Through New Eyes by B ill W ic k la n d A RICHNESS OF RIVERS M aybe 1 don't know the difference between a creek and a river. M aybe the folks w ho nam ed things around Reedsport d id n 't want everybody else to get jealous over us h a vin g three rivers come together w ithin three m iles of the ocean. 1 can hear them now: "H ey - we already have the Sm ith R iver jo in in g the U m pqua R iv e r here; let's call the Scholfield a creek.” O r m aybe the Scholfields called it a creek. Seems lik e folks here d id n 't make a big thing out of the creek. In the early 'eighties, a "lu x u ry ” 128-site m obile home park was laid out in a bend in the creek right near where I liv e now. T h e y call it "River Bend," and where the sign m entions Scholfield Creek, they d id n 't spell it right, leaving out the first '1,' and have never corrected it. There is a short Reedsport street w rongly spelled "Schofield," and a state h ig h w ay sign on the bridge over the creek right in town spells it that w ay, also. But a few m iles east on H w y 38 is a w hite-on-green state sign an no un cin g the Scholfield d u m p in g area w ith two T s , the w ay it is spelled on maps. Recently, one of the two local w eeklies here spelled it both w ays in the same issue. G o figure. T en m inutes at the lib ra ry turns up the historical inform ation that the creek w as named after N athan Scholfield's son Socrates. T h e y were both here on an expedition in 1850, and both spelled their name as above. I really don't lik e m isspelled signs, p articu larly neon ones lik e you see on 82nd A ve n u e in Portland. It means that somebody figured they could get aw ay w ithout p ayin g a real w ordsm ith, and in this case it is state and city governm ent, as w ell as land developers. In this residence park on the creek there are some homes w hich look as o ld as they actually are, but most are nicely kept, and a brand new m anufactured is just settling on its foundation. Snooping around there on a m orning w alk, fascinated, I d id n 't locate an advertised nine hole, three par golf course - but in what the site m ap called "playing fields" there are five poles w ith little flags. N o greens, no holes. It m ight be fun to chip up near those poles on a lazy Saturday. More lik e ly , golf just doesn't matter in the m idst of such beauty. O f course, not a ll of the sites are right on the Scholfield, but those that aren't creekside are a tw o-m inute w alk from the banks. A n d the docks. A lot of docks. V ery few boats tied to them. W eeds grow on some of the docks. M aybe some folks are too old now, and others too busy, to do m uch boating. There are a lot of R V garages, and a lot of R V s parked on the edge of the "golf course." M y m ap show s Scholfield to be about eight m iles long, and this big bend in it seems to be about two m iles short of where it em pties into the U m pqua. I w alked across the creek on a railro ad trestle and was soon out of sight of an yth in g but the creek in a huge m arsh in the foothills of the Coast Range. There is no road there. A few houses are visib le in the hills. A fter I w as quiet for a w hile, a few geese circled, their honks echoing off the water between the h ills, then alit alm ost right in front of me. T h is is a 20-m inute w a lk from where I Llama Spit By A J Coyne liv e . If I lived in R iv e r Bend on Scholfield Creek, I m ight let the golf course lie natural also, but 1 th in k I'd have a quiet little boat, (named Socrates) and go out and sit in the m arsh and read a book and watch b irds until I dozed off. D in g din g! N ew s flash! In w hat is now m id -su m m er, I've just acquired a little rubber d in g y. T h e tide strongly affects Scholfield Creek, so I can put in about two hours short of high tide, and d rift upstream . T h e n the tide w ill turn, and the creek w ill d e live r me back to where I can paddle ashore. I can nam e the d in g y Socrates and go driftin' for a spell. I th in k 1 just slip p ed into paradise. ¿ u ly 6 th r u A u g u s t 2 6 Every Thurs, Fri & Doors Open, 7pm • Opening Acts, 730pm Show Begins, 8pm Tickets on Sale June 19: Student/Senior Discounts • Group Rates Early Bird Specials July 6-22 Call 325-6104 • 279 W. Marine Dr. • Astoria Office Hours: Tues-Sat, nam -ipm Bill Wickland is a life-long wordo and occasional journalist, now semi-retired in Reedsport. 2 0 0 0 Cannon Beach M agazine Cover LIMITED EDITION LITHOGRAPH O REG O N CO A ST SU PPO R T C R O U P . » O. (O X >o CAM HOH M « H O R IC O M ♦ T I1 O s o l 4 1 6 OSX7 SOI 148 48S 8 FAX S O I 1 4 8 7 S 1 8 Find your bliss the smile of a friend, the wind through the trees, the flickering of candlelight, the roar of the ocean, a good book, the smell of a baby, a soil kiss, a beautiful song, dancing alone, rain on your face, the perfect word, the color yellow, a finished crossword puzzle, children laughing, an empty street, the pouring rain, the finest mist, family, dusk, a seven letter scrabble word, a head-butt from your favorite pet, a lazy boat ride on a Tuesday afternoon I started this sentence years ago and have been adding to it ever since It is a reminder for me to slow down and appreciate the moments in my life where perfection lives You can’t imagine how many times I have been told I have a tendency to spoil these moments by talking about them while they are happening, but my feeling is that the more they are mentioned, the greater amount of joy I can spread I know I sound like a hippy, sometimes I can’t even believe the words that come out of my mouth, I just keep throwing up my Aquarian ideas on people with the hope that some of it will eventually stick I enjoy sharing my bliss no matter what the reaction, and I know that saying things out loud is the only way to get them to spread and to make a difference Did I just say make a difference9 I am starting to become a bit preachy, but keep reading - you w ill either learn something or be completely annoyed Either way I am happy I f there is any time to start spreading our happiness this is it; the masses are rolling in and there w ill be many locals at their wits’ end if they aren’t already. It is becoming harder and harder to stop and remember what is important The amazing thing is that when you voice your moments with others, not only do you get the relive them but usually the other person will have a moment they w ill share with you, and then the cycle starts Here is a moment from my life this week - read it, remember one of your own, grab your nearest friend and share it with them; you will be surprised by what you receive in return. My baby brother brought his new girlfriend to town this weekend to meet me for the first time. It was so wonderful to see him happy and especially for him to want to share it with me We had a great time all weekend, but on Saturday night the sight we happened to see blew us away. Imagine sitting by a roaring fire, surrounded by friends, family and o f course dogs, under a moon so bright it could have been the sun There was a fine mist along the water’s edge that made me feel like I was in a dream A s the moon began to set we watched it start to eclipse I have never experienced a lunar eclipse before and I can only tell you that is it almost indescribable, and for a writer this hard to admit. Just imagine watching all phases of the moon, but instead of in a month, it is in an hour, and as the last little sliver of the moon lowered into the horizon the sun was rising over our shoulders. The end result was the mist along the water turning the most magical color; it was shining the palest blue underneath from the moon and the lightest blush on top from the sun It was one of the few times I have been so awed I could not speak Every single day holds some moment like the one I had on Saturday, maybe not to that extent, but joy is out there to be had Recognize yours and spread them around. Bliss can be eternal if you pay attention Mary Tosch Watercolors M il L 1 3 L L H JU U L L U U 1 . L U U T U I L L U IL U X U L L L L S A Very Unique Cannon Beach Mementol Available in Cannon Beach: Chomber of Commerce Information Center, Mo's, Picnic Bosket, Coffee Cabana, Jupiter's Rare & Used Books, Connon Beoch Arts Association Gallery, Pacific Rim Golleiy, Copies & Fax (laminated), Henry's, and at Windridge and Haystack Galleries (framed tool). In Seaside: Seaside Aquarium and ExposureArt Gallery. In Astoria: RiverSea Gallery Tillamook; Tillamook Cheese Factory. "&LrsrMSS0 RORTH ir r s t TU R K S KHGKK ^FORTUNO fSOAST/NG COFFEE ESPRESSO „ 0R.IMKS TLoaramimi SUNFIRE G A L L E R Y central coast glass artists' gallery 2289 Main Street Cambria, C A 93428 805 • 927 • 1800 e 500 ZAM£OA « E W 7 W w w w .n w b y n w g a lle r y .c o m Oridinul Fmi-Art£r Pint Craft by Pacific Narthwat Artists P.O.SOX »02« ♦i39N O R .TH HfMlOCK7-f-/ UPPER LEFT EbGE «UIGUST 2000 I I