National Folk Festival

The National Folk Festival was incredible. It made the weekend better to share it with friends and family, but I would have enjoyed it regardless. It was held in Butte on a hill over many city blocks. There were 5 stages and such variety in the music. The first band I watched was "The Spirit of New York" on the main stage. The main stage is under an old mining rig. I had quite the time just people watching in the crowd and enjoying the music. My cousins and I saw Otrov
which played Baltic strings, a 16 year old madolin player named Sierra Hull and her band, and finished the night dancing to Thomas Mupfumo on the lowest stage. The lower stage is the only one with a dance floor.

The next day we came when the festival opened to do the square dancing. It was amazing to see 200 people getting swung around, from ages of 8-80, and they all had the biggest grins on their faces that you would ever see. My cousins and I joined in and enjoyed learning all the moves. That day was a mix of international music from China, Columbia, Mexico, as well as some rockin' blues and finishing the night with a amazing creole band, Beausoleil, at the dancing stage.

There are all kinds of artisans as well who use a variety of the resources of Montana in their art. We also watched a black smith for a while fashion some amazing iron work. The type of people at the event were a variety of what I call "dress like a liberal." If you weren't wearing khaki shorts and chacos, you were in the minority. It was 3 beautiful days with diversity and fun. The only downside was there was no public water spigot, you had to buy it. I walked away from the festival and stole into local shops and used their soda dispenser water spouts unoticed.

My Summer July 1-8

I left Oregon on the first of July and drove that night to Moscow Idaho to visit my friends Nick and Melissa and their new baby Henry.

It was a fun visit and chat with friends. The next day I drove to Montana. The first few days at home, I had a goal to work on family history and genealogy. I found photos and memoirs in my grandparents trunk. I worked for many hours putting together stories and photographs and updating my family tree online. A few mothers died in childbirth, great uncles were killed from Scarlett Fever, Tuberculosis, etc. Lots of children being passed around to siblings after parents died young. I was able to trace my Mom's side back to Ireland and the 1818 but no further. More time is needed.

While home I witnessed a wicked lightening storm that lasted about 45 minutes and saw some friends, as well as celebrated with neighbors their farms 100 year anniversary. We also went hiking with a neighbor who had found a dinosaur bone on her property. We spend about an hour near the spot where she found it, but came home empty handed. I left the night of the 7th of July and drove down to Butte for the National Folk Festival and a family reunion.


The Family reunion was strange in the fact that I was the oldest cousin there. On a side of the family that has 19 first cousins, I am right in the middle, but am usually on the younger side of the reunions. It was fun to hang out with my younger cousins and my aunts and uncles as well. There were stories shared, with lots of laughter and support given. I love my family, I really do.

Ireland

I twisted my ankle going through some rocks yesterday in the Burren. I limped the last 4-5 miles home. I am moving a little better this morning. We will see what the day brings! This is also my 100th post.
PEACE

Ireland

My brother and I have landed. We spent our first day sleeping on a bus to Galway, then wondering the city. We woke up early and took a bus to Doolin and hiked to the Cliffs of Moher. We are staying at the hostel tonight and tomorrow night. We will walk the Burren tomorrow and hopefully get to Kilarney for two more nights and explore the ring of kerry. Then off to Dublin for our final night and flight. I have taken almost two gigs of photos on my travels this summer. I will post when I return to the US.
PEACE!

My Summer

I have been on a road trip through the US for the last 4 weeks. I have seen 9 states, and numerous sights. I am currently in the Aurora public Library in colorado checking in on my travels to Ireland. I will write much more when I return from Ireland!!! I fly out tomorrow morning.

open letter to the creators of Ice Age 3

Whoever was responsible for this movie should be ashamed. I am a science teacher who finds it difficult to teach students strong science because they are so influenced by the media. Having dinosaurs in the ice age, let alone having the ice age be the DAWN of the dinosaurs is a farce. This is ridiculous. The dinosaurs went extinct about 65 million years ago, all, except their relatives of birds and some reptiles, would not even have seen the ice ages. The dinosaurs you depict in the film were not around for the ice age and had been extinct longer than any man or mammoth has been on this earth. Shame on your writers and producers for not putting better science into films. I will have to reteach these students based upon what they see in their movie theaters.

Cory J. Eklund

TEE

I went to the hospital Friday morning. They checked me in, hooked up an IV and then wheeled me to the radiology unit. They sprayed the back of my throat with this gross Banana tasting tranquilizer. It tasted like cough syrup on steroids. Then they injected my IV with the drugs. I don't remember much after, except swallowing a giant tube and then I remember them trying to get it out of my throat.

Evidently the doctor talked to me and told me all about my heart,....I remember nothing. I remember getting wheeled back to my room and asking if I could run a marathon and one of the nurses said that I probably shouldn't. I then came to slowly and Marie was there to witness. She wrote down all that the doctor told me so I have some information to take home. They will give me a copy of the procedure on Monday.

Here's what the Doc said. I have a nasty valve. I have a jet stream of blood that flows back into my heart after each beat. I have a bicuspid valve that is not dialating. Because I have no symptoms, we will have echos (not the TEEs) every year until they see enough to have surgery. Usually people don't need the valve replaced until the age of late 40's early 50's, but he said there is still a possibility I may need to replace it before the age of 30. I will be having a follow up appointment in October to discuss my results and my future with the doctor. I think he will ask if I have had any syptoms or not at that time as well.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. I will certainly keep everyone updated.

Summer is finally here

Monday the 22nd was officially my last day of work for this school year. It was a good year, but a long one. We made up 5 snow days and a sewer day. I think I was one of the last teachers in a school in Oregon, maybe the country. I am still not done. I moved rooms the last few days and I still need a signature from the principal that says I am all moved out.

On Saturday I MC'd a wedding reception for a couple of teacher friends. I was in charge of the microphone and DJ the dance with my friend's Ipod. Marie and I tried to catch the tail end of a retirement party, but all that was left was the host family. They were very hospitable and we stayed for a drink and some laughter.

On Sunday, Marie and I went to a Third Eye Blind concert at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland with a friend leaving for Nebraska soon.

On Wednesday, we are headed to Seattle for a Mariner's game and then I will go in on Friday for my TEE. Summer is happening and I am excited!

This week

A storm came through on Thursday and blew down some of our front yard tree. Marie cut it into smaller pieces and our landlord is going to take care of it for us.

The seniors at the high school graduated on Friday. I knew a few of them from class, but recognized many from being at the high school another year. It was a good ceremony.

Marie and I took a trip to Pacific City on Saturday. It was fun to be at the beach even though it was short.


A week and a half more of students!!!

my heart

I went in for my echo cardiogram on Thursday and they found that I have an enlarged valve that also leaks. I have an enlarged left ventricle as well. The doctor told me he wanted me in for a trans-esophageal scope to look at the other side of my heart. I will go in for this on June 26 and then the doctor will know more.

He told me that I will need surgery to replace my valve. We are not sure when but it seemed like not an immediate need, especially since I have no symptoms. He told me that at my age I will recover quickly, but it needs to be done in the next 2 or 3 years. I am imagining if it can be scheduled for this summer, I would take advantage of it.

I am covered through the school district, so I think I am in as good a spot as I can be in....except I need heart surgery.

Heart Murmur

I went to the doctor today and it turns out I have a heart murmur. He told me it is not too much to worry about, but scheduled me for a echo cardiogram for Thursday. They will be able to tell me more.

I went grocery shopping and brought in my own shampoo bottle. I filled it with bulk shampoo, but there was no price on the bottle. My cashier went back and found the price of the 2 gallon bottle and figured that was the price per pound. I then was charged $50 for a bottle of shampoo. I realized when I got home that I was charged too much. So I went back and got my money back. Never have I ever been charged so much for a bottle of shampoo.

The Brody Theatre

Last week, Marie and I went for a friends birthday party to a theater in Portland that had an improv show called doomed to repeat it. A group of actors take a suggestion from the audience, research the topic for a week and then come back and do an improv show on the subject. Last week we saw the Overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy. At the end of the show, Marie suggested they do a history of the pill. They took our idea and coming this week is the history of the pill. We are going to go see what they come up with.

200,000

My car recently went over 200,000 miles. I was able to film it while driving down empty streets in Mcminnville.

Greg Mortenson

Marie and I went to a talk by Greg Mortenson, the Author of Three Cups of Tea. He was a mountaineer who failed an attempt up K2, then stumbled into a small village emaciated, weak, and unbathed. The village elder took him under his wing and nursed him back to health. Greg saw that there were no schools and teachers, so he made it his personal quest to build them.

He has negociated with Militia men in Pakistan and has talked with all the Generals who have been in charge of Afghanistan. His book is required reading for soldiers and officers going to Afghanistan.

He was a great speaker and Marie and I stayed and got our books signed. He lives in Montana and we talked education and Montana for the 1 minute I had his attention at the book signing.

If you haven't heard about it, check out the Central Asia Institute.

Bridgetown

This weekend, Marie and I went up to Portland to see one of the shows of the Bridgetown Comedy festival. There was three improv/sketch groups to start our night. The last group was Beer Shark Mice. It was awesome. I laughed so hard I was hoarse the next day.

After an intermission (and another pitcher of beer) there were some stand-ups to entertain. The first was a local who was decent, but the second guy on shocked me. His name was Kyle and I played ultimate frisbee with him and also did open mics with him in Corvallis when he literally did his first jokes on a mic. I hadn't seen/talked/heard from him since 2005. After his time we went to the lobby and talked comedy and our past. Strange small world.

Todd Glass and Bill Dwyer were the only two comics I recognized the rest of the night. Maria Bamford, one of my favorite comics (#1 or #2 female) was scheduled but had a family issue and wasn't there. Janeane Garofalo walked up the aisle but never did any jokes.

On the ride home my cars odometer got up to 199,991. Next trip anywhere I will top 200,000. It would be more impressive if I put on all the miles but I got the car with 183,000.