Friends

Before leaving Eugene, I sent a “thought for the day” to a good friend. It bears repeating for all who have become friends and followers of this pilgrim journey: “Blessed are they who have the gift of making friends, for it is one of God’s best gifts. It involves many things, but above all, the power of giving out of one’s self and appreciating whatever is noble and loving in another.” The words were originally written by Thomas Hughes and were shared with me for the first time six years ago. I have them printed on a prayer card in my Bible, so I gladly return to them often. If I may, please let me mention the names of a few friends whom I’ve met along the way.

Walt Wollenbecker was a dependable member of the parish finance council when I was in St. Mary, Star of the Sea parish in Astoria. Walt also did my personal taxes and he was always ready with a warm and boisterous laugh. (That’s not saying that my taxes were the source of his laughter, just that I still remember Walt’s great sense of humor and his love for life.) Well, Walt was the reader at the Pilgrimage’s first daily Mass back on June 1^st. I still remember Fr. Ken Sampson’s homily on St. Justin that day and I’ve been especially attentive to those “random” encounters with people where God-kissed moments abound.

Fr. Nick Nilema, at Our Lady of Victory in Seaside, allowed Paul Swadener and I to stay in his home overnight. I’ve always respected Fr. Nick as a brother priest, but I had an epiphany the night we lodged in Seaside. If you recall, this was after day 1, the first 16-mile day, and I was sore and tired. I was so sore and tired that it took me a few minutes to walk from one end of the hallway to the other. During that long trek, I got to see all of the personal photos that Fr. Nick had hung on his wall. Among those photos there was one of the newly ordained Fr. Nick and his family. They were gathered in a very simple home and surrounded by what we would call African folk art. The difference I noticed in the picture was that, for them, it was just art . . . decoration . . . they were in Africa! It dawned on me that Fr. Nick had made a huge personal sacrifice to come to the United States as a missionary. God bless him for it!

In Waldport, I had dinner one night with Phil and Tina Hurley. Tina was the parish secretary at the very first parish I served in, St. Anne’s in Grants Pass. Many of you already know this, but most parish secretaries are nearly irreplaceable and are such “key players” as liaisons between parish staff and parishioners that they couldn’t possibly be paid enough. I used to joke with Tina that she should get the parish equivalent of the military’s “combat” pay or “dangerous duty” pay. Our friendship, while marked by long periods where we haven’t seen each other, has remained strong and it was easily rekindled over dinner.

When Paula and I were passing through the area around Heceta Head Lighthouse (north of Florence), a young man drove past us going in the opposite direction, turned around, and drove past us going in our direction. He then pulled over and came running, uphill, toward us. It was a man I didn’t recognize at first, but it turned out to be Fr. Don Gutmann, the pastor in Newberg. He had previously served in Florence and was running some errands between there and Newberg. He caught me completely by surprise, and delightfully by surprise. Even more, he said, “Don’t let me stop you, let’s keep walking.” So he walked with us for about a quarter of a mile down the hill. He even jumped the guardrail so the three of us wouldn’t take up too much room on the shoulder of the highway. Eventually, I had to tell him, “You’ve got to climb all the way back up to your pickup!” He reluctantly agreed to go back up. We parted ways with a promise to pray for each other . . . and then he proceeded to run all the way back up the hill!

" . . . appreciating whatever is noble and loving in another.”

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Did I miss something in the newspaper? Was Saturday "Everyone-can-drive-on-the-shoulder-of-the-highway Day?" Six different vehicles drove well over the white line and onto the shoulder today. I prefer to walk on the left-side of the road so that oncoming traffic can see me and I can see it; 90% of the time today I was on that side and fully aware of fast and heavy metal coming my way . . . and, again, six times there were drivers either not paying attention or aiming for me (. . . okay, that's doubtful). Prayer was an easy calling today!

Ascent to Ocean View Point

View Point (the Ocean Really is Out There)

Descent to Clear Lake

Salmon Berry (It's Really In There!)

Clear Lake (Coos County)

Tenmile Creek

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Tomorrow: It seems fitting that the announcement of the winner of the Name the Stick contest should be made on the Lord's Day. As soon as I arrive in North Bend and can find internet access, I'll post the second runner-up, the runner-up, and the winner. Thanks for all the suggestions.

A Tree Frog, In More Ways Than One