Eurekas and Escapades

  Grandma Sherry, Astoria, July 1997 This past weekend I was able to explore three different sections of the Sacramento River on a quick trip to Redding. I visited the Sundial Bridge in Redding with my mom, aunts and uncle, and we walked beneath the bridge where I waded into the water. It’s cold there, shallow, wide, nearly 300 feet. At this point, its downstream of two large dams, regulating its flow. Fly fishermen are in their boats, drifting with the current, hoping to catch a rainbow. Water flowing here is enjoyed by recreationists, before it gets diverted for irrigation or pumped for municipal use. Nearly 60 miles upstream, I visited the section near Castella, where the famous Castle Rock mineral springs bubble up, taking in the scent of the sulfur-laced water, and watching it flow into the Sacramento River. Its only 20 feet wide here, flowing fast, yet still shallow. I fill my water bottle in the spring, enjoying the tasty mineral water. This water used to be bottled and sh...

How do we remember someone? Seriously, what governs this? Is it our last interaction with them that controls it?  Is it a culmination of all past experiences, like a moving average, that shape those memories, highlighting whether it’s been an overall positive or negative experience? Is it our plans for the future together and our shared hopes that determine the attitude and trajectory? Are we left frozen at the point in time where the disagreements and misunderstandings paused relationship from growing? Is it the last words we said or the next words we intended to say? --- I am still processing my Dad’s death. It’s hard. Last week there was a memorial in the park that my family - including brothers, grandparents, aunts and uncles, most people from my Dad’s span of life except the last few years - were excluded from. Excluded on the basis that he supposedly requested that “because we weren’t involved in his life, we can’t be a part of his death.” Additionally, I had people “reach ou...