Bloglander

Our long national nightmare is almost over.

For too long, garbage has been piling up without recourse. For too long, the people of Spokane have been living in filth with no one to turn to. For too long, our cries for help have remained unanswered.

Until tomorrow.

That's right, starting tomorrow, you will be free, once again, to feed your garbage to the beloved Garbage-Eating Goat.

"All of our grounds are going to be open for Bloomsday weekend," says Spokane Parks and Recreation director Leroy Eadie.

Yes, yes, the city also wants you to know that the meticulously crafted Looff Carrousel, the 109-year-old Spokane landmark, has been completely restored and placed in a glass rotunda.

"There was a lot of conversation about moving the Carrousel elsewhere in the park. A lot of people felt passionate that it needed to stay here. Now that we're done, we couldn't agree with them more. This is really the home of the Carrousel," says Spokane Parks and Recreation Director Leroy Eadie. "It could have party rooms, we can have restrooms... it can have refreshments and, obviously, all the beauty of the Carrousel."

Starting on May 12, you'll be able to buy a ride around the Carrousel for $2 per ride. Later on, you'll be able to purchase a full day of unlimited Carrousel rides for only $5.

Best of all for frugal families like ours, you'll once again have a chance to win a free ride by reaching out your hand and grabbing a golden ring. It used to be a brass ring, but now, thanks to all the glass — including 333 mirrors and a glass enclosure — the new rings will be plastic.

One of the coolest non-goat related upgrades is the addition of a boardwalk to the outside of the Carrousel. It allows you to get right up to the water, complete with spectacular views of the water, the Clock Tower, the U.S. Pavilion and angry geese.

Now back to the goat stuff.

Legend says the Garbage-Eating Goat was forged by the Greek god Pan in the furnace of Hephaestus when the world was first created — a reminder that whatever man constructs nature will eventually devour.

More accurate reporting says that it was created as part of Expo '74 by Sister Paula Mary Turnbull.

There are plenty of goat sculptures in this world. But very few goats suck up trash from your hand when you activate them with a nearby button.

The goat has quickly become an iconic part of Spokane lore.

A relationship in Spokane, we'd argue, isn't official until you, hand in hand, feed the Garbage-Eating goat together. (You can go one step further if you want and feed the scraps of your torn-up love letters to the Goat after your divorce.)

As Riverfront Park Director Jon Moog feeds the goat a handful of dried leaves, he notes how cool it is that all these Spokane landmarks are so close together.

"You can almost see all four things — the garbage goat, the Clocktower, the Carrousel and the Pavilion, all in this frame," he says.

The Rotary Fountain that turned out to be nightmarishly expensive to fix? That's coming back on line too.

"The Rotary Fountain has been completely rebuilt and just yesterday they were dialing in the jets," Eadie says.  "The whole south of the park is really complete as far as development goes."

(Scroll down if you want to get to the goat picture.)