Christopher

This is the house where your dad lived from the time he started first grade. There were four years where we lived in Eugene while attending the U of Oregon from 1990 - 1994.

After Josh and your dad left home I lived here three or so years by myself. It took enormous effort to live there the way I tried to. Ultimately, I sold and returned to Portland in 2002. I was there until September 2011 and I returned last November.

I think you'll spot your dad's tree fort in the back yard. I can't remember what kind of tree that is but it was sturdy and the platform was sturdy. Your Papa Joe was an excellent carpenter and he built the greenhouse in this video as well as the porches on the house, the fences and cut and altered all that victorian gingerbread to make those beautiful arches.

I was the painter ;)

Also, if you look closely there's a witch in the chimney. I was teaching maybe 20 kids a week then and they would traipse up that sidewalk and those stairs. One day a little boy told me that while driving past my house one night in the backseat of his parents' car he looked at my chimney AND THE WITCH WAS GONE! When they returned? The witch was back. His mom rolled her eyes but I understood what he was saying.

So this house was where your dad really started learning about wood and construction and framing and running wire and everything he needed to become the artist he is. Everyone remembers the past differently and in their own unique way. What I remember about these years in Baker City was the camaraderie we shared as a team. There was always something to do. We never had central heat and for a couple years no insulation. So the boys were always hauling wood and our house was always cold. We cooked and heated off a wood stove like pioneers.

One of the nicest memories of my life was how on the day I left Baker after 14 years there, your mom and dad drove over from Portland to give me a ride. Later we all drove to San Diego to pick up Josh when he got out of the marine corps. Maybe LAX. He brought his dog with him from Okinawa. It was the first time your parents had been to LA and they were really excited about the beach and the neighborhoods from the songs they loved and the street fashion and the record stores. It was a very fun time for all of us.