Wood Land

 

Ugly...in a cute sort of way....

Adventures in Babysitting...

 

We played with the flash on the camera for a really long time.

Shot's taken from Koby's Wedding...

Out on the Palouse...

Where God gives real good sky.

The first time we did this...it was a practise run in her room....which is super important. The timing had to be just right. 10,000 stuffed animals, transfered in under 10 minutes to Mom and Dad's bed...

Let's just say the folks on 24 got nothing on our stealth skills.

We are good.

And getting better....

I taught her this important skill set...only last time...

It was a surprise for her parents....

Because, duh, everyone knows such skillsets are best practised right before bed time...

The mathmatical abilities one must have to quietly---on tip toes no less, move several tons of animals, from one young woman's closet right across the upstairs, right to mommy and daddy's bed...

And to do so without giggling....

And to do so while hoping that they remain hypnotized by Dancing with the Stars...

And then to balance all those animals,

without disturbing the sleeping cat Theo,

or getting ratted out by a huge, not supposed to be upstairs, like ever, Golden Retriever Midas,

is like really really hard.

Which offered another life coaching opportunity:

How to talk yourself out of big trouble.

Right after bed time...

Longshot.

Where faith finds you...

If I had a calling card, an image that most represents who, and I suppose "what" I am...

This is that image.

The photo is by Ron Ulrich, a talent artisan in his own right.

I am always telling him this: that he is gifted, I mean really super, amazingly gifted.

Not because of anything like looks, although yes, he's got that as well.

I wonder at his brilliance and the way at times, he's able to capture things that most people probably miss.

I am grateful that he got this shot. I didn't even know he'd taken it.

We'd parked up along I-25, overlooking Santa Fe.

All this admiration is what it is...hard to fit into any sort of sense other than acknowledgement and respect.

Ironic, cuz I can piss this boy off like no one on the planet.

I have this gift with others as well. They just get this look in their eyes, which are already rolling to the back of their heads. Always trying to cram me into some sort of form that I just can't fit into easily.

Creativity meets creativity. Oil and water. Liquid and liquid. Not easily molded. Not easily contained. Capable of erosion, and destruction.

Capable of quenching thirst. Capable of lubrication. Capable of reflection.

I realize this is a bit random, but I am thinking over many of the things I exprienced over these last few days. Especially NYC, which I'd never experienced without 18 wheels under me to make things one hell of a beautiful mess.

Anatasia my host kept telling me to quit smiling.

Said I looked like a tourist.

No one makes eye contact. Unless they want something.

The pan handlers are aggressive-just like in the south central market in LA. I didn't care, and I know I am hopelessly naive and trusting. Easily rolled.

But as I saw all this humanity, refusing to look at one another but looking at one another just the same, I could not help but grin and smile.

I made us miss the subway train once because I needed to listen to the musical performers.

They were good.

Again, more rolling eyes. But, actually my New Jersey girl smiled as well. I think she gets that I am hopeless. Which is a starting point when you come to think about it.

Mission accomplished.

Yesterday I was in New Jersey. Today I am in Jetlag.

It's snowing here, and I am getting ready to hit the road for work. Back to the 75 miles of ice and snow and where did my clean underwear go?

This morning, as I woke up and lay in bed watching the sky, the flurries, I felt that sense of purity and cleanliness that I always feel during that initial burst of white. Still the silence was deafening...

It's not just a cliche in this case. There are no birds riverside. No coyotes on the move. No wolves on the peak crest calling out, birthing echo.

Just that deafening nothingness.

Our first snowfall, with measurable accumulation came Oct. 28.

My next journey, is already afoot in my mind. I'll try to keep you posted.
We didn't have a single guess for October, so that hat goes back in the pot. I'll try to think of something...

Until then, embrace hopelessness.

:)

Early Returns.

So, I have returned home.

To snow and a truck that took an hour to get cleaned off at the airport. It wasn't the volume of snow but the ice that created the challenge. And, the sense of frustration that all the doors were frozen shut, and that on the Heavy Duty Fords, the headlights do not produce near enough heat to melt away ice.

I also returned to a string of bad news that began almost as soon as the conference in Philly ended. I'm still not sure what to make of it.

And this place, now layered in ice fog and memory, is so still, that I can hear my thoughts racing. They are still far behind, but determined to catch me back up to the present, even if half my head and heart remains in Philly.

After landing, I turned on my phone and learned that my friend Wes Boggs died on Friday. He was 90, and he'd been shoeing horses up until last year. He was a great man, an accomplished farrier, horse trainer, and rodeo cowboy. He also overcame much adversity.

It was he and his wife Ellen who were instrumental in dramatically changing my thoughts about aging, and about our value as we grow older. I am used to hearing younger members of my community refer to 22 as the new 95, so this lesson is an important one.

I last saw Wes and Ellen in mid September, when I performed the wedding ceremony for Wes' nephew.

Now, the family has asked me to perform the burial service for Wes in spring, when the snow has melted, and the cemetery in the foothills of these serene Selkirks is again accessible.

It was just a year ago last fall that we laid Teddy, Wes' son, to rest in that same place.

I do believe, that where we're bound, that last best place we can't even begin to imagine, (so I don't even try) Ted and his father Wes are already celebrating the beauty of their lives and they are basking in the glow of their now perfect names.

I also took great comfort to know that Wes, died peacefully in his sleep, sitting in his favorite chair up in Usk. He knew the Lord and he knew he was ready.

I have a very special last memory of Wes, one that came out of the blue. I was supposed to be up at Sullivan Lake that day, and somehow I'd locked myself out of the house, and even more miraculous had crawled through a window that I didn't know I could fit through anymore. Scraped up and a bit disheveled, I stopped in at the infamous Usk store, which also includes a neat'o place to eat called the Burger Hut.

I was now over an hour late, I was in serious trouble with at least one of they guys waiting for me up at the campsite. I believe that sometimes really good beer is the only thing that will solve such a problem.

Wes and Ellen were there, and the minute I walked in, their eyes lit up. I couldn't help but sit down with them as I waited for the line to clear out at the cash register. I can still see the twinkle in Wes' eyes. That shine, and that joy-well, such a sparkle and such a grin is pretty rare these days. I think I'll hold on to it for awhile....

I also learned today that a truck driver friend of mine is going blind from an HIV related infection. For a year and a half his HMO denied him coverage.

Because, according to them, HIV is a preexisting condition. He too is well skilled around horses, and he's been known to have the prettiest large car running the big road.

I penned this right after walking in the door tonight, thinking about all this loss at the beginning of season of blinding brightness. It's a bit hard to reconcile.

Nomad Hustle
By Timothy Anderson
(For Anastasia...because.)

You old soul
Forever young cowboy
Perpetual Motion on your mind
Teach me the difference
Between Stationary and Sublime

Me with all my mile markers
Unscripted blacktop free verse
You dancing bucking chutes and rough stock
bad wrecks and buckles in reverse

Now we are both just hauntings.

We won't know the next horizon or
A thousand Interstate thoughts
Chasing time.
Intoxicated by the wind.
Intoxicated by atlas pages, little red lines
Intoxicated by ruthless whim.

We are both just hauntings.

My windshield tells our story
His ghosts my mirrors know
Montana with a shot of Wyoming
Mudflaps blown
Blizzards known
Diesel scent by morning
Cold coffee falling into night
One entry fee short
One rodeo less tonight

Grab some gears for us both
Keep us moving
Keep us upright
Grab some tears for us both
deep in all that firelight
deep in all them headlights

We are both just hauntings

So play me some Sugarland
George Straight and Patsy Cline
Over that still
sing song
Clear channel radio
Over that lonesome
Expansion jointed
dream time .

Answered Prayer....

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

I fell in love, deeply.

For the first time.

I was very young, and completely overwhelmed by such a thing.

As many first such moments often are, this one experience became especially noteworthy and would be one of those milestones that changed everything.

Twenty years have passed.

It has been over ten since I last saw him.

Neither of us has lived a quiet life.

Yet somehow, through so much, we've landed on the same page.

While I attended and presented at the APHA conference in Philly, Tom flew in to provide support.

The chain of events that occurred to bring him back into my life, is not insignificant.

Nor is the army of angels that have watched over him.

And I.

To have this friendship, and both of us mostly intact,

is the stuff of answered prayer.

Thanks to Kevin, who made the connection and who put us back in touch.

Here is a glimpse back...at what a difference 20 years makes.

My problem. And I do have one...

A Last Look Back

Our first measureable snowfall arrived on October 28.

Nice eh?

He just learned how to say no. And to ask why.

When you forget the truck...no worries.

Goldfish Food

Seconds after these shots were taken, I heard a very large splash....

Recently Kelcy helped me with a little project I was working on. See how happy she was?

Views from the High Line, US 2 between Douglas and Wilbur....

What I did with my vacation....

Me. Today, 12:30. Philly town. American Publich Health Association National Convention.

See links below.

ABSTRACT


Title: Health To Go: An innovative trucker health outreach project

Presenter: Timothy J. Anderson, BS, Spokane Regional Health District

The U.S. trucking industry employs an estimated 3 million working as over-the-road (OTR) tractor trailer truck drivers. While keeping the United States and North American economies flowing, truckers consistently sustain more non-fatal occupational injuries and illnesses than any other occupation. Studies have found that truckers face an average 18-year reduction in life expectancy over other occupational groups, and are at increased risk for elevated blood pressure, obesity, musculoskeletal disorders, cardiovascular disease, tobacco addiction, drug and substance abuse, sexually transmitted infections (including HIV), eating disorders, ulcers, diabetes, sleep disorders, lack of fitness, and various cancers. The public safety challenge posed by truck drivers who may have any of these undiagnosed, potentially fatal conditions affects everyone with whom they share the road. These factors, when linked to communicable disease screening and surveillance, are of public health interest. To respond to this public health need in eastern Washington, the Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD) conducted an innovative trucker health outreach, prevention and education pilot project, called Health To Go. In this presentation, the unique features of the Health To Go project, which was designed in collaboration with long-haul truckers and community partners, will be discussed. The results of trucker interviews conducted by SRHD to survey truckers’ working conditions, perceptions and experiences regarding the availability of health care on the road, perceived risk for HIV and willingness to participate in HIV testing, and preferred media for receiving health messages will also be presented, along with recommendations for further research and trucker health programming.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the presentation, participants will be able to:

1. Identify the public safety issues posed by trucker drivers with pre-morbid and morbid chronic and communicable diseases, including HIV.
2. Identify the unique challenges faced with providing health screenings, health care, and health promotion and education to this highly mobile workforce.
3. Describe some innovative on-the-road strategies for addressing and preventing chronic and communicable diseases for long-haul truckers.
4. Identify some potential areas for further research and program development for promoting trucker health.

http://apha.confex.com/apha/137am/webprogram/Session27991.html

http://apha.confex.com/apha/137am/webprogram/Paper211586.html