"It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well." - Rene Descartes

The ice storm last Thursday put us on home confinement that continued through the weekend. By yesterday we were down to our last two diapers that fit Itzhak, the older and larger of the two goat kids, needed to get a new med that we hope will cure their scours, and more doe's milk that's easier on their digestive track than the milk replacer we've been giving them.
At 8 a.m. we loaded the goats into the Kia and unloaded them 10 minutes later. I couldn't back up 10' because of the layers of snow and ice. It warmed and rained for the next five hours, but that didn't make any difference on my ability to move the Kia. So in an act of desperation I called Todd up the road, who quickly came down with his Bobcat and plowed our gravel driveway. That got me within 8' of the road, but that last little rise was more than my worn tires could handle. Todd put the bucket of his Bobcat against my trailer hitch and pushed me up and onto Baker Rd.
THANK YOU, TODD!

I went to Marta's and got meds for coccidia and more schooling. Turns out they're both an oral med so I didn't have to take the goats with me. From there to Discount Tire and replacement of the two rear tires that were too close to bald and part of my problem. Then to Hannah's, a gal north of us who raises Saanen goats (large Swiss breed famous for their milk production) to buy two gallons of doe's milk, and finally home.

Pam still hasn't been out of the house since last Thursday morning except to collect eggs from the coop. We'll fix that this morning; we're going into town where she'll do a monster load of laundry, including a lot of onesies and towels used on scour-ridden goat kids. You know life's been hard when she looks forward to getting out to the laundry mat!

I'd not met Hannah and her mother until yesterday afternoon but instantly liked them. I'm going to guess Hannah is in her mid- to late-20's and her mom roughly my age or a little younger. Her father, in advanced stages of Alzheimer's, could be heard in the next room (sad). I was only there for about 20 minutes but we talked the entire time about a wide range of things from goats to cultural differences. It's the latter that I found most interesting.

Pam and I started our ministry in southern CA, but were only there for two years. From there to Prunedale, a rural community in the Salinas Valley on the central coast of CA for seven years, and in 1983 back to Riverside in southern Ca. In 1989 we moved from Riverside to western MI and lived there for 17 years before moving to Phoenix for 10 years, and 14 months ago to Baker Rd., in the woods 20 minutes west of Eugene, OR. Each of those moves exposed us to a cultural shift far exceeding miles or climate. Only someone who has gone from the very progressive, cutting edge, high intensity environment of So Cal to the staid, conservative, family oriented culture of west MI can understand the radical adjustment required. It was at least 10 years before our friends didn't think of us as "people not from here." They were warm, accepting, and gracious, but we were the ones who didn't have extended family living nearby and didn't attend one of the local High Schools. The flip side of close knit can be closed. It should be noted here that we are very grateful for the way our early teen sons blossomed in that safe, supportive environment with its emphasis on values over material things and relationships over cool.

AZ was as dramatic a shift. Think SoCal but politically conservative. The wild west at 90 mph. Neck ties are useful only for strangling the guy who tries to take your gun away, but botox and lifts are as common as coffee shops in Seattle. Loads of money and all the issues that come with it. Because everybody is from somewhere else (the first question when meeting someone for the first time: "Where are you from?"), people are open and friendly, but with a certain guardedness that keeps others at a safe distance until we know you're safe.

Now to Eugene. No - to the rural woods west of Eugene! That was Hannah's point. She loves living in the Veneta/Elmira area and wants nothing to do with Eugene.

People here are, almost without exception, warm and friendly, including (and this takes some getting used to) employees at govt. agencies who actually want to help you. What??? It's easy to strike up a pleasant conversation with almost anyone. Oregon is a very welcoming place.

The city of Eugene is also very, very liberal and the regional capital of PCness. I'm late figuring this out and have recently paid the price. The state is deep blue, and on any social issue expect everyone to come down on the side of blueness. There are no cultural battles here; the matter has been decided. So it's easy to give offense. So it's easy to be offensive. Say something, almost anything, that can be perceived as non-PC (whether it is or only sounds that way to the inattentive listener) and you are likely to be quickly labeled a social heretic.

I agree with Hannah; it ain't like that out here in the woods. Yes, there are Eugenians (Eugenites?) here who identify with the metro ethos, but almost everyone we've met is like Hannah and her mom, or Todd, or the Gundersons across the road, or George at the coffee shop.... They're at least as warm and friendly, but without the quick-to-pounce settled views on social issues.
Isn't it odd that liberals are so often the least tolerant?

One thing we realized a long time ago: each of the cultures we've experienced has positives and negatives. SoCal was stimulating, exciting. Prunedale was rural living at its best with a very strong sense of community. Riverside brought all the energy and intensity of SoCal living, and I like energy and intensity. West Michigan was all about strong family values, stability, and steadiness. Phoenix had the pace of SoCal but was socially conservative. Western Oregon has beauty, friendliness, and acceptance.

I started this post this morning. Since then I've had an interesting conversation with one of the staff members at our church who talked about how open and accepting Eugene is (he's originally from Springfield, OR). He said people will accept other views so long as they're expressed properly. "Words are very important here. You have to use the right words, or not use the wrong words."

It's gonna take me some time to figure that out and learn Eugene-speak. In the meantime I think I'll spend most of my time hanging out here in the woods of Baker Rd. outside of Elmira. Friendly people who sure don't seem to have triggers. Just good neighbors, the kind that make for a sense of community.