Reporter proves self to be local tourist attraction

Voters throwing money away, giving too much control to government

| November 28, 2005 8:00 PM

In a recent story, my colleague Brad Gary reported Moses Lake's city budget is looking a little bit better for 2006, thanks in part to an increase in the city's sale tax due to more spending locally.

To which I say, "You're welcome."

Not because I've been on a spending spree, but because it has occurred to me: I am a tourist attraction.

I am not unique in this standing. Anyone who has friends who hail from outside of the region popping in for a visit can also be labeled as such. But they are not the ones who are writing this My Turn.

Since my arrival in Moses Lake on Nov. 1, 2003, I have done my part to support the city and county's economies. From frequent visits by my mom, dad and brother to the arrival of friends who hail from as far away as Orlando, Fla., all have gotten at least a glimpse of the Columbia Basin experience.

A brief digression on a similar but seemingly unrelated story, about a month ago, I was sitting at a local coffee spot when I heard a voice sounding hauntingly familiar placing an order.

That sounds like Mr. Jones, my eighth grade social studies and English teacher, I thought to myself. I turned. It even looked like Mr. Jones.

"Mr. Jones?"

A pause. A stare. Then, "Matthew Weaver?"

It's an even cooler story when you pause to remember we both are from Spokane. Not an impossible scenario, but nor is it a highly expected one.

In any event, I think these visitors are getting their money's worth.

Being a friend/relative of Matthew Weaver seems to go hand in hand with eating vast quantities of food, so the area's fine eating establishments have been sampled, often drawing rave reviews. And I try never to hit the same place twice if I can help it, so they're coming away with a hint of the diversity of the offerings here.

I have also given makeshift, Matthew-centered tours of the area, showing off such noteworthy locales as, "There's the place I go for Port of Moses Lake meetings every second and fourth Monday of the month," "That's where I go to get my car fixed when it feels ill," and "That's my favorite spot to get coffee at the moment."

We have played miniature golf, gone to the movies, popped in to visit Monte Holm, attended musicals, walked around and checked out Sculpture Without Walls, gone on walks, traded laughs, told stories and updated one another on the goings-on in our lives.

Even on trips where everybody was operating on a slim expense budget, at the very least, gasoline was purchased, translating into those almighty local dollars bouncing around the economy.

Again, I say, you're welcome. And when do I make my way into the Area Attractions directory?

Matthew Weaver is local tourist attraction and the business and agriculture reporter for the Columbia Basin Herald.