Words Days 11 - 13

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="043085a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Western Tour</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Western Tour"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Schedule"><U>Schedule</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 1"><U>Day 1</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 2"><U>Day 2</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 3"><U>Day 3</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 4"><U>Day 4</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 5"><U>Day 5</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 6"><U>Day 6</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id25.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 7"><U>Day 7</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 8"><U>Day 8</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id27.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 9"><U>Day 9</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id28.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 10"><U>Day 10</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 11"><U>Day 11</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Days 12 14"><U>Days 12 - 14</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 15"><U>Day 15</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id34.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 16"><U>Day 16</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id35.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 17"><U>Day 17</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Words from Days 5 9"><U>Words from Days 5 - 9</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id32.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Words Day 10"><U>Words Day 10</U></A>   |   <B>Words Days 11 - 13</B>   |   <A HREF="id38.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Words Days 14 15"><U>Words Days 14 - 15</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id39.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Words, Days 16 17"><U>Words, Days 16 - 17</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id40.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Epilogue"><U>Epilogue</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=10 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="044d2e83.jpg"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="04507073.jpg"> <div> <I>Words Days 11 - 13</I></div> <bR> <div> Day 11</div> <div> August 22</div> <bR> <div> Nic and Karen suggested a hike for us in the Gallatin National Forest, into the Lee Metcalf Wilderness area. About five miles round trip to Beehive Basin, a tarn, or mountain lake, high up in the Madison Range. They couldn't go with us as they are leaving the cabin, heading back to PA in a few days, and have a lot of work to do. So Nic led our way to the trail head and we took off for a wonderful six hour excursion on foot. (Pics)</div> <bR> <div> The trail coursed through meadows and woods as it slowly climbed upward toward the distant rocky peaks. Along the way various flowers - fireweed, Indian paintbrush, asters. In one stretch there were quite a number of Clark's Nutcrackers, a jay-like bird, grey, white, black that seemed to always be shrieking out it's loud call. I watched a few of them feeding on the cones of pines. A western bird we don't have in the east.</div> <bR> <div> At the end of the trail we hiked up a little above the tarn and settled down for a little lunch that Nic had packed for us. In the distance were other high peaks of the range. Right next to us, steep rocky edges looming a little bit higher than where we sat. (Pic) A wonderful respite in high clear mountain air and picturesque surroundings. The workings, maneuverings, happenings of the rest of the world were insignificant. There was nothing else that moment than the four of us sharing an experience in a wilderness setting.</div> <bR> <div> Later that evening we had a great time with Nic, Karen, theire son, Nate - who had worked six years or so fighting wildfires, the last few years on the “hot shot” crew, sent out to combat fires - and a neighbor, Buzzy, a female cowboy poet who lives nearby in the National Forest enclave. We told stories, recited and read poems, Grayson played a few songs. A great evening of friendship and creativity. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> Day 12</div> <div> August 23</div> <bR> <div> Ah, two days of relaxing, visiting with friends - we could have lingered longer - a very much at-home feeling. But the road called - a small press publisher's talk at the Lewis and Clark Library in Helena.</div> <bR> <div> We cruised north and little west. On the way to Helena a momentous occasion for our 1993 Toyota Camry that used to belong to our good friends, the Coffman's - the odometer turned a quarter of a million miles! (pic)</div> <div> Stopped along the shore of Canyon Ferry Lake to eat lunch. While eating at a picnic table Grayson pointed out some white pelicans flying by. Later Chapin and I took a short walk along the shore and spotted a western grebe and Franklin's gulls - so three birds to add to his “Life List” he's been keeping since last year or so.</div> <bR> <div> We had not heard a lot of good about Helena, hadn't heard bad either, just things like - it's the state capitol, a government place, it's not Missoula. I don't like to take other people's impressions too seriously - after all, they are other people's, not mine, and we all see and experience the world in our own unique way. </div> <bR> <div> The city immediately impressed me. Small, clean, a mural depicting Women's involvement in Montana history, other murals here and there, outdoor seating at restaurants, a number of coffeehouses, banners proclaiming Helena as the “Best Small Art Town in America!” </div> <bR> <div> Helena is also the home of another FootHills poet, Larry Bauer, whom I had never met. As we parked at the library that evening another person was getting out of his car adjacent to us - Larry! </div> <bR> <div> The Lewis and Clark Library itself was a very pleasant place. A comfortable, modernly rustic look and feel to it. A poster about breastfeeding on a display case caught my eye. (pic)</div> <bR> <div> A good talk, nice turnout, interested audience, good questions and conversation. I've given a few of these publisher talks and have always enjoyed them. Suzanne, the person from the library who booked me, was very pleased with how it turned out. </div> <bR> <div> Day 13</div> <div> August 24</div> <bR> <div> After leaving the more than comfortable motel we explored Helena a bit. Again, a very positive feeling about the community. One place I walked by was an office for the Montana-Kumamoto Relationship - a state to prefecture relationship similar to a sister cities program. Inside was an office and a sort-of museum with displays relating to the prefecture. I was excited to see, for the first time ever, temari balls, a type of ball mentioned in Ryokan's poetry, a Zen Buddhist poet monk of 19th century Japan. (pic)</div> <bR> <div> Here's a poem of his from “Ryokan, Zen Monk-Poet of Japan” a collection of poems translated by Burton Watson, Columbia University Press, 1977.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Temari</div> <bR> <div> In my sleeve the colored ball worth a thousand in gold:</div> <div> I dare say no one's at temari as me!</div> <div> And if you ask what it's all about-</div> <div> one-two-three-four-five-six-seven</div> <bR> <bR> <div> As we walked around I felt that we should spend a little extra time in Helena. We were planning on leaving early the next morning to camp for a couple of days before the next program in Monday evening in Billings. We decided to explore more of Helena and leave later in the afternoon instead.</div> <bR> <div> Larry and his family, Anne, their daughter Olivia, 7, and 4 year old son, Paul, were a delight to be with. The reading Larry and I gave at the Carroll College Theater was enjoyable and once again an interested audience with good questions and conversation afterwards. </div> <bR> <div> Earlier Grayson had found a coffeehouse that had an open mic happening in the evening. So, Carolyn dropped the boys off there before the reading and after the reading we both went to the coffeehouse. The open mic was still going on so we stayed a little bit. The host of the open mic came up to me and asked if I was a musician. I told her no, a poet, but that my son played a little earlier during the open mic. Grayson was up near the stage, so I pointed to him and she said, “Oh, Grayson! What a sweet voice and he wasn't nervous and he was really good. He can go far!” </div> <bR> <div> He's way ahead of where I was - it took me 18 years after writing my first poem to share one with an audience. I was shy, lacking in confidence, etc. He played three songs and one of them was his own composition.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>