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Riders in the Seventh Annual Thrill of Swill, get ready to take off from the starting point of the Duck Inn, in Eugene.
Looking for something to do on your next weekend off? Try organizing your own annual event to do with friends or family, like a bike ride around your community. It’s a fun and healthy way to get together with friends and check out local landmarks, parks and points of interest.

Jerrod Riddle starts his bike ride, as Mechelle Hoselton (right) watches the riders take off.

The seventh annual Thrill of Swill took place on Sat. May 23, 2009. The event takes place over a twelve mile course that covers eight bars and finishes at Mindi and Kevin Pardy’s home, aptly known as Pardy’s Grease Spot, for a huge barbecue and horseshoe tournament.
The course has changed over the past few years but a lot of the riders stay the same. This year’s crew included around 34 riders from areas including Bend and Wash., and of course, several Eugene locals.
Among the stops this year was the Duck Inn, Jameson’s, The Cooler and Shooter’s. There is a poker tournament that had each player drawing one card at each stop from four, double-decks. The players were then able to swap in their cards at the last few stops to try to improve their hand. This year there was a deck of x-rated cards mixed in for a little surprise.

Kevin Pardy, 39, of Eugene, shows off his latest poker card.

Oregon Reads; Lauren Kessler's Stubborn Twig

Lauren Kessler's book, Stubborn Twig surrounded by pictures of my Japanese family, including my great grandfather and great grandmother, both Nissei, my grandmother and grandfather, who were both Sansei, and my mother who is Yonsei.

Eugene author, Lauren Kessler had the honor of having her book, Stubborn Twig, picked as one of the three books Oregon Reads, for 2009. Oregon Reads, is a statewide program that will hold events at almost every library in the state to celebrate the 150 year of statehood for Oregon. In honor of the sesquicentennial, from Jan. to April, Kessler, along with other speakers, went on a statewide lecture series to discuss their books. Kessler did readings in Albany, Corvallis and Eugene amongst other stops. Although the book was originally published in 1993, it has recently gained huge popularity and seen a spike in sales since being picked for Oregon Reads.
"I see the world as a series of stories, I see people's lives as stories. I see stories everywhere I go, I have to write about them."

Kessler, who moved to Eugene from New York, has written five books including; Clever Girl, The Happy Bottom Riding Club and Full Court Press.

Kessler read an excerpt from the book which is a true account of a Japanese family trying to establish themselves before and after the strike on Pearl Harbor. The book follows three generations of the Yasui family, lead by the patriarch Masuo, who came to Hood River in 1903. Despite anti-Japanese sentiment in the early 1900's, the family was able to run a successful general store as well as several orchards until their world was turned upside down in 1941. After the attack in Hawaii, Masuo was arrested as a spy and imprisoned at an internment camp along with countless other Japanese-Americans. The story continues through the the tradgedies and losses of the next two generations that continued to struggle to establish themselves as patriotic Americans. It is a part of history that many Americans are unfamiliar with.

The book takes account many different points of view from former neighbors and friends as well as the family members. Kessler spent countless hours sifting through family documents that were salvaged from the Hood River farm. She has also formed a tight bond and friendship with several members of the Yasui family, who still run an orchard in Hood River.

Kessler is currently working on her next project Thin House, where she, her author husband and three children, are remodeling a 1930's bungalow into "a model of energy efficiency."

Buzzard's on their way to the playoffs

Running back, Rashane Jackson, gets a block from wide receiver Shay Black, in Vancouver, Wash., on May 9, against the Vancouver Vipers. The Buzzards won 26-20, in a must win game to get to the playoffs. The Buzzards will head to Medford on Saturday to take on the Rogue Warriors.

A Buzzards Story

It’s a rainy day in Lowell, located about 21 miles southeast of Eugene. The skies are grey and it's a bit windy for a May afternoon. Not ideal conditions for some of the fans that are starting to arrive at the field of Lowell High School. For some fans, and most players, conditions couldn’t be any better for a good old fashioned mud bowl.
This isn’t the local neighborhood boys getting together for a friendly game of touch or flag football; this is hard-hitting, full contact eleven man football.
The Springfield Buzzards have taken the field in the last home game of the regular season. The range of age in the players varies from late teens to early forties. Their experience is as varied, some have little experience while others have played for Division I and II collegiate teams.
Kevin Pardy, 38, an insurance producer from Eugene, is not just one of those players, he also happens to be co-owner of the Buzzards. Pardy, like a lot of these guys, grew up playing football, “Pretty much since the time I could walk.” His first experience with organized football in pads came in 1978 with the Lakeville Athletic Association in Minn. He recalls Fran Tarkenton, quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings, used to come to the games and get mauled by the kids. Being a Chicago Bears fan, Pardy would have been more impressed to see his idol Walter “Sweetness” Payton, but he was in Minn., after all.
While going to high school in Madison, S.D., Pardy had always wanted to play middle linebacker but his team was deep at that position and his junior year he found himself as third string. When his coach offered him the starting tight end position it seemed like a no brainer. By the end of his senior year he was named to the All-State team at the tight end position.
With dreams of playing in college and no scholarship offers, Pardy tried out for the University of South Dakota football team in Vermillion. Pardy was getting no playing time and was fifth string tight end his freshmen year. He got a crucial break after the first and second stringers were hurt, and finally got "his day in the sun." He defied the odds and made the team as a walk on and gained a scholarship. Earning a spot on the team also earned him his very own number, 81, which he still proudly wears today. “I was 85 all through high school, but after I earned my spot, 81 became my identity on the field.”

Q. What positions do you play now?

Pardy: "Mostly defensive end and linemen now, but I fill in where needed, guard, D tackle, O line, I even played tight end last week."

Q. What's your favorite position to play?

Pardy: "Defensive end, I like chasing the quarterback around. I still like tight end, I just can't run with the ball anymore."

Q. How did you decide on Buzzards as a mascot?

Pardy: "I hate extreme sport names like the Edge or Storm, and we didn't want some thug-like name. You see plenty of buzzards as your driving down I-5, it just seemed appropriate that we're from Springtucky."

After being unsatisfied with the organization he was playing for, Pardy with former teammate Wyatt Ledbetter decided to start their own team in '06 and joined the NNFL a nine man league. In 2008 they joined the Oregon Football League which is the oldest and most reputable eleven man league in the state.

"I want to be the best organization in the league, I want to improve the league and create a winning environment."

Pardy would also like to see the Buzzards become a non-profit organization in the next few years so he can give back to the community by helping kids to pursue extra curricular activities. "I think it's a crime for a kid not to play due to lack of money." Whether it's Pop Warner, volleyball or band, Pardy believes that every kid should have a chance to pursue their dreams. His idea is to set up scholarships and contracts, "they'll have to earn."

The last regular season game is scheduled for May 9, in Vancouver, B.C., against the Vancouver Vipers. The playoffs are scheduled to begin May 16, and will be played as the highest seeds home field. With a win in Vancouver and a few losses from other teams, the Buzzards could be on their way to the playoffs and possibly even home field advantage.

Pardy who will turn 39 this month still thinks he's got a few more good years left. "There are those quiet moments when you're stretching out with the team and you think, I wouldn't want to be doing anything else."

Kevin Pardy takes a brief rest on the sideline.

Pitching problems plague Ducks

The score is 2-1, it's the top of the seventh inning on a rain soaked Sunday afternoon at PK Park in Eugene. Freshmen starting pitcher Madison Boer takes the mound for the University of Oregon. So far things have been going well for the Ducks but after a few pitches, things start to take a turn for the worst.
After Boer walked the first batter in the inning, pitching coach Andrew Checketts, took his first of many trips that inning to the mound.
45 minutes later at the bottom of the seventh inning, four Oregon pitchers, Boer, Geoff Nichols, Ryan Fleckstein and Zack Thornton had thrown three wild pitches, hit one batter and walked four others. UCLA scored six runs on two hits, putting the Bruins up 8-1.
"It was the most out of character our guys (have been) coming out of the bullpen." Oregon coach George Horton told The Oregonian in an interview following the game. "That one got away from us."
The Ducks won the first of the three game series 3-2 on Friday, May 1, but lost Saturday's game 2-6 and Sunday's game 1-8. Junior, Bennett Whitmore, is the fifth and final pitcher for the day.

With the win, UCLA moves in to second place in the Pac-10, half a game a head of Oregon State and Washington State who are 3.5 games back from first place Arizona State.
Oregon's next game will be May 9, in Pullman, Wash., against the Cougars. The last home game is scheduled for May 24, at noon against the Arizona Wildcats who are currently ranked eighth in the Pac-10. The Ducks are now in last place with only four conference wins.

A few die-hard fans brave the elements to cheer on the home team.

Newest arrival to the herd of elephants

I was fortunate to visit San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park two weeks after the birth of new baby African Elephant that was born on March 13, 2009, which coincidentally is National Elephant Day in Thailand. As of May 1, I don't believe the "little guy" has been named. He is seen here with his mother Umngani and his older sister, Khosi, who was born on Sept. 11, 2006. Khosi was the first calf born to Umnagi, her baby brother is the second. Umnagi is one of several elephants saved from being culled in Swaziland in 2003.