We bought umbrellas. We enjoyed the rain. Mist glazed our cheeks. She wore gloves. I didn’t. We walked. There’s purpose to my wife’s gait; the caregiver. I mosey without focus; the patient. I strive to keep pace. I do, barely. Her will pulls me forward. Along the Willamette, on Waterfront Park, we marvel at the … More How I Spent My Winter Vacation
I dislike flying: the herding, the depressing bag of pretzels, and the claustrophobic cabin. It’s a perfect environment for disease transmission and my immune system can’t protect me. Yet, the opportunity to spend the holidays with our oldest son, my brother, and nieces and nephews compelled my wife and I to fly to the San … More Stanyan Street
“There is no goal, but only the path.” Taoist saying Recently, my wife and I traveled with friends to Glacier National Park. Our journey through the Northwest included a stop at the classic Davenport Hotel in Spokane, WA. From there we visited historic lodges in Montana and Waterton Lake, Alberta. We dined in expansive … More Things Fall Apart
We were late before we started. The pecking of my wife’s hiking poles on gravel tick-tocked away the time in Silver Falls State Park. We’d chosen to rent a cabin there for a mid-summer’s getaway. Our creaky bodies appreciate day hikes as opposed to backpacking, an activity for which our future is behind us. So, … More Silver Falls
“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” Lao Tzu I have multiple myeloma, a blood cancer of plasma cells. I’ve managed things well but the jinx of my chirpy posts about good cancer fortune had heard enough. Recently, the myeloma aimed its rheumy stinkeye my way … then blinked. My … More Riverwalk
I have a cancer, multiple myeloma, that effects the plasma cells in my blood. This December marks seven years since diagnosis. Somehow, a single plasma cell, which is a type of white blood cell, mutates and starts to multiply. The bone marrow acts as the blood cell factory and warehouse. When it gets crowded, the balance … More Seven Years
I ran when I was younger the county roads of Hood River. From Trout Creek Ridge to Cooper Spur and Lost Lake to Lolo Pass, I crisscrossed the valley, high on endorphins, at 140 heart beats a minute. I ran loops around the rectangular blocks of apple, pear, and cherry orchards. I noted the seasons as … More Heat Wave
I have two remarkable sons. In previous posts, I wrote about them here and here. They do so much for my wife, Marilyn, and I. Noah, the oldest, contributes to our lives on the macro-level. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. There, he works as an associate attorney with the Environmental Protection Agency … More Fatherhood
“There’s a reason you can learn from everything: you have basic wisdom, basic intelligence, and basic goodness.” Pema Chodron Autumn arrived. Outside, the maple trees turned from green to crimson and gold. Their coat of leaves drifted with the wind and tumbled to earth. Undressed, the bare branches revealed damage from last winter’s ice storm: … More Raking Leaves
Last fall, snow came early to the valley, and then stopped. The foreshadowing of a long, gloomy winter evaporated with a succession of sunny December days. The New Year heralded more of the same. In front of the Post Office, snapdragons I’d planted last March stood tall. Customers marveled at blooms so late in the … More Stormy Weather
Good Blood, Bad Blood 