Mindy introduced me to Katy. They met at a Ladies' happy hour event and Katy had her cracking up. A friendship ensued and now here we are. I met Katy at her home and we chatted in her living room. Katy's a comedian but, fair warning, you'll have to make plans to see her live because she didn't tell any jokes during our interview. She's also a DJ, but you'll need to go to Maverick's to scratch that particular itch as we also didn't do any dancing. We did have a lovely conversation, which you can read and listen to below. She seems to be someone who says Yes! often. And she seems to hold space for our differences while focusing, instead, on what we have in common. Post-recording, Katy shared some material with me, but I'm yet to see her perform. Maybe I'll see you at her next gig?

Donna introduced me to Shimiko. They know each other from crossing paths at Family Kitchen. Shimiko was all smiles and enthusiasm and sincerity. Hers is an absolutely contagious energy and one the world certainly needs more of. She managed to free up some time for me in her packed schedule and her newborn did us a favor by napping through our entire interview. Not feeling completely herself because of the lack of sleep that often accompanies a fresh baby, Shimiko tried to convince me to forget this interview ever happened, but I wasn't having it. She's got great things to say, as I am sure you'll agree.

I find very few things more gratifying than meeting a stranger and then becoming acquainted and sharing stories and laughing (and sometimes crying) with them. That happens organically here and there, but I have the privilege of experiencing it quite often with this project. I don't take it for granted. In fact, I consider it my responsibility to reflect that connection so that you might get a sense of the power of open communication and listening and honoring vulnerability. I am sure we all do this with our friends and family, but it can be done more regularly with folks we just happen to meet, too. Here's another example of that. Darlene was immediately wonderful. Immediately present and raw. Immediately honest. I got the sense that she consistently brings a lot to whichever table she happens to be sitting at. I encourage you to look into this lovely space she has created in which people can play and experiment with creativity and laugh at themselves and loosen their inner child.

I am so thankful to Danielle, who came through with another powerful recommendation. Katie had to cancel our first appointment due to illness and then we got some dates mixed up and then, on this day, a snow storm had come through and it was debatable whether or not my little car could make it down her road, but we finally made it happen. And what's interesting is that it felt like we were meant to meet today. We started the interview with a hug and chatted over a fresh cup of coffee and, within just seconds, Katie had made me feel very much at home. She and her husband Doug have created a very lovely space they call the Harmony House, which is home to drum circles and concerts and grief healing and Eric's tipi and many other powerful and lovely things, I am sure. She has a lovely and inspiring slogan, which I will try to remind myself of on a regular basis - "If you can envision it, you can create it."

Danielle recommended Hillary to me. It turns out that Hillary presented at TEDx and they met because Danielle was assigned as her coach. What a lovely connection! In the company of her cats and dog, Hillary and I chatted at a little table in her living room where she does her readings. She spoke with passion and experience and confidence and I genuinely loved every second of it. She gifted me with many kind words and a stone and a hug and even some hope. I go into these meetings most often with very little information about each person but with an open mind and willingness to be pleasantly surprised and I continually am. I think the same would be true for all of us. Give it a try - I dare you.

Danielle referred me to Kevin and I'm so glad she did. Kevin invited me to his home and we sat on his floor over a cup of tea and chatted about all sorts of things. I can honestly say I haven't encountered sound healing to this degree before or even thought about it much. One of things I really love about this project is that it exposes me to a variety of experiences I may not have had otherwise. And I imagine the same is true for you as the reader. I am certainly guilty of more than my fair share of judgments about things unknown and unfamiliar, but I am sure we would all be better off if we would let curiosity and potential learning replace those more critical and negative responses. Kevin was kind enough to give me a short sound session after our interview, which I found super interesting. You can see what services he offers and get in touch with him here.

Mindy recommended Bill to me by saying, "What inspires me about Bill is that he is willing to say and do what he believes in regardless if it aligns with popular opinion. He is willing to spend time and energy to change Bend so that it is more in alignment with values he holds in high regard. He is able to do this with a balance of grace and assertiveness that is rarely mastered." And that says it quite nicely. While I don't know Bill as Mindy does, I was completely impressed by how matter-of-factly he says things like this, "I'm pretty compassionate and filled with endless hope and energy. It's a blessing." Bill has a level of self-awareness that we could all aspire to. And I think we are all much better off for having him as a community leader.

Erin recommended Angela to me and she had some very kind words to say about her as she did it, setting the tone for a lovely and comical email exchange as we set up a time and place for our meeting. It might have been the familiarity with which Erin presented her or some cosmic connection from another life, but I felt like Angela and I were old friends as soon as we met. We had a really lovely and warm conversation inside the At Liberty space in downtown Bend. It went in a different direction than most of these interviews go and Angela even interviewed me, which seemed to give her great delight. She’s got a rapturous laugh and a style of communicating which I found transferred very nicely to audio, so if you have the space for it, give this interview a listen.

One of my dear friends (Hi, Maggie!) from back in New England reached out to me and Sarah to connect us because she knew we both lived in Bend. It took a few months to organize something, so I finally just asked Sarah if she would like to meet by participating in this project. And she was keen on it. Oddly enough, after we spent about an hour together, we realized we had run into each other not long ago on a dog walk, too. Small world. Sarah and I have mutual friends in the realm where outdoor education intersects with social work and counseling and she is currently working in that field as a crisis support specialist at Youth Villages.

I met Danielle at an Opportunity Knocks event that Aly Waibel asked me to photograph. As the event was closing down, Aly began introducing me to some folks and Danielle was one of them. I recently interviewed her partner, Eric, too. We tossed around the idea of doing a joint interview, but separating them proved to be easier to schedule. I am not a relationship expert, but these two seem to have a really great thing going on. They are both full of genuine love and it shows on their faces and it comes out through their thoughtful words. I left both of them with a strong feeling of connection and the excitement that comes when you've made new friends.