Seattle Scenes: Pike Place Market

Back when I was teaching (two years ago), we had inservice meetings every month. Some were good, some were snoozers. One of the good ones was a motivational film produced by the folks at the Pike Place Fish Market. The general idea was that you as a worker would be more productive, happier, and do a better job if you sought to enjoy the work you do. It was all about attitude. Now this is an idea that has merit, though having the principal of your school tell you this late in the afternoon when your feet hurt and you have a long list of errands to run before you make it home isn't the best timing. Still, the videos and discussions were lively and fun, and I wanted to see the young men in their orange overalls and knit caps toss some fish. They weren't looking too happy when we arrived, since all the tourists, including me, were standing around with cameras hoping they'd toss a tuna. That morning there were more gawkers than getters, and the boys weren't throwing around anything but jokes. I was a gawker, since I knew I didn't want to lug around a fish all day to the Art Museum, or the Space Needle But they were congenial, and if you want to see them yourself you can visit their website and gawk away. You can also order a fish.


There was, of course, much more to the market. There were flower vendors, bakers, stands of vegetables including artichokes as big as a toddler's head. There are restaurants, artists, craftspeople. The original Starbucks shop is there, with their original logo of a saucy mermaid. It's a fantastic place to watch people, which is what we did most.