Our Great Northwest Trek

At the far reaches of Vancouver Island sits the small community of Port McNeill, known mostly to fishermen and yachters who stop over to replenish and refuel on their way to or from Alaska. It is also home to Just Art, a gallery with some of the best Northwest Coast Indian Art to be found.

Over our years of collecting we've become friends with Ron Fraser, the owner. He has been a treasure trove of fine pieces. It helps that he is a hop, skip and jump away from the Fort Rupert Reserve, home to some of the best of the Kwaguilth artists. Having grown up and gone to school with many of them hasn't hurt! The idealness of his situation is that he is there and often gets first crack at the work before the artists have to head for Vancouver, Victoria and beyond.

One such piece is why we took this trip. For months Ron has been trying to sell us a spectacular sun. He couldn't say enough about it. Not having been to Canada for several years, we decided to go have a look just for the heck of it. Our hang up was where to place it without having to strip the house bare or add an addition. Neither is in the game plan.

Off we went early Monday. The weather was cooperative and we even made the 3:15 ferry to Nanaimo, a totally unexpected break. Then mother nature decided to let loose. We retired with it pouring. We awoke to it pouring. The further north we went the harder it rained. I must say I have never driven through anything like it. I should say Hub hadn't. It poured the whole time we were in Port McNeill. Poured!

Funny, we had gone the distance to look at a sun! Well, Ron was right. The piece is spectacular. We searched our souls and our heads as to where it might go. It is the type of piece, for a collector, you'll see but once. We went on our way promising to do some more measuring.

And still it was pouring. All the way back to Nanaimo! We were exhausted.

We no sooner walked into the house and dropped our bags when we looked at each other and agreed there was no way. We were crestfallen. The house, however, is what it is!

We laughed though. There may be a consolation piece waiting in the wings. While there, Mervyn Child brought in a newly completed totem. I think he knew we were coming. Ahem. Because Hub has wanted one for awhile now. This one. This one tells the story of a young boy who makes a deal with raven to gift him with the power to envision the weather! Maybe that's the piece we're meant to have and our next "parade" will not be rained upon!

When All Else Fails Call On The Gods!

As I sit here in the office shivering, the heat at a minimum to save money and the temperatures outside not to break freezing, I decided to see what they're doing in sunny Cancun at the Climate Change summit.

We know the true believers are having problems since science, real science, tends to debunk their theories. Knowing this I guess it shouldn't surprise me that the woman moderating the discussions called upon a deity to guide them. A female deity yet. Ix Chel. The Mayan jaguar goddess also know as the Mayan goddess of the moon.

When all else fails... I've got to tell you this gal wore many hats in her day. In addition to her cat and moon duties, she was also the goddess of reason, creativity and weaving. Ms. Figueres, said moderator, might just be the goddess of spin. As she herself said, "May she inspire you - because today, you are gathered in Cancun to weave together the elements of a solid response to climate change using both reason and creativity as your tools."

In other words, do what you must to make the argument believable!

Back to Ix Chel, or Lady Rainbow, the insurer of fertility, is also sometimes know as the goddess of catastrophe - the woman who stands by while the world floods. An interesting goddess to call upon for guidance regarding climate change! Her name, by the way is pronounced "ee chell". Put an 'sh' before that ee and you have shee chell or she shall. The question is she shall what? Only the gods know!

On that note I'm off for a few days. Enjoy the break and see you late next week!

Helping Those Who Would Help Themselves!

Sometimes, especially around the holidays, one can easily get tapped out trying to satisfy all the hands that are extended for help. We are inundated with stories about those down on their luck. The Salvation Army Kettle meets you at every store, turkey drives, coat drives, toy drives. I've often wondered why the numbers never seem to decrease over the years. Why an ever greater number of hands are extended.

Maybe we should consider what a few, mostly obscure, people are able to accomplish simply and inexpensively! Last night I was watching the Making a Difference segment on the NBC news. It was about a project called Little Dresses for Africa. Simple little pillow case dresses made by hundreds in this country and distributed to African orphans. Through this program the door has been opened to teach these youngsters about nutrition, hygiene and most of all give them a smidgen of hope for a better life. A future.

The program is now expanding to 'Britches for Boys'. To see those kids in their bright new garb and the joy on their faces is enormously heartwarming.

To take it a step further, a story appeared in this morning's paper about the Krochet Kids , a trio of college boys wanting their own distinct style of head gear for winter sports. They spent their summers in developing nations and an idea was born. Crochet hooks and yarn in hand off they went to Africa.

They found the women had a natural talent for crocheting. They are now paid a wage for a quality product that is being marketed in the United States. You want to talk about hope and change? Pillow cases and yarn. What goes around comes around. Simple. Inexpensive. The result? Priceless.

Restrepo ~ A War In Hell

Restrepo - an outpost high above the Korengal valley in a God forsaken part of Afghanistan. But then their god isn't ours. It was named after a fallen comrad. It is also a film following one platoon for one year - for nothing.

I watched it on the National Geographic channel last night and thought, as I fought back nausea over what these young men were experiencing, that this film was the best depiction of the angst, the horror, the gut wrenching fear and the anger that is war. Without seeing a drop of blood shed. The part of the war that produced it's only living Medal of Honor winner.

The macho personas the young soldiers displayed as they were deployed soon disappeared as the reality of what they were to endure set in. Trying to convince village elders they were "good" guys. People with a language barrier and unbelievable cultural barriers. People who knew their lives were precarious at best from both sides of the fight. A knowledge shared by our soldiers. There was no safe side between the villagers and the Taliban. Who might be a good guy? I watched the faces of the elders as they listened to explanations by the American Captain. There was contempt, there was scepticism, there was cunning and hatred. Not an actor in the world is skilled enough to play either the Afghanistans nor the Americans.

If you want to know what the American GI feels, watch this film. Then follow the links to the entire production. Men who have been to war understand it all. Those of us who haven't don't even begin to, though maybe I now have an inkling. It's hard to watch. It's hard to watch them remember, it's hard to know it will always be a part of them, a part that will never totally heal. It will be a part of their families and friends and ultimately it will be a part of the fabric of our nation. It's good these men are like rugged denim rather than satin or silk.

I thought for a time that the day would come when we'd no longer have men seeking high office that had military experience. Iraq and Afghanistan have changed that. Now I will find it difficult to vote for one who lacks that experience. That experience that remembers the repulsiveness of war totally outweighs it's glory.

Two Parties For Moderates Is One Too Many

The call for a third party in American politics has been long and plaintive. I don't count the Tea Party because it's not a party. It's a movement made up of discontented voters whose most prominent voice is that of Sarah Palin. It was her endorsement that drove some primaries, not theirs. They but followed her lead by voting for a label no matter how outrageous the candidate might be. No, they don't answer the need.

Then came an article in The Wall Street Journal about a group calling themselves The Modern Whigs. I read about them with great interest. Here was an actual organization aimed at being the home of the discontent moderates, regardless of their current affiliations. I signed on so I could have access to what they are doing. So far there hasn't been enough to make them viable as time ticks away toward 2012.

A more recent Wall Street Journal article introduced me to another such effort - the No Labels. Again, I read what I could find about them. They have funding and big names such as Michael Bloomberg. The big names could be a bane or a blessing. The money is definitely a blessing.

Here's the dilemma. I don't want to see them "tea party" themselves by having too many efforts reaching for the same end. A home for moderates.

At this point I don't have to make a choice as to which to support. They are both in their infancy, yet the No Labels seem to have the stronger organization. I have mentioned in previous posts that I felt the Modern Whigs needed a better PR effort to get their name and cause known. A Facebook page does little good if no one knows for what or whom to search. Both are there. Now you know.

I'll be watching and hoping something comes of one of them. I really hope they will talk with one another and somewhere along the line join forces. The common ground is there.

If they want Idaho they'd best begin in the Boise area. There are too few of us in northern Idaho to even gather for a meeting. Aren't there?