Aberdeen, Washington: Something in the Way, But Come As You Are

Aberdeen, Washington is a place that sounds better than it really is. 

People are wondering: “what could possibly go wrong with this place?” This sea side town is mostly known as the hometown to likes of WWE wrestler “The American Dragon” Daniel Bryan and Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic. Sure, average towns don’t produce big shots like them. There gotta be something very special about this place.

The bridge where Kurt Cobain used to seek shelter during his homeless days

 I think this town is special, in its own way.

Upon entering the city, small, rusty houses stood like withered trees staring at the visitors. The road greeted those who pass by with cold, open dents and faded paints. The downtown seemed lifeless even during the day, and the salty erosion caused by the sea whipped the walls and the roofs, left wounds that hadn’t healed in a long time.  The low clouds covered the town like the place was engulfed by smoke. 

A building in downtown Aberdeen

This place used to be a good, happy town like everywhere else, until the local logging industry was hit hard. Those who could get out of there left the town as fast as they could. But for those who couldn’t, most of them end up living there even until this day, and probably they don’t even have the intention to live anywhere else. 

Kurt Cobain was one of those people who absolutely hated life in Aberdeen. His childhood home, now a popular grunge rock pilgrimage site (still a private home of somebody else in Aberdeen), stood like it’s abandoned in the neighborhood. The owners tried to sell the house at an above market price because of its fame, but no one simply wanted it. I mean logically if Kurt Cobain never wanted it, why would any of hardcore fans wanted it? 

Maybe I’m totally wrong…….

A billboard and a plaque dedicated to Kurt Cobain and his song "Something in the Way", in which Cobain wrote about his homeless experience underneath a bridge in Aberdeen

By the river, there was the Kurt Cobain Memorial Park. The location of the park was where Kurt claimed that he used to spend the nights when he was homeless (some say he actually slept at his friend’s house) – Underneath a bridge. The song “Something in the Way” was all about Kurt’s time under the bridge, how he didn’t care about the world and how the world didn’t care about him. “It’s OK to eat the fish, 'Cause they don't have any feelings” Who was getting trapped? And who had no feelings towards the fish? Who was the fish?

The bridge where Kurt Cobain used to seek shelter during his homeless period.

You still don’t see a lot of visitors in Aberdeen. Being the hometown of Kurt Cobain didn’t really help people of Aberdeen getting the tourist money it should get. The town had only two or three hotels, especially when Aberdeen is a main gateway to the ever popular Olympic National Park (The nearby Oceanshores had at least 11 or 12). Something in the way…So what’s really in the way that prevents Aberdeen from recovering from the recession caused by the economic downturn that occurred decades ago? (OK, it’s time to stop playing around Nirvana song lyrics). To me that’s a mystery, considering how overdeveloped the nearby Seattle had become.  There are certainty attempts, but it just seemed that nothing really worked out there in Aberdeen.  But on the flip side of the argument, many say that Aberdeen is a city that makes people feel like it’s a “real” city. Yes, it has its own problems, and there are visible scars we can clearly see around the town. As human beings ourselves, who don’t have problems? And who don’t have scars?  

A memorial dedicated to Kurt Cobain and his music

Well, maybe a curse is also a bless for Aberdeen, I suppose?