A Community Thread

JJ Riddell recommended Lisa to participate here. It turns out that JJ has been working hard in community activism since at least the 8th grade, which is when he and Lisa met. I'm grateful to JJ for connecting us as Lisa and I had a wonderful conversation together. We spent a few hours together and covered nearly every topic. We chatted for an hour or more over a cup of coffee and an ocean roll before going on record and then revisited a couple of those topics which you'll read or listen to below. And then we kept it going after the interview.

Our talking definitely left me with some food for thought. What can we do? Sometimes it feels so daunting, doesn't it? How can we express our concern and compassion in actionable ways? And how do we balance that with some levity? I think about this stuff a lot and I am trying so hard to encourage others to do the same through this project. Is it working? I hope so.

I'd like to offer a big thank you to Lisa for her time and candor and her willingness to listen to my perspective and thoughtfully engage in a difficult conversation. I'm sure you've noticed that not everybody is willing to do that.

Skye Kimel recommended Jason to participate here. And I am so glad she did as our time together was so rich. We chatted at Jason's kitchen table over some tasty coffee while in the company of his two three-legged dogs, Rally and Charlie. I felt as though Jason and I connected in a very real way and I am very excited to share our conversation with you here. I hope that you'll find our sincere back and forth encouraging. Jason is a man of many hats and one of them is that of photographer. I always feel a little extra pressure when photographing a photographer, but today that was extenuated by the fact that Jason told me before my arriving that he wanted to photograph me with his medium-format, tintype camera. We had a blast together, which seemed like a meaningful way to mark this 150th interview.

Jess Leblanc recommended Alyssa to participate here. It turns out that Alyssa coaches Jess' daughter through a basketball training program she organizes. So nice that Jess thought of Alyssa and even nicer that Alyssa accepted the invitation! We met at Alyssa's house on her lunch break and talked on her sofa while her big Labrador Retriever, Sawyer, tried his best to participate in the interview - you may recognize his presence as you listen. I would have loved another hour to dive even further into some of the topics we touched on, but I’m grateful for Alyssa’s perspective and hope that what she says will resonate with you, too.

Hunter Dahlberg recommended Skye to participate here. They know each other through the blacksmith trade and we ended up meeting in Skye's workshop, marking the second blacksmith shop I’ve had the honor to visit during this project. I so love sitting in somebody's environment with them, surrounded by what they know. I don't know if that is a trait I've always had or one that I've developed throughout the course of this project, but I’m thankful for it either way. It was so fun to chat with Skye in a big industrial space. And I loved hearing her honesty. I don't know if it's why Hunter recommended her, but they definitely share that quality. I cherish authentic conversation and knowing where someone stands on an issue. I especially cherish that when the conversation has back and forth and both people can really hear each other and provide a little room for mind changing. Huge thanks to Skye for allowing that to happen today.

Christy recommended Priscilla to participate here and she reluctantly accepted. Priscilla explained that she didn't feel that she was remarkable or influential enough to participate, but I countered that by explaining that part of my intention with this project is to celebrate and amplify the voice of the everyman/woman. So many of us have thoughts and feelings and ideas, but we rarely have a platform to discuss them in a public way. I am so glad that Priscilla overcame her initial hesitance and I am so very happy to introduce her to you here. Our conversation is real and raw and I have so much respect for Priscilla's vulnerability and sincerity.

Jared Anderson recommended Dorian to participate here. It was obvious through talking with both of them that they have a tremendous amount of mutual respect for each other. I found that connection to be quite moving. I am so grateful to Jared for recommending Dorian to this project as I doubt very much that I would have encountered him in this context otherwise. Dorian and his friends share an aesthetic and a way of life and during the time I’ve spent here in Bend, Oregon, I’ve noticed that this particular lifestyle is one that the people here tend to have trouble with.

I’ve been wondering what I can do about it and how I might bridge this particular gap. I’ve contemplated starting another project, dedicated to exploring the clash between the home-owning, car-parking, more conventional consumeristic citizen and the stigmatized less polished transient crowd who may or may not be experiencing homelessness. Well, as it turns out, Jared and Dorian gave me an opportunity to explore this within the confines of this project and for that I am very grateful. I didn’t know anything about Dorian before meeting him today and I went into this interview with the same open-mindedness that I approach all other interviews with. And I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed talking with Dorian. Sorry to belabor the point, but please withhold your judgments about those who might look different than you. Have a conversation. I bet you that you’ll learn something and be better for it.

I wanted to point out that early in our conversation Dorian asked how I felt about swearing. I told him it didn't matter. And with that, there are a few more swears in this interview than in most. But, frankly, it shouldn't be swearing that offends you at this juncture with all the wild and shocking atrocities going on and the incredibly violent, racist, homophobic, and generally divisive rhetoric that ceaselessly plagues our senses. Also, Dorian's cat, Yin Yang, hung out with us for the entirety of our conversation and you may hear evidence of her throughout.

Kevin Kraft recommended Gregg to participate here. He accepted and invited me to his home and we spent about an hour on record at his kitchen table chatting about maybe not all, but at least many of the things. He spoke very highly of his daughter, Ella, who I was delighted to meet after the interview. Gregg homeschooled Ella until high school started and it was really cool to bear witness to their bond that undoubtedly grew during their thousands of hours of teaching and learning together.

Kevin Kraft recommended both Dayna and her husband, Mike, to participate here. They both accepted and I actually scheduled an interview with Mike first, but we ended up talking for five hours without ever getting around to the more formal recorded portion. Then, later that evening, my partner and I joined Mike and Dayna and another couple for the evening and spent another six hours together. So, several days later, and after much thought, I met with Dayna, but not exactly as strangers. The conversation I had with Mike prompted some new material, so this interview with Dayna has a slightly different angle to it. And our conversation was rich despite it being significantly shorter than the marathon chat with her husband. I am happy to introduce you to Dayna here.

Laura Grayson recommended JJ to participate here. Laura and JJ have gotten to know each other through JJ's friendship with Laura's daughter and she had great things to say about his community involvement. We had a wonderful conversation about affecting positive change and I found JJ's perspective on the matter, as an activated student leader, to be inspirational. 

When I was 17, I was living in a bubble of extreme Christianity in an economically impoverished part of rural Maine. I know I was thinking about a lot, but I don't think it was about cultural phobias and racism and climate change and mental health. However, those are issues I've become aware of and engaged in since. And after talking with him, I am so curious to know what change JJ's generation will instigate as these are the issues defining this time and these are the issues they've grown up with. I'm sure JJ is a stand-out example of his generation, but my interaction with him did inspire some feelings of hope that there are more eager young folks looking to influence big change. 

Amy Hoag recommended Jared to participate here. He readily accepted and we made plans to meet at his home  - a serene spot on a creek just a little outside of Bend proper. We dove into a big conversation before we started recording, which didn't feel at all like a typical back and forth conversation, but more of a search and rescue - a mission to uncover some of the deepest of emotions. What is the anger? What is the sadness? What is the frustration? What do they represent and where might paying attention to them bring us? I could have spent the day talking with Jared. In fact, he even offered to just scrap the recording and continue talking. Fortunately, for the greater benefit, I didn't take him up on that. We did continue talking on record, though, and I encourage you to listen to our conversation below. I transcribed much of it, as you'll see here, but there are some really wonderful parts that are better suited for listening.