The Rev. Chuck Currie

Happy Thanksgiving!

"For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead Tree near the River, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the Labour of the Fishing Hawk; and when that diligent Bird has at length taken a Fish, and is bearing it to his Nest for the Support of his Mate and young Ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him and takes it from him.

"With all this Injustice, he is never in good Case but like those among Men who live by Sharping & Robbing he is generally poor and often very lousy. Besides he is a rank Coward: The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the District. He is therefore by no means a proper Emblem for the brave and honest Cincinnati of America who have driven all the King birds from our Country....

"I am on this account not displeased that the Figure is not known as a Bald Eagle, but looks more like a Turkey. For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America... He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on."

--Benjamin Franklin, in a letter to his daughter

It is a Thanksgiving tradition of mine to post this letter from Mr. Franklin.  I wonder if we would be eating Eagle today had he won the debate?  Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Halloween

Hugo B. Currie, A Good Old Dog, 2000-2008

Hugo B. Currie, my trusty dog and lovable barking sidekick, died today.  He was only eight.  Hugo leaves behind his life-long companion Hazel.  Both Hugo and Hazel were named after South Carolina hurricanes and they've lived up to those names.  Hugo was born in Cathlamet, Washington and lived with us here in Portland (and during our three-year stay in St. Louis where he was a regular on the Eden campus).  He loved chasing Frisbees.  He was a good old dog. 

Jennifer L. Currie, BSN

This is a great weekend for our family.  Jennifer L. Currie, one of my two younger sisters, graduates with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Linfield Good Samaritan School of Nursing.  This is not Jennifer's first degree.  She already holds a BS from Linfield College but felt a change in career paths into nursing would provide more opportunities for her and her son.  Jennifer is what you'd call a "people-person" and it was always hard to imagine her simply sitting behind a desk.  Getting a second degree was never easy.  Jennifer struggled a lot to make this happen while maintaining a high GPA.  None of us are suprised that she has already been offered and accepted a job with a local hospital.  Today the nursing school held their closing convocation at First Baptist Church in downtown Portland where all the nurses received their "pin."  You can catch Jennifer receiving her "pin" in the above video.  Later, we had a great celebration here at our house with family and many of Jennifer's friends.

Here's Jennifer with Judith F. Bright, ARNP, CNM, MPA (we just normally call her mom).  Mom has her undergraduate degree from Linfield and Dr. John Thomas, our step-father (Judy's husband) is a philosophy professor at the school.

More photos will be posted on our family website later.

Congratulations, Jennifer!  We're all very proud of you!!!    

Remembering Steve Currie

Today is May 13th and growing up that meant German chocolate cake for desert (because I hated coconut I'd eat around the edges).  C. Stephen Currie was born on this day and the cake was for him.  Steve, as he was called by everyone except his mother, was my dad.  He died in the fall of 1998 after a life long battle with depression and alcohol and drug addiction.  For him the battle started early.  His mother and father were both abusive and from we understand my grandmother used to give her children Valium when they came home from school to keep them under control.  My dad was the youngest of three kids but he had outlived his brother and sister when he died at the age of 52.  None of them stood a chance.

My father excelled professionally in his 20s and 30s.  As a teen, he worked on air for a radio station in South Carolina.  He later worked as a reporter and anchor before going behind the scenes and working as a television producer.  By the time he was 32 he had be elected president of the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) and was working as the program operations manager at KOIN-TV here in Portland.  He ended up working at KOIN for 14 years.

He was not a perfect father.  But he tried.  He fought his addictions with stay after stay in treatment facilities.  Recovery just couldn't emerge out of the chaos that has been his life.  How might things had been different for him and our entire family if we knew then what we know now about abuse and addiction?  I wonder about that every time I advocate for children's programs or mental health treatment. 

Do I miss him?  You bet.  I'd like to be angry with him for all the times he failed us - and for finally leaving us the way he did - but most of the time that anger escapes me.  I keep a picture of him as a child in our hallway to remember what potential he had and in my study here at home is a framed photo of him from Variety, a tribute to his time at NATPE.

I miss you, daddy.  Happy birthday.

Related Link:  Mick Schafbuch 's Eulogy to Steve Currie (Mick was the general manager at KOIN when my father was there).

A Prayer for Mother's Day

 

Gracious and loving God, this Mother’s Day – which also falls on the day of Pentecost when we celebrate the birth of your church – we stop to give you thanks for our mothers. We remember the times that they have set-aside their own needs to tend to ours. We remember those moments where they have expressed love for us when no one else would. Creator God, we give you praise for the gift of human creation. And on this day we remember moms that we have lost and ask that your spirit hold them fast – and that you watch over us as we still grieve. We also ask for your healing touch for mothers who have lost children and for women who have tried to conceive but been unable to. Help us in different ways to be the family for those that have no other. God of Justice, we also lift up to you today those mothers who are struggling to provide shelter, food and medical care for their children. Use us as instruments of your will as we seek to build the Kingdom you have promised – a place where all such inequities are washed away. We also acknowledge, O God, that not every mother is perfect. Help us to forgive those that have wronged us. Forgive us to, dear Lord, for the times we have not shown our mothers the love and appreciation they deserve for all the mighty gifts they have given us. In the name of Jesus Christ, born of Mary, we pray. Amen.

- The Rev. Chuck Currie

(Pictured above:  Judith F. Bright, ARNP, CNM, MPA.  My mom.)

Dog Fight

Hugo and Hazel, our trusty dogs, show off their best back yard wrestling skills.  No animals were harmed in the making of this video. This is just good old dog fun.  Hazel might look smaller but she's a tough as they come (and smart as a whip). Let's be clear: this is a PETA-friendly video.

Blogging From The Palmetto State.

This week I'm off in South Carolina visiting Rock, my grandfather, and other family.  But I'm still posting updates on the United Church New Blog.  Look over there for new content.

Oregon Kids For Obama

Frances

Katherine

Five Years Ago Sunday

Sunday will be the fifth anniversary of when I loaded up my Saturn wagon with my two dogs (Hugo and Hazel) and two cats (Freedom and Erik Brockley), hitched on a U-Haul, and made the drive from Portland, Oregon to St. Louis, Missouri so that I could attend Eden Theological Seminary.  Liz joined me three months later after all of our affairs had been tied up in the Rose City.

The drive itself was memorable.  How can a drive with two dogs and two cats packed into one car not be an adventure?  We traveled through days of minus 16 temperatures and the animals had to be smuggled into and out of motels across America that only allowed one medium sized pet per room (Hugo is 118 pounds).  My humble apologies to any hotel clerks I might have misled during my travels.

Here’s the part of the story I really love telling though:  a few days before leaving my then boss, The Rev. Dr. Arvin Luchs, told me to be open for signs from God during my three years in St. Louis. Just leaving Portland and driving through the Columbia River Gorge, animals and U-Haul in tow and Liz left temporarily behind, I prayed out loud and said a sign that what I was doing was right – leaving Portland, attending seminary, preparing for the ordained ministry – would be most welcomed.

Minutes later a van from Eden Theological Seminary drove up beside me, passed alongside, and then moved in front of me.  I followed it out of Oregon and east toward Eden.  It turns out the van had been in Oregon for part of a nationwide youth event that Eden had been sponsoring and was coincidently returning the same day I was leaving.

Can you imagine how stunned I was to be led out of Oregon by a van from Eden (even if the driver had no idea that was what they were doing)?  Funny enough, I have a hard time theologically accepting that God would ever give me such a direct sign but what do I know.  God is God, after all.

Three years later when we left Eden and returned to Portland we flew (minus one still missed cat but plus two beautiful baby girls…not to mention a degree).  We're thankful for our Missouri adventure but still glad to be home in rain soaked Oregon.          

Merry Christmas

Liz Smith Currie: "Keep musical heritage alive"

Remember the days when every elementary school classroom had an upright piano that teachers knew how to play?

In third grade we had an entire orchestra. During my youth, I remember many holiday parties where people sat around and played the piano and other instruments while folks sang carols.

As fewer children are exposed to music in schools and as the pre-television generation begins to die off, I fear we are losing a base of musical understanding and appreciation that is an important part of our cultural heritage. And now I read that even some department stores are giving up on live pianists. I find myself so upset by this news.

Just yesterday I took my twin 3-year-olds to Nordstrom for new shoes. Expecting cramped and cranky shopping and all the worst of the holiday season madness, instead inside I found a pianist playing a soothing mix of old standards and holiday music.

My kids plopped down in front of that piano for 10 minutes, and I thought how seldom they get to see a real musician playing an instrument. I hope the department stores will rethink their decision to forgo the live pianists.

LIZ SMITH CURRIE Northeast Portland (12/1/07 letter to The Oregonian) 

Preach, wife.

The Blizzard of 2007

Our planned morning of leaf raking came to a brief standstill when snow started to fall...slowly.  As Portlanders, we were paralyzed by the near white out conditions.  Our only hope: a Portland television station would stop by and offer 24-hour continuous coverage of our ordeal.  Alas, no such help came and we were left on our own.

Daddy, Frances and Katherine stay warm by the fire

Katherine tries to catch a snow flake

Frances, like her sister, tries to catch a snow flake

Liz never stopped working despite the danger from the blizzard.  She knew better than the rest of us that life needed to go on.

Happy Thanksgiving!

San Francisco Bay at sunset on Thanksgiving Day 2007.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Related Post:  The Great Turkey Debate

Happy Halloween

Katherine and Frances practice tonight before knocking on the neighbors doors.

We're Ready For Halloween

Our home in NE Portland

Under the Autumn Moon Festival in Portland

This morning we made the short trek across the river for the opening parade of the "Under the Autumn Moon Festival" in Portland's Old Town / Chinatown:

"The timing of Under the Autumn Moon coincides with the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival-one of the most celebrated Chinese holidays. Similar to harvest festivals celebrated by many cultures around the world, the Mid-Autumn Moon festival has been held throughout Asia for well over 1,000 years and has become a time to reflect upon the bounty of the summer harvest among other things."   

Thank you to our friend Jon for alerting us to this event.  Frances and Katherine enjoyed the dragons!

The festival continues today and tomorrow.   

Dylan: Shark Catcher

Dylan, my nine year old nephew, came across this shark today on the Oregon coast.  A another beach walker made efforts to get the shark back into water but to no avail.  This is going to make a great "What I Did This Summer" photo when Dylan goes back to school next week.

(Permission must be obtained to reprint /republish this picture) 

Sometimes The Best Laid Plans....

Here's how we intended to spend this afternoon and evening:  First, at a BBQ at our friend Magda's house in SE Portland with the twins.  Then we planned to head off across the river to Vancouver to help our friend Michelle celebrate her birthday.  Instead a truck hit us and nicely banged up our new car as we drove to Magda's.  None of us were hurt, thank God.  The car is another story .  We never made it to the BBQ or to Vancouver but not all was lost:  Symphony in the Park was about two blocks from our house and after spending a little time at that we left the girls with the babysitter we'd already scheduled for tonight and headed over to our neighborhood theater to see The Bourne Ultimatum.  It wasn't how we planned to spend the day but at least we're all ok.          

Orcas Island

We spent three great days this week on Orcas Island enjoying the sights and visiting with the whales.  Click here for more photos.

The Joy of 4th of July Ice Cream

If World War III broke out I'm pretty sure it would sound a little like Portland at this hour as our neighbors attempt to out due each other with the size of their 4th of July explosives fireworks.  Actually, I so want to be out there blowing things up but as the responsible parent of nearly 3-year old twins I'm sitting at home and just watching the festivities out my window.  We did manage to take the little ones out for ice cream tonight and then to Washington Park to run around. Nothing is better than ice cream on a hot summer day.  Hope everyone out there is enjoying their 4th of July.

    

Oregon Strawberries: Some Of The Best On Earth

Today we went to out to Sauvie Island for an annual rite of early summer: strawberry picking.  Oregon has some of the best strawberries on earth.

Today On Blue Oregon

Today on Blue Oregon, Liz Smith Currie, policy director for the Oregon School Based Health Care Network (but known around here as "mom" or "the wife"), talks about the importance of school based health care clinics in Multnomah County.  Check it out.

Snow In June

 

While the rest of Americans were out doing responsible things this Saturday (such as finishing sermons that must be given on Sunday morning) we took the twins and our three nephews to Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood for lunch and to play in the snow.  A good time was had by all.  The only down side: global warming is melting off the glaciers.  Unless we do something soon when our kids are ready to take their children to Mt. Hood they're won't be much of any snow left during the summer (maybe even during the winter).  The fact is that when I was a kid and moved here in 1979 the glaciers were much bigger.  Another reason to elect leaders who care about such things.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to Liz, my wife and the wonderful mother of our twins, and to Judy, my mom and hero.  And a Happy Mother's Day to Alice, Carolyn, Heather, Jennifer, Sarah, Tonya, Debra and all the other moms in our family - and in yours.

Mother's Day in the United States, by the way, has roots in a proclamation made by in 1870 by Julia Ward Howe, "a feminist, pacifist, poet and mother of six from Boston," reports The Chicago Sun Times.

Mother Day Proclamation

Arise, then, women of this day!Arise, all women who have hearts,Whether our baptism be of water or of tears!

Say firmly:"We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies,Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause.Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearnAll that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another countryTo allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."

From the bosom of the devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own.It says: "Disarm! Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession.As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war,Let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel.

Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the meansWhereby the great human family can live in peace,Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,But of God.

In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly askThat a general congress of women without limit of nationalityMay be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenientAnd at the earliest period consistent with its objects,To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,The amicable settlement of international questions,The great and general interests of peace.

Decades later President Wilson declared this day a national holiday.  As the Sun-Times notes, "In the Mother's Day History section of the 1-800 Flowers Web site, Howe's name is nowhere to be found."

Photos: The flowers come from our yard in Portland.

Deep In The Heart Of Texas

We really shouldn't be allowed to fly.  Over the last couple of years we've been waylaid by storms of every stripe, forced to spend 24-hours in Salt Lake City, and required to take routes from one end of the country to another that could never make sense.  So it comes as no real surprise to us today to find our family stuck in Huston for the next 12 + hours on an rather extended layover.  You could blame today on Continental Airlines but I'm a little suspicious that our problems started as soon as we landed at George H.W. Bush Intercontinental Airport. 

Rock Celebrates 90 Years

Many of our family have gathered this weekend here in Columbia, SC to celebrate the 90th birthday of Rock Bright, my grandfather.  Pictured here with Rock are some of his great grand children:  Frances, Katherine, baby Taylor (just 7 weeks old), and Hanna.  Three other great grand children (Dylan, Devin and Ian are in Oregon and Washington).  Liz and I are enjoying time in this state were my family has lived since before the Revolutionary War.  The warm weather would make any Oregonian happy.      

Oregon, My Oregon!

Today is one of those rainy spring days where you just want to sing out "Oregon, My Oregon!"

We went to the Oregon Zoo with my sisters and their families for the annual zoo Easter Egg hunt (a day early, I know).  Attendance was sparse.  Only the real true blue Oregonians made it out.  Tom McCall Oregonians.  We had a good time.

Frances & Katherine with their cousins Dylan, Devin & Ian at the Zoo

Need a place to worship tomorrow for Easter?  Join us at Parkrose Community United Church of Christ at 10 am (directions and more info if you follow the link).

Why Are School Based Health Care Clinics A Good Idea?

Liz Smith Currie explains it all to The Muskogee Phoenix newspaper.

Liz Smith Currie: Oregon's Rural Kids Need Health Care

The health care needs of Oregon children are in the news again this week as the Legislature considers new initiatives to expand health care and Liz Smith Currie (known as the wife and / or mom around this house) is, as usual, in the thick of things.

From The Oregonian this morning:

Children without health insurance sometimes avoid seeking medical care until they face emergencies. Liz Smith Currie, policy director for Oregon's 44 school-based health clinics, has been collecting stories about uninsured students showing up at clinics with advanced illnesses.

An uninsured student, a senior at Sheldon High School in Eugene, said she put off seeing a doctor for two weeks after she became ill with a fever, vomiting and an aching stomach two years ago. When her abdomen started to swell, she visited the school health clinic and learned she had a ruptured appendix.

Some children who rarely see a doctor "only go when they think they literally are dying," said Debbie Johnson, nurse at Sheldon's health clinic.

Liz is actually the public policy director for the Oregon School Based Health Care Network. Her comments about the needs of rural health care where made in response to a new report released this week by Children First for Oregon documenting the health care crisis faced by Oregon’s kids. Click here to read the report.

Overheard On The Baby Monitor

Bedtime one night this week in the Currie household:

"Daddy, I don’t want to sleep. Mommy, I don’t want to be in bed.

Pharaoh, let my people go!"

- Frances, age 2.

Someone was paying pretty close attention to the hymns we sang at church during the MLK tribute.

Let It Snow! But Help Those Who Are Cold!

Here it is nearly one in the afternoon and the snow is still falling from the sky in something of a surprise storm.  Portland's Grant Park is filled with kids off from school but long before the high school students made it out of bed we were at the park with our kids and the dogs.  I hope everyone around town is staying warm.  If you have clothing donations (or cash donations for that matter) for those doing without consider getting in touch with Snow-Cap, Transition Projects, Outside In or the Goose Hollow Family Shelter.  These agencies need your help.

Baby Loves Disco

Our Sunday afternoon was spent at "Baby Loves Disco" at Portland's Crystal Ballroom.

Daddy & Frances

All across the country, Baby Loves Disco is slowly but surely transforming the hippest night clubs into child proof discos as toddlers, pre-schoolers and parents looking for a break from the routine playground circuit let loose for some post naptime, pre-dinner fun. Make no mistake, this is NOT the Mickey Mouse club, and Barney is Banned. Baby loves disco is an afternoon dance party featuring real music spun and mixed by real djs blending classic disco tunes From the 70s, & 80s guaranteed to get those little booties moving and grooving.

The fun spills out from all corners of the club: bubble machines, baskets of scarves and egg-shakers, a chill-out room (with tents, books and puzzles), diaper changing stations, a full spread of healthy snacks and dancing, LOTS of dancing. But at it’s core, Baby loves disco is a community event that brings kids together with kids and parents together with parents. Started by professional dancer (and professional mom) Heather Murphy, the idea was to create an alternative to the pre-packaged world of entertainment for young kids.

Mommy & Katherine

Good fun for everyone/

Holding On To Hope

We’ve just come back from a wonderful trip to the Bay Area where we visited with Liz’s family. Tomorrow our Christmas tree comes down (which is a little sad because we really had a good looking tree this year) and it is back to work for me in the morning. Taking six days off in a row has been great. Christmas was great. I’m starting the New Year off with a renewed sense of hope for my church and maybe even a little for the world at large. Hope doesn’t come easy these days, I know, but as Bill Coffin said: “Hope criticizes what is; hopelessness rationalizes it. Hope resists; hopelessness adapts.” The Christmas experience is always one of hope over hopelessness. The birth of Jesus brought renewed hope to the world over 2,000 years ago and remembering that birth opens our hearts to new possibilities again each year. That’s the feeling I want to take away from this Christmas and into 2007: that there are new…hopeful…possibilities.

Liz Smith Currie: "School-based health centers are a smart investment for communities"

Liz had a letter to the editor in The Oregonian about a week ago:

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Gov. Ted Kulongoski have each unveiled major health care reform proposals that would provide access to health care for many Oregonians. It is notable that both of these proposals recognize that providing insurance alone is not enough to ensure access to care; both proposals include a plan to expand school-based health centers.

If these plans are enacted, many children who otherwise might not get the care they need will have access to quality, affordable health care right