Something that really fascinates me about America is those real Nowheresville kind of places - where people just pass the time of day, teaching their dog a trick, chatting to the neighbours, waiting for something new to happen.
Yesterday I found one of those places. I was on the high plateau, just south of The Dalles, Oregon, and was running low on petrol. I kept hoping that over the next rise in the dry, brown landscape, there might be a gas station.
Long after the BlandsMobile had announced 'low fuel' and I was starting to panic about being stranded, I happened upon Grass Valley. Not as verdant as it sounds.
At first I thought the gas station was closed, but a burly attendant (Doyle - second top) ambled out to fill 'er up. There was a free 'magic' show into the bargain - a few tricks involving novel ways of folding a dollar bill, and an email pointing out various spooky permutations of the numbers 9/11.
On the way out, I got talking with Dale (top), the tattoo'ed, scarred guy working in the yard. He had a long scar across his face. 'Yeah... got mixed up in the wrong crowd.... fella tried to kill me....'
For half an hour, I was in a different world. Not somewhere I'd necessarily want to spend much longer, but I loved the insight into a different pace of life, a few different human histories.
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I haven't been in a boat since I stepped ashore in Antigua, and I hadn't missed it. So when Arlene's tenant, Jim, invited me to go for a paddle in his sculling boat I was about to use my stress-fractured hip as a wimp-out option, when something (vanity?) made me say, 'Why not?'
And I loved it.
What's not to love, when your're surrounded by stunning scenery, hearing the bubbles run under your hull, soaking up the natural beauty of the Columbia Gorge. Gorge-ous!
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Last night I slept in a yurt - a kind of big round tent. This was at the home of Arlene Burns, who runs the Mountain Film Festival in Telluride, CO each year. I will be there next May.
Arlene is in Colorado right now, so I didn't get to meet her, but I definitely hope to come back to this part of the world - the Columbia Gorge. I have totally fallen in love with it - its dramatic scenery and its friendly, down-to-earth people. I may have found my spiritual home.
yurt (or gers) interior
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Tiger Lee is seriously autistic. During his first few years of life, he rarely stopped screaming, fought against bathing, couldn't stand to be put in his car seat ....
Last night I stayed with the Lee family near Salem, Oregon. After reading Linda's book online that morning, I was distinctly nervous about what I would find. A screaming child, exhausted parents, a resentful brother? Instead I found a happy, hospitable family.
I asked Linda how this transformation had come about. She explained that once Tiger was finally diagnosed, she had got online and researched tirelessly to find out how to make their lives more tolerable. 'I was desperate', she admits. And who wouldn't be? Her researches led to changes in Tiger's diet which had made an enormous difference.
Now her mission in life is to help other families affected by autism, primarily by educating physicians so they can make an early diagnosis of the disorder. She hasn't let a lack of relevant skills hold her back from setting up a website (see Help Autism Now), producing a book, an educational pamphlet for physicians, a TV commercial and an information film. (The book can be read online - see Jason's Story.)
'And there's so much more I want to do', she said, 'there just aren't enough hours in the day.' I can relate to that.
'Paul has got a good metaphor for it.' She turned to her husband. 'The plate of food?' he said. 'Yes, it's like you have this plate with a pile of food on it. You keep trying to fit more food on, but it's already full, so when you put more on over here, food falls off over there. There's a limit to how much you can fit on.'
'But I still keep trying to pile more food on anyway', Linda said. 'Hmmm, me too,' I agreed, thinking of the book, the speeches, the documentary, the Pacific...' so where can I get a BIGGER PLATE?!'
(Paul, Jason and Linda Lee - Tiger had gone to bed by the time we got around to photos)
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