The 2010 Fremont Zombie Walk
posted July 8th, 2010 by EverywhereistIf there’s one thing I understand, it’s being in a funk.
Recently, several of my friends have found themselves in funks, for varying and legitimate reasons. And consequently, it put me in a bit of a funk (did you know that funks are contagious? Bet they didn’t teach you that in sex ed. Stupid middle school health teacher).
One of my friends is moving to Baltimore for graduate school (I’m resisting the temptation to watch The Wire, which I’ve never seen, because I know that after doing so I will want to lock her in my bathroom for fear that something bad will happen to her). I hate it when people leave Seattle. It’s silly – I’m hardly ever in this town, but I strive to keep a high concentration of people I love in just a few places. I like to tuck them safely away, and then, like so many other things in my life, I start to take them for granted.
Until one day, they tell me they’re leaving.
And suddenly I think of all the hours spent in front of my computer instead of in their company (ahem). I think about the birthdays I missed, the parties at which I didn’t show up, the phone calls I forgot to return.
And I feel like a heel. Hence, the funk.
It seems that the times I see a person the most are just when they’re about to leave town. Suddenly I rush to make up for lost time, to squeeze every ounce of life out of our interactions.
Because sometimes squeezing the life out of things is good. Especially when you’re in the company of friends. And so, what could have been a dreary, sad, “We can’t believe you’re leaving!” dinner, turned into a magical afternoon. Because what we failed to realize, when we sat down at a cute little Thai restaurant in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle last Saturday, was that we had given ourselves first-row seats to the Fremont Zombie walk …
It’s funny, because I spend a lot of time thinking about zombies. I mean, a lot of time. They’re my number one fictional fear. I think about zombie escape plans, and I realize that Rand and I need to work on ours. I keep my gas tank at least half-full at all times. I realize I will need to buy more non-perishable food items. These are things that occupy my mind. I realize it’s not rational or logical, but still, I think about them.
So you can imagine how I shocked I was to discover that nothing – nothing – will pull you out of a funk like a Zombie Apocalypse.
We were adequately warned. As in all zombie apocalypses, there was a cryptic sign of what was to come.
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Things started off quite calmly. I think that’s why it was so much fun – we really only expected to see a few passing zombies here and there.
Chrissy and Skye, expecting nothing.
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Notice the sign behind me that reads "We have Seattle surrounded." This is what we call "foreshadowing."
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Then we realized something was stirring. The first people to go past were a couple of guys in HazMat suits. They told us not to worry – everything was under control.
"Stay calm!"
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And then, then …
A lovely day for a slurping, stumbling stroll.
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The undead apparently prefer the un-cola.
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Did I mention there were a lot of them? There were a lot of them.
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Though in all fairness, some of them might have just been goth.
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Keep in mind, we were having dinner, outside, at a lovely little Thai restaurant. We hadn’t exactly expected this when we sat down. It was kind of a little gross, actually. Hysterical, but gross.
Chrissy and Skye were totally good sports about it, though.
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We were in kind of a vulnerable position. I can’t tell you how many people stopped by to nibble on my dinner companions. Then again, they are adorable. It kind of makes sense.
They're coming to get you Barbara ... I mean Chrissy.
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Skye was screaming because she hates ravers.
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And the costumes we saw were downright brilliant. Not simply zombies, but zombies with a backstory.
This was one of about three zombie Jesuses (Jesii?) that we saw that day.
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This girl was my favorite. I wanted to ask her what the backstory was, but she was so perfectly in character ...
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The Zombie Storm Trooper won the costume contest.
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I know, I know - a lightsaber wouldn't stick in his chest. It would slice right through him and cauterize the wounds along the way, so there'd be no blood. Whatever. It's still funny.
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Finally, help arrived. But do zombies count as ghosts?
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And damn, some of these folks pushed the envelope. You can see the rest of the photos in my Zombie Apocalypse photo set, but I’ve chosen not to include some of the more heinous ones here. I heard that the guy who organized the walk occasionally gets criticized for glamorizing violence, but I don’t know if I agree with that assessment. It just seemed like a bunch of people dressing up and having fun. We actually saw a lot of families, and people who looked delighted to be spending time together.
One of my favorite photos of the bunch.
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I counted us among those enjoying each other's company.
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Overall? Well, this sums things up pretty nicely:
Sometimes all you can do during the zombie apocalypse is laugh.
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And just like that, my funk lifted.
Tags: Attractions, Seattle, WTF
July 8th, 2010 at 11:39 am
In the case of sudden zombie attack, might I suggest the Remington 870 SuperMag Express? It is 12 gauges of zombie destroying carnage, and even comes in camoflauge in case zombies are not color blind. Mine is kept in the closet and ready for the apocalypse. And I am only half joking. Ask Christine.
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July 8th, 2010 at 12:06 pm
y’all made me forget all about my funk that day (pun intended). i love you. <3
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July 8th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
ranting
anger
sadness
depression
eating
ennui
zombie apocalypse!
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July 8th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
you just made me cry and then laugh. thank you, g, i love you.
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July 8th, 2010 at 1:14 pm
Actually (pushes glasses up nose) if a Jedi were to thrust the lightsaber into the Stormtroopers chest and then leave it there, I think it would look something like this. I don’t know if the handle weighs enough to drag the ignited weapon down his front and out his groin.
But, whatever. You can pre-order a zombie Stormtrooper “mini-bust” if you want to.
http://www.entertainmentearth.com/prodinfo.asp?number=GE80078
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July 8th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
Hunh. I don’t know if I have a fictional fear but my “irrational” fear is of clowns. But, of course, they’re very real.
That would have been a weird day. That’s for sure. I thought you were going to say that you marched yourself which would have been very revealing. I think I’m glad you were just a funny commentator instead.
I hear you on the funk. Mine comes and goes.
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July 8th, 2010 at 2:43 pm
While driving thru Ballard on Sat. I spotted a lone, pedestrian Zombie with only a view of his backside. (“Do you think that guys knows he looks like a Zombie from the back.. HOLY CRAP he IS a zombie”) You have a picture of Zombie Jesus. You win. Well done, my friend, well done.
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July 8th, 2010 at 3:25 pm
I <3 zombies, but that ghostbuster is my hero.
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July 8th, 2010 at 10:30 pm
I love this, I’m pretty indifferent to zombies but this looks pretty cool. Some of those costumes are crazy, especially seeing the ones on flickr. I have the sudden urge to watch the Thriller music video now.
And to go slightly off on a tangent I’d highly encourage you to watch The Wire. I just finished it and it’s probably the best tv series I’ve ever seen.
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July 9th, 2010 at 11:42 am
Omigod! I must go next year! MUST!!!
It seems like I’m always the friend leaving. I’ve lived in three major cities in the last year, and it’s to the point where I’m going to say screw it and get a PO box. But I understand the funk.
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July 11th, 2010 at 11:29 am
Actually, while I DO keep a sawed off 12-gauge shotgun (nicknamed “stumpy”) in my closet also, in anticipation of a zombie attack, my weapon of choice would be a gas powered hedge trimmer (which looks like a mini chainsaw, but lighter and more female-friendly)….because if you hack a zombies arms and legs off, there’s little that he/she can do to hurt you, and really they’re fairly easy to outrun at that point.
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July 11th, 2010 at 7:24 pm
You see, here is where the problem of using a hedge trimmer would be: distance. Using the hedge trimmer means that you are in lunging distance of a blood obsessed zombie. You might get an arm or two, but eventually one will lunge at you, and well, it only takes a bite.
That’s why I prefer the shotgun. At close range, it really cannot be beaten. Of course, one could argue that the best weapon against zombies is distance itself, being as they like to horde together and eventually you WILL run out of ammo.
However, might I also suggest a long range, high powered rifle for thinning out the herd at distance? My personal favorite caliber would be a .30-06, but famed mountain man Jeremiah Johnson would favor a .50 caliber Hawkin. Either would do the trick, but your aim had better be true as the Hawkin kicks like a mule and is a muzzle loading rifle, meaning single shots and longer reload time.
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July 11th, 2010 at 7:31 pm
MMMM … Robert Redford.
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July 12th, 2010 at 2:47 am
I am not sure what this is all about, what fun can be had from walking like a zombie!! There is something about the Americans that fail me.
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July 14th, 2010 at 3:29 pm
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