Smells of the Pacific Northwest and other memorable geographic smells

My brother hooked me up with some music in college by The Young Fresh Fellows "Sounds of the Northwest." The introduction sounded like something from a filmstrip or an old tourist film--with tracks of seagulls, crashing waves and a ferry horn. I loved listening to this while in my Midwest exile, as it reminded me of home.

Today I was reminded of the smells of the Pacific Northwest as my olfactory nerves drifted me toward memories from the years of traversing the lands of the South Puget Sound. The landscaping material known as "beauty bark" sits in huge mounds in my rental complex waiting to be laid out. I smelled the stuff long before I saw it on a walk this morning. I thought of all the smells that I smelled here, different from all the odors of South Dakota and other places in the Midwest.

+ Tacoma Aroma (a distinct and pungent odor, maybe something like "Sex Panther" cologne)
+ A faint smell of the various evergreen trees combined with the dampness after a rain.
+ The air of the Salish Sea, a bountiful combination of sea life and brine--yet not quite as strong as the ocean.
+ The powerful spring blossoms of April and May.
+ Fresh scones from the Puyallup Fair.
+ Fish and clam chowder cooking at Ivar's.
+ The thin coolness of the Alpine air in the Cascades.
+ The powerful smell of hops coming from the many local breweries over the years. In my youth, it was Olympia and Rainier. Now it's Red Hook.

I could live without Tacoma Aroma (it's not as bad as it used to be in the 70's and 80's), but the bark, dampness and evergreen scent takes me to a better place.

I am also reminded of the smells of my Midwest exile:

+ The smell of hog processing at the John Morrell plant in Sioux Falls (aka "The Morrell Smell).
+ The smell of heat, corn and humidity all over East River South Dakota.
+ The smells of harvest time--processing hay, corn, soybeans, wheat and other grains--it almost inspired me to think of whole grain breads and a stew full of vegetables. That smell helped me find joy, exhilaration and relief for finally feeling a chill in the air after 6 months of heat.
+ Manure
+ The overwhelming smell of grasses that go absolutely crazy in the spring after laying dormant all winter.
+ The almost complete lack of odors (outside of manure) during a harsh winter.

The only time I enjoyed the smells of the Midwest was during the harvest time--about an 8-week period where I watched the hard work of people who help provide our food. People worried, celebrated and toiled with passion. I disliked the smells for the most part, and the harvest time almost made up for it. I appreciated those smells, but the smells of the Northwest can never be replaced.

The Hunter Chronicles (part 2)

I couldn't write anymore about Hunter today. The grief is exhausting. In place of writing a longer entry of The Hunter Chronicles, I sent a donation to the place where we adopted Hunter in Waukesha, Wisconsin. I sent the accompanying note with the donation (I also sent the above pictures):

Hunter was a 2-year old (almost 3) chocolate lab my wife and I adopted at HAWS in April 2000 (29th? 30th?). He was about the best birthday present I ever received. I had never had a dog in my home. He was the best dog I could ever imagine--great with everyone in our growing family. He loved rides in the car, walks, chasing a ball and cuddling. We had two daughters while we had Hunter--he loved them and tolerated them (very necessary).

We were his third owners, and my wife told him we would be his "forever family." All he ever wanted was to be with us. His health declined over the last 2 years, he lost about 30 pounds, and we put him down on Veterans Day (Nov. 11) after 12 1/2 years of life. We had a good day together to say goodbye. We took Hunter on some of his favorite nature walks, gave him some of his favorite treats, a trip to the beach on the Puget Sound, and a bath. He wasn't alone his last 72 hours of life. We have holes in our lives and hearts because he is gone.

I've dedicated a song to Hunter's memory in my own daily living, "What A Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong--I think of him all the time. If I knew what Hunter was thinking, the song seems to match his thoughts. I wanted to share a little bit of Hunter's story and offer a small donation because of the great experience we had at HAWS, and thank you for holding on to Hunter for us before he became part of our family. We are thankful for what you do.

The Hunter Chronicles (part 1)

The story of our life with Hunter began like this: my dear wife had been dropping hints during the first few years of our marriage that she wanted a dog. It wasn't going to happen during our time in seminary, but the hints became more frequent as we moved into a large parsonage in Wisconsin. There were times she walked into a dark, empty house with fear about what awaited her. With a dog, she wouldn't have to worry as much. When she called me upon entering our home while I was at work, I knew that she wasn't kidding around. Security is important.

I learned that getting a dog as a gift for my wife, either for a birthday, Christmas, or an anniversary wasn't going to fly--so I volunteered the idea of receiving a dog for my 30th birthday. Even though my dear wife wanted the dog, the dog would be mine. I don't recall how we decided to look for a Lab, but I think it had something to do with the size and temperament. I merely didn't want a yippy barking dog. Protection and security, but not dangerous to the household. We decided to go to the Waukesha County Humane Society to find our new family member, our first child, our training in team parenting. This was a new experience for me--my brothers and I never owned a dog in our childhood household--and I was a little bit afraid of dogs. I had German Shepherds and Dobermans in my neighborhoods as a child that terrified me. I also had relatives who owned dogs with temperaments not suited for children--a Poodle, a Chow, and some German Shepherds. I have memories of them growling behind closed doors near the bathroom, or nipping at me, or chasing after me in a yard, or savagely barking at me from behind a fence. For years I wanted nothing to do with dogs.

Hunter changed my attitude of dog fear rather quickly. One day I went to look at dogs on my own and found a dog that seemed interesting. Almost every dog in the Humane Society was barking or yipping or jumping up and down as I walked by. Cheyenne was a 5-year old female black lab. She wasn't barking in the cacophony of dog conversation, but she was active and excited to greet me in a playful way behind her cage. Cheyenne had been there awhile--I think I read somewhere that they keep dogs at that Humane Society for approximately two weeks (?) before they are euthanized. Cheyenne had been there for over a week. Her time seemed short. The Waukesha County Humane Society set up dog interviews for their prospective owners and had a few rooms to accommodate these interviews--an opportunity for owners to meet and interact with an animal. When my dear wife and I walked through the Human Society and saw Cheyenne again, we were both interested. We also notice one more dog who didn't bark. His name was Hunter, and he sat there, sitting down watching us walk by. He didn't jump, he didn't bark, he only looked at us. He was 2 years old--a beautiful Chocolate Lab. We thought we'd take a look at him as well.

Cheyenne came into the interview room first and was a nice dog, very playful and energetic. I can't say we were particularly drawn to her. Hunter came in the room next, gave us each a little bit of a sniff, curled up in a compact ball and laid down in between our chairs in the room. We knew Hunter was the dog for us. After a two day waiting period, Hunter joined our family on April 30, 2000. We bought him a few accessories--a large burgundy dog bed, a leash, a collar, some good food (Eukaneuba), and some chew toys. He was always sad to see us leave the house, and exceedingly excited to see us return from wherever life took us, almost singing every time we were reunited. We originally set up his bed in a spare room near our bedroom, but quickly learned that he wanted nothing to do with separation--he wanted to be as near to us as possible. We placed his bed near ours--sometimes that wasn't even good enough--on chilly evenings he would move his way from the drafty floor to inside our bed. He wanted to be by our side--a common theme for his behavior and how he became a part of the family.

As I remember the details of Hunter becoming part of the family, I remember another young man, about my age, carrying a dog and sobbing as I sat waiting to talk to someone from the Humane Society. It was clear the young man was giving up his dog because he couldn't care for him anymore. This appeared to be a normal occurrence--we were Hunter's third owners before he turned 3 years old. His previous owners both wrote they didn't have time to take care of him anymore. My dear wife reminded Hunter that we were going to be his "forever family." I wonder if he knows that. We were brought together for a reason. I've learned much from Hunter. This morning as we took a longer walk in the woods than normal, I realized how much more I have to remember. These days have been devoted to remember someone who has been in our family longer than our children. I don't know how long The Hunter Chronicles will be, but the memories are filling a blog library. Such is life with my first dog. I am continually awed by my relationship with God's creation--and Hunter expanded that understanding.

Favorite Autumn Drives and the Fall Soundtrack

I have driven copious miles recently. Some open road driving with my family (about 3500 miles) and the most frenzied set of back and forth, traffic-weaving, kid-toting, commuting I've ever done. What keeps me more than sane in that environment is my favorite time of year--the fall color display. I will plan my life around seeing some fall colors. Sometimes I take pictures, sometimes I soak in the cool atmosphere with those I love. I could easily say the Northeast US has the best fall colors (always great, but somewhat impractical for me), but I also have other favorites:

+ Northern Minnesota around Bemidji
+ The Minnesota River Valley between Mankato and New Ulm
+ The Cumberland region in Middle to East Tennessee
+ Virginia, especially around the Blue Ridge Mountains
+ Heading toward Northern Wisconsin from the Milwaukee metro toward Ripon and Green Lake.

I forgot how great the fall colors could be in the Puget Sound region. WA-16 on the Kitsap Peninsula has quite a display of fiery orange and red fall maples with a nice contrast to the evergreens. This display reminded me of how much I did take for granted--Mt. Rainier with the Puget Sound, color burst maples, evergreens and the Olympics--all mysteriously cottoned with fog, as if Bob Ross and God worked together to burn the images in my brain. My photography can't do this justice. I need to stop and at least try.

Some songs play better for me during the autumn months. I like bluegrass this time of year and almost anything with steel guitar. I don't know why. There's a few other songs that seem to register as well. My Fall Soundtrack:

Let Me Touch You For Awhile--Alison Krauss
Gravity--Alison Krauss
Jessica--Allman Brothers
Ramblin' Man--Allman Brothers
September--Earth, Wind and Fire
Avenues--Whiskeytown
Best of Luck--Nickel Creek
Lonesome Wind Blues--Rhonda Vincent
It'll Never Be Thru With Us (Until It's Thru With You)--The Wilders
That Old Time Religion--The Wilders
Green and Gray--Nickel Creek

An enjoyable Saturday of chores, family and football

Though the outcomes to Saturday's games were not ideal, that was a relaxing and productive Saturday. I watched bits of several games:

Syracuse/Minnesota
Navy/Ohio State
Notre Dame/Nevada
Oklahoma St./Georgia
Washington/LSU

I washed, dried, folded and put away 7 loads of laundry, cleaned, put the finishing touches on my sermon and went for an outing to the park with a little puddle jumping nature walk. The girls, my dear wife and I had a nice early evening. We were fueled by a dinner of fish or chicken tacos with avocado, grilled veggies, Jack cheese and corn.

After a ghastly 0-12 season last year, the Huskies are on a much better trajectory now. They made good calls on offense, showing some flash and talent at the skill positions. Though the defense seems a bit under skilled, Nick Holt had good schemes and a plucky, hard-working attitude injected into the entire defense. I have tickets for the USC game on Sept. 19th with my Dad, brother and some friends--I don't know if they'll be able to offer the same effort against USC, especially when Pete Carroll knows Coach Sarkisian so well. I'm hoping for another good effort with a shot at the win in the 4th quarter.

I will always root against Notre Dame. That nemesis developed in college during the era of the Miami/Notre Dame rivalry known as the Catholics vs. The Convicts in the late 80's. I remember statements by Notre Dame fans that ND represented God and Miami represented Evil and Satan. Those kinds of statements lit my torch, and I could no longer be indifferent to the school from South Bend. I don't loathe them as much these days, but my favorite teams are still Washington, Tennessee, Central Michigan, and whichever team is playing Notre Dame. I have little tolerance for righteousness attached to a football team.

I watched the Minnesota and Navy games only because I could while folding laundry. The Navy game was more enjoyable. I admired Navy for their efficiency, getting the absolute most out of their resources and almost sticking to the boring football of the Big Ten power THE Ohio State University. If forced to pull for a Big Ten team (which I really don't have to do anymore in Pac-10 country) I go for the Badgers and the Gophers. Wisconsin, because the are the best football celebrators in the USA, and Minnesota, because there are alums in my dear wife's family, and they gave my daughter top-notch medical care.

Fall weekends are hard to beat--this was only the beginning. Easily my favorite season of the year.

Reliving the field trip through tourism

In some places I have lived, some points of the city were only viewed when visitors came from out of town:

Twin Cities, MN: Mall of America
Copenhagen, Denmark: The Little Mermaid

The Milwaukee, Wisconsin, metro had good things to do, but not in the classical tourist sight-seeing fashion. In Wisconsin, cultural tourism is the way to go. Some of the best times my dear wife and I enjoyed during our 2.5 years there involved basic activities that locals enjoy as well: eating brats/sausage, cheese and the abundance of beer; fish fries (amazing cultural activity--I once read Wisconsin is the highest fish consumption state in the country), enjoying the beautiful autumns, walking near the lake shore, attending sporting events in Madison, Milwaukee Brewers baseball, and Lambeau field. All of these places involve good interaction with locals, something that cannot be promised at a particular tourist destination. I'm not anti-tourist (though I can only handle being a tourist in small doses), I like to find places to visit where I can talk to locals about life in that place.

Seattle has more sights similar to Copenhagen and the Twin Cities. With some visitors coming to town recently, we were off to the kid-friendly stops, the Seattle Aquarium, Pike Place Market and the Space Needle. The Seattle Aquarium is an interesting conglomeration of school/summer camp field trippers, tourists, and local families. I attended at least 2 field trips to the Seattle Aquarium as a child, and visited there on other occasions. I know field trips still occur in these days of slashed education budgets and increased standardized testing, but my anecdotal observation says field trips are dying as an educational experience. That makes me feel melancholy about education. Ultimately, my children will know much more than me in their lifetimes, but I believe in the field trip education experiences I had as a child. The girls and I thoroughly enjoyed the aquarium that day--the best part being that they could touch sea cucumbers, sea anemones, sea urchins and starfish. If the place wasn't crawling with street urchins, I could have hung out there poking and gazing at the sea life for hours--ah, to explore without a schedule--but we let the girls spend the most time there. If I could have been any kind of scientist, it would have involved oceanography.

Of the non-touching exhibits, we liked the jellyfish and the seals the most. We see a lot of jellies on the Puget Sound, but at the aquarium, we were able to examine their intricacies in clearer water behind Plexiglas. Watching seals in captivity is a love-hate experience. They interact with the humans like no other sea life I have seen; they were hamming it up and made us all laugh several times. I wonder about mammals in captivity. I'm sure plenty of people are appalled by the whole enterprise, but I also value the appreciation and awareness about God's creatures that comes from a visit that my girls take to the Seattle Aquarium.

The Space Needle is a place for great views of Seattle and the Puget Sound, but it's not the only viewpoint available in the region. If you want to dodge people taking pictures of one another, purchase expensive provisions and kitsch, the Space Needle is for you. It deserves one or maybe two visits in a lifetime--it might have been enjoyable if the girls weren't so hungry and cranky. I think I got whiplash from keeping my head on a swivel all day--keeping track of two busy girls in a big city takes significant effort, which is probably why my parents didn't take my brothers and I to downtown Seattle on a regular basis.

Now that I have just about squarely hit midlife, I'm the one providing direction and guidance more often in more settings--this little tourist trip represented a shift of roles for me as a Pacific Northwesterner. Our visitors provided me with an opportunity to refine my cultural attache routine for whomever makes the trek to the Seattle metro. Come on over!

Preaching for August 23, 2009

Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18
Psalm 34:15-22
Ephesians 6:10-20
John 6:56-69

Once again, I am skipping over the bread imagery in John 6. Since a significant majority of Lutheran pastors I know preach on the Gospel lesson somewhere near 90 percent of the time or more, I'm guessing that any congregation where I preach to give a pastor a break will have already heard about Jesus and bread imagery ad nauseum.

I'm not enamored with the image of the "whole armor of God" in Ephesians, either. I understand the good connections with this imagery, like preparation and struggle for a community in the Christian life. However, I think this passage was almost ruined for me as it has been used in connection with a reason for military build up. I once associated this quote with Ronald Reagan, but I could not find a quote where he directly used this passage. It says something about how fleeting memory can be and that propeganda is subversive. Though the text has its merits, this text represents damaged goods, and I don't think I can preach it faithfully.

As a Lutheran Christian, I have a mixed relationship with this text from Joshua. The text is used as a biblical foundation for a book on marriage by Walt Wangerin. My dear wife and I read this in preparation for our marriage. Though we don't explicitly reference the Wangerin book as part of strengthening our marriage today, the book has some foundational qualities about how the depths of human existence and our relationship with God through that relationship. Our lives are formed by Christian vocation. Almost every decision we make has a relationship to Christian vocation. Therefore, I make a connection between this text and the gift of marriage. Though Joshua is not specifically speaking about marriage in this text, the practical application between God and relationships doesn't appear to be an unfaithful one. The uneasiness with the text comes from weighting the interpretation more toward the choice of Joshua than the action of God. Anyone familiar with Lutheran theology and life knows that generally speaking are uneasy with any proclamation glorifying any choice by humanity--corporate or individual, because human beings are flawed creatures, therefore human choices are fraught with peril. This doesn't mean I feel the need to beat myself down or my fellow human beings, nor do I have to live a jaded life. I am skeptical, however, about trumpeting human choice. The classic text referenced in this idea is from Jesus in John 15: "You did not choose me, but I chose you."

What is a Christian or one considering the Christian life to make of choice? Choice is a buzz word and concept in our day to day life. Think of all the topics upon which choice is debated. Abortion (pro-choice), health care (choice of coverage), war (we have a volunteer armed forces in the United States) reveal that the concept of choice is the fulcrum of many topics of public discourse. The United States economy thrives on the availability of choice. For those who want to expand choices or restrict choices--someone always ends up choosing. Where will the line be drawn for choice? Libertarians seem to thrive in this discussions. Conservatives tend to want to restrict moral choices for the sake of societal morality, liberals tend to want to restrict economic choices for the sake of societal justice. Any restrictions on choice from either end of the continuum, according to Libertarians lead to societal problems as well.

Humans really don't know what to do with choice. I remember reflecting on the philosophy of Neil Peart and his 1980 song, "Freewill". I loved the line "If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice." I didn't ponder this song so much theologically as a teenager--though I recognized it had theological ramifications, my epiphany was that my choices had consequences, and that not choosing was a choice in itself. I still ponder that idea today, and that pondering is made more cool by one of my favorite bass solos by Geddy Lee (or of any bass player) of all time.

After returning from living in Denmark for a year, I remember the shock over returning to an American retail establishment and being overwhelmed by the amount of choice. I missed having some choices while living there, but I also saw that choice can be crippling. Is choice the source of goodness in the world? I wasn't so sure.

With one more year of seminary and a new congregational ministry call, I was able to place some deeper theological context on my reflections on choice. In my first congregation in Wisconsin I realized my shallowness of knowledge in Lutheran theology by grappling with the notion of choice to the point of foolishly saying that humans really had no choice at all--an idea I quickly retracted when I realized the ramifications of that line of thinking. But I recognized that choice is tenuous--in terms of human relationship with God, Luther called this "the bondage of the will." Some people in my congregation recognized my theological grappling, and took up with me the discussion about free will and whether it exists on any level. I had one intelligent person write me a paper on his argument against Luther's "Bondage of the Will." I deeply admired the fact he respected me enough to gather his thoughts, share them with me in a coherent fashion, and valued his faith enough that this was a good investment of his time and energy.

At best I can say that choice is tenuous, and that Joshua is really stating that we need to look at the work of God in the biblical witness and our own lives and compare that work with the other paths and gods. Choice may be tenuous--but God is faithful.

Is this Gospel? If so, will it preach? Usually I know this by this point of the sermon preparation, but at this point, I am under some pressure, I have the ubiquitous sermon title to create. Even if I choose not to choose a sermon title, I still have made a choice.

A fine wedding anniversary celebration

Anniversary celebrations for my dear wife and I took a revitalized path thanks to our new living configuration. Thanks to a little generosity from a congregation, my Mom and Dad, a little saving and creative searching, we had a fabulous celebration.

Dinner at Anthony's on Pier 66 in Seattle was a gift from a congregation (that did some great research) I served in South Dakota. My family has a good history of family gatherings over simple, creative, and scenic seafood meals--and my dear wife and I have made Anthony's part of our own family and relational dating tradition. We enjoy checking out the local scenery of each restaurant. I think we've enjoyed 5 locations and hope to enjoy more in the future.

We enjoyed a pleasant get away from kid clutter and household projects by staying at a nice suite and enjoying a drive across the I-90 bridge--something commuters and locals (including me at one point) easily took for granted. I admire this drive for its beauty, architecture, and the intersection of form and function. Our time of exploration and sharing were enhanced by the backdrop of beauty and utility--a celebration of gifts. For me, this is marriage at its best. Sometimes this beauty is lost in the stresses day to day living. None of this can happen without the day to day living--working together and appreciating one another doing the little things.

Chateau Ste. Michelle offers free tours. Another beautiful example of form and function convergence in a way that wanted us coming back for more. We walked hand-in-hand on the grounds, learned a little bit more about wine, and enjoyed our time together even more as we watched a couple tour with their two children (although they were AMAZINGLY behaved), appreciating our own children but thankful we had some time to ourselves. Soon after we began earning real incomes as pastors, we drove to the Wollersheim Winery in Wisconsin, enjoyed the tour and bought wine for gifts and personal enjoyment. I think we learned wine wasn't going to be a serious hobby, but when thinking of our trip to Chateau Ste. Michelle, we easily remembered what an enjoyable experience of taste, beauty and appreciation for the work and creativity of a craft can be.

There was much more that could have been enjoyed that day, but we were called back to the service of our household when we learned our geriatric canine was suffering and needed our attention. Thankfully the dog's struggles didn't happen in the early stages of our time away, but we gently moved in to care for the dog--it was the right thing to do. Caring for the dog served as a reminder of the love that brought us together and the work together that bonds with that love to uphold a household, while providing each of us the opportunity to serve in our Christian vocation while serving one another, while also being served by others. This is also a relational event for my dear wife and I that would have been much more difficult in South Dakota--a challenge for our child care situation, different work schedule challenges, and not as many dining choices. All in all, we witnessed A blessed interdependence.

A sport fan's resume

A good friend of mine recently shared our live sports attendance resumes. These games are sometimes accessories and sometimes central events to being. They represent honoring specific relationships with family and friends and observing achievements and physical gifts to humanity. They represents teamwork and individual hard work, the admiration of intelligence, strategy, raw human emotion, collective pride, and a liturgical gathering of crowds. Of course there is the laundry list of what is wrong with sports, but I don't focus too much on that. I do not make my wife a sports widow, and I have been blessed to be a part of some fun events with my loved ones and friends.

Football

NFL
1983, December 24th. Playoff game--Seattle vs. Denver Wild Card game. Seattle's first playoff game. Crazy. Pandemonium, and insane noise levels. It must have looked cool on TV--we all had blue cards and used them to do "the wave."
4-5 NFL games in Seattle's Kingdome.
1999 Mike Holmgren's return to Lambeau w/Seahawks @ Lambeau Field. This game was a huge party, similar to Wisconsin game (see below) but a lot more quirks.

CFL
1993 Sky Dome in Toronto. Toronto Argonauts vs. Calgary Stampede.
2008 Edmonton--Where legend Warren Moon roamed and led to 5 Grey Cups. Edmonton Eskimos vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders.

NCAA
1987 Washington vs. Arizona State for a baseball recruiting visit. What a cool way to watch a game.
1989 Tulsa vs. Arkansas @ Fayetteville.
1990 Tennessee vs. Notre Dame, Knoxville, TN. Todd Helton at QB. Both teams top 10. Tennessee almost pulls it out in a frantic comeback with a successful onside kick.
Lots of games at KU from 1988-1991 (when they were awful).
1994 Maryland vs. Virginia @ Charlottesville. Charlottesville is one of my favorite college towns for its history and beauty.
1999 Western Michigan vs. Wisconsin. A boring Big 10 game--but that was THE biggest college football party I have ever seen. Hands down, no competition.
2001 Nebraska vs. Texas Tech @ Lincoln. Insane game by Cliff Kingsbury (33-63, 363 yards) and Wes Welker with an 85 yd. punt return--I LOVED watching the Blackshirts get shredded and see the TTU fans throw tortillas. Too bad the Huskers won.
2002 Kansas St. @ Texas in Austin. Saw Vince Young's coming out party. KSU made a game of it with Sproles I believe, and Vince Young was sweet.
2003 Arkansas @ Auburn (97 degrees, a very forgettable game for Auburn fans. Cadillac had one of his worst games of his college career and Matt Jones shredded the defense by basically using the tight ends as wide receivers.
2004 Florida @ Mississippi State in 2004. Florida had all the talent and Miss. St. was given no chance, even by their own fans. Florida fans had some unrest, especially with its website, fireronzook.com (not up these days, but if Illini fans have another bad season, watch out). Miss. St. gutted out a win. That was fun. It also marked the first time my friends and I tailgated with an RV--that is the way to do it.
2005 Oklahoma State-Texas A&M in 2005. A decent game, 1000 degrees out. Kyle Field was the important destination
Boston College @ Central Michigan 2006. CMU's first nationally televised game, first home game with lights (newly installed that week). Dan LeFevour's coming out party (he's going to put up insane #'s this year and get a few Heisman votes). Starting CMU QB gets crushed on the first play of the game. LeFevour comes in and almost takes down a ranked BC team (imagine Vince Young running style with someone who can actually throw.)

Minnesota State-Mankato
Augustana College (SD)

NAIA (at the time)
Pacific Lutheran University

Basketball

NCAA
1988 Oklahoma State @ Kansas' Phog Allen Field House. Danny Manning's last home game. This was a recruiting visit for me, and I was sold on Kansas after this visit, and this game was a clincher. Though I haven't been to games on Tobacco Road or Lexington, KY, I can't imagine college basketball venues better than Allen Field House.
1988-1992 So many great games @ Kansas, it's hard to count. One of my favorite regular season games was Kentucky coming to Allen Field house and DESTROYING Ricky Pitino and Kentucky 150-95--in 1991-92 season.
1990-91 KU vs. Arkansas in the regional final in Charlotte. Drove all night to see that one. KU down by 12 at half, came back to win. Sank free throws to clinch.
Final 4 in 1991 Indianapolis. KU beat UNC with Dean Smith. Duke with Grant Hill beats UNLV juggernaut--they were undefeated.
Duke (ugh) beats KU in the final in pretty solid fashion. Sad outcome, but AMAZING Final 4.
2005 Final 4 in St. Louis. I bought the tickets because I thought KU would be there. Not a thrilling Final 4, but I had a great time with a good friend.

NBA

2 Minnesota Timberwolves games
2 Seattle Sonics games, one in the Old Coliseum, 1 in the Tacoma Dome.

Baseball

MLB
I have never been to a huge game in terms of playoff significance, but lots of parks over the years 1977-present.

Safeco Field
Kingdome (I saw the 1979 All-Star game there)
Oakland Coliseum
Dodgers Stadium
Old Padres Stadium before it was called Qualcomm (with a Beach Boys Concert after the game)
Metrodome in Minnesota
Wrigley Field as a guest of Ryne Sandberg
New Comiskey Park, Chicago
Old County Stadium, Milwaukee (saw Mark McGwire's 65th home run--seems weird now)
Old Busch Stadium, St. Louis
Kaufman Stadium, Kansas City
Old Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati
Great American, Cincinnati
Old Tiger Stadium, Detroit
Comerica Park, Detroit
Jacobs Field, Cleveland
Old Yankee Stadium (saw celebration of 50th anniversary of Joltin' Joe's 56 game streak, they gave him a Gold Rolls Royce, and every living Yankee great was there. I had the chills--and pink eye. I would have gone with a collapsed lung).
Shea Stadium, New York
Fenway Park, Boston
PNC Park, Pittsburgh (Outside of my Safeco biases, this is the best baseball park I have visited).
Olympic Stadium, Montreal (met Dick Vitale at this game--it was like an episode of the Surreal Life).
Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia

My dear wife and I were on our way to a Rockies game right before we got married, but we got stuck in an insane traffic jam in Denver and ended up being 90 minutes late by the time we got to the exit. We were driving from Las Vegas to St. Paul. Good thing we didn't have tickets.

Minor Leagues
St. Paul Saints
Sioux Falls Canaries

College Baseball
1988-89 I saw lots of great games from the bench and press box at the University of Kansas.
1999 Saw my brother pitch twice at UNLV, that was pretty cool.
1999 U. Arizona game in Tucson.
Augustana College (SD)

Hockey

NHL
1988-1994 I hit 3-4 St. Louis Blues games.
2002 Dallas Stars @ Edmonton Oilers. My dear wife helped me fulfill a longtime dream by going to this game with me.
2002 Buffalo Sabres @ Calgary Flames in the Saddledome.
2008 Columbus Blue Jackets @ Edmonton Oilers with my brother. Oilers win! Oilers win!

College Hockey
1978 Game at the University of British Columbia
1991-1993 Several games at Minnesota State University-Mankato

Soccer/Football
1970's Seattle Sounders home game in the Kingdome in the old NASL.
1996 Brondby, a popular team in Denmark, not quite elite in Europe, but has performed well in European competition.

Cricket
1996 Dublin, Ireland

Visited two pro sports hall of fame--
Cooperstown, New York (baseball)
Newport, Rhode Island (tennis)

What I have learned reflecting on this resume:

The college football games are the best for the all around experience.
The college hoop games have the greatest thrills.
The NHL game experience is actually the best.
It's more fun to go with loved ones and friends, but if it ends up being a choice between going and not going at all to a new venue, going is better.
My wife is a really good sport--though not a sports fan, she will still enjoy a game with me.

When the Dave Niehaus era ends

I am huge Dave Niehaus fan--he's like an uncle in our family. Outside of her late husband, sons, grandsons, great grandsons and father, Niehaus is probably the most important man in my grandmother's life. I have a hard time imagining the Mariners without Niehaus.

There will come a day when Niehaus will no longer be calling Mariners games, and the thought of bringing on someone else brings fear to the summer joy and stability that is baseball. I like Rick Rizzs. I like Mike Blowers. I like Dave Sims (though I don't hear too much good about him). I'm glad that the team finally moved on from other broadcasting mediocrities like Dave Valle, Ron Fairly and Wes Stock. Even though the Mariners have decent guys in the booth, none of them are THE guy. They don't have the pipes. They don't have the storytelling ability. They don't inspire listening to the game with hope for a dramatic turn in the ballgame.

Though I'm not the first person to come up with an idea for Niehaus' replacement, I want to get out the word into web land that Kevin Calabro needs to be the guy that is placed in Niehaus' spot on the air. Even though the Mariners have not always put the best club on the field, outside of the Vin Scully's of the world, I can't think of many clubs who have a Niehaus-type storytellers ability or pipes (Bob Uecker in Milwaukee is almost in the same class, I enjoyed him for a few years). In broadcasting, Seattle now holds the high standards set by Niehaus. After suffering through the Twins and Royals game calling for several years, I love the free and easy access to Niehaus on my home radio. Calabro meets the high standards for baseball broadcasting in Seattle.

Calabro has all the attributes of a great baseball broadcaster and he loves Seattle sports. He is not a newer version of Niehaus, but he has the broadcasting skills to want to welcome him into the Mariner fan mindset for 162 regular season games a year. I hope the appropriate leaders are making plans for Calabro in the future. When I ask the question "who would I want to listen to for 162 games a year? Who might actually take the job?" Kevin Calabro is the only answer to this question I know. If there is another answer to these questions, I would like to know.

Facebook and Tribes

Yesterday I received a good comment about another Seth Godin work Tribes. Not having read the book (hopefully I can find it at the library), and surmising yesterday's comment I thought about my own tribes: the only tribes I have are related to home. One is my dear wife and girls, the other is my parents and brothers. Outside of those tribes, I have friends, but those friendships aren't necessarily part of a tribe.

I am thankful for the tribes I have, I can't make a value judgment about not having other tribes--it's not something I can control at this point in my life. To what do I attribute few tribes? A series of transitions and moving.

1. We didn't move a lot when I was a child, but the times we did move and when I changed schools significantly altered my friendship communities. I attended one school from grades K-1, then another school when I was placed in a new school district program from grade 2-6. The program involved kids from all over the district, bussed in from many neighborhoods all over the district. I saw different kids in sports, in my neighborhood, at school, at church. In middle school I continued in the school district program, but later withdrew over conflicts with teachers. I also discovered my family was moving 60 miles away, and I wanted to spend more time with another tribe outside the district program.

2. After moving, my family stayed in the new town much longer than I did. I lived there 4 years. I think my parents were there 14 years or so, and my brothers went to elementary, middle and high school in that town--they are much more tribe-oriented to that town and their friends than I am.

3. My higher education from 1988 to 2003 involved several institutions:

University of Kansas
South Puget Sound Community College
Minnesota State University-Mankato
Luther Seminary
Catholic University of America
Lutheran Seminary at Gettysburg
Wesley Seminary
South Dakota State University

I stayed the longest at Luther Seminary (a little over 3 years), but I began my program in the middle of the academic year, then switched classes after I was engaged to my dear wife. She started in the class after me--so I graduated with her class. I have friends from some of these institutions, but not a tribe.

4. During my ordained ministry, I have never served in a congregation or town more than approximately 2.5 years. While serving as an interim pastor, there's always been a distinct distance from groups that I encounter in congregational life. I think it's the nature of my vocational demographic, the moving around I do, and the nature of the interim pastor role. Though I have made some friends along the way, nothing has formed for me that resembles a tribe. My dear wife has tribes from our time in South Dakota--she benefited from staying in one congregation and the established connections from her time as an undergraduate student in South Dakota. My vocational path and location hasn't lent itself to tribal formation.

5. As I reflect on the Facebook invitations I have received, some appear to be about friend accumulation, some are about a fringe tribe welcoming, some I don't understand the motivation. In tribe speak, my response is: "not my tribe." In family system speak, the question is, "is this of self or is this not of self?" The answer is "not of self."

I don't need Facebook to communicate with my dear wife, my daughters, my diasporic friendships, my parents, or my brothers. It makes sense that effective communication among tribes can be enhanced by Facebook. I will probably read Godin's book to better understand tribal behavior in the congregations and communities I serve. Thanks to yesterday's responder for providing good reflection for me today.

On the road again--running as a way of life (part 3)

Before my dear wife and I moved to South Dakota, I had taken up a regular regimen of pick up basketball 2-3 times per week. That was my favorite method of exercise--I always prided myself on being a gritty player. I took special pride in sprinting back on defense to take away what someone thought would be an easy lay up or running a 3 on 2 break and getting to the corner for a short jumper or layup--or even leading it after I anticipated a pass and made a steal. It was the sprint that produced an immediate gratification, and (bonus!) my conditioning skyrocketed.

I ran a little bit less in those basketball days--if I was playing with a good group of guys, I got in plenty of wind sprints. I used running more for getting away than conditioning; Lake Country Wisconsin provided great scenery for running getaways.

Upon moving to South Dakota I continued the same running pattern. Basketball 3 days per week and running 2 or more days per week. I played hoops while taking classes at South Dakota State (and lost about 5 pounds in sweat in that painfully hot gym), and then picked up playing at the Sioux Valley/Sanford/Mob Wellness Center. I can't say I was in the best shape of my life (I should have been), the big shift was the birth of our first child, and I could no longer work out when I pleased. I had never been a rigorously scheduled person, I ran whenever the Spirit moved me. When #1 was born into our 2 pastor household, we were pulled in all kinds of directions with a child making her own demands. I had a hard time adjusting to compromises to my running time.

Then about 6:10 am in January, 2004, while playing pick up basketball, executing one of my favorite plays, hustling back on defense to break up an easy bucket, someone with as much or more aggressiveness than me, collided with me mid-air at high speed on the way to the hoop. My lower left leg twisted in a way I didn't know it could. I have no recollection how I landed. I think the injury happened mid-air, which the doctor said was unlikely, but possible. I blew out my ACL, MCL and significantly damaged the meniscus. It was a long, slow and painful recovery.

I had to retire from basketball and learn the dynamic of personal limitation and compromise, from familial to physical. I still haven't learned all of these lessons. Though not an elite athlete, I performed at a good level for several years in almost any way I wanted. My own maturity level held me back, but I also had many joys through physical performance. Family really isn't a limitation--but dynamics of relationships accentuate the choices I make every day. What is important to me? How will I invest my time, my body, my resources?

Running became the obvious choice as a great investment in me, my family, my body and resources. Running fits my economy--I can work my heart, pray, think, plan, experience joy, work my muscles, achieve and keep my body working well. Running is also a habit practice--I've been doing it more or less twice per week for 25 years, with the only large gap being recovering from knee reconstruction (about 2 years). I may try other things like bicycling, swimming, cross-country skiing, hiking, or some other sport that doesn't put my ACL at an incredibly high risk. I always have an entry point with running.

I hit a low point in fitness last fall. It was an especially hot summer in South Dakota; the thought and experience of going outside to run made me physically ill. I had also made too many excuses about the schedules of my family as taking me away from any consistent physical activity. Carrying around the weight I was didn't help matters. Without too much thought, but with consideration of my knees, I dedicated myself to short, but consistent runs early each morning. It was the only way I could do it and not worry about anything in the lives of the 3 females in the house. It was my time. I rose between 4:45 and 5:15 am 5-7 days per week and went to the track. The track reduced the pounding effects of pavement running. I continued almost regardless of the conditions--I think I missed one day because of a lightning storm. I ran in several inches of snow this last winter. I ran in -20 degrees, which was a lot more comfortable for me than running in the heat. I was well equipped (I now own ice/snow running attachments for my shoes--I'm also amazed by the cold weather running gear), and I wasn't going to miss the prayer, thought and planning time. I was further motivated by a race for which I registered around St. Patrick's Day.

The move to Washington has created a new list of excuses for a reduced running pattern, but I've also bought in to Jeff Galloway's program of running less often and focusing more on the weekly long run as a means to prevent injury and actually boost achievement. I want to get out there every day, and I haven't figured out a cross-training regimen that works for me. I've also added shoe orthotics for injury prevention and to deal with an old injury. Like the rest of life, dealing with adversity and making adjustments is more of what life is about than looking to dwell in good times, all the time and not seeing the gift of each day. I'm working toward a half-marathon on Labor Day and hopefully a marathon around my 40th birthday. I'm looking to make another adjustment for cross-training tomorrow--something I have basically ignored.

I will make that adjustment in running--it's a way of life.

On the road again--running as a way of life (part 2)

After I signed up for my first half-marathon for Labor Day, I realized that my original plan was to run a race at the end of September. I'm about 3 weeks behind schedule now--I'm adding a little bit to my long runs each Saturday or Sunday to catch up a bit. Nine miles this morning was a little tough, but I stuck with the walk-run combo, which should keep me fresh and healthy.

Back to the running story.

With my 7th grade 600 yard epiphany run, I discovered the benefits of running beyond the testosterone-fueled speed fix for my new teenage body. Though I knew nothing yet of endorphines, these endorphines helped me sort out the onslaught of thought and emotion pulsating through my brain every day. Running didn't solve my problems, but gave me space and balance in which I didn't have to worry about the consequences of my developing brain. The faster and farther I ran, the better I felt.

I needed to feel better because I was upset that my family was moving about 60 miles away--and I would no longer see my friends with whom I had grown up--a crushing development for a 13-year old. I remember one of my last days in my old neighborhood, a party with classmates on the shores of Lake Washington. It was a cool and drizzly June day. I don't remember feeling sad about moving, just frustrated. I felt like I had control of nothing anymore, like I had no choices. My friends had nothing to say to quell that frustration; I think the frustration continued to boil and rise. So I took off and started running along the lake. I don't know how far I ran--but it started to rain, and that only gave me more energy to run. I ran so far that I had thoughts of running all the way home (I just looked this up on Google Maps, it wouldn't have taken me that long. It would have been a 4-mile run. One thing I hadn't learned about running yet was pacing. I would have passed out sprinting 4 miles). I'd say about a mile into it, I gave up the home run thought and returned to the park. The run gave me the space to be frustrated, but on the run I realized that I didn't have to despair about the frustration, and I was more open to the move.

Running became my own space to sort things out, where I didn't have to answer anyone's questions but my own.

After the move, I found myself running a few times per week, working my way up to 3-4 mile runs. I thought it was a good practice to get me in shape for basketball and baseball. I liked the discipline, so I joined the cross country team. Here I discovered I wasn't really a competitive runner. However, I enjoyed the training runs so much, it didn't matter to me that I didn't make varsity, let alone finish very high in the junior varsity. I had a nasty kick, but I couldn't figure out the pacing thing. I usually finished in the bottom ten for the meet. I remember one guy who became a basketball nemesis in a neighboring town. He was 6'8" as a frosh and could barely put one foot in front of the other, so they had him run cross country so that he could build his coordination. At least I could beat him in a 3-mile race, and a few others. That was it. I ran cross country for about 2.2 seasons before I learned that my lack of cross country success resulted from not completing all the training runs. Running was about my own space, not running with a team or being told to run--how far, how fast, and when. After running for a few weeks with the team my junior year, I quit and went back to running on my own, which was much more enjoyable.

What I learned from cross country is how much I enjoyed the basic 3-mile run. It has been the foundation of my running schedule for years. I get my blood pumping, I can exert a little speed once in awhile, and I feel refreshed after I'm done. I continued this style of running schedule of 2.5-4 miles, 3-6 times per week, through high school, college and seminary and while my dear wife and I lived in Wisconsin. I ran regardless of the conditions, and found I really enjoyed running in the snow. I went through brief periods where I would run longer distances, but I stuck with the basic 3-mile average.

I took that simple running practice toward running several 5k races. I think I ran about 6-8 over the years. I ran a 5k in Grapeview, Washington for their local festival. I ran the Komen Race for the Cure, a sorority sponsored run at the University of Kansas, another for ovarian cancer, and one for mental illness support and another to support a college in Wisconsin. I loved the race day excitement to boost my beloved training run. I also enjoyed the opportunity to take a little day trip to the race, which gave me another incentive to run--running in different places. I developed the habit of packing my running clothes, so as I traveled more often for work and education, my running was refreshed by seeing a new place while I ran.

When I moved to South Dakota, life changed. And so did my running.