Upper Left Edge

a small paper for a small planet

Recent Comments

  • Darrell Clukey on Elixirs of the GodsSteve, as usual you have given us delight with your tales. In these episodes, not only delight but also a thirst to taste life more fully. You have experienced much and given much. Thank you for sharing your memories with us.. Blessings, -Darrell
  • Vera Haddan on Elixirs of the GodsMy favorite passage in this piece is Steven's grandfather giving him brandy. "Never, ever tell your mother." When I was a little girl and had an earache, my father would draw warm smoke from his pipe, cup his mouth around my ear, and let the warm smoke fill my ear while holding me until I fell asleep. I wonder how many memories "Elixirs of the Gods" will rekindle in Upper Left Edge readers?
  • Watt Childress on Here Try Some of This OintmentMay these threaded boxes of comments and links add to a fiery flood of contextual meaning, all springing from friendly conversations and urgent calls for world peace.
  • Watt Childress on Here Try Some of This OintmentFollowing that music video from Appalachian icon Jean Ritchie (who some have called the "Mother of Folk") I was blessed with this music video from Rainbow Quest, a tv program spearheaded by Pete Seeger that aired in the years just prior to when the melody was written for the blessing you sang at the Spring potluck. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT7iaqJzhXM
  • Watt Childress on Here Try Some of This OintmentThank you Brother Bob -- for all your heart-felt help in tending the garden of friendship with good thoughtful words. Always grateful for our conversations. Swing and turn, jubilee, live and learn, jubilee. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v_jhm0hMZY
  • Rabbi Bob on Here Try Some of This OintmentOnce upon a jubilee! Oh yeah! Great piece, Brother Watt. From the heart. Keep writing!
  • Watt Childress on The Beautiful Live Wire of 2024Core memories take root when life thrusts us into the elements, presses us closer to our intimate selves. Many thanks Cliff for giving words to this kind of experience, so we can greet it more fully when it comes around.
  • Watt Childress on Exchanging gifts with UrsulaHere's a piece I wrote about Ursula a while back, published in an online Canadian journal. https://www.vancouverobserver.com/blogs/bedsidetable/2010/06/21/heading-home-author-ursula-k-le-guin.html
  • Darrell Clukey on A Memorable ChristmasSteve, you have a knack for the beautiful. Your story touches the heart with solace and grace. It is a blessed reminder of the power of loving-kindness in times of need. Your compassion brought pleasure to pain and happiness to sorrow. This is a beautiful thing anytime.
  • Darrell Clukey on READ ALL ABOUT IT! 1999Cliff, your gift-wrapping prowess would give Bruce Lee pause. You, like Bruce, are the spirit of the undefeated. Follow Watt's suggestion of a return engagement to wrap your poetry books at the same store in the heartland, but bring your own tape.
  • Watt Childress on READ ALL ABOUT IT! 1999Thanks for adding more meaning and feeling to the gift economy of written words. Next year, when a couple more of your titles are in print, you could stage an author's holiday book-wrapping at the same store!
  • Rod Rowan on A Memorable ChristmasThank you for sharing. Wonderful story.
  • Watt Childress on A Memorable ChristmasBeautiful story Steven, and beautifully written. Merry Christmas!
  • Rob Gourley on Exchanging gifts with UrsulaThanks for deciding to write this concisely cogent & relevant essay,"Exchanging gifts with Ursula," and sharing it on Upper Left Edge. Something I admire is your knack for tucking expansive phrases into your texts, e.g, "righteous shout out," "every one of us participates in the unfolding story ...," etc.
  • Rod Rowan on Exchanging gifts with UrsulaThank you for the excellent piece and for fighting for our way of life.
  • Watt Childress on Charging up our SongWhat can be done? Here's a few suggestions. Keep a lookout for local screenings of the film linked below, and any creative work that inspires us to restore and revive Native salmon runs. Also pray for peacemaking and teambuilding among all people along the waterways, including descendants of Indigenous Clatsop folks who've enrolled in different tribal organizations. Plus think of all our relations whenever we eat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBo6cQ5yJnw
  • Darrell Clukey on Charging up our SongBe glad of heart to love and be loved to find repentance to seek renewal to join in restoration of what cannot be revived. Heart broken open by memory and hope by a past that is gone by a future yet to be. What can be done now to help us all?
  • Jennifer Childress on Charging up our SongThis is beautiful, my love!
  • Darrell Clukey on The Last of Us to Look BackWhen people are ripped from their land, their heart is left behind. You are returning to the heart of the Poncas by planting your corn. May it grow strong and healthy forever. From its new seed, new hearts are grown.
  • Watt Childress on The Last of Us to Look BackThank you Cliff for replanting and growing your heritage! This good act of cultural cultivation feeds every soul on the planet!
  • Steve on Mornings Like TheseAaron's poetry wraps around me on mornings like this, and I am beheld by its mysticism and grace. Thank you.
  • Logan James Garner on Three Poems and a MountainI so appreciate these kind words, thank you Darrell. Very glad to hear from a reader that they have some impact. I love what one poem can do differently to and for each person reading it.
  • Logan James Garner on Three Poems and a MountainThank you kindly, Watt, for the opportunity to create and to share! "Harmonizing with Mystery"...this phrase says it all. Cheers to you.
  • Darrell Clukey on Mornings Like TheseIn Aaron's poem one can feel the early morning chill giving way to the rising sun. Warming air overcomes early morning frost. The hidden is exposed for now, only to be concealed later under winter's drawing blanket. The poem offers connections with the changing seasons as the world turns toward chilling darkness. Reading the poem gives pause to observe life's changes. Thank you, Aaron, for helping us to see.
  • zuna on Mornings Like TheseThere is real thought and connection with this piece. It made lead me to a deeper thought and reflection.
  • Darrell Clukey on Holding Hands in Cannon BeachYour "soul memory", Watt, could describe the place called NeCus'. It teems with "ghosts" and "shades." My own view of NeCus' is that I have no view. It is its own place. It has purpose as perceived by the ancient spirits who care for it. Personally, I would raze the buildings and return the land to its original state under care of the ancestors. I think that today the ancestors are in the form of a tribal trust. One that would restore the place to its origins before modern times. NeCus' would become so serene and natural that it would seed a new world of community. The wisdom of the elders would rise from the land for all to learn its ways. If I had a view, at all, this might be it.
  • Watt Childress on Holding Hands in Cannon BeachThank you for jumping in Darrell. My attempted poems share feelings and ideas that often flow beyond the bounds of linear thought. This one began with the soul/muscle memory of shaking hands with an elder indigenous leader, a gesture so gentle it felt more like holding hands. I'm praying such gentle connections can help villagers reprioritize our use of limited resources. City managers along our coasts are prone to push big spending on projects that seek to boost tourism. Meanwhile, community needs go unmet. Today's budgets are as short-sighted as our care for the environment. This trend is unsustainable, even when it's accompanied by attractive regalia.
  • Darrell Clukey on Holding Hands in Cannon BeachThis poem is a challenge to comprehend, at least for me. But that is the nature of poetry; much said in few words. Your words, Watt, say this to me: The poem focuses on the NeCus' Cultural Center which is rising from the old Cannon Beach School. Also rising are the "ghosts" and "shades" of the people who once called this place home. They knew, and current villagers know, that this place could be wiped out by an earthquake and its tsunami at any time. Who is in control of this? No one. Maybe the ancestors, who knows? So let's push on. We can renew the buildings now, or forget it. The buildings could be razed. The land given back to nature. But the villagers of today choose to use the old buildings for new purposes. Descendents of past NeCus' villagers agree and join in. Maybe nature and the buildings can live together as a welcoming center like the old NeCus' village. Visitors will come to see and judge. Will the old ways to be represented on the site stir their considerations of nature and unity at home? Hopefully so. The bonds of those tied to this place are strong. Old and new natives have "being" in this place to preserve together. That is it for now. There is much that can be found in this poem and its message of working together in the interests of place. Thank you, Watt.
  • Rabbi Bob on Holding Hands in Cannon BeachPowerful words and images!
  • Darrell Clukey on Three Poems and a MountainThank you, Logan, for your poem. It does the mountain justice, giving it a sense of place and size, while keeping it unique; for it is in a special setting of grandeur and mystery. It is a "trembling landscape" of its own as you intimate, and I feel closer to the "Beastly Mound" having read your words.
  • Watt Childress on Three Poems and a MountainShe sings, absolutely, and inspires poets to open our hearts and join in the songs. Thank you Logan for harmonizing with Mystery!
  • Logan James Garner on We are the LuminariesThis is a beautiful poem, Watt. While I won't be in town for the event, I am already sufficiently envious. I'll be there in spirit! Take a plunge into that starlit river for me. Cheers.
  • Scott Hardy on We are the LuminariesWe are all glowing and growing! If I can't be there in person, I will be sending you light and love.
  • Scott Hardy on Tiny CornerYou've captured such a beautiful ache and optimism of the decrescendo from one season into the crescendo of the other. What a sweet journey. Really makes me want to see Oregon for the first time!
  • Darrell Clukey on Tiny Corner'Tis a fine place that we call home. Steve, thank you for capturing why we live on this narrow strip of coast land called the Upper Left Edge. It is a gentle place with fierce moments, for sure. Nestled in our niche along sandy beaches surrounded by forested peaks is an okay place to be. Your poem gives all the reasons why.
  • Darrell Clukey on Open Letter for Creation’s CaregiversWhen I first read your use of the word remorse it was in the context of sadness and grief. I took sorrow as its meaning. As we all know, it is more than that. It conveys guilt as well. You say that your friend at the storytelling on Max Patch was taken up by sorrow while remembering her home place, but you also convey that other side of loss which is guilt. People not only show sorrow for the loss of our environment to industry, but also share guilt over our consumption of the environment in the name of progress. John Prine said it well in his song about Mr. Peabody’s coal train hauling away paradise. When I hear those lyrics, I cringe with sorrow and guilt. I once stood near the Arch in St. Louis looking across the river at endless rows of coal cars with “Peabody” stamped on the side. I felt a deep sadness for what they represented. Yet, I consume fossil fuels in a dying environment. Alas, though, I feel enough guilt that I make great efforts to live simply and walk softly on the land. I could live in sorrow and guilt for much in my life, but in the end, I find it better to reach for the joy; not joy found in the world, but the joy that is deep within. This is the joy that places such as Max Patch arouse in us. You say Max Patch is a nexus of natural energy. That, I believe, is the true energy of our humanity. It is the joyful energy that keeps us believing in better possibilities.
  • Watt Childress on Open Letter for Creation’s CaregiversThe words “proactive remorse” came to me during the 1990s, while I was writing about a gathering of rural organizers hosted by the East Tennessee Foundation. About twenty of us converged at Max Patch, a bald mountain peak widely celebrated for her beauty and also believed to be a nexus of natural energy. At one point during the retreat participants sat in a circle and spoke about our most sacred places. For many of us that meant sharing memories of worlds that were lost to urban development. I recall one elder trying to talk about her homeplace and then having to stop because she was so choked up. Remorse flows as I accept my part in a consumptive culture of growth that undoes the life quality experienced in small-town rural communities. Being proactive counters this consumption with creative engagement in other modes of culture. "Organizing" is an upbeat term for this undertaking. I'd love to honestly call this work joyful. Friends like you raise that possibility. Mighty grateful for our exchange here that's led me to memories of a sacred spot where our oldest child celebrated her fourth birthday. My heart lifts in the knowledge that Max Patch hasn't been displaced by a fancy event center. https://appalachiantrail.org/official-blog/the-rewilding-of-max-patch/
  • Darrell Clukey on Open Letter for Creation’s Caregivers“Proactive remorse” leaps off the page as possibility in so many sorrowful situations. Life’s events seem to bring either pleasure or pain, or happiness or sorrow. We swing from one emotion to another depending on what just happened. Which emotion arises depends often on expectation. Did the event go our way or not? We don’t wish for loved ones to die, and we feel sadness and grief when they do. Even when a death is for the best, it hurts. Proactive remorse gives us cause to accept the loss, feel the pain, and observe that it is there without getting crushed by it. We can witness grief as a natural occurrence. I have found during my hardest times with grief that there is an underlying joy which seems to be my better nature. To feel, to observe, to accept grief often lets that joy rise from the depths of despair, especially in the loss of loved ones. I like the possibility of proactive remorse being key to letting joy trump the agony of grief. Thanks, Watt, for this insight.
  • Watt Childress on Open Letter for Creation’s CaregiversGratitude for this exchange of words is mutual Darrell. Threaded letters regale our friendship, like a necklace to be passed around and beaded by anyone who wants. Sadness is natural in tandem with loss, yet this healthy human emotion is commonly shunned. “Take hope,” I’ve heard at funerals. “They’re in a better place.” Many of us have received and offered that well-intentioned consolation. It’s easy to conflate grief with depression, to counter sadness with hope in a greater plan. This impulse is understandable, for depression can indeed cripple attention, inhibit our ability to learn and communicate. Yet sadness isn't the same thing as depression. Grief can also motivate us to address destructive patterns, not just in abstract terms but in the close quarters of local relationships where shovels hit the ground. Often my process includes a kind of proactive remorse. There are so many ways I can be a better caregiver.
  • Darrell Clukey on Open Letter for Creation’s CaregiversWatt, your open letter gave me pause and inspired these thoughts. When the spaces we inhabit are in decline, it is time to be a caregiver to inspire and support renewal. We hope we are not too late. As busy as we may be, we must not simply watch the world go by unattended. We must take time to be aware of what is happening around us by staying active and offering stewardship. But sadness can strain our trying. Hearts may break over death’s knell. Is all lost? Old ways give way to new. A virgin forest gave way to a lone cabin. The cabin was joined by others. A village was born. The village is giving way to modern influences. The force that is homo sapiens lays out a path of destruction in the name of progress and consumption. Why settle for enough when you can get more? Where is the wisdom of simple living and stewardship of nature? We may grieve for our plight on a warming planet, but species have come and gone for millennia. The evolution of humans into other than sapiens may be forthcoming. Time will tell. Meanwhile, we struggle to hold back the tides of our own folly. Thank you, Watt, for reminding us to care about the future of where we live.
  • Steve on Am I a Writer?Darrell shares a contemplation of the heart with introspection and wit. He provides reason to pause and ponder the question most writers ask : what does it mean to be a writer? He shares the answers he has found and invites us to find our own. A beautiful gift! Thank you. Your words will linger in my mind whenever I write.
  • sam steidel on Am I a Writer?Hobby writer, my feelings exactly. I needed stories I was not finding. Nice to know not every self called writer is looking to publish. Though I have found an in between method recently. Keep at it, it is worth it even if no one else reads it.
  • Watt Childress on Am I a Writer?While listening to authors speak at this year’s Get Lit I started to think of writing and reading as a kind of call and response. I tried to help activate this idea by offering a question or comment after each session. Call and response is commonly associated with the Black Church, yet it is practiced in a variety of settings. Responses aren’t limited to affirmations, either. Individual congregants sometimes stand and offer spontaneous testimonies. In such moments the role of speaker spreads around the audience, opening up the flow of inspiration. Such exchange can happen online, wherein writers spark readers to join the circulation of words. Thank you Darrell for kindling inspiration here at the Upper Left Edge.
  • Darrell Clukey on Am I a Writer?There is good community in our small coastal towns, and Upper Left Edge adds to it. We extend ourselves through reading and writing, making connections as we go. (The same goes for all the arts.) I wrote this piece after feeling the warmth of relationships between writers and readers at Get Lit at the Beach. It felt good to be there and to feel part of what it means to be a writer.
  • Watt Childress on Am I a Writer?One thing that sets you apart from other writers, Darrell Clukey, is that you apply your gift where it is sorely lacking in today's society. Again and again you've given time to respond to fellow writers who share work here at the Upper Left Edge. You've done that for me many times, strengthening our relationship through reading and writing. So much of what passes for community nowadays is reduced to commercial transactions, or brand loyalty, or celebrity fandom. We've lost our way if bestselling authors are the only people who feel confident calling themselves writers.
  • Upper Left Edge on Swimming with the WordsThank YOU Rod for reading and responding. If only I could write like Dickie Betts played guitar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUXRjfHoVl4
  • Rod Rowan on Swimming with the WordsThanks, Watt. I always enjoy reading your ramblings.
  • Watt Childress on Swimming with the WordsThank you Darrell for being part of it all! You keep the reciprocity flowing!
  • Darrell Clukey on Swimming with the WordsThank you, Watt, for your enthusiastic tribute to a delightful weekend of hanging out with word crafters. The whole event was superb. Those who made it happen must be applauded. Your piece is a fine encapsulation of what it is to "swim with the words" on Oregon's upper left edge. Get Lit at the Beach is an endearing event for avid readers and thoughtful writers. It was heartwarming to relive it one more time through your words.
  • Darrell Clukey on Old Goat Plunges into Another YearWatt, you truly tell campfire-worthy tales. You and Jesus would enthrall everyone around the fire after a polar plunge. Jesus serves as the ultimate scapegoat in Christianity. He became a way to begin anew for many folks. John the Baptist plunged him into the River of Jordan where the heavens opened to anoint him the Son of God. A scene like that would be amazing to see from the top of Neah-Kah-Nie Mountain if Jesus showed up for a polar plunge. Our herd instinct would demand our attendance. Winter solstice rituals bring light to darkness. They nudge us into a brighter future as we repair our yearly mistakes and remember to re-connect with nature and each other as we enter the next cycle of the heavens. Jesus at a Neah-Kah-Nie polar plunge would surely inspire new beginnings for many who hope to escape the doom of winter darkness here on the upper left edge of Oregon. Thank you, Watt, for giving pause to the possibility.
  • Darrell Clukey on GiftSteve, what a lovely story. What a gracious man he must have been, with an ear for the subtle sounds of a music box. Maybe he heard such subtlety in his daily living. His giving away the sweater reminds me of a fella I know in Eugene who when given $40 dollars one month because he was broke, gave the money to someone else who "needed it more," as he said. Blessings to all the kind hearts of the world. -Darrell
  • Joe River on Voice in SculptureAs a sculptor for fifty years, I've never heard this said better. Probably because sculpture speaks in its own vocabulary, which isn't verbal. My mentor/teacher used to say that he thought sensitivity to sculptural values may be part of mankind's "Collective memory" that goes back to primordial times when we depended on it, among other sensitivities, to survive in Raw Nature. Why it's strong in some people and not others now is just Biodiversity, I guess. Thank you.
  • Steve on Voice in SculptureThank you, Darrell. Voice in Sculpture reminds us to listen for voice and it will speak to us. In the mysticism of exchange, we will be lifted into a meditation of art and a deeper appreciation of its beauty and wonder. As we roam art galleries, it is wise to heed this advice and listen. Steve
  • Watt Childress on My November 2022 Ballot ChoicesThanks Rabbi Bob! May God bless and keep the Csar far away from us!
  • Watt Childress on Midterms in the Oregon MultiverseHere's a gem, shared by a friend. Inspiration for the journey home. "Ooh yeh, the Salmon swimming up the stream of time Leaping up the Falls of Man, to the source of Love and Light..." "You know the way to Be" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF4jERvSg9I
  • Watt Childress on Midterms in the Oregon MultiverseI'm always grateful Darrell for your beautiful words of encouragement. Hope to see you folks at the beach fire to celebrate the salmon return!
  • Watt Childress on Midterms in the Oregon MultiverseHey Michael! Words make worlds! Being conservative means conserving natural resources, at least in my book. It also means not tossing away human potential, nurturing the unique creative energy found in every person. You certainly do that as a teacher and musician! The only song I know that plays on the word "conservative" is Iggy Pop's "I'm a Conservative." Methinks the world needs more. Peace and love!
  • Darrell Clukey on Midterms in the Oregon MultiverseFiction derived from reality is the stuff of utopia. Oh, how things would have been different – if only. Alternative realities give us pause. There is time to re-consider. To reflect on not only what-if but also on what-now. Watt, you are pointing us to what-now with this intriguing piece. We cannot return to what never was, but we can, as you say so well, “swim upstream, homeward with full hearts and open minds.” The salmon are leaping up and over the Nehalem River falls right now on their way to giving life another chance. Let us keep our hearts and minds open to the care and nurturing of each other and our environment as we do the same. Blessings, brother, on another job well done.
  • Michael Simpson on Midterms in the Oregon MultiverseHello, Watt! I hope you and yours are well! Many times have I pondered the word “conservative”, especially during times like these. Though I didn’t know much of Tom McCall, it seems like he more completely embodied what it truly means to be conserve and I wish there were more like him today. Stay awesome, my friend.
  • Watt Childress on Midterms in the Oregon MultiverseThanks bro, for all your good work in the greater Goondocks. Toda raba! Also, wonderful things be happening at the Heart of Cartm. https://www.heartofcartm.org
  • Watt Childress on Midterms in the Oregon MultiverseThank you brother. I look forward to hearing and reading more of your poems!
  • Rabbi Bob on Midterms in the Oregon MultiverseAnother great post, Brother Watt. I will definitely watch "Everything Everywhere All At Once" and read McCallandia. I love alternate reality books, as well as books where someone gives their view of what the future holds. Though "what if" scenarios can teach us some things, I think our current political scene is pretty much broken. I will soon write my election post where I tell readers how I voted, but really, I'm not sure anymore that government is up to the job it was created for. Even on the local level, only a small portion of the electorate is represented by councils and committees, commissions and agencies. Just the other day, the radio told me that Pacific County in Washington already had a 30% turnout, which is huge! That's pitiful! Don't worry, though. I will vote, but more importantly, I am starting to do things myself and trying to get others in the community to help. I have started a group called Astoria Path Wanderers Association, inspired by the Berkeley group of that name. We will maintain, restore and build pathways throughout Astoria, which the city won't or can't do themselves. I'm hoping to start a campaign for an expansion of Oregon's bottle bill to include plastic food packaging, and even if that doesn't pass, I'm planning on working with grocery and other stores in the area to expand their offerings of reusable containers for food and drink. And I also hope to start to work with the makers in Astoria and surrounding areas to restart the repair cafes and expand that sort of service to move towards the old Cartm model of no waste. I also am working with the college to provide a new model of local education by giving free community education courses. The one I want to teach is about puzzles. Look for writing on these and other subjects soon. I expect that politics will be pretty ugly for a time still, but I hope to work around it all on things that matter. While I dread some of the things going on now, I also have hope that we'll pull through somehow. So many great things going on...
  • T H Savaht on Midterms in the Oregon MultiverseWatt, this is a fantastic, deeply informative, humanistic piece of writing, that's both imaginative and intensely moving... Sad and stirring at the same time, I stand also, on the buoyant side of hope. And much like The Lorax, with, The Trees, The Salmon, and The Great Pristine Green, that has a wisdom, a beauty, a network, and a right, worth rumbling for...Thank you for your passionate commitment to fine writing and to the miraculous planet, no matter how laborious the birthing pains...
  • T H Savaht on One Cup of TeaA fortifying poem that makes me smile, and fire up the kettle of hope Tea for two fosters Oneness, in the aftermath of the illusion of separateness Breaking the cup before us to say The tea is We... Thank you, Lila!
  • Darrell Clukey on Quantum SkipConsciousness renders existence. Existence renders being. So, here I am. Am I a body, or more? I do not know. Some say body. Some say more. I like more. It is better than oblivion.
  • Watt Childress on Quantum SkipGrateful for the chance to ponder along with you cool cats. Live long and cogitate!
  • Darrell Clukey on Quantum SkipI think I am. I am, I think. Maybe. I feel I am. More? Maybe not. I'll ask the cat. The cat knows. If it is alive. Or not.
  • Scott Hardy on More Than Allies"Also the timing must be right so that the green hasn’t turned brown by the time we cross paths." Watt, I loved following this thread of words. I feel so blessed that age gives us a privileged view of the entire patchwork quilt from a distance. You have framed and preserved the beauty of these colorful experiences into one artistic creation. It's a tangible and comforting fabric. It's... More Than a Feeling! Like a busy sewing bobbin your pen has captured the light of a summer solstice, and now it can be used for warmth on the coldest darkest nights.
  • T H Savaht on Rainbow BrotherhoodWatt, thank you for this moving tribute to a vibrant soul and friend. Some people find rainbows. Others traverse with them firmly inside, lighting and bringing a spectrum of colour where ever they go...
  • T H Savaht on ReunionHeart-warming and faith-reviving story, so beautifully told, that has two of my favourite things... kindness and pancakes. Thanks for the wondrous share.
  • T H Savaht on Brother Karson’s Jean JacketJackets and capes, tee shirts and sweaters, hold magic and memories woven in the past, and transferred and sung in the present. I'm honoured and touched by this lament, this celebration, this soul truth that aches and sings. That offers a rare glimpse into the forging of a friendship, a brotherhood, that too few will ever know... Thank you, Cliff, may the jacket carry and protect you. Keep you, singing your songs...
  • Watt Childress on Brother Karson’s Jean JacketYour poem patches us through to a soul many never knew in life. Wearing Karson's jacket, you warm every reader. I'm a better person because of it. Thank you.
  • Rabbi Bob on Rainbow BrotherhoodMay Gene rest in peace. Thanks for the story, Brother Watt.
  • Rabbi Bob on ReunionGreat story! I have a somewhat similar story that occurred in New Zealand. After finding out that the "hotel" I thought I'd sleep in was a pub, I just hung out and when the folks I met there noticed I was hanging out after the pub closed, they offered me a tent in the backyard and in the morning, drove me 100 miles or so to the hostel I was going to stay at for the next few days. "Just down the road'" they said when I thanked them. Love it!
  • Darrell Clukey on ReunionOld cars and old memories go hand-in-hand. Thank you for sharing both with us.
  • Watt Childress on ReunionOf all the wonderful things you written, this is my favorite!
  • Rod Rowan on Rainbow BrotherhoodWonderful story, thank you.
  • Mike Jay on North to NeahseasuIf you've started reading 'Trask,' and you wonder what the heck Neahsea'su is, and you google it, you wind up here. Which is way better than just being told 'Indian name for Tellamook Head." Thanks.
  • Darrell Clukey on The EdgeGreg, you have posted a wonderful sentiment of loving life fully. To make a difference daily is a passionate way to live. We can learn from you to share our truth honestly with everyone we meet. Thank you for the message. Blessings!
  • Watt Childress on The EdgeAmen Greg! Every day is blessed when we activate the spirit of this poem. You're one of my favorite people on God's earth. Thank you for this call to arms for love!
  • Watt Childress on Color Guard opens the Pearly GatesLet it be! Thank you! Strife splits souls apart from creation, yet we can recover. Our friend Bob Goldberg recently photographed a sign that says "Broken Crayons Still Color."
  • T H Savaht on My Grandmother’s candy dishRod, thanks so much.
  • Rod Rowan on My Grandmother’s candy dishLovely poem, thank you
  • T H Savaht on The Owls of OsloAmen, dear Sister, I stand with the Crows...
  • T H Savaht on Color Guard opens the Pearly GatesThis kaleidoscope thrills me! A rainbow of inspired words to refresh the palette. May our souls spectrum find new and loving ways to refresh and connect...
  • T H Savaht on My Grandmother’s candy dishWatt, thank you. Elder ways ringing clearer and dearer, as we ourselves step into the foyer of eldership. Shaking off a dusting of snow, from an ancestors woollen coat, as we squeeze through the doorway. Beholding miracles once again, as we did when we were children. The sacred symmetry of a snowflake, before it quickly melts. Regarding it deeply, with a smile…And, Cheers and best to your parents… gems that they are.
  • T H Savaht on My Grandmother’s candy dishYes, Darrel, memories seem a wee bit lighter to carry, and “belongings” question, what belongs to me? What still holds attachment? I am grateful for those meagre things still carried. A rose carafe and cup that now sit upon my bedside table, that graced my grandmother’s lips. A pocket knife once carried in my Grandfather’s pocket, when he was a boy. Still, much more I’ve given away, allowing their lives and memories to continue in ways I can no longer see, but trust in the flow of giving and the new memories they’ll create. However and wherever they may roam.
  • Watt Childress on My Grandmother’s candy dishBeautiful poem brother. My parents loved it too. Thanks for reminding readers that elder ways continue to connect us after death, even when belongings move beyond our physical reach.
  • Darrell Clukey on My Grandmother’s candy dishStuff slips away, leaving lingering memories and wishes for the old times. Sometimes I wish for my faded-red VW bug. It was rusty and old in 1971. What would it be now.? I moved from Monmouth to Corvallis in that ramshackle of a car. It held all my stuff, including a Stickley rocking chair too valuable to leave behind. Now I have a storage unit. What is in there that I need so badly to be paying a monthly fee? Things gone remain memories. Feelings of times past. Warm. Comforting. Remembrances of loved ones. (Oh, to take one more Perugina from the candy dish while Grandmother smiles at me from her chair with a shawl draped over frail shoulders.) Stuff holds us to the ground. Memories help us soar. Maybe it is time to face the storage unit. I think that I would like to soar.
  • Watt Childress on Color Guard opens the Pearly GatesPrayers up Darrell! Thanks for shining the light!
  • Darrell Clukey on Color Guard opens the Pearly GatesMaybe the wyte voice of ignorance and fear will someday find a prism of understanding and compassion for the hues of diversity on this land. Who knows, maybe? For now, Watt, you have us thinking, as usual. Blessings!
  • Watt Childress on Color Guard opens the Pearly GatesMutual love and gratitude to you and yours!
  • sues on Color Guard opens the Pearly GatesThanks, Watt. Needed that. Love to you all, Sue S
  • Watt Childress on Color Guard opens the Pearly GatesThanks Bro! The sun has come out after many days of Oregon rain. Your comment/gift makes life here all the more beautiful! By separate message I'm sending you links to two songs that communicate my gratitude: 1) "Rainbow Connection," sung by Kermit the Frog; and "Kodachrome," by Paul Simon, in honor of our shared K-town heritage.
  • Scott Hardy on Color Guard opens the Pearly GatesThis is what happens when you filter words and ideas through that prism from earth science class. I truly like the spectrum of this poem. It's stunning.
  • Rob Gourley on A Wetlands Wildlife OdeDarrell, thanks for your comment. It's always re-assuring to find you've reached someone with an inspiration that actually took close to two months to develop. This summer a doe who was born in the marsh here about 3 yrs. ago, and had a brother only seen last fall when he was a young 3-point buck, had a pregnancy that resulted in two fawns, whom I've been referring to as Bambino & Pipsqueak. She's been grabbing an apple or two she could reach from our tree for herself, but today she garnered one she could reach for herself, and then pulled off two more which she dropped for the young'uns to devour. Another special moment witnessed.
  • Darrell Clukey on A Wetlands Wildlife OdeRob, your ode to wildlife is a treat, a reminder to be aware of what happens in front of our noses. Your images of animal behavior, like Kodak moments, give pause to being in a certain time and place. Let the world spin round while one special moment is appreciated fully. It is calming to be the mindful witness. I will be watching for clam-digging racoons from now on. Blessings, -Darrell
  • Watt Childress on A Wetlands Wildlife OdeThank you Rob for this beautiful poem!
  • Darrell Clukey on QuestionsSteven, you have captured much in a few words. But that is the way of poetry. You have given us musings to ponder. One message is to live in the light of unanswered questions. Another is to not bind ourselves to certainty. The existential becomes a dead end when its questions are answered dogmatically. Your poem propels us out of the blind alleyway in which we too often live . Thank you for the reminder. Blessings, -Darrell
  • Watt Childress on More Than AlliesYou and Cedar are beautiful in every way, Gwendolyn Endicott. Crossing paths with you always refills my reserves of Loving Kindness. Sometimes I think of people as wheels, our relationships radiating out from hearts like spokes. Thank you for helping to mend and strengthen the spokes of so many people you've touched. May the circle be unbroken.
  • Gwendolyn Endicott on More Than AlliesWatt, This is really beautiful. thank you. I especially loved the weaving of your story with Jennifer--and the making of medicine. Powerful medicine, indeed. The cedar tree is close to me as well. The forest where I live was once an old growth cedar grove and its essence is still very strong here. Cedar seeds itself in a circle around the Mother tree. I often dwell with Cedar for strength and guidance. Recently She told me that I, too, had the gift of "circle seeding" in my teaching. It occurs to me that you are a "circle seeder" as well---through Upper Left Edge, seeding hope, inspiration,. community connection--and the most powerful medicine of all, Loving Kindness. I want to read your essay once more as there are many subtleties and threads to the weaving.
  • Watt Childress on More Than AlliesEvery time I read your writing Darrell, whether it's an essay or comment, I am filled with a breath of fresh wisdom and kindness. You demonstrate how words can be medicine. I reckon the stuff called “meaning” is often assigned by wordsmiths. Yet in my estimation it also exists in and of itself, beyond human volition. The plant we call “tobacco” has an agency independent of people, one that has been processed and altered and abused in ways that have caused great harm. Same goes for other agencies that humans signify with words that we can likewise turn into poison. Coca becomes cocaine, corn becomes rotgut hooch, marriage becomes domestic violence. Surely words can motivate us in the other direction. Here's a prayer for little exchanges like this to help us talk ourselves down from the precipice, reconnect with the roots that nourish life’s meaning, help us thrive.
  • Darrell Clukey on More Than AlliesThank you, Watt, for giving us cause to refresh ourselves in loving-kindness. As you suggest, let the sacred be our guide in finding unity in our relationships, especially when we struggle to find the better way. We do not always know what is best on our own without communal and spiritual help. You seem to be nudging us readers to be more mindful and aware of how our actions impact others. Good advice! Your piece is also a reminder that things only have the meaning we give to them. I detest tobacco, for example, and you call it medicine. Smoking killed my father, wife, and brother. They died gruesome deaths. Their use of tobacco was not medicine. It was poison. Yet “tobacco” has no meaning on its own. You and I approach it from two different perspectives to give it two different meanings. And I agree that it is medicine as you describe it. Maybe you find value in my description? Whatever, its meaning comes from us, not from the tobacco. We give it the meaning we choose to apply. Life also has no meaning. It is what people make of it. A person who sees a common humanity for the common good will offer loving-kindness to all. Love becomes the meaning of life. A person who fears others for their faith, ethnicity, or skin color will sow their fear in the community. Their fear bestows hatred and anger as a way of life. Here is life with two different meanings resulting in two different ways of living. What does each hold sacred in life? I hazard to guess. But each is free to choose. Tobacco is a symbol in your tale of sacredness. Through sacredness people often find common ground. The tobacco in your telling becomes more than the leaf when given holiness. Now it has power beyond nicotine addiction. For this sacred way I am all for tobacco. It becomes a gift with wakan in reaching out to others. We are all planted in the same ground of goodness. As your stories of friends, youth, and marriage portray, let us grow together in unity. It is good medicine.
  • D.C. Klein on Jubilation!This was a very encouraging read. Since March 2020, I began writing poems (and seriously practicing the craft for the first time,) and now I am preparing to self publish a small collection of them. The time away from work had a big influence on this. Now that I've returned to work and things keep progressing back towards "normal," I keep trying to remind myself to write, to go on walks, and accept that not every moment has to be considered productive. Thank you for this piece, Rabbi Bob!
  • Darrell Clukey on NeCus’ Village: Spirit Upon the LandWatt and Steve, thank you for the comments. They are appreciated. I also appreciate the inspiration and advice of Dr. Doug Deur in writing this piece. His scholarship of the indigenous people of the NW coastal region is well noted. What I had in mind in writing the essay is that all people can benefit when they find common good in their common humanity. Then there is a better chance for shared prosperity, like in the butchering of a beached whale along the banks of Ecola Creek by villagers from up and down the coast. Now it might be more fitting to hold a community potluck in NeCus' Park to share in the abundance of the region. Either way, people benefit when they work together for the common good of all.
  • Steve on NeCus’ Village: Spirit Upon the LandThank you, Darrell, for your historic essay. Very insightful! As a relatively new citizen of Cannon Beach, it helps to ground my sense of place and resolve to support efforts to recognize and revere our native cultures.
  • Watt Childress on NeCus’ Village: Spirit Upon the LandI’m mighty grateful Darrell for this hearty turn-around from the old newspeak about Lewis and Clark, those celebrity tourists paid by imperialists to blaze a trail for extractive commerce. We are overdo for a new tourism that models hospitality not subservience, reciprocity not conquest. Cross-cultural gatherings at NeCus’ can help us welcome ways forward, deep into the survival of our shared humanity.
  • Watt Childress on Relampago en la Republica de PoemasGracias Darrell. Your gracious words beam me back aboard the Starship Equilibrio, where I recharge dreams that bridge poem and epistle, highbrow and hillbilly, South and North. Sometimes I get lonely on the surface, and so try to create a balance that leads to deeper connections. To attempt this in a language I cannot speak is foolish, perhaps. Yet I figure an earnest attempt might demonstrate that art is possible for anyone. While writing this piece I flashed on one of my favorite episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, titled "Darmok." The crew of the Enterprise is unable to engage in meaningful exchange with people from another civilization who speak entirely in allegories and metaphors. The universal translator used to communicate across languages fails function in the episode due to a lack of shared cultural context. Google Translate is a crude version of Star Trek's universal translator. I believe this tool can help us explore the frontiers of human potential, if we use it to open the borders of our minds. Here's to finding keys that unlock our commonality.
  • Darrell Clukey on Relampago en la Republica de PoemasWatt, your writing to Diana Bellessi is a loving tribute to your friend "Mrs. Ursula." She was a friend to the world. Your words capture one man's memories of a literary giant who was also a local lady in our small village. You gave her a home-town spin. She gave you a reminder that small steps can lead to fantastic journeys. Contributions to humanity come in many sizes. Who doesn't die without memories left behind. We might remember this and choose our steps more wisely. Life is for the common good. Le Guin gave much good to us common folk. Thank you, Watt, for letting us share in your words to Bellessi. Blessings!
  • Darrell Clukey on Vision of an AfterlifeGuardians of the Common Good might be a subtitle here. When the structure is destroyed, the village survives in the actions of the survivors because they believe in their community. Steven, the village is broken apart in your story but not busted. A lover’s heart may break but it still beats. The heartbeat of the village gives the villagers a sense of place and a vision for its revival. Collaboration and compassion make it happen. It does not take a tsunami to realize the need for this in America now. Thank you for your thoughtful piece, Steven. It is a good read. Blessings!
  • Watt Childress on Vision of an AfterlifeThank you Steve for this finely written and thought-provoking piece! The last paragraph inspires me to step over a philosophical edge. I'm compelled to wonder how the archetypal guardians of a place model courage and vision when reality lifts the veil of human assumptions. Would such beings allow the memories of tragedy to fade so that people can return to business as usual? This question parallels thoughts about personal trauma. I see how it helps to compartmentalize memories that keep me from functioning. I also know life's hardships often signal a long-term need to adjust behavior. It's tempting to ignore such signals in pursuit of immediate happiness. This isn't a temptation I want to judge harshly. I just want to counterbalance it with awareness of the joy that comes from being more mindful. Zooming out to look at society as a whole, I pray humans can come to grips with the limits of urban growth, and figure out how to live in better balance with natural systems. Peace and health!
  • Watt Childress on I Had A Dream Last Night, O EarthWell said Darrell! Thank you Bob! Bravo!
  • Darrell Clukey on I Had A Dream Last Night, O EarthDreams are the stuff from which hope is born. Let's awaken to their possibilities. Together as nations facing calamities of our own making we can do this. From villages like Cannon Beach to capitals like Brussels, the peoples of the world are ready for qualified leaders such as President Biden. Joe knows the way! It is through respect, honesty, and competence; competence in getting done massive jobs like fulfilling Rabbi Bob's dream. Bob, hold on to that dream so we don't forget. Your vision could catch on.
  • Watt Childress on Night VisionThank you Randy. Your quotes point to another piece I wrote. Here's a link for anyone who wants to read it. https://www.upperleftedge.com/2020/12/23/ave-chingada/
  • jamesc on Night VisionWatt Childress, Noted some of your Impressive words and observations… Thanks, Your friend Randy Church a shout of “bravo! “meet my friend, the Holy Ghost.”… Jesus is quoted as saying that it “would not come by signs to be observed,” but that “the kingdom of God is in the midst of you” (Luke 17:20)…Christ’s calling to care for the least among us… A reunion of hearts and minds involves a shift in how we configure human identity. It transforms the way we relate to God’s Creation as a whole…
  • Watt Childress on Ave ChingadaThank you Darryl for the gift of your readership, patient as a cedar in a big snow. I worked on this long essay for nine months, hoping to have it ready by early December. As Solstice approached I thought it was in the ballpark, but didn’t feel ready to publish it until a couple of days before Christmas. I had mixed emotions as the painful themes in my words echoed alongside heart-warming holiday bells from friends on social media. The combo wasn’t nearly as graceful as dueling banjos. I’m grateful that you mention yin and yang, an ancient symbol of duality that is sometimes associated with expansion and contraction. I’ve been thinking of these forces while considering the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn -- an auspicious astronomical event that would have intrigued the Magi of old. I think about how these forces work in unison during childbirth, how humans need both. This is a far more natural and compelling example of dualism than chingada and chingón. You’re a beautiful soul, Darryl, and I love to see you in relationship with your beautiful partner. I think of your peaceable union in the same way I imagine Joseph and Mary. We are blessed to move beyond the gender trauma that has plagued people for millennia. Thank you brother for your friendship and love of words.
  • Darrell Clukey on Ave ChingadaIn the spirit of your letter to the literati, Ave-Aloha, Brother Watt. I tarried a moment, as requested, and found myself herded into the market placed of Christianity, with its brand upon the stalls selling faith. There were alleluias from the stable, bottles of blood from martyrs, and shields of empire. But where is the Christ-child? He seems to have been left behind, forgotten in the straw, while his legions go before him. Bewildered by the market, I found one stall, tucked away, where wine, once made from water, now comes from the crushed remains of the fruit of Bethlehem. It was not refreshing, for it stung the tongue. As a literate primate, I have used my body to pick at your abecedarian corpus. Though not a sin, it is refreshingly enrapturing. Quite the catharsis! Yet, it is all interpretation, as with Bible passages. I chew often on left over interpretations, much like a turkey vulture picking at road kill. This has led to a Jesus that is more mystic teacher than savior; a wise man who knew the Kingdom of God as his own true nature. He wanted us to know this for ourselves; that we are loving kindness at heart. The yin and yang of condor and eagle symbolizes both our separation and unity, which live together high above our reach. What do we know of loving our enemies? Separation has fragmented love and tainted it with fear. We fall short or Jesus' message of inclusiveness. But I digress. You, Watt, are still herding us toward I know not what. My tongue, now held by a C-clamp, some with aitches, swells to choke me with fears of oppression. Do I love my fellow travelers on this road of discovery, or will fear taint any compassion I might find for the oppressed? What if the oppressed become the oppressor? What of me, who has walked with impunity for so long? How far can love be extended? At some point I must turn my face from Jesus in shame. But when? The fear that taints love breeds the macho man. Jesus was not a macho man. He was loving kindness, yin and yang unified. Whom should we follow? It is a daily choice between Jesus and macho man. You, Watt, have led us to consider our choice. We are "navigating a war between two empires." Will we survive? Yes! Underneath all the fear, we are our true nature, which is love. Thank you, Watt, for giving us Robert as a reminder. Jesus was a seditionist, executed by the authorities who feared him. His teachings angered Rome and the Temple alike. He did not want to usurp their power. He wanted his flock to know their own authority, within, for theirs was the Kingdom of God. Jesus used the troubling lyrics of his time. His god was the Father, not Caesar or Yahweh. The kingdom was not Rome or Jewish Law, but one's own true nature within. He said not to kill the enemy, but to have no enemies. Love was his key to the Kingdom that he preached. Watt, where is that love that keeps us from fear? You have brought us to "D." Dare we go on? We must! I feel the herd growing restless, though. We see a promise ahead. But is it the promise of the feed lot at the slaughter house, or the free and open range? You tell us freedom is for all, not for the few on the backs of the many. We must all graze in the open field of equality and justice. Jesus saw the way for all people to live in the unity of yin and yang. His teachings cast fear upon authority. They feared the oppressed becoming the oppressor. An uprising would have disturbed the money changers. But let the tables turn, not from one oppressor to another, but from the separation of yin and yang to its unity which embraces one and all in loving kindness. Thank you, Watt, for the journey. You led us well. Blessings to all.
  • Watt Childress on Night Vision"Togetherness" is one of those beautiful words I forget about until a gifted soul reminds me that it's there right under our noses. Thanks for reading this Darrell. Your comment is good food for thought. In honoring lives ended by human negligence we reaffirm our commitment to be more mindful participants in creation. Funerals can help us renew togetherness. I heard another owl in the wee hours yesterday morning.
  • Darrell Clukey on Night VisionWatt, this is another good read from your pen. Thank you for bringing us along on your adventure. Your owl's body now lies in the woods as food for nature. Your story says in its own way that the food America needs is togetherness. The coming together of your drama group gave you a feeling of connectedness. We could use that right now. Maybe soon we will find those little bits of backyard wisdom that you mention. This might give America the vision to see through the darkness of hatred and realize that under all our differences we are each nature's child. Let us all feed on the wisdom of your dead owl to help us see in these dark times.
  • Watt Childress on Night VisionYou are right, John. The right to "dispose"of these dead relatives is restricted to government officials and those who receive government permits. I would argue that there is a big difference between "dispose" and "honor." But I would probably lose that argument in today's courts of legal practice. Below is an article that summarizes the regs, along with a relevant excerpt. "Possession of hawks and owls, their feathers, eggs, or body parts without a federal permit is a violation of federal law. If a hawk or owl needs to be disposed of, contact the USFWS or local state wildlife agency for assistance on proper procedures." https://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/reports/Wildlife%20Damage%20Management%20Technical%20Series/Hawks-and-Owls.pdf
  • John Morris on Night VisionTaking the remains of owls found dead is illegal and subject to significant fines, I’ve been told. In what some undoubtedly regard as government over reach, I suspect that such a law, if true, is intended to protect the living. Your immigrant owl messenger, you, and your friends/ acquaintances were able to spend some quality time before a fitting foresty end to a life cut short. We may never know what Bard Owl thought of the play.
  • Watt Childress on Night VisionMuchas gracias Rabbi. Images from Keyaho's play continue to echo in my heart. Grateful we both had a chance to read it. There are parts I think could be especially captivating on the big screen, using special effects to accentuate the surreal truth of his subject matter. I don't read many plays, and drama is one of the least browsed sections of my bookshop. When I do take the time to thumb through the pages of a good play, however, I always wonder why word-lovers overlook them in the written format. The director's notes in this one work as well as any computer generated imagery. If people were more accustomed to reading plays, maybe we'd find that their production on stage or screen are derivative in the same way that inspires many of us to first READ novels before we see them adapted for other media. Perhaps the homebound nature of this global pandemic has pointed us back to the commons of domestic creativity. Imagine a world in which words from a multitude of unsung bards are acted out in dens and backyards, similar to how kids perform for parents and friends. Remember how it felt to dream before that inner light became dimmed by running institutional mazes? Some enterprising home actors have jumped maze walls by sharing performances on social media. Community theater gives us an old-school taste of that kind of experience. It certainly did that for me when we played papas in Fiddler on the Roof. Performing those rituals at the Coaster night after night, I became a bit kinder -- like a child, opened up to fresh feelings for an elder village culture. And it was revelatory to go back after the run and read Sholem Aleichem's original written work. It would be beautiful for this play to be performed on big stages and screens. It would also be wonderful if it pioneered a new artistic trend in which plays are printed and read and performed in backyards and dens all over the world.
  • Rabbi Bob on Night VisionAnother excellent and relevant story, Brother Watt. Taking the time to think about the nature of life and its cycles is important in this rat race world. Keyaho is a great mediator of this thinking. Glad you got the chance to see this script. I hope he gets it on stage or screen at some time in the future.
  • Darrell Clukey on It’s Past Time for Black Lives to MatterLolly, I have to trust that white citizens are hearing the cries of oppression in this country. Many are, as seen in the protests, but will it be enough. There can be laws passed at all levels of government, as have been for many years, but until hearts change, oppression will continue. It is within all of us to change our thoughts and beliefs about each other so that we see changes in our behaviors toward others that do not require laws. The protests are fostering this conversation, as well as books like White Fragility, but we need a crack to open in our cultural egg for true equality to find its way out into the open. This crack will come when our hearts are broken enough from the horrors of racism to change our wrong-headed beliefs about each other. That time might be now if the promise of change on our streets of protest holds true. Blessings, -Darrell
  • Lolly Champion on It’s Past Time for Black Lives to MatterDarrell...the tenor of "The stench of bigotry chokes our freedom, and more and more citizens are searching their hearts for the fresh air of compassion needed to stop the veiled mistreatments and needless killings of black Americans." speaks to the essence of America's racism. The stories you retell of heinous murders of blacks (and reader's knowledge of the same treatment of Native Americans, Asians and our Latino neighbors) perhaps has brought the cross section of our citizens beyond the standby of "Thoughts and Prayers". I want to ask you, will change happen locally, within states or from the federal edifices of our country? Please give me your best guess...and anyone one else who is formatting solutions to search for the what's next... for the changes that are 400 years past due.
  • Darrell Clukey on Fundamental to ExistenceKatrina, thank you for the comment. I checked out the YouTube site you mention by watching the trailer. The interviews show many experts trying to answer our human questions. It'll be fascinating to watch and learn. Will we ever have all the answers? Not likely, but we try. And like you say: eventually we find love to be paramount. Blessings, -Darrell
  • Katrina Nguyen on Fundamental to ExistenceWell written, and I like that you bring in metaphysics, philosophy, spirituality, etc. I think the science we know will always be incomplete until more people are given the tools and opportunities to understand their discoveries, let alone share them, have them validated, and a place in the grand design of things. I believe we know more than we think we know, but have grown so used to the miracle of every day life in the uni-multi-verse that we've somewhat become numb to it. I catch it in glimpses. I suppose it's the mystery and the intrigue of figuring it out that makes existence special. For me, with every single discovery I've made, it always takes me back to love (or what I perceive love to be) in the end, as corny as it sounds. You might like this youtube channel: https://m.youtube.com/user/CloserToTruth1
  • Watt Childress on ¿Cuál es más?Hoy aprendí la palabra "Machi" de esta hermosa canción que encontré mientras realizaba una búsqueda con las palabras "Eagle and Condor" en YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7os9V-n7rs&list=RDD7os9V-n7rs&start_radio=1
  • Watt Childress on Tarea de las Patrias¡Hola Marisol! Gracias por ayudar a abrir la puerta del discurso bilingüe en este sitio web. He estado usando Google Translate, porque es rápido y todavía no requiere que me registre. Al parecer, eso cambiará, y debero buscar más cuidadosamente las herramientas de traducción en línea que sean efectivas. Gracias por el enlace! Como tú, soy optimista en términos de supervivencia humana. También sueño con una sociedad multicultural que nos permita hacer mucho más que sobrevivir: brindar acceso compartido a ideas e información de muchas fuentes interesantes. Eres una de las personas más chidas que conozco, Marisol. Muy agradecido por la amistad de nuestras familias.
  • marisol on Tarea de las PatriasQué bueno que quieres escribir más Español, Watt! Empezé a leer el ultimo hyperlink de tu post y me acorde de recomendarte "The Omnivores dilemma" escrito por Michael Pollan. Sí que esta interesante hablar de los sistemas que nos traen comida a la meza ya aparte de las buenas platicas e ideas. Ahora, sobre el tema de qué nos preguntas; yo creo que sobreviremos. El duelo es difícil, y solo sabemos qué hemos pasado por duelo ya que habría pasado, porque en el momento solo se conoce la esperanza.Bueno, yo creo eso. Acerca de la cuarentena, si que ha estado diferente, por ejemplo mi ciclo de dormir. Espero que tú y Jennifer se la pasaron bien en Mexico, se ve divertido. Qué bueno que se encontraron en un hogar que les ofreció abrazos en San Valentin, how cute! Por ultimo, me encanto la frase con que empezaste tu Post, tuve que buscar y traducir el significado de dos palabras y me atravesé con este sitio: https://context.reverso.net/translation/ Me gusto esa frase porque habré puertas a temas contemporáneos como la globalización, dinero, migración humana, y cómo has dicho también, a pensamientos. Voy a leer más sobre Octavio Paz. Espero que tu y tu familia se encuentren bien durante esta cuarentena, Watt.
  • Katrina Nguyen on Jubilation!If it had subtitles, that was the Japanese version. Cartoon Network and a company called DIC for several seasons used original Japanese Sailor Moon but with Americanized voices and story. It was corny, annoying, and sentimental sweet, in a way that was great. In the original there was a lesbian couple who in the American version were cousins ha. Since you like annoying Dexter stories and corny but sweet Powerpuff Girls, I thought there might've been a chance for you to be a Sailor Moon fan. It was really sad for Sailor Moon fans when the American dub ended, right in the middle of a crucial season. I think another company tried to continue where it left off, but it was awful. I couldn't find much footage online. You'd have to look in recorded VHS vaults of 90s kids to find the good stuff haha. Enjoy your cartoon time! Laughter and feeling comfort is healing and ripples out for all of life 🙂
  • Watt Childress on Living the MomentNow is a time of spiritual centering for many of us, Darrell. Thank you so much for these good words to sharpen our senses!
  • Rabbi Bob on Jubilation!I just wanted to add, on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, that a jubilee- or sabbatical-like timeout seems to be the one reasonable way to combat not only climate change, but so many other environmental crises. I'm reminded of Greta Thunberg telling us to listen to scientists to find out how to fight climate change, or Bill Gates telling us that science and technology will solve all sorts of problems. As most ULE readers may know, I am a tech optimist and a believer. But as it turns out, a little two-month timeout in China had a huge effect on air pollution; the same amount of forced sabbatical in northern Italy noticeably cleared the skies there, and in Venice cleared the canals which have been dirty for ages; and perhaps most remarkably, in India, several people have shown great photos of the Himalayas from their homes, which until recently, hadn't been visible in over 60 years! I've seen great shots of tigers sleeping in the road, animals grazing in the middle of cities, and of course the sights and sounds of wildlife, especially birds, that hadn't been seen in cities for ages. If only two months of rest can produce so many amazing results, think of what a year would do! And if we could plan this, it wouldn't have the negative connotations of the present forced lockdown. If you combine all the good things that can happen to us individually during a lockdown/sabbatical with the environmental good that seems to come from humans resting en masse, I hope you can see the awesomeness of the jubilee commandment! Think about how you can celebrate the planet this Earth Day and every day, by taking time out from your busy life, resting in your home, and attending to those things you thought you'd never have time for. Even watching cartoons!
  • Rabbi Bob on Jubilation!White gospel heaven, Watt!
  • Rabbi Bob on Jubilation!No, I hadn't seen Sailor Moon. I watched part of an episode on Vimeo just now. It was subtitled. Definitely a little Powerpuff Girls-like. Glad you liked the story!
  • Katrina Nguyen on Nearly EveryoneThis is interesting and touching. I wonder what there is to be said about the in between time of the young introvert transforming into the old extrovert. I wonder if with time it was about achieving a level of personal freedom, bravery, or a genuine love and interest for others. In any case, for me it's a touching observation of where we all are internally and externally, and where we meet. Thanks for sharing!
  • Katrina Nguyen on Jubilation!Ha! I loved reading this. It was very relatable and reminiscent to/for me, specifically extended isolated lockdowns due to illness/physical condition, Cartoon Network, becoming an active radical after personal transformation, etc. Ha, I almost forgot about Dexter's Lab. I wonder if you also watched the English dubbed Sailor Moon haha. That was a highlight of Cartoon Network for me. Thanks for the story 🙂
  • Watt Childress on Nearly EveryoneThank you Steve for bearing witness to the big medicine of hello. We all carry worlds inside us. Small friendly gestures can save worlds. "So if you're walking down the street sometime And spot some hollow ancient eyes, Please don't just pass 'em by and stare As if you didn't care, say, "Hello in there, hello." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVhA01J0Zsg
  • Watt Childress on Jubilation!I love this trippy viewer's guide to Rabbi Bob's sabbatical channel. Two thoughts spring to mind. First, it makes me think of Fred Rogers, who's regular homebound bouts with asthma as a child prompted him to create his own worlds with stuffed animals. No doubt those experiences contributed to his inspired calling as an adult. Following the tragedy of 9/11, Mr. Rogers made a public service announcement for children of all ages. He encouraged us to embrace the ideal of "tikkun olam" -- heal creation. Apparently G-d can speak through stuffed animals. I see no reason why G-d wouldn't speak to us through cartoons. Second, the word Jubilee always calls to mind a television program that my parents tuned into as we were getting ready for church in northeast Tennessee. I'm sharing this clip in celebration of our ongoing cross-cultural brotherhood. Hope you enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMZuvVGxp3Q
  • Vera Haddan on Message, Moo-Cow, MessiahSo, Watt, “Message, Moo-Cow, Messiah,” specifically Perry Como, is stuck in my head like a tune. I read Moo-Cow via your website and then copy-pasted for Microsoft David to read aloud and then printed “Moo-Cow” on beige paper and took it to “table time” for my buddy, Thelma. Home alone, per Governor Brown and common sense, I’m watching Perry Como YouTubes. I know Moo-Cow is deeper than Pier, but he’s my focus, my crush. Thank you!
  • Watt Childress on Smells Like Quarantine SpiritLove you, and all of us too!
  • Watt Childress on Smells Like Quarantine SpiritAlways grateful for your participation in this forum, Rob, as writer and reader.
  • Watt Childress on Smells Like Quarantine SpiritYour comment captures the essence of Folk, my friend. Thanks for all you do.
  • Watt Childress on Smells Like Quarantine SpiritBless you for mentioning our beloved reverend, kind soul. The heartening is reciprocal.
  • Watt Childress on Smells Like Quarantine SpiritThanks Jenny. History often seems like spiral to me, moving in the same cycles, over and over, yet also forward each time with a different set of variables.
  • sues on Smells Like Quarantine SpiritThank you, Watt, for this superlative piece of writing--and the song is lovely, too. Much love to you and yours and all of us--- Sue S
  • Rob Gourley on Smells Like Quarantine SpiritIt's a gem! Ditto, what Keri H. commented, "I needed to read these words today." Thanks for alerting me to this post via e-mail. And thanks for Jennifer Kreger's contribution of the lyrics to her song about Jerusalem (and our multi-cultural world). The sound bar underneath, of the Garage Band's rendition plays fine for me.
  • Darrell Clukey on Smells Like Quarantine SpiritIt strikes me, Watt, that your way with words adds to your tales. You have given thought to a thankless situation and found gratitude where it belongs - in the people. Real folk doing real things in unreal times creates strength in community. Thank you for adding to ours. Blessings, Darrell
  • narble on Smells Like Quarantine SpiritI would hope that we all catch stories, or just get in their way as they whirl by on their way to then and now. It does my heart good to know that Upper Left Edge has grown and, dare I say, flourished since the days of Rev. Billy cranking it out on paper that was begged, borrowed, or stolen. A nice post. Made my day. Thanks.
  • Jenny Greenleaf on Smells Like Quarantine SpiritLovely. Thank you for writing this. History does tend to repeat itself.
  • Watt Childress on Smells Like Quarantine SpiritYes, wash hands and hopefully help give our collective conscience a good spring cleaning. Thanks so much for reading this and commenting, Lolly.
  • Watt Childress on Smells Like Quarantine SpiritThank YOU Keri for reading it and commenting. For words to work as medicine we need to know they're circulating, back and forth among folks who care about health and wholeness and creativity.
  • Lolly Champion on Smells Like Quarantine SpiritThank you for combining voices and views from across cultures and ages. It stamps this piece with the worldwide turmoil that too often we feel is only happening here, in our cloistered homes and when we dash, masked and gloved, to sold out stores for apples and broccoli. I now end all correspondence with - be safe, wash you hands, lolly champion
  • Keri Hakan on Smells Like Quarantine SpiritThank you for writing this. I adore it and I needed to read these words today. “ The days of “whatever”are over , fellow children.” Sums it up perfectly
  • Watt Childress on Cap and trade won’t solve any problems?Thank you Bob for this clear reasoning. Policy-makers must face up to science. Our shared fate hinges on shared wisdom.
  • Katrina Nguyen on My Homeless Street FriendsFitting story, Watt, thank you for sharing. Something else about bananas: an intuitive nutritionist I follow has spiritual and emotional healing insights for fruits and veggies that he shares. Bananas, according to him, helps with PTSD. Well, we can't say for sure whether or not this is true, but in any case, they're great to hand out. I myself have quick metabolism, am a heavy thinker and burn up a lot of energy that way, and have some other things going on with energy. I've been known to eat like 4-5 bananas in one sitting for a snack ha. It really helps me. When I lived in the city and running around on bus and bike, they practically saved my life. I experienced firsthand how helpful they can be. That's why I liked to hand them out.
  • Watt Childress on My Homeless Street FriendsThank you Katrina for this heartfelt tribute to the power of gifts -- material, social, and spiritual. Humanity turns on basic respect, our axis mundi. Your words here are themselves a gift that remind us of our shared opportunity to actualize the golden rule. Mention of bananas revives a memory. Jennifer and I were driving through the country one Sunday afternoon, enjoying an outing with the kids. We passed a fellow on the side of the road who definitely looked like he could use a friendly gesture. Stopped to ask him a question, and in the course of our conversation said we had some extra organic bananas if he wanted them. A month of so later we ran into him again and learned that he had strict dietary needs, very limited finances, no transportation, and had been unable to get to a place where he could obtain his favorite food. At that moment those bananas were a special kind of blessing, which ultimately became a building block for meaningful relationship.
  • John Morris on Gov. Kate Brown’s chosen secretary of state serves who?What's the latest on this issue? Has the apparent conflict of interest been addressed? I'd like to have faith in Governor Kate Brown, but she can make it hard.
  • Watt Childress on The Eagles Flew OverThank you Gwendolyn Endicott, for all you give to creation. You mean so much to this beloved place where we work and play and pray. I am honored to be your friend and neighbor.
  • Watt Childress on Message, Moo-Cow, MessiahAnd that wheel's spokes are often strengthened with songs. I'm grateful to Venezuelan friends who pointed me toward this truth with regard to cattle. So much to learn about our deep human connections with creation. Here's a sweet video clip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WmStOQXQQE
  • Watt Childress on Message, Moo-Cow, MessiahThanks for reading this Darrell! Christ On Wheels! Earlier today I enjoyed a conversation that touched on farming. A good friend pointed out that farming means something different to indigenous people than it does in the modern sense. The original cultivators considered the food they raised as a gift from the Creator. If we can revive that approach to farming we'll be moving in the wheel of right relationship.
  • Darrell Clukey on Message, Moo-Cow, MessiahWatt, you have cleverly given us much to consider about everything from family farms to Jesus to cows to marketing and scammers. COW can be Christ on Wheels, which might mean loving kindness unbridled. Maybe that is the path to follow as we try to keep the values of the family farm intact. Work hard, play fair, provide for self and others, and treat everyone as kin. What a joyful world to live in. Blessings, -Darrell
  • Watt Childress on Message, Moo-Cow, MessiahThank you Rob. I'd love to publish more of your poetry. Here's to a productive New Year.
  • Rob Gourley on Message, Moo-Cow, MessiahThank you, thank you for sharing this astounding read! ...Seems y'alls' visit back to Appalachia in Nov.-Dec. resulted in overall, engine retuning, to which this inspired narrative bears witness. I welcome how you blend older phrases (e.g. 'salt-of-the-earth') with newer constructions (e.g. 'rebel cred' & 'vernacular synapse').
  • Katrina Nguyen on Seeing through the enemy and seeing the selfThat's a really good point, Watt. I couldn't at first see the connection, but I'm starting to understand. I get the feeling of it. I think anytime we can stop worrying or otherwise thinking we know how another person is feeling or thinking in regards to us or anything else really, the better off we'll all be. The more we worry or assume, even if we are "good" people, the more those patterns are reinforced in our brains, and then eventually we can become the enemy ourselves if we're not careful. If not to others, then definitely to ourselves. -- "F.alse E.vidence A.ppearing R.eal." We're all guilty of it from time to time, or more than that, especially if we have been conditioned to expect negative attitudes due to it being present in certain times in our lives. It's amazing the diversity and breadth of what a human being can feel and think though. All we can do is hope for the best, and trust that if we ask sincerely with an open heart, we will be delivered what we have been hoping to know, for better or for worse, and we can start to become freer. No need to drive oneself mad ruminating the unknown.
  • Watt Childress on Seeing through the enemy and seeing the selfThank you for these positive insights, Katrina. For me your eloquent advice finds use with friends and general social acquaintances, not just enemies. Overactive imaginings of what others may think or feel has taken a toll on relationships. Best to clear the mind and communicate directly, with prayers for heightened camaraderie.
  • Ami Kreider on Running from SADHi Jennifer, Thank you! I and my daughter, Emma, agree completely... unless, she says, it's pouring -- then she takes the dogs out, returns home as soon as possible, and reads in her room 🙂
  • Jennifer Childress on Running from SADI love your description of running! Exercise is my number 1 treatment for winter blues. It’s funny how I look out the window on a gray rainy day and the last thing I want to do is go out. But once I’m out in it it’s glorious!
  • Ami Kreider on IngatheringWatt!! This ties in so well with the conversation we were having about art at the Warming Center, and how making art together shifts dynamics of power. I have to sit and chew on these ideas for a little while, but in the meantime, thanks again for the fodder for thought.
  • Watt Childress on Running from SADBravo Ami! Your words set a clear strong pace for everyone who struggles with seasonal affective disorder. Thank you for shining light on this topic. My respect for your bright spirit expands each time I learn something more about you. So grateful to be your friend!
  • Watt Childress on IngatheringRight on KN! Thank you so much for your beautiful words!
  • KN on Ingathering"Let’s gather up our creative talents and make humankind more hospitable, so next year we’ll look back and know we’ve grown our capacity to love." I believe that humanity is so young, but hopefully evolving, in its capacity to love; I believe so many miracles await once a collective threshold is passed. It's not just the physical acts of care that may present miracles, but the love transcending space and time and altering all of our realities in magical and beautiful ways -- things we can't even begin to imagine. I'd like to honor you and everyone else, known or unknown, seen or unseen, who challenges themselves to love more when it's not so easy to do so. It changes everything even if it isn't readily apparent. The forest will triumph! Much love.
  • Watt Childress on IngatheringI thought about my homeless friend while doing farm chores out in the cold rain on the evening after this piece was published. Kevin's health is so poor that prolonged exposure to foul weather could kill him. His phone was barely working, but I was able to finally reach him around 10 pm. Disheartened to an extreme, he refused the offer of a room. So I prayed during the night, and was grateful to learn he was still alive the following morning. Throughout the day I tried to find him an affordable option for short-term lodging, contacting knowledgable folks in the area. Keep mulling over a problem and solutions often arise. So it happened I was able to find a warm bunk where Kevin could escape another cold night, with the possibility of a longer stay if necessary. And during the search I made several good connections with folks who care about this problem, including one woman who works on preventative care for a public health agency. She was on her way to deliver our friend a sleeping bag (to replace the one someone stole) as we spoke by phone about broader possibilities for solutions to the homeless crisis. At some point I mentioned that it was Yom Kippur, qualifying the fact with "I'm not Jewish, but..." "Well I am," she said. "Thanks for reminding me. It's not sunset yet." And as those beautiful last rays flashed over the ocean, I stood by a beachfire with loved ones, thankful for a good day.
  • Watt Childress on Bipartisan Budget BaloneyI ran for a county commission seat once. Lost by 12 votes to the son-in-law of a veteran state legislator. In the immediate wake of that loss I spearheaded a countywide referendum opposing a proposed half-billion-dollar highway. The proposed project was a waste of taxpayer dollars that paralleled an interstate and would have busted apart rural communities. Over 6,000 votes were cast in that referendum. We won by 1 vote. And every state legislator from that district was replaced in subsequent elections. Being elected to office is a respectable form of public service. It ain't the only way to make a difference, of course. Citizens do need to encourage each other to become more intimately involved in our collective self-governance. I appreciate all your good efforts to engage with folks, KN. And I'd vote for you.
  • Rick Bonn on OdysseyThank you, Watt. It knocked me to the ground, too. Maybe that’s why I was reluctant to share. I hope it helps those ‘on the edge’ feel like they’re not alone.
  • Watt Childress on OdysseyThis piece knocks me to the ground, Rick. I believe you read a few paragraphs to me as you were writing it and with just that nibble it stuck in my mind for twelve years. Now the whole nugget is lodged in there for my heart to work over. Your spare yet cosmically-rich story lazers in on a grief that nobody wants to imagine yet it consumes folks every day. Being brave enough to grab hold of that reality may enable us to hang on to life, or at least help someone make it through the day.
  • Watt Childress on Sun-lifted Mornings in the Pacific NorthwestBeautiful reflection Rick! Thank you! This summer we were blessed with more rain than last year or the year before. That gift of wetness comforts folks who live in or near forestland that's adapted to heavy moisture. Dryness means danger. Rain means protection from forest fires. So we get to dance in gratitude for precipitation, then boogie again to celebrate that clean vibrant freshness when the sun shines afterward.
  • KN on Bipartisan Budget BaloneyWhen is Watt going to run for office, hrm?
  • Watt Childress on Storytime for BotsHere's a shout out to Tanner Collier -- one of several resourceful staffers at REI who helped Harry and S-M find the right gear to enjoy the great outdoors. Not only does Tanner put customers on a firm foundation with footwear, he follows up with thoughtful words after reading their writing. "This essay reminds me that experiences are far more important than data we can gather in minutes," responded Tanner. "It also reminds me why it is important to have organic, meaningful connections with people because one little moment or experience may impact our lives more than we can expect." Thus a grassroots movement of real human exchange transforms the marketplace. Viva la revolution.
  • Watt Childress on America Is Better Than ThisThank you for this heart-felt essay Darrell. Many people who voted for Trump felt they were choosing between the lesser of two evils. What I've gathered from conversations and exchanges on social media suggest they were eager to overlook his foul rhetoric and spoiled-rotten persona because they viewed Clinton as a she-wolf in lamb's clothing. When confronted with the consqequences of his presidency (the divisive violent hatred and lies broadcast by his monstrous mouth, his flagrant corrupt pandering to corporate buddies, his inhumane policies and attacks on nature) many of these folks will go back to that 2016 choice and re-assert the notion that Clinton would have been worse. There's no accounting for such logic, in my view, despite the fact that I didn't like Clinton either. But at this point we've moved beyond that choice and have a host of other candidates to choose from going into the elections of 2020. What happens going forward with all branches of our government will define America's character and the fate of human-kind. Prayers up for wisdom and love to guide us into a new day of strength through peace.
  • Watt Childress on Bipartisan Budget BaloneyAlas, Sens Merkley and Wyden voted in favor of this budgetary baloney. I received a form letter from Merkley in response to this post, avowing his general concerns about debt. Nothing from Wyden. One detail in the Senate vote attracted my attention -- Sen. Amy Klobuchar voted against it. This makes her the only presidential candidate (Democrat or Republican) who is still in the race at the time of this writing and who is on record as opposing it.
  • Darrell Clukey on Taxpayers need stronger oversight of border policiesAn astute observation that the Dems might become the party known for fiscal integrity, especially in funding humanitarian efforts such as cleaning up Trump's mess at the southern border. As you suggest, that mess needs careful stewardship to restore a humane immigration policy and the Dems are the ones with whom we hold out hope.
  • Watt Childress on The ClubhouseExcellent essay Darrell. Hindsight helps us see where we're going, or don't want to go. Thanks so much for your contribution!
  • Jennifer Nightingale on Shells on the ShoreA very compelling piece. I have recently discovered that there are shot gun wads that are biodegradable and designed by marine scientists. Just a couple of days ago, I wrote our local state Rep, Tiffiny Mitchell and asked if she could champion a bill to ban the old plastic models. It's a very specific request so perhaps that will make it a simple one. John Morris, thank you for writing this. Perhaps we can get some legislative help!
  • Jenny Greenleaf on Leave a light onThank you, Dan. And Stevie and Watt as well. It is so discouraging to be reduced to a number on a spreadsheet. There's a long list of organizations that CARTM partnered with to help serve our community. From giving ratty towels to United Paws for doing neuter and spay programs, to providing electronics to the middle school tech club, to giving the used light bulbs to the folks who make Oregon Du Drops, to the phones for the women's shelter and the glasses to the Lions, to the estuary cleanup, to the Riverbend Players who relied on CARTM for sets and props. Our county commission handed out more than one lump of coal this Christmas. I
  • Watt Childress on Leave a light onThank you for these good words Dan. For me CARTM's closure exposes a chronic disconnect between the people who are most invested in our local zero-waste infrastructure and the governing body that oversees waste management at the county level. County commissioners were far more paternal than professional in there communications with CARTM. They were also penny-wise and dollar foolish. We need to re-organize our zero-waste infrastructure under the authority of a more localized governing body that directly relates to our geographic area.
  • Stevie Stephens Burden on Leave a light onWell said Dan. I can understand financially why the Board of Commissioners could justify their decision to cancel CARTM’s contract. It makes perfect sense on a spreadsheet. What they failed to recognize however was that CARTM was indeed a brand made through the commitment of our entire Community over the last two decades. It was us walking our talk - reaching for the gold star - doing the right thing for our future. They didn’t just cancel a contract they discounted our dream and our hard work. Yes we can rebuild and I think we should, but we shouldn’t have to. I for one will certainly be thinking about their decision when I make my decision about how I vote in the next election.
  • Rob Gourley on The Parable of the WatersYour parable is fascinating me this evening. It points to multiple factors resulting in accelerating momentum towards Cataclysm, that we are experiencing; yet few journalists highlight this perspective in their reports of today's news the way you have in verse. Meanwhile, glaciers in the Cascades have shrunk to half the size they were 25 yrs. ago, which I imagine is happening concurrently in the Rockies, the Andes, the Himalayas. Kilamanjaro, etc; and iceberg archipelagos the size of the Queen Charlotte Islands [Haida Gwaii], that have "calved-off" from ice shelves, drift south into the Atlantic, and north from the edges of Antarctica. "High water everywhere" [quoting Dylan].
  • Watt Childress on Efecto MariposaThank you Rob for reading deeply, and for your mindful comment about this poem. Some years ago, while traveling through rural France with family, we happened upon an out-of-the-way museum devoted to memories of occupation. I'll never forget my awe when I walked into a room packed with books and pamphlets that were written and published by the resistance. Here's to freedom from bullies, and heartfelt words.
  • Rob Gourley on Efecto MariposaEffectively awed by the techniques you've marshalled in this one to remix the living nightmare of the "vainglorious beast" with butterfly & bird migrations and the No-Tolerance for asylum seekers debacle, which resulted in so many Mothers and their Children callously separated indefinitely -- I'm unable to leave the page yet. Clauses I keep going back to reread: * "delicate wings / lift prayers from deeper domains" * "our neighbors migrated / home, leaving death for sanctuary, metamorphosis."
  • Margaret Hammitt-McDonald on Unclear Cuts 3: Before and AfterJohn, thanks so much for addressing sustainable forestry practices. I recently read The Hidden Life of Trees, and the writer is the caretaker for a community forest in Bavaria, Germany. They practice thinning and selective cutting, leaving most of the forest to continue growing. It's not only respectful of the trees as organisms but also supports the surrounding human community economically. I'm eager to learn about other forestry models besides clearcutting and slash-and-burn.
  • Margaret Hammitt-McDonald on Unclear Cuts 3: Before and AfterThank you, Jennifer, for your beautiful insight about the intertwined fates of human beings and trees. It's an extraordinary symbiosis, how animals and plants share in the respiratory cycle, exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide. Thank you also for sharing your experiences in bonding with trees and places. When we make friends with another person, we grieve the loss of that friendship to death, moving away, and other separations; the same is true of our friendships with trees. I grieve for my Sitka spruce and red alder friends lying at the side of the path, stacked up and ready for transport. I'm amazed about the things I've read about trees caring for each other as well. Perhaps some of the stumps behind our forest may survive and send up shoots because healthy trees nearby are still sending nutrients to them through their shared root network. Wow, talk about a supportive community.
  • Margaret Hammitt-McDonald on Unclear Cuts 3: Before and AfterThank you, Ann, and I'm so sorry that you lost your beautiful mushroom patch. As an avid mushroomer, I've read intriguing things about how fungal mycelium functions as a regulatory/intelligence system of the forest, and it's one of the casualties of clear-cutting and other destructive industrial forestry practices. The damage isn't just above ground...
  • Margaret Hammitt-McDonald on Unclear Cuts 3: Before and AfterThank you, Watt! That's an important point to remember about the local economy, when this question is so often framed in simplistic terms of economic development versus environmental preservation. When we take the long (generational) view, that's when we realize that environmental preservation ensures a sound economy.
  • John Maxwell on Unclear Cuts 3: Before and AfterWood can be sustainably harvested without clearcutting. Clearcutting is laziness, pure and simple, profit above all other considerations. Logging companies want the freedom to enter a forest and do whatever they want without having to be 'careful' or 'considerate'. Meanwhile other parts of the country and world use some nearly 20 alternative methods for harvesting wood that doesn’t decimate an ecosystem. We can have logging *and* have a healthy ecosystem that can see other recreational uses. It doesn't have to be an either-or situation.
  • Jennifer Childress on Unclear Cuts 3: Before and AfterIt's so important for us to make ourselves a part of wilderness, for that's how become a part of the wild community and fall in love. I allow myself to care about specific groves, specific paths, specific trees, and the creeks they nurture. Grieve when the damage is done but speak for the trees too. So thank you Margaret for your words, your insight, your shared grief. You are so right that we need to save the trees and ourselves.
  • Ann Ornie on Unclear Cuts 3: Before and AfterI’m so sorry for your loss. My husband, son, and I hiked in to check on a mushroom patch last week. It too was gone. A slash pile stood where the best chanterelles we’d ever found had been.
  • Watt Childress on Unclear Cuts 3: Before and AfterThank you Margaret for giving voice to a grief that burdens the hearts of many Oregonians. On public lands, especially, our forest practices need to be improved so that natural treasures are conserved for the long-haul. Our economy will self-destruct if people stop caring about ecology.
  • Watt Childress on Learning to SwimHere's a beautiful Cuban song to accompany your comment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRDiN53KoFo
  • Watt Childress on Survivors Lead us Beyond the GunfireYour words are always eloquent and insightful Margaret. There's a zen to hitting the mark that transcends gun fetishism, yet what you say is so true. I find myself in the position of advocating for a ban on military-style assault weapons while welcoming more hunters of the old school. Here's to expanding art and music along with heightened nature awareness skills. There is much common ground to cultivate in our efforts to steward creation and conserve the great outdoors.
  • Margaret Hammitt-McDonald on Survivors Lead us Beyond the GunfireWatt, I too stand in awe and admiration for the young people who're demanding an end to losing classmates to gun violence, and all the boneless hand-wringing that only gets in the way of meaningful change. I also appreciate your and Vinny's comments about how intoxicating firearms can be. In Renaissance Europe and the Middle East, when the first firearms made their appearance, despite their being (from our perspective) almost goofily ineffective and more likely to blow up the user than to destroy enemies, the one-percenters of those times and places feared the democratization of military power. What if peasants got their hands on arquebuses? Heck, even a lowly woman could wield a musket and take out a man! Scary! Centuries later, here I am, a physically active but by no means naturally coordinated person who can't throw a ball straight. Even coming from a pacifist family, because I spent a few years in rural Pennsylvania, the ubiquity of rifles and shotguns at my friends' houses perhaps made inevitable my eventual discovery that, thanks to technology standing in place of my silly arms, I actually could hit something I aimed at. Not only that, but I turned out to be a natural sharpshooter. A combination of having 20/10 distance vision, good breath control, and patience allowed me to experience the rush of hitting a tiny target just about every time. (Our targets were the painted kind, mounted on hay bales--the awe and trembling I experienced at me plus the rifle's power reinforced my commitment never to take aim at a living being.) Awe and trembling: I can only compare what I felt with those ancient descriptions where holiness is also frightening. The kid who nobody wanted on the softball, basketball, or soccer team could've been more than welcome on a rifle team or as an archer--through a college archery class, I later learned that the same quirk of fate allowed me to excel at that venerable type of projectile-flinging too. The power felt heady, but it also terrified me. Power and responsibility, those superhero things, came to my mind and heart. I haven't done any target shooting since then, but the experience gives me an uncomfortable understanding of how the NRA types come to fetishize guns--especially people who aren't physically imposing or panther-like in grace and might. Such people come to believe their trusty gun is an extension of, or substitute for, the power to reach out and act upon the world that comes with having hands with opposable thumbs. Wouldn't it be wonderful if they redirected that passion to advocate for creativity--arts and music programs in school, for example--rather than the destruction of life? Aren't there healthier ways to define potency than our ability to wipe others out? The same experience can inspire respect for our limits or a thirst for limitlessness. It's tragic that so many of us confuse freedom with lack of restraint--sometimes to lethal effect.
  • Margaret Hammitt-McDonald on The Owls of OsloVinny, thank you for reminding us so beautifully that in a world that ceases to make room for crows and wolves also has left no room for humanity. It's not a matter of non-human animals versus humans, or natural environment versus human environment. The world is, and shall become, either a community of all beings or a post-apocalyptic terrain where no one survives, except the artificial (and who wants to be outlived by a smartphone?)
  • Margaret Hammitt-McDonald on Learning to SwimLaNicia, thank you so much for this beautiful, powerful article. It got me thinking about Yemaya, the Ocean Goddess in the Ifa tradition from Nigeria. You've illuminated an aspect of racism and structural inequality that I hadn't considered before: how people with ancestors who revered Mother Ocean as the source of all life have been forced to fear her as the medium of the Middle Passage and later, to regard her as yet another expression of discrimination--from "Whites Only" swimming pools to "Whites Only" drinking fountains. My daughter, who's multiracial (Ethiopian/Irish/Spanish/German-American), has always been a water baby. She loves her weekly swimming lesson, and if a day doesn't end with a hot soak, she doesn't feel right. My paternal grandfather (who's responsible for the Irish part of our ancestry) was a long-distance swimmer, and it looks like Luthien will carry forward this aspect of my family's heritage. Her goal is also to become the first Columbia River bar pilot of color. I hope she continues to love and to seek respite and pleasure in Yemaya's embrace.
  • Watt Childress on Survivors Lead us Beyond the GunfireBless you Vinny. Your comment is a work of art. Target shooting is fun. I was pretty good with rifles in my youth, but lost interest after a while. To date, the only time I've used a handgun was to kill a ram with lockjaw. I do believe it's important to distinguish the call for gun safety from a fear of firearms. We need to understand the rightful place that guns have in our society, and that means knowing where to draw the line. Most folks acknowledge the necessity of boundaries, but guns are a blinding obsession for some people. It's hard to have a useful conversation with someone who equates regulation with a loss of personal power. Yet if we can keep gun fetishists from sucking up all the oxygen, the rest of us can move forward with a good discussion. So grateful for your words.
  • Vinny Ferrau on Survivors Lead us Beyond the GunfireThanks for posting this Watt...It's important! My parents saved only a few momentos from my youth. One of them being a hand written letter to Santa, illustrated with a picture of him flying with a team of malnourished, magic-markered, reindeer. In it, I implore the jolly old elf to bring me a football, shoulder pads, and some silly putty, but I also ask for a flame thrower, a machine gun, and a German army helmet with a spike on top. What could make an 8 year old want such armamants? I grew up with war movies. "The Dirty Dozen, The Battle of the Bulge, Patton, and even Kelly Heroes, which informed my opinion of what it meant to "be a man..." Many of the kids on my block would don our dads old army gear, and "play" at war...And while yes, much of it seemed valorous and heroic, it was ultimately about killing. When I was 13, I shot my first machine gun. This was with another group I also idolized growing up. Termed, "Mob Guys," they also extoled gun culture, and a certain violence and power, that, as a youth, I looked up to. My own father was a passive man, careful and quiet. But these guys were tough, reckless, and I liked that! Emulated it even! They were my teachers of a sort, and I am grateful in some ways, but like wisdom often dictates, there are those who also teach us, by showing us "what not to do..." I Loved shooting guns. The power I felt when I held an automatic weapon, or even a 44 magnum, Dirty Harry's weapon of choice, was exhilarating! I was good at it... had "a knack," and I ate up the lavish praise they heaped upon me. But than at 15, something changed. I started to see through the façade of some of my turbulent idols. What turned it around for me were notions of prejudice, and the treatment of women. I still loved shooting though, though my pipeline for such experiences was sorely diminished. My teenage years were also marked by violence and confrontation, with more than a few of my friends doing some serious time...three for murder. While it would be convenient to blame these solely on guns, the tendrils go far deeper than that. Violence has many causes and stimuli, and what triggers one to act upon what they see in video game, or on the internet, as opposed to others who hold a different perspective, is troubling. I read today how the shooter at the Parkland School, who killed 17 in a tragic few minutes of gunfire, is receiving an unprecedented amount of "fan mail" and donations to his prison account. While the buddhist part of me understands Everyone deserves compassion and love, this out pouring borders on idolatry, and the glorification of violence, terrorism and madness. Again, dealing with why someone would send provocative pictures of themselves, to someone who murdered children is beyond troubling, but I do believe banning Assault Weapons, and making firearms in general, harder to obtain, with stricter laws and stringent back ground checks, simply seems a common sense approach. Many countries, who've also suffered horrendous massacres, have done such, and All with good result. And while of course, it will not end the roots of violence, it will make obtaining weapons of extreme mass destruction, so much more difficult to come by. Countrys like Britain and Australia, still have avid hunters and gun clubs, without indulging the more destructive brand of armaments. How Oregon, cannot see its way clear of more radicalized views, is both sad and disappointing. I'd always viewed the state as a bastion of more progressive thought and direction. Thanks for sharing this article Watt. Lets hope this powerful wave of youthful energy and passionate commitment, opens the way for a more peaceful planet. They certainly have my support and respect!
  • Watt Childress on 11/9Thanks Ken for reading this and for commenting. Here's to a future with real elections.
  • Ken on 11/9Thank you for your wonderful article. I am a staunch supporter of the popular vote movement, and applaud your very personal, powerful and persuasive words. I hope that every U.S. resident reads them.
  • Watt Childress on How can we be more like Finns?Thank you Z so much for picking up our paper and commenting! The leadership modeled by Nordic countries is often called "social democracy." I touched on this topic in a piece I wrote. We would do well to follow their example. https://www.upperleftedge.com/2017/06/17/democracy-in-concert-the-northern-tour/
  • Z on How can we be more like Finns?A friend in my Tai Chi class in the Seattle area passed on this paper, as my wife is a native Finn, who still clutches her passport, since she came here to marry me in 1998. We have traveled to Finland 2 to 3 times per year since then. To say the least, my knowledge of all things Finnish has greatly increased. To the point that when I engage Americans about how we might improve health care, education, pensions and life in general, I am usually told to go move to Finland. But of one thing my wife is most strong in her belief, that Finland is a democracy, not a socialist country, as is Sweden. This is in response to your statement: " We only need to muster the courage to educate, innovate, organize, and speak out-- an not be afraid of being accused of Democratic Socialism." Neither she nor I care for the idea that Finns should conjoin Democratic and Socialism. By the way, we were in Finland and August and watched, nightly on television, the gathering of the Sami Parliament meeting. Finns were most interested in it. And when we were out in the woods by a lake outside of Pori, we picked quite a few berries and chanterelles gently walking on other peoples' land. Felt odd but quietly comforting.
  • Vinny Ferrau on The Owls of OsloThank you my perseverant and beautiful brother!
  • Watt Childress on The Owls of OsloFreaking awesome!
  • Watt Childress on Looking at Pennywise: Does God Look Back?I always appreciate your eloquent insights on movies, Rick. Many of the old scripts people wrote about god are essentially horror stories. That's true for early scripts in the Judeo-Christian franchise: god forces a leader to make a bad decision so god can prove his power by killing off kids in the leader's kingdom; god orders a dad to murder his son, and the dad's willingness to do so is framed as a foundational proof of faith; god punishes an army for not obeying his order to kill infants. Such stories often become bestsellers and blockbusters, for some reason. I believe that says more about people than it does about God.
  • Vera Haddan on The Day Renny Skäraosten Saved the North CoastYesterday, February 19, 2017, my son took a wrong turn and we "accidentally" ended up at Tillamook Cheese Factory. The cheese samples and ice cream were wonderful. The featured flavor was strawberry lemonade. Today, I ran across your story, timely huh. Are you related to us, or what? I sent my son the link indicating a righteous vocabulary handout attached. Priceless, absolutely priceless!
  • Rob Gourley on What RemainsYes, stimulating essay, thanks. Black Elk Speaks!
  • BillieJ on Jesus We’re Cold InsideVery nice. Glad to see you're doing this. Had no idea. Billie (Hyder) W
  • Watt Childress on Baby Gramps and the Geechee GooThank you Rob. Here's to good medicine.
  • Rob Gourley on Baby Gramps and the Geechee GooDelighted to read this. I'm appreciating how you wove various yarns to compose the essay -- Spiritual Baptists, Baby Gramps singing & playing in Tolevana Arts Colony concert, Billy Hults, Geechee rhythm of the Gullah people, and St. Lucia interactions with the two elder women singing, the mountain farmer, the stone ax. Totally agree that "music is medicine."
  • Watt Childress on The Stars Still Shine BrightOne of your best, Bob. Many thanks..
  • B. Laszlo on The Stars Still Shine BrightEvocative. Thank you.
  • Watt Childress on Time to Turn the Clocks BackThanks so much Bob for this retrospective from a third-party point of view. We would have a better chance of breaking free of the two-party monopoly if the presidential debates included third-party candidates. It was a procedural low-point in 1988 when the League of Women Voters withdrew its sponsorship of the debates in protest of a memorandum between the two major party campaigns. That memorandum decided which candidates could participate in the debates, which individuals would be panelists (and therefore able to ask questions), and the height of the lecterns. A written statement from the League said "the demands of the two campaign organizations would perpetrate a fraud on the American voter." They were right.
  • Watt Childress on Running DownhillSo pleased to see your comment Lisa and Ann's reply. This is why we revived the Upper Left Edge -- to provide a place for wordsmiths to inspire meaningful action in the world. Thanks to both of you!
  • Ann Ornie on Running DownhillHello Lisa! Thank you so much for your kind words! Though I won't be able to make this meeting in Astoria, you are more than welcome to feature this piece on your website. But it would be lovely, when doing so, to reference or link Upper Left Edge! Thank you again! Ann
  • Lisa Arkin on Running DownhillI'm very moved by your writing, so glad I stumbled upon your site. Your family history in the world of commercial timber gives you a unique, grounded perspective to understand the scope of the problem. Aerial herbicide sprays are an anathema to forest care and sustainable timber harvesting. I'll be speaking on the topic of forestry and sprays in Astoria this Thursday, 10/20 at KALA. I'd very much like to meet you! Would be excited to feature your story on our website. Thanks, Lisa Arkin, Beyond Toxics
  • Joe River on Ballad of a serial malcontentWelcome ! We need all the socialists of your kind and talent we can get. You have a nice writing "voice" and I look forward to more. Joe Webb Astoria jwebb67239@aol.com
  • Rabbi Bob on Running DownhillTo answer that last question, because it's working for those it was meant to, the timber companies, but I'm sure you knew that. Thanks for this post, Ann. I hope we can figure out a way to live amongst the incredible Pacific Northwest coastal rainforest, and keep it somewhat intact. The sad truth is that this land long ago was sacrificed to (and for) timber, and if we didn't live here at all, it would be completely gone, because no one would be around to worry about it, as you do, and do something about it.
  • bob-goldberg on Rabbi Bob’s 2016 Democratic Party Primary Ballot GuideSo it's a little convoluted on my iPhone, but I didn't need to remember any passwords in order to login and post this comment. All happened magically through Facebook and OneAll! Coming up soon is Rabbi Bob's Guide to Voting in the General Election, sure to be a thriller!
  • bob-goldberg on Bernie wins Indie vote while Dems boost HillaryStill don't know why Gary Johnson polls better than Jill Stein, especially among youth.
  • Rob Gourley on IF THE FOREST COULD SAY…"Sss, grr, Raccoon here. They finally loaded those noisy machines that belch stinky fumes, and took them away. Waddling through this open place where they've destroyed the Forest, there's too much light. My partner and I know we have to migrate on, find another place with trees to climb and food nearby. Shame really, this was a mature, well-balanced community, and now it's ruined." Thanks for reporting so eloquently in your essay the impact of the damage they've wreaked in those Forest tracts.
  • Vinny Ferrau on Angels from EverywhereThanks Watt. The part you speak of, where they visit Salvation Mountain and get a tour from Leonard, was totally unscripted. Adds authenticity and depth to an all ready gritty and profound film.
  • Watt Childress on Angels from EverywherePoignant musing, Vinny, deeply personal yet full of haunting reflections that are applicable to human culture. I've never seen this movie, but your post prompted me to look at a few clips on Youtube. I really like the scene where the two youths meet and then walk together to visit the old man at Salvation Mountain. "You really believe in love then?" asks the young man. "Yeah...totally," the old man answers, eyes focused with gentle conviction. "This is a love story that is staggering to everybody in the whole world -- that God really loves us, a lot." Then the elder tells them in earnest how much he loves living by himself in the desert. Knowing the outcome of this true story, the scene tugs at my emotions in a way I can't find a good word for. "Melancholy" is as close as I can get, but it just doesn't do it justice.
  • Watt Childress on Bernie wins Indie vote while Dems boost HillaryHaven't seen that projection. If there's a link feel free to share it here. Sounds far-fetched at this point, but also compelling because I'm a fan of Stein. Also wonder if the modeler factored in votes for Gary Johnson, who beat Stein in the IPO ballot. Judging from Hillary and Bill's history (and her choice for VP) I'm guessing she's going to focus more of her campaign on attracting more moderate Republicans like Kasich, But she'll try to keep Bernie supporters on board as well. It will be interesting to see how she manages this balancing act. The person who may have the most to lose is Bernie, if he engages in high-profile stumping for her while she courts the centrist corporate base.
  • Rabbi Bob on Bernie wins Indie vote while Dems boost HillarySubstitute Jill Stein for Bernie, and the results are similar for a nationwide model put together by someone I saw on Facebook. In this model, Stein wins the electoral college vote over Trump, with Clinton way behind. Very interesting.
  • Watt Childress on Endless PossibilitiesThank you Catherine for sharing your gift of carefully considered words. Most creative work is unnoticed by mainstream corporate culture. Yet choices by little-known artists are essential to life in community.
  • Catherine M. Gardner on A Flickering HeartbeatReally enjoyed your poem! Beautifully written. Loved the way you ended the poem with a poignant question. Thanks!
  • Rabbi Bob on no podemos respirarBummer on missing classes, but it sounds like you're getting a great education on politics anyway! On our leaders, I agree. Systemic. Not only the leadership paradigms, but the whole electoral process. Time for a good look at electoral systems around the world, and for us here in America and elsewhere to update ours. Hope to see you here in the upper left edge this summer!
  • Vinny Ferrau on Missing W.S. Merwin and ValhallaWatt, your mead is indeed impressive. My auroch horn runneth over...I would gratefully trust in Freyja's wisdom, perhaps even more so than the sorting hat at Hogwarts. W.S. is a mountain unto himself, His poetry handholds for vertical ventures, or cordage for hammocks and insightful ponderings. Dining is like Dying, we don't do it once...at least that's what the Buddhist's tell us...
  • Vinny Ferrau on SusieImpermanence touches us all. The compassion we show those it hits hardest, speaks volumes in the book of the Heart.
  • joy on no podemos respirarFantastic post. I remember many years ago you when you were a little girl asking me about Sunshine laws and Nixon. I should have known back then that you were going to blow me away with political analysis.
  • Watt Childress on no podemos respirarAnd please know, Willa, that this post moved me in ways that go so much deeper than electoral politics. It worked to connect the thread of political discourse with the fabric of culture. Something important has unravelled in our thinking, and your words help weave it back together. Bless you.
  • Willa Childress on no podemos respirarI agree, Clinton's foreign policy is scary. Yet I've noticed the ease with which people hop back and forth between sexist, pithy critiques of her and genuine, hugely consequential ones. We've lost our ability to discourse coherently if we risk losing sight of human rights violations in a din of bad jokes. You ask why we always elect neoconservative women to office, and it's a question close to home for me—Argentina's just over the mountain, and I haven't had classes in weeks here due to widespread student protests over president Michelle Bachelet's "too little, too late" attempt to address the súper high cost of education here. And these ladies are the supposed left-wing! It's a complicated question you ask, but here's the thing: there are a lot of neoconservatives in high offices across the world, period. I could question why so few women leaders have prioritized women's rights issues—but hell, so have leaders since the dawn of time. To me, all signs point to systemic malady: we've gotta start changing our leadership paradigms, for todos.
  • Watt Childress on no podemos respirarAmen! Your words expose our deep human need for shared remorse, Smog is the result of our greed and disrespect for creation. It also serves as a super-metaphor for our oppression of each other. You remind us that to dispel this toxic suffocating stuff we must be able to apply nuanced thinking. AND you show that such thinking wields a sharp edge. Your admonition regarding Hillary Clinton, por exemplo, is perfectly pitched to defend her personhood while condemning her apparent duplicity. I hope everyone will read the article you linked that addresses her actions as Secretary of State with regard to Honduras. Truth to power! Here's a link to a song by an awesome band that came into my mind after reading this piece by an awesome writer. Not sure if the meaning runs parallel, but there is some emotional connection in there for me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9kqoD1t4lw
  • Vinny Ferrau on no podemos respirarWilla, sometimes i read a nugget of someones experience and am blown away. I am so filled with emotion that i find it hard to fashion a worthy response. This is an amazing piece. Something precious, faceted, and heavy. You are an amazing writer and i truly find myself all in when i read your postings. Like the peeling of an onion to get to deeper levels of consciousness and core. Your writing reminds me of one of my kids photography, he is a master of the inner city, inner worlds, that only seasoned inhabitants may know. Often in my travels people would wonder why someone from New York would want to come to Siberia, rural Ecuador, Pine Ridge. My response would be not to say too much, but instead to share with them through being and action, how much i value the land, spirits, ways, culture, and people. On so many trips people would ask, "How can we help? How can we ""fix"" this?" The wizened answer would come back, "Fix Yourself." I have also noticed tons of sexism and misogynistic terms applied to Hillary Clinton. This further exposes a very ugly underbelly, both conscious and unconscious, of fear and blatant disrespect, but really, it's all fear... What i dislike in HRC, i dislike in Barrack or Bush, or countless others. Their policies. Not what they say, but what they do (or don't do). Military Industrial Complex, TPP, Fracking, For Profit Prison System, GMO's, Wall Street, Inequality, etc, etc,etc...,I think the wizened answer remains the same, "fix ourselves" and keep sharing and enlightening in the ways in which you are.... thank you.
  • Rabbi Bob on no podemos respirarWe are so lucky to have the next generation here to at least try to understand the world. That was wonderful writing, Willa. Keep trying to help, and learn. I don't agree with the Hillary thing though. Her foreign policy is awful, and it would be awful (and is) if it was a man. She doesn't get a pass on this because she is a woman. Why do we always seem to get neocon women in high office around the world?
  • Anne Gurney on Show Me A SignSo glad you've preserved this story for us and so glad we went. I'd love to be back in that Beetle, breathing fresh cut grass breezes. Scott suppressing a smile is like The Tin Man lacking a heart. That crossroads on Route 11 has been a recurrent image for me over the years. The tent revival was held in a vacant lot across from Dillow's market and cupola barn. The vista there, looking out over plowed fields and hay bales toward Whitetop Mountain later became the subject of many of my paintings: Cedarville II, III, etc. Let's have a revival revival!
  • Watt Childress on Show Me A SignQuoted from with permission from a follow-up email sent by Scott: "Here's what's really really crazy. I taught motorcycle safety for 10 years outside of VFW post. These wonderful old Marines, Army, Navy characters would come by to mow the lawn and do general landscaping. They took great pride in the place. Occasionally lawnmowers, weedeaters, even blowers would not start. Sarge is a big barrel chested silver hair marine with a handlebar mustache and a sideways smile. He was struggling to get a weedeater started. I told him of my gift and the history of it. And he said "OK lawnmower Jesus let's see what ya got!" I put my hands on it – and I prayed. Even when I did it the very very first time in Virginia many years ago I decided to actually pray. To envision it running. Today – I've done this to over a dozen small engines at that VFW location. You would think that when i do this that it would absolutely blow these guys away – but they only produce a hearty laugh, shake their heads, and get to work taking care of the grass."
  • Watt Childress on Show Me A SignTestify!! Bless you Brother Scott for laying your art on our small engine and sharing a masterful story from the hills. Spirit grins big when memory drinks from that deep stream. It snuck through the sarcasm of the early 1980s, even though I barely appreciated it then. In a separate conversation you shared a postscript about your ongoing work bridging the mechanical and spiritual worlds. May I copy it from your email and paste it here?
  • Vinny Ferrau on Hollywood DreamsWonderful slice of life Catherine...i enjoyed the read.
  • Watt Childress on Paris BeatCheck out this great photograph!
  • Watt Childress on Indie ExodusThank you so much Greg for passing along the idea for that framing. Ideas freely given can flow like lava through our culture, transform the landscape of our collective mind. Registering Independent doesn't prevent us from voting for the candidate of our choice in the general election -- Democrat, Republican, Green, etc. It merely signals that we are doing so from a separate political vantage point. In Oregon, that's an especially potent position because the IPO is a third major party.
  • Gregory Zschomler on Indie ExodusI really like the writing of this piece. I'm glad you found good use of the Mt. St. Helens framing. Good job Watt. It's idealist to be sure. I really wish it could work. Maybe one day with enough effort by the dreamers of this world it could make a difference. So, don't give up. BTW: I agree with Joe and Vinny both. I tried it with Ross Perot and all it did was hurt the next best choice. I wish we had more say, but it's rigged.

Confessional (archive)

Come into The Confessional -- view the former Upper Left Edge forum entries.

Pages

Home | Contact | Advertise | Underwrite | The Confessional | Welcome | History | User Agreement | Privacy Policy

Post Categories

Archives on the Edge

Upper Left Edge

P.O. Box 1096
Cannon Beach, OR 97110
Send an e-mail