Tuesday, January 5, 2010


I have a thing about covered bridges. This was our first stop last Saturday... much to my utter delight. There are more covered bridges in the area that I get to see another time. But for that day, this was a real treat to me. These photos were all taken Saturday of the same little lovely bridge.


Here you can see it's age and how lovingly it has been cared for. I have never seen this one before. But I do have another that is a favorite of mine called the Mackee Bridge outside of Medford Oregon. It is not as well preserved as this one. In fact, it is closed to traffic... and when you walk across it past the big wooden posts that keep cars out, you can look down through holes in the floor to see the rushing water of the river below it.




This wonderful bridge is outside of Springfield Oregon... I believe he said it was in the Mohawk Valley area. But it is very similar to my Mackee bridge and it would not surprise me to find that the same builders had built both, so alike are they. Under this bridge, you can see how full its river is below. Rain is good for more than watering flowers. I love to watch the water rush past.




How amazing that it has lasted as long as it has through storms, traffic and time. ( DH was very patient with me and in fact, found me amusing with my camera clicking away at all the things he showed me. "Silly rabbit!" )













Yet you can see how well it was built. Someone has loved it through its years, sure enough... so it yet stands in use today.








Bridges of all shapes and kinds have played parts in my life. I have one now... though it is more of a giant erector set version... in Dumb Potter's Hell that confuses the heck out of tourists. There used to be a "natural land bridge" here a bazillion years ago. Time, erosion and volcanic activity knocked it into the Columbia River long ago. But it is part of our history and used as a lure for tourism.


Time is a bridge of sorts. I think of the Bay Bridge, the Golden Gate, many, many more that have been landmarks in my life... from the great ones to the underpasses that house my favorite words... "Rebecca Scuddles is oodles of funch!" ... which gives my blog its name. I wonder if any of those words still remain in faded fashion somewhere in time? I hope it endures.


Ha! For a time I left another message... C4 C do you remember these words? "The clouds are so beautiful that I could bite my toes!" Hahahaha... okay, so there was a time that I felt I had to leave words everywhere... the world my book, my blog... before there were blogs to leave my words on... before I ever contemplated writing a real book.

I have written three books, but never dared to try and publish them. For my boys, when entertainment was too expensive and words were all I could afford to give them. Should you ever meet my boys, ask them the story inside. All boys should have heroes and when your hero falls, someone must take up the job. I was not hero material, but I could give them some to follow... ethics and rules to live by. It is right that these heroes live in their hearts and none were published. Elden Kempt and tiny Twitter belong to them alone. We all need heroes. Especially boys reared by a woman alone and one very tough Bear... she's one of my heroes.

Writing is a bridge for me. A way to give passage to my thoughts and stories. A way from here to there and back again. A path from my experiences to yours... opens the way to trade. I love that.

What bridges do you love or have taken a part in your life? They can be real or imagined. You tell me what they are and what are they made of... tell me anything you like. All opinions and ideas are welcome here at Ooodles of Funch... its all funch you know. Big grins.

The pond is fairly quiet tonight. My favorite one is still working very long hours. But I do hear from him when he can. Nice. I enjoy that and other conversations... those these others are lesser. (Okay favorite frog... no jokes about grandpa now!) None other on the phone. It keeps life interesting and fun. All is taken with a grain of salt.

Here is to people and their stories! Bridges that bring us together. Cheers!

Now for another favorite "bridge" thing... Led Zep with Over the Hills and Far Away / The Crunge.

Led Zeppelin Over the hills and far away with lyrics

This one because a young man once built a bridge to my heart by playing this for me. Too bad it was built over a river of sh*t. ;-)



Now where's that confounded bridge?









29 comments:

  1. I get confused once in a while by people's blogs, and right now in particular I am a bit confused about your frogs.

    You mention your favorite frog, but DH seems to be a separate person. So is DH your favorite guy, but he doesn't count as a frog anymore? Or have I read it wrong and DH and favorite frog are one and the same? And if they are different people, is favorite frog someone you have met in person, or just someone you email and such?

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  2. laughing-- I am sorry for the confusion. DH is not a frog. Yes we do meet in person. And though he is not a frog, yes we do date. I have stayed with him a number of times. He has no problem with my talking on the phone to my favorite frog when I am there.

    My favorite frog I have not yet met in person. But we talk a lot on the phone. He and DH are certainly very different people! We began with email and moved to chat, then to the phone with a sprinkle of texts and emails. He is working very long hours right now, so that limits the amount of yakking we manage to do. Probably a good thing or he'd be bored to tears.

    Does that help?

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  3. I knew another blogger with a favorite frog, and after about six months, it turned out to be a scam. And I just can't imagine the time put into this, for six months, but after all that time of emailing and talking on the phone and such, she did start to think he cared about her, though they never met, because of his business schedule and travel plans would change at the last minute. Anyway, she did not give him any money, but she was very upset about all the time she had wasted.

    So after hearing her story, I tend to be a little suspicious of wonderful guys who are never seen in person, even after months of emails and such.

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  4. laughing-- Peggy also told about a male friend who was taken the same way. Believe me, I am careful. I have had scam guys show up, but they have a pattern to them that I catch pretty fast.

    Besides, they prey on people who are desperately lonely. I am not desperate. Nor do I have anything of value that anyone could take.

    I have found that it depends on the quality of the social site you use too. The one that I like best verifies your I.D.and information... so you can be relativly sure that they are exactly who they say they are.

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  5. Wow, that comment exchange was interesting.

    I love old covered bridges - I think of blogging as bridge-like a connection between yourself and others, connections between ideas.

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  6. secret agent woman-- I agree about blogging. I guess any communication is a bridge.

    :-) I think the important thing to understand about the pond is that I have zero long term expectations from frogs. I am having fun. I count on nothing.

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  7. I love your blog and need to catch up with it. Maybe someday I'll see you in Oregon, once I move out west. I love Oregon, but M likes sunshine and Oregon has too many rainy days.
    I love bridges, but big ones with wide spans and beautiful metal arches. Tappen Zee Bridge, for example. The Chesapeake Bay bridge.
    You should at least self publish the books. why not?

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  8. I love the bridge pictures and comments Ananda. Goes to show how important maintenance is in all aspects of our lives.

    Dangit...gotta stop eating so much junk. :)

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  9. Pamela-- I would love it if you made your way up here. I must agree with M though... avoid living here like the plague if you do not adore rain.

    Oohh... I have not been able to see either of those bridges. Maybe I can some day.

    That's a thought... just for the boys.

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  10. KenV-- Thanks. I love to take photos.

    Maintenace is indeed important. Once the foundation begins to sag... you pay the devil to get it back in place.

    I gave up junk awhile back. It really has helped.

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  11. Re: The Frogs--The value is in the search; the joy is the journey. Attributed to To-Fu.
    Have fun, you Lily-pond-lan.

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  12. I love those bridge photos. I have a little acrophobia, so I don't enjoy being on all bridges, but they do tend to be rather ingeniously built and beautiful in their ways. And a low, enclosed one like that wouldn't be scary :-)

    I am curious about the books you've written! That is so cool, published or not. Your kids were and are very lucky.

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  13. love the photos.

    somehow they make think of bobby gentry's ode to billy joe.

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  14. laughingattheslut... She calls others frogs, I call them monkeys, it's pretty simple really.

    I haven't seen a covered bridge for ages but the post reminds me of a few movies. And my favorite love story, The Bridge Across Forever.

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  15. Peggy-- Yes indeedy! That's my attitude.

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  16. laura b.-- And it's quite sound too. You would have enjoyed it.

    I will write another book one of these days with the intention of publishing. But not yet.

    Thank you. I love those boys to pieces. ;-)

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  17. billy pilgrim-- Now that you mention it... I can see that.

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  18. Billy B.-- I have not seen that one. I'll look it up.

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  19. It's the best book Richard Bach ever wrote, and a true story. But he wrote it before he went off the deep end.

    You will write another book? Ha ha ha. Hell, I refuse to write my first book. I just write about my experiences and things that flow through me. I have no delusions about me being any kind of an author.

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  20. I have a thing for covered bridges too. I first became aware of them at 6, learning how to draw Sunday mornings with "The Captain Bob Show." He showed how to draw a covered bridge to teach basic perspective. I spent weeks perfecting the lesson.

    There aren't too many in my immediate area but there are quite a few beautiful long ones in Vermont, many from the early 1800s. To be fair, there's probably not an original piece of wood left on them, but they've been well maintained. The Vermonters tell me you're supposed to kiss when you get to the middle, assuming the circumstances are right.

    I'm also fond of the RR bridge over the Cape Cod Canal. And James Brown's "bridges". Can you take me to the bridge? Ha! Get up! (Get on up). I'm also looking forward to getting a different sort of bridge, and enjoying cashews once more. Someday.

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  21. terrific post. i like covered bridges too. as for bridges in my own life the whole concept of building them was repeated often during a lot of the cross cultural training i had before moving overseas. though i am back ion the states i still have bridges of friendship in other parts of the world for which i am so grateful. i think time and respect are the best bridge building tools.

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  22. Those bridges are magnificent! I didn't even know those were around anymore, we don't have any in AZ, at least not in Phx :(

    They are kind of scary, creepy, in a very very cool way.

    Bridges... drawing is my bridge to happyland!

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  23. I love bridges too. My great grandfather had to sell his hotel in San Francisco, so they could use the land to build the Golden Gate Bridge,

    There are a bunch of covered bridges in Madison County, Ia. They wrote a book and made a movie about them, but a friend of mine who grew up in Winterset, said those covered bridges were where they always had their keggers in high school. Not quite so romantic...

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  24. Cricket-- Well take care with that bridge and nuts. I broke mine on an apple. Yikes! Good God y'all!

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  25. lime-- I like that... time and respect are the best bridge tools. Indeed... and friendship is golden.

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  26. Sebastien-- And your drawing is our bridge to your world. I like it there!

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  27. Churlita-- Well doesn't that figure? Ha!

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  28. Ananda - You are a bridge to me. A bridge to my most favorite past. I think that you should get Sebastein to illustrate your books. I have not written a book - many many many reports and some cards and letters, but not one written book. I am very very proud of you !!!!!!!

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  29. C4C-- You likewise are my bridge, only you bridge my path to sanity. Hold tight okay?

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