Talli’s 3K Time Places Her First in Her District This Year, And Hayley’s Band Wows in Oregon State Univ. Competition

We were in Oregon this weekend to watch our granddaughter run in the Centennial High School Invitational Track Meet in Gresham on Saturday and then to spend this Easter Sunday with our son Gregg’s family worshipping at their church, Newberg Friends (Gregg's sermon was spot on) and then enjoying a wonderful day together.

Talli, a Junior, ran the 3,000 meters in a time of 11:08, which is only seconds off of her personal record. Though she came in third in her heat (among contestants from all over Oregon and Washington), her time was good enough to place her first among all varsity 3K runners in the 6A Pacific Conference of which her school is a member – a fabulous achievement.

In the photo above, I caught her (at left) in the last turn before the final stretch of her race. At that point she was slightly in the lead, but strong kicks by the two gals with her just nipped her at the wire. Click on the pic for a larger image – you can see the intensity of competition. Both the boys’ and the girls’ track teams in her school, Newberg High, placed second overall at the Invitational, where over 50 high schools participated.

Granddaughter Hayley, an eighth grader, traveled to Oregon State University for a day last week where her Middle School’s Advanced Band received an “excellent” rating – the highest you can achieve – in a competition among schools from all over the State . Hayley is the first chair clarinet player and performed at least one solo, if not two, if I recall correctly. A pretty good week for granddaughters.

Of course our third-grade granddaughter, Aubrey, is a happy, super-good student and has been occupying her time with horseback riding lessons and piano lessons. Sure was great to catch up on all the kids’ doings and to have some quality time with Gregg and Elaine.

And a Happy Easter to all! Christ is risen. Allelujah!

Every Time We Move, I Say “Never Again”

A move is somewhere in the top five of things that cause stress. Only a divorce, a death in the immediate family or a job loss is said to cause more anxiety than changing your address.

But that’s exactly what my wife and I did at the end of last month – yet once more. We moved from a northeast burb of Seattle to a southeast burb of the city – ending up almost an hour or so closer to our son and his family in Oregon and a little closer also to our other son and his family who live on Seattle’s Eastside.

A few moves ago, we started counting the number of places we have lived since we were married. We stopped counting in the low 20s, and we weren’t nearly complete. Let’s just say that our sons know what it is like to live up and down the west coast – from a beach city like Santa Cruz, California to the steelhead and salmon paradise of Clackamas, Oregon in the foothills of Mt. Hood, and to the four-season Inland Empire area around Spokane, Washington.

There’s always been a seemingly good reason to move – an interesting job offer, a better climate, a nicer house, a business opportunity or maybe just wanderlust a time or three. This move was because we had an opportunity to purchase a smaller but comfortable town house at a really great price that should serve us well until we head for the old folks home. Truly, I/we hope this is the last move we have to go through for a long, long time.

O, btw, the fire hydrant in the pic above is ideal for our dog, Buddy.

Our new place is just large enough for the two of us and for two house guests a few days at a time. While you’re here visiting, my office will turn mobile (I’ll take my laptop into the master br). So, what are you waiting for? Come see us sometime.

Is Las Vegas Losing it’s Luster?

Kay Lynne and I spent a few days in Las Vegas this past week, mainly to enjoy some time in a warmer, sunny clime with lifelong friends, Dwight and Lynnette Klassen.

We encountered a city that is going through some enigmatic changes.

Of course we had to go through the casino to get to our room on the 21st floor of the Mirage, and we found the cavernous gambling center rather startlingly sparsely filled. Nearly three quarters of the slots and gaming tables were empty in a place that was relatively recently designed to accommodate large crowds of people.

We weren’t there long enough nor did we visit enough other places to make an accurate observation, but it sure seemed like there were FAR less people there this time than when we last visited the city in January of 2008.

There were two high points, for me at least, on the trip. The first was the latest Cirque du Soleil show, Viva Elvis (top pic -- look closely; those are acrobats on a large "jungle Jim" set designed in the shape of a guitar), at the incredibly beautiful Aria Resort in the new city center complex. Btw, the city center complex (photo above), in contrast to the Mega-Casinos, is bustling with activity – especially the Crystals Retail and Entertainment Center.

It’s hard to put into words what happens at a Cirque du Soleil show. It’s a truly unbelievable combination of art, physicality, acrobatics, music, sound, video, film and visuals. I would even call it “sensory overload”. Suffice it to say, if you haven’t seen a Cirque du Soleil performance – do so if you can!

The other high point was a visit to the new Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge which spans Black Canyon some 900 feet above the Colorado River. You can’t see much while crossing the bridge (it’s walled about five feet high on each side for safety reasons) but from the visitors center you can actually walk across the dam side of the bridge. Above photo was taken from a helicopter high above the structure after its completion last October but before traffic was allowed across it.

Dwight and I took a side trip to the site (on the north end of the Strip) of the Pawn Stars reality TV show on the History Channel. It’s amazing what television exposure will do. A perpetual long line of people stand in line daily to get inside the shop where Rick Harrison, his curmudgeonly father, son Corey and “gofer” Chumley roam the aisles. Interestingly, two nearby pawn shops were virtually desolate.

A "Beastly" Win for the Seahawks

Marshawn Lynch's "Beastly Mode" 67-yard touchdown run highlighted today's 41-36 NFL Playoff win over the defending NFL champion New Orleans Saints by the Seattle Seahawks. QuarterbackMatt Hasselbeck threw four TD passes. Not a bad performance for the first losing season record (7 -9) Division winner.

Is There A Better Way to Start the New Year?

If there’s a better way to start a new year than, in company with a son, to catch wily steelhead on a world-famous Olympic Peninsula river, I’m open for suggestions.

Spending New Years Eve in (Twilight country) Forks, Washington may be the only down side, but even that was survivable.

Doug and guide Mike Z admire Doug's 11-pound native hen (he also caught 14- and 8-pounders for a spectacular one-day fishing exhibition) following measuring and just before safely releasing the fish.

We started talking about the excursion at the family Christmas celebration in Oregon. Son Gregg determined pretty quickly that it was not an option he could consider this year due to a very full schedule. Son Doug said, “Let’s think about it.” It was, after all, only a week or so ahead of time. Would the weather cooperate? Are any guides available? What are the fishing reports? Lots of questions.

Industrious son jumped on the project as soon as he was back home. The rain/snow had stopped. Water was receding and clearing in the rivers. Weather forecast was good other than it would be cold. There WAS a guide available – and a good one. We decided to go for it.

Doug snapped me playing my 8-pound hatchery buck (pictured at top) which we could keep. Click on the photo to enlarge it, and note the bend in the rod.

I should mention that for those not acquainted with the very long odds of successful steelhead fishing, many unrelated things have to fall in place. Not the least of which are the time of year, the weather, the (river) water, the fish, and the knowledge to connect the dots. That knowledge is stored in the head of a good fishing guide – guys who are there every day and know the water, the holes, what the fish are hitting on, and have access to the spots via a drift boat, etc.

It is said that the average steelhead fisherman must actually fish (with line & lure in the water) for 30 hours for each fish caught. Those are long odds. But that is why the investment in a good fishing guide is money well spent. Simply, it’s the difference between success and failure.

Doug helps Mike Z load his drift boat back on the trailer at day's end on the beautiful Sol Duc river.

Our guide was Mike Zavadlov, owner of Mike Z’s Guide Service and a local resident of Forks. He fishes more than two out of every three days year around. We asked him which of the four fabulous rivers in the area (Hoh, Bogachiel, Calawah and Sol Duc) was best right now. No hesitation: the Sol Duc.

We caught a total of four incredibly beautiful fish (I only got one) while drifting down more than 12 miles of river. Three were natives which had to be safely released. The other was my hatchery buck. I think we used just about everything in Mike’s tackle box, and the result was a spectacular day on the water, albeit a freezing cold one. I’m not sure that the temp got much above freezing all day. But without a guide, it would have been just another day of fishing – and likely without results. We highly recommend Mike Z as an excellent fishing guide.

Next New Years Day perhaps Gregg can join us on the adventure.

The Digital Story of the Nativity

The Christmas message remains the same, but the method of delivering it changes with the times. I copied this from my son Gregg's facebook status, because it can't be shared too much. Gregg said his church shared this during their worship service today. Just click on the arrow to play...

“Ragtag” Giants Win World Series

Fifty six years have gone by since I’ve celebrated a Giants World Series win. And now it has finally happened again. Above is games one and five winning pitcher Tim Lincecum celebrating the series victory.

In a post-season run that embraced the many clichés of baseball (great pitching will beat great hitting, for instance) the 2010 San Francisco Giants – called “makeshift and ragtag” by their own manager – are the best in the world right now.

A deserving Edgar Renteria won the MVP award, but a core of homegrown Giants pitchers was the primary reason they have become World Champions. Starters Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez and rookie Madison Bumgarner proved too much for the best hitting team in baseball who also had one great pitcher, Cliff Lee.

The Giants were no respecter of pitchers all through the post-season. They beat the best arms that Atlanta, Philadelphia and Texas threw at them -- all while their own staff was virtually unhittable.

Congratulations, 2010 San Francisco Giants – World Series Champions of Major League Baseball.

Giants To Play in World Series

In one of the more unlikely scenarios in Major League Baseball, the San Francisco Giants -- my favorite team since 1951 -- have made it into the 2010 World Series.

At left is NLCS MVP Cody Ross, a Florida cast-off and late season Giants' pick-up off of waivers, holding his trophy following the gut-wrenching 3-2 win earlier tonight in Philadelphia.

The win was an absolute total team effort and is the first World Series appearance for the Giants since 2002, when they lost to the Angels in seven games.

The Giants have not won the World Series since they moved west in 1958. Their last World Series win was in 1954 when they were still in New York and swept the Cleveland Indians, spurred by Willie Mays' famous first game "catch" off the bat of Vic Wertz in deep center field in the Polo Grounds.

Now it's time to create some fresh history.

Talli Wins Champoeg X-C Invitational

Our high school junior granddaughter Talli won her third cross country race outright yesterday. But this time it was a large race, the Champoeg Invitational, that attracted a big field from over a dozen high schools. Photo above shows her all alone nearing the finish line.

Just added (10/12): Click here to read the local newspaper story in The Newberg Graphic.

Talli’s winning time was 19:46 for 5,000 meters; it was the second time, I think, that she has broken 20 minutes. I was so happy she did so well, I just wanted to get it on the blog.

Pic above is Talli receiving her blue ribbon. What a great performance!

Refreshing The Soul With A Day On The Water

My cousin Joel Narva and I drove over the Cascades early this morning to fish for one of the “big ones” that are in Chelan County’s Fish Lake (there are several Fish Lakes).

We caught quite a few rainbow trout; Joel caught abundantly more than I did, as he had his float tube and was serving up locally hand-tied flies. I rented a small Smokercraft Lodge with an 8-horse Yamaha on it – a real smooth rig. I tried to convince the wily things to chomp on my broken back Rapala, but they were too smart.

At this time of the year, it is said that you have as good a chance as any at hooking a five-pound, or larger, fish. Didn’t happen today, although Joel lost one that stripped his fly reel down to the backing – just couldn’t pull the trigger in time.

The early morning was nice, but about 10:00 the wind came up and the rains started to come down. It wasn’t a heavy rain, just an annoying one. Fortunately the temp was warm and we were not chilled. All in all, a great day on the water, and an even better time getting caught up on our common interests.

Birthday People

In our family we have two instances of common birthdays. Our daughter-in-law Jamie and our grandson NJ share a birthday this month – coming up in a few days, as a matter of fact. And my granddaughter Aubrey and I share a birthday in July.

It’s nothing but fun when you share a birthday with a family member. This afternoon we celebrated NJ’s 2nd birthday along with his mom’s. Pic above shows the boy getting used to his new three-book pack – all about trucks – a gift from his aunt, uncle and cousins. NJ loves trucks – any and all kinds. That’s Aunt Elaine helping him get the books out of the pack.

Whenever it’s possible for both of our sons’ families to be all together, we like to get pics of them. Above are all four of our grandchildren. L to r, Hayley, Talli, NJ and Aubrey. Is there anything better than grandkids?

A Perfectly Beautiful Wedding and A Get Together With Old Friends

Almost two weeks ago Kay Lynne and I left for a short week’s visit to the San Francisco Bay Area, primarily to attend the wedding of our nephew Mike Narva, but also to touch base with our long-time friends there. Pic above was taken at a get together of long-time friends the first evening we arrived. This is the group who first met in a church “young married’s” class over 40 years ago (with two exceptions). Left to right are Ed Wall, Troy Lester (Ted’s betrothed), Mike & Gwen Silkwood, Kay Lynne, moi, Darlene Wall and Ted Petersen.

We also visited old school friends in San Jose and in Discovery Bay before and after the wedding which was on August 7. Mike and Ginny Silver (above) were married in a beautiful outdoor ceremony in the small community of La Honda, near Half Moon Bay. Mike's dad, my cousin Jim Narva, and wife, Kay, live in Sunnyvale, while the new bride and groom will live in Santa Clara.

It could not have been a better weekend. We got to enjoy a gorgeous wedding, get together with relatives and see friends we have known seemingly forever. Old friends are good friends.

Buddy is in “Paradise” For Five Days

Our dog is in Paradise. No, he hasn’t left us.

Instead, he’s at the “Paradise Pet Lodge” while we travel for a short time. Note the appropriate yellow "convenience station" (above). The place bills itself as “An Exclusive Resort For Pets.” I sure hope it’s a kennel as well, ‘cause that’s really all we were looking for.

The good thing is that we know he’ll be well taken care of. That’s important to us, because Buddy suffers from “separation anxiety.” He won’t eat or drink water on his own when we’re gone. The folks at the “Resort” said they’d hand feed him if necessary, so OUR anxiety levels can remain normal.

Buddy is a great dog. He’ll enjoy the companion-ship of other dogs and the loving care of some good people. Which means we’ll enjoy OUR trip all the more.

The Roslyn Café is Still There

Early this morning I jumped in the old “fishing buggy” and headed east over the Cascades to do some reconnaissance on potential trout lakes. However, the pic above is a good indication of how the “reconnaissance” went.

On my way from Lake Easton to Cle Elum Lake, I passed through the little town of Roslyn, the town where the popular 1990’s TV series, “Northern Exposure” was filmed. Of course on television the town was not Roslyn, Washington but Cicely, Alaska.

Let’s just say that there is not much in Roslyn, but the famous TV landmark of fictitious Cicely is still there. As you can see, the large wall mural looks like it was freshly painted.

As far as fishing lakes goes, I swung by almost a half dozen lakes: Keechelus, Lost, Kachess, Easton and Cle Elum. Only wet a line at Easton, with little results. I forgot what summer does to lakes on the much warmer eastern slope.

Just about every one was low, shallow at the accessible shoreline, and virtually impossible to fish unless you had a boat – which I didn’t. And in many cases the water was too low to easily launch even if you had a boat.

But I did get a nice picture by which to remember the excursion. However, the moose that walked down the street in the TV version was nowhere to be seen today.

This Little Gal Can Sing!

Seven-year-old Rhema Marvanne --

Life and Death Among Computers

Laptops, for me, seem to last about three or four years – sometimes even less. I’ve always thought that Detroit was guilty of “built-in obsolescence,” but I think the computer industry could be just as guilty.

About two weeks ago, my previous laptop began showing signs of what appeared to be pests and a day or two later simply wouldn’t complete the boot. Fortunately it at least came on, and so I figured the Geeks could do some surgical repair and revive it.

After four days in intensive Geek care, I got the death call. The machine was in a coma and it was just a matter of time. They could remove all the important internal organs, and if I acted quickly in buying a new instrument, they could preserve the body parts long enough for a successful transplant.

Within hours a new laptop (pic above) was ready for the implants and a day later was up and running (with nice upgrades, to boot).

It’s funny how quickly the emotional ties disappear – even from an old buddy. How quickly we lose attachments that no longer serve us. In fact, there will not even be a memorial of any kind. Sounds cold, I know.

But the truth is that the new laptop is already a friendly, functional companion, and the old data and pics have gained their lifelike qualities once again.

Rest in peace, former buddy. Someday, somewhere, there is a chance you might be resurrected.

Grandpa and Granddaughter Share the Same Birthday – 64 Years Apart

Grandma and I were in Oregon Friday and yesterday to celebrate granddaughter Aubrey’s eighth birthday. She and I were born on the same date, though more than six decades apart.

Among the nice presents Aubrey received was a beautiful new mountain bike (pic above). Now she’s ready to keep up with her sisters.

Grandpa got a beautiful picture frame with the word “grandkids” on it from Gregg and Elaine, and it now sits proudly on my desk displaying a gorgeous photo of all four grandchildren, which Gregg printed for me. My office has never looked so good.

Of course there’s always a “blowing-out-the-candles” ritual, and the photo above shows Aubs and I making the attempt. Yep, we had lots of fun this year celebrating our birthdays. The pics above were aptly taken by Grandma who is having fun with the camera of late.

Fun With Grandkids

This week we’ve been enjoying time with our granddaughter Aubrey who’s with us for the week from Oregon while mom and dad get some much needed “R&R” up in the San Juan Islands.

Yesterday we went to visit her cousin NJ who lives in a nearby burb. They hadn’t seen each other for several months, and we wondered how well the boy would remember his cousin. The pic above answered our question immediately.

Aubrey got a long hug right as she came in the door. From then on it was nothin’ but fun for the entire day! They have another outing together planned for tomorrow. Aubs can’t wait.

Lutheran Culture Scratches Our Spiritual Itch

You may have heard me say on this blog, a time or three, that of all Christian venues through which my wife and I have traveled, the Lutheran pathway not only is working for us, but also has provided purpose for our lives.

Yesterday, once again, we received another confirmation of this during the sermon by our Pastor, the Rev. Jim McEachran, a gifted scholar and Bible teacher.

Before we get to his Bible text, it may be worth noting that we’ve often used the phrase, “living out the Grace of God in our everyday lives” as sort of a summary capsulization of how we’ve come to understand what it means to live the Christian life in Lutheran terms. By the way, Lutherans love “grace,” as did Martin Luther himself.

The core of yesterday’s sermon text was the familiar message of Ephesians 2:8-10, but for some reason, the way the NRSV Bible translates the 10th verse really struck me yesterday. Here’s the passage:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast.

"For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.”

Italics on verse 10 are mine; that's the portion that stood out to me yesterday. If that verse doesn't provide an excellent rationale and wonderful perspective for "living out the Grace of God in the world,” I surely don’t know what would.

Thanks be to God.

Spinning Our Wheels?

I finally finished James Davison Hunter’s book, To Change the World – The Irony, Tragedy & Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World. The book really delivers in the realm of social theory, explaining why Christians are mostly ineffective in their efforts to “change the world”.

In fact, “changing the world” should not be our primary focus, he suggests. And he laboriously makes the case that despite our country being nearly 80% “Christian,” the influence of Christianity is, to a great degree, ineffective. Further, he suggests, rather than positively influence society, Christians (especially the Christian Right) have instead come across as angry, bitter and resentful.

A significant part of the problem, he says, (and I’m greatly oversimplifying here) is that the Christian Left, the Christian Right and the neo-Anabaptists, all have chosen, in one way or another, politics, policies and law as the target areas in which to “penetrate” in order to change society.

This will surely fail, he says (two thirds of the book is given to explaining why), and his proposed alternative is what he calls and defines as “faithful presence.” “A theology of faithful presence,” Hunter says, “calls Christians to enact the shalom of God in the circumstances in which God has placed them and to actively seek it on behalf of others.”

This should be done in our daily living, rather than through the political or legal systems as is seemingly the current focus, he offers. You can see that simply understanding what he means and how it should be implemented is a significant challenge - but a worthy one - and one for which the book is very much worth a read.

The book does not end on a particular high note. His own assessment of his theology suggests that even if Christians and the Church could live according to his concept of “faithful presence,” his best prognosis is that we may be able to live in “a better world.”

I think I might have titled the book, Spinning Our Wheels?