Wildflower Mountains

We walk, my brother and his sons, through wildflowers
covering the hillsides of a mountain peak
We climb and talk, climb and talk,
reach the top to eat our lunch.
Cherries from my yard, cheese and bread.
My brother offers me a slice of apple.
My brother who rode me on his bike to school
who brought my little kids here -
who invited me to attend the birth of his first child,
who always hugs me like I am cherished
who sings with me at campfire time.
Who was the first to take me to the mountains.

We four walk back, down the long trail,
the verdant forest standing by as we pass.
Switch back by switch back,
dappled sunlight on moss.
Chatting easily I learn about the boys,
Our conversations all in stride, our stride down the mountain
of foot moving forward imprinting trail dust,
next foot, and the next.
There is no need for much, it is all here,
we four, walking a summer day away.

Bake Sale for Civics Textbooks

Last week the Yamhill County Oregon Democrats held a bake sale. The proceeds from this sale go to purchase civics textbooks for our county's secondary schools. How about that. In the U.S.A., the country which is fond of bragging about our superiority, we have dropped the ball on nurturing our children into becoming citizens.

I have several ideas (fears) about why this has happened. The worst is that the money powers, the same ones who decide what is 'news' have decided that young people can be easily diverted from knowing what is really going. Their attentions can be drawn into a vapid pop culture full of useless celebrities who exhibit the behaviors of wealth which they themselves will never attain. Their youth spent in a dearth of knowledge about the political process at the most basic local level.

Yes, and money too is a problem. We know our state coffers are empty, our budgets being cut everywhere. Yet, I see "Smartboards" in every classroom, carts of laptops, whole rooms full of computers. Why is a decent civics textbook not as important as a computer?

I welcome comments.