So it’s not really that I’ve left Alaska for Washington. I’m still a resident of Cascadia.

This morning I read an article on Cascadia (Alaska, the Yukon, Alberta, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho and maybe California) as working towards an integrated economy, or an integrated environmental plan, or any number of integrated things.

At the end of the article, they helpfully list a few facts about the constituent parties, like the mottoes of each. (The Cascadia idea is variably defined, so Montana, Idaho and California are not included.)

Alaska: North to the Future
The Yukon: (no motto)
Alberta: Strong and Free
B.C.: Splendor without diminishment
Washington: Alki “by and by”
Oregon: She flies with her own wings

Alberta’s motto sounds like a tagline for a tampon ad. Maybe I’d take B.C.’s more seriously if I hadn’t heard things about timber industry, or lack of sewage treatment. What were they thinking in Oregon? Or for that matter, what were they thinking in Washington? I worked at Alki, and it’s a great place, but it’s a poor motto. It requires an explanatory note: “by and by.” That is, ‘alki’ was a trading jargon word meaning ‘by and by’ (I assume in context of ‘I’ll pay you alki’) that was attached to the appelation the first settlers of what’s now Seattle chose for their little settlement: ‘New York,’ which became ‘New York Alki,’ which I have always taken as a somewhat sarcastic assessment of the settlers’ high hopes.

I have to say, Alaska’s motto wins by a mile. Especially with the middle latitudes becoming less comfortable, what with climate change and all.