Week's End

It’s a quiet & refreshing Sunday evening in Portland, Oregon.

Allyson started the week in Grant’s Pass to finish her trial. She drove hundreds of miles to Portland on Thursday, while I was driving 3 ½ hours to Sunriver from Portland. Friday, after morning seminars on the psychology of how people realize / make decisions (and how to persuade them), I met with some potential clients in Bend. Then, more hours in the car to Trout Lake. Friday night, Allyson and I finally met up for the first time all week.

The people of Trout Lake held the annual fair this weekend. We missed the community pot luck Friday night, but stumbled upon and enjoyed the parade Saturday morning. We purchased some locally-made cheese the Saturday Market, and then wandered on to the main fairgrounds at the former school. On display inside were the blue-ribbon and other winners of the various contests: best yeasted and non-yeasted breads, best flower, best flower arrangement, cakes, pies, etc. Other tables displayed other things of interest, and a silent auction raised money for the local scholarship fund. (We donated our tickets for that night’s Natalie Merchant concert ~100 miles away.) Outside, people mingled and enjoyed food, music, a zip-line, mini petting zoo, and other wholesome activities.

While Eugene, Oregon remains a vestige of 1960s hippiedom, Trout Lake, Washington remains a vestige of 1950s Norman Rockwell America. It’s good to feel like we are even a small part of it.