Finding Tranquility

Today I stumbled upon a very nice blog talking about time spent on vacation here in Moses Lake, WA. This is where I have lived and raised my family for 14 years. This is the place I have come to love as my home...

A little background...

I was in the US Coast Guard when I moved here, and my selection of Moses Lake as my final billet during my time of service had nothing to do with the charms of Central Washington and everything to do with it's proximity to the Portland area, my original stomping grounds and the home of my immediate family.

I had just completed an entire year of isolated duty above the arctic circle, serving as a Loran Tech in a remote transmitting station on the Bering Sea. Despite the unexpected pleasures and unique experiences I had encountered in the great white north (a story all by itself), I was certainly eager to get back down to the real world and restart a normal life. To get back among the trees.

One wonderful benefit of serving in an isolated post was the privilege of selecting my own new billet rather than leaving it up to some military bureaucrat in an office somewhere. Like I said, I chose Moses Lake (yes, there are Coasties here) because it was relatively close to Portland. I had never been to Central Washington, but I trusted that since it was in the Pacific Northwest, I would soon be living among the trees and mountains once again.

Little did I know. As I left Ellensberg on my exodus to my new home, I was first struck by how dry and barren everything was becoming as i headed east, and as I rose out of the Columbia River gorge at George, I suddenly understood the truth of my situation. Rather than forests and mountains, I would spend at least the next two years in a barren wasteland of sand and scrub brush. Lovely. I could have stayed on the tundra for a view like this. I would be living on the surface of the moon.

Now hold on. That was just my first impression. Like I said before, I have grown to love this place and the longer I stay, the more I appreciate its charms. Rather than living on the surface of the moon, I now feel as though I have discovered my very own Sea of Tranquility here. So I guess I am writing this blog in honor of my adopted hometown.

Why? For several reasons, not least of which is this blog that I have just finished reading. Here is a short quote in case you are in a hurry.

"Last night I sat with family and talked about blogging and kids and family matters, as the fireworks exploded overhead and the children ran around the yard. And somehow, it felt like I had come back to the center of my life, where I am related by blood to those around me, with common experiences and memories and hopes. There's nothing quite like that anywhere else in my life. I have to go to Moses Lake to find it as richly as this."

I read that and thought, "How true. That says it all."

I am fortunate that Moses Lake has become my home. This place has become a haven for so many people in my life, and evidently for many people that I will never even meet. My brother, a Portland high speed professional. My mom, a quality inspector at a high tech firm in southern Oregon. So many come here and tell me how they are rejuvenated, how their batteries are recharged, etc. It's as if the high desert air and the sun itself broil the tension out of life and blow it west to Seattle.

Moses Lake. It's easy luxury. You can come here and just STOP. Breath. Let the sun heat your tired bones. It's old fashioned and modern all at the same time and in all the right ways. When you open your eyes, the stark beauty of this area can overwhelm you. Jump in the lake for a swim. Climb some rocks. Go hunting or fishing. Catch some live music in the cooling twilight or try some local cuisine on the lake. Make new friends. Yep, even the people here are friendly.

My God. Who needs the city?

My God! It's A Blog!. Hurry While it Still Has A Pulse!

I'm back. So sorry for the delay/abandonment of my blog. But really, was I missed?

Lets be honest. I write my thoughts down, mostly for myself, which is fortunate, since I am the only one who frequents this place... ;)

But hey, enough about me. So much has happened since I last took pen to paper, digitally speaking. The world is moving fast and even I've evolved. All that stuff before, consider it the old testaments of Jason.

This new testament stuff may be relevant to my older ideas and blogs to a greater or lesser degree, and many of my ideas are unchanged, but just you wait. I've got a whole new flavor for you, hopefully with less rant. We'll see. You never know what might come out of my mind....

One thing is for sure, however. I'm not sure about anything anymore. My convictions are a little more fluid these days. But I find uncertainty a little more fun anyway.

Keep up. It's dangerous out there.

Feeling Happy.

Do you ever think of someone and it just makes you feel happy? I know you do.

This morning, I was thinking about my mom. Her name is Leona & she lives a long way away from me. This is how I feel when she's in my thoughts.

What else is there to say? Some things are better without words...

Love ya mom. Thanks for being the sunshine of my life. :)

Coffee & Mist

Grey mornings and coffee, a few of my favorite things. This is the kind of late October morning that I find sort of sad and exhilarating at the same time, a chilly misty dreary day that foretells of winter on its way and reminds me of my ocean youth, the kind of morning that is rare in the high desert. I like it.

Mornings like this must appeal to some forgotten primal simian in me. An ancient paint-faced inhabitant of Wales or Scotland or some other cold dreary foggy place might feel right at home in Moses Lake on a morning like this. Well, except for the cars and stuff.

There is definitely a mystery behind the mist, especially on cold mornings and especially in October. Its like forgotten gods and monsters do battle behind the veil of fog, a swirling dampness pregnant with danger and excitement and the unknown. Everything is hinted at and nothing is quite real, faded to near white and just beyond our grasp. I am just a glorified cave man on days like this, suspicious of the gray outside but safe in my cave. With coffee.

I'm looking forward to this weekend. My little brother is visiting from Portland and we always have a great time together. I miss him all the time, so it will be good to see him. Plus I will be taking him to our local Haunted House to scare hell out of him Saturday night. They do a good job every year. If I'm lucky, he will crap himself so I can make fun. Brothers are great for humiliation. I miss him all the time.