I was born in Portland and have lived in Oregon all my life and have always thought we have one of the coolest capitol buildings in the country, the marble, the clean cut lines and the really neat looking dome it truly is unique. But the greatest thing has always been the pioneer guy on the top, he has this solid, confident, determined look to him like he knows who he is and what he’s going to do, get something done, plow some land, cut down a tree or build a cabin out of logs with his bare hands. Yeah! Being covered in gold doesn’t hurt either. When I drive through town I can’t help but take a glance towards the building and be impressed with that guy. But these days I’m loosing a little confidence in the leader symbol of this great “pioneer” state; today our guy leaders can be trans-gender, wear women’s dresses, or pack fudge with (barely) eighteen year old interns, which makes me begin to look at the pioneer guy with a little suspicion. Is that really a cloak he has thrown over his shoulder to protect him from the elements or is it material he plans to use for curtains, a couch throw or perhaps a mid length summer dress? Is his westward gaze fixed towards the unsettled land towards the pacific ocean with thoughts of territorial conquest or is he actually fixing his gaze towards the young tanned farm hand he hired a week ago? You know I’m beginning to doubt this guys motives up there, I never used to but I do now, I’m not sure but I think I see sequins on the handle of that axe.
