Observations

July 24, 2009
Back at the Bismarck Public Library so Bill can catch up on photo processing. We can connect at the campground, and there are a couple of places to plug in, but he has a hard time seeing his screen outside--not a good way to process photos. So we come here. It’s a really nice library. For those people who don’t want to use their own computers or do not have one, there are many internet computers and then a few that are for database searches and word processing. It’s a very pleasant space. Spacious with good lighting. Comfortable furniture and air conditioning--this last was a big plus yesterday when it was in the mid 90s here. Today is supposed to be around 80. Not my favorite, but I can live with it, especially in July and especially when my friends from Klamath Falls are telling me that it’s been in the 90s there for several days with more to come. I miss the friends, but not the weather!
I like Bismarck. It’s very pleasant. The one fly in the ointment is that there is apparently some sort of pollen or something here that doesn’t like me. In Klamath Falls I suffered to varying degrees from some kind of allergy or sensitivity to plants, pollution or something. My ears would get clogged up and crackle, my throat would burn, I would cough and be congested. Once I left, I was relieved of these issues until we got here. And then yesterday they cut the grass at the campground. My throat burned, my ear got even worse and when I spoke, I could hear my voice echoing through my head. Then my wisdom tooth starting hurting. Don’t know what the deal is with that. I spent last night in a great deal of pain. Finally I took some Benadryl to try and relieve the pressure that was building up in my head and to hopefully get some sleep. It worked. This morning, the symptoms are back. The tooth pain is the worst, of course, and I don’t know just how that fits into everything. But surgery to remove a wisdom tooth--or I should say what’s left of it--is not an option, so I just have to hope that things ease up.
Other than that, though, we are having a good time here. The campground is nice and peaceful. The town itself is interesting. It’s like a suburb without the urb. There’s no city to speak of.

The center of everything seems to be the Capitol Grounds. That is where the North Dakota Heritage Center is--a place I highly recommend for anyone traveling through Bismarck. It’s very well done and informative and there is no admission charge. They also have an extensive group of walking trails on the grounds. We walked around this morning before walking over here. The one we were on had some sculptures, which are scattered all over, as well as different kinds of trees. There were markers set into the ground alongside the trail telling you the common name and the scientific name for the various trees. And there was a set of petrified logs that are apparently 57 million years old. Those were great--such a wonderful group of textures! Anyway, it looks like people come from town to walk on the trails. It’s a very nice place to walk. Lots of green and plenty of shade!
Last night we saw in the paper (after the fact) that the Lutheran Church was hosting a community dinner. I wish I would have known earlier so I could have gone and helped. It was good to see something going on, anyway. We are still waiting for a reply to the email we sent the clerk of the Bismarck Religious Society of Friends. When I googled them to find out where they are and what time they meet, I got two different addresses and a meeting time with one of them. Who knows whether this is accurate. We will try to get in touch by phone and if we can’t, we’ll try to go to the Unitarian Church. I am appreciating more and more the great job Jan McClellan does on the Klamath Falls Friends Church website. It contains the kind of current information that I have been looking for and not finding on this trip.
Yesterday was the day to have the gas gauge fixed. It decided to stop working as we left Butte and it was making Bill nervous. On the highway it’s not so bad because we know how far we can go on a tank of gas. But as we get into more urban/suburban driving, we’re not quite sure. It turns out that the floater had filled with gas and sunk to the bottom of the tank, so it was registering as empty. Mr. Lubester put a new one in and now we’re back at full.

Where Are Your Manners?

July 11, 2009
Here I am at the Coeur d’Alene library. It is a lovely building--very airy and spacious. Lots of light. It’s air conditioned J The people seem very helpful. There is art everywhere. And as soon as you come in, there is a used bookstore that benefits the Friends of the Library. I’m sitting by a window and looking out at more public art and a bunch of green space. It’s too much grass, I will grant you that, but there are also trees with picnic tables underneath them in the shade. And best of all, there are people wandering around with armloads of books! This can only be a good thing! I continue to be amazed at how much people have invested in their community. I think that there are about the same number of people living here as in Klamath Falls, but the contrast is striking. I will admit that this place has many advantages--the scenery is beautiful--there is just a natural beauty here that Klamath Falls simply does not possess. And this is a kind of a destination to a larger degree than I imagine Klamath Falls is. Still, people are clearly making an effort to move forward and not just look backwards. Downtown is thriving, not dying. People seem involved.

There is a Farmer’s Market that sets up twice a week and another similar thing that sets up on yet another day. We went to the market this morning and many of the organic produce booths were just about sold out. There is a second Friday art walk. The whole vibe is different and I find it completely refreshing! And the people seem so friendly. Everywhere we go people are just extremely friendly. Lots of smiling faces and happy greetings.
The campground got busy last night as you would expect. Unfortunately one of the new arrivals is a little boy who seems to not understand the idea of manners or polite behavior. Last night he began to hang out a couple of feet from our tent. The creek runs by there. There are “public spaces” where he could have gone to look at the creek, but he had to do it there even though you’re not really supposed to be getting in other people’s space. Bill and I were in our tent and had to finally zip up the screen covering. Then he proceeded to run around with this flashing light thing while yelling. He continued this well after quiet time had begun. It was highly annoying to have this light flashing on the tent walls. Do I sound like an old fuddy-duddy yet? This morning was the clincher, though. He ran around our tent and stood a couple of feet away next to the tall grass on the creek bank. He proceeded to rummage around in his pants and urinate in the grass a few feet from our tent! I could not believe this and I wish now I has said something. Where are this boy’s adults? Has no one ever taught him that he is not the center of the universe and that a bit of consideration fro other people is a good thing?
Of course, I do not enjoy being around children, so I am not inclined to be amused by this kind of thing. And I have noticed that things seem to be way out of control in many cases. This does not hold true for everyone, of course, but I can remember being in the library and having parents tell their kids to place the books they wanted to check out on the counter. When they did this, they were praised as though they had just composed a masterpiece of music or something. “GOOD JOB!” their parents would exclaim. I used to want to ask whether this was really the response that was necessary. If you shout to the heavens every time your kid does the most mundane and basic things, they will get the idea that they must always get this kind of praise. And in he real world, as we all know, it is not forthcoming. That is not to say we shouldn’t tell people when they are doing something we appreciate or when we are impressed by something they have done or whatever. I try to do that on a regular basis. But I never once told an adult library patron, “GOOD JOB” when they handed me their library card! And I grew up on the other side of things where everything I did would be met with criticism. I am not advocating that, either. It simply seems to me that there must be some happy medium. And parents should always remember that their little darlings are not so darling to everyone. The older I get, the more I value consideration of other people and I thing that being polite is a good thing. And being polite does not include wandering into someone’s tent site and urinating!
I must say that being in these campgrounds is an amazing way to observe people and their behavior. I am now pondering all sorts of questions about why people do what they do!

One Last Time

We have set a date! If all goes according to this part of the plan, we will be leaving Klamath Falls on Thursday, June 25th! I am afraid to get too excited about the whole thing, and there is a bunch of stuff to be done between now and then. Nevertheless, it feels good to have that date to plan for.
Yesterday we gave away a bunch of stuff and then ran around doing errands. We drove. Both of us have noticed that we really miss walking like we used to, but we had limited time and the things we had to do took us in opposite directions, so using the truck was the wiser choice. This morning, though, we were able to do what we needed to do in town and walk. It was nice to be able to do that even though it was a little hot. The sun here is just relentless. The quality of heat and light just seem completely different than anything I have ever experienced before. Still, I had an unexpected gift of a couple of weeks of clouds and rain, so I can’t complain.
One of the things I did this morning was to stop in at the yarn shop and say good-bye to the owner. I have worked there on an occasional basis for 4 ½ years, teaching and taking care of customers when she needed an extra pair of hands. The shop opened up just a couple of months after we moved here and I was so excited. I remember how I used to wish there was a yarn shop within walking distance when I lived in Fairbanks. So I got it here instead. It was a whole new area of my life that just blossomed. It’s a good place. So is the library.
I stopped in there yesterday to talk to the people I used to work with in the Circulation Department and to give them some cards with this blog address, our website and email. Before I left, I told them that the library had helped to keep me sane--not because I worked there, but because for the whole 5 years I have been here, that library has been a beacon of light for me. It is an excellent library for a town this size. I was surprised at this when I got here and to some extent, I am still surprised. But they have great people working there; they order great books; the circ people get them out on the shelves so I can find them; and what I don’t find, I can interlibrary loan and they will do their best to get what I want. It has been wonderful to have access to words, ideas, thoughts, and knowledge. I have missed having a university library to use, but this one has been almost as good!
So it has been interesting these past couple of days to stop in one last time at these places that have been a part of my life here. It seems unreal that after 5 years of popping in on a regular basis, I have now done that for the last time. But I will always remember the people and the places here that enriched my life in various ways when I really needed them!