Do-overs

Think back...when you were 10 or 15 years old, what did you want to be? And did your life's calling change as you matured? If you didn't become the teacher/nurse/firefighter/doctor/computer whiz that you expected to be, do you ever wonder what your life would be now had you taken that other path? Throughout high school, I wanted to be a speech pathologist. I'm not sure why because I didn't know any speech pathologists and I don't recall there being any television shows that featured speech pathologists - remember we only got 2 channels and I think they went off the air at midnight. I don't even recall knowing anyone who had a speech impediment. My other assumption was that I would attend Minot State College...because, it had the best speech pathology program. Seemed pretty straight forward to me. My parents, however, felt I should go to a college where I knew someone. And that's how I ended up at North Dakota State University. A good friend from high school (she was a year older) was there and two fellow classmates were also going there. Funny thing is that I seldom saw any of them once we were on campus. Our lives changed...we met new people, made new friends, took on new interests. The other thing that changed - quarterly, it seemed - was my choice of careers. At the time, NDSU didn't have a speech pathology major so I flopped back and forth between some sort of med tech program (I liked the idea of wearing a white coat - again, don't ask where it came from. I was 18 and that should be explanation enough.) and whatever else was the "newest flavor" of majors. I finally ended up in Journalism and Technical Writing. I'd learned to love to write in high school. Mr. Iszler was my English/Journalism teacher during my senior year, and he was a great teacher. He's the one who made me love writing. The technical writing part? Well, when I was college, tech writing was just coming into its own. There weren't a lot of us and many people, including my Mom, had no idea what a tech writer was, let alone what we wrote about. Personal computers existed somewhere in the future. All of our writing was done using a paper, a pencil, and a typewriter. It was during that time when I began slipping a pencil behind my ear so I'd always have one handy - and I still do that from time to time. Tech writing for me was a natural. Everything was black and white, step-by-step, no colorful adjectives were allowed. I loved it. Randy and I talk periodically about do-overs. Would we be happier or more content had we chosen different careers? And where would we have landed if we had chosen different career paths? And just what would those careers have been? So, that's the question to ponder...if you could and there was nothing to hold you back, would you make a different choice? Of course, that always leads to the thought that if we had selected a path, would we have met; was our meeting destiny or coincidence? I like to think it was destiny.

I'm still thinking Spring

Okay, so maybe Spring is just a bit further away than I hoped.

We awoke yesterday morning to snow...a couple of inches at most but it was still snow.

When I woke briefly during the night, I'd noticed that it seemed awfully light outside and that's when snow first entered my mind. I burrowed further under the covers and hoped I was wrong. Oh well.

And while I still don't like snow, I have to admit that it was pretty. Of course, I also knew that it would be gone by afternoon and that helped...a bit.

I shot these pictures at two different times. The bluest ones were taken about 7:30 am; the rest were taken about 9:30. Interesting how the light changes the colors.

Let the Good Times Roll

No, I'm not referring to JJ Walker although we did see him on David Letterman the other night...wow, he looks old. Sure glad I didn't age like he did...LOL!!! (And if you have to ask who JJ Walker is, well, never mind.)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I was looking through the pictures I'd taken while up on Shaw Island this week. I wanted a new picture for my desktop and ran across this one.

Man, I love this photo. I love the composition - the way it's off-centered and with the reflection in the foreground. I love that it looks like it's coming out of nowhere and hanging suspended in the gray.

I was very foggy that morning and why in the world Ray put me at the helm, I'll never know but there I was. (Don't look too closely - I'm not really at my best in this shot!)

It was Charli's first trip on a sailboat...she did really well. She really liked sitting up in the front with Randy. Knowing Charli, she was probably wondering when she was going to get in for a little swim.

We were on our way to Sucia Island for an overnight trip and had just rounded the northwestern point on Orcas when we saw this boat coming our way. Both guys got the cameras out and started shooting. So, while I love these shots, I can't take any credit for them...Ray and Randy shot them all. But man, I love this shot! Any wonder why it's now my desktop background?

I'm thinking maybe I should have been a pirate...is it too late to become a pirate at my age?

Sure signs of Spring

We’re having an inversion here. An inversion, in case you don’t know, happens when the cold air is trapped below the warm air. In other words, it’s colder here on the valley floor than it is up on Mt. Hood – and that’s just not right by anyone’s standard. It’s hard to complain too much, though, since an inversion usually means we actually get to see the sun during the winter months. If you’ve ever been to the Pacific Northwest in the winter, you’ll understand that our skies are pretty gray. So having sun for a full week is almost as good as a tropical vacation in January. Well, okay, so maybe not that good or even close but it is still pretty nice. Or maybe I should clarify that a bit; it was nice on the west side of Vancouver where we live. The Columbia River Gorge areas and some of the eastern sections of Portland and Clark County were howling with winds to 50mph and over. Trees were blown down and many people lost power for hours and days at a time. That’s one reason we don’t on that side of town; we had our share of wind when we lived in ND. We took advantage of the nice weather on Sunday by: 1) taking Charli to the fetchin’ fields in the morning; 2) taking Charli for a 3-mile walk in the afternoon (we saw the first flowers of Spring popping through the ground in one yard); 3) taking Charli for a ride (can you guess where?); and 4) taking a nap with Charli in the late afternoon with the sun shining down on us. Man, you can’t beat that! (And yes, Charli was pretty happy about it, too.) So, you’re asking yourself, where did they go on that drive? No-brainer …it was the first trip of the year to the Dairy Queen for that first Peanut Buster Parfait of the season. And oh my, it was good! Keep thinking Spring – it’ll be here soon!

A Call to Service

Call it service, volunteerism, community activism or whatever else you want. But you're needed. We're all needed. Our soon-to-be President has called on all Americans to take up the cause of bettering our country. He's not asking that we abandon our current lives and livelihood; only that we help in whatever way we can with the resources we have at hand. Many people are already helping but there's room for more. I have a friends who say they'd love to volunteer but since they work 8-5, Monday through Friday, they just don't have time. Maybe it's simplistic of me but I don't know anyone who couldn't find an hour a week during which they could do something for someone else. Many people donate money or other hard resources and that's great; many people are uncomfortable interacting one-on-one. But if you don't have money and you consider yourself a people person, donate what I think is the best thing anyway - donate you. If you're short on both, do something small to start:

• stop at the home of an elderly person in your neighborhood just to say hello
• pick up litter just along your street
• call a friend who's been struggling at work/home/life and let them know you care

If you have time, boy, there are so many places that need help..medical centers, animal shelters, libraries, homeless shelters, schools, food banks, community parks, neighborhood centers, national historic sites. Any of those places - or a dozen others - would welcome you for whatever amount of time you've got to spare - be it an hour or a day.

There's a lot of work to be done and there are a lot of people to help. I guarantee you'll leave feeling better than you did when you went in.

ND Winters

I was born and raised in North Dakota so I know about winter. I know about the bone-chilling cold, blocked roads, houses that never really get warm, layering on lots of clothes before heading outside, and I know all about headbolt heaters. And while it wasn't really ND winters that made me leave ND, I'm awfully glad I'm not there this winter "enjoying" the 60 inches of snow and artic temperatures they've had. I've included a photo that my mother-in-law snapped yesterday morning. And yes, that is 42 below zero. I do remember a three-day blizzard back in 1966 (does that sound like a line from an old western movie?). [Ed. note: I'd originally typed 1996 but it should be 1966 - thanks, Kim.] The weather was so bad that my Dad was unable to get to the barn...he couldn't even see the trees in our shelter belt through the blowing snow. Here's an arial photo of our farm taken over 30 years ago. As you can see, the house in which we lived was pretty much out in the open and a long way from the barn where the cattle were.

For three days the blizzard raged and Dad had no idea if the cattle were safe inside the barn or buried under the snow.

When it was all over, we discovered a ten-foot snow bank in front of the barn. Here's a picture of my sister Janis and me (in on the right) standing on the snow bank. See that little 4-paned window on the left? The bottom of that window is about ten feet from the ground. Oh, and the cattle were fine. They'd all taken shelter inside the barn. They were thirsty and hungry but they were alive. Thinking back, the one I really feel sorry for was Mom. After all, how do you keep five kids entertained during a blizzard? Remember, this was ND in the 60s; we could get 2, maybe 3 channels on our black-and-white television. Our house wasn't large; my two sisters and I shared one large bedroom upstairs and my two brothers shared the other. That was pretty much it for the upstairs. We didn't have a theater room or a great room or a game room; in my house, the living room was where we...lived. When the blizzard was over, my older brother Dennis conned me into helping him build a tree house. Granted, building a treehouse in March isn’t the norm in ND but since the snow drifts were 15-ft high in the trees, it kinda made sense. Well, we were young so it made sense to us.

We didn’t have to climb the trees to get to the right height; we simply carried the boards over, climbed up a few branches and nailed them in place. It wasn’t until the snow started to melt that I realized I’d been conned. You see, as the snow melted, the lower branches were exposed. Dennis simply sawed off those branches so I couldn’t reach them. Here’s a picture of our soon-to-be treehouse with me holding the first branch in place. I can’t imagine either of my sisters would have allowed their kids to do this when they were our age. And I’m sure my Mom wasn’t all that happy about it but remember, she’d just spent three very l-o-n-g days locked up in a house with us! She was probably just happy we weren’t inside. But one really good thing did come out of that blizzard though; I learned to knit.

Charli and the Fetchin' Fields

I promised myself that today's post would be a bit lighter. And in my mind, there's nothing lighter than talking about Charli. Hey, other people talk about their kids and grandkids...so I can talk about Charli. Charli is our 5-year-old yellow Lab and she's the sweetest dog you'll ever meet. I know pretty much everyone says that about their dog but it really is true about Charli.

I mean, how can you not love a girl who looked like this as a puppy?

And who looked like this when she slept?Okay, okay, back to today. During the summer, Charli is a swimming fool; she's a retriever so it's in her genes. She loves to swim...I mean really, really loves to swim.

In the winter, however, when the water is cold, we have to find some other way to wear off the excess energy; 3-mile walks alone don't do it. That's where the Fetchin' Fields come in.

The Fetchin' Fields are located just west of Vancouver along Lower River Road, and since she's been going there for 3 years, she usually leads the way to the various fields.

When she gets to the entrance, she dutifully drops her bumper and runs ahead so she's ready when Randy throws it. Then the retriever nose kicks in and she's off on a fetchin' frenzy. I call this short clip "Where in the world is Charli?"

Hey, there she is!

Amazingly, she brings the bumper right back, drops it at my feet (why my feet and not Randy's is something we haven't figured out yet) and is off again. When she's tired of one field, she zips around us, bumper in mouth, and is off to the next field where it's all repeated. There are 6 fields in all...and we go to every single one...twice. I wish I loved to exercise that much. But when she's done, that's it. With bumper in mouth, she runs past us without looking at us, and heads for the car. Once out of the field, she turns briefly to make sure we're following. Here's Charli on the ride back home. Just look at that tongue...hard to believe it all fits back in her mouth.

And one other thing I need to share. Until this fall, Charli wouldn't jump into the car. It's just the way she was. So, for 5 years, she would meekly walk to the back, sit and wait for someone to lift her in. This fall, Randy practiced with her until she finally made the "big leap." It was a pretty special day for all of us! (Okay, I apologize for shooting the video sideways. I'll try to remember not to do that...promise!

She still won't get into the Miata. We'll have to work on that this summer.

Of Elections, Inaugurations and Hope

Maybe it's my age, maybe it's the state of our economy, maybe it was the candidates and how well they played (or didn't play) together. But for some reason, this past election was more personal to me than other presidential election in my lifetime. From the start, Barack Obama just felt like the best fit. He looked like a president, he could speak coherently about any subject, and he had opinions and ideas that put people, not corporations, first - how refreshing is that! We've missed a presence like that in our White House, and our reputation around the world has suffered because of it. So, here was a guy from a broken home. He was bi-racial and raised by his grandparents. Yet, somehow, out of all the people in these United States, out of all the candidates, he's the only one who seemed to understand what the regular people were thinking and feeling and needing. I don't know about you but it didn't take me until last November to know the country was in a recession. Most of my friends and colleagues knew the economy was down when their companies started cutting jobs, when the stock market started its slide, and when people started cutting back on trips, dinners out and shopping; and that was a full year before our government admitted to a recession. So, I hoped for a change. I hoped that what I saw in candidate Obama wasn't an illusion; that he did understand what the average person was going through and had some ideas of how to change the direction in which we were headed. I hoped other Americans saw what I saw. On election night, Randy and I joined random others in downtown Vancouver to watch the returns on CNN. We arrived at the Hilton shortly before 7pm and found others who felt the need to share the night. At a few minutes to 8, all eyes turned to the big screen at the front of the ballroom. At 20 seconds before 8, people started silently counting down...it was like they knew the defining moment was upon us. As I looked around, I saw some with their hands clenched...waiting. I saw others hugging...waiting. I saw many with their hands folded as if they were saying a silent prayer. At 10 seconds to 8, people started voicing the countdown...10...9...8...7...6...it got steadily louder. It was as if we knew that when the West Coast polls closed, we'd again have hope. 5...4...3...2...1 And then it was 8, and at 1 second after 8, there it was on the bottom of the screen: CNN was projecting Barack Obama had been elected the 44th President of the United States. As I looked around, I saw tears of joy. I saw smiles and heard laughter. And I felt the hope. Now, as we near Inauguration Day, I wonder what in the world would possess anyone to want to hold that office. There are so many issues to deal with and all are equally important - where does he start? It seems like each issue must be addressed during his first week in office...there will be no rest, no gradual adjustment for him. It's a good thing he's young. I'll be watching Tuesday morning as he raises his right hand and places his left hand on the Bible to take the oath of office. I wish him the courage, wisdom and strength he'll need to lead this country back to prosperity. And I will embrace the hope that change really has come to America.

No Regrets

I've know I've said it before and I think it every time something bad happens to someone I know or love. And there was a plethora of bad things that happened to good people last week. So, now I really need to start doing it - to live my life without regrets. Too many chaotic things are happening around me to not start living life...really start living it now; not at some point in the future. I've never want to be defined by my job or my background - too many people I know define themselves that way. I don't want to reach the end of my life and be remembered as a technical writer. I don't want to realize there were opportunities available that I didn't grasp, people who needed my help but didn't get it because I was too busy, and things I wanted to do but didn't because...well, just because. I want to be defined by the activities, people and places I love. I've been very fortunate in my life. I have an amazing husband who really is my best friend. I have a family I love and for whom I'd do anything. I have tremendous friends throughout the US with whom I've shared my life. I've traveled to some of the most beautiful places in the world. I've also experienced my share of losses. I really miss my parents and my brother...every single day. Through those losses, however, I've discovered that I can use what I've learned to help others. It's my way of paying it forward. On the right, I've listed my favorite question..."What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?" It's time to start really thinking about that question; and to start living with no regrets!

An Introduction

I've written other blogs before but they've always had a direct purpose...to share photos with friends or vacation time with family. I want this blog, however, to provide me with a writing outlet for all those things that don't fit into a neat little package; and so the blog name A Confluence of Thoughts. During a typical week, my creative side goes into hiding at 8am and doesn't come back out to play until I roll back from my desk at 5pm; nights are spent in the theater room; and Saturdays and Sundays are so filled with other activities that there doesn't seem to be a time to let my random thoughts breathe. And so, I mean to use this blog to let that "other me" exhale. That said, this blog may, from time-to-time, also address issues related to technical writing or any other work-related topic. Since it's my blog, I figure that's my perogative. No matter how you arrive at my confluence - whether by accident, by link or by invitation - welcome. I hope you'll enjoy reading it.