Why Pasco, WA is not like London, England . . . or something like that!

One might wonder why anyone would contrast Pasco, WA to London, England in the first place. [Two or three might wonder that as well!] I mean, if you really think about it, could two places be any more different? And they say that you really shouldn't contrast things that have no similarities, as it is pointless. If you are trying to figure out the differences between balloons and oysters for example, the options are almost limitless, which makes the task pretty effing daunting. In fact, the only real similarity that I can think of off hand between balloons and oysters is that I don't plan on eating either of them. Therefore, why would anyone waste time contrasting them? You could similarly ask why anyone would waste time contrasting Pasco and London . . . well, other than as a desperate effort write blog post #3 of course!

To answer that question, I think I'll have to let you in on a little secret. You'll need to lean a bit closer to your computer screen for this one though. I don't want just anyone to become privy to such a life-changing revelation, so I'll have to whisper. Ok, ready or not, here goes . . . the secret truth is:

*****Pasco and London aren't completely different after all.*****

I know! Weird to think about, huh? At this point you are probably thinking that I'm either a) crazy, b) lying, or c) thinking that I'm a lot funnier than I really am. While you probably could argue that point a has some validity and point c is certainly true, I swear that I'm not lying. But how?!?!? How could the thriving metropolis that is London, England be ANYTHING like podunk old Pasco, WA? Well, let's take a closer look.

If you have any geographic knowledge of Europe at all--which, let's face it, leaves out about 92% of the population of America, but I'm feeling generous, so I'll assume that anyone who reads this is in that superior 8%!--you may know that London is in the southeast portion of England. Guess what--Pasco is in the southeast portion of Washington state!!!!! And the astonishing number of similarities don't end there! London is a capital city and so is Pasco--granted, London is the capital of a whole country and Pasco is only the capital of Franklin county, one county in one state of America, but still . . . ! [EDIT: I know, I know, it is really the county seat not the capital of the county, but that didn't really help me make my point, so I kind of glossed over that. However, thanks for keeping me on the straight and narrow Shelley! I did swear that I wasn't lying, so someone better help me keep my word!] Also geographically, London is famously a city built on a river . . . as is Pasco. In London's case, it is the Thames, as seen below:

Yes, I took this picture!

Pasco was built along the Columbia River--the longest and most powerful river in the west, as seen below:

Not surprisingly, I took this one too!

I mean, simply from these photos, can't you see how utterly similar Pasco and London are?!? Ha! Ok, so you might not be convinced, but I'm not out of evidence yet!

Domed buildings? Check and check! London might have a more famous domed building in St. Paul's cathedral, but Pasco does have the historic Franklin County Courthouse, which includes a large copper dome. [Check it out at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Courthouse-PascoWashington.JPG] And . . . both cities are in English speaking countries . . . ok, I'm kind of grasping at straws at this point!

To end on a strong note then, here's the kicker. The most important fact that proves London and Pasco are similar is the fact that I've lived in both cities! Why is that important, you might ask? Well, obviously when I become a famous blogger--and the quality of this post is CLEARLY going to catapult me to fame [she says sarcastically]--people will make pilgrimages to both London and Pasco to visit houses in which I lived in an effort to soak up the very air that allowed me to become such an accomplished and witty writer . . . or not!!!! ;)

Here's my house in London--19 Cannonbury Ave.

Here I am in my London bedroom during my semester abroad in college.

Ok, since I've gone through all the similarities, this is where you are probably wondering if I am EVER going to get back to the stated point of this post--wait, I had a point?!?--oh yeah, how Pasco and London are different. Unfortunately, I'm kind of tired now. It is getting pretty late, putting the pictures in this post wore me out, and I'm not sure I have enough energy to actually get into the myriad reasons why Pasco and London are not alike. Let's just say that many of the reasons are pretty obvious to any rational person, so I think you can probably figure it out on your own. However, you clearly have a computer if you are reading this, so if you're having trouble coming up with your own reasons, I'd recommend that you look it up on the internet--my sources tell me that you can find out lots of stuff there!

[Sigh. Yes, this was pretty lame. It was sort of an excuse to figure out how to post pictures. However, you never know--post #4 might just kick ass, so if you've come this far with me, don't give up yet!]