10A • April 24, 2015 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com
5 Minutes with…
Marilyn Rooper
Rooper, a Cannon Beach resident since 1971, is a tai chi instructor.
(This interview has been edited for length and clarity.)
Q: How did you become involved
ry for him because he had a class
going on in Portland. And so I
said, “Greg ... why don’t I come
to Portland, because you have a
class up there; you come here,
and you have (only) me.” And
he said, “That sounds great,” of
course.
So then I started going to
Portland once a week and tak-
ing classes up there. And so (I’d)
drive up for an hour and a half,
and take an hour-and-a-half(-
long) class, and (take) an hour
and a half to drive back. It was
very intense, but it was wonder-
ful. I absolutely loved it.”
in tai chi, and where, and why?
A: Actually, I got involved in it
down here because one of my
friends, Beth Holland, had taken
the class from (Gregory Fong).
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types of tai chi. Beth was teach-
ing me one of them — the Wu
form (or “Wu-style”) — so I
learned that and did it.
And then, one time, she came
to me and said, “You’ve got to
know this ... Gregory is coming
down (to the North Coast).” And
so I was just ecstatic ...
I signed up for Greg’s class,
and I followed him all over the
place (Gearhart, Seaside, Can-
non Beach, etc.). We were do-
ing tai chi, believe it or not, in
the Whale Park ... And then we
went to Nehalem ... and then we
went to Manzanita, on the beach,
when the weather was correct
and we could do it. And from
the beach, we went to Gregory’s
house in Nehalem ...
And I just followed him be-
cause he was such a good teach-
er, and I was so interested in tai
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there was just me in the class,
which was wonderful, to have
one-on-one. But then I felt sor-
Q: Did you have a preexisting
interest in tai chi before you got
involved in it?
A: No, but I’ve always been very
interested in Asian cultures, and
tai chi is Chinese.
I also am a calligrapher, so
that helps a little bit with un-
derstanding (tai chi) ... with the
movements and the circular form
of your letters ,,, A lot of practi-
tioners of tai chi (do) beautiful
calligraphy, too.
Unfortunately, my teacher just
passed away at a very young age,
and it’s going to be really hard
Marilyn Rooper
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I guess you really can’t replace Marilyn Rooper does Tai Chi.
him.
give it to us. It was like a gift, all
Q: How did you start teaching tai the time — he came in and always
chi? (In the 1970s, Fong suggested had new things going for him.
So, after he said that, I thought,
to Rooper that she start teaching
“Well, I’d better go ahead and
the classes he no longer had
wade in.” And I did, and started
time to teach, but a few years
teaching, and I’ve been teaching
ever since.
passed before she acted on his
suggestion.)
A: One time, I gave him a ride practice that keeps you interested?
back to his class in Portland, be-
cause I was going to go and take
the class from him, and he said,
“When are you going to start
teaching?” And I said, “Gregory,
I don’t know everything,” and I
said, “I feel awkward.” And he
said, “You think I know every-
thing? Why do you think I learn
all the time from different teach-
ers? Why do I go to Hong Kong?
Why do I go to Hawaii?”
He traveled around because his
goal, as a teacher, was to get some
of the best teachers available so
he could study with them and
learn more, and then he would
Indie Author & Book Fair slated May 9
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Beach Local Indie Au-
thor & Book Fair will
take place 10 a.m. to 4
p.m., Saturday, May 9 at
Jupiter’s Books, 244 N.
Spruce, Cannon Beach.
All twenty participat-
ing, independently-pub-
lished authors are local to
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many live on the North
Coast. A few have new
works they will be signing
at the event, which orga-
nizers hope will become
an annual affair.
Authors include David
N E W
Robinson and Gregory E.
Zschomler from Cannon
Beach; Jeva Singh-Anand
from Seaside; Chip Mac-
Gregor and Holly Lorintcz
from Manzinita; Melissa
Ousley from Warrenton;
Paula Judith Johnson from
Hammond; Tricia Gates
Brown and Travis Champ
from Nehalem; Julius Jort-
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Bono from Long Beach;
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Yelm, Wash., Andy R.
Bunch and April Bullard
from Vancouver, Wash.;
Traci Leigh Taylor from
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Gaston; Montgomery Ma-
haffey, Jessica Cox and
Rita Traut Kabeto from
Portland; Maquel A. Ja-
cob from Beaverton; and
Donald McEwing from
Tigard. In addition, Matt
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The event is spon-
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N E W
A: It’s an incredible practice. It’s
called “meditation in motion.” It
has 108 different moves with my
form, the long-form (of) the Yang-
style, and some of the moves have
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Tai chi is incredible for your
mind — the mental, the physical,
the spiritual. Each tai chi move-
ment is at least one martial arts
movement, so you do something
in tai chi and it can be three dif-
ferent martial arts movements ...
But I don’t teach it for the mar-
tial arts ... It’s a Chinese exercise;
I teach it more for that ...
It’s good for older people to
take because (tai chi) really helps
things like balance.
Q: How do you usually feel when
it’s over?
A: Oh wow, I feel wonderful ...
“Chi” means energy, and, when
you do the form, you develop
a lot of energy. I can drive into
Portland, go to class for an hour
and a half. When I get back in my
car, I’m just wide awake. I have
so much energy. I feel safer on the
highway ...
Every time that I’ve really
been doing tai chi and get through
(the form), I always feel an uplift
of energy, so that’s what tai chi is
supposed to do, too.
Q: What are some of the biggest
misconceptions about tai chi?
A: I think one of the biggest ones
probably is, “Oh, this is going to
be easy. Piece of cake.” (Laughs.)
Chamber board looking to
fi ll up to 3 vacancies soon
The terms of three Can-
non Beach Chamber of
Commerce Board of Direc-
tors members will expire in
June, and the board’s Nom-
inating Committee is now
DFFHSWLQJDSSOLFDWLRQVWR¿OO
the upcoming vacancies.
Some of the candidate
criteria are:
• Must be a member of
the Cannon Beach Cham-
ber of Commerce in good
standing
• Period of service is 3
years
• Must attend at least 75
percent of board meetings
(nine per year, out of 12 to-
tal)
• Can be eligible for two
consecutive terms of three
years maximum
• Election to be held af-
ter Nominating Committee
of President, Vice President,
and Past President review
applications and submit
them to the membership for
vote within 10 days after
nominations are closed
• Announcement of elec-
tion results will be declared
at the Chamber of Com-
merce Board Meeting in
June
For applications, please
contact Executive Director
Courtland Carrier at 503-
436-2623 (phone), 503-436-
0910 (fax) or CourtC@can-
nonbeach.org.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF MARILYN ROOPER
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