If Only the Nightmare was Over

So former President Ford passed away yesterday. By all accounts a decent man of a generation that believed in public service and an "American Dream" that was inclusive. He most famously said upon Nixon's departure from office in disgrace that "our long national nightmare is over". It took a few decades for those nightmares to fade: the abuse of power, the quagmire of un-winnable war, the lies and deceit by those elected to serve, warrant-less domestic spying, the smearing of political opponents as unpatriotic, adventurous foreign policy without objectives, secrecy - it all seemed like a distant by vaguely uncomfortable memory by middle of the 90's. The Cold War was over, no clear competitors or threats on the horizon, optimism and at least some sense that a rising tide in fact might raise all boats. But alas, like a bad case of post-traumatic stress the "axis of deceit" and their appointed minions come to power looking for a bogey-man to grasp and hold power for power sake, ensure that their wealthy power-base of fundamentalist thinkers (whether fundamentalist in religion, political philosophy, anointed wealth and power) became more powerful and the rest were left to stock the shelves at Wal-Mart, fight and die and be maimed in wars of opportunity, or be blamed for lack of competitiveness, education, vision or just being plain lazy. So will the next president of the United States be so gracious as to pardon Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and company for their crimes? Ford lost the election because he pardoned Nixon, but he will always be remembered for that simple act that began a national self-analysis of who we had become and how we might change. These clowns in office now have ignored the lessons of history in virtually every policy decision that have made, let us hope for better and hope this period is a flashback that we will awake from in a vigorous exercise of democracy.

Mike Gellerman

Wrapping up this year that has been full of changes for me. I have been a poor correspondent to many of my friends, if I get to have a New Year's resolution it will be to stay in touch, if not by email then by personal visits so be prepared. Of course the biggest change in the past year and one half was meeting Leslie and then relocating here to Portland, Oregon about a year ago now. I still have plenty of stuff scattered around the world, but it has been a nice change to have at least most of my things under one roof for the first time in years. I have to admit that I underestimated the 'culture shock' of moving back to the States. I had visited off and on over the past several years, but living in a society that you think you remember and know, day in and day out when most things just don't work the way you expect them to, has been trying at times. Leslie has been my anchor though, reminding me that 300 million other people manage to function in a society that baffles me at times; I even listen to her most of the time.

Of course there have been many great times as well this year. Last spring I went back to South Africa and Namibia to meet with some old friends, visit some new places and explore some new opportunities for projects. As with all things African, new projects there will take time, but I remain optimistic. That also was an opportunity to stop in London and visit Matt Malcomson, do some nice walking in Wales and meet Ying, his fiancee. I also had a chance to go Costa Rica for a too brief visit, but there should be more opportunities there as well. I was able to take some time for a backpacking trip in Yosemite this fall and a short trip to the Grand Canyon that was cut short by a very early and very heavy snow. Leslie and I have been taking lots of trips around Oregon and Washington - partly her showing me her favorite places after living here for nearly 30 years, and partly new places for both of us. We had a very nice week-long trip through the high desert and eastern Cascades and Mount Rainer in Washington at the end of summer and plenty of weekends in the mountains and at the Coast. Portland is convenient in every direction to do just about any outdoor activity you might imagine. This past November was the wettest on record for Portland so that combined with all the busy holiday season stuff has curtailed outdoor activities a bit, but it has also put a tremendous snow pack in the mountains so the next several months should be good for excellent snowshoeing and other winter activities.

We had some visitors from Japan this fall as well. Rainer and Naoko stayed for a couple of days and it was nice to see them. My travel and birding companion Chris Cook also stopped by for a few nights on his whirlwind trip to the Northwest. We are hoping for more visitors at almost any time as this is a very big house for just the two of us.

Both of Leslie's sons were married in the past year or so. Alex and Julie bought a house in Portland that is a load of work but they are enjoying it and we see them often. Chris and Melissa are in Israel while Melissa attends medical school for the Columbia University International Medicine program there. We promised to visit them this spring and fit in a trip to Egypt (a cruise down the Nile) as well. It was not first on my list of places to go on holiday, but I enjoy their company and this program seems to be excellent for their future plans. We also want to go to France in June/July for Matt Malcomson's wedding and if all works out as planned, back to Southern Africa in the fall of next year for a bit. Leslie has never been so I hope we can combine some business with pleasure. Somewhere along the way I need to get back to Japan for a visit as well, partly to collect some things and of course spend some time with friends there. No specific plans yet, but I guarantee it will not be between June 15 and September 15 for reasons any friends there can appreciate.

Sorry for the form letter, but as I opened I have not been a great correspondent this past year and this is a way to let many people know that I am alive. I hope to make time for many more personal messages as time goes on. I also lost a computer a few months ago that most of my addresses on it and much of that could not be recovered so if anyone asks you "whatever happened to Mike?", feel free to share this along my information.

I wish you all the best for the New Year and I hope that one way or another we will stay in contact. There is always room here in Portland even if it is a little of the beaten path.

My very best regards,

Mike Gellerman
mgellerman@raccondog.com