New Year's notes: Eight Spokane residents share their hopes and fears for 2024

Dec. 31—The beginning of a new year is just another marker on the calendar, but it carries with it a strange power to make people reflect on their hopes and fears for the future.

Wherever people are in their lives, a new year presents an opportunity for change.

The Spokesman-Review took a ride on the City Line bus on a recent December afternoon, asking those along the way what they saw in the year ahead.

Kirk Fisher

Sitting on a bench at the downtown bus plaza with a WorkSource folder next to him, Kirk Fisher's hopes for the new year are simultaneously simple and significant: get a job, stay out of prison and stay away from drugs.

Fisher has spent the last six years incarcerated after attempting in 2018 to break into an ATM, only just released from custody on Christmas Day. He's living in an Oxford House, a sober living home, and hoping to get a job — any job, really, but hopefully in construction, he says. His hope for the new year is intertwined with his fears, he said.

"I'm just staying away from old acquaintances, you know?" he said. "Tell you what, six years was long enough for me. I'm not going back to that."

Steven Mundorff and Kristen Gerloff

The last years have been significant for Steven Mundorff and Kristen Gerloff. The couple was homeless, living at the Camp Hope encampment since early 2022, but now live with Gerloff's family. Gerloff had managed to maintain a job at a local Jack in the Box while sleeping in a tent. During our recent interview, she announced she's now up for a promotion at KFC.

"That was supposed to be a surprise," she said, looking over at him.

The pair want to start a business, maybe a bar where people could gather and play games, or an arts and crafts studio. They want financial independence, but also to be able to donate to causes that have supported them in the past, such as homeless services or children's hospitals.

"I'm disabled myself, and St. Jude's helped a lot with a lot of my disabilities," Mundorff said. "So I want to be able to donate."

Marcellous Rumea Wayne Paige Jr.

Standing at a bus stop outside the plaza, Marcellous Rumea Wayne Paige Jr. has a lot to think about for the year ahead. The Irish immigrant who moved to Spokane about two and a half years ago is working on his latest novel, "Dream Striders," which follows four individuals who can move between reality and dreams, and who must help Death restore the unraveling barrier between these interconnected worlds.

He's written since he was a child, writing his first book as his senior project in high school, and hopes to have "Dream Striders" published this year. He credits his dual heritage — part Irish, part Roma, both with rich traditions of folklore and storytelling — for fueling his love for the fantasy and horror genres.

His main worry going into 2024 is the health of his ex-husband, he added.

"He's been going through a lot of surgeries and stuff like that because he's having a heart bypass, and it's been hard for him to find doctors to actually help him," he said. "So, that's my thoughts and wishes."

Robie Brown

Robie Brown pulled the City Line bus into its eastmost stop at Spokane Community College hoping to get in a quick bathroom break before the route started up again, but stopped for a moment to reflect on the year ahead.

"I just kind of hope that the economy gets a little better, and that the homeless situation is taken care of down here," Brown said, motioning towards the nearby homeless shelter on Trent Avenue that opened last summer. "It's not too bad, I suppose, but it's a lot different than before COVID."

As a part-timer for the Spokane Transit Authority, Brown noted that his work will probably change next year as more drivers are trained and the City Line substantially increases frequency.

"As far as part time goes, they don't have any pieces for me anymore, so I'll be driving the shuttle going between the Arena and downtown," he said.

Yurii Pasechnyk

Sitting in the Spokane Community College student center lobby with his mother, Mariia, 8-year-old Yurii Pasechnyk hopes to make more friends when fourth grade starts next year, and also to be able to keep up with his studies.

"School will be getting harder because we're building up base knowledge," he said. "Math is much harder in fourth grade."

At least so far, math has been one of Yurii's favorite subjects, as well as physical education . He especially loves playing Island Ball, a variation of dodgeball.

Austin Johnson

Also hanging out in the Spokane Community College lobby was 8-year-old Austin Johnson, whose biggest hope for the future was accomplished before the new year even began. His family was headed to Seattle to see the Space Needle, but also to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers play the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

"I want the Steelers to win," Austin said.

His hope came true: The Steelers edged out the Seahawks 30-23 at Lumen Field.

When his attention was turned to the upcoming school year, Austin said he hoped there would be lots of fun activities, especially art, in the curriculum.

Connie Johnson

Austin and his parents had been hanging outside the office of his grandmother, Connie, who was celebrating her last day before retirement after 34 years working for the college, most recently as an administrative assistant.

At the end of one era and the beginning of another, Connie Johnson's hopes for the future are twofold, she said: She wants to see more kindness in the world, and she wants to have fun with her family.

"I just want to spend time with my family, and I have friends that are just great," she said, tearing up as she looked over the room where some of her family were waiting. "I wasn't expecting this big of a party."

After a moment, she added that she also wants to learn more about herself.

"When you've worked for 34 years, and then I'm done ... I have to learn all over again, what do I like to do?" she said. "Now I have all this time, what can I explore, what can I read, what can I do?"