I wake up at 7:20 a.m. and realize I need to be at the Frisco Highline Trail at 9 a.m. Dangit, I overslept my alarm. It’s Saturday and I’d normally forgive myself for such an oversight.
But not this morning. It was the morning of the Crimson House Ministries Royal Rangers group bike ride, and they asked me to help chaperone a group of eight kids as they rode 10 miles up the Frisco Highline Trail from Springfield to the Willard area and back.
Mount St. Helens erupted 32 years ago today. My parents had been married just nine days, and as such I wasn’t even a concept at that point — but I still feel a very emotional pull when I see and hear the stories of the people affected by the mountain’s blast.
Harry Truman is one of those people. He operated the Spirit Lake Lodge in the mountain’s shadow and was buried along with his property when the mud and lava overflowed the area. He had famously declared the mountain wouldn’t bother him…in reality, everyone knew the man was ready to depart this life on his own terms.
There really aren’t many people who get to do so. Bless you, Harry.
Thanks to The Oregonian for putting together the above video in 2010. Below is their front page from the day after the eruption.
“Solsbury Hill” by Peter Gabriel is absolutely timeless. Even though the song is about him leaving the band Genesis and striking out on his own, the lyrics speak to me as they connect to my life situation over the past year.
The most poignant words of the composition, as follows:
When illusion spin her net
I’m never where I want to be
And liberty she pirouette
When I think that I am free
Watched by empty silhouettes
Who close their eyes but still can see
No one taught them etiquette
I will show another me
Today I don’t need a replacement
I’ll tell them what the smile on my face meant
My heart going boom boom boom
“Hey,” I said, “You can keep my things,
they’ve come to take me home.”
It’s been awhile since I’ve written anything introspective on this blog, but I figured tonight would be a good night to do so.
I might be rambling in this post, but please bear with me here.
Nearly five months have come and gone since I’ve moved to Springfield. I left a job in the Pacific Northwest that I had held for nearly two years — a gig as a newspaper reporter in Centralia, Washington, that treated me relatively well, all things considered — to take a position as a digital media editor for a local television station.
The move was motivated by a number of factors: (1) although I loved my job and the close friends I had in Centralia, I felt there was no way to move up the ranks in a timely fashion, and (2) I wanted to be closer to my family; but a large part of the reason (and even larger now than I thought it was at the time) was (3) a girl I thought I would marry left me and cut off communication, and I just couldn’t stand being in Centralia anymore.
A homestead near West Mineral, Kansas, sits dwarfed by a backdrop of the sun hiding behind approaching clouds on Friday, April 27, 2012.
When a storm chase turns into an absolute bust, you make the best of it.
I traveled with two of my friends from KY3 to southeast Kansas in anticipation of storms brewing, but such never happened. But as we sat in front of the Big Brutus, Inc., mining museum in West Mineral, the sun started painting the sky with color as it faded below the horizon for the night.
A field in West Mineral, Kansas, extends out to the horizon as the sun prepares to set on April 27, 2012.
Grain stops bowing in the wind for a split second as storms try to fire up in the distance.
The St. Louis Cardinals’ World Series trophy came to Springfield for the weekend so fans could see it for themselves and even take pictures with it…but it very nearly didn’t make it back to St. Louis.
A Springfield Cardinals batter was at the plate while KY3′s Chad Plein was conducting a live interview with Springfield GM Matt Gifford, who was holding the trophy. No sooner did Chad and Matt finish their conversation in the right field bullpen, than a foul ball screamed toward them, forcing them to duck.
Everyone was unscathed, but whew…how intense for a split second. The conversation about the sheriff’s deputy who is supposed to help guard the trophy is hilarious as well.
Hat tip to Chad Plein for posting this video on his Facebook page.
In this long exposure shot near Wellington, Kan., on Saturday, a tornado can be seen just before making contact with the ground and heading for Wichita.
The image may be dark and the quality less than stellar, but there is no mistaking a large destructive tornado in the background of the photos I shot Saturday evening.
I joined three others on Saturday for a 17-hour, 865-mile tornado chase excursion through east and central Kansas. Most of the day was a bust, but when we came up on a tornado just west of Wellington, we knew it could be big.
And it was, judging by the large rotating clouds above us.
A wall cloud spawns major lightning and a rainstorm in the distance near Conway Springs, Kansas, on Saturday, April 14, 2012.
It was terribly dark outside, so any photos I shot had to be long exposures with the shutter open at least 10 seconds, Lightning was the sole light source.
Our meteorologist at KSPR, Kevin Lighty, uploaded this YouTube video that shows the tornado in the distance, with some B-roll of damage afterward. By seeing this, you get a sense of how real the danger was.
Looking back at Saturday night, I am thankful to God that no lives were lost. Most of Wichita was spared, but some damage was still evident. Even we couldn’t see exactly where the storm was, and we saw it cross Interstate 35 in front of us. We and many others were very fortunate.
Here is the National Weather Service storm report on the Saturday tornado outbreak.
A crowd gathers around a man playing the role of Jesus Christ as he carries a wooden cross along Washington Avenue in Centralia, Wash., for a Stations of the Cross reenactment in April 2011.
This Easter weekend, I am reminded of one very large group of people back in Centralia, Wash., who celebrated Christ’s death and resurrection with such convicting passion.
In 2010 and 2011, I had the honor of observing (and covering for The Chronicle) the Stations of the Cross, a Good Friday reenactment of the final hours of Jesus’ life. The passionate retelling of the crucifixion was put on by the Hispanic congregations of the local Catholic parish at St. Mary’s, with several members of the church from young to old taking part in playing roles from the disciples to Jesus Christ himself.
The production was quite stirring, as a crowd of hundreds from all Christian denominations would gather wherever they could along Washington Avenue to take in the sights and sounds as a set of speakers broadcast the reenactment of the disciples’ interactions with Jesus, his sentencing to death and eventual crucifixion.
As the play moved from station to station across the block, I noticed more and more people joining the crowd. I believe an article I wrote had the count at 300, but I wouldn’t call it a stretch to say 500 people joined — and it was heartwarming to see many English-speaking Christians and their families also join in.
Several onlookers during the reenactment would shed tears as they recounted what the day meant for them. Others were visibly impassioned in the raising of hands and verbalizing prayers I could not comprehend.
People took this event seriously, and I remember distinctly the entire crowd going eerily silent when the man who played the role of Jesus was hoisted onto a cross in a field adjacent to the church. He cried his final words and was removed from the cross, where he would go to be buried.
After the reenactment was complete, most in the crowd would then gather at the St. Mary’s church next door to pray the Way of the Cross and observe Good Friday.
The entire production lasted roughly an hour, but two aspects to the performance have always resonated with me. It was heartwarming to see people from every race and Christian denomination in town join in observing Good Friday, and it was also a blessing to hear the stories of the people who participated in the play as Jesus’ story meant something to them.
Take the story of a young man named Alex I interviewed for the 2010 reenactment, for example: Alex had been involved in a life of drugs and had found himself in jail, wishing to commit suicide, until he said Jesus himself visited him and told him his life had value. From that moment on, Alex said, he decided to dedicate his life to the Lord.
Of course, Jesus would have only been able to show His glory to Alex if he were alive, which we as Christians fully believe. Today we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from a tomb that had not only been shut with a large rock, but one that had been kept watch over by two elite Roman soldiers to ensure no one stole His body.
Today I reflect on not only the wonderful memory of the Stations of the Cross and the faith I shared with those brothers and sisters in Christ who professed a belief in Christ, but on the fact Jesus is still alive and well today and keeping our lives in His hands as we live day to day.
Happy Easter to all!
Matt Holliday of the St. Louis Cardinals takes a cut at a fastball during an exhibition game against the Class AA Springfield Cardinals in Springfield, Mo., April 2, 2012.
The weather was gorgeous, the fans were ready for baseball and the 2011 World Series champions came to town for an exhibition matchup against their AA farm club, the Springfield Cardinals.
Although a few big-name stars for St. Louis didn’t travel, Springfield fans had plenty to cheer about as Matt Holliday and David Freese played and several former Baby Birds made appearances as well.
Over 10,000 fans showed up to watch the game, which St. Louis won 3-2. Here’s to hoping the St. Louis boys can have another stellar season this year.
Here are some photos of various scenes from around the ballpark. Baseball is by far my favorite sport to shoot…I sunburned badly but it was so worth it.
Matt Holliday of the St. Louis Cardinals prepares to acknowledge a young fan during a pre-game autograph session at Hammons Field April 2, 2012.
Brilliant stuff from Google this time around on April Fool’s Day, creating “Google Maps 8-bit for NES.”
Love the new “Quest” mode on Google Maps’ website as well. Here’s Springfield, Mo., as seen in 8-bit mode. Scroll around at your leisure!
50.42 mi
Fifty miles on the bike. Beat my previous 50-mile time by 17 minutes, and that was even with fighting a head wind on the final 14 miles. posted 17 hours ago
