Those Soul-Sucking Robo-Calls

Last night I answered the phone, and it was a robo-call from Mike Huckabee. I didn't pay much attention to what the recording was saying, but heard something about "stopping those frightening Freedom From Religion advocates". When we receive these calls, I like to stay on the line and wait for the real human can come on and hear what the call is really about.

Soon a woman came on the line and said "Do you want our schools to teach the history of gays and not allow prayer?" and I answered "of course." Hoping for a passionate, "of course NOT" she then said, "let me repeat that" and then repeated her question, and I answered "absolutely!" She stuttered, mumbled, and then said"goodbye" and hung up.

As I walked away from that conversation, I felt sick inside that her question would most likely raise funds and interest for her candidate. Where is the discussion about health insurance, school funding, unemployment, the war? Can't we use our brains to solve problems in our country instead of silly, emotional debates?

NIMBY--Comstock version

I am excited for Spokane's Summer Parkways to begin, so I was surprised when I went to their website this morning and found that several folks who live in my neighborhood, where there is a ride scheduled for June 22, were quite angry about the scheduling of the event. I added the following comments in hopes that they will relax a little.

I am thrilled to live one house away from the route and surprised to see that a few neighbors are unhappy about this event. Think of those who live in Browne’s and endure days of Art Fest; our streets are never busy, and three hours of folks enjoying our lovely area and having fun certainly is worth a bit of thinking ahead. I urge you all to jump on a bike for the evening–all is well when you are on a bike!

Furthermore, I am sure that 29th will not be closed, but monitored by volunteers, so those who need to get home will be able to get there. You might have to park a block away, but it shouldn’t be much trouble. As for vendors, I welcome them as businesses who wish to support active, outdoor fun.

Finally, even if you feel put-out by this event, remember the organizers are volunteers and are working hard to find the best ways to make these events possible. As a very involved community volunteer, I know that criticism is defeating. Rather than complain, agree to volunteer for the evening or grab a lawn chair and wave as we pass your house. Make Spokane a place we all want to live.

My Mind in Yoga

At the Shala, my lovely home away from home, I am often surrounded by the most dedicated, serious, talented yogis in town. While those practicing around me appear to have it all together, here is my confession—I am often a pathetic yogi! While it might look like I know what I am doing, let me share some of what goes on in my head during practice.

For the first fifteen minutes on my mat, I am generally thinking about how sore I am. I find myself wondering if my muscles can hold me up, soften, twist, or do whatever it is they are supposed to be doing. I am sure the folds I could do the day before didn’t happen, the arm balance I attempted was a fluke, and I will never reach my toes again. I push myself to just keep moving and breathing.

My concerns during the middle of practice are broad and embarrassing. While trying to focus on the postures, I am wondering how much longer the class will last, will I make it through hand-to-big-toe balance, do I need a pedicure, is my mat getting smelly, will I have to do headstand, and did I turn off my cell phone ringer.

As we work our way toward close-out, my attention shifts to wondering if we have ice cream at home or do I need to pick some up on the way home. That’s it: ice cream.

After all of this scattered, monkey-brained thinking, I finally come to savasana. When I was new to yoga, corpse pose was the greatest challenge of all. I heard that I should be quieting my brain, but for years, thoughts continued to zip around. I recently learned that having a consistent meditation is the one thing that quiets my mind, and have settled on a three steps I do each day in corpse pose.

First, I decide what was the best part of the past twenty four hours and focus on that with a sense of gratitude and joy.

Second, I determine what I really, really want from my life to find an intention for where I put my energy once I leave my mat.

Finally, I choose my mantra—a positive message that I need to repeat to myself to counter any anxiety that might bubble up during my day.

Calming my mind will always be the greatest struggle of my practice. But like all of you, I will keep doing my practice knowing all is coming. So try not to laugh the next time you see me in shoulder stand, even though you can assume one thing: I am thinking about ice cream.

Nice Guys

Of course I am crazy about my husband, son, and stepsons, but I want to comment on some young men who I didn't know, but who impressed me this week.

Last Monday I drove my car to the Bike to Work Week breakfast (so sue me; it was raining buckets), and when I started to parallel park, a young guy in the space beside me honked at me. I wondered what I had done wrong, but he yelled to me that there were forty minutes left on his meter and to take his spot when he pulled out...nice!

Then a couple days later, when I was biking to my volunteer gig at Odyssey Youth Center, I pulled over to see if I could decipher a rattle coming from my bike. A young man on a motorcycle rode by, pulled a U-turn, and came back to see if I was okay. There was nothing he could do, but his concern was such a nice gesture.

Finally, this week Steve had some heavy yard work to be done, and he hired a twenty year old who was going door to door looking for work to save money to start school in the fall. He spent the weekend digging holes with Steve, and between the two of them have begun to transform our backyard. No handouts for this guy; he is doing all he can to make his dreams for the future come true.

When I hear people of my generation complaining about those in their twenties, I always tell them about my amazing kids and students, but the young men I met this week demonstrate what I believe: we have many great youth in this town. We must trust them, smile at them and be kind to them. Keeping them in Spokane is a gift to us all.

Spanked by Bob Apple

Yesterday morning, I sent a very polite note to our mayor and city council members asking that the bike lanes on SE Blvd be swept, as they were full of rocks and pine needles. A few hours later while I was riding home, I saw they were being cleaned, so I quickly wrote them again to thank them. I assumed the issue was done until late last night when I received the following from Bob Apple:


Try and talk to your bicycling friends to always be safety conscious and courteous because I'm receiving far to many complaints about arrogant and rude bicyclists who use hand language and literally cut in front of traffic. Knowing that about 2% of our residents ride bicycle casually or more and receiving so many complaints means a very few are creating a disservice to all riders. It is also a disservice to have public battles, regarding the placement of bike lanes on major arterials and truck routes wher they do not belong like 2nd and 3rd Avenues downtown and though that will not be happening, many on either side of the argument are still unhappy.


Betsy again--while cyclists' worst enemies might be other cyclists who don't follow rules and give us all a bad name, in my email I presented myself as a law-abiding adult and didn't warrant this response. I realize there are a few angry drivers out there, but am sorry to hear from an angry councilman. What do you think??

Hurray--Bike to Work Month

My neck is getting better and the sun is shining--both just in time for Bike To Work Month. I am passionate about BTW events; without them I would have never tried to commute by bike.

Today I was short on time, and rather than my usual, lovely, Centennial Trail route, I biked home up Napa, across Sprague, and straight up SE Blvd. I spend a good part of the ride with trucks in front, beside, and behind me, and ended up with road grit in my nose and dirt on my face. I rode past loose pit bulls, boarded up businesses, and an interesting looking business deal, and I loved every minute of it. Biking to work is challenging, fun, and healthy.

Bike to Work Month is happening now. Register at www.spokanebikes.org and send me a note if you want advice on how you can join me in the fun.

The Toughest Girl in Spokane

Today after a few years of pain and many months of alternative treatments, I took a major step, and in doing so was dubbed by the doctor "the toughest girl in Spokane!"

Through a recent ct scan, I was diagnosed with several sites of both moderate and severe degeneration, calcification, stenosis, and arthritis in my neck. I do all the right things--exercise, eat well, yoga--but it seems that holding up my big heavy brain was too much for my little tiny vertebrae. When all else failed, I chose to try to stop the pain.

I had a rhizotomy, or nerve burning, procedure. After a few bad experiences with sedation in the past, I refused to have any medication. I figured if women can breathe and have a baby, I could breathe and have fire-needles shoved into my spine. The nurses and doctor told me many times that everyone has a sedative, and even then are very uncomfortable; however, I held firm and here's how it went.

They inserted shots of Novocaine into three places in my neck, going deeper and deeper until they hit bone. They scraped needles around on the bones, trying to find the correct nerve, and I breathed. We perversely discussed 127 Hours and the nerve scene while they tested to make sure they had the right nerve. First they hit it with a current that made it jump, another that made my hand thump, and then some really bad stuff that just made it hurt. When my arm started twitching, they moved the needles around, hitting more bones and nerves, and then found the correct placement. All the while, I breathed and talked about movies.

Once they found the right spot, they searched and poked for three different places on the nerve to burn--each burn took about 90 seconds. Each time the needles moved deeper, they offered me meds; I said "No. This feels interesting" and breathed and, yes, talked about movies.

Once the burning was done, they sat me up and it was over. They were amazed that I made it through, and I was delighted that my day wouldn't be ruined by nausea and fatigue. The nerve will take a couple weeks to stop its fussing, and will probably get worse before it gets better (tough little buggers, those nerves), so I will see what happens next. In the meantime, I will breathe, talk about movies, and delight in being the toughest girl in Spokane.

Preaching to the Choir

Yesterday I helped put on an Alternative Transportation Fair at Spokane Community College. A colleague and I were scheduled to speak at two sessions on bike commuting. The first session had about ten attendees; the second had one. However, I didn't mind at all. From the start of our planning, I said that at least our co-workers would see our names and if they had questions someday about biking, they would know who to call. In the meantime, I learned a few things and was video taped, so I got to wear a microphone and feel like a celeb.

So instead of worrying about those who weren't there, I happily chatted with the cool folks who brought booths (Two-Wheel Transit, Bicycle Hub, and Pedals to People, to name a few) and decided sometimes preaching to the choir is a great way to spend my time.