Mietzke's POST Holden Adventure

Here at Holden we are a little behind in the news. I was just reading a New York times article from the 5th of November, and I felt a burst of emotion as I read an article written by a journalist named Ethan Bronner, who is writing about our election from Gaza. What I read filled me with a sense of what I hope our country really could be.

He wrote from GASA:

"From far away, this is how it looks: There is a country our there where tens of millions of white Christians, voting freely, select as their leader a black man of modest origin, the son of a Muslim. There is a place on Earth -call it America- where such a thing happens."

This was the opening to his article and I was filled with such a sense of possibility, of hope. Maybe we can change who we are and how we are in the world. Maybe we really can be peace with the right leadership. Maybe we can say no to racism, oppression, and hate, and maybe we really do have it within us to live love actively in the world. Maybe, just maybe.

We had a really nice evening in the village tonight with Eucharist, a talent show and apple pie. The whole village turned out plus some new friends from Stehekin. Music and skits were a fun part of the evening and it just felt good to be together.

We got our first snow this week seven inches of wet packing snow that made perfect snowballs and snowmen. It was beautiful and provided a full day of snow play for the village children. They rolled huge balls of snow on the earth and Jordyn made a snow throne that the children took turns sitting on. In School the children made a big snow buffalo on the basket ball courts and a snow fort and all of the sleds came out and the hill was speedy and fun for all! In the evening of the first snow it began to rain and it turned all of the snow to mush. And boy is it mucky yucky! Big sloshy puddles everywhere. We did a lot of our Fire Brigade training in the mush. It has continued to melt for the last couple of days and we have one very soggy village on our hands. We are anticipating a new snow soon that will hopefully come before a deep freeze or we are going to be slipping and sliding all over the place.

Snow

Snow, snow I don’t call this snow
this slippery wet mess has just got to go
Slushy gushy mush
On the road making an
Sticky icky gicky
Mess
Up to our ankles and some of our knees
This sloshy mess might make us sneeze
From cold on our toeses that moves to our noses
I wish this sloshy slippery
White and brown stickery
Would just go away
To make room for the piles of snow
That will build up and stay
So that we might play
In the
Powdery, fluffly, covering stuffy,
Snow

The tall grasses that line the road
Are the color of fresh bread
Warm and ready to eat…
They end at the edge of a dancing forest
Deep and mysterious
The dark trees wear ruby undergarments
With patches of golden light
filtering through the deep green pine
The larches have begun to change
They color the mountainsides right up to the peaks with bright
Flecks of lime green and yellow growing upwards
The array of color is joined by the
Golden orange of the cottonwood and birch
Who
Line the creek at the right side of the road,
Casting leaves with golden arms
Freckles from sun kissed leaves,
Like rays of light
Breaking up dark rock and trees

I am amazed at the display
Each tree and bush
Dressed to the hilt
Living
For this moment
Then letting go of all the sequins and jeweled splendor
To stand bear before the sky.

On This ribbon of Highway
That stretches and curves
I find myself pulling over
Multiple times
To touch the feathery larch
To walk through the ruby skirts,
That encircle dark trunks
I find myself our walking on the road’s edge
Listening to the crackle and crunch of
Treasures given back to the earth without regret
I breath in the smell,
And savor the taste of earthy fall on my lips


Even as the forest is letting go
I find myself wanting to hold it all

With my heart
My eyes
All of my senses
Desiring to claim
This magical golden moment
For myself…
Ha,
As if I could really own such a thing!

I ache to be a part of the splendor
But I don’t know how
So I take pictures and write poetry
I try to bottle this experience
To cage the essence
I want to remind myself, of my own process
Reflected in the change and falling
It is like a letter to myself
A bright red sign that reads
DON’T FORGET THAT YOU ARE ALIVE!
LIFE IS PRECIOUS!
TAKE NOTICE!

The thing is,
I know that even amidst all of the capturing
That there will be pieces of the moment
That I have missed
Key pieces of the puzzle
That I have failed to see or experience
So I will have to wait until the next change
To behold this wonder and awe again

The drill went well. The drill situation was set up in the basement of the Hotel and the drill "fire" was in the guest laundry area and the old print shop. In the end we had everyone in their turnout gear and the rest of the village manning the hose houses. The drill took about forty-five minutes. Jack and I were partnered up and we were the first rescue team in the building. We did a left handed search on the downstairs and came to an area where there was "fire" and we had to back out and call in another hose team. Then we headed up-stairs and did a second story search, a third story search and an attic search. We did not actually have our air tanks on so we got hot really quickly. By the time our search was completed and the "fire" was out I was soaked with sweat from head to toe. All and all it felt like a successful drill. Dave did an amazing job as the fire chief remaining calm and supporting and directing the crew, and Mary Coffey/Sather was an awesome porch captain. I feel like the whole group of us work pretty well together and it is a good feeling being a part of a team. After the incident we had a de-briefing that went well and it felt like everyone who had a concern was addressed and we have some good points of reference to work from. Jordyn and Nyrie went to Dawn Coffey's house and all of the children hung out together. So I guess that I am an official member of the Holden Village fire brigade now!