From the bike lane

By Jen Bond
March 2010

Sponsored by

After moving to Portland ten years ago as a very casual cyclist, I’ve expanded my biking horizons beyond the occasional commute to work or brief ride through the park. I now include all kinds of cycling, and I’ve been amazed at the many cool and creative ways that Portlanders make bicycling a part of their lives.

Indeed, Portlanders use their bikes for everything from training to transportation. It brings me so much joy to see people from all walks of life out enjoying themselves on their bikes, getting exercise, breathing fresh air, soaking up the sunshine or smiling through the rain. While it’s true that biking has many positive effects on our personal lives, and on the health and happiness of our community, the main motivation is that pedaling is fun!

For many of us, learning how to ride a bike as a child was one of our major early accomplishments, filled with excitement and the thrill of an emerging independence. That feeling of freedom brings many adults back to biking.

Recently, our friend, Maxwell Rush, owner-operator of Green Light Construction and Painting, stopped by the house to give us an estimate on some remodeling work, and I was excited to see him arrive by bicycle. It was a nice day, especially for February. Since he lives in the neighborhood, biking over to take measurements and discuss plans seemed way more fun than hopping in his pickup truck. We started talking about the irresistible allure of biking, and he related how he and his family incorporate biking into their busy lives whenever they can.

Maxwell had been pedaling around town on an old mountain bike until he stopped by River City Bicycles to get a commuter bike with a rack, pannier bags, and fenders. His new rig allows him to do more of his errands by bicycle. When the weather and time allow, he goes grocery shopping on two wheels or rides his 6-year-old daughter to school on her trail-a-bike. Her schoolbooks fit nicely in the pannier bag, and she gets to pedal if she feels like it, or just enjoy the ride if that’s more her style. She’s learning about the joys of biking with her dad, spending quality time with him during the forty-five minute ride to school, and becoming more used to being outside in less-than-perfect weather.

Maxwell’s wife and 2-year-old have also jumped on the bicycle bandwagon, cruising along on a bike equipped with an extra-cycle, a seat and cargo option that makes her bike even more fun and versatile. Maxwell even plans to employ his carpentry skills to build an outdoor bike garage next to his house this summer. The addition will make it even easier for his family to use their bikes whenever they feel the urge to add a little bit more fun to their day.

Many of us have demanding schedules, and we all have different thresholds for cool rainy weather. Yet Maxwell and his family remind us that we can add biking to our lives in many different ways to reap the benefits of fitness, family-time, and mostly, fun!

_____

Visit River City Bycycles at 706 SE MLK Blvd., Portland, Oregon, 503-233-5973; or online at
rivercitybicycles.com

Jen Bond is a River City Bicycles employee, cycle-tourist and all-around bike-enthusiast.

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Sweet mystery of spring

By Arnetta Guion
The Portland Upside
March 2010

Photo by Arnetta Guion

Anatta Blackmarr delights in the thousands of crocus blooms that cover her yard each spring.

Every spring, Anatta Blackmarr and Edward Riddle live in a magic meadow of crocus blossoms.

They first discovered the woodland-style yard on occasional walks around the Southeast neighborhood of Oak Grove Heights, above the Willamette River. When the property, with its spacious oak-shaded yard, came on the market four years ago, they bought the cozy house and made plans to remodel. The big attraction for Anatta is the mass of crocuses blooming in the lawn.

“To see it for the first time, I was astonished,” says Blackmarr, formerly of the Bay Area in California.

Yet there is a bit of mystery. Anatta wonders how the crocuses came to be in the Portland area in the first place, and how they spread. Perhaps old-time gardeners shared the tiny bulbs, as gardeners will do. Or perhaps nature dispersed the seeds through birds or wind, once they were established.

“The bulbs are small, seem hardy and must have been planted when the house was built, probably in the 1950’s,” she conjectures.

After the winter temperatures warm and before the grass starts to grow, slender leaf blades come up. Then delicate pink crocus buds begin popping up everywhere. What happens next is an explosion of trumpet-like blooms in a veritable carpet over the entire area.

The magic meadow among the native oaks and mossy basalt boulders peaks by mid-February. Both Anatta and Edward delight in sharing the view with passers-by.

“People stop and often come back. I think it is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. Now the bees are humming in chorus with delight.”

What variety are they? Who might have planted them and when? Perhaps you have an answer to the sweet mystery of these spring crocuses!

______

Arnetta has been a plant lover all her life, She advocates use of northwest native plants for low maintenance landscapes and gardens.

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Submission of the month

Matilda and the Fairy

The Portland Upside
March 2010

Needle-felt artwork by Stacy Polson

Everything fascinates Portland needle-felt artist Stacy Polson. So when she discovered the craft of needle-felting she had to try it. Needle-felting is the process of adhering fiber to fiber using a barbed needle to compact wool into shapes. She’s used almost every medium there is and says that needle-felting is the most versatile and forgiving.

“It’s allowed me to experiment like never before because I can simply fix a mistake by plucking out the wool. And what other medium lets you paint and sculpt and needs no cleanup?”

_____

If you go to Stacy’s website, stacypolson.com, you’ll see she’s got eclectic tastes. Right now, she’s working on a series of Geishas wearing surreal hats. You can also view her work at Gossamer at 2418 East Burnside Street in SE Portland.

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Chocolate leads Sarah Hart in unexpected directions

By Olivia Johnson
The Portland Upside
March 2010

Photo by Rob Bednark

Sarah Hart’s appreciation for the art of chocolate led her to start Alma Chocolates, where she creates interesting chocolate-spice blends and designs custom molds.

Sarah Hart has always had a passion for food. She treasures memories of visiting her grandparents’ house as a little girl. They had grown up as rural farmers during the depression and were still very poor when Sarah and her family stayed with them.

“Making food was her way of expressing love,” Sarah says of her grandmother Alma. “When we would visit, she was up before everyone else in the morning, making everyone’s favorite pies.”

Sarah inherited what she calls Alma’s “spirit and generosity of expressing love through food.” But instead of pies, Sarah found her niche in chocolates.

Sarah owns Alma Chocolates in Northeast Portland. Not only is the name significant because of her grandmother, Sarah has also discovered that alma means “soul” in Spanish and “to nourish” in Latin.

“Food is the basic way of nurturing people,” according to Sarah.

But man cannot live on chocolate alone. Alma Chocolates also doubles as a café, serving espresso, tea, and homemade baked goods.

The tiny shop is cozy, decorated with handcrafted and antique displays featuring the work of a new local artist each month. Sarah proudly arranges a unique medley of caramels, sauces, toffees, barks, bars, bonbons, and of course chocolates, at the front counter, on worn wooden shelves, and wherever else they can fit. The unmistakable scent of melted chocolate blended with exotic spices wafts from the kitchen, which peeks from behind thick brown curtains.

To Sarah, making chocolate is an art.

“I always said that I wanted to be an artist, but it took me a while to find my form,” she smiles.
Sarah uses only high-quality ingredients for her creations, all made in the compact kitchen in the back of her store. Coming up with new recipes is her favorite part of the job.

“I read cook books in bed like they’re novels. I can picture how things will taste.”

One particular challenge that thrills Sarah is to find the best way to pair uncommon spices with chocolate.

“It’s like pairing food and wine…finding what is complimentary and what is contrasting.”
She recalls reading about how a fellow chocolatier couldn’t figure out how to use cumin with a chocolate recipe.

“So, I said, ‘I want to figure that out!’”

At other times, Sarah’s friends can play her muse.

“One of my friends really likes ginger so I invented a toffee with ginger in it.”

But Sarah’s most exclusive items are the gilded icon chocolates she began creating five years ago in her own kitchen. Made of solid dark chocolate, she sets the icons in custom-designed molds before gilding them with 23-karat edible gold leaf. There are jolly-looking buddhas, serene Virgin Marys, and half-human, half-elephant Ganesha gods from Hindu mythology.

Since chocolate is such an amazing ingredient, she believes that its presentation should match its importance.

“So much of what you could get was cheesy…just googly-eyed rabbits,” Sarah explains, clearly tired of the monotonous way companies choose to market their chocolate.

Despite her love of food, Sarah never imagined becoming a chocolatier. The youngest of five children, she grew up in Springfield, Missouri. She attended Beloit College in Wisconsin for two years before moving to Eugene in 1986, where she received both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in English from the University of Oregon. She landed a teaching job at Eastern Michigan University and moved to Ypsilanti, Michigan, but returned to Portland in 1994.

She got a job at Papa Haydn restaurant and loved it.

“I come from a very academic family—everyone had gone to college—and working in the food industry was not viewed as a ‘real’ job,” Sarah explains.

Nevertheless, she went on to work at L’Auberge Restaurant. But the idea to open a chocolate shop wouldn’t leave Sarah alone.

“I listened to this voice inside asserting itself. It was like a string that was dangling in front of me, and I started pulling, and it kept going, doors kept opening.”

Instead of enrolling in a culinary school she opted to have a seasoned chocolatier, Ian Titteron, teach her everything he knew abut chocolate in the comfort of her own home. After many tests and experiments, Sarah began selling her chocolates at the Portland Farmer’s Market.

She opened Alma Chocolates in 2006. Since then, Sarah has taken her business online and opened two mini locations at the Cork Wine Shops in Northeast and Northwest Portland. She also continues to sell her treats at the Portland Farmer’s Market.

Although juggling her personal life and her business has been one of the biggest challenges, Sarah finds the time and resources to constantly stretch her skills as a chocolatier. This past year she traveled to France and took a bonbon-making class.

Sarah acknowledges the passion that drives her work ethic.

“I have always just loved that food is both creative and nurturing. It brings people together and creates community…it can be done with great love. I feel like we have a good reputation, and I want to keep pushing for that.”

Indeed, it’s a reputation worthy of Grandma Alma’s gilded legacy.

_____

Visit Alma Chocolate online at almachocolate.com or in person at 140 NE 28th Ave., Portland, Oregon, 503-517-0262.

Olivia lives in SE Portland and is working on her BA in Journalism and Theology at Multnomah University. She loves reading restaurant reviews, traveling, Frank Sinatra and Stumptown coffee.

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Defining Love for The One I Love

By Frederick G. Rodgers
The Portland Upside
March 2010

Watercolor by Joyce Lovro Gabriel

You have often said that the definition
of love is not to be found in any dictionary.
At last, I have found myself in total agreement
with you on that. It happens rarely, but you and
I recognize it instantly when it does.

Making the effort to define this in private and
in public word, it flies out of that cage of words
like a canary, dandelion-colored, seeing that
the door was again left open. You are correct:
love for another , if genuine, always defines--
-- or redefines itself like a clove-colored wren
abruptly chirping on a twig over to our right.


_____

Frederick has for a decade been retired from teaching English at all levels in the Portland area. His poetry has appeared in Portland Review, West Coast Review, Alchemy and Mentor.

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“Mooon”

By Jillian Starr
The Portland Upside
March 2010


Photo by Marlene Andrejco

“Moon.”
Your dad’s finger points into the dark sky, teaching a name.
You echo it back, maybe an extra “o” or two.
“Mooon.”

Morning whispers you awake, and over breakfast
(Skin smeared shiny with yogurt and banana)
You turn palms toward daylight and ask,
“Mooon?”
Your new word moves me to memory
Margaritas beneath a warm Chicago crescent, just before the plus sign
A bursting and anxious moon, nine months full
Blurry moons of sleepless nights, of breastfeeding and bottles
Moons that lulled us both into the luxury of sleep.

I dab your chin with a bib and explain simply
about daytime, nighttime, the sun, the stars.
You smile. Maybe even understand.
Then you outstretch your arms and joyfully wonder, “Mooon?”
And your word floats up like love floats
All those perfect o’s, like eggs in an ovary
spilling into daydreamed moons of tomorrows
Wide-eyed Christmas eves
Giggling little girl sleepovers
Fevers that fold you into my arms
Late night talks, heartbreak with ice cream
These precious movements of life held permanent in our forever
Mooon.

_____

Jillian Starr writes screenplays, poetry and short stories and co-produces Time Out: The Mother of All Comedies. You can find out more about her at jillianstarr.com


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Rediscovering adventure

By Eleanor Wolf
The Portland Upside
March 2010

Eleanor Wolf dusts off her wagon in preparation for a day of adventure around Portland with her friends and fellow members of The Big Kids Club.

One typical rainy day in Portland, five of my friends and I got together to catch up on one another’s lives. It was too cold and windy to go out, so we decided to stay inside, perhaps to watch an old movie. Getting up to click on the TV after our tea and cookies, I suddenly heard myself ask, “What the heck are we doing?”

Dorothy, the most outspoken of us, looked up.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean we could be doing so much more with our lives than just sitting here complaining and wasting time.”

Now that I’d gotten everyone’s attention, I continued.

“What if we started our own club?”

Everyone’s eyes widened and after a moment of silence, Janette chimed, “Yeah…we could call it the Big Kids Club…you know, for the kid in all of us!”

Then Arte, the intellectual, asked, “Does that mean we’ll all have to start acting crazy?”

For a moment we sat quietly, but I could practically hear the wheels turning.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Susan. “I could sure use some play time.”

“Hey, that’s it! We could have a weekly play date!” I chimed. “I’ll drag out my old Radio Flyer like I used to when I was a kid.”

“You mean you have one of those too?” Janette laughed. “I’ve been trying to think up an excuse to pull mine out of the basement. It seems so lonely down there.”

Well, that’s how it all started a year ago. Just five women over 30 wondering what to do with themselves on a rainy day. From that two-hour session we came up with a series of ideas that have snowballed into a regular series of adventures.

All that’s required in the club is to bring a journal and pen, a camera, and a sack lunch. We make up the rest as we go along. Membership is free. The only prerequisite is to be spontaneous.

We all have an inner child just waiting for a chance to go out and play. It doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg, either. A child has attributes that have long been forgotten in most of us. But if we think back, we realize that spontaneity and a sense of adventure are virtues worth rekindling.

For an idea of what our adventures are like, imagine a sunny day in Portland. We all wear our favorite color. Some of us go so far as to don a crazy hat. With our sack lunches and cameras, we pile into one car and then pick a direction. Our mission is to look for interesting places to stop. One of those places happens to be Washington Park and after our peanut butter sandwiches and fruit, we decide to take pictures.

“I’m going to write a poem,” says Janette. “What do you think I should call it?”

“It’s your poem,” I point out. “Why are you asking us?”

“Wait a minute,” Dorothy counters. “That’s a great idea. Let’s all write a poem together!”

So for the next twenty minutes, we each take turns adding a line.

Okay, so we didn’t win any poetry contests, but that isn’t the point. Our goal is to let go of our grown-up ideas for a day. A child doesn’t worry over semantics or politics or the price of eggs. A child can find interesting things to do with the least amount of stimulus. She is in awe of the world around her. She speaks up for herself. That’s what we’re attempting to recapture—the fluid, free-thinking, joyous sense of simply being alive!

After we’ve written our poem, we head south on McLoughlin Boulevard toward Oregon City. When we get to Gladstone, we stop at Cross Park.

“Look at what I found!” Janette calls. “Just what I’ve been looking for.”

Gathering around, we marvel at the smooth stone that has attracted her.

“Oh!” Dorothy coos. “I have to find one of those!”

Off she goes looking for the stone “with her name on it,” as she puts it. Like ducks pecking at the ground, we fan out and begin hunting down our special stones. In the process, we find an assortment of treasures, bits of plastic and glass that can be used in the collage we’ve decided we’ll create to commemorate our first fabulous day in the club.

To date, we’ve managed to write several children’s stories, create a photographic journal of our adventures, and honor the beauty so abundant in the Portland area. We alternate homes when the weather doesn’t cooperate. On those days we make cocoa and popcorn and watch children’s movies. We blow up balloons, dance to crazy music and sing our hearts out. We’ve even inspired others to start their own clubs and to share ideas for interesting adventures of their own.

Portland is a small town, but it has so many nooks and crannies. If you’d like to join our club or just come to get new ideas, we’re open to sharing in a big way. I’m certain we’ll never run out of places to explore, things to discover, people to meet. Simon says, Go ahead! Unleash the child in yourself!

_____

Eleanor Wolf writes a weekly column for The Coast Times. She is a passionate advocate of living with presence of mind. She has two grown children and a grandson, and lives with her husband in Milwaukie, Oregon.

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Horses used in therapy at new riding center

By Erika Weisensee
The Portland Upside
March 2010

Sycamore Lane Riding Center in Oregon City, Oregon, offers therapeutic horseback riding for a wide range of physical and mental conditions.

Dr. Suzanne Cleland-Zamudio is a surgeon, wife and mother of two teenaged sons. She works 50 to 60 hours a week, sometimes more. She is also writing a book about raising a son with autism. Suzanne has helped many people. Still, she felt something was missing and wanted to do more.

Two years ago after a vivid dream, Suzanne felt compelled to transform her family’s land into something meaningful for the community. She sat down with her husband Genaro and explained her idea.

“He said, ‘Let’s do it!’” she remembers.

So despite an already busy life, they cashed in their retirement and set out to build a nonprofit, state-of-the-art therapeutic riding center to serve children and adults with a wide range of physical and mental disabilities.

Located in Oregon City, Sycamore Lane Therapeutic Riding Center sits on five beautiful acres of land near the Clackamas River. The Cleland-Zamudios live on the property, which they share with 11 horses, several goats, and a cat named Oreo.

Suzanne grew up at Sycamore Lane, raising and training Welsh and Arabian cross ponies with her family. In 1999 after returning from Minnesota where she completed her medical residency, she purchased the farm from her mother and moved her own family to the land of her childhood.
When Suzanne and Genaro started their project in 2008, the property needed a lot of work. They began by demolishing the decrepit 100-year-old chicken house with the help of 50 or 60 friends.

“It was like Extreme Makeover, chicken house edition,” Suzanne says.

Within a few months, Suzanne’s dream was taking shape. First, she constructed a fireproof barn to house the center’s horses. The 120- by 60-foot covered arena came next, complete with a wheelchair ramp and harness to help lift wheelchair-bound riders to the horses. The property’s old “birthing barn” became the center’s new office and tack room. The facility was completed in July, 2009 and opened for lessons in August.

From the beginning, Suzanne was committed to “doing it right.” Sycamore Lane instructors are trained and certified by the North American Riding For the Handicapped Association (NARHA) and the facility is wheelchair/ADA compliant. The center also utilizes the services of two hippotherapists, one occupational therapist and one physical therapist.

Hippotherapy involves traditional physical, occupational or speech therapy in conjunction with the multi-dimensional movement of a horse.

But naturally, the ten therapy horses are the center’s stars. They are gentle animals, some with fascinating stories. Buster, for instance, rescued from Portland Meadows, came to Sycamore Lane with severe foot injuries. After careful attention from a veterinarian and a fitting with special shoes, he is now an excellent therapy horse. All the horses were carefully selected to adapt to many situations.

“They have to be okay with rattling hula hoops and other distractions,” Suzanne explains.

While therapeutic riding is more popular on the East Coast, its benefits are not as well known in the West, with only a few other therapeutic riding centers in the Northwest.

Therapeutic riding is believed to be an effective therapy for a variety of mental and physical conditions, including autism spectrum disorder, sensory integration and speech-language dysfunctions, traumatic brain injuries, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease. Patients receive treatment appropriate to their individual conditions and needs.

As Suzanne walks through her property, offering a tour of the arena, barn and tack room, she exudes passion and enthusiasm for her new calling.

“I wanted to serve a population that wasn’t getting served,” she says, “and I wanted to do it well.”

She is grateful to the dedicated volunteers who help make the center’s work possible and to the many people, including local contractors, who have donated funds, time, labor and materials.

“Starting up a nonprofit in the middle of a recession is not the easiest thing in the world,” she adds.

As a rider herself, Suzanne knows well the effect horses have on human emotion. When her son Antonio was diagnosed with autism, she saw the positive impact riding had for him. At the age of five and a half, Antonio made miraculous progress and was able to be mainstreamed in school. While Suzanne can’t explain her son’s transformation, she is eloquent about her desire to help other families experience breakthroughs for their children.

“We’ve already seen a few miracles happen here,” Suzanne says.

A couple of children have spoken their first words at the center. One of those children was atop his horse during a therapy session. He yelled, “Go!” to the surprise of his therapists and others in the arena who had never heard him speak before. Another child with a severe aversion to food ate his first solid food at the facility.

With about 18 riders—from children as young as three to middle-aged adults—Sycamore Lane is truly a place of inspiration and healing for everyone involved. And Suzanne has realized her dream to make a significant contribution to her community. Eventually she hopes to serve 40 to 60 riders per week.

____


For more information visit sycamorelane.org or call 503-593-7084.

Erika Weisensee is a Portland-area writer. She teaches journalism and communication courses at the University of Portland.

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Living from the heart: three stories of giving

Genny Nelson talks about the passion behind her life’s work as a human rights advocate

By Nikki Jardin
The Portland Upside
February 2010

After nearly 40 years of advocating for Portland’s homeless and underserved, Genny Nelson remains surprisingly hopeful and optimistic.

Genny Nelson, co-founder of Sisters of the Road, retired in December after 30 years of active involvement with the Old Town nonprofit. She leaves behind a Portland institution known for its work not just as a café but as an advocate and community organizer for thousands of people experiencing homelessness and poverty in the Portland area.

Genny arrived in Old Town nearly four decades ago, during a time when it was known as Skid Road because its inhabitants were primarily end-of-the-line alcoholics and drug addicts. It was while working graveyard shifts at the Everett Street Service Center, a 24-hour men’s shelter, that Genny found her community and the inspiration for her life’s work. All these years later, despite witnessing the setbacks of people on the streets, she remains surprisingly optimistic and hopeful. Her demeanor, far from naïve, is open and welcoming. While talking with her it becomes easier to believe that someday there will be a place for everyone at the table.

Portland Upside: What inspired you about the people you were meeting while working at the shelter?

Genny Nelson: Well, first off you have to remember that it was a different time in the late 60’s and early 70’s. It wasn’t Old Town Chinatown, it was pretty raw. At that time there was a lot going on down here both on the streets and politically. The Vietnam War was going on, so we had veterans but we also had conscientious objectors who were doing their Vietnam service down here. And these guys were truly community organizers. It was from them that I was taught that you don’t do for anyone what they can do for themselves.

I worked the swing and graveyard shifts at the Everett Street Service Center which meant we would keep the coffee on and always made sure we had a can of tobacco and papers around for the guys. You could smoke everywhere back then, remember, and we would just be available all night to talk and to listen. Guys would tell stories, share political views, discuss literature and poetry. I mean, this was a really very different time and it was a gift to get that level of education so I could understand the issues that were affecting people on the streets.

Upside: What were you coming to understand?

Genny: I was taken instantly by the commonality between myself and the people in the neighborhood based at the time on my health issues (Nelson was diagnosed with diabetes as a child). I developed a kinship with other people’s health issues and so my association was not just compassion. It truly felt like I was coming home when I came into this neighborhood. People invited me to be a part of their lives and to share our stories mutually. It was like being a part of an extended family.

Upside: What were some of the other influences that were at play during that time?

Genny: Okay, so there was the influence from the community organizers but there was also the Catholic Worker movement happening. I mean, Dorothy Day was still alive. I was reading all of her books and would read the newspaper when she was still writing for it. She became a mentor to me and I ended up starting a Catholic Worker house with this conviction that we should make room for people who have nowhere to go. I married one of those community organizers and adopted two children. In time, social workers began to know us, the police would drop people off and that was the life until the fall of 1978 when I divorced and needed to get back to work. As it turned out, a job had opened up at the shelter so I went back.

One of the things that we were noticing in the late 70’s was the growing number of women on the streets.

Upside: Why was that?

Genny: Again, you have to remember that at that time women in this country were finally beginning to have conversations, women’s liberation, right? A lot of these conversations were coming out of the privileged white community, but there were also poor women who were saying, “I don’t have to take this.” And when a woman needs to leave her home she is going to wind up where things are cheap. But it wasn’t easy down here. There was only one domestic violence shelter in Portland at that time. For a long, long time people thought that women just didn’t belong on Skid Road. But the reality was that they were here and there was no place for them to go. So I was experiencing that transition here in the community. I was influenced by the book Boxcar Bertha (a chronicle of homeless women, known as “sisters of the road,” during the depression) because I was seeing it on the streets here in my time. I knew the woman with the patch on the eye. I knew the women who lost their livelihoods when the men came home from the war. I knew all of these women who society spits out. They were all there on Skid Road right in front of me. So it was a convergence of phenomena that started Sisters of the Road, that assimilation of all those influences.

Upside: What inspired you to stay in the work for all of this time?

Genny: The stories I hear from people and the sense that all of this is bigger than me has fueled me. I mean, I believe this was a calling. Who finds their soul work at 20 years old? But I’ve always emphasized that it had nothing to do with me. I never could have stayed intact if I thought this was about me. Those community organizers I learned from gave me a gift and that was to look at the issues of social justice and human rights through the eyes of a community organizer. That meant I was not going to try to help people. Did they need an ally? You bet, but I wasn’t going to pretend that I knew what the issues were. They would have to tell me what the issues were.

Upside: It sounds like you’re not really done working.

Genny: I never will be. If anything is clear in this process of letting go it’s that I am just as passionate and committed to human rights as I was back in the day. I don’t think it will go away because the work of social justice won’t go away. We need to make better choices as a society. And that’s the work, but when you hold the big vision you have to be patient and you need to have a sense of humor. I talk to people and I build relationship with them. People are not their addiction or their homelessness or their poverty. They are people. Statistics won’t tell you a damn thing. It’s the relationships that will always tell you the truth. Sisters was never social work and I still say that someday it’s just going to be the best damn coffee shop in town, but it will take all of us working together to change that. And you make change by building relationship with people. And when you build relationship you fall in love, and people do not become statistics when you fall in love with them.

_____

To find out more about Sisters of the Road, visit them online at http://sistersoftheroad.org or their coffee house at 133 NW Sixth Avenue, Portland, Oregon, or contact them at 503-222-5694.

Nikki Jardin has written for The Oregonian, Street Roots and the recently launched id Magazine. She lives in Southeast Portland and is continually impressed and inspired by the creativity and gumption of her neighbors and friends.

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Helping the homeless is Mary Downer’s mission

By Barbara Sherman
The Regal Courier
February 2010

Photo by Barbara Sherman

In the spirit of paying it forward, Mary Downer spends her weekends visiting with the homeless and handing out socks, hats and mittens.

Homeless people have a friend in Mary Downer, who works by day as a dental assistant at Apple Tree Dentistry in King City and on weekends as a one-person rolling soup kitchen under bridges in Portland.

She can be found most weekends on the streets of downtown Portland, handing out hot beverages to homeless people to brighten their day and to let them know that someone cares about them.

This is a rather unusual way for a young person to spend her days off, but Downer, who graduated from high school in 2003, is on a mission to make a difference in people’s lives.
Downer, a Tigard resident, has been the beneficiary of other people’s goodwill when she needed it, and she wants to return the favor. She started cleaning the office of Dr. Toivo Sepp in 2002 while still in high school and started working in his Apple Tree Dentistry office two days after she graduated.

She got her state certificate to be a dental assistant in 2005, and two years after that, a life-changing event happened to her.

Downer was in the Tualatin Fred Meyer parking lot and noticed an elderly woman sitting in a car, but her purse and keys were on the pavement outside the vehicle.

“It was two weeks before Christmas, and people were walking by and not paying any attention,” Downer said. “My antenna went up. I knocked on the door and handed her the purse and keys and asked if she was OK.”

When the woman replied in the affirmative, Downer went into the store and told an employee about it. She learned later that the employee had done nothing about it, and when Downer went back outside, she got into the car with the woman.

“I had her try to put her gloves on, and she couldn’t,” Downer said. “She didn’t know her name.”
Downer got the woman’s cell phone and called the last number on it, which turned out to be the woman’s son.

An ambulance was called to take the woman to a hospital, and her granddaughters came and took charge of her belongings. The 86-year-old woman had had multiple strokes.

When Downer called the hospital the next day to check on the woman; her family was with her and passed the phone around so they could all thank the Good Samaritan.

After the woman recovered, she took Downer out to lunch and gave her a $500 Fred Meyer gift certificate.

Instead of thinking how she could spend it on herself, Downer immediately thought of how many people she could help with that money.

“I was excited,” she said. “I knew I could buy things I needed to help the homeless. I went to the store and bought two carafes, packages of hot chocolate and Cup Noodles, Styrofoam cups, socks, hats and gloves.”

Downer said that she did it because she feels an affinity with the homeless.

“They’re someone’s child,” she said. “They’re not all there because they did something wrong.”

Packing a rolling suitcase with the carafes filled with hot water and packets of chocolate and soup, Downer hit the streets to hand out hot drinks and offer some cheer to the homeless people she encountered.

“I’ve never had a problem relating to the homeless,” she said. “I counsel with them. They just need someone to listen. No matter why they’re down there, they’re all human beings. I walk around Pioneer Square and under the Hawthorne Bridge—that’s a pretty good hot spot—and the Burnside Bridge.”

Downer said that she doesn’t get into dangerous situations.

“I’m smart and safe about it,” she said. “I don’t go down dark alleys. I text a friend where I’m going. I don’t bring a wallet—just ID. I never go after dark. Just because I’m doing something good doesn’t mean I’m invincible.”

Downer heads downtown one or both days of the weekends, noting Nov. 12, “Last Saturday was very wet and cold, but I had a home to go back to and they didn’t. That’s why I’m starting to collect socks. Even the people who get into shelters at night need warm, dry socks.

“How do you get a job when you’re wearing dirty clothes? A friend gave me some men’s sweaters, and I passed them out. I remember seeing one man wearing socks and sandals, and they were soaking wet.”

Downer went through her $500 windfall a long time ago, and now she spends part of her salary on food and clothing for the homeless. A friend with a Costco card takes her shopping there, where she recently spent $40 stocking up on items.

On Thanksgiving a year ago, Downer gave away blankets along with 100 muffins that she made.

“So many of these people have lost hope,” she said. “If you’ve had hot chocolate in your past, you were probably a kid and cozy after playing in the snow. Sipping hot chocolate was a happy moment in your life.

“During the 10 minutes that they’re sipping hot chocolate, they’re drinking it in a happy place.”
Downer said that when people ask her why she does this, she tells them the story of the woman she helped

“I say, ‘Because I care about you. You’re human. You’re important.’ Some people are at first hesitant to take hot chocolate or soup from me, so I look them in the eye and say, ‘What’s your name?’ They answer and stand up taller. I feel respect from them.

“Sometimes I have 10 or 15 people waiting for me to hand them a cup. I will give them jobs, like stirring the powder in the water. One time on Christmas morning, I asked, ‘Who has a good joke?’”

Downer not only keeps herself safe, but she doesn’t take any guff from people.

“I don’t put up with anything,” she said. “I’ve had to tell people I won’t come back. It’s funny—a young girl standing up to these old men. Most are kind and courteous and grateful. Life has handed them a bucket of lemons.”

People help Downer’s mission by dropping off small items like socks, hats and gloves at Dr. Sepp’s office, and she distributes them to needy people.

“I put the socks in zip-lock bags,” she said. “I tell the people when they get to the shelter to hang the wet socks they wore during the day on something to dry overnight and put the dry ones on to sleep in. I know it makes a difference.”

Downer sees people with mental illness and other serious issues that she can’t resolve for them and admits, “Some of it is very heartbreaking, but the outcome is worth it. Even if you can’t help someone, you can offer a helping hand. We can encourage each other, and it will make the world turn better.”

______

Mary Downer can be reached at blissfull23@hotmail.com or at Appletree Dentistry, 16035 SW Pacific Hwy, Tigard, OR, 503-620-2185.

This article originally published November 25, 2009 in The Regal Courier as “Helping the homeless is her mission.” We thank The Regal Courier for their permission to reprint this article.

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Alexa Levin volunteers to be puppy’s first teacher in the Guide Dogs for the Blind program

By Holly Shumway
The Portland Upside
February 2010

Photo by Jessica Levin

For the next 18 months, Alexa is responsible for teaching Delphine basic skills in the puppy’s journey through the Guide Dogs for the Blind program.

Fifteen-year-old Alexa Levin is well aware that her student, Delphine, might just steal her heart. A ten-week-old Labrador retriever, Delphine is in her first stages of training for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Program. Alexa, her “puppy raiser,” is in charge of helping Delphine meet the initial training goals.

Several months before Delphine’s arrival, Alexa and her mother, Jessica, joined a local group affiliated with Guide Dogs for the Blind, whose main campuses are in Boring, Oregon, and San Raphael, California. There are eight different groups in the Portland metropolitan area, throughout Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties. Within these groups, there are approximately 120 active puppy raisers.

Jessica happened across the volunteer opportunity and knew that Alexa was a perfect fit.

“Alexa is a natural with dogs. Even as a little girl, Alexa would spend long stretches of time with our family dog, Payton,” says Jessica. “She would crawl under the dinner table, a favorite spot Payton occupied, and curl up beside him, putting her head on his abdomen. The two of them would stay like that for long stretches of time.”

Unfortunately, the Levin family had to put Payton down several years ago due to medical complications.

“It was really hard for my family. We really missed him for a long time,” Alexa shares.
Over the years, Alexa searched for opportunities to interact with dogs. She pet sat for neighbors, knowing she would eventually like to be responsible for her own dog again.

“Dogs just lift up your spirits. When my mom told me about the chance to raise a puppy for the Guide Dog Program, I knew it was what I was looking for.”

On her path to becoming a puppy raiser Alexa attended weekly meetings to learn Guide Dog for the Blind training tips and techniques. She learned grooming and puppy care to prepare her for the anticipated arrival of her trainee. She also worked with other puppies in the group to gain the skills necessary for her own puppy.

“The group offers on-going mentoring and support as well as practice for new puppy raisers. One thing the group does really well is teach raisers how to help their puppies avoid distractions.”

The puppies are exposed to distractions such as other pets and “career change dogs,” those dogs that did not meet the full requirements for the program, but who join the training sessions to try to steer the puppies off course. The trainers spend their time redirecting the puppies by using specific training principles that include proper tone of voice, leash and collar correction, and continuous praise for positive behavior.

Alexa received Delphine the week before Christmas.

“I found out that I would receive my own puppy a few weeks before her arrival. I counted down the days until she arrived. It was hard waiting for her. I was really excited!”

It is now Alexa’s responsibility to teach Delphine good house manners, basic obedience, and how to behave in social situations. Delphine will not receive her green jacket—the official announcement to the world that she is a Guide Dog in Training—until she grows into it. While at the moment Alexa carries a card identifying Delphine as a guide dog puppy in training, the jacket will enable the young dog to accompany Alexa to social events and to school.

Delphine’s readiness will be apparent in two ways.

First, she will need to grow in size to fit the jacket tailored for six-month-old puppies. Second, she will need to grow into her abilities as a trained puppy, which will depend on Alexa’s dedication and persistence

Alexa is experiencing first hand the awesome responsibility she has undertaken to help Delphine meet her goals.

“The first few weeks involved lots of middle of the night bathroom trips, but just this week, she made it all the way through the night. My mom, acting as my guardian, is part of the training. Mom does the training while I am at school. That helps quite a bit.”

Delphine will stay with Alexa for a period of 12 to 18 months. After that Delphine will return to one of the main campuses for pattern training, during which she will navigate and master the ten stages of guide dog training. Alexa will not be able to see her puppy during this phase of training but she will be invited to the graduation ceremony to hand over Delphine’s leash to the new owner.

Pulling Delphine closer Alexa says, “It will be difficult to say goodbye to Delphine when the time comes. I know she will be going into the program to help someone. Knowing this will make it easier. If it was just to say goodbye without knowing this, well, that would be a lot harder.”

_____

To find out more about becoming a puppy raiser for Guide Dogs for the Blind, go to http://guidedogs.com or call 800-295-4050.

Holly is balancing motherhood with graduate school but enjoys sharing the eventful stories community members carry.

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From the editors

Rob & Sara Bednark
The Portland Upside
February, 2010

Why did we start this paper?

Although we are often asked this question, the answer never comes easily or simply.

The short answer is that we choose to create a paper that we want to read; one that we find uplifting without being preachy or gushy; a place where we don’t have to sift through depressing headlines and stories to find the positive stuff; a reminder that people right here are doing things every day to uplift our local communities.

Another answer is that neither of us is working, we need an income and a purpose, and we want to do something meaningful. The idea of a positive newspaper feels like a worthwhile endeavor.

Producing each issue is time-consuming, frustrating, and often fills us with worry and anxiety. It pushes us well outside our comfort zones. But when we give each issue one last read-through before sending it off to the printing press, our effort is rewarded as our hearts are again touched by the stories.

We do it for the people in the Upside who remind us that goodness thrives in Portland.

We do it for the organizations that represent some of the best community-oriented ideas in the country.

We do it for the writers who volunteer their talent to write articles and poems that inspire and captivate our hearts.

We do it for the volunteers who distribute the Upside because they believe in the spirit of positive news.

We do it for the strangers who tell us how happy they are to see a positive paper like the Upside.
Regardless of our reasons for starting it, we hope you enjoy reading the Upside as much as we do.

Sara & Rob

_____


All issues can be viewed on our website, http://PortlandUpside.com Contact us by email, editors@PortlandUpside.com, or by phone, 503-663-1526.

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You, too, can be a member of Portland’s growing Upside!

Do-it-yourself membership gift. Cut out and duct tape to bumper, glue to mug, tape to window or pin on shirt.

Do you value the positive news that The Portland Upside reports and want to add to its growth?

Show your support:
sponsor an issue,
advertise your business, organization or event,
or donate.

Go to PortlandUpside.com to donate or view advertising rates or contact Sara & Rob about sponsorship and for more info.

503-663-1526 10013 SE Eastmont Dr
editors@portlandUpside.com Damascus, OR 97089

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What people are saying about The Portland Upside

The Portland Upside
February 2010

“There are so many great things going on in our community and I’m so glad there’s someone out there taking notice.”

“A Facebook friend was complaining that he needed a break from the news since it was too depressing and another friend posted your website. Good!”

“I would like to help out with The Portland Upside. I think this is a great idea that is a long time coming. Congrats on making this happen!”

_____

Send your comments to editors@portlandupside.com
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Love of food brings Portlanders, farmers together

Local organizer creates an opportunity for Portland eaters to connect with the farmers who feed them

By Cathy McQueeney
The Portland Upside
February 2010

Michele Knaus coordinates the InFARMation (and Beer!) monthly gatherings to educate and build relationships between family farmers and the urban consumers of Portland.

Kelly Reese and Stephanie Turner are tightly wedged at a long table in the crowded community room of Roots Organic Brewery. They’re astonished at the number of people who have shown up for tonight’s monthly InFARMation (and Beer!) event hosted by Friends of Family Farmers. A diverse group is enjoying food and beverages while talking animatedly. Many gather at tables set up by Slow Food and The Oregon State Grange.

Permaculture design students, Kelly and Stephanie study with Toby Hemenway, author of Gaia’s Garden. They have come tonight to learn about agricultural rules and regulations in Oregon and how they impact socially-responsible family farmers. Tonight’s guest speaker is Anthony Boutard of Ayers Creek Organic Farm.

Like many people in the room this evening, Kelly and Stephanie are interested in local food production, sustainability and food security.

“We’re learning how to take back control of our food sources,” says Stephanie, a 50-year-old Portland resident who is slowly transforming her landscaped yard into a thriving food forest.
“I want to do whatever I can to preserve my right to buy healthy, local food, and protect the rights of family farmers to grow that food.”

Indeed, the increasingly popular InFARMation (and Beer!) has attracted more than 200 people this evening, bringing together Oregon family farmers, urban consumers and the community in general. The topics change each month but focus on the issues facing family farmers and the connection between food and farms in our state. Attendees represent a wide range of interests, from consumers, chefs and farmers’ market managers, to new farmers, established farmers and individuals exploring the idea of growing their own food.

Just over a year old, InFARMation is coordinated by Portland resident, Michele Knaus, a former chef and restaurant owner turned food advocate and educator. She is also a grassroots organizer for Friends of Family Farmers, an organization working to promote and protect socially-responsible agriculture in Oregon.

A lively woman with short auburn hair and an infectious grin, Michele is “obsessed with good food and alternative food systems.” She appreciates the bounty of healthy and sustainable choices available to her in Portland.

“But if we want a guarantee that you and I will be able to continue to buy the meat, poultry, dairy and produce that has been raised to our standards by farmers with the same values that we have, we have to get involved with policy now,” she warns the gathered audience.

“Folks who live in urban areas are stakeholders in our state’s agriculture laws and policies, and we need to educate ourselves on what needs to happen to keep family farming viable now, ten years from now, and fifty years from now. When people talk about food issues, we want them to talk about food and farm issues.”

Michele developed an interest in local food and sustainability as a young chef in New Mexico, where she trained with Lynn Walters at the Natural Café. Walters exposed her to the concept of “farm to table” or buying directly from farmers. Michele next moved east to Nashville, Tennessee, where she opened Grins, a café on the Vanderbilt University campus featuring seasonal and local foods. She moved to Portland in 2006 and taught culinary classes at In Good Taste cooking school while earning a Master of Education degree at Portland State University, where she focused on Food System Sustainability.

After completing her degree, Michele joined Friends of Family Farmers, a nonprofit organization founded in 2005 which advocates for socially-responsible agriculture in Oregon. One of her first projects with Friends of Family Farmers was to develop a monthly event that would bring the sustainable farming community and the urban consumers of Portland together for meaningful dialogue. Thus InFARMation (and Beer!) was born.

It’s hard to get near Michele after the speaker has finished his question-and-answer session. She knows many of the people here and everyone wants a chance to chat with her and to express their enthusiasm for the evening’s meeting. Membership in Friends of Family Farmers is swelling, in part from successful get-togethers like this one.

I recognize firsthand that many new relationships are being forged as people mingle and talk about the ideas discussed tonight.

I’ve connected with Kyle Curtis, manager of the Montavilla Farmer’s Market. He would like to feature some of the produce from our small family farm. I also extend invitations to the permaculture students to come and visit. I hope to learn something from them as well as to share my own experience as a fairly new biointensive farmer. They are shocked at what they’ve learned tonight regarding the level of regulation under which small farmers have to operate and are surprised that so many things they’d thought “natural” or “normal” in a small farming community are actually illegal.

Tonight I also talk to some more established farmers who have offered me their expertise on seed saving and raising sheep. I’ve also made a date to discuss cheese making with a woman who wants to begin home-crafting her own goat cheeses.

Michele has been very happy with the response to Portland’s InFARMations.

“Many people understand ‘Eat local.’ But the next level to learn about is what all it takes to make that even possible. When it comes down to convenience versus conviction, having met the farmer and heard his or her story helps to push you more toward conviction. Bringing the farmers here and bringing the issues in from a different angle has been really helpful in putting a face on the issues. It also helps people connect with others in the community doing food-system related work.

“At almost every InFARMation I’ll see a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) urban farmer from the area talking to a farmer in overalls who drove two hours to get here. I’ll also see young urban people listening, taking it all in, and getting fired up. I get really excited seeing those connections made and light bulbs going off.”

Besides organizing InFARMation (and Beer!), Michele also coordinates the iFarm Oregon database which brings together retiring farmers and farm mentors with new or aspiring farmers. The database screens farm land for sale or lease, work experiences and investment opportunities and matches them to interested parties in order to best meet the needs and interests of a growing number of participants in Oregon and beyond.

_____

More information about InFARMation (and Beer!) and iFarm Oregon can be found on the Friends of Family Farmers website at http://friendsoffamilyfarmers.org Michele will happily connect with anyone who would like to contact her at Michele@friendsoffamilyfarmers.org

InFARMation (and Beer!) gatherings are the second Tuesday of every month at Roots Organic Brewery’s event space at 1530 SE 7th Ave., Portland, OR from 5:30-8:30 p.m.

Cathy McQueeney owns Blue Flower Family Farm in the Willamette Valley where she raises Shetland sheep, a variety of chickens and fruits, vegetables and herbs using a sustainable, biointensive model. Contact her at cathymcq5@yahoo.com

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Artist champions importance of art at any age

By Rachael Lorenz
The Portland Upside
February 2010

Janet Louvau Holt will be exhibiting her artwork to benefit The Geezer Gallery’s art therapy and instructional programs for seniors.

“You don’t have to give up just because you have a different number after your name,” says Janet Louvau Holt, one of the many accomplished senior artists on The Geezer Gallery roster for shows in the near future.

The Geezer Gallery envisions a future where each and every senior can create and experience joy through the arts, a future where becoming an elder is a process of positive change and new possibilities.

Janet’s words encourage senior citizens of the greater Portland area who will be given the opportunity to experience this exciting new way of growing old through art.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity,” she adds, knowing that part of the proceeds from the sale of her paintings will go to fund The Geezer Gallery’s art therapy and instructional programs.

Janet will also exhibit her work at the Grand Works Northwest Art Festival scheduled for May 22, 2010.The festival is a benefit to raise funds for Elders in Action’s Personal Advocate Program and The Geezer Gallery.

“It’s hard to know what one’s legacy is. I teach workshops every now and then and I taught in a retirement facility as a volunteer for eight years and that was very moving. I’ll never forget this one woman who had been injured by a bus. She told me that when she was in art class she never felt any pain. I like to think that art helps people get out from themselves.”

Janet made her first painting at twelve years old. She has painted ever since, only taking time out while raising her family as sole breadwinner.

“I thought I would explode,” she says of that time.

Janet loves to draw and keep sketchbooks in which she tries to add at least one sketch per day. She starts her day doing the crossword puzzle, then sets to work in her studio, comfortably located on the lower level of her lovely home.

“I work at something every day. I don’t wait for a lightning bolt of inspiration. It’s my job.

“I don’t work from photos. Doing a drawing puts the image into the mental computer so you can pull it out without looking at the sketch. And if I like it, I turn it into something that becomes a series. It’s important to work in a series because it shows that you really care about the subject.”

When asked if she has advice for budding artists, Janet replies, “Draw, draw, draw. If you have an assignment to do a painting you have two choices. You can do a painting that reflects a day when everything is going your way or a day that isn’t so good. What colors would you choose? What subject? Would you put your fingers right in the paint and scratch down with your fingernails? I like to get them to think for themselves.”

Janet has taught a number of art classes. She says there are always students who were told back in their elementary school days that they didn’t have talent because they didn’t stay within the lines.

“We’re not all Michelangelo, but we can all do something. Use your imagination. You have talent. Your job is to figure out what it is; music, science, literature, painting, sports, whatever. Take the time to investigate and find out what your special talent is, because you have it.”

When it comes to a vision for her work, Janet is clear.

“As I’m working I always like to think about how art reflects the times of the artist as well as the interest. So, when I think about our times, they’re busy, they’re fragmented, they’re loud. But there are also those lovely quiet times with family members, friends, loved ones that have an influence on the look of things. So I don’t want my work to all look the same. I love to experiment. And I expect to keep on doing that.”

Janet’s paintings speak of nature and the beauty that surrounds us. Her use of color is extraordinarily moving. Brightly colored shapes jump from her canvases—trees, flowers, clouds and sun. In other paintings the colors are muted, speaking of beauty even when it’s dark, encouraging us to open our eyes and let it inside.

Janet’s work, one piece of which is featured in The Portland Art Museum’s permanent collection, holds wisdom for all ages, genders, and races.

“It’s very important, not just for artists, to actually go and look at art in galleries and museums. It’s part of our heritage and culture and also when we look at the art of other cultures we can see that we’re all in this together and celebrate the similarities and the differences.”

In March, Janet will open her home for an all-day exhibition of her work. Fifty percent of the sale of woodcuts, monotypes, acrylics and collages will go toward funding The Geezer Gallery.

_____

To see more of Janet Louvau Holt’s work visit http://janetlouvauholt.com Information about The Geezer Gallery can be found at http://geezergallery.com

Rachael Lorenz is currently working on publishing a children’s book and workbook, “Madeline’s Art Studio . . . Sienna Learns To Paint.” The proceeds from this book will go toward funding The Geezer Gallery. Contact Rachael at 503-913-9255 or Rachael@geezergallery.com

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Oft’ in life we haven’t clear direction

By Charles Walsh
The Portland Upside
February 2010

Photo by Arnetta Guion

Oft’ in life we haven’t clear direction
And thinking can deprive us of connection
With our own happy intuition’s source,
Obscuring the simplest obvious course.
But when we commit to know our true desire
And make the choice that sets our hearts afire,
Life must follow our charms with all it’s zest
For we’ve become the part which all love best.
We know this well but when we would control
We drain the life of what’s inspired our soul;
Dither not with dread practicality,
Step forth alive without conditions, free.
Despite all schemes that we’ve been dreaming of,
What more have we to offer but our Love?

_____

Charles Walsh is a wine lover, hiker/climber and poet. A Portland native, Charles was raised and educated here, though most of his professional life was spent in projects across the United States and Europe.

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The blooms

By Andi Yates
The Portland Upside
February 2010

Photo by Sitta Cole

The blooms

Drop

And love stops

growing

When there are toomanyroots in a small container.

(capture) love - [cage it] and love will faint in the
breathless air, grow brittle and crumble to an empty dust
that falls away, lost…. Forgotten in its own network of
entwining

Beginnings

and

Endings

Better to cradle love on a woven frame of no preconceived
boundaries. Let it send its new shoots to the warmth of the
sun and new roots to places unseen. Watch it slip through
the weave of its holder and mold a cover so complete
yet…….

Free to express and to move as it must to flourish to bloom

And bloom again…………………

<an attempted tribute to ee cummings>

_____

Andi was born in Louisville, KY, and migrated to Oregon in 1974. She found her poetic voice at 17 and has been writing lyrics, poems and short stories ever since.

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Heart Song

Faye Powell
The Portland Upside
February 2010

Photo by Faye Powell

There is a language of the heart,
Bequeathed to us with our very first breath,
Breathed into us with our very first cry,
Possessed by us through a mother’s kiss
and a father’s smile.

There is a language of the heart
Soft as a breeze against our cheek,
Gentle, quiet as a baby’s dream,
That knows no chains of hate or fear.

Light as cherry blossoms on an April morn,
Sweet as a lover’s sigh just before dawn,
Our native tongue, our first heart song,
Leads us back to our own true home.

_____

Faye Powell is a retired librarian who writes fiction, nonfiction and, occasionally, poetry. She can be reached at phaysee1@gmail.com

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Sharing is in style at SE Portland Tool Library

Community comes together to share tools, knowledge and reduce waste

By Jeff Horne
The Portland Upside
February 2010

Volunteers work on getting the SE Portland Tool Library ready while having some fun in the process. Left to right: Cedar, Charles Reid, Chris New (kneeling), Aaron Tarfman, Ginny Benware

I moved to Southeast Portland from Los Angeles about two years ago. When I initially heard about Portland’s tool libraries—mystical places where members of the community can borrow home and garden tools free of charge—I thought, “Wow, Portlanders are crazy!” And I wondered if it actually works.

In fact, the tool libraries in North and Northeast Portland are wildly successful. The library in Northeast Portland (NEPTL), for example, has up to 200 visitors a day during the summer months. Over 85 percent of the tools are donated, with such an abundance of gifts that NEPTL has generously re-gifted over 200 tools to help get a new library started in Southeast Portland.

Steve Couche, a Reed neighborhood resident, is leading the recent Southeast effort. He got the ball rolling by finding a space, securing some grant money and holding a meeting in early December. When neighbors heard about the effort to bring a tool library to Southeast, many went to the meeting and got on board. We have already secured an additional grant from the Rebuilding Center, created a website and Facebook page, and started other outreach efforts. We’re now getting ready to renovate the space.

Why has Steve gone to all this trouble?

“The tool library will help solidify neighborhood cohesiveness by being a gathering place for neighbors to borrow tools that other neighbors donated to the library. Workshops will empower people to make lifestyle changes to more sustainable practices like seed saving and rain barrel construction. And it will save us all money,” he says with a smile.

Sounds good to me!

How often do you purchase a specialized tool that you use only once and then, if you’re lucky, use again ten years down the road? Having every person each purchase their own set of tools is a tremendous waste, in a time of diminishing natural resources. Does it make sense for me and every one of my neighbors to own an 18-foot ladder, tree pruners, and post diggers when there’s almost no chance that we’ll all be using these tools at the same time? Why not share? Isn’t that one of the fundamental lessons we’re taught as kids? Why did we forget?

“Don’t people steal the tools?” you wonder. I asked the same thing. Apparently they do not. Tom Thompson of NEPTL says they’ve lost about a dozen tools of the 4,000 loaner tools they’ve handed out. Sounds like a pretty good ratio to me.

That’s what the tool library is all about. It’s a lesson in sharing and community which offers neighbors the chance to say, “Hey, I really need this tool, but once I’m done with it, it’s going to sit in my garage and gather dust. I’m going to give it to the tool library. While I’m there, I might pick up a pipe wrench and some pliers for a plumbing project I have.”

The Southeast Tool Library is an all-volunteer effort, which means the people involved want to create a new way of doing business in their community. Neighbors with spare tools donate inventory. Neighbors with free time help keep the library running smoothly. Neighbors with neither money nor time get a little relief by being able to borrow tools they’d otherwise have to buy.

Having free tools to borrow can also help beautify and maintain our neighborhoods by allowing folks access to tools they may not want to buy. Rather than ignoring much needed gutter repair or gardening work, they get the tools they need to get the job done. The library also plans to host workshops to empower do-it-yourself folks by connecting them with knowledgeable neighbors. Classes will emphasize sustainable projects and practices.

When’s the Southeast Tool Library coming? We’re getting closer to opening every day, with the estimated opening slated for May 2010. We will be housed at the St. David of Wales Episcopal Church, located at 2800 SE Harrison.

_____

Want to know more or get involved? Visit us online at our new website: http://septl.org Or contact Steve Couche at 503-232-0699 or steveco1948@comcast.net

Jeff Horne is a Southeast Portland resident, environmentalist, yogi, gardener and food security advocate. He’s a board member of the Richmond Neighborhood Association where he is a co-chair of the Sustainability Committee. He is also co-founder of the Crappy Chess Players Club. Contact Jeff at mailjeffh@yahoo.com

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