The Pacific

Change of Venue

Hello all you readers out there. When I first started this blog I was interested in exploring life along the pacific ocean, especially in Kauai and Seattle. For the last year I have been concentrating on photography and have increasingly used this blog to post images. As you know from a previous post I recently launched a photography website: mgmasonphotography.com. Now I have added a blog to that domain and will be posting to that site. To go directly to the site you can click on: mgmasonphotography.com/WordPress/

I plan to keep this site active for a month or two but after that I will close it down. Hope to see you on the new blog.

Marilyn

Into the Blue

When I was a regular scuba diver I loved stepping off the boat to drop 100 feet below the surface into another world. What I am about to do reminds me of that experience. After working for seven years to found and establish WebJunction as an important part of the library community I am planning to retire from my position as Executive Director on September 1.

Creating something from nothing is an exhilarating experience and something I could not have done without the enthusiasm and hard work of my colleagues. For all of you who believed in the dream I am deeply grateful. You have made the work of the last seven years a joy. And I will miss our daily interactions. But yesterday we launched WebJunction 2.0 and I know I can leave secure in the knowledge that our shared vision will survive and thrive.

For me, I expect to continue to contribute to the WJ community – in a somewhat less intense fashion. You can also expect to see more blogging and more photographs. Writing and photography have been subsidiary parts of my life for many years and I now hope to have the time to bring them more into focus – so to speak.

And then there is the unknown. In the past I have found that to find the new you have to first leave the familiar. The discovery process requires space. It is both uncomfortable and necessary – like stepping off the boat. You don’t know exactly what you will find until you take that big step and drop into another world. I’m looking forward to the adventure.

Image taken by Bob several years ago. That’s me behind the mask.

How Important Is the Equipment?

Photographers often debate the importance of equipment. A good camera certainly can't help a bad photographer create quality images any more than expensive golf clubs can make you Tiger Woods. Still, the right lens for the image you are trying to create certainly helps. Last week I invested in a Canon 50mm f1.2 lens after reading rave reviews. Yesterday I took it out for a test drive with Ryan and Samantha - my favorite small subjects. Here is my favorite of the shoot:

And here's another I just can't resist sharing. So, you make the call. I could never have gotten the sharpness or the soft bokeh with any other lens I own. You might also want to notice how really cute the kids are.

Image: Taken of Ryan and Samantha March 2008.

Pod 3

No this is not about an arcane episode of Star Trek – although it is about a very fast trip through a very different space. It is the last thing I saw yesterday on the white board of my hospital room as I left for home. Pod (post-operative day) 3 was the day I returned home. The fact that I was able to leave the hospital only three days after major surgery is the result of the good work and good wishes of lots of folks. My surgeon James Crutcher is amazing. Not only is he great in the operating room but you should hear the nurses talk about his dedication to patients. The entire operating room staff, from anesthesiologist to nurses, were superb – well, they must have been because I expressly asked the anesthesiologist not to let me remember anything about the procedure, and I don’t. I can say that the results were impressive.

Swedish hospital and the staff of nurses, physical therapists, and occupational therapists were gently persistent in getting me back on my feet in less than 12 hours after the operation. No matter what I might have said at the time I am grateful for their nudging. Then there is Brett Lezamiz, physical therapist extraordinaire - part drill sergeant, part cheerleader – who got me in good shape for my own private marathon.

The role of family and friends at a time like this is more important than I think I realized. Flowers, books, cards, emails (not at the hospital, silly), telephone calls, and prayers go a very long way in providing a base of love and understanding that accelerates the healing process.

If there is one critical key to recovery it has to be Bob. He went with me to pre-op exams and meetings. He was there before the operation and he was in my room when they wheeled me back. He was there every morning and every evening even as he was trying to carry on with his work. He prepped the house, brought me flowers, got the medicine, went for groceries, and fed me. This afternoon as he was changing a dressing I said, “When we promised for better or for worse I bet you weren’t thinking of this.” He smiled and I realized that for me this is part of the “for better.”

I expect that this will my last post on this topic since I don’t really want to turn The Pacific into a medical blog. My having more time to read and dream will, no doubt, influence posts for the next few weeks. I look forward to sharing what I discover.

Becoming bionic

Loyal reader. Tomorrow I am scheduled to have a second hip replacement. Although I am not looking forward to the surgery itself I am looking forward to restored functionality and reduced pain. I am also looking forward to a few weeks of looking inward. Last year, when I had the first hip replaced, I decided to start this blog and return photography to my life. This year I have a stack of books to read and hope to learn how to use Adobe Photoshop. Then there is March madness. Someone has to watch all that basketball.

Most important, I look forward to taking the time to just be. I see the forced recuperation period as an opportunity to discover something about who I am at this point in my life, see if I like the balance. It’s not a rigorous quest, more of a settling. Not a pursuit of a goal but an opening to opportunity. Some might even call it a vacation. In fact a friend commented that next year I might want to try just taking the time off – and skip the surgery.

I’m not yet sure how much of this I will put in the blog. But, who knows, camera in hand I may see something new close to home.

A few words

Some of you have been asking why it has been so long since my last post. I have been working on two writing projects. The first is an article for Library Journal called "E-Learning's Next Wave." The second is an article reviewing restaurants in Seattle that will be published in American Libraries just prior to the American Library Association meeting here in January. Because Bob and I have gathered far more information about wine, food, and the restaurants that serve them than we can possibly cram in a short article I plan to post additional information for all you foodies on this site. For now I am struggling to meet Monday's deadline, but stay tuned for lots of good tips and treats.

Image: Digitalis taken July 2006 in Alaska.

Dorothy's war; Dorothy's peace

In every life there is a pivotal moment. There is the before and the after, when everything is changed forever. For Dorothy, that moment occurred with the death of her husband. He was 42; she was 38. He left her with no money, a high school diploma, and six children.

Her life was a series of battles. She sold real estate to support her family. She struggled with creditors to maintain her house. When most people were ready to retire she went back to school to get not only a bachelor’s degree but a master’s, as well. She had finished her course work for a PhD when illness stopped her research.

Last Tuesday my son Charlie, her oldest grandchild, and I visited her for the last time. She wanted to stand up and look at herself in the mirror. She kept saying: “I don’t want normal. I don’t want normal.” I think by normal she meant ordinary, maybe even comfortable. Certainly by that definition she did not live an ordinary life – it was extraordinary by any measure.

Before her death all but one of her six children managed to get to see her. She seemed to be waiting for each of us to say goodbye. She was smart and strong and we wish for her the peace that she has earned. She died today. Dorothy Killebrew, 1924-2006.

Image: A photo I found of my mother among the family photographs. I’m guessing that she gave it to my father before they were married.

There is a place

When I was younger I had a theory that one of life's quests was to discover the place where you are most yourself. As I got older and lived in different places I decided that a more important challenge was to discover those things you most appreciate wherever you live. It was only when we moved to Seattle last August that I remembered my original theory.

There is something about Seattle that feels like home to me, something that encourages me to be more myself. It is probably a combination of the openness and laid back lifestyle of the people and the drop dead beauty of the place. Or maybe it's the food. Whatever it is, I decided to use this blog to explore life along the Pacific. After nine months I am pretty sure that it is significantly different from life along the Atlantic.

I plan to explore the culture, arts, wine and food, geography, and emergent technology of the region and examine the influences and intersections with Alaska, Hawaii, and parts of Asia. Please join me in this adventure by contributing your own reactions and experiences.

Image: Sunset over Elliott Bay from our living room. Taken May 2006.