More favorite photos from 2009

Was there any doubt my favorite photos from the past year would be of the most beautiful and best fishing partners and friends anyone could ever have? Top photo is Kim and her record 22-pound silver salmon. Second photo is Kate with her first silver she ever caught at Cordwood creek. Third is of Brittany fighting a halibut while enjoying the sunny day at Benjamin Island. Fourth is Jill with two of the 4 silver salmon she caught during the only 4 hours we fished together this past year. And the fifth photo is Kim with the sunset in Gastineau Channel while fishing for king salmon.

Favorite Music Experience 2009

I am a rock and roll music snob. I have seen The Rolling Stones, The Dead, The Boss, Van The Man, B-52s and many more. My taste is refined and exquisite. In short I do not put up with posers and frauds.

That said I was knocked off my feet by the amazing performance by Annie Bartholomew and Alex Nelson and the band Ball and Chain during the KXLL Woodstock-40-year-anniversary dance. Their cover songs of Jimi Hendrix, The Greatful Dead and Janis Joplin were first rate. Their show was hands down my favorite live musical performance for 2009. To put in in simple terms. The kids can rock!

Harbor Seals

I have been doing lots of walking since I was laid off. My favorite places to go are to the docks. Today I was rewarded for my walk to the Intermediate Dock in Juneau Harbor. There were several harbor seals eating herring under the dock. I got a lot of nice photos and some video with my point and shoot camera.

Alicia

One day outside my bungalow we found a little kitten. We fed it and we both took turns playing with it. After much deliberation we named her Bobby Magee. My cat Gandalf who I had for 19 years was also a calico cat. I wish there was a way I could have brought Bobby Magee home to Alaska.

My first day in San Jose, Costa Rica I bought a rose for no reason from a street vendor. I was staying at the Tica Linda. It is a dumpy place very popular with back packers from around the world.

It was there met Alica. The moment I met her I gave her the rose and told her, "I never knew such beauty could exist in the world." I made her laugh and I took a blurry photo to mark the occasion.

Venus of Jaco Beach, Costa Rica.


Dinner in China Town in San Francisco.

Alicia strolled in Jaco wet with rain.
The sky was blue over the beach.
The water was coffee brown under the bridge.
And every sunset was golden on Alicia.
The other elements were green and rose and white.
Alicia smiles, bicycles pass she speaks Spanish like a song.
A girl stepped into the lawn to catch a mariposa.
The whole world, Costa Rica, America, Alabama
Was quiet around Alicia.
We looked at the sky, it was not forbidden.
Mouth, nose, eyes were open. There was no danger.
Alicia feared nothing. Not even spiders.
She waited for messages slow to arrive.
Alicia strolled in the garden, in the morning.
We had gardens; we had mornings in those days.

(I met Alicia during my first trip to Costa Rica in October 1996. With other trips to Costa Rica and San Francisco. Did I fall in love? Read the poem and draw your own conclusions. She has a beautiful son now and lives with her partner in the deep south. We still call and write to catch up with each other every so often)

A musical Christmas card from Juneau.

Birthday

I spent a good part of my birthday on Sunday at the Shrine of St. Terese. It was a very peaceful day to think and ponder my next moves. I had my I-pod and I listened to Frank Sinatra sing “It Was a Very Good Year” several times.

From the Shrine I could see Eagle reef where I almost had a disaster when I hit a rock with my boat when I was going out fishing with Brittany this past summer. I could see the entrance to North Pass and South Benjamin Island. Two of my favorite places to go fishing. There were several whales in the distance. I could see their spouts in the bright sunshine.

An old man came to the Shrine. He placed some yellow roses at the base of the big cross at the shrine that looked like they were made of gold in the light of the setting sun. He bowed his head for a few moments and seemed to cry for a bit then he left without even noticing me.

Alaska Governor Sean Parnell and his family came to the Shrine while I was there and it was good to see him again. We met each other at the Alaska Youth Leadership Workshop held at the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus in the summer of 1977. His daughter Grace is an aspiring photographer and she took a photo of the governor and me.

So when I think about the past years highlights it was like Sinatra said. “It was a very good year.” There were lots of great friends, weather, fishing and adventures.

After my day at the Shrine I had dinner with my Moser family. It was Patty's birthday as well. It was so good to be surrounded by family.

Today is the shortest day of the year. Tomorrow there will be a few more seconds of daylight than today. In just a few months it will be bright and warm again. And fish will raise again for my boat the Tupelo Honey.

Midnight walk.

I get insomnia at times. Usually after too much ice tea or an emotional spike. I had to many thoughts cascading in my mind to sleep last night so I took a lone walk through town. I did lots of thinking but there were no answers or resolutions to be found in my lonely walk.

I have tried many times and failed to write a poem about my evening walks. Each time my efforts sound like a cheap rip-off of Aquainted with the Night by: Robert Frost. So I no longer try. But I am getting a clear idea of his understanding of solitude that he must have had to write such a poem.

Acquainted with the Night
by: Robert Frost

I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain -- and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.

I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.

I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,

But not to call me back or say good-bye;
And further still at an unearthly height,
O luminary clock against the sky

Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.

From "New Hampshire", 1923

Full Circle

During my second week on the job at the Juneau Empire in 1982 I took photos of Urs Oskar Keller, a journalist from Switzerland who was traveling through Alaska. He arrived in Juneau in the middle of the night by ferry and since it was so late he camped in the doorway of the Teen Club. He rolled out his sleeping bag and got some needed sleep. During the night a thief stole his back pack.

We did a story on him in the paper. My photo showed him standing and talking with his hands outstretched talking about how he lost everything. The town rallied and helped him out in part due to the story.

Today during the second week since I was laid off he found me from his home in Switzerland and sent me an email asking if I still had the photo. Somewhere in my files I do have it. A small coincidence. But I like to think there might be greater meaning. Got to start my search for the photo. I have a reason to be a photographer today!

I told him I was laid off from my job of 27 years and here is his letter. He is a German speaker so his English is a bit off but the meaning is clear.

"My dear Brian

I am so sorry to hear that. But sometimes is a change something good, even when it seems in the beginning as unfaire and hard.

I hope you are not to worry and I wish you much, much success in the near and fare future.

Time flies. Does the Juneau Empire suffers from the changing media print media world?

Yes, I would love to get your fine pictures of my first and unhurt criminal encounter in Juneau, when I was young and also already a reporter. I love to hear from you again.

Have a fine Christmas time and a lot of energy for a new period in your life.

With fond regards from your Swiss collegue

URS

Urs Oskar Keller"

I think of what Urs and other friends have said. That my being laid off may have a good reason that will become apparent someday. If Urs was not robbed all those years ago I never would have met him. He would have passed anonymously through Juneau and only a few would have met him and known what a fine man he is. As it was hundreds met him as the town rallied to assist him and the town is much richer from knowing Urs now.

An elderly friend of my late mom's said. "Maybe now you can get married now you are no longer married to your work." That's a thought. One of the last things mom said to me was. "I am dying. Don't be sad. Get married."

I have been taking lots of long walks the past week. I am always drawn to the waterfront. Several years ago there was a map of the world laid out on the Cruise Ship Dock. The outline of the map is made of nails. They are hard to see but today the frost made nail outline stand out. They were almost cryptic messages just for me. My two favorite ones said. "500 Miles and Yesterday/Today. Almost a message with meaning for me. Maybe it means I need to go to Buenos Aires.

Love Birds

The weather in Juneau has been fantastic the past few days. Great days to be unemployed. I walked to town for some meetings but before my first meeting I walked along the cruise ship dock.

I saw a pair of ravens doing what I assume was a courtship ritual. The bird on the right did most of the dancing and singing. He scratched at the frost and made a low clucking sound. It reminded me my cousin Raymond dancing. He is a Tlingit dancer for a local dance group. It looked like he took lessons from the birds.

It is assumed ravens mate for life so the mating ritual must very important. I wonder if Raven told his love all the things he did and can do to win her over. "I brought the sun to the sky! I put the moon and all the stars in the sky!" I can dance! I can find food!"

I wonder if he sang the raven version of Johnny Cash's song. "Flesh and Blood"

"Mother Nature's quite a Lady
But you're the one I need
Flesh And Blood need Flesh And Blood
And you're the one I need."

After a while they both flew over the water and were gone.

I have had so many calls of support the past few days I do not have time to address them all individually. All I can say is thank you very much. Thank you for your friendship, prayers and thoughts.

It has been quite busy the past few days being unemployed. I was required to switch from my old septic system to the new North Douglas sewer system by December 6. I am glad I hired an expert. After seeing the magnitude of the job I realized it was foolish of me to think I could have done it myself. Project is done. I have a flush toilet in my house still. That I am told is a necessity for my abode to be considered a cool bachelor pad.

I had dinner with Jill at Kenny’s Wok Thursday night. After dinner we took a walk though the ghost town that is the downtown tourist corridor. After strolling past all the closed tourist traps we walked on the deserted cruise ship dock. I had the honor of introducing Jill to the Patsy Ann statute on the dock.

Friday morning I got a call from Kim inviting me for a walk on Sandy Beach with her dog. It was the first sunny day in a long time in Juneau. The walk was spectacular with fresh snow on all the mountains and blue sky.

Sandy beach was one of my favorite places to take photos during my career. I took photos of about 25 4^th of July s there for the newspaper. There were sunny days with perhaps a quarter of Juneau’s population there. Sometimes there was wind and rain and only a few dozen hardy Independence Day revelers. All dutifully photographed by yours truly. One of my favorite 4^th of July photos was of my friend Holly Gray proudly walking around with her US flag over her shoulder. She is so pretty I had to take several photos of her over the many celebrations there. I took photos of her from when she was a little girl to a women with children of her own as old as she was when I first photographed her.

During today’s walk on Sandy Beach with Kim we came upon the partial remains of on old skiff emerging from the sand. I like to wonder what experiences the skiff might have had. Did it ever save fishermen from a sinking boat in a long ago forgotten storm? Did the shipwright who built her giver her a name? Her lines are long and elegant. She must have been a beautiful boat. I think it was a dory design.

I took a photo of Kim in the boat. She used to be a river guide and demonstrated various rowing styles.

With apologies to my friend Jill who set the standard for writing about bicycle riding, my second ever blog entry will be on that subject.

My bike is usually in hibernation from early October to Alaska Folk Festival time in April. I felt the need to ride Audry, (my bikes name) on Friday out North Douglas Highway. I had no idea on how far I was going to go. If my friend Brad was working on his house at 5-mile I would have been content to stop there for a quick visit then head back home. But he wasn't there and I kept on going. I inadvertently set my iPod to replay Bob Dylan's song Mr Tambourine Man. My hands were in gloves and I did not feel like changing the iPod settings in the rain. It is a good song to have to listen to over and over. One of my all time favorite lines is in the song. "To dance beneath the diamond sky with on hand waving free" Every once in a while I try to think of a line to write that will be as descriptive yet enigmatic at the same time. The line is out there but I have yet to find it.

I noticed the rusty carcass of an old truck not too far from the side of the road in a marsh. I can tell it is normally hidden from view by alder trees and roadside vegetation. It obviously has been there for decades. I grew up on North Douglas. I thought I knew where every tree, house and car were but this was something new. I tried to remember if I ever saw it while playing with my friends Jay, Sonny, Raymond and all the other North Douglas friends I have known. It was not like discovering a gold mime but still an interesting find.

So many memories of life on North Douglas. I thought of the time I was hit by a car while riding my new spider bike from Sears. It was the summer between 4th and 5th grade. I was riding to my house when I was hit. I remember the sound of the crying tires, then the sensation of floating, then I saw and heard people around me. I remember hearing someone say. "Is he dead?" There was a heavy rain falling so when I hit the pavement I hydroplaned for over 100 feet according to the police. The investigator said if it was dry I might have tumbled and most likely would have died. Just like that it could have all ended. I would only be just a faded memory to only a few people. A yellowing 4th grade photo might have been the only evidence that I once existed. The x-rays showed no broken bones, no strains or twists. My left side was all road rash but that was it as far as my injuries. When I got home from the hospital that night dad carried me to bed. When I woke the next morning he was still in a chair next to me holding vigil.

I kept riding my bike to the end of the road. I stopped to take a photo near the North Douglas boat ramp and switch my iPod to random play. By then it was getting dark. I chugged as fast as I could against the wind and rain. I was wearing my fishing rain gear. It was acting like a great sail as I fought the wind all the way back home. I got to my home and had a hard time with the key because my hands were just about frozen. After a hot shower it was off to the Public Market then El Sombrero for dinner.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009

This is my first attempt at a blog and I will do my best to write things of interest to all of you. The name my blog Report to Amos is a variation on the name of Nikos Kazantzakis' autobiography Report to Greco. The great Greek writer Kazantzakis wrote several of my favorite books: Zorba the Greek, The Greek Passion, Report to Greco. In his autobiography he offered up the story of his life to the memory of his grandfather. I will try my best to do the same here. To make a report to my late father Amos. From past and future grand adventures to everyday occurrences. Some wonderful day many years from now it will be my turn to "Walk into the Forest" and I will have an accounting before my father.

Here are the last lines from Report to Greco. I am changing the word grandfather to father.

"I come to recline at your side, to become dust at your side, that the two of us may await the Final Judgment together.

I kiss your hand, father. I kiss your right shoulder, I kiss your left shoulder.

Father, hello!"