Metolius Musings

"It's only a flesh wound..."

2011-10-11T06:14:00.000-07:00

If you were born after 1960 this little phrase probably means little to nothing, 'less of course you're a british comedy video student, or a bored netflix customer with too much time on your hands.

Monty Python coined this shorty to draw humor into those self deprecating moments when, hammered by LIFE, we minimize the impact of the blow and pretend that, hey, it's only a flesh wound. We may be bleeding, in indescribable agony, but...no worries...flesh wound here...carry on.

Maybe it's the best. Wallowing in the tragedy of a situation doesn't cure us either, so...what SHOULD we do to end suffering?

What? You talking to ME? I haven't a clue.

I just pose the questions...I don't actually ANSWER them.

"I need some AIR!"

2011-09-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

SO I'm sitting at the Portland Airport, slowly, painfully making my way from Oakland to Camp Sherman. Well not so much Oakland as the Bay Area. Ok, not so much the Bay Area as the EAST Bay area...San Ramon/Danville, my new kinda home. I'll get to that part maybe later but this post is more about returning home. Back to a home that you didn't even really realized you missed. Tom waits says "I never saw my hometown until I stayed away too long". When I flew in to Portland just now I fell in love with that green river bound city again, like it was for the first time.

Make no mistake, It's the Metolius River I'm on my way to... and it'll nurture my soul with what I need to heal, but Portland is just ok with me. Better than ok...it's familiar; it's home.

Hard to explain to someone else how much work it is finding yourself in unfamiliar surroundings. It's just more 'work'. Oh, I like the excitement of everything being new, but returning home is like being embraced by your mother; a warm embrace that says 'Everything will be alright'. You so want to believe it will.

But on the Metolius, even there things change. My unchangeable place changes. Good friends you thought would always be there each summer, pass on or move on. It's ok, right even that they should. Because EVERYTHING is constantly changing, to return to the theme of a previous post. Still, there is so much good in returning to a familiar place. It's good to be home, if only for a short while.

'Cause I'm a road warrior now...at this late stage in my life. Rushing to tilt with windmills at my brother's firm. Feels good to be trusted that much. Feels better to know you can deliver what's needed.

So here I sit with my friend "Sapphire", on the rocks w/ olives, awaiting my plane to Bend/Redmond. Julie will meet me; isn't that sweet?

I had a the luxury of an unhurried meal at my favorite airport restaurant, Good Dog/ Bad Dog. I paid for it and Ill probably pay for it again later. But it's all salve for the wounds of being a roadie.

I like my life.

Stop! Don't Drink That! (The Sequel)

2011-07-13T08:47:00.000-07:00

Ok so like I finished the Hemlock Cup and what did I learn? All Socrates quotes are, a bit like the Bible if you'll excuse the comparison, a second party reference. Sure, SOME of these admirers may have actually known Socrates...devotees, friends, enemies... but the gentleman never wrote anything down. Literacy in that period of Greek history was relatively high in city dwellers, so we might assume he simply choose NOT to write down his thoughts, trusting or not caring that others may/may not later write them down, for which all of us are the better that some did.

"I appear to be wiser than he, because I do not fancy I know what I do not know."

With this level of awareness Socrates could hardly have cared what was said about what HE was saying. And yet he's one of the most influential philosophers of any time. Likewise he noted about others that "they do not like to confess that their pretense of knowledge has been detected", a statement winning him a few detractors to be sure.

Condemned to death by the very people who had held him in so high regard he did take the sentence and swallow it, leaving us with "For this fear of death is indeed the pretense of wisdom, and not real wisdom, being the appearance of knowing the unknown; since no one knows whether death, which they in their fear apprehend to be the greatest evil, may not be the greatest good."

What a way to go. Even if you believe in NO afterlife this parting thought works.

Stop! Don't drink that!

2011-06-28T12:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I'm reading "The Hemlock Cup - Socrates, Athens and the Search for a Good Life" by B Huges. If you're like me you are only VAGUELY aware of Socrates ... wasn't he like some guy from Greece, or something? But who of us know all that much of the style and contribution of one of the greatest philosophical minds of any time?

So, so far I'm enjoying the book. It's by a historian, and she tries to place us in ancient Athens and give us pause to think about minor things like...I dunno...Democracy, maybe?

Check back. I'll know more later

Everything changes...or does it?

2011-06-09T11:46:00.000-07:00

"The more things change the more they stay the same". I USED to subscribe to this thought. It's a superficial view of things, really; for EVERYTHING changes every moment of the day. We just choose not to pay attention at a level that can record it all.

Watch a river flow...water going by... looks the same, right? Now don't disagree with me here, it friggin' looks the same. But it's not. Look out in the forest...lotta trees, right? In fact, if you aren't paying attention all that much you might say 'lotta GREEN stuff'. Every drop of water flowing by, every tree you can see (and all those you can't see) is unique. And they're all changing. Water mixes with water and 'stuff'; trees have a bend this way or that, a branch here or there, a different genetic make up...all making them different from the next one.

We're all different, too. I mean, of COURSE we are. Still, look at a crowd of people...You're incapable of seeing it as other than a crowd, and a group of individuals standing very close together, at the same moment. Our minds can't handle that much information. Oh we can pick out individuals, but that's now what we're talkin' bout here.

So it naturally follows (ok maybe not naturally) that all this mass of nature and humanity is both unique and changing every moment. And it's JUST as hard to get it into our minds to recognize both the river, the trees, the crowd changing right before out eyes.

Ok, you're saying...So what? Good question. So what? The "so what" is we expect the things we want to stay the same to stay the same; the things we WANT to change to get on with it and change. And yet it's all changing, all the time, randomly and by design. We can't do a hell of a lot about it. Well, I guess we can..and we do. If we're cold we move toward the light. If we want to see well we move toward the light. If we want to be happy we move away from what makes us UN-happy. Wait...Don't we?

Oh, if only. Most have been known to allow themselves to fall DEEPER into a funk, further into the darkness. Come on...admit it...you, too. Why do we DO that? It's so...so unreasonable. Well, I think it's tied to this 'forever changing' thing; I'm still unraveling how it's related and I may NEVER completely understand it. I mean, why choose pain, cold, darkness, confusion, masses if we have a choice?

Crapola! Do we not have a choice? Is there NO free will, really? Are we changing so fast that we can't choose? Is this madness to try? Where am I going with this? I have NO idea. Sorry to make you read this far. (No I'm not..I meant to. Wait, did I?)

Snowshoeing the Allingham Loop

2011-01-11T12:18:00.000-08:00

Well, we did take a break just before New Years, despite an emotional maelstrom, and got over to Black Butte Ranch before touring over to the Camp Sherman to 'do' the Allingham Loop around the Metolius, on 8" or so of new white stuff. It was cold, fun, exhilarating and distracting; god knows we needed that.

Our children...are we ever anymore than an emotional breakdown away from them? It's not what they do sometimes but what is done TO them that messes you up. The instinct is to save them, hug them...love them. Sometimes 2 out of 3 is all you can do. It'll just have to be enough. But when will this heart ache end?

Falling....forward

2010-10-19T12:07:00.000-07:00

Ok this is it...Probably. It's probably the last visit to the cabin till Spring. Each Fall we have to shut things up to protect the pipes from freezing. It's an emotional time because at the moment it seems like an ETERNITY before our return in March-April to open up. Turn around thrice and it's June.

All the same, we HATE (I HATE) 'closing up'.

But right now (I'm calming down and breathing deeply)... right now it's just been nice to be here for 4-5 days. Nobody's in Tract C but us, or so it seems. Things quiet down to the max. Even the Kokanee Cafe is closed, and the Camp Sherman Store is keeping 'Winter Hours'... Friday-Sat-Sunday only.

But the river basin is beautiful and we are glad to have each other, Julie and I, to share it with...to smile and exclaim "Ain't it wonderful?... the sunlite, the colors almost blinding!". Yeah...it's nice.

The pine needles are off the roof(s), hoses put away and a few things remain to be done but all at a leisurely pace. Is there any OTHER pace on the Metolius?

Labor Day Weekend 2010

2010-09-04T15:40:00.000-07:00

It's Saturday of a long weekend...My first NOT serving on the MRFHA board in 9 years. As a result I have nothing to do and everything to do. I think I'll opt for nothing.

The weather's mild but sunny. The dog is bathed...Julie just finished an 'amazing' workshop on writing at the Metolius Preserve site and soon..but not too soon...we'll head off to walk one mile to the store for the annual Labor Day Camp Sherman store BBQ. It's not that the food is better than what we have at home...It's just what we do. And we'll see friends there...ones we've known for years and ones we haven't met yet.

Then tomorrow the Community Hall Pancake Breakfast benefiting I can't remember what. Doesn't matter; I'm going. Same reasons as given for the BBQ.

Later in the afternoon we gather at the Johnson property near the head of the Metolius for a MRFHA potluck. Same reasons, again. I'd go no matter what because the Johnson property is the most amazing spot in Oregon, maybe even the Universe, though I can't say for sure. It's just a gut feeling.

There is some sort of video made to Honor Toni Foster, whom I had the good fortune to know. She was the protector of the Metolius Basin, even when the basin wasn't so unanimous about wanting her protection. She was at least 5 human beings in one and I think it would be fun to see what a GODDESS film has made of her. The Camp Sgerman Historical Society benefits.

And after ALL that I STILL have to stay here till around the 20th of September. I know....pity me.

Can-Be...Can't BE, or...My Summer on the River

2010-08-26T08:08:00.000-07:00

It doesn't seem possible that I haven't had a thought to post in ten months... and yet... maybe it CAN be. I don't remember a thought I meant to write that I just forgot to...'course, that's the nature of forgetting, isn't it?

I've wandered through a summer unlike any I have ever had in my life...nothing close...and yet what do I say about it? What is unique about this summer? It's the summer nothing happened. No one died, no one was born, no one was married, so one suffered terribly... Nothing happened.

"Nothing", I say? "Wait...lots of deaths, lots of births and marriages and the like...". Ok TO ME. I mean that I was numb to all these externalities. I didn't entirely miss them, you understand; I think I've just been in a fog.

This is, you see, my 'summer on the river'. Never before have I spent two full months almost entirely uninterrupted on the Metolius. It's something I've always WANTED to do, but how could I? Ailing family, new businesses (my own or my childrens') various responsibilities real and imagined kept me occupied. But not this summer of 2010.

I think I've been numb to the surprise of it...that I/we actually could be...no, we ARE, actually parked here in the pines and the dust, reveling by the river. It's felt different...odd...less familiar and at the same time entirely TOO familiar. Perhaps this is a physical manifestation of the way we come to know our closest companion; not with contempt, but maybe with a dollop of complacency. I NEVER imagined that would happen. Not to me. Not here. Not with my River.

So this post is about change. What CAN BE, rather than what is. Stopping. Looking again, for the first time. Remembering what it is I love and who it is I love. Just writing about it makes me smile and breaks the spell a bit. I can see it ahead of me...the change...the return to NORMAL, where normal is excited about the morning, the air, the sun, the sound of the river and waking to the sound of a coffee grinder and the amblings of the one whom I love so, making my and her life better; doing the things she does without thought that at the same time are so completely thoughtful. Me. Excited about....EVERYTHING.

Ok, so I'm ALMOST awake, after my two month slumber and I'm finding that like Scrooge I didn't miss it after all. It's all still happening all around me. I didn't MISS it! Oh thank god.

Snow comes to Camp Sherman & the Metolius

2009-11-06T08:37:00.000-08:00

It's not that it's such an unusual event, mind you...that snow comes to the River Basin; almost every time this year you can count on it. A light dusting, usually...marks the REAL barrier to folks making more pilgrimages from less seasonally challenged climates.

But it is beautiful when it first comes, in part because we have all the wonder of children in us as it falls this early in winter...before we 'grow up' as the season winds on and we grow tired of slips, extreme cold and that &*%$! other driver that nearly clipped us...again.

But the river flows on. The aquatic life settles down and we have...silence. Lots of it. And can silence be bad? It's the balm that heals our jangled nerves and the scars from 9 other months of going full throttle, taming the world. Now, ... well, ... the world tames us.

Relax, light a fire and enjoy it. It'll be Spring before you know it.

Life is a Beach...and then we LIVE

2009-08-19T15:16:00.000-07:00

Not at my beloved river today. No, instead I'm at Arch Cape. The family beach house. A wonderful spot that doesn't get its fair share of visits from us because...well, because of the Metolius. There is no other place to put blame.

But the Beach, our beach, is nice too. Better than nice, especially in the Dog Days of Summer. Days aren't as long anymore, and when it's hot in town here it is not. Here it is....Perfect!

What does it have that Camp Sherman does not? Sand, for one, though you can FIND sand at the Metolius or at near by lakes. But not this much sand; and not sand like this. And seagulls, squawking as they scavenge, forever cleaning the beach and forever messing it as well.

And crab, though now we are deterred somewhat, that early summer prices of 4.99/lb. have given way to late season $8.99. Salmon, line caught yesterday or this morning. Clams, the small steamers, so good that butter almost seems to detract. Caramel corn? Sea foam? Taffy? Oh yeah, all that too.

But if I there were nothing more than to wake up at the beach and smell the salty ocean air and see the Pacific one short stones throw from the door, to hear the gulls ... to maybe walk the dog the short distance to the sand she loves so much ... well ... Dayenu ... it would be enough.

Maybe it's Just Me, but....

2009-07-23T13:06:00.000-07:00

You know I'd almost swear that there aren't as many people along the river in the Cabins as there usually are in the summer. But who am I kiddin'..when was I ever here this long to take a survey?

The fishing at my favorite (unnamed) spot is 'good to great'. Going there again this evening. Mostly small fish, but they all go back in the water anyhow so what's the difference? Is fishing a barbaric practice? The pleasure associated with tug-o-war with a frightened sub-species seems to root itself in machismo. Still, they ARE beautiful and we who catch them salute those who are about to LIVE on.

Hot weather. Upper 90's coming, with lower 90's now. Not complaining, mind you; just recording for posterity. Get in the river and its all JUST right.

Haven't left yet and already looking forward to returning.

Oh Yeaaaaaahhhhh!

2009-07-18T09:21:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah, I'm up at the River and it's a bit of all right. In fact, it's amazing! It's warm (HOT even), the Metolius bubbles by at a healthy clip, making that wonderful little river sound it ALWAYS makes, soothing jangled nerves and restoring clarity of purpose.

I love the sounds of children of all ages at play.
I love renewing old friendships and making new ones.
I love mornings when the sun first hits Green Ridge and warms MY side of the Basin
I love long walks to the Camp Sherman Store that take FOREVER if I allow myself to stop and visit; and I almost always do.
I love arriving back from my morning walk and reading the NY Times, the Bend Bulletin, or the Nugget News on the porch before it gets too warm. Not because I care diddly squat about what's going on in the world (ok, I do...kinda); just because its so damned pleasant a thing to do before starting the 'important matters' of the day.
I love finally getting to 'the important matters' of the day sometime late morning or even afternoon. Important, as in goofing off, walking or sitting by the stream, going to the lake (any lake), fishing but seldom catching, reading, day dreaming ...
I love the late afternoon/early evening when the light gets low and the sun paints the tops of the trees with gold, leaving marvelous shadows everywhere else.

I love it all. I love the Metolius. But shhhhhhh ... keep it quiet. Or everybody and their DOG will be here. Well, ok, they can come too.

Well this is sure BIG! Metolius is Protected!

2009-06-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

I've been informed 30 seconds ago that the Oregon House passed a bill that had been held up which should protect the Metolius Basin from destination resorts of the type that might have endangered the fragile ecology of the River area. This is HUGE and historic and its a testimony to the understanding of Oregon leaders that had these developments been allowed their would have been nothing that would protect the Basin from loving it to DEATH! Of course the Governor still has to sign this in to law, but he had been in favor of it as written, so....

Makes me glad to be an Oregonian all over again!

Update: On July 15th, in a ceremony on the Bridge at Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery Governor Kulongoski Signed into law language protecting the Metolius from large development.

Spring time..the fish must be getting hungry

2009-03-22T13:08:00.000-07:00

It's been to long since I've tied on a fly (dry OR wet) and gone out to play 'hide & seek' with the Metolius stock, or to my secret 'guaranteed catch 'em' spot. All winter long they've been fattening up on the underwater bug life so abundant in Central Oregon streams and lakes. All the while I'VE been fattening up, too, but that's another story.

I wanna walk those streams...peruse those ponds...meander the shores of those mountain lakes. Scouting...reconnaissance...watching where the Osprey feed, and when. But UNLIKE the Osprey I don't kill my prey. In fact, too often I don't even lift one from the water. You see, as everyone who does this knows, there's a reason they call it FISHING, not catching.

The real pull is just to be out and feel the water flow between wading legs; cool air on the face; pine needles baking. I'd do it if I knew the streams and lakes where sterile...if there weren't even a prayer of a strike. It's all too good. Time drifts like the river and you promise you'll leave as soon as you've had ONE more good cast...just one more...good...cast.

Say what I want...mean what I say...

2008-12-25T14:17:00.000-08:00

This is my site, right? So I can say what I want, but I should mean what I say. Well, I just finished a film that helped crystallize my feelings on the Destination Resort efforts in and around the Metolius Basin.

We DON'T need or want another Black Butte or Sun River (or, paste name here____________) in West Central Oregon. Water resources are too scare.

I'm tired of hearing that a site situated up on Green Ridge won't disturb the flow of water in the Metolius/Deschutes watershed. LIES! For in this case those that have the money want to have more; that's the motivation and the nature of the species. It's NOT because we need another one or two golf courses pulling water for no other reason then to keep grass green for a VERY few to enjoy; we don't NEED that. That's it....end of story.

The amount of water needed to hydrate 18 holes of golf is obscene. Water in the near future...I say in OUR lifetime...will become so precious that this use will seem absurdly wasteful. Run off into the aquafir from fertilization and pest control to maintain a 'garden' on Green Ridge will poison nature.

Oh, I'm an extremist, you say? NO, a realist, says I. There are too many examples of this happening to ignore it. Bottom line, greed corrupts. Do you think corporations have your best interests at heart?

The water in the Basin....OUR Basin MUST be protected. It's a sacred trust. That which flows freely can't be owned and we shouldn't allow that it be bought, stolen or polluted.

Be vigilalent and when you see a hearing on this issue, or other clean water issues, pay attention and be ready to act. Write letters, attend meetins. Once a water resource is depleted their is no restoring it. The Metolius River is one of Oregon's truely special treasures. We MUST protect it.

But hey, I could be wrong....

I think I saw a Comment go by.....

2008-11-21T23:34:00.000-08:00

Some of my no-nonsense readers have been so kind as to speak up and say that this blogging thing is cool, 'But how do I leave a comment!' Well to me it all seemed so intuitive and easy. Then I tried again tonight and now I feel your pain.

To post a comment at the end of an article look for the small selectable print that says Comment . Click it to open a new window.
There will be a spot at the lower right to click 'Anonymous'; after selecting that you can fill in your comment. Be cordial and friendly, but brutally honest. And type in your name or whatever nick name you like, so I know which voodoo doll to stick pins in.

Winter Settles In...

2008-11-19T18:28:00.000-08:00

It's cold up there on the river...Colder than a well digger's .... well, you get my drift. It's damned cold.

But that's as it should be, right? It's winter in the Cascades, and on the east side the pines will soon have their periodic dusting of snow. The visitors to the Basin will be few and far between, so the locals finally have it all largely to themselves.

The locals...huh...we that have been going up there 20 years or more kind of think WE are locals, still...it's 1st in our hearts and a second home for a large number of us. We could not love it any more were we there year round. We ARE Camp Sherman-tonians, or whatever; and we hold our breath till we can return for spring-summer-fall.

Pull over....you're under arrest!

2008-11-14T09:52:00.000-08:00

If you've ever approached Camp Sherman at more than 20 MPH then you've probably met Sheriff Dave. Dave has been known to give pre-teen Bicyclers a warning for riding without helmets (with his hand on his holster...for effect), all in an effort to keep our special basin free of 'lawlessness'.

God Bless you Dave...but I'm the real offender. It's been a year since my last post here and I should be arrested. In fact, you'd think I HAD been locked up all this time for failure to post...a blogger capital crime. What can I say? Life gets in the way...reading other peoples' blogs gets in the way. So much to do, so little time.

Well...the cabin is locked up for the winter...which doesn't mean we CAN'T return before spring...it just makes it a little harder. I hate missing snow fall on the Metolius, the fog lifting off the river...and how much like daylight it is when the snow blanket is down and the moon is full; it's better than daylight.

I hold that place in my head and in my heart when I can't be there. Do you have a place like that, constant reader?

WT.......Fork?

2007-11-08T08:12:00.000-08:00

No way is it November and I haven't written here since May! How can it be? Life is so very odd that time goes by like the River and if we don't pay attention every second 5,000 gallons stream by in the blink of an eye.

It's Fall flowing into Winter on the Metolius River in very quiet Camp Sherman, Oregon. Still green, of course, since pines are the predominate flora. Fall needles are down...yes, Virginia, pine trees though evergreen, do throw off an AMAZING volume of 'leaves'. The morning temps are well below freezing and a fog rolls off the stream in an eerie manner, invoking images of fairies playing just beyond our eyesight. Magic.

Not many, save locals, get to experience this time of the year here. Wood ducks on the River, fish slowing their feeding rate to match the pace of the Basin. So very quiet that if you hold still only the wind and the water over rocks in the river can be heard. It's Fall flowing into Winter on the Metolius River. Magic.

SB 30 ... Revisited, again

2007-05-07T09:27:00.000-07:00

Well, the Senate isn't done with SB 30 as we had thought. The bill was gutted, then restored and faces a possible floor vote this week. It's gonna be a coin toss, on what should be a 'no brainer'.

WILL bringing in new development of the size and scope contemplated by developers Lungren and Colson cause harm to the fragile Metolius Basin? Thought THAT was the issue. But the Bend bulletin says its the cabins that are the threat. Of course, if there WERE any evidence that the cabins were polluting the stream with leaky septics (and there IS NO such evidence), then that issue needs attention, as well. But let's not let the B-Bulletin or anyone else distract us. The Colson project is HUGE; bigger than Black Butte, if all phases of development play out. Water for 1, maybe two golf courses, perhaps a 1,000 additional people in the Basin, or just next to it? No impact? Mitigate-able? These are the issues. Put your head on straight and decide.

And don't tell us that the county has spoken: The county needs revenue and is in NO position to be impartial...they definitely have a serious conflict of interest. Additionally, merely holding open public meetings DOESN'T mean that justice has been served or the publics' interests have been considered; it just means that the county can put a check in a check box...'public meetings held...end of story'. Jefferson County must be thinking: 'It's Good to be the King."

Some things change and some things SHOULD stay the same...SB 30

2007-04-09T17:51:00.000-07:00

And now Senate Bill 30 [SB30] comes before the Oregon legislature to decide whether Jefferson County's will be allowed to open the Metolius Basin to Destination Resort development. Without passage the Metolius will certainly be developed. If passed, the Metolius Basin and a 3 mile radius will be protected from large scale destination resort developments of the type that are proposed currently, the type that will change forever this precious jewel of a River Basin.

Is this a 'slam dunk', protecting the fragile Metolius River Basin for ALL Oregonians? Hardly. Seems that legislators worry about infringing on the County's rights to make a buck selling access to the revenue source resort developers, without full regard to protecting a very special place from devastation from to too many people and not enough water to go around.

What's the outcome gonna be? Dare I say its a coin-toss? Visit www.savethemetolius.org to see how you might help protect an Oregon Treasure before it's too late.

I Gotta Go...Badly!

2007-04-07T08:07:00.000-07:00

It's Springtime and yesterday's near 85 degree temp has ignited the urge to be Metolius bound. I need Camp Sherman like a junkie needs a fix!

The threat of snows all but gone, I can close my eyes and imagine the sights and sounds, the very smells, of the River life. I'm here to tell you that if you haven't known the fragrance of Ponderosa Pine needles baking in the late morning sun you haven't lived. Combine this with the moist air wafting from the stream and the call of a Blue Heron as it navigates the winding river, I'm overcome with sensations and I'm left with no choice but to surrender mind & body to the magic of Metolius.

I gotta get back there and soon.

Passover Postscript, or In Haggadah-Davida, Baby

2007-04-04T13:42:00.000-07:00

Well... this Passover family feast was memorable for who was in attendance and who wasn't. Once again, Elijah didn't show ... nor did Brian, and we all had to eat their shares. But at least one was present whom we had not expected, and it wasn't Laura. I LOVE surprises, don't you?

Jeremy baked a cake, which dispels the rumor that he doesn't even spread butter on his toast, because he considers THAT cooking. Each and everyone contributed their wares and we ate them as though we hadn't had a meal in months. Pray and eat, eat and pray, with a glass of wine or 4 before during and after. I LOVE being an honorary Jew! Hey, what's not to like?

Passover in the Ponderosa's....Not!

2007-04-02T17:08:00.000-07:00

Well, its time to celebrate the wondrous moment in time when an Angel spared the Israelites (passed over them), smote the Egyptians, proving yet again...ah wait...I forget. The nice thing is its a family event. Read that again...its a family event. We gather, recite the same words each year as though we've never done it before and celebrate the uniqueness of man who can imagine such things and then make a feast of it. Jewish Thanksgiving.

May all that celebrate this Sedar dinner expand its meaning in an all inclusive every widening circle of family and new friends, until anything that separates us falls away, forever. And if we can do that in the Pines someday...that would be sweet too.

My 'Civic Duty'

2007-03-19T09:20:00.000-07:00

Still March...marching in the justice parade (charade). Pleased to say that wireless is nice in the Jury pre-selection room of Multnomath County...or wait, City of Portland? I have no IDEA where I am, turns out. But, I could find out, if I cared, which I don't. I did this once before; well, actually more than once, but only selected once. Can't say my memories of the system were warm and fuzzy.

Yes, periodic reader, I was once one of the chosen people ... a panel of 12 'peers' to decide the fate of an accused drunken driver who by looks alone was not the sort you would stay next to should he find a seat open next to you on a bench in Washington Park. The prosecution made it's case (poorly) and the defense presented its witnesses, all family of the accused. We heard the evidence that was presented and withdrew to the jury room. I must have said something brilliant that resulted in my election as jury foreman, keeping my record intact of never winning anything worth having.

We deliberated deliberately and within 60 to 90 minutes any confidence I had in this system of justice was severely eroded. All in the room wanted ... what? Justice? Nope. They wanted to be home, or at the Trailblazer Game (can you imagine THAT being a priority?), or any place but considering the fate of the guy who sat facing us, looking oh so guilty ... of something.

One lady remarked that the police testimony was compelling because the police just don't lie! We all know that is true, right? I mean, she had an uncle who was a policeman and ....blah, blah, blah. What was the REAL compelling truth? That neither side presented enough of a case to convict. What did we decide? Thats right, reader...hang 'em high...lets go get a Latte...has the second quarter started yet?

Truth - justice - the American way. Some 2 time looser is a 3 time looser now ... and we were all home in time for a late supper; but his is going to be a bit less inviting than ours, and the table conversation perhaps less stimulating.

On the brighter side, maybe I won't get picked this time. I definitely won't allow my name in the hat for foreman. Just too much responsibility and anyway, been there, done that. Even as I type they are doing the first selection, randomly of course ... 34 'lottery winners'. Jez. I didn't get picked. I take it back. I have won something worth having ... This round.

..and while I'm thinking about it.....

2007-03-15T18:19:00.000-07:00

Yes, and while I'm thinking about it what of Tara Jepson and her 'Evan doppelganger'? Are they EVER coming home? Pugs change households and still they travel on like Haley's Comet ... and returning about as frequently. What are THEY thinking? That perhaps that if they stop dancing the world will stop spinning? My god! Maybe they're right ...dance on intrepid travelers; the world is in your hands ...so dance on.

....And in the begining......

2007-03-15T17:50:00.000-07:00

As I pick up pen to write, metaphorically speaking, I'm reflecting this visit on the appearance of crocuses and trillium as they announce Spring, a tad early but welcome all the same. Should global warming be inevitable we'll enjoy the ride; early Spring, warmer summers, fewer polar bears and ocean species, thickening smogs. Ah, nature ... ya gotta love it as it renews itself, humankind be damned!

Soon the cabin on the Metolius will be safe to open. Google says 63 degrees in Camp Sherman today; it ain't right but again, welcome. The pines and brush are beginning their growing season early too, after a 6 month slumber. Trout anxiously await the hatchings of even larger insects than winter offered; and the lazy river rolls on, and on and on.

Wait for me, River. I'll be there soon. Lord knows I've missed you, too. You're ever faithful, percolating from your headwaters as you do...blessed fount of life giving waters that please so many animals and man. Wait for me...I'm almost there...soon, very soon now, I'll be with you.