The Narrative Image

If ev'ry tongue was still the noise would still continue The rocks and stones themselves would start to sing: Tim Rice / Andrew Lloyd Webber These are a few of the pages of our genealogy. Some of the pages are sterile and blank with almost no writing. Some of the pages that had interesting stories are long lost or ruined. But even now, there are still some pages – almost miraculous fragments – that preserve remarkable portraits of our ancestors and relatives. The story is not always straight-forward. There are unexpected twists in the plot. If there is an over-riding theme in our genealogy it might be that life as a whole appears resilient, creative and enduring, but that life experienced more individually, say as an individual (or even a particular species) is finite and spans no more than a chapter or two – no exceptions. We still don’t really have any solid evidence that there is any other life anywhere else in the universe. For all we know, this is the only world where matter...

Sagging rainclouds took a sideways glance at me and pointed wet threatening fingers in my direction but ended up not touching me as I headed up the Hamilton Mt. Trail. In the distance I could see the Bonneville Dam stretched out across the Columbia, and as I gained elevation, this particular fruit of my species’ technology began to take on the semblance of building blocks - a child’s toys cluttering the living room (but never-the-less generating relatively cheap energy). At about a mile and a quarter in, the trail meanders near a couple of waterfalls. Evidently, ultra eco-sensitivity has resulted in the construction of a nature trail that effectively keeps hikers from touching the water. Either that or trail manufacturers have been forced to build safety barriers geared to the public’s lowest common intelligence denominator. The end result is an ambiance that harkens to comparisons with standing in line at Disneyland. At Pool of the Winds, the cascading water pours into a carved r...

Lower Lacamas Creek – Below the Lower Falls – 03-08-08 Pothole Falls – Lower Lacamas Creek – 03-08-08 A Rivulet of Lower Lacamas Creek – Under the Bridge – 03-08-08 Same Rivulet 03-08-08 Pluralism – Lower Lacamas Creek Trail – 03-08-08 Delivering Leaflets – Lower Lacamas Creek Trail – 03-08-08 The Point – Kelley Point Park – 03-01-08 A Single Cloud – Kelley Point Park – 03-01-08 Detail of a Tree – Smith and Bybee Lakes – 03-02-08 Awakening Iris – Smith and Bybee Lakes – 03-02-08 Puffy Thing with Bug – Smith & Bybee Lakes – 03-02-08 Ravaged Time – Lost Creek – Oregon Coast – 02-24-08 Time Capsule – Lost Creek – Oregon Coast – 02-24-08 Time Traveler – Lost Creek – Oregon Coast – 02-24-08 Three Tenors – Newport Bay – 02-24-08