Marj remembers a Sitka spruce, on the ridge above the Siletz River in Oregon where she grew up, as sacred to the indigenous coastal people who lived in the Siletz Valley. Marj says, “When I was a girl, we had many Indian friends. I was told that sick Indians would climb up to the spruce…
Truth – Honor – Dignity – Compassion – Courage – Love Many humans have trouble understanding the deepest meaning of these words, and how important they are to the success of both humanity and their own personal success and happiness. If you can understand and live the deepest meaning of any one of these words,…
In Part One, I shared how our family found itself deserted by the Social Security Administration, for over ten months and counting… Thankfully, I speak Spanish. Thankfully, the Mexican Consulate helped us piece together this bureaucratic puzzle. Thankfully, I have a cell phone service that allows me to call Mexico. Thankfully, after a woman put…
I grew up in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Long before high tech games and distractions became ubiquitous and childhood changed in so many ways. Gone are the days when children burst forth into their neighborhoods, playing Red Light, Green Light in the streets, dodging slow-moving cars headed home as the work day came…
The coconut treeThick tight clusters at the topUs at the bottom ~ Benson carved a faceSubjugation in BelizeEver blowing wind ~ The end of the rainy season — stray dogs wander wet ~ Famished, I crawled home Embarrassed at the party My sins he forgave ~ Some haiku from Belize and one from last week’s…
The pond that I was turned onto, Bong Ripper Pond, I found the review of it … The elevation was quite high, the trip is full of flowers and greenery, the immersion into the pond is exhilarating and leaves you with a heady, bubbly feeling! While the high elevation leaves you speechless and awestruck, it’s…
Around dawn, on Tuesday, January 3rd, Carla Dawn DeCrona completed her transition from this reality into the next. As her friends here on our Island and abroad learn of her passage forward, almost all have remarked upon the light my mother brought into this world. She was as bright in spirit as the glorious, sky…
This haiku comic was inspired by an experience my friend Cynthia shared with me, and is dedicated in memory of her brother, Jaime Sadurni Mendiola. Cold outside, with dog Stars freeze too – night is punctured Strokes of silver – swans!
Born Patricia Ann Luray in Ross, California on June 2, 1950, to Howard and Barbara Luray (maiden name Spurgeon). “Pat” was the 3rd of four children. Pat is survived by her younger brother Chris, her two children Donnie and Akemi, and their children Naomi, Amaya, and Emi Mae. Pat’s childhood took place mainly in the…
Minglement, an organic food, herb, and spice store established in 1972 on Vashon was growing, and Eva wanted to move her business into a larger space. A country block away, the original Historic Seattle’s Best Coffee roasting facility, stood empty. The site was well over 100 years old, with its well-worn wooden floors, charming front…