Field Report

Okay, so I’ve been pretty heavy on the Portland thing for a while now. I know it. I might as well admit I’m going to move there. The thing is, for the last nine months, every time I go to visit Portland, I get all loaded up on new ideas, sweet friends, and freedom. Whenever I’m in Portland, I’m away from all the responsibilities of my Olympia life. I see Portland with clear eyes, unencumbered by the gravity of raising 23 children. School got out yesterday. Just as I left it started to rain lightly. I walked out the door with a 3rd grader, and she said, “mmm, I love the smell of rain. It makes the dirt smell good.” I drove away, and the weight began lifting. By the time I got out of my car, the thought flashed through my mind- “Hey, Olympia’s pretty great. Why would I want to leave this?”
We built a campfire tonight, and I came home with clothes smelling deliciously like smoke. I spent the last half hour hunting down the sneaky moon, only to find that the moon does not photograph well. There is no way to capture the intensity of a yellow moon rising on a summer night.

As I was leaving Portland last night, a huge storm was brewing. The sky was split into quadrants- In one corner, puffy, deep monochromatic grey and white clouds billowed seductively. in another corner, broiling, massive yellowy clouds performed some sort of death dance. Off in the distance an ocean-like bank of deep black clouds was rolling in right on top of clear blue sky. Then, stunningly, the eerie light illuminated a glorious rainbow. It was hovering in the air, a perfect half circle, looming closer every second, trapping underneath it an electric yellow fog. Lightning coursed through the sky, restricted by the rainbow, unable to escape its spectrum. The thunder rolled in for long, timeless seconds. I was immobilized with awe. I had to pull over to the side of spooky, deserted Burnside and watch it all happen. It struck me almost as hard as if the lightning itself had hit me. Some electric omen. Some signal. Portland is where the action is.

3 days (minus 15 minutes) and counting…….
And not a minute too soon. June 21st, ladies and gentlemen, is the last day of the school year, the first day of summer, and the beginning of the Summer of Action. My brain and my hands are already gearing up for days and weeks on end of calculation, construction, and celebration. I am the mastermind of my own freedom, and I plan to do with it as much as I can.

Many, if not all of my plots include the Northwest Northwest Buddy System, a spread-out but close-knit network of schemers (yes, you are one of them) who may or may not be able to go to, say, France, but definitely spend some time in Washington or Oregon -together- doing a variety of activities including but not limited to doing art projects, barbequeing, swimming, looking for houses, discussing haircuts, and doing laundry.

exhibit A: NW NW Buddy System (we feel slightly jealous of everyone in France)

(Susan and Ariana, modelling their amazing new knickers)

I went to Portland again last weekend…. I guess it’s just what I do these days. I was there to register what it might be like to actually live there. Just to consider it. This is what registered:
1. The River- Living in a place where I can swim is very important to me. So we went to the Sandy river, which is a drive, but not too long of a drive, and we found some good spots to swim. The 3 dollar park has lots of weird things, like beer bottles and slushee containers and chips dumped into the sand, but also a big sandy island and spots to swim in the wide open river. It was fun to be there with the kids. They chased ants with rocks and I screamed in the cold water as the sun slowly set.
2. On Saturday night I sat in Ariana’s living room and did projects with Ariana and Mirah. We each did our own thing, talked through things, worked side by side. I was in deep peaceful heaven. Not that the conversations were particularly easy or cheerful, not that the projects were monumental- no, it was the simple fact that we were together, even in the struggle, even in the irritation. We were together. That is a pretty convincing argument to be in a place, to have your bests around you.
3. Sunday AM, riding the bus out to Gresham, I read a zine/book this guy wrote about substitute teaching, which I could totally relate to, and laughed to myself. Had brunch with parts of my family, then walked through the Chinese Garden with my dad and my sister. Amazing- It’s so nice to have my family closer to me. distance eliminated is distance eliminated, in more than one way.
4. Walking to town, walking by the water, walking down the bike path… I kept noticing that things were both so vivid and lush, as well as sort of filthy and loud. A city is a city- the trees are established, the jobs exist, and there are 100’s of thousands of other people directly around. This is both good and bad. They create beauty, they create waste.
I accomplished what I wanted by going to Portland- I spent the weekend there, just paying attention. Portland, registered.