Aberdeen has taken a number of steps in the years since the

Published 7:00 am Monday, July 18, 2011

Aberdeen has taken a number of steps in the years since the death of its most famous former resident, Kurt Cobain, to align itself with his band, Nirvana. There’s an annual festival, a youth center in the works, a tasteful tribute on the city’s welcome mat (above), and last week, the city council planned a vote to rename the Young Street Bridge after Cobain. But, really, why stop at a bridge?Aberdeen’s taken it on the chin in recent years. The city’s logging industry was decimated to protect the spotted owl — an endangered species now falling prey to . . . an even bigger owl — and relocating to the remote city has all the appeal of a honeymoon in Spanaway. In short, Aberdeen needs a public-relations makeover. Really, it’s not such a bad place. It’s close to the ocean, real estate is reasonable (to say the least), and the local Dairy Queen pumps out world-class blizzards. So why not capitalize on the fact that your town is already a tourist destination for fans of the most famous rock band of the last two decades, and change your name to Nirvana?Yes, it’s even a double entendre. Would you rather move to Aberdeen, or Nirvana, a place — and state of mind — free of suffering?Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.