Into Your keeping

Today was my daughter's 9th birthday.  This day was different because her birthday wasn't the biggest event in her life.  Today Mariah started at a new school.

A week ago, I had to tell Mariah that Mommy was too sick to continue homeschooling.  She cried and asked what we were going to do.  I promised her that we would find her a different school that would still be a Christian school, because that was important to her.  We talked a while about it, then she ended the conversation by saying, "It's OK.  Whatever is best for Mommy."

This has been a devastating thing for us.  We put Mariah in homeschool because we believed it was the best thing for her.  After two years of distractions, our primary focus last summer was to put our children in a place where they could thrive.

But things change.  Over the course of the fall, Anne-Marie began feeling progressively worse.  We didn't initially think that it would come to this, but after two weeks trying to make a decision, it was the right thing to give Mariah a consistent education plan.  Thankfully, after a couple of days of arm-twisting and begging, a spot opened up at Elisha's school.  Our experience at his "big Christian school" so far has been good and we hope that this will end up being an accidental fit for Mariah.

The night of our talk, Mariah went up to her room and played the same song for the next hour from an old CD she found in our basement:

Lead me on, lead me on
To a place where the river runs into Your keeping
Lead me on, lead me on
The awaited deliverance comforts the seeking
Lead on

Amen

Uncle Gene

On Good Friday, April 14, 2017, Uncle Gene Denny left this life for the next.  He wasn't really my uncle; he was Anne-Marie's great-uncle.

Uncle Gene was an old-fashioned, salt-of-the-earth, grass-roots kind of guy with a Texas drawl and a face that looked like it was chiseled out of granite.

Gene worked with his hands his whole life. In fact, he loved working so much, he lifted weights from his youth up into his eighties.  Lifting weights at the local gym was his favorite hobby.  Cousin Greg said at the funeral, "He would say, 'Don't work out to get big muscles.  Come to the gym so you can get strong and work hard.'"

In spite of his hard-earned toughness, Uncle Gene would be the first to tear up at the news of a family member's suffering or upon seeing the pain facing one of his friends.

Photo by Derrell Denny

He laughed at the goofiest things.  He prayed for the hurting.  He made time for the people who could offer nothing in return.  Even for a punk young kid from another town who happened to be interested in his niece.

On Good Friday he went to the gym to work hard one more time.  But this time the world's biggest heart gave way and he was gone.  His hard work was done.  God took him.

Find rest, Uncle Gene.  You were bigger than life.  You were tougher than death.

I can't believe you're gone.

Disneyland post #5: surprises and survival

1.  Biggest Surprise: Frozen: Live At the Hyperion. This stage play is only an hour but very efficiently tells the entire Frozen storyline, complete with singing, dancing and special effects. All of which are done at a very high level.  I went for my daughter's sake but actually found this much more bearable than the film itself.

2.  Runner up: Storytellers Café. This restaurant was in the bottom floor of our hotel and offered a buffet that was fully stocked with fresh roasted meat, salads and bakery items late into the night. Delicious.

3.  Uber/Lyft: We didn't rent a car. If you're going to Disneyland, whether flying into LAX or SNA, and mostly staying at the park, it's a little less costly and way less hassle to use a ride share service when you need it. (Using basic math it would have cost us about $350 for a rental w/parking compared to about $200 spent on ride shares including two rides offsite to other places in Orange County. Mostly that was for a minivan or SUV that seats 6+. Plus not having to be behind the wheel in LA traffic.)

4.  Lost and found: Among the several times Disney went stratospheric with their service was on the second-to-last day when my daughter lost her shoulder bag with her character autograph book. They hadn't found it by the next morning, but said they would keep looking. They took down our info. A week later a purple shoulder bag arrived in the mail. Disney paid $4 to send it to our house.

5.  Time of year and weather: we were in Anaheim in the middle of winter. The coldest day was 65 degrees; the warmest was 85. All with a slight breeze and a trace of rain on the last day only. I guess it rained pretty bad off and on in the few weeks following Christmas, but that weather is not typical. I would say in general that any time of year is a good time to go to Disneyland as far as weather, but with the summer potentially being very hot. We set our trip up with Disney and SW Airlines' help to be able to cancel within seven days, whether due to a medical situation or another freak set of storms. The weather ended up being perfect for our original January/February dates. We're glad because the crowd was half the size of the busy season.

Disneyland post #4: characters

1.  Characters: Wondering what to do between fast passes? The Disneyland app has GPS on all the costumed characters in the parks. (If you have young children) find one and get in line. The character will take about 1 minute with each person/group, so count the people in the line. It's a good way to burn 20 minutes before the next ride. Our kids met about 30 characters (really). For posterity, here's the list: Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Mary Poppins & Bert, Darth Vader, Chewbacca, a Stormtrooper, Woody, Buzz, Flik (Bug's Life), Snow White, Ariel, Cinderella, Donald, Chip 'n Dale, Cruella, Fairy Godmother, Belle,  Tiana, Rapunzel, Olaf, Daisy, Anna & Elsa, Fawn (fairy), Tinker Bell.

2.  Fine print concerning characters: If you take the time to buy an autograph book, characters at Disney will sign it with very unique signatures. Ballpoint pen is awkward for someone wearing big Mickey gloves, so think more along the lines of a Sharpie. Star Wars, Cars and Zootopia characters do not sign autographs. Characters with masks and "mascot heads" do not talk, but will respond non-verbally to anything you say. The exception is the Star Wars characters. They have masks, but still talk. Except Chewbacca who growls.

3.  One more thing about characters: Is it just weird to me? Or does waiting in line for a grown woman to stop fawning over a costumed Disney character seem a bit troubling? (This happened multiple times.)

4.  The only rude person in Disneyland: We were impressed repeatedly by the level of service we received over the phone while planning, at the hotel during off times and in the parks during the main part of the day. Everyone was very patient and pleasant. This was with one exception. Cruella de Vil was completely condescending and pompous to everybody.

5.  Most Seriously Underrepresented Franchise: The Incredibles. I saw about two Incredibles-themed items in a gift shop. That's it. Others who got ignored: Ratatouille, Aristocats, Uncle Scrooge.

Disneyland post #3: the bad

1.  Missed out on: Almost nothing, but Hollywood Tower of Terror, Grizzly River Run and Enchanted Tiki Room were not options. First two were closed and the last serves all stuff I'm allergic to.

2.  Biggest Disappointment: ESPNZone. After hearing about this amazing sports place for a decade, I had to go see it for myself. It's like going to Big Al's down the street from my house but with a bunch of surly Golden State Warriors fans. Don’t get me wrong, Big Al's and ESPNZone are both cool, but not enough to waste my time and Disney money (and Disney loves charging Disney tax).

3.  Runner-up Biggest Disappointment: Hyperspace Mountain. Disney StarWarsified this ride in ridiculous ways. Please just switch off all the lights and call it good. It's better than the uneven mess of projected clips and LED lights scabbed on to this otherwise classic roller coaster.

4.  Biggest Waste of Time and Money: The Disneyland Resort Express Bus. We took this special Gray Line bus as the "official coach service from terminal to resort". The exterior was decorated for Universal Studios. It got us there, but was slower and more expensive than Uber.
 
5.  Most Overrated Experience: Early admission. "Magic Morning" or "Early Magic Hour" lets you into one of the parks an hour before the gates open. Guests at Disney Hotels and holders of special tickets are offered this special privilege. The thing is, crowd at the gate is almost as big for the early opening as it is the normal one. No Fast Pass machines are available and no characters are out yet, so pretty much after you ride that first ride (which pragmatically should be Star Tours, Space Mtn. or Radiator Springs Racers), you're stuck standing in a line for 30 minutes anyhow. So run to that high demand ride and enjoy it. It's likely all the magic you'll get out of that morning.

Disneyland post #2: 5 more things about rides (or, Why don't people use Fast Pass?)

1.  Fast Pass: Fast Pass is a genius system for making ride queues manageable. Basically you scan your park admission ticket and a machine sets an appointment for you to come back in an hour or two and cut straight to the front of the line. I have no idea why half the visitors in the park have no interest in using this system. Apparently people like standing on concrete in the blazing sun for an hour. The only catch to Fast Pass is that you can only check into one ride at a time. Disneyland's network tracks that you used the system and will deny you if you try to get two Fast Passes at a time. Bummer. Wish they could make an exception. But that brings us to…

2.  Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters: This ride is the exception. Buzz lets you check in with a Fast Pass anytime (it's apparently not hooked up to a network and just prints passes out like Monopoly money). So if you're about to go to lunch, check in at Buzz first and after lunch you can slowly walk in the express lane past 200 people that have been waiting for an hour to the front of the line. Good filler for when you got nothing else going. However, there is one other way to get on rides really quick.

3.  Being In a Wheelchair: (or in Disney terms "having visible need of assistance") Now, I am not recommending fraudulent behavior, but if you are injured or disabled you get to cut in line. The biggest qualifier for this is that you need to be "visibly" disabled (in a wheelchair, cast or boot or on crutches). Anne-Marie was too tired to walk around after three days, so the last two I pushed her in a rented wheelchair ($12/day). Most rides at Disneyland just let you right on through the exit, since 90% of the park is too old to offer ADA accessibility. Occasionally the staff at Disneyland will check you in and tell you to come back in an hour, similar to a Fast Pass. California Adventure, because it is built to be fully ADA compliant and has wider spaces in the waiting areas, will many times just make you wait in line.

4.  The Every-Ride Challenge: Our kids rode every ride at Disneyland Park and California Adventure. That's right. Every single one of them. We weren't making it a goal at first, but after 3 1/2 days, they only had about eight more to go. Then we started putting them on every carousel and kiddie ride left. With one hour left to go, our kids rode the 45th and final ride: Jungle Cruise. (Grizzly River and Hollywood Tower were closed. Mariah was too short for Screamin'.)

5.  Scariest Ride: Probably California Screamin'. It looks like an old-fashioned wooden roller coaster. It's not. Twice as fast and with one extremely tight loop. If we're going to talk about most frightening attraction? (I can't call it a ride.) It's Tough To Be a Bug. This A Bug's Life three-dimensional stage play/augmented reality whatever is terrifying. Sit in the middle at right about the 4th or 5th row. You'll see what I mean.

2016

I don't have to explain 2016 to you. Unless this is the first post you've read, you'll know that it's been terrible. 2016 has been a year beyond emotional expression.

The difficulties of 2016 have been expressed over the course of punishing weeks that turned into months. Every struggling step told the story. The story of weary days and nights somehow turned into a year.

Tonight that year is over. I'm so glad.

But let's not say it was all bad. Sure there was that stage IV cancer thing. Riots on the streets of my hometown. The car unexpectedly quitting on me for good. The ugly election. Dear friends calling other dear friends stupid, ignorant, racist, whatever as a result of the ugly election. That happened and I don't know that it helps pretending like it didn't.

Even with all these things happening in our daily lives, it's not like we walked around all inconsolable all the time. We still laughed together, had special times building great memories together, teased each other, made new friends, ate amazing homemade food, stayed up too late (probably  while eating amazing homemade food).  In so many ways the year was wonderful.

And people were wonderful to us. Our family never knew how much we were loved than when our whole world exploded into flames and our friends and family came running.

Some of the toughest memories of the year will always have a touch of sweetness to them because they bring along with them the thought of a friend who came by just at the right time. Undoubtedly, some of you reading this right now were among those people. Thank you.

2017 hands us all kinds of uncertainty. You all know what the doctors have said and can probably understand why we aren't really looking for relief to miraculously come by flipping a page on a calendar. We know that only Jesus can help us through this. Whether this all gets better or worse when the clock strikes twelve, we still have joy in our grief.

So we're dispensing with the idea of making 2017 a good year. Or even a "better" year for that matter.

In 2017 we're chasing after time.  Good times, bad times, time lost, time wasted, time stolen, time spent doing and being the important things. The things that build relationships. The things that last.

Those kind of moments quickly turn into days. And those days turn into years. And those kind of years are always good ones.

Let's get started. Now.

1st stop: the California Redwoods

2nd stop: Disneyland

Writing Home: 10 Years Apart

The letter below was written to my mother-in-law, Mary Jean Huffman, at the 10-year mark of her passing into eternity.  I didn't know how to send it, so I put it here.

Dear Mary Jean,

You may not remember all the details, but you left us all for somewhere more permanent 10 years ago, September 25, 2004.  After you left, I got a call from your sister, Kathy.  You'd already been gone a few hours, but she wanted to let us get a little more sleep.  I'll never forget that ringing phone at 4:30 AM.  "Eli.  Mary Jean's gone."

The worst part of that early morning was telling Anne-Marie.  I'm sure it breaks your heart to think that's how it all happened, but it's the truth.

The even harder truth is that Kathy was only with us for 10 months after making that call before she left as well.  Though I don't know how things work over there, I'm pretty sure you already know that she left here in 2005 and have likely talked to her in person extensively.  If and when you get this letter, tell her that Darrell is doing great (but I'll let him tell his story in his own letter).

Your service was wonderful.  How could such a quiet and unassuming person have so many that loved her?  Family spoke, the choir sang and everyone enjoyed an amazing dinner prepared by some of your closest friends and plenty was left over.  People flew in from all over the country and we spent a few days together just as a family.

Over the next few months, or even couple of years, it was really hard to remember you weren't here.  Life went on as normal--at least that's how it appeared--but there was this continual ache.  A nagging pain that never seemed to heal.  We got together at the holidays a few months later and opened the gifts you bought for us (you always thought ahead and Phil was grateful) but it wasn't the same.  The gifts were all well chosen, but what is the gift without the giver?

I already mentioned Kathy.  I hope she's doing well.  I'm sure she is along with everyone else over there.  The whole family got together again in August the next year when Kathy left and we celebrated her life and shared memories of both of you.  Priscilla was there with us and was a reminder of how much joy the Denny girls gifted to the world.

I don't want to be the one to bring bad news when you've finally achieved the strength and peace we all wish for, but I'm fairly certain that someone who has arrived there more recently has already told you.  The following year both Priscilla and Anne-Marie got sick.  (I'm sure you know what with.)

I hesitate to write it, but I'm glad you were not here to see.  It was and has been a very difficult time in these eight years since.  The good news is that Priscilla was doing well last time I saw her, though that's been a couple of months.  I'm not sure if you remember that, unlike there, over here we are still separated by time and miles.

Anne-Marie has been a fighter.  Sometimes she reminds me so much of you.  She's been through a diagnosis and one recurrence, but with God's help has made it through every test, though many still lie ahead.  We still love each other through it all and celebrated our 13th anniversary a few weeks ago.

I know you always wanted to see our kids.  Would you believe it was five years after we last saw you before we became parents?  Of course, a lot of things happened to delay our dreams of being a family.  A lot of advice and prayer led us to an adoption from Ethiopia.  (Yes, Ethiopia in Africa.)  We adopted TWO kids five years ago.  They're lovely and we can't wait for you to see them.

Elisha and Mariah, now 5 years old

Adding them along with another grandkid you haven't seen yet, Ashley, you'll have a total of nine.

Allow me to say that if I would have known the last real conversation we were going to have would be on that Wednesday, I might have taken it more seriously.  I probably never thanked you for the birthday gift (I still have the card!), but things just moved so fast.  I guess a lot of people have that same story and have to learn to be thankful for the time they had.  And they were truly good times that I will always treasure.

Well, that's probably all of the major news I wanted to cover.  I apologize if you've already heard a lot of it from people who just got there.  Going by your timetable, you'll probably see me in person sooner than I would ever imagine.  Until then, I want you to know that I love you.

The family sends you love and greetings.

Your third son,

Eli

P.S. You may have met a guy named Keith up there.  It's true: a few years ago Phil re-married.  Her name is Ramona and I'm sure you two would have been best friends.

Happy 5th birthday, Sissy!

Mom and I

My mom never wanted anything for Mother's Day.  Or her birthday.  Or even Christmas, really.

She just never wanted people to make a big deal about her.  Her life was all about the family and the things we were involved in.  She just didn't have time to think about herself when there were so many other things happening with work and her kids.  Those were the things that she considered important.  Getting the job done is what made her happy.

She's recently been upgraded from Mom to Grandma and I don't think her feelings have changed at all. Her relationship is all about what she can do for Mariah and Elisha.  It's what makes her happy.

She's not expecting flowers on Mother's Day.  She'd probably think they were nice, but only for the purpose of making me feel good about myself for doing it.  She'd put them in a vase--if she even owns one--and tell everyone who saw them what a great guy I was.

And I can't write anymore.  Oh God, teach me selflessness.

I don't believe children are innocent

Oh, this pains me.  It pains me to the core because I want it to be true.  The idea of childhood innocence is everything I want: sentimental, romantic, whimsical, dreamy.  But mostly untrue.

---

When I walk in the room, my two-year-old is standing in the middle of a thousand shards of glass with his hand on a tablecloth we told him not to touch ten seconds earlier.  "Did you pull the tablecloth?"  I demand (while trying to use mental telepathy to keep his bare feet from deciding to run across the glass-covered tile).

"Sissy did it."

My son started talking in full sentences five weeks ago and learned to bear false witness about two minutes later.  How did I mess this up?  I've tried to model honesty and integrity to him since the day we met.  He knows his sister's been downstairs for half an hour and couldn't have had anything to do with the broken glass.  He sticks to his guns.

"Bud, did you pull the tablecloth and break the glass?"
"Sissy did it."
"Don't lie to me!"
"Sissy did it. No-no, Sissy."

---

This type of scenario plays out a dozen times a day at our house and often stirs up these deep emotions.  I feel like I want to believe that my kids are better than what I see on a daily basis.  I want to believe when the clerk at the store says my daughter is a "sweet little angel".  Then I read the words of King David.

"Behold I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me."

Now some people will probably say this is a reference to some scandalous relationship between David's mother and father.  I honestly have no idea.  But just taking it at face value complies with the Pentateuchal* concept of a fall from innocence.  In other words: nobody's innocent.  This is what I don't wish to believe.

My kids are perfect.  Not like those brats at the store, or airport or Sunday School, or wherever else.  They're tired.  They're just exploring their surroundings.  They're overstimulated.  They're just being a KID.

Yes, they are.  And they're standing there repeating a bald-faced lie over and over again.

*sigh* Et tu, Brute?

I want this to be like all those cards said at the baby shower.  Or maybe like those Precious Moments figurines that blew up in the 80's.  You know, where the kid is standing all red-faced next to a broken glass holding a handful of flowers up toward his mom 'cause he feels so bad and the figurine is called "The Smallest Apology...the Largest Love" or something of similar sentiment.

Are my kids very trusting, wide-eyed and inquisitive?  Certainly they are, but that's about the extent of the dreamy perfection.  The fact is--oh and how it pains me to type it--my kids have taught me at least as much about selfishness as they have the (so-called) innocence of youth.

Now that I'm a parent, every time I want to ball up my fists and demand to have things my way, I think a second time. How about considering Anne-Marie's opinion every now and again?  And am I really going to lose my patience over things so trivial as waiting for someone else to have a turn, how "she looked at me", or what the ones who love me most ask of me?

Our hearts are like gardens.  My job is to plant the good stuff.  But weeds keep popping up everywhere without even trying.

* Pentateuchal just means "found in the first five books of the Bible".  I kinda like "Genesisian" better.

Nina Huffman: 1917 - 2011

Christmas 2010

Since it's been a month, I thought I would post a little about what happened at Christmas.

We decided that we would stay home this year.  So after all the parties and church events were over, we settled down in the house to enjoy a quiet Christmas together.  I guess it really wasn't that quiet.

Gifts were really low-key this year, but the kids had fun with it anyhow.  I think they're starting to understand that Christmas is a special day and that we are all going to have a lot of fun.  I don't think they understand anything about Jesus' birth yet.  We'll work on that over the next couple of years.

After a quiet couple of days leading up to Christmas, my brother Mike arrived in town with my mom and soon-to-be sister-in-law, Marie.  After eating several pounds of Chex Mix that night, we woke up early to take a trip downtown to the Seattle Children's Museum (resulting in what you see below).

Taking two toddlers on a road trip is exhausting, so we headed back to Pierce County for some good ol' Eye-talyan food.  It was great being together as a family.  Next stop: Fort Collins, Colorado for a summer wedding.

77 for 2011

I'm feeling a little homesick as we come to the end of 2010.  With some help from Anne-Marie, here's a list of 77 things I'll miss about living in Oregon:


Places

1.  The St. John's Bridge

     I think there's 10 or 11 bridges in Portland, but this is the most beautiful.

Photo - H Dragon (thks!)

2.  Crown Point

I asked Anne-Marie to marry me here!

3.  The viewpoint in OC off Brighton

     Not as cool as Crown Point, but still a neat place for OC.

4.  Willamette Falls

     The most amazing natural wonder in the Portland Metro area, too bad it's surrounded by gigantic paper mills.

5.  The White Stag sign

     Why do they keep changing this thing? White Stag, Made In Oregon, now Portland Oregon

Photo by Steve Morgan

6.  Tom McCall Waterfront Park

     Also known as "Luis Palau Kills Our Grass Every Summer" Park

7.  Portland Children's Museum

     Went to the Seattle Children's Museum. Nah! Gimme back the PCM.

8.  Historic Highway

     If you haven't been on this to see the waterfalls, make plans NOW!

9.  Pioneer Courthouse Square

     It's Portland's living room and they have a lot of crazy friends.

10. Highway 43

      I always loved driving under the trees on this state highway through West Linn and Lake Oswego.

Eats
11. Nicholas's Restaurant (Eastside)
      Most affordable local restaurant and best Lebanese food in town (sorry Ya Hala)

12. Trufflehunter (Gresham)
      Hooj sanwhiches

13. Super Torta (OC)
      This place is a dive. And--as you would expect--it's very good

Thanks Tom A. at Yelp for the pic

14. Francis (Alberta) and Downtown Greek Cusina (uhhhh...Downtown?)
      A newcomer and a Portland landmark both disappeared off the scene before we could even move.

15. Amadeus (Milwaukie)
      This oooold house in Milwaukie is almost creepy, but the Austrian restaurant and atmosphere it creates is downright magical.

16. La Carreta (Ross Island Bridge)
      'Nother Mexican place. Get the fajitas for two.

17. His Bakery (OC)
      Ohhhh the scones!  And ham and cheese croissants!  I mean Puyallup's Pioneer Bakery is good, but...

18. Five Guys Burgers & Fries (everywhere but here)
      OK. This is a national chain, but the closest one is 30 minutes away from Puyallup. No fair.

19. Camp 18 (Highway 26, near the coast)

     








20. Enjoni Cafe (NE)
      Best East African restaurant in Portland. Order anything.

Oregonizations, etc.

21. Clackamas Community College

      Got my degree here. (Associates of Science, Drafting Technology [Architectural Option], in case you were wondering.  Too bad the drafting program folded in 2009.)

22. Al's Garden Center

...has the greatest floral hanging baskets.

23. The Dig

      Most of my wardrobe is from here. It's kind of a re-sale shop, but everything's 5 bucks.

24. Clackamas Town Center

      We went on our first date here. I'll miss driving by all those places we went. 

25. Portland Community College

      A-M's AM.

26. Dove Adoptions

      After eliminating 99 other adoption agencies, we chose this one in Banks, Oregon and are glad we did.

27. Portland Trail Blazers

      Just thinking about the local team makes my knees hurt.

28. Cutsforth Thriftway

      I actually worked here for 6 months. Best grocery store in Canby and perhaps the world!

29. University of Oregon Ducks

       It took us moving out of state for them to get to the National Championship.

30. Oregon State University Beavers

      The Cougs crimson and gray will never compare to the orange and black of OSU.      

Cities/Districts/Neighborhoods

31. Aurora

       ...for the antique shops

32. Tualatin

       ...for the memories

OC!///Photo: MarkPritchard

33. McMinnville

      ...for my childhood

34. Oregon City

      ...for young life

35. Canby

      ...for the fields

36. Downtown Gresham

      ...for being one of a kind

37. Silverton

      ...for being from another era

38. NE Portland/NoPo

      ...for her people

39. The Pearl

      ...for the shops

40. Clackamas

      ...for a hundred romantic evenings

41. West Linn/Lake Oswego

      ...for never letting me live in your borders (else we'd have never left Oregon)

42. Montavilla

      ...for being funky

Ladd's Addition by Greg_E

43. Lloyd/Hollywood/Sullivan's Gulch District

44. Ladd's Addition and

45. Laurelhurst

      ...for the architecture

46. Downtown

      ...for being an urban area where I never thought I was going to get shot

47. 23rd

      ...for being there before The Pearl

48. Washington Park/West Hills

      ...for the trees

49. Bend/Sunriver

      ...for all the high desert vacations (we'll try to resist the call of Suncadia and come back to you)

50. Sellwood

      ...for being the smallest part of Portland

Local Yokels

51. 1190 KEX

52. KXL 750

      1190 and 750 are the standby news stations that everyone listens to on the way to work.

53. Bob Miller in the Morning

      He's been on the radio in Portland since I was an infant.

54. Now-defunct local celebrities that form something of a mini pop culture

      Scott Thomason, Tom Peterson and this guy:

55. The Portland Tribune
      "What about The Oregonian?" you ask.  Yeah, What about it?

56. John Canzano

      A local sports columnist that constantly makes news for his no-nonsense style.

57. Stumptown Coffee

      Don't really sell this just any place. And not here in WA.

58. Mr. Statue
      OK. So there's this guy that stands outside Pioneer Place and he's painted silver. It's cool. Really.

59. Bill Schonely

      The former Blazers play-by-play guy is still a big name in PDX, but not here (and I just missed the Dave Niehaus era in Seattle).

OregonLive file photo

60. OMSI

      Maybe this should have been put in the "Oregonizations" section. Of course, the Pacific Science Center is very cool, but no dome-screen IMAX. Bummer.


Random, etc.

61. Flying out of PDX

      SeaTac just won't be the same

62. Watching the Pioneer Courthouse Square Christmas Tree Lighting

      Without getting blown up.

63. Driving to Canby whenever we wanted to see Phil

      I guess this would have changed anyhow.

64. Going to the Clackamas County Fair and Rodeo with Ben and Jen

      And all those years we were too cheap to get reserved seating...

65. Driving over Santiam Pass to get to Central Oregon

Pic by J. Stephen Conn

66. Having someone else pump my gas!

67. Getting pumpkins and apple cider donuts each fall at Fir Point Farms in Canby

68. Living four blocks away from Mike and Kara

69. Scoping out the craziness that is Sleighbells of Sherwood

70. Our annual tradition of going to the Oregon Symphony's Gospel Christmas

Near & Dear

71. Oregon District Senior Bible Quizzing

      Bible Quizzing is a program that encourages teams of young people from different cities to memorize a specific book of the Bible. The teams face each other one weekend a month in a tournament. With Anne-Marie assisting, I was the head of the 15-18 year old division for five years and I miss all those guys a lot.

72. Apostolic Worship Center

      I never attended this church (down the road from us in Gresham), but I made so many friends in their congregation.  It's obvious that kindness and character run rampant at Ted Graves church.

73. Ross Hoevet Family Dentistry

      Anne-Marie worked 10 years here.  The Dr. and staff became like friends and neighbors that you wouldn't mind hanging out with just because.

74. Western Wood Structures, Inc.

      I worked here for almost 10 years.  Paul, Jim, Steve and co. nearly made work like a vacation. Nearly.  It's amazing how many times in a day I mention Western Wood.

75. The house on Boynton

      I lived here for 15 years.  I brought my new wife home to this house.  My kids, too.  Never really cared for the floor plan, but sentiment overrides all that.

Driving away for the last time

  

76. All the folks

      You know who you are.  Friends and family were by far the hardest thing to leave.

77. Oregon City United Pentecostal Church

      Pastor Gary Gleason and too many folks to name impacted our lives forever.  Thank you so much for your investment in our family.

I guess that about does it.  There are probably a bunch of things we forgot.  Oregon will always be in our heart.  Here's to 2011 and an amazing year in Washington!

Ramona and Phil - July 22, 2010

My father-in-law got married last week to a friend from back in his college days. They had a small ceremony in the Sacramento area, so we weren't there. Longtime family friend (also Ramona's relative) Darlene Kantola Royer captured the day with her camera.

Ramona and Phil met about 40 years ago (and may have even dated a little bit), but they hadn't talked for years. Recently they became reaquainted with each other by phone and letters, and--you know how these things go--they soon began visiting each other. Phil would go to Ramona's home state of Alaska to see her and then Ramona would come to see Phil here in Oregon.

Earlier this year, Phil asked Ramona to be his wife and they were married on Thursday, July 22, 2010. Congratulations to the young couple. Even though we'll miss you when you're in Alaska, we wish you all kinds of happiness.

Lead Me

This has been such a busy week.  I didn't realize it was even Father's Day until I saw the bulletin at church this morning.  Wow.  I'm a dad.

I guess I've heard a lot of songs about fatherhood and it's kinda weird how they're all negative.  Who hasn't heard "Cats In the Cradle" and thought to themselves, "Wow, that's a really honest message.  I think I'll go curl up in a ball and cry."  How about that song from the 80's "The Living Years"?  Have you heard this?  Just shoot me.  Please.

I heard a song this week for the first time and it finally gave us dads a way out.  It's called "Lead Me" by Sanctus Real.  The overall gist is similar to a lot of the other songs, but in this one it's not too late because it's more of a prayer.  Here's the lyrics (or just save yourself the trouble and scroll down and click the youtube video link):

I look around and see my wonderful life
Almost perfect from the outside
In picture frames I see my beautiful wife
Always smiling
But on the inside, I can hear her saying...

“Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone”

I see their faces, look in their innocent eyes
They're just children from the outside
I'm working hard, I tell myself they'll be fine
They're in independent
But on the inside, I can hear them saying...

“Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, but what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone”

So Father, give me the strength
To be everything I'm called to be
Oh, Father, show me the way
To lead them
Won't You lead me?

To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can't
Don't want to leave them hungry for love,
Chasing things that I could give up

I'll show them I'm willing to fight
And give them the best of my life
So we can call this our home
Lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAKBXBXz1fo

I want to be a good leader.  Not that I dictate to anyone, but I feel that God has placed this responsibility in my hands and I don't want to let my family down. 

I'm sure that all the dads out there know exactly what I'm talking about.

The real story

A lot of you know that some guy named Eldrick is playing golf in Augusta, Georgia, right now. But let me tell you about a bigger news story coming to town soon!

Ready for it?







Mike Garcia, PhD

Yes, that's right. My brother, Mike, has taken a job as an Assistant Professor of English at Augusta State University. That means he'll be leaving behind 16 years of college (at CCC, CCC, WOU, OSU, WSU and most recently UNH) to move down south.

Looking forward to joining Mike and Eldrick for 18 some time in the near future.

And we're back!

OK, so at it turns out I had strep throat last week.

I didn't think I would get it after everything that's happened, but by the time I hit last Thursday morning, I knew. Thankfully, our doctor got me in for a quick check and a prescription right away, so we killed the bacteria off pretty quick.

Here's the really great news: we are all well. I haven't been able to say that since the first week of this year. Bring on spring!

50!

Here's a pic of Mom pushing the kids through the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. We made the trip in honor of her--is it 50th birthday? Maybe I'm wrong and it's 40.

Who knows?

OK. Picking up from where we left off last week:

Elisha seems to be getting over his cold.

What Mariah's rash was, we do not know. But it is believed that it was a side effect of all the other illness. A special cream prescribed by the pediatrician took care of this.

I am still in a rather desperate fight with some type of ear/nose/throat illness.