Silas Shotwell's Blog

This used to be one of my favorite days. Since I lost my Valentine four years, four months, and 14 days ago, it is now one of the saddest. I'll be glad when it's over.

But in the meantime, I have sent candy and greetings to my daughters and daughters-in-law and cards and cash to all the grandkids. I want it to be a good day for all of them. And for you also!

So I thought I'd share a little Valentine's trivia in my blog this time.
Apparently Valentine's Day goes back to a priest named Valentine who lived in the 3rd Century. The traditional story is that Emperor Claudius II needed more troops in the Roman army and he concluded that single soldiers would fight with more tenacity and courage than married soldiers. Those who had wives and children at home were less likely to put their own lives on the line. So Claudius made marriage illegal for young men for a time! According to the story, Valentine kept performing marriage ceremonies in secret because he thought love was more important than war. He was caught by authorities, and executed. Therefore he came to be a symbol of love and he was made a saint.
Like a lot of traditions, there are lots of holes in the St. Valentine's story. In the first place, there were at least three different priests purported to be St. Valentine. Two of them lived in Italy and one in N. Africa. Some stories say Valentine became ill and died; other stories say he was beheaded. At any rate, people have been associating his name with "love" for a long time. Paper "Valentines," to be sent to others, go back as early as 1400. One from that era is on display in the British Museum.

Cupid is also associated with Valentines Day. Cupid was supposedly the angelic cherub who was the son of Venus, the goddess of love.

Hearts go back to early times with the idea that the heart is the center of emotion and passion. In Biblical times emotions were associated with the intestines rather than the heart, but hearts are far more romantic and also make better jewelry.

The celebration of Valentine's Day on February 14 goes back a long way also. Some say it is the day on which St. Valentine died. Then in the Middle Ages Chaucer said that he had observed birds choosing their mates on February 14. You call yourself "observant" and you hadn't noticed that had you? Well, if Chaucer said it, it must be right.

Still others say that the Catholic Church actually picked February 14 to honor St. Valentine because pagans were already celebrating the 14th as a holiday they called "Lupercalia." Lupercalia was a fertility festival. And the way to observe it was to kill a goat, symbolizing fertility, and a dog, symbolizing loyalty. After killing the two, you cut the goat skin into narrow strips, dipped the strips in dog blood, and then went around slapping young girls with the bloody strips. That was supposed to make them fertile! Not very romantic though.

On Lupercalia they also spread a grain called "spelt" all over people's houses, including their beds. Another fertility symbol. Also not very romantic.

So it's no wonder that we've moved on to hearts, roses, and candlelight dinners.

Valentine's is especially appealing to women. Card makers say that of the one billion cards that are purchased for Valentine's Day (second only to three billion at Christmastime), 85% of them are purchased by women. And florists say that of all the flowers that are bought at Valentine's, 15% of them are bought by women to give to themselves. Come on guys! That shouldn't have to happen!

As usual, there are "nay-sayers." In a radical feminist society there are actually those who HATE Valentine's Day. They prefer to call it: "Singles Awareness Day" and celebrate being single, rather than being involved with a lover.
One site on the Internet actually offers hundreds of different shirts, posters, keychains, etc. to denounce Valentine's Day, replacing it with S.A.D.

I don't know if they join Scrooge in saying, "Bah, Humbug," but I wouldn't be surprised.

But, whether you see it as the most romantic day of the year, or a stressful, sentimental, overly commercial nightmare, just be thankful that no one you know practices Lupercalia. Both goats and dogs are thankful, and you should be too.

Happy Valentine's Day!

A few days before Christmas Meagan and I flew to Texas to spend the holidays with Nathan and Janet and Jeff and Lara and their kids. We were gone two weeks and a day and Meagan had two weeks for holiday break. We left a cold and snowy Mt. Hood where we had a couple of feet of snow on the ground. It has continued to snow. In fact, we have had more snow this year than any winter for 28 years. So it was good to get out for a couple of weeks and enjoy the sunshine of Texas.
Accompanying us on our trip was our good friend Zhang Haiyan. She is a graduate student in environmental engineering at Portland State University. We have adopted her into our family. She is a wonderful Christian girl, 24 years old and is here for a few years to get her degree before returning to her native China. Up to this point, she has only been in Oregon and Washington and we wanted to show her another part of the country. She was eager to see Texas and lots of cowboys.

It was good to see some greenery after the snows of Mt. Hood. This palmetto tree was on the Colorado River near Nathan's home in Austin.
These flowers were at the Ft. Worth Zoo, near Jeff's home in Decatur.

Meagan even thought shorts were in order in the warm Texas climate. The other kids are Jeff and Lara's three: Sidney, Ben, and Blake..

In Ft. Worth we visited the house I grew up in at 3033 Hiawatha Trail in an area called "Indian Oaks." The house doesn't look that different than when I was a kid. My dad built the house in the mid-1940's. He started with the garage and we lived in it for a year or more. I remember the dirt floor and my mother sweeping the dirt floor. As we could afford it, we built the rest of the house. There used to be a lot more trees but a tornado took them out one weekend while we were gone. We were glad that the house was spared.

Lake Worth was not far behind our house. I attended Lake Worth schools from First Grade through High School graduation except for half of the Seventh Grade when we lived in the Bay Area of Northern California. I knew every kid in Lake Worth School. In our graduating class of sixty, forty of us had started in the First Grade together. I haven't seen most of them since.
After several days in the Decatur/Ft. Worth area, we went to Goldthwaite near where my parents both grew up. I visited my parents and grandparents graves near Goldthwaite.
My dad was orphaned at an early age and he and his two sisters were taken in by an aunt and uncle, Harvey and Annie Hale. The couple pictured here are Billy and Laverne Hale. Technically Billy was my dad's first cousin and my second cousin, but they've always seemed like my aunt an uncle, and the other Hales also. I've never met more loving and Christian people than Billy and Laverne. They still live on the old home place at Rattler, on the Colorado River (pronounced Coloraydo in Texas.)

While we were in Rattler, Haiyan got to meet two real cowboys, two of my young cousins. Though on that day they were hunting, not dressed like cowboys. Anyhow, they had shot a deer that morning on the Hale place and Haiyan got to see it. She and Meagan also "got to" dress some doves the boys had shot. The girls weren't too excited about it and the boys are still chuckling.

Near Goldthwaite we also saw Bobby Boykin, one of my first cousins who runs a rock quarry in the area. He and his older brother James were like my brothers when we were growing up. James was sick so I didn't get to see him this trip. Their mother, my Dad's younger sister, is Lorene Boykin. She is 94 now and is in a nursing home in Goldthwaite. I was blessed to have two visits with her. She is a real dear. She is hard of hearing, but clear of mind and in good health mostly. I look like her so she always said I was handsome and I always said she was pretty. I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of her or you could decide for yourself.
I got to visit other loved ones in Goldthwaite, on both sides of the family. In fact, I have some relatives that I'm actually related to on both sides of the family.

On our way to Nathan's house in Austin, we went by Longhorn Caverns in Burnet. Nathan came up to join us. We had a tour of the caverns which is one of the largest in the U.S.

At Austin we took a tour of the Texas State Capitol which is larger than the U. S. Capitol in Washington. It is beautiful inside and out and was paid for by giving ten Texas counties to the XIT ranch in the Panhandle. (XIT stands for "ten in Texas.) It is built out of native red granite.

Inside the dome. I have a bit of history at the Texas Capitol that I'll save for another blog. At one time I was very close to the Governor of Texas, Preston Smith. I participated in his inauguration. He appointed me to the Governor's Commission on Human Relations. Once a month I went to Austin for meetings and had my own desk in the Senate Chamber. I'll save that story for another time. I'm also an Admiral in the Texas Navy, an honorary position like being a "Kentucky Colonel." Our one ship is the historic Battleship Texas, anchored at San Jacinto, near Houston. I didn't get to see it this trip.

Texas has been under six different flags in its history. We drove 1800 miles in our rented car on this trip. We never got farther north than Denton, farther south than Austin, or farther west than Abilene. We didn't get East at all, didn't even get to Dallas. I had wanted Haiyan to get into the Piney Woods but we ran out of time.

No report of our trip to Texas would be complete without mentioning the food. I don't think we ever passed a Cracker Barrel without stopping. And that's saying a lot. I love the food at Cracker Barrel. If they ever need a "poster guy" I'm applying for the job.
We also ate at other great places including: Babe's (fried chicken), Rudy's (where big chunks of barbecue are served on butcher paper rather than plates, ) Joe Allen's (Barbecue and catfish), Catfish O'Harley's (obvious), River Grill (chicken fried steak,) and a number of Luby's Cafeterias. It was all great. Even Dairy Queen's have better food there. As I write this I'm remembering why I shouldn't live in Texas! I survived two weeks without weight gain but probably couldn't have done it much longer.

Some people say the flat parts of Texas are where you can see the farthest and see the least of any place in the world! But I love it. You can see from horizon to horizon. I can breathe better there. As a kid I remember Gene Autrey singing, "Don't Fence Me In" and I loved that song. I still get claustrophobic in big groves of trees.
I'm really grateful to have my work and friends in the Pacific Northwest. And I don't think anyone appreciates the beauty of Oregon more than I do. But it is good to go to Texas now and then, remember my roots, and get my passport stamped. There's no such thing as an "ex-Texan."

I think most of you got Christmas cards from Meagan and me, but I wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas via blog also. This will be my last blog for 2007. They've been a bit sporadic near the end of the year but the schedule has been unusually hectic. I'm not complaining, I'm actually thankful to be busy. The work has all been worthwhile.
Two more dear friends have preceded me to heaven in recent days: Pete Koons of Port Hueneme, CA and Marvin Pegg of Otis, OR. I go "way back" with both of them and our relationships were even richer in quality than they were in longevity. Two good men, supported by outstanding wives. God seems to enjoy doing it that way. I owe a debt to both these guys for standing by me in times when others didn't. They were truly "friends that were closer than brothers." I miss them.
I'm going to be short this time because Meagan and I leave in less than 48 hours for Texas. We're going down to spend Christmas with Jeff and family in Decatur and New Year's with Nathan and Janet in Austin. I hope to see other family and friends in Texas but am sure we won't make it around to see all we'd like. It has been four years since I've been in the Lone Star State and that is long enough to be away. We return to Mt. Hood on January 3.
This is an odd Christmas for Meagan. She ran up an enormously large cell phone bill a couple of months ago so the cell phone is gone and so is Christmas for her. It is an unusual year to have no presents under the tree, but she understands and has learned a valuable lesson. We'll see how well she has really learned it when she gets her cell phone back, (if ever).
So we've tried to focus on other things this year, things more important than getting presents. There are lots of things to be thankful for and multitudes of people who need more than we do.
Meagan's situation also kept us from going to the National Finals Rodeo. We had tickets and all, but were unable to cover travel costs. Thankfully, we were able to find someone else to use our rodeo tickets at the last minute. We watched it all on television and loved it. Our friend Trevor Brazile is truly the best in the world of rodeo! He won the triple crown of rodeo this year, only the third person who has ever done it. It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Our biggest void was missing our friend Flynnt Rasmussen, the rodeo clown. We'll hope to see him next year.
I hope a lot of you can come to see us in 2008. We're counting on that. In the meantime, have a Merry Christmas and thank God for your blessings. You are a blessing to me, and I thank God for you.

It's still November, but we've already had more snow than we had all last winter, or the winter before. It creates some inconvenience, but is beautiful. We've had no school closures, and life goes on as usual. I thought I'd post a few pictures for those of you in Palm Springs and Tucson.
We've had 30 inches of snow in the past week. It's not terribly cold, so there has been some melting, and then more snow, and then more melting, more snow, etc. As I write to you today we have about a foot and a half here at Higher Ground.

Hood River flows on as usual. This is the West Fork, taken from Woodworth Rd (for those of you who have been here). This spot is where I used to fish weekly in 1959 and 1960 when we lived here the first time. And yes, there is fishing right now. We are entering the winter steelhead season.

This is out my bedroom window, looking at the driveway.

Down the road apiece. Looks like a Christmas card. I'll be sending mine out in a week or so. They have snow on them, but not a scene as pretty as I see out my windows.

I'm finding lots to be thankful for. Most especially I'm thankful for my Nissan Xterra, donated to us so generously five years ago. It is tremendous in this weather. I've never been stuck yet in a place where I couldn't get out. I'm thankful for 4-wheel drive and studded tires. Yesterday on Highway 35 I passed Jeeps and even a Hummer in the ditch. My Xterra just kept plodding along. You might remember that last winter I pulled a wrecker out of a snow bank.

The orchard is "asleep." All this is actually wonderful for the orchard. We'll have colder weather later and this snow will be a blanket to protect the roots of the trees.


Taken out my kitchen window. If it were clear you could see Mt. Hood standing majestically behind this orchard. Only God knows how much new snow there is on the mountain. That is good news for skiiers and farmers.

I'm really grateful for our nice warm house. Inside the house I have a lot of plants and I now have geraniums, hibiscus, and gardenias blooming. Quite a contrast to outside. And I'm grateful to have a wonderful fireplace and a wood room in the basement that keeps me from having to go outside to get firewood. I have enough firewood to last through this winter.
I'm grateful for snow boots, warm coat, gloves, and hat.

And I'm especially grateful for two neighbors that have tractors and blades and even seem to enjoy plowing out my driveway. Luis Barajas is the foreman here and he does a great job. And so does my neighbor Lloyd Frasier. Sometimes it seems that they are in a race to see which one can get to plowing fastest.
And again, with my truck, I can get out even when they haven't plowed. When I took Meagan to school this morning I plowed through snow that was above my bumper, without difficulty.
Meagan has already built three "snow people" including a rock star with plastic guitar. But they keep getting covered up with snow and she has to start over. But she loves it.
Whether your weather is like mine, or balmy, I hope you're enjoying it. You might as well, since there's not much we can do about it. I hope you enjoy all these pictures that I took just this morning. And if you like snow, WISH YOU WERE HERE!

Next Thursday, November 22, is Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. Through the years Thanksgiving Day has been my favorite holiday. It's the familytime, the food, the football, and Autumn. That combination is hard to beat.
A lot of the luster has vanished since Edna Mae died. On three of our four Thanksgivings since then Meagan and I have eaten alone, twice in fast food places.
But hope springs eternal and so do memories. I'd like to recall with you some of my Thanksgivings of former years. For me they bring warm thoughts and even a few smiles.
The Thanksgivings that I remember were not all that traditional. There was one where Edna Mae was not with us. She had flown to New York City to be with Nathan so he wouldn't be alone on Thanksgiving. It was a wonderful trip for her and she talked for years about Central Park, the Macy's parade, and the tall buildings and quiet streets of that big metropolis. Her joy blessed us all.
As a boy I remember my parents inviting college students to come to our home. Most of them were from Idaho and Montana where we often spent vacation time in the summer. The Thanksgiving holiday didn't allow students to get all the way home and back, so we invited them to our house. There were usually a dozen, at least, and there was lots of celebration and laughter. We played flag football in the afternoon and thought we could have beaten the Kennedys.
Then there was the time when my father took his Boy Scout troop to Rattler, Texas. Down on the river, below cousin Billy Hale's place, we spent a few days living off the land. It was to be a "survival hike" for a merit badge. Frankly, we not only got hungry, but a bit desperate. There was a stew made up of weed greens and roots, with a little frog thrown in. On Thanksgiving Day itself we had fried armadillo. But the worst thing was the raccoon that we roasted. We had found it lying dead on a trail, and didn't know how it had died. But it was still warm, so we roasted it and attempted to eat it. A bite or two was enough for most of us. We decided that some things were worse than hunger. The armadillo was pretty good. Tasted like chicken.
When Edna Mae and I were the young preacher and wife at Star, Texas our friend Avery Poe told us he would give us our turkey for Thanksgiving. Avery raised turkeys by the hundreds (or thousands) for Thanksgiving sale. A couple of days before the holiday when we went out to his ranch to get it, he told us we would have to catch it! In loading turkeys to ship off to market three had escaped and were now running wild on his lower pasture. We spotted the turkeys, they were white, and began chasing the biggest and slowest one. I think we chased it for an hour before it collapsed exhausted. I killed it and dressed it. It weighed over 40 pounds dressed! My mother was going to roast it, but it was so big it wouldn't fit in the oven. So we had to have some fellow who owned a Barbecue pit roast it for us. The turkey lasted for days and days and the story has lasted through the years.
There were many Thanksgivings with our dear friends, George and Christa Winegeart and all our children. At first we all cooked together. But as the years passed we started eating out at nice restaurants so the wives wouldn't have to do so much work. Christa and Edna Mae would always get us up from the couches and away from the TV to take a leisurely walk in the afternoon.
And as long as we've had TV, we've watched the Macy's parade in the A.M. Sitting in robe and slippers, watching that bit of fantasy, while the turkey is roasting in the oven, gave the term "holiday" true meaning.
One Thanksgiving, while a student at Texas Christian University, I drove with a friend to Nebraska to see friends that I had met there while attending York College. I had learned to love Nebraska at Thanksgiving time. Cold mornings, autumn colors, pheasants crowing. . . all added to my Thanksgiving mystique. But on this particular year, there was an early storm and we actually got snowed in before we got to the town where we were headed. We had been invited to spend the holiday with the Andersons at Wauneta NE, but we only got as far as Minden NE. We got snowed in there and had to stay for four days in a motel. Local German families took us in for meals and we got to meet some very special people. Minden calls itself the "Christmas City of the World" and the Christmas lights were even more spectacular with the town blanketed in two feet of snow.
A couple of times I have worked in soup kitchens on Thanksgiving. That brings warmth to the heart.
And a few times, when my kids were small, we've gone to Dallas Cowboy football games. Once we stood in line in a cafeteria with my college classmate and Cowboy great, Bob Lilly.
Well, this is memory enough. I feel warm and stuffed. Thanks for listening. I hope you have your own good memories and that you'll have an extra-special Thanksgiving this year.
Meagan and I actually have no Thanksgiving plans this year. First time ever. The last couple of years there were big plans that didn't pan out. It was disappointing enough that I decided to simply make no plans this year. But I'm sure it will be a good day.
I'll have plenty of good memories. That's for sure!