SEATTLE — "I didn't think it should be lost to the boneyard," said Billy Hutchinson. It's as simple as that for the man who saved Trump.
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%Hutchinson doesn't hide his political affiliations. The man's supported Hillary Clinton for president since 2008. There are several pictures of her (and Bill Clinton) tucked among taxidermied baby ducks, antique shaving kits and lovingly preserved Life magazines. But inside Hutchinson's whimsical and intriguing shop of curiosities, right now, naked Donald Trump is the star. No doubt.
You've probably heard about the five statues deposited in five cities by artist collective INDECLINE (Seattle, New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Cleveland).
But Trump is still standing only in Seattle. The others have been impounded or destroyed.
When Hutchinson and friends saw Seattle city crews preparing to pluck it from the public streets, they contacted INDECLINE to get permission to save it.
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%He's safe now at No Parking on Pike.
The crowds have followed, and Hutchinson has welcomed them, one and all -- from around the city, the country and different spots in the world.
In his crowded, small store, I didn't see a single sale.
But Hutchinson didn't hurry anyone.
"It's nice talking to people," he said with a genuinely warm smile.
The gracious host glanced at all the people he'd greeted in the last few minutes, before his eyes settled on the striking figure he had to thank.
Trump, in all his glory.
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This #SeattleAntifreeze project is dedicated to telling stories about people who break our area's reputation for being chilly to strangers (a phenomenon known as the "Seattle Freeze").
If you know of a story that should be told, please let me know.