CHAPTER THREE
Seattle and Fremont (continued from previous page)

No, really! You haven’t yet heard it all!! Fremont also boasts a rocket ship, which apparently makes it the Center of the Universe! And they have a huge statue of Lenin, which Roadside America.com also describes with such humor:

Fremont, self-proclaimed "Center of the Universe," is the venue for America's largest statue honoring Lenin.

No, kids -- not one of the Beatles, but Vladimir Illych Lenin, hero of the workers, Communism, and the former Soviet Union.

The 16-ft. tall bronze originated in Poprad, Slovakia, where it was first erected in 1988. It tumbled along with other heroic (and out of fashion) statues when the Soviets went down in 1989. For a time, the 7-ton Lenin lay face down in the mud at the Poprad dump -- until rescued by American entrepreneur Lewis Carpenter. Carpenter, who admired the artistry, mortgaged his house to buy and transport the statue to Seattle.

Carpenter died in a car accident in 1994. To recover the statue debt, Carpenter's family made an arrangement to loan it to the Fremont district until a buyer emerged. Asking price: $150,000. In 1995, Fremont put the statue up in the center of town, near a Cold War era rocket also displayed as public art.

The statue was controversial and remains so -- especially to Russian immigrants.

Sure, Lenin the Man was a violent sociopath, catalyst for wholesale slaughter across half the world. But Lenin the Public Artwork is a beautifully crafted sculpture, and a catalyst for healthy discourse. This one seems to say: "Whenever the world is ready for Communism again, freaky lefty Fremont will be there! Please buy this statue."

It was Pat’s idea to have some Italian ice cream from the little shop tucked behind the giant Lenin statue. I’m not big on ice cream so it wasn’t my first choice but I went along with everyone and selected the standard bowl of two scoops! Ohhhh, gelato is good stuff!! I’m hooked forever on Italian ice cream!

Walking back to the car by way of cute little touristy shops, we heard the bells of the bridge and ran ahead to watch the drawbridge open! They don’t have those in Kansas, Toto! We were too late for the first opening but were able to catch the second one! It was a huge thrill to this Midwesterner who is accustomed to seeing fields of waving grain but has not experienced the rumble of cars on a drawbridge as the moon casts its glow on a beautiful river below.

You’d think the day would be done by now, but in fact it was only just beginning. I’d have been content to head back to the hotel, lounge in a jetted tub full of bubbles, pull on my jammies and read in bed till I fell asleep, but oh no, we had a party to attend!! We headed downtown to F.X. McRory’s for the SeahawkSal Family Reunion!

Who's SeahawkSal and why are we going to his reunion?