by Karl Kurtz
What state capitol was I entering today when I saw this sign?
You guessed it: Olympia, Washington.
I'm willing to bet that it's the only state capitol where one would find a sign like this. Washingtonians pride themselves on their "live with it" approach to rain: "We don't use umbrellas," say the locals. "We just buy rain jackets with a hood. An umbrella is a sign of a tourist."
Twenty-some years ago when the Washington Legislature hosted an NCSL annual meeting in Seattle, their gift to meeting-goers was an umbrella that celebrated the state's damp-but-undaunted climate. It was a clever, wry statement about themselves and their visitors. I still see those distinctive umbrellas occasionally as I travel around the country.
On my one-day visit to Olympia, speaking to the "Legislative Scholars Program" for civics teachers sponsored by the Washington Legislature, it was 67 degrees and a sun-dappled day like the one in this photo. Eat your hearts out, those of you in the heat wave on the east coast.
Do you have equally interesting local signage in and around your capitol? If so, send us a photo, and we will run it in The Thicket.
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