Or, Where did the year go? And have you seen my car keys?
December 18th, 2008Who Knows Where the Time Goes?
“I was dreaming when I wrote this/forgive me if it goes astray”
Prince, 1999
It seems like it was just yesterday that I wrote the family Christmas letter – and yet, here I am, writing another!
Oh wait. It WAS just yesterday. Then I had that unfortunate episode with the “delete” key…it’s all coming back to me.
All coming back — except the three hours worth of work that vanished into the ether, that is. So, proving that entropy (the tendency of the universe to slide into disarray) applies to Christmas letters, too, here’s “Christmas Letter 2.0: the Director’s Cut.” And before you point out how insufferably LONG this letter is (“TL:DR”, Ryan informs me – shorthand on the Internets for “Too Long – Didn’t Read”), let me state for the record that I realize most of you are just going to look at the pictures. That’s fine with me – I like pictures. I’ve even added some captions to them so that you’ll have some idea of who the strange people are, and what they’re doing. You can safely look at the photos and skim the captions, yet still get a 75% on the quiz I’ve left for you at the end of this post.
That’s a “C” on most grading curves. Good enough for an audit class.
Portrait of the Artist as Cranky, Pudgy, and Slightly Graying Old Man
First of all, let’s get this out in the open: there is no family Christmas portrait this year. No tinsel-draped smiling faces, no plastic poses in front of the plastic tree, no full length depictions of this middle aged (using the term generously) man which might lead my friends to gasp “oh, dear – he’s really let himself go, hasn’t he?” to their spouses.
This is not due to any recently erupted facial blemishes, creeping invisibility, nor undocumented family tensions or drama, psychological or otherwise. No, the reason is much simpler.
My family is a bunch of wimps.
Wimps who don’t understand the artistic process.
Specifically: they refuse to go outside in 14 degree weather and let me drape them in LED Christmas lights so that I can capture on film (or the digital equivalent) the true essence of the season. And I will not let my art be compromised! Not even for my loved ones.
So. No family portrait this year.
Perhaps some day they will recognize the true genius that resides in their midst. But I’m not holding my breath. Instead, I will resume my chronicle of the year 2008 A.D. (or the 365 days leading up to 12.19.15.16.14 on the Mayan calendar, if you are in a pre-apocalyptic mood).
Close-up of snowflakes. To give you a sense of scale, see the photo below:
Ch-ch-ch-changes
“I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence and
So the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same”
David Bowie, Changes
By and large, Bowie got it right.
Sean (l) and Ryan (r) walk into the future following Ryan’s graduation
from the UW in June
A slightly less dramatic, but more useful, picture of Ryan (l) and Sean (r)
Ryan (center) says good-bye to dorm life, as he graduated in June.
But 2008 marked some pretty darn major milestones, too. In the space of a few short months (that seemed to drag on at times), Ryan graduated from the University of Washington (BA degree in international studies); moved back home; and got his first post-college job. After working as an intern all summer, he transitioned to a job as a research scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (yes, the same one I work at) in a technology planning group. He’s made the transition from school to work pretty smoothly, though I have still not figured out how he wakes up at 5 a.m. every day to go to work – I didn’t even know there was a 5:00 in the morning!
We left carbon footprints all over the world this year.
After spending the spring studying abroad in Rome, and the summer wishing he was back in Rome, Sean made the fall migration back to Thomas More College of the Liberal Arts, in the bustling metropolis of Merrimack, NH to begin his junior year. Being a junior, he declared his major (literature) and set to work on this junior project.
If we had a nickel for every page he’s read thus far, we might actually be able to pay for college!
Laura’s Aunt Esther turned 95 years young this summer, precipitating a family expedition to Hillsboro, OR where we attended the birthday celebration and wondered how we might be so vital and lively at age 95. Or even at age 55. The woman is truly an inspiration.
From left: Laura’s Uncle Jimmy, Laura, Aunt Esther, and….and….[?], at
Esther’s 95th birthday celebration in Hillsboro, August 2008
From left: Uncle Jimmy, Ryan, Sean and Esther at Esther’s 95th Birthday
And of course, no discussion of “change” would be complete this year without at least a passing reference to our President-elect. I was lucky enough to accompany my nephew Andrew to the Obama rally in Seattle back in February, when the bandwagon was starting to pick up steam.
Enthusiastic crowds at the Obama Rally at Key Arena in Seattle, which
I attended with my favorite nephew, Andrew, in February 2008
I must say – it’s been more than a month since the election and I’m still pinching myself to see if I’m dreaming or not. Regardless of your politics, it’s truly a remarkable milestone for our country.
On a bittersweet note, our beloved dog of some 14 years, Shadow, finally had to be put down this year. She farted, couldn’t guard a house to save her own life, shed a bucketful of hair, and was mostly deaf and blind, but we miss her. For the first time in — well, almost forever — we are dog-less, and down to only one cat. Ryan is hoping to change the dog-free part, though.
Shadow, may she rest in peace.
No matter where you go, there you are
Is there such a thing as retroactive pre-emption? If there was, I could use that doctrine to rationalize the fact that we left our size 13 double-D carbon footprints over 3 continents and a long winter’s night worth of time zones in hopes of proactively contributing to global warming, ‘lest this winter be any colder than it actually is looking to be.
But the snow falling outside the window suggests that it was a failed strategy, and besides — even in an election year, that might be more spin than most of you can swallow.
Be that as it may, the Butner-Stephens clan logged many, many miles by air, sea, and auto this year.
I’ve already mentioned that, in January, Sean flew with his classmates from the Internal Village of Merrimack, NH to the Eternal City, Rome for a semester’s study abroad.
We hear it was beautiful. Alas, hearing must be believing because his camera was stolen on the trip. Somewhere in a dirty back alleys in the shadow of the Coliseum, a gypsy – perhaps a long-lost relative from my mom’s side of the family — is looking at pictures of American college kids standing in front of old buildings.
I hope he enjoys them.
Someone should.
One of the few surviving pictures of Sean’s trip to Rome. Here’s
Sean’s girlfriend, Lucy, in a moment of illumination. A nice visual
pun captured by Sean, by the way.
Ryan made a journey of his own in the spring of the year, joining his fellow Argonauts (aka Emily and Jason) in a self-guided road trip through Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands…wreaking considerably less havoc than some who have taken that path before him. Three weeks of rental cars, youth hostels, and being trapped on endless Paris traffic circles did little to quell his wanderlust, and he is already saving his rubles for a possible trip to Moscow, or perhaps to Iceland to take advantage of the travel bargains available there (not to mention the chance to eat whale and puffin – apparently, the cuter the animal, the more likely it is that the Icelanders will want to throw one on the grill).
My own trips were mostly of the business variety, but uncharacteristically for me, involved going to foreign countries, as I was fortunate enough to make two trips to Busan, South Korea as part of a technical delegation from the US that assisted the Koreans with preventing pollution in their manufacturing plants. Along the way I sampled some of Korea’s food (verdict: raw kelp good. Kimchee, not so much). And culture. And influenza viruses.
Two out of three ain’t bad.
Waiting for the subway, Busan, South Korea
I also spent a lot of time behind the wheel of my aged Mazda, roaming the eastern Washington wheat fields looking for inspiration (and surprisingly, finding it). In October, brother Bill and I embarked on a whirlwind, 2,000 mile road trip to Yellowstone National Park and points beyond. Along the way we visited my dear friend Lynne Haley and her partner Sam, in Hermitville, MT; we fished with Ben Lamb and Tim Holley on the Missouri River near Craig, MT and with Keith Knol on the St. Joe River in Idaho. We escaped Yellowstone with only a dusting of snow on the windshield, and two cans of still-unused bear spray.
I carry the bear spray with me to work every day, just in case. So far, it’s kept the bears out of ISB1.
Bill lands a fish on the St. Joe River in Idaho, October 2008
Bill showing off a more typical fish (for him, anyway) on the Yakima
A young bear evades my pepper spray, in Yellowstone National Park
Laura stayed closer to home, but still managed to accompany me to Idaho Falls, where I attended a conference on validation of nuclear fuel rod simulations, and she went shopping for quilt fabric with her dear friend Peggy.
En route home, we visited my friend Kelly Palmer, who treated us to a drift boat ride down the Kootenai River, near Troy, MT and fished with my friend Darrell Kunitomi on the famed Harriman Ranch section of the Henry’s Fork River in Island Park, Idaho. We made a valiant effort to visit Lynne and Sam on their mountainside in Montana, but succumbed to a momentary lapse of reason (see “Random Acts of Stupid,” below).
Kelly Palmer rows Laura and I towards the launch at Troy, MT, after a day
spent fishing the Kootenai River in July 2008. Kelly is the one with the
highly polished head.
Yours truly stands alongside Darrell Kunitomi alongside the Henry’s Fork
River, where we were schooled by trout with brains the size of a bb. Note of
interest, Darrell is probably my only friend with his own entry in the
Internet Movie Database. July 2008.
I’ve known Keith Knol (shown here on the St Joe River in Idaho), since
first grade. What I don’t know is how he learned how to cast so good.
Another childhood friend, Ozie Greene, at the sparsely attended, but
much acclaimed “Mariner High School Old Farts Campout” held in the
Yakima Canyon in mid-October 2008. We were joined by Keith Anderson
and Tom Fry and his family; next year we’ll hold it during warmer weather
and hope to draw a larger (but probably wimpier) crowd.
And in quilt space, we finally made the pilgrimage to the La Conner quilt museum, combining it with a very pleasant visit with our long time family friend Kelly Meacham.
Laura looks for additions to her stash at the La Conner Quilt Museum
The spaces in between
Of course, most of the year was spent much closer to home, pursuing more mundane activities like earning a living, working in the garden, and the like.
Tulips in our garden, spring 2008
In my case, “…and the like” mostly revolved around rediscovering my passion for photography. I’m hardly ready to quit my day job, but did have a number of photos sold to Fly Fisherman, Northwest Fly Fishing, and Seattle Metropolitan magazines, as well as capturing the three most recent covers of Environmental Progress magazine. I also spent a great deal of time on a self-assigned photo essay on the topic of wheat farming, where I had the opportunity to meet two incredibly nice people: George and Tiffany Struthers, a father/daughter wheat farming team who were very patient with me as I tried to get closer to the land, without getting my cameras dirty.
Tiffany (l) and George (r) Struthers, on their 3,000+ acre wheat farm
outside of Waitsburg, WA. These people were the greatest!
Part of an extensive series of pictures I took of wheat farms and farming
during the year 2008. Click here for the rest of the series.
I also took some lucky shots of a lightning storm, including one picture that’s been downloaded more than 40,000 times so far.
This is NOT the photo that was downloaded 40,000 times, but it is
my favorite. It was inspired by a suggestion from our friend Bonnie Bushaw.
Here’s a few more miscellaneous images from the year. You can see a collection of my personal favorites that I shot during 2008, by clicking here.
Road through Hanford Reservation
Snake River Wheat Country
Near Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho
Winter starscape, Yakima Canyon
Fall colors, northwest Montana
Ryan, reflected in a propeller at the Tri-Cities Airshow
The MilkyWay over a cinder cone at Craters of the Moon National Monument
Laura, for her part, has apparently developed quite a fan base among some of the teachers that she substitute teaches for, because the phone rang often and early. She’s been kept busy teaching nearly full time during the school year. We used some of her teaching income to offset the cost of a a top to bottom remodel of the bathroom — everything but the bathtub was ripped out, and even it got a new ceramic tile surround and some new fixtures.
Day 1 of the remodeling project. I won’t tell you how
many days went by before we were done.
Ryan, on the heels of the aforementioned graduation and first job, has been living at home with us, paying off student loans and saving up for a down payment on a home of his own. He wants a puppy, but for now is making do with a pet chinchilla. I tried to photograph the little beast, but they are remarkably camera shy.
Maybe next year.
Sean split his time between wishing he was back in Rome, and living firmly in the moment. Thomas More juniors face a major test of their research skills with a year-long independent study program—Sean’s topic is the Irish poet Seamus Heaney, winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize in literature.
Random Acts of Stupid
“I wish that I knew what I know now
When I was younger.
I wish that I knew what I know now
When I was stronger.”
Faces, Ooh la la
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that I rededicated myself to the belief that even reasonably smart, educated people ought to be allowed to behave stupidly from time to time.
Witness the 2008 Polar Bear Plunge, in which yours truly tested his marginal swimming skills in the 34 degree water of the Columbia River. I raised more than $1,700 for Washington Special Olympics, so the leap was not a complete waste of time.
I’m the, ummm, goofy looking one in the white swim trunks
In fact, I’ll be doing it again on January 24, 2009 – and Ryan is joining me, proving that sometimes, stupid runs in the family. If you care to donate to the cause, here’s where you can do that.
Of course, listing all of the stupid or ill-considered things I’ve done in a year would require a file so long you’d still be downloading it NEXT Christmas, but one of note is the aforementioned first try to visit my high school friend Lynne, on the remote mountainside that she and Sam have homesteaded in off-the-grid, Montana. After a 600 mile drive on mostly 2 lane highways (we took the scenic route), Laura and I dutifully turned onto the single lane dirt road that switchbacks up the side of the mountain; watching carefully for the mileposts and unmarked turnoffs onto rutted trails that pass as roads, we finally turned on to her “driveway” (a term that is as optimistic as it is understated) and traveled about 1/4 mile to encounter a gate, which we knew was the proof that we’d made the right turns, and were only a mile from Lynne’s Yurt, and the warm bowl of soup that would be waiting for us there.
The gate was locked.
Or so we thought.
Faced with another engagement later in the day, we pondered our options, which were few — no cell service this far up in the mountains! — and headed back down the mountain, and hoped that Lynne and Sam had not been eaten by a bored grizzly.
Turns out the gate wasn’t locked at all — just looked that way — and that we’d been a mere mile from visiting Hermitville.
I am still blushing over that goof.
View from the front door at Rancho de Lynne
Life is Like a Crosswalk – Just Because You Looked Both Ways First, Doesn’t Mean You’re Not Going to Get Knocked on Your Ass
“I don’t know a soul who’s not been battered/I don’t have a friend who feels at ease”
- Paul Simon, An American Tune
Face it. These are tough times for a lot of people. As I think back on the year, the obvious conclusion is that we’ve been incredibly fortunate as a family to have come through it largely unscathed and with love for one another intact.
Speaking of family, in February, the four Butner siblings got together for
a mini-reunion. From the left: Lol (Leslie), Bill, and Barbara.
So, I hope I’ll be forgiven if I’ve lingered in my look back for just a little too long. Chalk it up to apprehension about the view down the road.
But as Sean’s pal, Professor Heaney once said:
“Even if the hopes you started out with are dashed, hope has to be maintained”
Leave it to a poet to nail it to the wall. That’s their job, after all.
I hope – we all hope, here at 1319 Stevens Drive (Richland, WA 99354) and points beyond – that 2008 leaves you with much to be thankful for, and that 2009 finds you with hope still intact.
And be sure to write. We’ll write back.
- Scott (scott_butner[at]charter.net; facebook)
- Laura (laura_stephens[at]charter.net; facebook, too! )
- Ryan (rsbutner[at]gmail.com; facebook, three)
- Sean (verbose[at]gmail.com; facebook, not so much)
