HAPPY 25TH JIMMY!

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Jimmy & Sandra-

It was great talking with both of you on the phone this morning.

Thanks for the call, and I hope you guys have a great day roaming around together on the back-trails of your island paradise.

We've invited Grant and Bill, from next door, and Cheri, from across the street, over for Mexican food tonight in celebration of our birthdays.

For those who don't know, our son Jimmy and I share the same birthday. Today he's 25 and I'm 61. Another coincidence in our birthdays is, that every year of our lives, if you take the numbers of each of our ages and add them together, they are always the same number. This year his 2 and 5 make 7, as do my 6 and 1.

Just one of life's interesting little oddities.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIM!

I love you man...

...and Sandra, we love you too!

Jamie & Adam - Her 22nd Birthday

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We arrived at Jamie & Adam's place about 9:30 Saturday night in time to celebrate Jamie's 22nd Birthday. As you can see, they are both looking great and enjoying the big old house they just rented for the winter. That's Jamie's affectionate cat Ralph and Piper (the dog with the missing nose) is Adam's faithful fishing companion. He and Dallas made fast friends.

Sandra & Jimmy...

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Our son Jimmy came over from Catalina for a visit on Mother's Day weekend bringing his new girlfriend Sandra to meet us.

Sandra just glows, from the inside out, and Peggy and I were both very taken with her beauty and joyful spirit. We've known and loved her brother Gregor for years but we had never met Sandra before. Wow!

She and Jimmy went camping at Deep Creek Hot Springs Thursday night and Friday, spending Friday night and Saturday morning here with us.

Sandra, 25, is a tour-guide who captains inflatable boats for small-group excursions from Catalina Island, while sharing with the tourists her infectiously outgoing personality and love of nature, as they view Sea Lions, Otters, Dolphins and other wildlife of the area in its natural habitat.

Adam & Jamie - Happy Easter!

Click on photo to enlarge - photo by Jamie Otterstrom

Our 21 year-old daughter Jamie lives near the shore of Lake Tahoe with her boyfriend Adam, where every spare winter moment is spent snowboarding.

Jamie and Adam are both outdoorsy nature-lovers who also enjoy hiking and camping, and Adam is an avid fly-fisherman.

They finally got an internet hook-up and sent us an e-mail today with photos for an Easter Sunday.

This is my favorite, Adam and Jamie at Donner Pass.

If you go into the Earth Home Garden archives, back to the 21st of October, 2005 (and scroll down from there), you'll find a brief photo-essay of Jamie's life.

postscript

Now maybe they'll even comment at the blog once in awhile...
;~)

Jimmy Update - April 2006 - Life Goes On

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Considering that our son Jimmy has been declared permanently legally blind at 24, he's doing pretty damned good.

On March 13th he moved to the City of Avalon*, on Catalina Island. He's the last one in line in the photo above (blonde hair, red jacket and sunglasses), waiting to board the catamaran for the 26 mile trip from Long Beach.

Jim phoned me after the trip, excited to tell me about the four-hundred plus dolphins that played alongside the boat all the way over. Apparently he can see well enough to make out their shapes and get an idea of their antics. Jimmy's been on several ocean-going trips, and dolphins are a familiar sight to him, so maybe some of it is from memory.

He's living with his long-time buddy Gregor, who grew up alternately between Catalina and Big Bear. Jimmy spent a lot of time over there prior to his car accident and really loves the place. Avalon is so tiny that it's not practical to have a car, which is good for Jim because he can't drive anymore, and he doesn't feel so conspicuous in a town where, essentially, nobody drives.

Jimmy's been doing a lot of ocean kayaking, hiking and playing his guitar. His room-mates all play guitar too so he has some like-minded companions. Another uplifting development is that Gregor has a sister who's taken a liking to Jim. She's a captain on tour boats there, so it seems that Jimmy has a new girlfriend who is including him in her adventures as well.

Jimmy can see shapes and colors, can differentiate between a $10, $20, or $100 bill by looking at it up close with his peripheral vision. He goes kayaking by himself and can make out the horizon, the shoreline, and the scenery to some extent, but says he has to be careful of approaching boats because he can't accurately perceive objects moving toward him at speed.

His plans for the immediate future are to take a massage therapy course this June in San Diego, and he says that a woman in Avalon has already promised him work once he completes the class. He's determined to find new ways to make a living and get off Social Security Disability.

But I think the most positive and encouraging thing right now is that he's finding ways to enjoy himself, and I really admire the bravery he's shown us through this past 7 1/2 months.

And for those of you who are curious, his previous girlfriend, Lindsay, has moved back to Colorado with her parents. Obviously, this was a very tough experience for a 21 year-old girl to come to terms with, but we will always be grateful for the courage and clear-thinking she demonstrated during the immediate aftermath of the accident. Her actions undeniably saved Jimmy's life (see post from Sept. 02, 2005).

postscript

Jimmy has asked me not to talk about his situation on the blog, but what he possibly doesn't understand is that he's not in this alone.

Thus, I've decided that I need to be able to talk about this now & then as part of my own grieving and healing.

This has been a major life-changing event for our family, a tragic occurrence that affected all of us very deeply. The unavoidable reality is that these have been difficult and stressful months for us, and for me to simply take pictures of birds and scenery, or discuss gardening, crafts, the environment, or current world events during this time, has often left me feeling frustratingly isolated, because there were much more immediate and personal things on my mind.

Another aspect is, that there are many of you out there who are also concerned, and I've felt I should have been able to let you know what's going on too!

So now you have an update, and I've been able to share a bit of what's going on with Jimmy, and I feel better for it.

With love,

Jim

* The 'Avalon Bay' photo at the above 'City Of Avalon' link is by Aaron Logan and was downloaded from Wikipedia.

A Winter Long Ago...

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While searching my files for the picture of our friend Mike (see second post below) I came across this one of Jimmy that was taken moments after he won a First Place trophy in his very first ski race at the age of 6.

By the way, Jimmy and I share the same birthday, November 14th, and many similar personality traits, including a strong-willed stubborn rebellious daredevil streak that has nearly killed each one of us.

He, in his 4X4 truck over the edge last August, and me, 27 years ago, in an 80 mph solo motorcycle crash in Malibu Canyon.

When Jimmy was about 4 years old I came outside one morning in the 5 AM darkness to collect our newspaper, and heard Jimmy calling to me confidently from the tip-top of a 75 foot tall Jeffrey Pine, and that was just the beginning.

The only time I can remember seeing my mother in public without make-up was the wee hours of the morning Jimmy was born, when she rushed to the hospital, looked me in the eyes, and said with great conviction, "Now you're going to get yours", words that have sent chills down my spine many times since.

In case I haven't said it before,

I'm sorry mom, really sorry...

I Love You!

Jim

Counting Our Blessings!

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Our brave handsome son Jimmy is alive and smiling at the dawn of 2006, and he says, "If the loss of my vision is permanent, it's not going to ruin my life, I'll find ways to do the things I want to do and enjoy life, you'll see dad."

Jimmy loves the guitar I gave him for Christmas, it was my beloved Gibson, but I prefer to play acoustic, and he likes electric, so it's the perfect gift at the right time I think.

I enjoy hearing him down in his room playing softly into the wee hours of the night, it soothes me to sleep at a time when I'm experiencing insomnia and have been very restless & worried.

Observing Jimmy's courage during these extremely difficult days has made it easier for Peggy and I to deal with too, but I realize it's still very early in a long long period of adjustment, and he is going to need plenty of support.

Jimmy's working on pumping back up that buff physique he sported a few months ago so we set up a weight bench on the deck to assist in his efforts.

I don't know if I've posted this before, but just 48 days after Jimmy's wreck, another local kid, Nathan Hoover, 22 years of age and also a carpenter, went off Forest Road 2N02 in exactly the same place as Jimmy & Lindsay did, but Nate was killed. It's a small town and we knew Nate, and his parents too, from our years at the Post Office, but the magnitude of their tragedy puts our suffering into perspective doesn't it?

We are here, we are healing, and we are thinking of you all as well...

I, for one, am hoping for a more fruitful and much less traumatic 2006!

Love,

Jim

Our Daughter Is 21

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#1
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMIE!

Jamie is 21 years old today and I've decided to post 21 pictures in tribute to her and the joy she's brought to our lives.

This photo is the first and I'll be posting 20 more throughout the day as I spend it thinking about this loving girl far away on the shores of Lake Tahoe.

Thank you Jamie...

We Love You!

The subsequent photos will be posted below this one in no chronological order.

New Tricycle Day

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#2
Jamies playful happiness...
...always contagious!

Early Reader?

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#4
Yeah right!
Always mugging for the camera, Jamie seems to be having difficulty keeping a straight face here.

And as you can see by the book, we were brainwashing her early on too.

I think this photo was taken at a shopping mall studio in Victorville.

August 1985

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#3
Jamie and her mother a couple of months before Jamies first birthday.

...and yes that's Peggy's natural hair color & curl.

Clowning With Angie By The Garden

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#5
Angie lived with her grandparents in the house right behind us and, until she moved away, was one of Jamie's best friends so here they are clowning around for me by the garden gate.

Studio Portrait

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#6
I really love this portrait, it so captures Jamie's direct, forward and exuberant personality.

Just look at that little rascal, I was in deep trouble and I knew it!

The portait was taken in the good old days of 1989, about the time Jamie started school, by our friend Richard Millener at his studio here in Big Bear.

Good job Richard & Jamie.

A Long Time Ago...

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#7
Jamie and a tired daddy relaxing on the couch in their PJs a long long time ago, March of 1985 to be exact.

Happy Halloween!

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#8
Jamie and her Cat O'Lantern some Halloweens back.

Becoming A Young Woman

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#9
Jamie was already becoming quite the young woman when this eighth grade school portrait was taken.

Into The Music

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#10
Jamie getting into piano at Grandma & Grandpa Griers house.

The Baby Shower

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#11
Here's Jamie at her baby shower, she couldn't see what was going on from inside the womb there, but we knew she was listening.

The shower was held at Mary & Barney's house (my aunt & uncle) here in Big Bear and the joyful occasion was enjoyed by all those present, including Jamie I presume, seeing how she received a truckload of gifts.

Sea Shell Necklace

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#12
Jamie on a camping trip to the beach sporting her new sea shell necklace that dad made from shells we collected that day. My tackle box supplied the line and attachments for stringing it.
We still have that necklace around here somewhere and to me it's now a family heirloom just like the leather keyfob you made me in pre-school that still adorns the keys in my pocket right now.

That's our tent and camper in the background.

Camping & Singing

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#13

Jamie and our friend Elizabeth working on songs to sing by the campfire during one of our camping trips to the Eastern Sierras.