Cascade is a serialized satire about four Seattleites –– a failed homosexual, a crypto-obsessed mom, a party-girl-turned-caretaker, and an unorthodox professor, all trying to hold it together in a world coming apart. Catch updates every few weeks on the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog. In this installment, we meet Dave, Karen, and Tamara on a weekend day as an unexpected heatwave hits Seattle. Want to skip ahead? Get the book.
Going Downhill
It’s hard to pinpoint the precise beginning of the story of how things came apart. Certainly, we all saw it coming. Everyone predicted it. But life goes on: wheels keep turning, the sun keeps rising, and so does the NASDAQ, up and to the right. We get distracted and lose the plot. And for good reason—on the road to our final destination, there are many thrills, such as the first warm day after a long, wet winter.
Maybe that’s a place to start: the first day of spring, when an unexpected heatwave hit Seattle. As the clouds burned off, the pallid denizens of the little isthmus suddenly realized what was coming: a blast of air from Palm Springs—and on a weekend, no less! A euphoric panic set in: Get moving! Get blooming! Chug a mimosa! Music and laughter rang out in the streets, and phones lit up with messages. The Big Dark is has ended! Spring has arrived! Continue reading