I live in Salem, Oregon

I lived in Salem from 1975 through 1979. The last few months of 9th grade at Judson Middle School to just after graduating from Sprague High School, class of '78. I made a couple of return visits, summer employment between years at The Evergreen State College, but left Salem never expecting to return. My nuclear family dispersed and left Salem, too.

I have lived a lot of life since then. I am now 47. I married Anne, becoming stepfather-parent to Nick and Felicity, her children from her first marriage. We now have two children of our own, Merlyn and Vivien.

Years later, after her studies at Pacific Oaks in California, my mother, Kathleen, returned to Salem. It was the 90's. She was director of the YMCA childcare center in the basement of the Calvary Baptist Church of Salem until she retired in 1999 due to health problems. On April 5, 2000, she died in Salem. She was 65 years old. She had ovarian cancer. After cleaning her apartment and scattering her ashes, I left Salem again, not expecting to return, not having any family here...

Expectations are funny things. They are the setup before the punchline. Anne graduated from Pacific University in December of2004 with a Masters in Teaching and was was hired 5 months later as Judson Middle School's art teacher.

Eugene had been our home for 13 years. She tried commuting to Salem, but it was too difficult for her and for the family. When Anne and I made the decision to move, I made a personal decision to stop making negative jokes and comments about Salem. It was a habit I indulged in whenever talk turned to things Salem. There is a whole cultural retinue spreading "Salem sucks" folklore. I was one of those people. After committing to moving here, I did not want to prejudice my family against our new home. Curiously, this habit of badmouthing Salem is practised as much by Salem residents as it is by those who moved away. Many of my friends whom I went to high school with share this habit, too. Many of these same friends are now worried about me, thinking I have moved to an "unhappy place", that I am suffering from geographical misfortune.

Eighteen months later the news is we find we enjoy living in Salem. It is not perfect, but neither was Eugene. we miss our old house, neighborhood, friends and such. Deeply. But, we love our new home, our new friends, the neighborhood is awesome, Anne's new job is great, the children love their school and have lots of good friends. This Salem experience is turning put to be rewarding, rich and interesting.

I had a small epiphany the other day driving home from a video shoot at Shellberg Falls. This is an incredible opportunity to look at life lived, love lost and found, choices made, paths taken, in a way that only "returning" can provide. Literature, folklore and religion are full of this theme. I am amused to say my return to Salem has much more meaning and value than I anticipated.

This is the springboard for this blog. This is an invitation to my friends and family to correspond with me and each other about Salem. Salem as an imaginary place and as a real geographical entity. Where was I in 1975? Where am I now? Where am I going? These are questions I hold out to each of you in turn; Where are you and where are you going relative to where you were?

Peace,

Eric