Sibling Assignment #191:Swan Song and 52 Cups of Poetry

I gave the following assignment for this month:

"Write a tribute to a friend that is no longer with us."
You will find brother Bill's here and sister Carol's here.

I chose to write about a student rather than a friend. After the first year of teaching at Inchelium,
I was working with students in summer school when we got the news that one of our students had
been shot in a freak accident while the family was camping south of town. The student had just finished
third grade that spring. Her family and the reservation community was never the same.
I can remember attending her funeral and walking outside to see her laying in an open casket i
n the most beautiful dress. She looked like a precious doll. That haunted me long after the service.
When I worked with a poet as the writing project a few years later, she worked with me to get my
thoughts to paper. This poem also helps me reach my goal of writing 52 poems in 2018.

Swan Song
in memory of S.A. Swan
A Sacred Place On Lake Roosevelt
(1983-1995)

Don’t apologize for the day you allowed your sister to

mark in that brand new book,
Remember, I wanted you to take it home

and practice reading it to her.

Don’t apologize for the day your mother arrived

to visit your teachers at school.
You were good to steady her when

she stumbled and used angy words.

Don’t apologize for the day you forgot the words

from a story you composed in class.
Remember, we wrote them, whispered them,

wrestled with them to help you feel the sound.

Don’t apologize for the day after recess when

I had to send someone for you.
Because your other teacher kept you in your seat,

redoing that ditto ‘till you got it right.

Don’t apologize for the day you never appeared,

missing Indian tacos for lunch.

Remember, it was the day your mother returned

to the rez once again.

Don’t apologize for the day at summer school when

the children heard of your death
We tried to read, we tried to write,

but ended up seeing you.

Don’t apologize for leaving before I could say

how much I loved your spirit.
Remember S.A., you were a fragile duckling,

beginning to become a swan.

Sibling Assignment #189: Lights, Instruments Tuned, "Brigadoon"

Carol assigned this sibling assignment for us this month:

“Share a memory from one of your times performing on stage at Kellogg High School.”
You will find brother Bill's here and sister Carol's here.

I learned when I was a sophomore in high school that I really enjoyed performing on the stage.
Because it was forty-seven years ago that I first appeared on the stage at Kellogg High School,
my memories are a bit sketchy. I played the oldest daughter in the play “The Remarkable Mr.
Pennypacker” as a debut on the KHS stage. I continued playing different roles through high
school in a variety of plays. I loved being in plays. I don’t even remember now if I got that nervous
being on the stage.

When I was a junior it was announced we were going to do a musical.
A musical at Kellogg High School? Wow! It was exciting thinking about combining the choirs,
band, and actors all in one big production. The musical chosen was “Brigadoon”.
This was not one of the productions I was familiar with from our album collection at home, but once
I heard the music I really loved. It didn’t have an acting part. What I remember is standing behind
the curtain singing the song”Brigadoon” in the choir, but later I think I was down in the
“orchestra” band pit. Even though I didn't have a big starring role, I loved being part of the ensemble.

We did the production at the Kellogg Junior High gym/stage and I think by the time we were
ready to practice with everyone together, we all did it on a Sunday. There were also
headaches with conflicts with sports, speech competitions, and who knows what else,
but we prevailed! I think there was some big issue with my brother having to be gone,
but he will have to share that.

Brigadoon was a musical that took place in a magical place called Brigadoon in Scotland.

The music, the bagpipes, the costumes, and the scenery all seemed perfect to me.
I don’t even remember how the musical was received and if we had “sell out crowds”.

We did it! Kellogg High School performed their first musical.
There were more to follow after the success of “Brigadoon”.  
Again, I loved the join effect of so many students and staff.
It seemed like half the students were performing in some way, but it was probably maybe a fourth.
Enjoy the overture below.

Sibling Assignment #190: Kellogg vs. Wallace

Bill gave the following assignment this month:

"The other night at the Inland Lounge, I got into a conversation with a couple of Wallace High
School grads about the Wallace/Kellogg rivalry. How did you experience this rivalry back in
high school? The people I talked to Friday night thought the rivalry had weakened over the years.
Had it started to weaken when we were in high school in the 1970s and 1980s? Or did you
experience things that were evidence of the rivalry being very much alive when we were in
high school? "

You can find brother Bill's here and Carol's here.

Kellogg and Wallace are neighboring towns in Shoshone County in Idaho. When we were growing up, there was a big rivalry between the two towns. I have no idea how it originated, but in junior high I remember our cheerleaders always performing a favorite cheer, "Beat Wallace" and getting the stands riled up.

The rivalry seemed to revolve more around boys sports that were played in school. Girls didn't particpate in school sports except track, but I don't remember a big track rivalry with Wallace. The high school boys played American Legion baseball together in the summer and didn't seem to have any rumbles in the alley after the game.

I know lots of girls from Wallace early in elementary school from Campfire Girls and Camp Neewahlu and Camp Awahkeeah. No rivalaries with us. Our friendships continued with Girl's State and Rainbow Girls. When we traveled to a basketball game in Wallace I remember sitting on our side of the gym watching girls I had known a long time performing as cheerleaders or sitting in the cheering section. It seemed like we didn't really talk to each at these events. Did we really have to uphold that rivalry? Did we think we would be traitors?

The rivalry I remember more vividly from high school was when Kellogg girls dated Wallace boys. I had crazy crushes on lots of boys from Wallace, but I never acted on it. I had friends that "crossed that rivalry line" and dated them. I remember talking to my Wallace girl friends outside of school and how that idea of crossing over and dating from the other school caused quite a bit of drama. Rumors circulated that there might be a girl fight or they were threatened. I don't think any of that every happened. 

As soon as I left high school and many of us were together at University of Idaho or hung out in the Silver Valley bars when we turned 19, the rivalry seemed to have disappeared . 

Happy Birthday Riley!

On May 14, 2017 our dog Riley was born at a kennel close to Emida, Idaho. We went and chose him from a very cute bunch of puppies in late July and he quickly became part of the family.

Riley has been the best thing that happened to Tucker and Tucker has been the best thing that happened to Riley. They quickly became fast friends and have shared toys, food, bones, car seats, beds, and us. All summer Riley wore himself out keeping up with Tucker.

Riley has grown, changed color, began some training, and stole our hearts. He loves everyone. He jumped out of the car at Walmart in Hayden one day and decided to be the greeter. He won lots of fans before we could get him in the car.

He was able to make a trip to Kindred to meet Mom when we brought him home, He cheered her and the staff up that day. He was so little then I had to carry him.

He hasn't really found a bark yet, but he watches the world go by from the front window, the car window, and the back gate. He has added so much joy to our lives.

The Shed Notebook: The Remodel Corner

A remodel on our house began three and a half weeks ago. Between the demo, mudding, beam additions, bathroom tiling, and lots of banging I have kept myself in a corner of our front bedroom (soon to become part of the living room). As things get moved, items arrive to use for the decor makeover, and places get scarce to store stuff, my space is getting closer and closer. I decided today I better reorganize or I will find myself unable to get out of my little corner of the world. The whole remodel process has been quite an undertaking, and I have learned more than I will ever need to know about grouting, tiling, mudding, taking down walls, losing tools, bowed bathroom floors, choosing paints, finding towel hooks, and how to manage dust.
I am looking forward now to the light at the end of tunnel. That soon-be-completed new shower is calling me!!

The Shed Notebook: Anne Lamott and Making Messes

Saturday evening I had the pleasure of hearing Anne Lamott speak in Spokane. Since I read Bird by Bird in the early nineties, I have used Anne Lamott's books as inspiration for my writing, my faith, and my inner life.
She mentions a chapter in Bird by Bird and urged us to read or reread it. It is the chapter titled "Perfectionism".  Lamott reminds us " perfectionism is a mean, frozen form of idealism."  Writing is not about perfectionism. Writing is about the process. It is getting the "butt in the chair", writing "shitty first drafts", and "making big scrawls and mistakes."Perfectionism can slow down the writing process, it can ruin your creativity, it can stop the flow.
People want to be writers. They have a story to tell.They want to publish a book. They want to be famous. Writing doesn't quite work in that way. It is not a step-by-step cookie cutter recipe. It is messy. It takes time and practice. It is one step forward, two back, two forward again.
" We need to make messes in order to find out who we are and why we are here- and, by extension, what we're supposed to be writing. " Thank you Anne Lamott for that reminder. I am going to continue to scratch out notes, write drafts for my blog, write in journals, and write out loud. I am going to forget about perfectionism and make messes. That I can do.