The Rivers of My Life

The North Fork of the Coeur d' Alene River

Once again National Poetry Month has come to an end. I enjoy and celebrate poetry all year long, but I always focus more on my favorites in April. The last poem I chose is by poet and author William Stafford. I have stood by many rivers during my lifetime.  A river is a good place to pause and reflect on the passage of time as the still beauty of the current passes over the rocks. What I have I done with this life?  I have tried to live it the best I can.

Spokane River

South Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River in Kellogg

Ask Me

Some time when the river is ice ask me
mistakes I have made. Ask me whether
what I have done is my life. Others
have come in their slow way into
my thought, and some have tried to help
or to hurt: ask me what difference
their strongest love or hate has made.

I will listen to what you say.
You and I can turn and look
at the silent river and wait. We know
the current is there, hidden; and there
are comings and goings from miles away
that hold the stillness exactly before us.
What the river says, that is what I say.

William Stafford

Clark Fork River

Kettle River

Chewack River in Winthrop, WA where Everett spent many hours during his childhood.

The Clearwater River

And Here We Have Idaho

Last week my sister, brother, and me did our first sibling trip since we have all been married. We decided to explore a part of Idaho each of us had only driven through. What a scenic trip we had. 

We started the trip from Montana and Lolo Pass and then drove along the Lochsa River.

We stayed along the river for two nights enjoying the quiet beauty of central Idaho.

Next we explored the Selway River which joins the Lochsa to make the Clearwater.

Taking pictures is a big part of what we love to do when we get together. There was never a lack of photo opportunities.Here is my brother at the Old Lochsa Forest Service Station.

Here is my sister at the Selway River. It was a relaxing trip and it gave us time to laugh, talk, share concerns, figure out things that needed figuring out, time to eat good meals, have good drinks, and sit around and start the day on the deck of the cabin drinking coffee. Not bad at all.

Sibling Assignment #141: " I Do I Do" and "We Did It! We Did It!"

Silver Valley Girl gave the sibling assignments for January. Here is first one:
"Recall a memory from 2010 about each of your siblings and share the memory.It can be one memory or two separate memories."
I am going to share a memory about each of my siblings. Silver Valley Girl's memory was way back in Janurary in 2010. SVG and her husband did a two person performance of "I Do! I Do" for the Sixth Street Theater in Wallace Idaho. I first wrote about it here  under the title "Best Community Theater I've Seen: Bravo to Agnes and Michael". SVG was Agnes and I think the most remarkable thing about the performance was watching her age before our eyes on stage. It was like putting our lives into rewind in some respects.

 I can remember her wedding, when she was pregnant with her first child (who was sitting behind me all grown up), and the many times she has sang with her husband. At the end of the play as I watched her age even more it made me wonder what all of us have to look forward to.

 She will one day be the mother of the bride and a grandmother. She will also age gracefully like my mother has. The picture at the top was a favorite as my sister did finally look a bit older than Mom. A year later I can still say Bravo Agnes... a performance that earned two thumbs up... way up!!

The silver lining was that all proceeds were given to charity in the Silver Valley.

 In July the West/Woolum/Baugh/Coomer/ Mullikin/Roberts/Officer/Smith/and more gathered in Orofino Idaho for the Last Cousin Standing Hootenanny Reunion. This is where the memory of my brother Raymond Pert occured. Before we even got out of Moscow Friday my memories began with my brother giving a moving workshop to our writing project on "being lenient".

 I think the writing I did set the tone for a week-end of family, fun, fantastic food, coolers,laughs, Bloody Marys,Kalura, Derek's Potatoes, smoked turkey, late nights, hot weather, lots of dogs, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandkids, friends, and cool drinks.
 Raymond Pert and I did it. We were part of the last cousins standing on Sunday evening as the week-end began to wind down.  JEJ had left earlier to get home while it was cool. SVG and family had departed earlier with Mom.

 It was hard to leave everyone. RP and I knew we had to head back down the Clearwater River, take a last look at Dworshak,get a whiff of the pulp mill, meander up the Lewiston Hill and eventually land in Moscow as he needed to prepare to be the guest writer at the NIWP writing retreat and I had to get back into teacher mode to instruct the current NIWP summer group the next day.

The reunion was significant because we were surrounded by the love and acceptance of Mom's family that had been so much a part of our growing up. We loved visiting this family every summer. All week-end whether it was remembering our cousin John, Beaver Dam, Grandma's glads, Lila's roses, cousin Mark's trip on his tricycle, Norm, the Glenwood Market, Andy Godwin, or Lindy Carr... it was all good. My cousins helped me remember stories I had forgotten about my deceased dad. My brother traded fast break wit with cousin Lura while I shed a few tears with cousin Judy.

 When the day ended we did it. The last standing cousins were RP, myself, Lura,Judy,and Derek. I shared this week-end with the whole family, but RP and I began the journey and ended the journey together. We loaded up his collection of paper products at the beginning and cleaned out the empty cooler at the end.
My only hope is the next one will be sooner rather than later.

Sibling Assignment #132: The Clearwater River

I gave the assignment this week. You will find Raymond Pert's here and Silver Valley Girl's will be linked when she has written it. The Clearwater River represents stories I began hearing in the car along Highway 12 over fifty years ago. The Clearwater River represented a dangerous river, a river you needed to respect. I heard my mom tell the story once again about how my aunt almost drown. Then she  would remind us of the details of that man she saw dead by the river.  Mom was nervous when we went out too far in the river at Beaver Dam. She sat on the hot sand on a towel along the shoreline smoking a cigarette, her eyes scanning the river to make sure she could see us.

The river road was icy in the winter and stories echoed down the canyon of vehicles that plunged in that river. Before the building of the dam the river flooded, covering the fairgrounds and homes close to shore in Orofino.  A car traveling too fast on the river road at night was in a head-on collision and someone was killed.  People were reckless when they passed in a hurry to get home after a day in Lewiston. We always heard these stories.Highway 12 along The Clearwater was a disaster waiting to happen.

Recently I returned to the Clearwater River. It was calm, peaceful, and beautiful. I wasn't scared our car would go headfirst in the river. I didn't get close to the shore to swim, but a group of rambunctious teens were jumping off the rocks at Zann's beach without any fear of the current. There are big barriers now along the river side of the highway as a safety measure. I would suspect that keeps cars from ending up in the icy bottom of the river. Dworshack Dam looms large between two mountains as you gaze up the north fork by Riverside.

It was the first time JEJ had seen this river. I lamented about the river I remembered as a child. I missed Beaver Dam, Bruce's Eddy, and the old road up the north fork.  I longed for the dry, bare hills heading down the river that are now covered with sprawling mansions. I wanted to once again see the ranch across the river and see the concrete blocks representing a bridge that was lost during a flood.

I think what I missed most was the old bridge entering Orofino. Whether we were hot and sweaty on an August afternoon, sleepy and squished into the back seat in the evening, or coming for Christmas on snowy roads, there was always a safe feeling when we saw the bridge and the arrow pointing us across the Clearwater River with the words Orofino lit up. We entered the place between two mountains that held family, friends, good memories, and a feeling of being safe and loved.

Clearwater County

I love the images I caught around Clearwater County during my recent visit for the reunion. Dad used to always call it "God's Country." 

Following the highway along the river gave me an opportunity to capture images of the beauty.

Catching a glimpse of the river by Zan's Beach brought back childhood memories of laying in the sand and swimming the rapids with my dad.

I loved how the sunshine caught on the river as we headed up the river canyon toward Greer.