279-228: Stunned

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Normally I avoid writing about politics here. For that matter I don’t post much on social media about the topic either. Better to keep people guessing. This is an exception.

Today I posted an opinion piece on Facebook by Garrison Keillor regarding yesterday’s election of Donald Trump as president of the United States. An old friend of mine took issue with the article and its pessimism of a Trump administration. We agreed to disagree, but it got me thinking about my own deep misgivings of what is to come. I’m treading lightly because I have other friends, colleagues and even family members who voted for this man.

The Trump campaign was the most cynical and pessimistic I’ve witnessed in my lifetime. It was that way through the primaries and the general election. It was gutter level degrading to so many that I found the cognitive dissonance required by some to vote for him astounding. The fact that a large number of Christians were willing and able to support him was the most puzzling to me considering his character is antithetical to Christian values. That is not to say all Christians voted in his favor. Plenty of us saw Trump for who and what he is.

Sadly, there are a large number of people who, like my friend, think the country is swirling in a toilet. I don’t share the feeling, but Trump’s message obviously resonated with voters who believe this strongly. As Keillor points out change is coming. To paraphrase Tom Brokaw from last night, voters have pulled the pin on a grenade and rolled it across the country. But no one who listened to Trump during the endless campaign season can really be surprised if the change that’s coming hurts those who are already suffering the most.

Hillary Clinton in office would have been a bumpy ride. She was a flawed candidate but very smart and very qualified. For whatever reason — frustration with the entire system, apparently — America decided that someone with no civic experience whatsoever should lead the country. It’s a bit odd to me that the party decrying Barack Obama’s lack of experience in 2008 would elect someone with even less, but it is what it is. That said, based on Trump’s rhetoric, this scenario is most terrifying from a foreign policy perspective where presidents have a much freer hand than they do domestically.

On a personal note, particularly as the father of a young daughter, I find Trump abhorrent. Fortunately my little girl is too young to understand or care how a man who openly bragged about sexual assault during the campaign was voted leader of the free world. My hope is that I don’t have to explain it four years from now.

An honest question to Trump supporters: What if the major change you’ve voted for makes things worse for the country and you? What if this was one big shell game where you were conned? What if, in Trump’s words, it’s a total disaster? What then?

The country is built to endure bad presidencies. What it can’t withstand is the disappearance of the middle class, which has been shrinking since the Reagan administration. In 1992 I was in a college class where we talked about these kinds of issues. One of my classmates was fearful, if not adamant, that another revolution was coming. It seemed a bit alarmist if not outright silly at the time, but it’s a discussion I’ve remembered through the years. Today I’m not so sure she was wrong, except on the timing. Frightening thought, yes?

There is some good news for those dismayed by last night’s result. There is palpable anger but no mandate here. Clinton won the popular vote. Neither candidate had a majority, but this can’t be overlooked. The much-maligned electoral college did exactly what it was supposed to do, but even here the result was close: 279 to 228. (Side note: This is only 507 of the total 538 electoral votes. Some races still haven’t been called at the time of this post, but the overall outcome isn’t in doubt.) Trump may be an agent of change, but there is a large and vocal contingent that can’t stand him.

Accept the result of the election. It’s over. Protest if you must, but remember there will be another election. Those of us who refuse to share Trump’s cynical view of America must fight against it. Act locally. Do our part to make the space we live in better for those around us. In 2020 fight to make sure someone like this doesn’t get into the Oval Office again. My daughter will be counting on us.

It’s Over

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Last year, on December 6, the Portland Timbers won their first Major League Soccer championship. Less than a year later the team has failed to make the playoffs in their title defense — a disappointing end to a disappointing season. What went wrong? Plenty.

For starters, the team dealt with a ridiculous amount of injuries in 2016, which created inconsistencies and chemistry problems. Nowhere was this truer than on defense where the Portland backline kept changing throughout the season. This contributed to the Timbers giving up a Western Conference-worst 53 goals.

Some players left the team to play in foreign leagues. Players who were expected to step into these vacated roles failed, often miserably, to produce. Two of them didn’t even finish the year with the team.

While the Timbers were excellent at home, in 17 tries they failed to win a game on the road. The last MLS game win away from Providence Park was last year’s championship match in Columbus, Ohio!

The team also got off to what has become their trademarked slow start. Under current head coach Caleb Porter, who took over in 2013, Portland had never won a game in the opening month of the season. They finally destroyed that trend and won their first match of the long campaign on March 6, but they didn’t win another game until April 16. Between these dates they had three losses and two draws.

It’s likely the short off-season didn’t help Portland. The time from the championship game to 2016 training camp was about six weeks. That wasn’t much time for rest or for the front office to deal with the challenges that came from making it to the top of the league. MLS is parity-driven and salary capped. The system is designed to make it harder for the current champion to repeat. That said, everyone expected more from the Timbers this year.

Portland was supposed to make a strong run at the U.S. Open Cup. They entered in the fourth round of the annual competition and beat San Jose but fell to Los Angeles in the next round — not even making the quarterfinals.

By winning the MLS Cup in December Portland automatically qualified this year for CONCACAF Champions League, the annual continental tournament for the top club teams in North America, Central American and the Caribbean. The Timbers were eliminated in the group stage, failing to make the knockout round. This was also a major disappointment.

The Open Cup and Champions League competitions run at the same time as the regular MLS schedule, so the Timbers had a lot of extra games this year. Still, the team and its supporters had higher hopes than what ultimately transpired.

In spite of the setbacks the Timbers still had a chance on the last day of the season to qualify for the playoffs. All they had to do was win a road game in Vancouver against the Whitecaps, a regional rival and team that had already been eliminated from playoff contention. Portland was blown out 4-1 in an uninspired performance. Losing by three goals also meant no Cascadia Cup. The Timbers had all but sewn up this annual competition between Vancouver and Seattle before laying an egg in the final game. Season over.

It didn’t get much better a day later when a couple of Timbers were arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. Club supporters who were already upset by a lackluster season found themselves further disappointed, this time by something more serious than errors on the soccer pitch. How each player’s situation is resolved from legal and discipline standpoints remains to be seen.

And so into the long off-season the team goes. There will likely be quite a few new faces around Providence Park next year. Club captain Jack Jewsbury, who came to the Timbers just prior to the start of the team’s inaugural year in MLS, has retired. Other players are likely to leave for different leagues, and of course some won’t be returning as the front office works to upgrade their positions.

The Timbers will be different in 2017, but expectations remain high. The team wants better results and supporters demand them. In the meantime the playoffs go on without Portland with a new champion to be crowned in December. For now we have to fondly remember that rainy night almost a year ago when the Timbers celebrated a remarkable championship run. There is a long road ahead to make it back to the top.

The Last Frontier

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Our little family took a quick trip to Alaska over Labor Day weekend. My wife’s grandmother, Myrtle, is 98 years old and not in the best of health, which sounds ridiculous to say out loud. She moves like a 60-year-old, and hauls wood in from outside for the fireplace. No kidding. That said, she does struggle with dementia and no longer travels to the lower 48 states. Our trip was an opportunity for her to meet her great-granddaughter.

This was also my first journey to Alaska and my wife’s first time back in 20 years. We flew into Anchorage and stayed at the old family farm in Wasilla. Wide open spaces surrounded by incredible beauty in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. For me it was unforgettable and for my wife, Lisa, it brought back memories of her childhood and visiting Grandma’s house. When my wife lived in the 49th state the trip to Grandma’s farm was a commitment — a six hour drive from Fairbanks where she grew up. That’s almost double the flight time from Portland to Anchorage!

Lisa’s parents came with us and stayed longer — the benefits of retirement! Lisa’s Aunt Joyce lives on the farm and does a lot of the maintenance while also taking care of Myrtle. Lisa’s folks, Gary and Sara, were visiting to give Joyce a break as well as do a little traveling.

In the few short days all of us were together, traveling we did! One day we headed northeast of Anchorage on the Glenn Highway to Sheep Mountain. The next day we traveled southeast along the Cook Inlet for lunch in Whittier. Both trips afforded spectacular scenery the whole way. My camera batteries wore themselves out.

While I’m making a video of the trip, I also brought a still camera with me. Here are pictures from our jaunts. No snow yet, but the fall colors are in their glory:

While I wish we could have stayed longer, a return is definitely in the future. Lisa still wants to get back to Fairbanks to see old friends. Some day I’d like to get to Nome to visit a friend and former supervisor who runs a radio station there. Alaska’s size is a bit daunting, and there is so much more to see. Time for a Last Frontier bucket list!