Best Day of My Life!
Mill City, Oregon is a wide spot in the road on Highway 22, about 30
minutes due east of Salem, and nestled in the eastern end of the Santiam Canyon
river valley. Population approximately 2,000. The clear, cool, and endlessly
scenic North Santiam River runs right through the heart of town. A passenger
car bridge and a pedestrian bridge (formerly used by the railroad) connects the
two halves with each half in a separate county. Mill City is mainly visited by
folks on their way to or from nearby Lake Detroit as a place to grab a sandwich
at Subway, a morning glory muffin from Rosie's Mountain Cafe, or a tank of gas.
I've been visiting Mill City for about a dozen years, and Kathy and I have a
little piece of land on the river that we may build a house on, someday.
One of the most recognizable
people in Mill City is Ken Cartwright. A luthier (guitar maker) and musical
instrument repairman by trade, he also runs the town's radio station, KYAC (the
call letters spell "kayak" because of the popular river pastime of
kayaking). You wouldn't guess that this unassuming, soft-spoken gentleman
attended Woodstock in 1969, and lived in Laurel Canyon L.A. during the early
70s with neighbors like Carole King, and where you could hear Jethro Tull
practicing up for their next tour in a garage up the hillside. He's always an
entertaining delight to meet for coffee at Rosie's (and he's a grand
storyteller, befitting his radio roots).
The last time we were in Mill
City, we ran into Ken at a local art show "How you doing, Ken?" I
asked. "Best day of my life!" he answered.
And he meant it.
I took that sentiment away from
our meeting. What if we could relate to every day as the best day of
our life? After all - it is, isn't it? This day (and every day) is the
culmination of our life. It's also the culmination of all the days that have
ever come before it since the beginning of everything. On this day, and
with each moment of this day the Universe and I reach our
destinations.
Here's something that might
give you a window into why Ken would say something like this, and really
mean it.
In August of 2020, a violent and fast-moving forest fire roared through the canyon. In its destructive wake were mountains denuded of their beautiful trees and thousands of dwellings and businesses laid waste, including most of Lyons, the town where Ken Cartwright was living just up the 22 from Mill City. He had moved into his place only weeks before the Santiam Fire, along with his instrument repair workshop containing guitars, banjos, mandolins, and the like. Some were Ken's, some were customer's instruments being repaired. In a matter of minutes, it was all gone. Every bit of it was lost.
Ken became a local hero during
the fire, and in the days and nights that followed. With no other means of
communication throughout Santiam Canyon, Ken kept KYAC on the air continuously
with one generator and embers falling all around the studio. The station became
the hub for emergency responder communications and kept the residents of the
area informed throughout the event.
Miraculously (and with the help
of a selfless volunteer fire department) Mill City came through the ordeal
almost unscathed. Our little plot of land was untouched, and KYAC was still
standing. However, as was the case with Ken, a lot of folks lost everything.
That's why he can say it's the best day of
his life, and really mean it.
Since that meeting at the art
show, I try every day to remember that my entire life has led up to this
moment. From that perspective, this is the best day of
my life. This day is also the culmination of the entire Universe, of which I am
a part.
It reminds me of what dharma teacher Wes Nisker, who died earlier this year, once said at a retreat. "The next time you're doing something really mundane, like brushing your teeth or going to the bathroom, think to yourself, 'So. It's come to this!'"
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