Thursday, May 23rd. I left the Red Lion Inn in Coos Bay about 9:15 a.m. (fantastic special price there last night!). Rain forecast was 100% but, at 9:15, it was just cloudy with little bits of sunlight shining through. Off HD and I went across the huge bridge over the Coquille River. It makes the Pecos River in Carlsbad look like a puddle on the floor. Some of the bridges are incredible works of art. The old ones, such as the one over part of the Coquille, has large, arched cement columns. These functional yet beautiful bridges are in plenteous supply----I mean, there are SO MANY rivers!! Really quite awe-inspiring. California and Oregon are very bike-oriented states. Most of the newer bridges have a biking or walking lane. The older ones often have a flashing light that cyclists activate when they are crossing the bridge so the vehicles are alerted to keep an eye out and keep the speed down.
I’m loving the Department of Transportation. Yay to all road engineers and workers. Keep us moving.
Apparently, a fact of which I was fully unaware, but Oregon has a very large sand dune recreation area along the coast. I’m not talking about a little sandy beach, but large, rolling, get out the four wheelers, DUNES. The highway doesn’t go through the dunes, of course. The redwoods are growing in the outer edges of the dunes and, through various breaks in the treelines, you can glimpse the dunes from the roads. To get to the dunes, you must take the side roads that drop you off at the edge of the dunes. Along the highway, there are several rental places for dune buggies and four wheelers, including guided tours on these vehicles. If I ever come back to play here, I would like to do a little four-wheeling. I will be like the little old lady from Pasadena--go granny, go granny, go granny, go. I hear the Beach Boys...Or Jan and Dean (who actually sang it first).
Anyway, refocus.
It was a quiet ride, and fast too. I had a slight tailwind and the road inclines were easy enough, so the pace was fast, for me and HD anyway. I stopped at Reedsport, about the halfway point of the day. I pulled into the first coffee shop I saw, “Jitterbug and Java”. What a find!!! This cafe is owned by Darlene Ash and her husband (he wasn’t there so I didn’t meet him). This cafe is THE SPOT in Reedsport. It has the cafe counter and kitchen in the middle of this rather large building. To the right of the counter is a room of odds and ends from all over. Antiques, new stuff, funny stuff, local stuff. Stuff fo’ sho’!!! On the left are tables and chairs--a modest number of them. Then, then...the dance floor. Bands come to play in this little town of 4,000. There is Karaoke every week. And dancing. Darlene has taught ballroom dancing for years. Now, she just teaches upon request. While Darlene and I became acquainted, two local senior men took turns at the mic, practicing their songs for the next karaoke night. One of the gents crooned the Willie Nelson “Always On My Mind”. I totally misted up...
Walls are decorated with posters and bills from theatrical shows, dances, famous actors, etc. Darlene has a lifesize display of the Blues Brothers, action statues in black suits, hats, and those irrepressible shades, singing their hearts out!! I wonder if they have 5 dollars and a message from God.
In front of the Blues Brothers statues are two lady mannequins, dressed in genuine ballroom dance competition gowns. Light blue, sequins, feathers, chiffon. The gowns were on loan from a profressional dance company. They really were lovely.
In front of the store is a rough hewn sculpture of a lumberjack with a lady sitting on his lap. One of her shoes has fallen off and he has hold of her blonde braid. Darlene told me the braid was supposed to be her hand, but a slip of the chain saw and the hand was gone so the sculptor had to change her design.
Yes, you heard it right. Chainsaw. Reedsport has an annual chainsaw sculpting competition. The next one is coming here in just a few weeks. Chainsaw artists from all over come and compete. If you have a moment, check out chainsaw sculptures on the web and you will see some crazy stuff.
I just clipped this photo from the internet. Now, the little lady who carved the Lumberjack was in her 60’s, weilding that chainsaw with skill. I took a photo of it myself, but the lighting wasn’t good and I used my iphone.
If this blog converts nicely to the website with these clipped photos intact, I might start doing photos this way on the website, as the Coppermine gallery has not been cooperative.
Anyway, on to Darlene. What a lady. Born in Wisconsin in a small town, she says all the people she grew up with are still living there, nothing changed. She, however, has a restless spirit and busy hands. She and hubby moved here to Oregon about 50 years ago, only the last 2 of those years spent here in Reedsport. She worked in the food industry as a manager/supervisor (Harry and David--you know, where all those incredible fruit baskets come from??) but never had to do the factory work other than a few minutes at a time to cover employee bathroom breaks. She has managed people, done accounting, bought/sold for food industry, etc. So, she and her husband started this cafe. She runs it and he supplies it.
Darlene can sing and dance. She can organize and mobilize people. She has lived there for just a few years and the people want her to run for mayor. She told me touching stories of how people’s lives have been changed, just by giving them a chance. She is modest, but lives have changed from reaching out her hand to offer opportunities. Not gifts. Opportunities.
Here is the lesson. Walk through that door, man!!
The young man who cooks and cleans at the cafe was a kid without a job in a town without an offer. He has tattoos and a mohawk type buzz--head shaved except for a center strip which is cut very short. Looks perfectly normal to me, from the southwest, his look would be quite typical! He was married with a little pregnant wife. Darlene really didn’t need the help but she hired him, paid him a fair wage, and helped him with simple things like leftovers. She gave him a chance. He loves her dearly, like his own mother. He was a smiling young man, loving his work, and appreciating the chance. Others have since offered him work, but he is also loyal to the core. He is a real cutie. God Bless this man! And everything he touches.
Yes, I think Darlene should be elected Mayor of Reedsport!
After meeting the two crooners and finishing the really great cuppa Joe, I headed north to the next destination, somewhere between Dunes City and Florence, OR. The weather did say 100% chance of rain, but it didn’t start until about 3:15 pm. I had passed Dunes City about 10 minutes earlier. I find very few convenience stores in Oregon, compared to California! Miles of unbroken highway. Little burgs may have a PO, a gift shop, and sometimes a cafe, but no gas station or convenience store along the rugged coast! I guess they get their gas and their goods at the bigger towns, like Reedsport and Florence. Towns bigger than 500.
I pulled into the first convenience store I found on the highway, about 2-3 miles from Florence. The rain was falling heavy now. The motels in Flo were overpriced but there was a modest motel in Grenada, The Park Motel, across the street from the FuelGood store where I had parked. The rooms only cost $55. Sold! That is almost the cost of a Kamping Kabin at a KOA, which is just 4 walls and 2 cots--no bathroom, no sink, no running water, etc. But The Park Motel is an adorable mountain motel, with all wood paneling, a queen bed, a simple bathroom, and the mod cons typical nowadays---coffee maker, small fridge, small microwave, tv, and internet. The owner, Margaret, says she and her husband have run this place about 12 years but they have good help and take 2 days off every week to stay in their home in Florence, just up the road. They try to take a little vacation every year too. They plan to continue with this work until they just can’t do it anymore. Retirement without work is not an option.
So, after a phone conversation with my son, text talk with my daughters, watching “Into The Wild” on Netflix on my MacBook, and writing this blog, I should hit the hay. BTW: If you haven’t seen “Into The Wild”, it is worth it. Many lessons in this little film, directed by Sean Penn (he is really quite a genius) and starring Emile Hirsch (my new favorite male actor). It’s based on a true story, which makes it even better.
SO: Oiche mhaith agus codladh samh. (good night and sleep well in gaelic).
No comments:
Post a Comment