Lake Oswego Log Hoist building, Sept. 2020 I suspect only those most familiar with this special stretch of the Willamette River can readily identify this structure. The morning fog in this photo adds an eerie, surreal aura enticing our imaginations to wonder: what's the back story of this structure from our past? If I didn't … Continue reading A story hidden in the mist
Willamette River
A river meanders nearby
The Willamette River is featured in much of my writing. The river is a theme that permeates my memoir, My Music Man and my blog-based Then, Now and In-Between: Place, Memories and Loss in Oregon. My family last gave and heard public tributes to our dad while on the Willamette River. Just last month our … Continue reading A river meanders nearby
Oaks Park: Portland’s Coney Island on the Willamette
This photograph, taken by F. Sowell around 1912, shows Edward Klees pulling taffy at Oaks Amusement Park. Image credit: Oregon History Project. My oldest memory tied to Portland's Oaks Park mostly reminds me of the Don McLean song American Pie. When it was first popular on the radio, early in the 1970s, I was an … Continue reading Oaks Park: Portland’s Coney Island on the Willamette
About that e-bike…
Have bike. Will cross rivers. It was exactly one year ago when I changed my mind about e-bikes. Prior to that, when those irritating super-charged-two-wheelers passed me climbing up Terwilliger Boulevard as I sweatily made my way to work, I'd let out a harrumph. (Is that really what we say - or just what we … Continue reading About that e-bike…
My dear friend
My dear friend.Was the warm fishy smell of the river seeping out of the banks?You know the smell, the one that all of us from around here mark as Summertime.Summertime on the rivers of the Willamette Valley.Cottonwood fiber and blackberry and a few fish heads that someone left behind.All mixed up together as if a … Continue reading My dear friend
About those ferries
Canby Ferry, October 27, 2019. Our dad loved ferries. We grew up ferrying across the Willamette River on the Canby Ferry, and back when I was little, we crossed the mouth of the Columbia by ferry between Astoria, Oregon, and Megler, Washington enroute to the Long Beach Peninsula. Rivers fill me, through and through. The … Continue reading About those ferries
We are all writers
Thank you my new friends! You have made my day! Thank you for your permission to take this photo. I remember the first book I wrote. I was in the first grade and used crayons to illustrate our Airedale and her 11 puppies, stapling the finished pages together. Wilsonville Primary School Librarian, Mrs. Plant, placed … Continue reading We are all writers
Like a bridge over troubled water
As I stopped to catch a photo of the cemetery another biker offered to take a picture of me. What the heck? Riverview Cemetery, Portland. My alternative title for this blog was, “E-bike success story #2.” But then I thought, this is more than that. What it’s really about, is how much we all need … Continue reading Like a bridge over troubled water
Sadness in the beauty
Sadness in the beauty of the day.My cold fingers ache in half finger cycling gloves, yet early morning sun shines bright enough to need shades. I feel sad in the beauty of it.Sad for those I miss who no longer are here.Sad for those who no longer are as they once were. The stillness of the air, … Continue reading Sadness in the beauty
From Zidell to Illahee: put these bunks to bed
I will admit that rarely has a bunk bed been my favored, most comfortable sleeping spot. Decades ago a fall from my brother's top bunk led to a jagged, sloppily sewn scar I still wear today, created after I struck the corner of a dresser drawer. A decade or so later, I suffered through nights … Continue reading From Zidell to Illahee: put these bunks to bed
