When the Rain Ceases

            Finally! We have SUN!!! I have come to the conclusion that you have to be a special kind of person to live in Portland, one who can endure rainy days and grey skies months on end. I however, have been constantly reminded, by the weather, that I am not a true Portlander and have struggled through the long, dreary, rainy winter- withhopes that the tales of blue summer skies are actually true. I have found this tale hard to believe when Portland has had the coldest and one of the wettest years on record. But, alas, the last two weekends we have had real sun and I've finally been able to get some much needed Vitamin D. Now, I say ‘real sun’ because a true Portlander might argue that we have had sun before this point, which may be true, but in many cases I’m finding that our Portland “sunny days” are what in Virginia we call “Mostly Cloudy”And although I give much respect for all those who live in Portland for many years, these “sunny days” just weren’t quite cutting it for me.

         The one positive thing that I have found amidst our Noah like weather is that after much rain comes much beauty, and I can see why Portlanders stick out the winter.  This beauty we have found in the newly grown spouts, that shoot up every day in our garden, to the great outdoors of Oregon, which we have recently gotten to enjoy on a couple occasions. This past Saturday was one of those occasions when Jon, Heather and I, ventured out to the Columbia River Gorge to find the Eagle Creek trail. We hiked about twelve miles, with every turn being another scenic view of the mountains, river or waterfall. Our destination was Tunnel Falls, a waterfall that you could walk behind. (as seen a pictures below) Sunday, was yet another one of those occasions.  I was invited to go to the Tulip Farm, which I was thrilled about, hence the many pictures of tulips. (I couldn't decide which to post) Although there are still rainy days in the near forecast, I have hope that we will soon see a more consistent amount of days with real sun, and I look forward to the many adventures that are yet to come.

In other news-  In the mist of getting pictures uploading for this blog, I stumbled over newly posted status on facebook that Osama Bin Laden had been killed. You can tell you are semi-disconnected with the world, when you get current events from the Newsfeed on facebook, but     nevertheless, after quickly telling my hosuemates we found the best place for internet in the house and watched the live news and Obama’s speech that followed. While continuing to work on my blog and to check what friends were writing on facebook about this event, I was very disheartened at the immense celebration that was going on, at the expense of Bin Laden’s life.  I don’t see how anyone can celebrate someone’s death, even Bin Laden’s. Can’t we see the humanity that lies inside each of us?  What happened to loving our enemies? Or to not rejoice when your enemy falls? I will celebrate when we walk in the way of peace, and have love for all. But by the looks of it, we have a ways to go.  

 

In the words of ‎Martin Luther King, Jr.

"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral,begetting 

the very thing it seeks to destroy. 

Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. 
Darkness cannot drive out darkness: 
only light can do that. 
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.

In fact, violence merely increases hate. Through violence you may murder the liar, 
but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. 
Through violence you may murder the hater, 
but you do not murder hate. 

Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, 
adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. 
Darkness cannot drive out darkness: 
only light can do that. 
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."