Some cultural observations from rural Northeastern Oregon this past weekend: 1) There is a real venom in many parts of Oregon directed at Governor Kate Brown (and not just for her leadership during this current health crisis). We drove past a roadside table in Enterprise collecting petitions for her removal from office, and the Motel/RV park owner that we stayed with almost immediately asked us to sign the petition when we checked in (I politely declined). He repeated words like "she's got to go" etc.

Thread of photos I took on my dad's Canon 5D Mark II DSLR on our road trip to Northeastern Oregon and Wallowa County, which is native land of the Nez Perce, Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla. #wallowawanderings #exploregon A 30 second exposure on the outskirts of Joseph, Oregon. So many stars visible, plus, the Milky Way!

This year’s class of graduating seniors at Westview holds a special place in my heart.

On September 24th, 2014, during passing time, many of my 9th grade students in Global Studies saw me break down in the middle of our classroom. I had just received a phone call from my mom... Informing me that my dad had been killed in a car accident on the way to work in Salem. Ashen faced, I asked my teaching partner Alex Lathrop to cover for me and immediately left the school after checking in with administration. I took a week off of work and the first time I...