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Comedian Harry Riley

When Harry J. Riley first laid eyes on Spokane in 2000, he had an uncommon reaction.

I was blown away by this city, Riley said from his Hillyard home. My initial take was, Man, this city is huge. I was taken aback by how many malls there are here. The other thing is that so many people have trucks but they dont use the vehicle as a truck like we did where Im from. People just drive around in trucks in Spokane.

Riley, 43, is from St. Matthews, a one-horse town in South Carolina that was the birthplace of actress-vocalist Eartha Kitt.

Its a very small city with two factories, Riley said. I remember my aunt would work all day in a chicken factory and come home smelling like chickens. I didnt want that to be my life for 40 years.

The military was a passport to a new life and Riley landed at Fairchild Air Force base. I thought I would do my 20-years in the military and retire, Riley said. But after five years in the service I was diagnosed with lupus. I hid it for awhile but when I went to Iraq (in 2005), I got sick and on the way back to America, I knew my military career was over. I had no idea what I was going to do.

The single father of a teenage daughter gave comedy a shot.

I always had a good sense of humor, Riley said. I tried it and I love it.

Riley enjoys the freewheeling lifestyle, which is quite different from his military period. You were a cog in a wheel in the military, Riley said. I was fine with that, but the life I presently lead is preferable.

A lot of it is about raising a child, Riley said. Its a slice of my life that a lot of people can relate to. There was a lot of humor with my daughter growing up. Its fascinating watching a person evolve. Kids change every day and I chronicled her experience growing up.