summer. The curiosity about new classes and teachers and subjects I would study. As I entered high school there were awkward autumns too. Struggling with teenage acne, gawky glasses eventually replaced by contact lenses, and a disastrous home perm given me by Mom in August 1978 resulting in a hairstyle reminiscent of Michael Jackson!

Greeting fall and a new school year also meant saying goodbye to summer. The reality of the seasonal flux always made me sad, as if the warm weather, long days and uninterrupted summertime adventures would never return. Growing up in Cleveland with definitive seasons, I expected in several short months the weather would change again from falling leaves to falling snow! More anticipation, change a constant.

As summer made its graceful exit last week several errands took me to downtown Seattle. My buddy C.R. asked me to volunteer for a HistoryLink benefit marking the upcoming 50th Anniversary of the Seattle World's Fair. A whole host of famous politicians, personalities and entertainers attended the 1962 celebration, including Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Elvis Presley, Richard Nixon, Joan Baez, John Glenn, and Robert F. Kennedy. For the benefit luncheon, C.R. convinced several of his posse to come dressed as special guests from the original fair. Happy to oblige I donned my khaki suit and rep tie to channel one of my heroes, Robert Kennedy, for the special occasion. That morning I made a trip to the hair salon for a quick trim; the stylist slicked back my hair a la the Mad Men era of the early 60's.

As I walked from Pioneer Square north on Western Avenue more recent events occupied my thoughts. That morning NPR announced the end of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," which banned gay service men and women from serving openly in the United States military. One gay Marine interviewed on the radio program expressed relief "to no longer have to hide who I am." This year he looks forward to bringing a same sex date to the U.S. Marine Corps Ball!

Eighteen years earlier I remembered viewing the televised hearings of a somber-faced Colin Powell and his Joint Chiefs of Staff who testified keeping men and women in the closet was the only way to preserve military cohesion and morale. The enactment of DADT led to the discharge of 13,000 soldiers destroying countless lives and relationships. Now the misguided policy lays on the trash heap of history.

Happy day, I thought, my suit coat billowing in the wind as I ambled up the Harbor Steps on University Street en route to the Olympic Fairmont Hotel. Looking west I caught glimpses of a Washington State ferry crossing Elliott Bay, sparkling in the morning sun. The ugly Seattle Viaduct with its gray cement finish sullied my view. Built in the early 1950's and damaged in the 2001 Nisqually earthquake, the highway is crumbling, living on borrowed time. The city will soon begin tearing it down and replacing it with an underground tunnel. More change, good change, this time closer to home.

While not every Seattle voter agreed on the viaduct replacement, enough agreed it was time to move forward. I hope the resulting cityscape will bring greater public access to the waterfront, open space, and liberation from the constant drone of freeway noise. Time to dream and listen to the murmur of seagulls. Time to be.

Change, despite our desire to contain it and fend it off, marches on. Whether we view it as progress or an assault on the established order matters not. Agents of change meet with resistance. But I know there is a desire in the human heart for fairness, greater equality, and dignity for all. Whether guaranteeing equal treatment under the law or preserving and enhancing our natural bounty, we answer a higher call.

Entering the Olympic Fairmont in my khaki suit and sunglasses I dove into character for my Robert Kennedy moment. Minutes later I'd begin greeting civic leaders and philanthropists arriving to mark the historic vision of Century 21 and the Seattle World's Fair.

Fifty years ago in a faraway place called Seattle the promise of culture, science, and technology inspired a people to reach for the stars. With the help of a halting but earnest Boston accent (thank you Mom for acting classes),  my RFK slowly emerged, smiling and shaking hands and welcoming people to a New Century, looking forward and reflecting back.

Little by little this emerald green metropolis and the rest of the country changed. Happy day!