Surgery postponed until Monday...Update coming soon.

Given The Opportunity

Hello! Once again we have revolved and spun around the sun to find ourselves right next to fall/winter! I'm just gunna say it; 'This years winter can't be as bad as last year.' There I said it, it's out and if we have a worse winter, I suppose you can blame me. ;-) First, Spokane is slowly recovering from the arson and wildfires this summer. It stole all of our sunshine, pollutted our air, killed numerous pets and animals, and destroyed many, many peoples lives for the time being. Re-building has commenced and neighborhoods are getting put back up. Kat and I recently took a trip out to Westport here in WA. It had been a couple years since we had seen the ocean and we felt the calling. We spent a week out there and got some much needed RnR. I had a chance to pull out my Prism kite and giver her a few spins, which is always a blast. I do miss the coast and it's healing effects. It was good to see mother ocean again. On the way back we stopped in Tacoma WA. This was the birthplace of my father and where he was raised in the 30's and 40's up until he enlisted in the NAVY. I remember he told me once that the first movie he had ever seen on the 'big screen' was BAMBI. This was at the 'Blue Mouse Theatre' in Tacoma around August of 1942.

The theatre is still standing and showing films and it was really cool to see and experience the history here. I can picture my pops holding his uncle's hand standing in line to see his first motion picture. I started looking into his history more, since most of it is a mystery to me. I knew my pops up until the age of 16 which isn't a lot of time for a boy to spend with his father. So I am finding closure in following his path and understanding more about the amazing man that he was.

One thing I know for sure is my pops loved movies; action, sci-fi, drama....you name it. Having lived in some very historical locations like Calaveras county, I can recognize the importance of history. Seeing Samuel Clemen's cabin where he wrote or following in John Muir's footsteps through Big Trees can be very exhilierating for those of us who respect our roots and where we've come from. I never had a relationship with either my brother or sister so comparing my dad's history with them isn't an option. I haven't spoken to my brother in over 25 years and my sister in about 11. So, any timelines I put together is solely on my time. Digging deeper into your family's past can unearth some dirt, so be careful. They say ignorance is bliss, but I'm not so sure. In closing here is a shot of 'Proctor' in downtown Tacoma...

I have found both my dad's elementary school as well as his graduating high school which are both still open. I am hoping to travel the 4 hours back to Tacoma to get some more shots of those locations as well as his childhood home which still stands as well.

Finished Cobra Commander

Hello, First off I would like to say that 'YES' Spokane is struggling though the wildfires right now. I am not going to post photos, you can search online and see hundreds of vids depicting people losing their homes. We have 3 major wildfires, two of which have converged.

North West of Spokane is burning and is the 'Nations TOP PRIORITY in fires right now.' The amount of evacuees is about one third of the population here in Spokane. That's over 60,000 evacuees with 0% containment as of this afternoon. Okay, so despite the wildfires burning, I have a couple cool pieces of info to share. I know it's been a few months since my last post. I've been busy at my new job and about to come to the close of my first season. There have been a couple obstacles but I am learning to work around those and still maintain/grow the stock. I guess I can let you know off the bat that I have been hired as not only a level 1 ski instructor for Spokane but as an Advanced U8 race coach with MSSRT (Mount Spokane Ski Race Team)! I am excited to add this adventure to my resume. I've said it before...'I love woking with racers' everywhere you go is fast. My age brackett is 7, so I will be coaching and skiing with the youngest of the competetive racers. These are fundamental years for them and I feel honored to be picked to help shape those fundamentals into strong skills. I'm hoping to have some new and exciting adventures to post about along with some pics. The team has been scouting new areas to train north of the border due to out lack of snow last year and probably this year. So I may be travelling to Canada for this gig as well. In closing I wanted to post a shot of my finished Cobra Commander. I just wrapped this one up this afternoon. It took me waaaaay longer than expected as I work five days a week this time of year VS two or three during the winters. Without further ado..here is Cobra Commander

As usual I appreciate your time, and please keep Spokane in your thoughts...if you pray, pray for Spokane, if not, just summon some good energies for us. We and all of our indigenous animal friends need all the help we can get.