Sin City

I leave the red van, standing with my friends in Portland. Oh, look, a hippie’s car… see the crude peace sign on the back? Hippies… interesting lot, aren’t they?
We start off, walking with twenty others. You’re representing our church, the leader says, so behave yourself. We are all loud and obnoxious. But we do not care. See the statue? Kate asks me. I nod, yeah. Wouldn’t it be lovely if it came to life? she continues. Mmhmm, I respond. They told us to observe, so I do. This is not like Seattle. The bright lights and high-class buildings, yes, they’re the same. But where are all of the people? The only cars around are parked. I realize Kate is still rambling about magic. Not that I don’t like it. The back of my mind is obsessed with it. But right now we supposed to be gathering a take on Portland. A leader comes up next to us. Tell me later, I whisper to Kate. She nods, and looks around.
It is getting dark. The city is actually rather lovely. The structures are modern. There are several churches. Many people must be religious. Christian Scientist? someone asks. A leader says, yeah. I recall something my father told me. My dad dated a Christian Scientist for a while, I murmur. He broke up with her, and she pretended he didn’t exist. It was a sad story. It made me cry when my father told it.
Lost in my own thoughts, I stop noticing things. For but a moment. We pass something others seem to miss. A small doorway. The glass door and matching window are covered up. My eyes alight upon a poster: CAMEL. Ugh, I think. How sick. Before I leave the place behind, I gaze at more wastes of paper. Never have I seen something so pointless.
We return to the vans sooner than I expected. As we ride back, I stare out the window. A neon sign… Upstairs Nude Dancers. What is wrong with this city? I don’t even notice the billboard for Abercrombie & Fitch… all it displays is a man’s naked chest.
As it turns out, Oregon has the least church attendance in the country… and Portland the least of Oregon. Looking back on it, I realize the strangeness to it… so few Christians, so many houses of God. And other places of worship.
Strange.