Heaven on Earth

I took a morning run with a friend down by the Little Spokane River, behind the Bozarth Retreat. He was duly impressed with all the natural beauty and called it a "Heaven on Earth." I have to say I agree, which might explain why I go back there again and again.

Sweet

The roots may be bitter, but the flowers are quite sweet. I returned this morning to show a friend the location of some local bitterroot and saw the hillside abloom with pink flowers. This photograph captures something of the beauty we saw.

Mother's Day

Mom gets the place of honor on the daily blogosphere. She joined us for a special Mother's Day dinner in our home. She even agreed to pose for this photograph, which is somewhat unusual. Lot's o' love to you mom!

'Chelle

My sister Michelle, (or affectionately, 'Chelle Belle), visited our home for Mother's Day and prepared her famous spinach dip. This photograph shows her standing in our front yard. Aaron and Dakota are standing in the background. I really like this picture of her.

Jeanie

Jeanie Garvey gets the place of honor on my blog tonight. We celebrated her birthday at a little place called The Shop, near 9th and Perry. We had a great time visiting with a relatively new circle of friends connected to the Garvey clan. I only wish we could have stayed longer, but we had to hurry home and tuck the kids into bed.

Formation

This afternoon, I saw five biplanes flying in V formation over downtown Spokane. That's gotta be a good sign of something, right?

Billiards

Rhonda and I had a few minutes alone this afternoon without children, so we stopped in at Far West Billiards and shot a few rounds of pool. Neither one of us is very good, but enjoy the friendly banter between shots. I'm sure Rhonda would want me to tell you she won at least once, which is a big deal for her. We had a great time.

Glass Alley

Here's a strange little bit of Spokane culture. This photograph shows an alleyway near the Old Spaghetti Factory. It doesn't look anything but ordinary, but my son Anthony tells me it is a well known gathering place for kids on the street. In fact, he was at some kind of party at Glass Alley the last time he was arrested. Some other time, he got into a fight there, complete with spectators and people taking bets. Well, I made up the part about taking bets, but it's probably not far from the truth.

Early Celebration

We celebrated Dakota's 12th birthday a few days early at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Dinner was great, as always, and Dakota became the luckiest kid alive when his grandma gave him plane tickets to Missouri. The two of them will visit relatives in Arkansas and watch Mike and the kids perform in the Nauvoo Pageant.

Camas

I took my wife and children to dig brown camas. At first, the kids only wanted to play, but I was delightfully surprised when Whitney decided to try digging a few roots. She actually did better than Rhonda and got somewhat excited by her success. Not much later, McKenna joined her mother and sister, and then Dakota joined me. Before long, digging became a game between the boys team and the girls team. It became a friendly competition where everyone cheered if someone found a big root. The whole time I felt deeply happy and blessed to have my wife and children by my side for this important cultural activity.

In the photograph, Rhonda and the kids are walking back to the car after digging brown camas.

Bloom

When we dug roots today, we found a hilltop literally covered with bitterroot in bloom. The whole hill looked alive with pink flowers. It really is amazing how these flowers grow in the most inhospitable terrain, tucked among rocky basalt crags with hardly any soil. They seem so delicate and yet they thrive in the most barren places.

Indigenous Education

Digging roots with my children provides an important piece of indigenous education. They learned to identify several traditional food plants and learned stories from our ancestors. I'm proud to share this heritage with them.

Burned Memories

I drove to Wellpinit yesterday afternoon and saw a column of smoke rising behind the clinic. Turns out the old quadplex senior housing was destroyed in a controlled burn.

Before going home, I stopped to see the fire; the walls were completely gone, and only a few small flames and smoldering ashes remained.

The ruins of that old house brought back a poignant memory. The first time I returned to Wellpinit after my parents divorce, I was about 8 years old. My yaya Messie lived in one of those houses and my father brought me there before anywhere else. I opened the screen door and saw my yaya standing in the kitchen with her back toward me. She had long black hair mixed with gray that she kept in a loose pony tail down her back.

I didn't say anything, but the sound of the screen door slamming shut made her turn and look. When she saw me standing in her kitchen, she pulled one hand to her mouth and drew in a quick breath. Then she dropped her work and threw her arms around me in a tight embrace. I could feel her tears dripping onto my face as she rocked me back and forth like a baby. Through her sobs she repeated one simple word: "Yaaaaaya, yaaaaaya, yaaaaaya..." (grandson, grandson, grandson...)

As I watch the flames burning the last remains of her house, I remember that beautiful day and feel lucky to have been loved by my yaya.

Robert

The other day, I was driving to work when I saw one of my students running down the street. I stopped to see what he was doing so 'far from home' (I always assumed he lived near the school. "I'm running to school," he told me.

"But that's 5 miles away." I said in disbelief.

"Yeah," he said like it was no big deal to run five miles, and then five miles on the way home.

As it turns out, he runs everywhere and keep exceptionally fit. He inspired me to start running again. It's time to take better care of myself.

Andrew Rosell

Andrew Rosell was a student at Mount Spokane High School and recently died at the intersection of Nevada and Magnesium. He was hit by a recycling truck while crossing the street.

Mourners built a makeshift memorial on the southwest corner of the intersection. I was surprised to see the memorial on the news, especially since I pass that spot every day on my way to work and hadn't noticed.

I stopped at the memorial on my way home from work this evening and met Andrew's brothers Jesse and Dustin(?), along with several friends. We spoke briefly about the accident and their feelings of grief. I have intense empathy for these young people as they struggle to understand the tragedy and injustice of death. We only just met, but my prayers go out to the family of Andrew Rosell in this hour of darkness.

Dogwood

I love dogwood flowers!

I went for a walk this afternoon during my lunch break and found these dogwood flowers shining brilliantly in the sun. Of course, I had to stop and photograph them. I have no other story to tell about them. They're worthy of showing for their own sake.

Mount Saint Michael

The facade of Mount Saint Michael's Convent and School.


A "Black Robe" priest conversing with a visitor.

My wife and I visited Mount Saint Michael to witness a health fair sponsored by the school children. The event was advertised at the college, and I had thought more of the community would be involved. However, when we arrived, we didn't see many people not directly connected to the school.

Even so, I enjoy visiting spiritual places. Ever since my mission to Guatemala in 1991-1993, I feel a certain fascination for monastic life. During my mission, I befriended a man who had taken temporal vows as a Catholic monk for 8 years before finally leaving the monastery. I only remember his first name: Fausto. He and I had many long discussions about theology and religious faith.

I had hoped to speak with one of the priests this afternoon, but he was engaged in another conversation. Perhaps we'll meet another day.

Lightning

A brief lightning storm passed over the Spokane area this evening, just after sunset. My children and I rushed to the summit of 5 Mile Prairie to attempt to capture the lightning on my digital camera. After more than a dozen photographs, only this one even came close to catching a hint of lightning. If you look on the left side of the picture toward the lower part of the clouds, you can see the smallest crackle of light. You may have to enlarge the image to actually see it. Just click anywhere on the picture. Nothing to celebrate, for sure, but I accept this as a challenge to get the perfect shot... someday.

Military Farewell

Adam Wiltse took a new turn this week when he enlisted in the United States Army. He surprised us all after returning so recently from a mission, and I'm sure he distressed his mother. He says he plans to eventually study medicine.

My family hosted a farewell reception for Adam this afternoon. He arrived a full two hours early, and the rest of his clan also arrived before the scheduled time. By 4:00, it seemed like more than a hundred people had literally invaded our home; grandparents, cousins, friends, etc.

We wish him well on his newest adventure.

Gabrielle

My cousin-niece Gabrielle had her birthday celebration this afternoon at the infamous Chuck E. Cheese. I would not generally want to subject myself to that suffering, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to spend a day with my extended family, especially the ones I haven't seen in a long time.

After all the noise and gross pizza we could stand, my daughter shocked us all when she walked up to the man in the mouse suit and asked me to take her picture. This is the same little girl who was so terrified of the mouse, she nearly assaulted him on more than one occasion. But here she is, conquering her fears. Beautiful.