About Springfield's Thurston

I know there will be many people that will post basically this same blog today, but I still want to be one of them. I was getting dressed in the bedroom in Boise Id while watching Fox News (yes, I am one of those conservative types.) When all of a sudden, the program was interruped with a scene so unbelievable that my wife and I stopped getting ready for work and were glued to the TV.

We saw what had happened to one of the twin towers and while we were watching a second plane crashed into the other. What in the world was happening?

The heroics of the passengers aboard Flight 93 will always be part of America. The people we lost from these attacks will be missed in our communities. One question that everyone was asking was very well summed up by Alan Jackson with this song.

My concern now is what Daryl Worley expressed in his song, "Have We Forgotten?"I hope that we haven't forgotten that there are people out there that still want to kill us and our civilization. Are we the best neighbors to the world? I don't know, but we don't deserve to be despised and attacked.

As you may be able to tell, I am a fan of country music. I think that it portrays how a lot of us are feeling most of the time. That doesn't mean that I think that it protrays my feelings all of the time, but I do think that these two songs portray how I feel about our military. I am a Vietnam era veteran and I know what it is like to come back home to less than a hero's welcome. Never forget, these men are heros. No matter what your opinion of our government or elected official is, the men in the military are risking their lives for you and yours.

My son is a Gulf War vet (Navy) and I am very proud of his service to his country. Thanks for taking a few minutes to read my tribute.

I got a call yesterday from my 6 year old granddaughter. She is the apple of her Grandfather's eye and knows how to make this gruff (sometimes) old man melt. I took her and her little brother to Disney World just after New Year's and am their favorite grandparent.

Now, I don't know if Disney World earned me the title or it is just because I am so warm and cuddly, but whatever the reason, I like it.

She called because she has to write about her favorite grandparent for a school assignment and needed to interview me for the assignment. She needed to know my favorite hobby (I said grandchildren but it is probably fishing with grandchildren), my favorite book, The Walking Drum by Louis L'Amour and my favorite food, chicken.

Then I thought about this song and hoped that the time would come that she would ask me the questions that Naomi was covering in it. I can remember asking my grandmother questions, but never enough to really know what it was like growing up in the 1800s. I did talk to my dad about what it was like to travel places in a horse and wagon. But my grandkids can never imagine what it was like growning up without a bathroom in the house. I was 7 before we got one.

I remember what it was like to watch TV that only came in black and white in a dark room (that was the day you did it back then.) I remember walking to school (1.8 miles) until I started High School, because our elementary school didn't have busses. Besides that, the school only had 4 rooms for 8 grades, plus a cafeteria and a gym.

Now, I have difficulty walking but love strolling with my girl. I would not like being a parent in today's environment. There are too many things that can hurt your kids out there, so I love and worry about my grandkids all the time. May they have the best of life, I think they may just earn it. BTW, she called because they live in Kentucky, a whole country away. I miss them and I miss my other grandchildren in Salem and Idaho. Family!

To all the other grandparents out there, Happy Grandparents Day!

Herrick Farms, a great place for fresh produce

I love this time of year in Oregon. There is nothing better than fresh sweet corn on the cob and fresh field ripened tomatoes. Add a bit of cantaloupe and peaches for desert and you are in heaven.

There are several places in and around the Eugene/Springfield area to get your fresh produce. The most advertised and well known are Thistledown Farms and Lone Pine Farms (no not loan pine).

It is a long drive from Thurston to get to either of them and still quite a jaunt to get to Johnson Farms off of Game Farm Road. But, it is just a little way down to road to get to Herrick Farms in Walterville. Just head out 126 toward the mountains and right after you cross the McKenzie River, look for Herrick Farms on the left.

The have great produce all through the summer into the fall. The great taste of Bodacious Corn or Hermiston Melons is a summer treat. See you at the Farm.

OK, I have been thinking about this for some time. The only thing stopping me was I wasn't sure how to start it. I also didn't know exactly how to end it. As a matter of fact, I wasn't exactly sure what to put in the middle either. But, other than that, I knew exactly how I wanted it to go.

I want to discuss finding your BLISS. I want to talk about what makes you happy. I want you to look at things a bit differently and not be down because of what is happening around you. I know this is a stressful time in the Real Estate business, but we can make it through it. I had it all written an hour ago, finally got my thoughts together and my computer decided to reset itself. All gone. Hopefully, this will even be better than the original.

First of all, let me explain that I have had my share of hardships and down times in my life. The worst happened this past year when my wife of 35 years, Elaine, passed away. She was my motivation and it was a huge change in my life when that happened. Elaine, as we told everyone, was my first wife, and I was her last husband. That is one of the reasons that I became a grandfather at 32 and a great grandfather at 54.

Now, to begin with, nothing can MAKE you happy. Nothing can MAKE you sad. You decide how you are going to feel. Feelings are not right or wrong, they just are. You decide how to respond to stimuli and happenings. Right now, the stimuli of the mortgage business is pretty negative. I have even heard that there are some areas of the country that has had a slow down in Real Estate sales. I know that is very hard to believe, but I have heard stories.

So, what is the result of your BLISS? You notice, I didn't ask what caused your BLISS, I asked the result of it. We make our own decisions as to how we feel and if we are actually finding what we are looking for, don't we?

There really isn't much that makes me feel better than helping someone purchase their first home and that contributes to my BLISS. But I actually find my BLISS in several ways. Here are some of the ways I celebrate my BLISS. I am going to add some of the ways my wife did also.

Grandchildren are God's way of rewarding us for not killing our children when they were young. Great grandchildren are interest on that.

I managed to purchase a Mustang convertible for Elaine a few months before she passed away. She loved it and I received tremendous pleasure from her enjoyment.

Vacations are excellent ways to enjoy joint BLISS. We loved Mazatlan and I have such fond memories of Mexico.

Fishing (well catching actually) is so much fun and relaxing. I normally do catch and release, but I really like eating salmon.

My wife celebrated her BLISS with gardening. Now, as a farm boy from Salem, I had enough of this when I was growing up, but again I enjoyed her pride in her garden.

I also celebrate the accomplishments of my children. My daughter is a registered nurse and my son retired as a Chief Petty Officer from the Navy. Wow!

Watching my son drive a NASCAR at 142 miles per hour was a real trip. I would have been interested, but they didn't have a big enough window to get me in and out of.

You can choose your friends, but family you are stuck with. In this area, I feel pretty good. I have lost my parents but both my older brother and sister are still around and we talk often. This is my sister's anniversary photo. They have been married over 50 years and neither one has killed the other, yet. Must have been some BLISS in there somewhere.

I used to ride a motorcycle (until the car hit me), but my memories of cruising around Guam with my wife will continue to add to my BLISS.

Finally, I want to discuss unconditional love. I know that humans talk about unconditional love and are capable of it from time to time. However, when you want unconditional love, I recommend a dog. No matter what, they love you for who you are no matter what is happening to you at the moment.

Well, this is pretty long and rambling, but I hope it is useful to someone. Please feel free to add things that bring you BLISS. Include photos.

The Jasper Extension, renamed the Bob Straub Parkway, should be done this fall when connection is made with Jasper Road.

As an Oregon native and knowing who Bob Straub was (Governor 1975 - 1979), I am quite surprised that anything is named after him, except for a small rest area somewhere remote. If you search Bob Straub, you won't come up with much on him, which is pretty appropriate for a real do nothing governor. To be honest, if you search Robert Straub, you get more, but he was still a pretty ineffective governor in a pretty long line of ineffective governors.

However, the extension of I-105 through Thurston (Springfield) connects with Jasper Road while opening up a substantial portion of Thurston to development. Springfield is a growth community and is looking for ways to expand and develop. The extension will effectively connect Hwy 58 and Springfield.

The new 3-lane road will be constructed between South 57th and Jasper Road in southeast Springfield. Lane County is providing approximately $5 million from the County Road Fund for the project and the City of Springfield is providing the other $300,000.

The parkway is being constructed primarily through vacant land and will connect to Jasper Road near Brand S Road. The new roadway will provide an arterial link between Highway 58 and Main Street and will open the Natron area of Springfield for future development. It will also help alleviate the heavy truck traffic on Jasper Road, that has been classified a safety zone.

I live in the area and want to know why the second phase of the construction, which is complete, isn't open yet?