Sequim: Land of Death

I have a friend named Joey who I met in high school and lived in Sequim for a long time before moving to Bellingham awhile after he graduated. I was talking to him about Sequim one time, and why we both didn't like it. He said one reason, maybe even the main reason, is because Sequim is a place where people go to die.

He was, of course, referring to Sequim's status as a huge retirement town. I think some magazine rated it one of the top retirement communities in the country (http://www.ehow.com/list_6018059_retirement-places-west-coast.html). Old people are the majority in Sequim. The median age is 59. The newspaper obituary is never empty. The overall mood of the town is affected by this, I think. Working at Radioshack, I see a lot of people at the ends of their lives, some holding on by a few threads. I'm always half-expecting someone to fall down dead in front of me. It's unnerving and depressing. I don't particularly enjoy thinking about or being around death. Maybe it's some supernatural thing where all the death in the town just gives off weird vibes. Or maybe it's just my dad being an asshole giving off weird vibes.

For whatever reason, I'm never as happy in Sequim. I never feel as good. I'm never as inspired to do anything. I don't enjoy life as much. I always just want to leave as soon as possible, or at least forget that I'm here by distracting myself with video games, friends (when they feel like calling me back), books, music, the internet via coffee shops and work, and anything else that can make me forget how miserable this town seems to make me. I've tried to tell myself it's all in my head, that I can be happy here. I'm beginning to think that I can't.

When I moved to Bellingham, my average happiness level went through the roof. Elie definitely had at least some sort of impact on this. But it was also being away from the old people of Sequim, the death, the warped and tired perspectives, finally being outside of the social/political/general-worldview bubble that is the northern Olympic Peninsula (I've lost count of the number of times people have come into Radioshack talking about TV or radio, in the process revealing that they basically just like to watch Fox News or listen to Rush Limbaugh/Glenn Beck). I enjoy being around people that at least try to know what they're talking about, people who want to be where they are... I don't know, I'm about to start babbling, so I'm just going to stop while I'm ahead. I need to stop writing depressing blogs; I swear I'm not as depressed as this makes me seem, I just can't stand being in Sequim and cannot wait to get back to Bellingham.

--Jon