13...We have a problem (cont'd from Waiting...)

[TeaEarlGreyHot]

My own love affair with Mt Rainier began 30 years ago and I've seen it and been on it through different seasons and through its different weather. I've been well up its slopes to witness an aurora borealis above the clouds and the weather far below. One of my more memorable climbs was through rain (up to 6000), snow (above 6000), and then emerging above the clouds and the weather between 8500 and 9000 feet. The clouds rushing by with no sense of wind or sound and the clear blue sky and the fresh snow all the way to the summit....

My mom's ashes were spread at Cannon Beach, north of the Haystack Rock. My pictures of her, me, and my son on a cool and cloudy/foggy August day with Haystack Rock in the background were ones I recently found. The picture that hung in her bedroom of Cannon Beach (and now in my office) is from the Tilamook Head. Twenty five years ago, we did not stay there (just spent part of the day along the coast) but on this trip we spent the night before in Seaside.

As I said, one moment can make all the difference for some of us. My writing from that period was raw, open, and remarkably alive. I still see that in myself and how important it was in all of our lives. I'm glad I could share a few of mine with you.

The Captain