My Princess Daughters

My daughters dressed up as princesses this Halloween; a favorite theme for them. They were absolutely radiant this year, thanks in large part to my mom, who sewed the most amazing dress for McKenna. I love my daughters with all my heart. They are indeed princesses in the kingdom of my little world.

Halloween

Oh... my kids are getting so big. We still do Halloween and all the "kid" holidays, but as I watch them grow, I see faint glimmers of who they'll become. For example, Dakota dressed up as a doctor this year, and looked like he could really fill the part some day in real life. My daughters are also turning into young ladies. They're not babies anymore. Where did all the years go?

Percy

So I spent the last few days in Salt Lake City and the Seattle area. Rather than detail everything I did during that time, I want to highlight a few of the people I met.

I met Percy only a few months ago, but since then we've had a few great visits. We seem to share many common interests and philosophies. He's someone I could see becoming a great friend. In the photograph shown above, he's playing a drum at a park in Salt Lake.

Seth

My friend Seth invited me to attend LDS services on the campus of Brigham Young University. The best I can figure, I usually attend LDS sacrament meetings about 4 times a year, so I dedicated a full 25% of my church attendance to Seth. Pretty amazing. For as much as I stay away, I have to say I enjoyed the meeting very much.

Afterwards, we spent some time photographing a variety of scenes around campus. It was really a lot of fun. We had some pretty deep conversation too.

Warren and Marilee

Warren and I met when we both staffed Nick's Level II training at the Great Life. We hit it off pretty well, and since conversed several times by telephone. Most recently, we staffed once again and had some pretty amazing conversations about life. Man, we even cried together; that's how real it was. Pretty cool, don't you think?

And then of course, I got to meet his amazing wife Marilee. It doesn't get any better than this.

Nick

Rhonda and I angeled our good friend Nick into the Great Life Foundation, and I recently staffed another of his trainings. What an amazing experience! And what an inspirational young man.

North Bend

Several colleagues and I went to a conference in North Bend for college educators. The town of North Bend is about an hour east of Seattle, at the base of Mount Si. There's not too much to see by way of popular or cultural events, but the natural surroundings are breath-taking. A trail near the lodge passes through a rain forest; incredible.

Moses Grand Central

When it rains, it pours. It seems like we haven't had visitors in quite some time, and tonight we had more than I knew what to do with. Grandma great is visiting from Arizona, and Glenda's friend Diane is visiting from southern California. Well, Diane's daughter and son-in-law dropped by. Then Rhonda's brother Paul, his wife Angela, four of their children, and their exchange student from Jordan were here for dinner. And then our friend Jordyn and his new fiance made an unannounced visit to tell us of their upcoming wedding in Las Vegas. At one point during the evening, we had 19 people in our house. If that wasn't enough, I also received three phone calls (two of them long distance) from people I have not spoken with in several weeks or months. And to think with all this excitement, I didn't get a single photograph...

Freedom of the Mind

As many of you know, Rhonda and I were foster parents for six years. Our oldest foster son is now 19 and has more than his fair share of struggle. I've never talked about him openly in this context; I've always used euphemisms, but I was so moved by my experience this morning, I think people deserve to know. Of course, it's no secret my son went to jail recently. The charges will remain confidential, but his current residence is fairly common knowledge.

When I visited him this morning, we sat inside a cell the size of a broom closet, and spoke to each other through a thick glass window. I've seen him this way before, but something about him seemed entirely different. His facial features appeared softer than I've seen in many years, and his eyes regained some of their youthful sparkle. When he spoke, he smiled and looked directly into my eyes. I wish I could have taken a picture; he looked like the son I've been missing for quite some time.

As the minutes passed quickly by, we shared experiences on a deep, heart-to-heart level. I saw qualities in him I had only hoped for in previous years. He showed insight, empathy, truth, responsibility, and love. For example, at one point he said, "Sometimes I sit in my cell and I tell lies to myself. Sometimes I think I shouldn't be here, but then I catch myself, and I tell the truth: I deserve to be here." He showed concern for the other children and sincerely apologized for being a negative influence in their lives.

Like I said, I was deeply moved by his growing maturity and insight.

Just before the officer ended our visit, he said, "There are lots of so-called friends in my life who will kick it with me if I ask, but they're not here for me like you and Rhonda." As he said those words, his eyes welled up with tears. He put his hands on the glass and said, "I love you..." Then he turned and walked back to his cell.

As I left the jail and drove home, I felt my own tears welling up inside. It grieves me to see my son in jail, and yet I feel such deep gratitude and joy to witness his open heart. For one brief moment, he achieved a freedom more real than any release from jail; he achieved a freedom of the mind.

Consecration to Family

We spent the morning taking family pictures at Pine River Park. We posed for all different kinds of shots, but this was the one I liked best.

Afterwards, I attended sacrament services with Rhonda and the kids. One of the hymns we sang had the following line: "It may not be on the mountain height, or over the stormy sea; it may not be at the battle's front, my Lord will have need of me. But if by a still small voice he calls to paths that I do not know, I'll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in thine: I'll go where you want me to go," (I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go, by Mary Brown).

As we sang those words, I looked over and saw my daughter Whitney smiling up at me. I remembered all the times I felt lost or burdened by responsibility, and in that moment I felt it all melt away. The only thing left over was the love I feel for my wife and children, and the knowledge that I'm right where GOD wants me to be.

During the meeting, the speaker addressed the topic of consecration. While I do not necessarily agree with placing so much emphasis on consecrating ourselves to earthly institutions, even churches, I do believe in consecrating our lives to God. As I see the light in my daughter's eyes this afternoon, I know my consecration belongs to her and to all my family.

Treaty Rock

Treaty Rock is somewhat of a minor historical site in Post Falls, Idaho, conmemorating the transfer of land from Chief Seltice of the Coeur d'Alene to white settlers. There's not much to see, except for a rocky hilltop surrounded by freeways and modern development.

Photo at Treaty Rock

The last time I saw Treaty Rock was some time in 1990; Rhonda and I were driving back from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho with our friends Rick and Missy. We stopped because we wanted to see something historical related to Native Americans. We had always noticed the signs on Interstate 90, but we weren't familiar with the significance of the site. When we arrived, we noticed black rain coulds gathering overhead. Missy and Rhonda decided to stay in the car, but Rick and I decided to brave the weather. Well, we went outside long enough to read the historical marker, and then get drenched in the rain. We ran back to the car laughing. I miss those days.

Post Falls

I got a few extra minutes this afternoon and visited Post Falls, Idaho. After all these years living nearby and this is the first time I ever saw the place. It was worth the wait.

Shingo Nagaoka

Shingo Nagaoka is from Japan.


We toured downtown Spokane.

Shingo Nagaoka visited Wellpinit and Spokane this week to re-connect with old friends and acquaintances. We first met more than a year ago when he attended the Riverfront Powwow and my uncle's sweat lodge. He teaches American Literature at a university in Japan, and became interested in Spokane Tribal culture from reading Sherman Alexie books. I find it very interesting, actually.

He and I took a brief walking tour of downtown Spokane, including a short visit to the Davenport Hotel. We followed our tour with dinner, and enjoyed sharing pictures of our respective families. We had a great visit.

Violence Prevention

Standing with Chance Rush.

My wife and I attended a dinner on the Spokane Reservation dedicated to the prevention of domestic violence. It was very moving to hear the prayers, words of inspiration, and traditional songs. The keynote speak was a young man from Oklahoma by the name of Chance Rush. He had some very good words to say about faith in God, prayer, believing in yourself, and having a winning attitude in life. He also has a pretty sharp website:

http://www.chancerush.com/

More important than the words was the presence of many friends and relatives. It was wonderful to see our people, especially those who bring healing to our lives.

Xibalba

Xibalba, terror of the underworld, you relinquish the souls of dead men, to walk a little season under the living sun before returning to the Shadow House. And while the spirits visit once again, they become our guests. I'm not afraid to hear their cries, because I know they're not that different than my own; and when they laugh, I know they see a deeper irony to my existence.

Man of the Year

The newly released "Man of the Year" with Robin Williams may provoke criticism from certain segments of the political sphere, especially those on the defensive about the Bush presidency, but I also hope it inspires sincere dialogue between political parties. The film raises controversial issues regarding electronic voting, stolen elections, special interest groups, big money, and political dissent. These are all important issues, no matter which party controls government at any given time. For example, whether or not voting fraud allegations during the 2004 presidential election hold any validity, I am sincerely troubled by a voting system without a tangible paper trail. I also liked what he had to say about rising above the whole red-state, blue-state paradigm and returning to our roots as the United States.

These are issues above partisanship.

Of course, it's no coicidence this film appears on the American scene just a few weeks before an important election. I just hope people pay enough attention to address the issues rather than continue the venemous political accusations of the last six years. Dissent really is patriotic and essential to our continued freedom in this country. Can we ever achieve our patriotic ideals without demonizing those who disagree on important moral or philosphical issues?

I went to see this film hoping for a good laugh. Well, I found plenty to laugh about, but I also found enough to keep me awake at night wondering about the future of our democracy.

Exploration

They say a picture speaks a thousand words, and a photograph never lies. I believe the first part, but in the age of digital photography and editing software, the latter portion no longer holds true. A photograph may also speak a thousand lies.

Even so, photography still reveals a truth where words sometimes fail.

For me, photography opened doors of exploration I never thought possible. In my effort to find the perfect shot, especially when I exhaust my previous subjects, I learn to see the world more deeply. Rather than simply look for tired, over-used, or stereotypical compositions, I look for the hidden details and the subtle stories behind each photograph. Sometimes I can't even articulate the story; it's just something I feel on an intuitive level. In any case, I find myself interacting with the world on a whole new level as I decipher my own secret creativity.

What about the photograph posted in this blog entry? Actually, I don't see very many untold stories in this shot, except to say I like the way the industrial colors interplayed with passing rain clouds this afternoon.

Beauty sometimes shows up in unlikely places; maybe that's the story.

In the end, I actually go outside more with my camera than without. I talk to people. I listen to their stories more. I look deeply where once I passed by unawares.

Tony and Susan

Tony and Susan had a special dinner at their home this evening with members of our family. I helped cook salmon on cedar planks and a gas grill, even though it was pouring down rain. No day is too wet or cold to cook salmon. In any case, we had a very enjoyable time visiting with friends and relatives.

Medicine

Dakota helped me find a certain medicinal plant on the Spokane Reservation. We drove out to the woods and spent about half an hour identifying plants. I had found it once before, in the sping, when the leaves were young and green. Now that everything dried up it was much harder to find. With some effort and a little experimentation, we finally found the right one.

Later on, I took this picture standing near a road. Something about this picture seems to capture my son's attitude in life; he's always moving and learning. He's a powerful soul.