Marmots and marshmallows: Spokane hits The New Yorker


People love it when Spokane pops up in popular culture, whether it's movie scenes from Benny & Joon or VisionQuest, or on TV in Z Nation. 

The latest, if a bit more "culture" than "pop"? I'm talking about an appearance in a new David Sedaris essay called "Leviathan" in the Jan. 5 issue of The New Yorker. In a passage in which Sedaris talks with a friend about his pet turtles, we get: 

"And you're giving them bread?" I said to Paul. It made me think of my first visit to Spokane, Washington. I was walking through the park that fronts the river and happened upon people feeding animals that resembled groundhogs. 
"What are these?" I asked a man who was kneeling with his arm outstretched.
"Marmots," he told me.
"And what do they eat?"
He reached into a bag he kept at his feet. "Marshmallows."
Read the whole story right here — you won't be sorry.