Spring?

Yeah right! I couldn't even see the mountain until almost ten this morning because it was snowing and blowing so hard. The storm broke, but it has been blustry and wild outside. Katie and I went on a ski out Brush Creek a little earlier. Grey skies and sticky snow threatened to shut us down, but Katie set a good pace from the car and we got our rhythm going pretty quickly.



My iPod was on very quietly. Listening to the music as the wind and shuffling sounds of my skis created their own beats. I was scouring the landscapes for a poignant photo opportunity while my mind was eddying like wind through the valley. Spring seems so close, but the land is still dominated by winter. Fence posts were burried to the top strand of barbed wire. Bare branches, dark against a darker sky, show no signs of easing into bloom. Too cold, not yet. Wind had pushed the snow into drifts in some places and scoured it clean in others. Watching loose snow sail over the white-covered hillsides, creating texture and life to a static backdrop, held me captive.

The problem with everything going right...

The problem with everything going right is that it seems to be fleeting - only a matter of time until the next crash comes along. I have been filled with a great feeling about work lately. The vast majority of the kids have been focused and working hard on the hill and in the classroom. There are a couple of kids struggling to find their groove, but I enjoy working with kids who struggle. In fact, when I think about everything going right, the reality is that it is going right for me because I am involved with trying to educate and that means learning from mistakes. So maybe the path is moving relatively smoothly at the moment, but that doesn't mean there are not a slough of issues on the table.

A big part of my job as a snowboard coach is filming and editing video. The kids love this aspect of the program, so I have their ears and some semblance of respect because they see that I am working for them. As a coach I can tell them what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong, but it is such a cool tool to be able to show them what needs to be done on video. Taking the footage from training and turning it into a video they can share with their friends and family, or even a potential sponsor, is yet another benefit of the process. Showing kids how to edit brings another connection. Snowboarding, video editing, and sharing positive experiences outdoors are all elements of each day. I am so grateful for this.

I am also, as I have written, a part of the Administrative Committee, a teacher, a student advisor, and currently in charge of the IT systems. So, for all the fun of being in the field, there is also the beaurocracy and paperwork. I am grateful for the learning experiences. I see some of my colleagues getting run into the dirt because of the time and emotional commitments, and I have highs and lows, but feel like my experience has been so positive.

So, as I surf this high and all of its goodness, I have to let experience tell me that I am only days away from finding out one of my snowboarders got drunk, stole a car, and got the mayor's daughter pregnant.

Halliburton, cops, and gas wells

So, the trip to Jackson was really great. Zep and Bart were pretty well behaved - a lot of wrestling, yelling, and button pushing, but all in fun. Snowboarding in Jackson Hole, getting to ride the tram for the last time because they are shutting it down after 40 years of service, and watching the kids get after the terrain were all very cool aspects of the trip.

What has really been eating me up about the trip has been the fact that I got two speeding tickets. Now, I know that I got nabbed clean. I was speeding in a place that I shouldn't have been. I'm pissed, so I am going to turn this into a conspiracy. Take a gander at the nearest road atlas and look at the rural route from Crested Butte to
Jackson, WY. Highways 135, 50, 139, 64, 40, and 191. Serious sticks, people. As soon as we got off the beaten path we started seeing Halliburton trucks, big rig fuel trucks and more and more gas wells. The big ass meatheads driving the Halliburton trucks looked like they were hoping we'd say something about W. Overfed big boys doing the dirty work for W, Dick, and their cronies. Of course we didn't say anything out loud, but our table discussions were certainly scathing - in a hushed down kind of way.


My first ticket came 8 miles out from Dinosaur, CO, where we had reservations at the beautiful Terrace Motel (see photo above). We're driving north, he's driving south, roads are clear and dry and there is scant traffic. Regardless of how safe the conditions might have been, I got nabbed. The second ticket came on the return trip. Just outside of Delta, CO. The speed limit went from 65 to 55 to 45. I didn't see the 55 sign, so I was still rolling 70 mph. It is difficult to read every road sign when you are driving 1000 miles in a trip. Again, cop rolling from the opposite direction gets me before I see him. It eats at me that I had driven over gnarly mountain passes in wicked snow squalls, dodging wild animals, domesticated animals in open range areas, cars that had slid out of control, and these huge tanker trucks that were travelling on these tiny mountain roads but I have to drive X miles an hour to conform to their limits.

Probably the most inflamitory part of these scenarios is that the second time I got stopped the cop approached the mini van I was driving with his hand on his gun. I am sure the two teenagers I had in the car looked very intimidating. Who is watching these clowns and just what were these bastards doing out there? Punching holes into the sage brush laden countryside, posting up in the terrible diners serving terrible institution food, and guarding the limits on speed. What role does W. have in all this anyways? Now I don't spend much time beating the political bible here, but if I'm going to be pissed I am going to find an easier target than myself to blame. So, if I can't successfully indict the republican oligarchy, I am at least going to put them into the same entry to make myself feel better.

Jackson Hole, WY

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Originally uploaded by Johnny Cakes.

I am in the process of driving home from a quick trip to Jackson, WY with Zeppelin Zeerip and Bart Sherwood. We had a great trip with some fresh pow and good competition. There was a lot of laughter and good shredding. We are currently in Vernal, UT on the return trip. The driving was pretty hairball all the way here - I am grateful to be out from behind the wheel. Anyhow, click on the picture to get over to my Flickr account and some more shots if you are interested.

Blues

Well, I set too much stock in getting our hands on the Blackstock duplex in CB South. Katie seemed a little more apprehensive because the owners of the other side of the duplex were taking so long to exercise, or not, their right of refusal on the side we were looking at. As it is, they have decided that they will buy the place for themselves. This is their legal right. But that can't stop me from being pissed. They are second home owners - who actually own two places in the valley already - and they are standing in the way of Katie and I who are trying to secure a place for our incoming family. Damn. I can rationalize their decision, but I feel heartbreak. I set myself up for this one. Putting the cart before the horse as the saying goes.

Complicating the matter is the fact that Katie and I put our condo under contract this week. We got a great asking price and found buyers almost the day the place hit the market. So, now we have to get out of our condo by April 25th - if the contract goes through. We have options, but it is a real pain in the ass. Had all the cards fallen in our favor, we would have slid right into the Blackstock place. The current owners were sad that they could not sell it to us and that second home owners were taking a home out from under a local couple who is trying to make it happen for themselves.

Boo-friggen-hoo for me and mine.

Down Valley

Here is a look at the duplex Katie and I are trying to get into. We are moving along on the sale of the condo we live in and hoping to get in here this spring.

Education

The past couple days have been a test of my resolve. I am on the Administrative Comittee at the school and one of the responsibilities associated with that job is being a part of the judiciary comittee. A couple weeks ago we had an all-school meeting where the Head gave out a thoughtful letter stating that there needs to be a greater commitment on the student's part to live by our school honor code. The letter also went out to the parents. There was a clear warning that the kids who are continually trying to push the boundaries of respect and responsibilities would be brought before the judiciary comittee and given consequences.

Consequence is a good word. I like how it ties things in; For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In a black and white world we would be able to dole out consequences with ease. If you do this then this will happen as a consequence. In this technicolor world, however, it is never easy. I have been in meetings with very thoughtful and caring staff, people who want to support the kids, but also to be realistic about how much rope we give students before they hang themselves. These meetings have drawn on and on. There is a lot of emotion, its hard to be objective when you are talking about kids. I have felt very drained and beat down, but also grateful.

I am grateful to be a part of trying to resolve issues. Sometimes I wonder if this is histrionics, just a show, or if these kids are on the edge of some dire negative landscape. If I treat the scenarios with seriousness and care, whether a kid is depressed, or just lazy, a positive, constructive show by caring adults will be helpful. There is a lot of caring plied on these kids. Part of the challenge is that caring is often met with apathy. Kindness repayed with cruelty. Teenagers are working out a lot of issues with identity, motivation, and a path into the future. Never easy, always rewarding.