Blog - Life

8-year-old boys with eyes the size of basketballs

This past weekend Carson, a boy on my son’s basketball team, celebrated his eighth birthday in style. He asked the boys on the basketball team to join him to watch the Harlem Globetrotters. The night began with a little pre-game entertainment. Globie, the mascot, came out with a pair of guys to liven the crowd and get everyone pumped up.

After a little audience participation and some laughs aimed at the participants’ expense, it was time for the game. The Washington Generals entered the court first with their coach bad-mouthing Eugene in the process. Of course, this is all part of the show to make the Generals out to be the bad-guys. The team was made up of some real characters who didn’t seem to be sporting much athleticism, but again it’s all part of the show.

When the Globetrotters took the court, the kids came alive. The excitement on their faces was incredible. They had a great time watching each player perform tricks while they were being introduced. After a bit of “show-boating” the game started and it was non-stop action and laughs.

The players kept us entertained with some cool moves and some silly interactions. My favorite moment was when a player who made a slam-dunk held onto the rim so he could “stand” on the backboard. I think the boys enjoyed all the tricks, but they thought it was funny when a player from the Generals ended up in his underwear.

For my son and I, it was a night we won’t soon forget. For all the boys on the team it kept them talking about all the tricks they would perform during their game the following day.

Written by Mike McGillivray Feb 26 2010

Print is alive and well

There I am, sitting in anxious anticipation as I wait my turn at the dentist’s office. This is one of those cozy, make-you-feel-right-at-home lobbies. Cushy chairs, soothing colors, and an aquarium filled with tropical fish – all intended to put me at ease.

But I can see past all that. I’ve got a broken tooth way in the back, and I know full well what’s coming – a shot, the dreaded dental dam and several hours of drooling as the Novocain lingers. Nothing short of a couple stiff drinks could make me feel good about being here.

Except, what’s that over there? A new issue of Cook’s Illustrated AND Martha Stewart Living? As I flip through the pages, my stress begins to melt away.

For me, magazines have always been my “great escape.” While living in the Midwest during college, I subscribed to Backpacker and Outside magazines, which allowed me to leave the endless cornfields of Nebraska and travel to far-flung, warm-weather places and explore mountain peaks and remote wilderness areas.

Now a busy working mom, my “great escapes” often happen as I sit perched on a small step stool while my son splashes about during bath time.

My interests may have changed over the years – culinary and parenting magazines now take the place of those outdoorsy magazines because I’m now surrounded by the great outdoors – but my love of the medium has never waned. Beautiful photos. Slick, sleek pages. Short, entertaining, info-packed stories. Longer in-depth pieces for when I need an extended vacation from the everyday grind.

Don’t get me wrong – I love books and newspapers, but my true love lies with magazines. It always has. There’s just something wonderful about sitting, relaxing and physically turning the pages anywhere, anytime. (I wouldn’t dare take a computer or a Kindle into the bathroom at bath time!)

In this era of media downsizing, I am deeply saddened whenever I learn about the death of a magazine. So, when Condé Nast announced the end of Gourmet magazine, I literally felt as though I’d been kicked in the stomach, and I truly mourned the loss. For days afterward, I whispered to everyone I met, “Did you hear?”

So when I hear people say, “print is dead,” I strongly beg to differ. For me, print is very much alive and well. And it will be a sad, sad day if it ever goes away. One thing is for sure – visiting the dentist would certainly be a much more painful experience.

Jeneca, we’re ready for you…

Written by Jeneca Jones Feb 02 2010

The power of strangers

It’s amazing when someone you don’t even know touches your life. It happened to me this week when I went out for pizza with my family.

On Monday night, we went to Papa’s Pizza in Springfield for dinner, and the parlor was holding a fundraiser, as they do quite often. Fifty percent of the food sales would be given to a local woman, Angie, who is undergoing treatment for Leukemia. Angie has a daughter who happens to be in my oldest son’s fourth grade class at Thurston Elementary School.

Angie is a single mother whom I’ve never met. Still, I can’t imagine her struggles. She doesn’t have any family living in the local area, and she’s unable to work. While she’s undergoing treatment in Seattle, her daughter has been staying with another Springfield family while attending school. This arrangement could go on for several months depending on Angie’s treatment.

When we arrived at Papa’s Pizza, a woman saw our flier for the fundraiser and thanked us for being there. We began talking with her and it turns out she is a friend of Angie’s who arranged the event. She shared with us more details about her friend and her daughter’s situation and how difficult it has been for the two to be apart and how the bills are stacking up.

The whole conversation left me a little choked up and it reminded me how precious life is. It’s funny, I went there thinking I was giving something by buying a pizza. As it turns out, Angie gave something to me.

Written by Mike McGillivray Jan 22 2010

Finding time for winter

I’ve found a new appreciation for winter and the outdoors that I had sort of forgotten I had. When I was in junior high, I started snow skiing. I loved the sport and I did it every year through college. I haven’t been on skis or on the mountains since, for many reasons that mostly involve time and money.

This past weekend, my wife and I took our kids to Santiam Pass to play in the snow and go tubing. We have talked about it for many years, but for one reason or another we never made it to the winter wonderland so close to our home. This year, everything seemed to fall into place. We all had snow pants, warm coats, gloves, hats and boots. It also helped that all of the kids have arrived at an age that allows them to last in the cold for a couple hours.

We packed up snacks, drinks, snow-tubes, snow chains, a shovel (yes, a shovel – there have been too many people getting lost and stuck in the snow this year not to have survival gear), and all the warm clothes we could find. Once on the road, we found the highways clear of ice and snow thanks to the great folks at ODOT.

After some research, I discovered there weren’t too many places to go play in the snow, according to the area’s Sno-Parks designations. I also learned that it’s nearly impossible to get a Sno-Park pass if you don’t know where to go. I tried Bi-Mart and a few other retailers that sell hunting passes with no luck. We took our chances and started toward the mountain without a pass with the idea that one of the stores along the way would have them. Fortunately, that assumption was correct and we were able to pick-up a $4 day-use pass at a store near Blue River.

Arriving at the slope, we found a spot to park, got the tubes inflated (thanks to a power inverter and an electric air-pump) and headed to the hill. We stayed for a fun-filled three hours, which was much longer than I figured the kids would last.

Each child discovered his or her own style of riding. But stopping was the most important part, due to the frigid pool of water created by a drainage pipe at the bottom of the hill. We saw quite a few people who didn’t realize what was at the bottom go into the water and come out a freezing cold mess, so my wife and I took turns running defense at the bottom of the run just in case one of the tubes got out of control. Fortunately, the kids stayed dry and warm and had a great time on their first trip to play in the snow, so much so in fact that we’re already planning our next trip.

So what did I learn from all this? You can always find a reason to stay home. But what fun is there that? Tis the season to do away with reason! See you on the mountain!

Written by Mike McGillivray Jan 06 2010

Lessons learned at age 8

When I was around 8-years-old, growing up in the Midwest, my parents became acquainted with a sweet, elderly woman, who as far as I know had no family close by. Once a week, we would pile into our VW bus and putter across town to see her.

In the spring, my parents plowed and planted a garden in her slopping backyard. During those hot, humid summer months, mom and dad pulled weeds, watered vegetables and spent time visiting with her – this was after spending all morning tending to our own home garden. I helped here and there, but more often than not I escaped into her house, where I curiously milled about, careful not to break the many things she’d collected and displayed over the years.

Each time we visited, she would ask my name all over again. And she often told the same stories she’d told during our last visit – a somewhat frustrating phenomenon for an 8 year old. But I always enjoyed our visits, nonetheless.

When the hospital my dad worked for tried with all its might to buy up land to expand and offered to pay this poor woman pennies for her property, a local TV station ran a story about her. My dad, of course, was behind the anonymous call to reporters. The hospital got their land, despite the public crucifixion, but paid her what it was worth.

At Christmas time, we bundled up in winter coats, scarves and mittens and made a trip to her new place – a tiny one-bedroom, basement apartment miles from her old home.

Bearing gifts and with arms overflowing with canned goods, we stood at her partially opened door, her skeptical eyes starring back at us, as we explained who we were. It had been a couple months and during that time she had simply misplaced us. Thankful, she opened the door and let us in one last time.

This holiday season, consider sharing a story about someone who has left an impression on you, a lesson you’ve learned, an experience you’ve had, a tradition you share. I think we’re all the better for it.

Happy holidays.

Written by Jeneca Jones Dec 09 2009

Making Connections

My husband and I had an old friend from out of town over for a beer the other night. Not a super-blogworthy activity, you’re thinking, but how it came about is pretty remarkable, at least to me.

We haven’t seen our friend, Richard, face-to-face in nearly 25 years. He’s not even really my friend to begin with – my husband hung out with him during a brief period in high school. And like many short, intense friendships at that age, they burn out pretty quickly and you move on to other things.

But over the past year, Richard has become one of my closest friends. We chat almost daily, about jobs, kids, Shakespeare, bad ‘60s sitcoms (anyone remember Brian Keith and that freaky doll Mrs. Beasley?), and the old songs on the jukebox of Lenny’s Nosh Bar, the hangout of choice for earnest, wanna-be poets in our day. I get a little worried now if several days go by without hearing from him.

I “friended” Richard on a whim in Facebook. I didn’t think he’d remember me – the black-clad girlfriend of a weird kid he knew in high school. But keeping in touch with Richard helped me reconnect those threads and remember things about Richard that I always liked, and I guess always will. And now that we’re both raising preschoolers, I feel fortunate to be adding new chapters – and this new friend – to the story.

Many people dismiss the power of social networking – “it’s shallow, it’s a time-waster, it’s never a substitute for ‘real’ relationships,” they say. Of course, it isn’t. But new technologies like social networking help us reinforce what’s already there, and build on it in new, unexpected ways.

Consider using these powerful tools to continue building your valued customer relationships. Reconnect with old “friends.” Help them remember what they already like about you – even when they’re not shopping for your product or service.

Written by Jodie Rogers Oct 30 2009