Rob Curley: Following a Spokane bachelorette’s journey

Katherine Morgan is good around people. No, scratch that. She’s great around people. The more, the merrier.

While most people are deathly afraid to speak in public, there aren’t many microphones or large audiences Morgan isn’t completely at home with.

Still, she might seem like the most unlikely person in Spokane to appear on the live, stage-show version of the popular television show, “The Bachelor.” Yet, there she was Sunday night.

Yes, that Katherine Morgan. The practical, yet highly successful local banking executive. The woman who has worked in big jobs across the country, and ran one of the fastest growing chambers of commerce in the nation. The same woman who will run a triathlon the way many of us run to the refrigerator. The educator with enough degrees that most of us aren’t sure which initials should go behind her name.

But she’s also fun. Really fun. Totally loves life and has a hard time hiding it. She’s definitely not afraid to take chances.

She’s also very single.

So, why not?

When the nine bachelorettes were announced for the evening’s bachelor, you couldn’t help but want to root for all of them. This took guts. And they couldn’t be more different. Besides, when a night begins with an Air Supply tune about making love out of nothing at all, it’s hard to decide what emotion you should be feeling.

Awkward is one.

All you had to do was follow Morgan on social media over this last week to figure out that finding love out of nothing at all was exactly what she was going to have to do. Videos had to be submitted to the show earlier in the week for those who wanted to be a part of “The Bachelor Live” event – which would happen in well under two hours, as opposed to the three months the television show spans.

She got a little help with her video. It was great. She knows a guy. There was no way she wasn’t getting on.

Except she didn’t hear back until later in the week. As in Friday. There were outfits to buy and lots of other details. On Sunday afternoon, Morgan made a plea for a little bit of help on her Facebook page as her hair stylist unexpectedly cancelled. Spoiler alert: She found someone just in the nick of time.

Speaking of nick, that wasn’t the bachelor’s name. His name was Corbin. Totally a nice guy.

As the show began, he was clearly a little nervous, too. Who wouldn’t be? However, his suit fit perfectly and it can’t be emphasized enough just how that can overcome so many of life’s problems. He came off as genuine, smart and as someone who very much would like to meet someone without the coronavirus.

Good news! Morgan checked all of those boxes. Easily.

The problem is the show didn’t begin in a way that played to Morgan’s strengths.

She didn’t come out in a leopard-print dress or by crawling across the stage like a tiger, or by kissing all over the bachelor. But when the question-and-answer portions began, all you need to know is Morgan might be the best public speaker in Spokane.

Listen, boys and girls still in school, this is a handy skill to have. Trust your Uncle Rob on this one. It works when you’re asked to give a toast at a friend’s wedding. Or when you need to give a speech to your local school board like in “Field of Dreams” or possibly “Footloose.” Or when you’re on a live stage version of a popular reality TV show.

As each round of roses were handed out, Morgan kept getting one – which is how you advance in this show. It’s also how you clearly win really nice costume jewelry from Kendra Scott. (Please note most public-speaking opportunities in Spokane get you gift cards at local coffee shops, which are handy, if less sparkly.)

While some contestants were committing very public displays of affection, more twerking than we typically see at the old Opera House or saying fairly suggestive things throughout the evening – behaviors that aren’t exactly dissuaded on the show – Morgan kept it about thoughtful and well-spoken answers. Always followed by the nicest arrays of smiles you’ve ever seen.

This woman could be a billboard model for a dentist if she wasn’t an executive for one of the biggest banks in the nation.

After one of the questions, each contestant had to receive a letter grade from the bachelor. Morgan got the A. But the winner got a rose, subsequently planting a long kiss on bachelor … with Morgan covering her face with the sheet of paper showing her grade. It didn’t matter. Round after round, she kept getting a rose, eventually making it to the Final Four contestants. As one of the biggest Gonzaga basketball fans on the planet, she knew what that meant.

In the end, Morgan didn’t get the final rose. Corbin picked someone else. That also was OK.

Lots of people were brave and sincere on that stage Sunday night. Which is never easy when the evening’s song selection includes “Almost Paradise” – proving the members of Loverboy and Heart probably should never collaborate again.

In the end, especially in moments like this, you have to be yourself … even if that means the area’s most-eligible bachelorette is single for another day.

Relationships are hard, even when they don’t begin as a part of a live dating show.

Still, Corbin, if in a few months you realize you let the wrong one getaway, there’s a chance someone who may or may not have written this column knows how to get ahold of Katherine M. – as she was known for a few hours last night.