Miss You, Tucker

Tucker Swimming on the Eagle Falls Trail in the Columbia River Gorge

After a rough few weeks, the end has come for my dog, Tucker. He was put down on Monday afternoon after not being able to eat for the past several weeks. My parents have been caring for him for the past few years, but he's been my constant companion since law school when I got him from the Chesapeake Bay Retriever Rescue.

When I first got Tucks, he was a five year old dog that had major weight issues. He was 125 pounds, I often referred to him as a keg with legs. He didn't know how to fetch and desperately needed regular walks. But other than that he came to me a happy and well behaved dog.

Waiting for the Next Throw in Tahoe

Tucker took a little training to learn to fetch, but once he figured it out he found his calling. Soon he spent daily session chasing the ball on the blacktop at the local elementary school or the grass at Burlingame Park.  It wasn't until we spent a summer of living up at Lake Tahoe that he managed to swim off all the excess weight.

The gravel covered Homewood Beach will always be the place where Tucker was at his best. He's chase sticks and tennis balls out into the water for hours. If you tired of throwing things for him to chase he'd start picking rocks off the bottom of the Lake. Every trip up to the Sayles cabin didn't really begin until Tucker had his swim in the Lake, whether it was summer or there was six feet of snow on the ground.

Even in his last weeks when he couldn't eat and barely walk, he still found some reserves of energy when my parents would take him to the water and throw a ball for him. We know the end was here when on his last day he could only muster a single retrieval from the Bay.

Giving Elbow Steam Baths on a Road Trip

It's hard to say good-bye to your daily companion, especially since he'd been there through many of my recent life phases. I adopted T-Fab before I started dating Sara. I'd often walk him over to her house when we after we started dating each other in law school.

He moved with me from Portland to Tahoe, back to Portland and eventually down to California. He was with me through three years of law school and the years starting to work as an attorney.

What I'll miss about the big guy was his enthusiasm, his non-subtle pleas for attention and his stoic patience.

It's going to be tough to go on without that dumb dog. Thanks for the memories and the years of companionship.

Nothing Could Keep Tucker Out of the Water

Two of my Favorites

Happy Dog

I'll Miss You Chris

Got another dose of bad news today from the mainland. One of my best friends from high school, Chris Rudolph, was killed in an avalanche yesterday at Stevens Pass. I got to know Chris when he was the funny guy who lined up next to me in Mr. Walsh's freshman PE class at Campolindo High School. We both shared an interest in mountain biking and skiing. We became good friends during track season as both the high jumpers (me) and pole vaulters (Chris) spent most of their practice time lounging the on large foam mats at the far end of the track. After that we spent our high school years biking Mount Diablo and Canyon or stealing weekend trips to Alpine Meadows or Homewood. I still remember the time when Chris and I took High Traverse at Alpine and he stood up for me after I skied over Shane McConkney's prototype skis. I can also recall an incident with the Moraga Police that he managed to talk our way out of after one of my first keg parties.

Chris was the person who, following my winter in Tahoe and summer back in San Francisco, convinced me to give one last go at the mountain life and do a winter up at Stevens Pass. He was just hired on in the marketing department at Stevens Pass, he got me hired on as one of the coffee stand supervisors. We had some great evenings hanging out, but it was a lost winter, due to a lack of snow. The mountain was open for approximately four weeks out of the four months I was up there. This left plenty of days and evenings to hang out in Chris' cabin across from the mountain.

I've been a part of the ski community for enough years to know people that have died in avalanches, but it hits close to home when it was one of the people you came of age with. Chris, next time I'm up in Leavenworth, I'll raise a toast to you. It won't be the same without you.

James "Jim" Allen Sayles

I got the worst of news this evening. My grandfather, James Allen Sayles passed away this evening. For nine decades, Jim exemplified everything I hoped to be as a person. He was independent, an explorer, his own man, successful, the person who drove me to improve as a person and my namesake. You truly were one of the great influences of my life. You will be sorely missed.

Sara and I were both glad to have had a couple of opportunities to

visit my "Grampa" and my grandmother while we were home for Spencer and Britt's wedding. We managed to celebrate my Great Aunt Janet's birthday together and you let your "old school" guard down long enough to allow Sara and I to bring lunch to your place in Kensington, from Tacubaya. The problem with a trip as short as that was we did not get to spend more time with the people we love the most.

Grampa, you will be sorely missed. You were the man who held me to higher standard and taught me that good enough was not good enough. Even your surly attitude infused me with a patience and sympathy that will be a part of me for my entire life. Grampa, your sense of adventure and outdoors spirit were a major influence on my life and who I am today. You taught me to shoot a gun at 5, to fish at 4, to hike and explore my entire life. You always brought the perspective of an engineer to every problem in life and gave me a logical framework for dealing with every trial in life. These are skills that I relish and continue to expand on to this day, your influence will not end with you. It's hard for me to imagine going on without you, but sad as it may be, I will have to.

I will never be able to drink a glass of "pinch bottle" scotch without thinking of you. We are all proud that you were able to leave this world under your own terms and with you people you hold most dear. You may be gone, but you will not be forgotten. Even from American Samoa, you memory will live on, you old sailor. I only wish I was able to see you through until then end...

Sad News

I just got an email from the mainland. A friend of mine, Crystel Stanford passed away over the weekend. She was injured while riding her bike and passed later on in the ICU. I'd emailed with her before coming out to American Samoa and am glad to have been friends with her since we met at UC Davis. She loved adventure and had a passion for the activities she chose to pursue. Crystel you will be missed.

Part of living on an island is learning to cope with the isolation be being out of touch with the world. This is the first event that has really made me miss some of the constant contact that living on the mainland allows. I just wish it was a lesson learned under better circumstances.