Small Town No More

Today... the world changed. Most days in life, are normal, forgetful days. Nothing really happens, nothing big to remember, nothing that really changes your perception of how the world works. But every now and then, a day comes along that shakes your core, typically out of the clear blue.. suddenly and without warning thrust into events beyond your wildest imagination. Today was one of those days.

Let me just start by saying this: I grew up in a small town... a very small town. 99% of the people in my own state had never even heard of this small town. I graduated from a small high school, full of opportunity. I knew everyone at the school.. heck, I was student body president of the school my senior year. And for me and the other 400 students of the school, the world was a safe place (except for the times I was caught ditching class, something that is difficult, but not impossible, when your Mom also works at the high school).

Sadly for me, thanks to the events of today.. the whole dang world knows the name of my home town.. and my high school. I grew up in Bailey Colorado. I am a graduate of Platte Canyon High School. Sadly, they don't connect it with a quality education, or a Norman Rockwell upbringing. They connect it with a psycho... entering the school... taking hostages.. sexually molesting them.. and ultimately killing an innocent girl.

The day began normally, rushing out of the house to take Little Calvin to school, dealing with the sometimes crap I deal with at the office. At about 11:30, my wife called my desk, wondering if I had seen the news. She had just happened to have logged onto a news site while eating lunch at her desk, and seen a 4 minute old news story.. very vague in details, but said enough to get her attention: A gunman had entered a high school in Bailey, Colorado and had taken hostages... my high school.. the high school where my mom continues to work to this day. At first, I couldn't really process it, it seemed too weird.. too random.. this couldn't be MY Platte Canyon. But as the news spread, the helicopters swarmed and the news media took over the football field, reality began to click in.

Next came the questions.. Who were the hostages? How many? Who was this guy, what was he doing... and why was he in my school. And most importantly.. what is happening with my Mom? Could she somehow be involved? As news continued to pour in, and speculation ran rampant throughout the media, it was clear that there were no quick answers. I quickly called my sister in Texas.. she didn't believe me at first, but upon turning on CNN, she found herself wrapped up in the drama as well. I called my Dad's desk at his work "Have you heard from Mom, today?" His answer was typical Dad... "No, why would I have?" Upon hearing the news from me, he went into typical "Dad mode".. obviously concerned, but masking it with humor.. a trait passed on to me.. "Wow, cool! That's the biggest story to come out of Bailey in 25 years! I'm sure she'll have some stories when she gets home!". Then I took a chance, and called my Mom's school office phone. No answer. Just as I predicted.

For the next several hours... I watched.. waiting for any substantial news. From my web browser, I had 5 windows open, each from a different website news source, along with streaming media going. Although I was in Oregon.. I became the "news feed and coordinator", refreshing news pages and then fielding calls from my wife, sister and family as we all watched the situation unfold. While all news media were reporting variances.. a few things were consistent: A gunman was in the building, he had taken 6 hostages.. females.. and a standoff was underway.

By mid afternoon, news came across that a few hostages had been released. But soon, news stories starting striking way to close to home, closer than they already were. The news began reporting that one of the hostages could be a teacher.. The hostages were taken out of an English class... something that my mom teaches. And there was still no word from my Mom, something that under the conditions, seemed very odd.

Mid afternoon came, I knew that I needed to leave work to do some video interviews for my film.. something that I really didn't want to reschedule. My wife called to express concern at my continuing to do the interviews and said something that really struck home.. "You could very well be getting some really bad news this afternoon.. is that really were you want to be if that call comes in?" While I had been watching all of this happening, it was the first time I really was struck with the reality of what could be happening. That's when it became time for answers. I needed to know what was going on.. and I needed to know NOW.

I googled the school district office and found the superintendent's phone number. Taking a chance, I called, and to my shock, someone answered. And to all the small town wonder, not only did I know the person answering, but she knew exactly who I was, and remembered me from 16 years ago. She spoke quickly and said "I'm sure you are calling about your Mom, let me assure you she is fine. She is helping with the student evacuation to the elementary school, but is fine." That's all I needed to hear. She was ok, so I was ok, although still concerned for the ongoing crisis.

With my news finally received, I decided to go ahead with the interviews and soon took my late lunch to go interviewing. 45 minutes later as I was heading back to the office, the news came in.. the crisis was over, the gunman was dead, along with a student.

Tonight.. has been tough. Luckily, the situation is over. But there are so many questions left unanswered. As for the student killed.. her name is Emily.. she is one of my Mom's debaters from the school team that my Mom coaches. She is a volleyball player, another thing striking a chord in my life.

It's been a rough day... hopefully in the days to come we can get some answers. Hopefully, I can turn on the news sometime soon and NOT see my little small town in Colorado high school not plastered all over the news. Maybe we will learn why this bastard did what he did.. not that it really matters... he can't undo the hurt that he caused and the fact that today, the world changed.. for me.. for my family.. for my past.. and for my future. My family ended up safe physically, but each of us.. from me in Oregon, to my Sister in Texas, to Mom who has to live with the memories of being in the high school today.. will deal with the scars that will be put on us from today.

Today... My world changed...Thanks a lot.. you selfish bastard!

Rally Time!

It's Thursday.. I'm beat, I'm tired.. I'm exhausted. Why? Because I have just returned from 3 days of travel on a work trip. Although this time I didn't go too far, just up the freeway about an hour to Salem where we had a customer rally.

What's a rally, you ask? Imagine this.... you know when you are traveling down the highway and get stuck behind a slow moving RV, carrying bikes, satellite dishes and all manor of outdoor activities as it moves down the road? Take 800 of those things, combine them all together into one area (in this case, the state fair grounds) and then wine and dine the owners all day... that is a rally.

This week was one of the biggest rallies our company has ever put on, combining 4 different motorhome brands, 800 coaches, and a whole bunch of staff. All said, with over 2,000 people on hand to entertain and feed, putting on a rally can be quite a feat! It can also mean a lot of work hours,, typically for me, easily 18 or 19 hours a day.

At the rallies I seem to wear a lot of hats (as noticed by many of the owners). First, I teach classes: a mobile internet class, a digital photography class, and, oddly enough, a ladies beginning motorhome driving class. This is a fun way to engage with our owners, teach a number of subjects and solicit feedback for my websites. Ladies Driving is quite the beast too. It starts with a classroom session, which I teach. We then divide the ladies up into groups of 4, and put them into a motorhome where they get a chance to drive a course that provides hands on experience with a variety of driving situations. We then finish off the week with a graduation ceremony with certificates to all who successfully complete the course. This time, I am happy to say we got 250 ladies through the course over a 3 day period with only 1 minor mishap (a lady ran over a cone to the point where someone had to crawl under the coach and wedge it out the the chassis frame.) Luckily, my schedule prohibits my being an in-coach instructor (although I have done it for many years), so I just teach the classes, supervise the program and let it go.

The other interesting part of rally life is that of video production. When I'm not teaching classes, I typically have my camera on my shoulder, shooting video footage on any and everything. At the end of the day, after the evening entertainment, I head back to the hotel and edit all this footage into a montage, set to music. The montage is then played on the final night after dinner as a "reminder of all the fun" over the week. (these people love to see themselves on screen!) The shooting and editing takes a lot of time and creative effort, and can be a bit brutal, just in the quick turn around time, but it's always worth it in watching 2,000 some odd people simultaneously reacting to your work.

In the end, a rally is just a place to reconnect with the reality of my job.. a place to rediscover why it is that we do this. I get chance to catch up with so many of our awesome owners, with such great stories, and employees that I haven't seen in ages. It is a reminder to me that we provide a lifestyle for people.. and important lifestyle, one that brings them many great memories. So all those times I have wanted to just say "screw this job... I'm out of here!" can kind of be healed by getting back to what we really do. It is a nice break from the office... I almost don't want to go back!

Some quick rally highlights:
•Teaching my digital Photography class. There was such a huge interest, that every chair was filled, people were standing along the walls, crammed into the doorways, and from my vantage point, filled out into the halls (all I could see out the doors of the conference room were heads). It was a fun seminar, and teaching is one of those things I have always loved. If I ever leave this job, these are the types of moments I will truly miss: connecting with customers in a fun, unique, and popular way.

•Seeing my old friend Miki, again. Miki was part of the family when I joined the company, working 1 cubicle over from me. Somehow we began a practical jokes war, my exploiting her intense fear of spiders. At one rally in Kansas several years ago, I actually had her shrieking in terror one evening after dark, from a carefully placed (and very large) toy spider placed in her rental car. She has since moved on to other opportunities in Arizona, but was back to visit us this week. After greeting with hugs, it was "game on" time yet again as I found a spider encased in an edible sucker gag that I could slip into her jacket.. she wasn't too pleased. But even with all the terrors I put her through, she knows that I think the world of her and it is always fun to have her back around!

Sadly, for me, as my job continues to evolve and change, my opportunities to attend rallies are greatly diminishing, as current management doesn't want me to travel any longer. So for me, I had to cherish all the memories of this rally, in case it is my last.. something that makes me quite sad!

Battling Sisters

Finally, after 2 weeks of practice, and 2 more weeks of preseason games.. it is time for the season to officially begin. And tonight, it began quite well, as the girls faced the unknown rival of Sisters. Due to the massive restructuring of the Oregon School systems, moving from a 4 tiered school size system to a 6 tiered system, many of the leagues were reorganized. For instance, in our league we lost Creswell and Siuslaw, but then picked up Sisters, near Bend.

What this means is that we have a league match up against a team we know little about. This creates uncertaintly.. how good is the team.. how will they affect the league? All unanswered questions.. And so the team headed over the hill in the new Marist bus, complete with a "senior citizens" sign atop the bus, still unchanged from it's previous owner.

Luckily, everything worked out well... the Marist girls came on strong and solid and beat Sisters in 4 games. Sure, Sisters appeared to be a strong team that who will push us hard, but we did prevail in the league opener.

For me personally, the night was.. odd. Working to save gas money, I hitched a ride over the pass with a parent. That meant I got to ride the bus home. Now, it wasn't as bad as it could have been.. I was expecting an old fashioned, uncomfortable school bus. Instead, I got the new "chartered bus" style, with entertainment system, cozy seats, even a bathroom. My how things have changed! But some things just DON'T change.. things like how a bunch of high school girls can talk.. at 900 miles an hour, at 9000 decibals, while sitting only 6 inches from each other. The only real problem.. the windshield wipers stopped working on the way home, going over the pass.. and yes, it was raining. I just sucked myself into my laptop to video edit and tried to not look at the driving...

Preseason.. Painful

I think this photo says it all.. yup... it's been a rough pre-season. I'm going back to something I mentioned last week: the Denver Broncos. When they had a terrible preseason, they had great regular seasons and my only hope is that holds true for our Marist girls as well.

Now, I really must say, there are reasons why the preseason has been such a struggle. For one, there are times that our own league can be.. well.. not as powerful as others in the volleyball arena. The best way to really challenge the team is to play at both tournaments and teams from other leagues... the good teams. And that is that we did for our 4 preseason games.. we brought in some of the top programs in the state and the team that, this year is out of our league due to state reshuffling, beat us out of last years league championship.

As reported last week, on my birthday, we lost to both LaSalle and North Bend. Then last Thursday, the team was off to the coast to battle Siuslaw, in the hopes of getting revenge from last year. Alas, that revenge didn't come this time and the girls were defeated. Then in one of the weirder scheduling moves, Tuesday's home game was... again... Siuslaw. And again, there were no paybacks from last year as the team went down fighting.

Now, keep in mind, the point of the preseason is really to test the team, to try different people in different positions, and to test different offenses and defenses to find the right one that sticks with the team and proves to be effective. And that is what we have done during these games... lots of tweaking. That's why I am happy to report that by the end of the second match against Siulsaw... the girls looked great! They fought from behind, they tied up the game, ultimately losing it 28-30. And in that comeback, it finally felt like things were starting to come together...

Now, playtime is over.. the regular season kicks in, and there is no more time for messing around. For the next 2 months, the team will be tested repeatedly. And now, as we always say...... GO SPARTANS!

School Starts

I think from the time kids are born, parents always know that it's coming.. the big day when the little ones officially begin their education, starting through the public school system. And that day finally arrived today. Little Calvin's first day in kindergarden.

Luckily for us, it wasn't as traumatic as it is for some. For the last 2 years, he has been attending an outstanding preschool program.. 2 years ago, he'd go 3 times a week and last year it was every day, the hours in school very similar to what he will be doing this year. So to us, it feels like we are just starting up school again for the year. Yet, it is strange too.. somehow it's just different knowing that he is "officially" in school, part of that public school system now.

After spending 2 years in a private, church run preschool, we were very concerned about the whole "public school" idea.. would they continue to offer such organized/learning programs, or would it be a step backwards for him? Luckily, we were able to enroll him in a school other than our regular local school, one that has a reputation for being a high quality program, and a much smaller school, more focused on the kids and what they need. We have never heard a negative remark made about this school and we consider ourselves lucky that he was able to transfer so easily.

One thing we found rather humorous... all summer he has been asking "when do I get to ride the bus?". He asks over and over and he has been SO excited to get on it. Finally the time arrived today. And as he got off the bus, Dawn eagerly asked "How was the bus ride?" to which he replied "Boring."... Ah, the joys of facing reality sometimes....

Birthday Blog

Happy birthday to me! Yeah, I know.. sometimes its hard to admit to becoming a year older. But I'm not afraid of it! So today, I am another year older. Wiser.... well, that is debatable..

I must say that this birthday was one of the more odd birthdays I have had, sImply because of scheduling. There is just a lot going on right now with volleyball, school starting, busy work schedules, film productions, marathon training, etc. So the fact that we were able to carve any time out to celebrate me, was a miracle.

My birthday actually began yesterday (Monday). It was Labor Day, a day off of work... a day home with the kids... a day to not have to film (yeah right... I am filming every day). But this was my best chance to have a few free hours. So in the middle of the day the family treated me to several games of bowling. The kids did great (bumpers always help!) and I... well... I bowled.. eh... oh... ok, I stunk.. But that's not the point. the point is spending quality family time. We then ate lunch at my favorite restaurant, the Olive Garden, before heading to the High School to, of course... do more filming..

Today, however, was my real birthday.. and was rather interesting. Why? Because after a year of vowed paybacks for the birthday madness (and desk trashing) that I have caused to others in the office.. I managed to get through the entire day without a mention of it being my birthday. No one even remembered. Which was highly amusing... and depressing all at the same time.

Due to a crazy volleyball schedule, I did get to spend a large part of my day in the gym. Tonight, it was two preseason games for the girls. One against LaSalle, a team from Portland, who typically gives us a run for our money at State. And North Bend, who last season was the second place team at state. In other words, why start the season with easy wins against other local teams when we can bring in 2 of the top teams to really push us into gear. And that is what they did!

So rather than spend the evening at the movies, or eating cake and ice cream, or wearing party hats.. I spent it in the gym.... filming volleyball games. Now don't get me wrong.. I am not complaining.. I always enjoy the team, I enjoy the games, and I enjoy filming. It was just a different way to spend a birthday. And there were still some surprises to be had. We had just finished the first match of the night and I was heading out of the gym. That's when I got mobbed by the team, all singing happy birthday to me... I instinctively flipped the camera on, but only got the latter half of the song by the time it engaged. They then handed me a bag of birthday presents and a bouquet of flowers... yes, a bouquet of flowers (Little Calvin insisted that I get flowers for my birthday). I don't think I have ever received flowers before... very different experience! And so, I opened my birthday presents there... in the hall outside of the gym: new pirate toys, new ducks shirt, a running head lamp (I'll save that story for another blog) and a speaker system for my iPod. All in all.. very cool.

As for tonight's games.. welllllllll, it's early in the season. And it's better to push ourselves against really tough teams than to find easy teams to play that provide easy victories. That said, we ALMOST beat LaSalle.. most game were within 2 points. And North Bend... well, they have an amazing power hitter that just dominates. They are amazing to watch and I would be surprised to see them quickly ranked number one in the state. They beat us pretty heavily, but again.. this is only the pre-season. At this point I just have to think in Denver Bronco terms. It always seemed while growing up a fan of the Broncos that the years they had an awesome pre-season were the years that they did the worst, and vice-versa, a terrible pre-season gave us a great regular season. I can only hope for the same thing here.

And Thursday night, we are playing Siuslaw in Florence.. the team that beat us out of our League Championship last year. So it will be payback time.

If you'd like to watch my happy birthday serenade, click here for the video.

Jumpin' Jamboree!

After two weeks of intense practices, the competitive volleyball season began tonight with the annual League Jamboree. For those unfamiliar with the world of high school volleyball, allow me to explain this one. At the beginning of each season, most of the teams in the league get together for what amounts to a large scale scrimmage. Each team plays four other teams in the league, but only 1 game a piece. These games do not count in the overall league records. This is simply a way to begin playing other teams, try out different offenses and defenses, see what your players can do in game settings and take a sneak peak at what other teams in the league may have to offer this season.

So tonight we were down in Cottage Grove, watching a lot of volleyball. And as it turned out, we did pretty well. I think the girls would have loved the confidence boost of coming out of Jamboree having beaten all the teams, but that didn't happen today. We had to follow the tradition of the last several years: beat most of the teams, then lose to Pleasant Hill. Oh well, like I said, these games don't count for the season and now the girls wont go into next weeks pre-season games feeling too cocky. Next week.... 3 pre-season games... 3 very tough teams, from all over the state. Here we go!

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Production Update:

Tonight for me, was a nice return to my happy place: running around with a camera on my shoulder, watching games with one eye squinting through a viewfinder, finishing the evening feeling almost as sweaty as some of the girls. I got this very real sense of de' ja vu, almost as if last season had never really ended and I had just been doing this constantly. It certainly didn't feel like 9 months had past since filming the last game of last season.

Jamboree had also finished a busy week of production. I had spent most of the day on Monday shooting interviews.. trying to get all the team members and coaching staff in front of the camera to discuss their pre-season thoughts, goals and plan of attack for the year.

While it was a bit chaotic in the weeks leading up to the shoot, it all (somehow) seemed to come together in time. The backdrop arrived from Utah on time, the portable frame to hold the backdrop was successfully built, my lighting plan came together (after a late Sunday night of testing and trying different solutions, our living room covered in wires and looking more like a sound stage than a living area) and learning the ins and outs of the new sound gear (which works amazingly well!)

Of course, now the real challenge begins: This next week we begin to have games and travel on a regular basis meaning I'll be shooting LOTS of footage during the week, we are 2 weeks into the season and I already have over 4 hours of raw footage to sort through to compress down into just a few minutes of completed film. If I don't start editing now, this will turn into a giant monster and get away from me!!