ASTORIA BOOKS, ASTORIA DOCUMENTARY, ASTORIA PLAY

Image via travelastoria.com

Call it Little Big Astoria?

No one doubts the importance of Astoria in Oregon history.

Little Big Astoria looms in the imagination from early sea captains challenging the Columbia Bar, to Lewis and Clark showing up overland, to today.

The fish packing, lumber mills, and ebb and flow of new people keep Astoria current.

Sam Johnson, Executive Director of the The Columbia River Maritime Museum, explained the future of Astoria in the OPB documentary “Astoria.”

“Tourism and retirees.”

Doesn’t sound like a bad idea, out of towners watching old people shuffle around.

I’ve got my shuffle going just fine, and know the way out of Portland on Hwy 30. I’d cover both demographics easily.

But what would living in Astoria be like on an everyday basis for retired baby boomers?

It looks like fun.

You could grow a beard and stand on the porch with your lady and practice gazing at the far fluid horizon.

Astoria has a lot of water. River water, ocean water, rain water.

If you like lots of water you’ll like Astoria.

History fans would never run out of material to read. It’s that kind of place.

Fire up your imagination and take a ride on a time spiral that goes back to the earliest times.

The Columbia River Bar, called the Graveyard of the Pacific, was an equal opportunity destroyer.

From native canoe to fur trade sailing ships to modern container carriers, hold your breath for a wild ride.

You could become an expert on ocean side exploration, land side exploration, maybe write your own book of exploration.

Do some exploring first and you’re on your way.

I’ll do some exploring today at “Astoria: Part One.”

From Oregon Art Watch:

An Examination of the American Democratic Experiment
“This is broad-stroke storytelling, whisking us across oceans and through vast wilderness, yet it is flecked with lots of human-scale color and detail — boisterous bursts of song and dance, simmering personality conflicts, harrowing survival challenges, bits of bawdy humor. … as both adapter and director, Coleman’s done a fine job at a massive and tricky task, remaking history into theater.”

Who doesn’t like history into theater, or history into movies?

Stay tuned.