Patched Together and Beautiful

Although I grew up in Chiloquin, Oregon nearly all of my Christmases have been spent at what our family simply calls “the farm”, located on a little slice of heaven just off Fern Ridge Road east of Salem, Oregon. Established in 1896 it has survived  generations of family (my grandpa was born in one of the small downstairs rooms), 1 fire (which nearly burned it to the ground), and several remodels. If those old  farmhouse walls could speak they would probably loudly whisper—  “hey Jerry [my uncle who lives there], do you mind cranking up the heat, it’s colder inside than it is outside!”. Yes, Christmas was always fun there, however with a house that old it has always been difficult to keep warm. Despite this there were always workarounds during Christmas: stand directly in front of the fireplace, keep your jacket(s) on, take a swig of Uncle Teddy’s whiskey, or my personal favorite, stop complaining and start a conversation with a cousin, or aunt you never get to see and let the conversation warm your soul. Eventually the night would taper off as everyone tried to stake out a spot on a couch, or a position on the floor where “santa” would not step on you when he delivered presents wrapped in newspaper at 3am in the morning. Wherever I found my spot to sleep my mom would often find me and come lay an extra blanket on me and I loved it, especially when it was this particular quilt. This big old dense blanket was composed of various patches that made the whole thing a collage of beauty, and completely covered me, bringing  a sense of warmth and peace. Looking back now on those Christmas Eve nights I notice the diversity in my family. Seeing us literally spread across the living room floor on couches, with random blankets and in sleeping bags of different colors, it is easy to see my extended family quilted together as this big old blanket patched together and no matter how cold the world is they can bring a unique warmth and peace to my life whenever I am around them.  

One such family member is my cousin Zippy who is one cool cat. Besides being an aspiring quilter (☺), he has been a recording artist (Misteltoe cover), worked on music scores of major motion pictures like the Twilight series, produced an inspiring film about human trafficking, been a stage actor at the Enchanted Forest, built homes through Habitat for Humanity both locally and abroad, traveled around the world (literally), served as a camp counselor, or director at numerous summer camps for 20 years, is a regular in the Timbers Army (look for the guy with the turned up hat bill) and currently is the founder of his own video production company “Only Today”.

With experiences all over the world and interactions with people from all levels of society such as poor child soccer players in Nepal to Mark Zuckerberg, Zippy has patched together an amazing life. When I ask him what motivates him to do what he does he answers immediately with the direct eye contact and matter of fact tone that tells you he is sincere. “I work on things for the greater good and often that has meant raising awareness of bad things happening in the world”. We spend the next moments discussing his multiple trips to Nepal where he said his world view changed while building a house for Habitat for Humanity (a prize he had won for being a top fundraiser in the North Willamette Valley). “You know it is one thing to have someone poor ask you for money once, but it is very different when you are being asked all the time from multiple kids each day and you are living in houses with no running water, no bathrooms and with people who live on less than 80 cents a day”. As we sip on our $5 microbrews, which in Portland is a good deal on a Thursday night, Zippy throws out enough stories of connecting with people he could easily write a book on it, but I reluctantly move to our final questions.

I ask him to talk more about his motivation and what makes him raise his standards since much of what he does is voluntary. “Man, when you have experienced life changing events in your life…for me losing my mom at a young age, to one of my closest friends a year later, to my own person fight with cancer…it triggers something in you to value every day, focusing more on the relationships and experiences in life versus just the things you own. In fact my company, “Only Today”, is based on the concept of what would you do if you only had today…I am energized by that thought to continue going out connecting with new people and their stories to shed more light on what is out there in the world”. When asked what may keep people from raising their standards he talks about the fear we all have of doing something uncomfortable. “You have to realize I never thought I was going to leave my hometown of Stayton…I was terrified of flying, and the unknown of leaving the small comfortable place I’d spent most of my life” as Zippy lets out an ironic laugh. “One thing my mom taught my brother and I at a young age is you can always come back home, but first go out and see the world now, or otherwise you may never see it. She grew up as an Airforce brat , so she lived all over the world.

To see the world is important; not just through photographs, or other people’s Facebook photos, but to actually take it in with your own senses. Zippy mentioned earlier part of his motivation is wanting to be part of a greater good; a belief I feel is heightened in all of us when we experience how others live. This is a concept we can all find common ground with. For the atheist, or nonreligious you can understand it by the concept of systems thinking of how we are all connected by a vast network of cause and effect. For the Christian you can understand it by Jesus’s teaching we are all the body of Christ and that if one part of the body hurts, the whole body suffers. I interviewed Zippy just a few days after the shootings in Orlando. There are many strong beliefs fueled by possibly stronger emotions highlighted in this event including gun rights, public safety, treatment of Muslims, treatment of the LGBTQ community and immigration policy to name a few.  No matter your view on these individual aspects there is a greater good inside us that tells us what happened there was wrong. We are all woven together in a global quilt comprised of different colors and beliefs, but there is a thread of valuing this greater good that binds us together. We are all patched together and beautiful.  Yes our quilt is frayed on the edges and is due for a dry cleaning, but it is when we try to rip out a patch we do not like that causes the most damage to the whole because it is ultimately ripping a hole in our own shared fabric of life. It hurts when we have something ripped from us. For some it may be a mass shooting targeting a community you identify with, it may be the loss of a parent at a young age, or a significant other, but no matter how much it hurts it will heal and you will again be blanketed in a warmth and peace no matter how cold the night of the world may be.

-Miles

Fun Questions

What do you want to be when you grow up and why?

• “I would love to be doing what I did as my favorite job before: a camp counselor. My summers back in 2005-2006 working at Snow Mountain Summer Camp are some of my best memories. I am still involved in camps from a director role, but eventually would love to just do the counseling portion of it”

With 4th of July as the big holiday in July, what do you think is the best thing about America?

• “To be 100% honest I identify more as an Oregonian than an American. However, with that said America continues to be a great place despite all of our issues. I’m sometimes surprised how well received Americans are in most parts of the world. I was in the U.K. during the Bush Presidency and while getting groceries at a Tesco the checker revealed to me in a low tone how he wished he lived in America, calling me a “lucky boy”. To my earlier point as well, as far as America goes, Oregon is a special place and I love the whole Cascadia region of the Pacific NW”.

As a regular with the Timbers Army, what is your favorite Timbers memory so far?

• “It would be cliché to say winning the MLS Cup last year although that was pretty awesome. I would say the infamous penalty kick shootout win during the playoffs last year, with the infamous “double post” that helped the Timbers get to the Championship; that game was absolutely crazy! A close second would be hugging the Timbers head coach Caleb Porter in the men’s restroom at Deschutes Brewery shortly after they won the Championship…also absolutely awesome, and maybe a little awkward