In the last two weeks I have had the pleasure of hearing Charles Goodrich read from his work twice. If you do not know the writing of local literary hero Charles Goodrich … well, I will let that be forgiven for the moment. Homework item #1: Go pick up ‘Insects of South Corvallis’ (my favorite) to dip into on one of these stormy afternoons. (You’re welcome).
I’ve listened to Charles read many times before, but it was something in his delivery this time around that caused my eyes to well up and my throat to constrict. You know that feeling – when something someone says just hits you close enough to home that you feel like it was meant just for you.
The message that resonated so deeply is best described through Charles’ own essay ‘Reinhabiting the Valley’ A Field Guide to Being Here’ when he says:
Though I’ve only lived here in the neighborhood thirty-some years – shorter than the life span of your average carp – I would like to say a word in favor of making a long-term commitment to one’s place. I want to speak up for digging in, for putting down roots, for learning to alertly inhabit the land.
I grew up in the Willamette Valley, just south of Corvallis outside of Springfield in a one-store community of Mohawk. Years were spent wading along rivers, mulling over which tree to climb, or running from a snake-wielding brother or sister. I knew, even as a small kid, that this little cranny of the Willamette Valley we called home was unique and special.
In an increasingly transitory world I feel relieved by Charles’ message. Relieved because for years I was mobile, traveling between both coasts and into the high deserts of the Southwest. Relieved because staying still, appreciating one’s own place wasn’t always the ‘cool thing’. People move away from small towns, the allure of urban dynamism a tempting contrast to the placid routine of home. I am relieved to strip off the exhaustion of the transient life, and find comfort within the sweet sanctuary of this Valley home, from the river birch in my backyard, to the mossy Oregon white oak branch that I swung from as a child.
It is now hip to be home, and I’ll take it. I’m making a re-commitment to this place, settling in to the comforts of the wetness of winter, the ongoing battle between the dandelions and my front yard, and the compacted padding of needles underfoot on the Mulkey Trail.
When the Thanksgiving week approaches, you will find me nestled in a crook of the Mohawk Valley, thankful for this place and the people in it, and ready to take Charles up on his challenge to ‘dig in’ to our own little home here in the Willamette Valley. Who’s with me?
Post By: Jessica McDonald
Charles’s Essay: Reinhabiting the Valley, A Field Guide to Being Here can be found in Wild in the Willamette, the new publication from OSU Press.
