Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Blazes burn in Crater Lake National Park State tests show a mixed report card The sorry state of McNeal Medford teenager indicted on attempted murder, assault charges Summer ends Thursday for Hellgate jetboats Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Medford teenager indicted on attempted murder, assault charges Police seek help in Eagle Point poaching case Officials warn of scam involving fake invoices for school supplies Mandatory evacuation ordered in Happy Camp Complex fire Former Medford gymnastics coach arrested again on child pornography charges Politics and Elections Mark L. Hopkins: What the next election should be about Senate race could be expensive Talent to consider taxing recreational, but not medicinal marijuana Candidate files false statements Just one seat will be contested for Central Point council Education State tests show a mixed report card State assessment chart: 2013-14 Students flock to Ashland schools Central Point launches language immersion program UPDATED: Medford school bus in crash; no students hurt, officials say Environment New disease strikes Roseburg deer herds Dredgers might return to the Rogue next year Dubs' auction preview draws bidders and gawkers OR-7's pups are true wolves ODFW director Elicker will step down State news Nation - World Obituaries Jerilyn J. Schoenhals Arlene Louise Kornstad Donald Chester Erickson Norma Jean Snow Marcia L Allen Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Sports Latest Stories Armstead dedicates, delivers for Ducks Source says Rice video sent to NFL Critical Mass-ey Beavers benefit from committee at fullback Fowler sets course for full final season Varsity 541 College Sports Armstead dedicates, delivers for Ducks Beavers benefit from committee at fullback Adjusting on the fly Raiders will return to Ashland High gridiron Challengers open season with win Pro Sports Source says Rice video sent to NFL Deng issues harsh rebuke to 'African’ comments Volatility affects the bottom, top in FedExCup Mercury crush Sky in Game 2 of WNBA Finals Goodell: No one at NFL saw video earlier Community Sports Barry fires back into SOGC finals Super seniors strong at SOGC Crenshaw pulls off upset in SOGC Murphy claims victory in Stroke Play Championships South Korea downs Chicago for World Series title Business Latest Stories Historic building owners get lessons in restoration Blog: So just what will those investigative law firms find beneath the Harry & David rock pile? Pleasant weather, stable interest rates spurred summer home sales Sustainable Valley receives $50,000 SBA grant Blog: And the Award Goes to... Real Estate News Historic building owners get lessons in restoration Pleasant weather, stable interest rates spurred summer home sales People In Business Transportation Agriculture 1-800-Flowers.com buying Harry & David for $142.5 million Earlier than normal pear harvest coming up short of expectations Weisinger's Winery has earliest crush on record Amy's Kitchen begins expansion in White City Opinion Latest Granlund cartoon: New Apple products Letters to the Editor, Sept. 10 Catherine Rampell: Only college graduates need apply Fighting back against domestic violence Letters to the Editor, Sept. 9 Editorials Fighting back against domestic violence Tablet computers are a tool, not a frill Other Views: The time is now to start disaster planning Harry & David: the next chapter An unresolved conflict; A judge declines to say if county laws trump city laws Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, Sept. 10 Letters to the Editor, Sept. 9 We march for mental health on Saturday. Who’s watching? Letters to the Editor, Sept. 8 Letters to the Editor, Sept. 7 Guest Opinions Hazardous fuel treatments vital to protection from severe wildfires Wilderness for Kalmiopsis has served us well The summer of my discontent: An open letter to Bill Rauch The power of local philanthropy Lifestyle Latest stories Community blog: A Healthy Way to Enrich the College Experience Community blog: Fosters Needed Quail Run Vineyards expands into Talent drainage A cook's contest Community blog: Dukkah dresses up hummus, spreads and dippers Food Quail Run Vineyards expands into Talent drainage A cook's contest Community blog: Dukkah dresses up hummus, spreads and dippers Community blog: Middle East's 'peanut butter' on the rise in U.S. Community blog: 'Crispy Treats' a cut above rice-cereal originals Home and Garden Medford gardens to be showcased Saturday Trees aren't always the best companions for plants Hot tips for a cool (shade) garden An August checklist for your garden Green Scene: Diagnosing common tomato troubles Health Community blog: A Healthy Way to Enrich the College Experience Community blog: What's Wrong With This Picture? Community blog: We Need to Talk Down-size is the right size Oregon Health Policy Board to meet in Medford Hiking Faith Religion briefs Religion briefs Community Blog: Is Peace Possible in the Middle East - Part three of four Milestones and Achievements Grange memberships going like hot cakes New Arrivals Engagement Wedding: Gibson-Hodnefield New Arrivals Columnist for a Day Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories Oregon Poet Laureate Peter Sears reads in Ashland Musical 'Backwards in High Heels' opens at Oregon Cabaret Theatre Kathleen Madigan to perform at the Craterian Ashland Contemporary Theatre gets dialectic with "Freud's Last Session" Live Music in Local Clubs Theater CultureFest at Oregon Shakespeare Festival Musical 'Backwards in High Heels' opens at Oregon Cabaret Theatre Ashland Contemporary Theatre gets dialectic with "Freud's Last Session" 'Freud's Last Session" at Ashland Contemporary Theatre OSF presents 'The Alchemy of Gender' Music Live Music in Local Clubs Rob Zombie plays Lithia Amphitheater Jennifer Nettles plays Britt Keith Greeninger and Matt Hill at the Rogue Theatre Britt Festivals adds to indoor fall concert lineup Community Events Oregon Poet Laureate Peter Sears reads in Ashland Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhiits by regional artists 5 Things to Do This Weekend From business professor to artist Shady Cove Tie Days Swap Meet Dining Ami Sushi serves up Asian dishes Wild River Brewing & Pizza Co. NW Raw Kelly's Crepes Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Magazines & Special Sections NEWS NOW Medford teenager indicted on attempted murder, assault charges ... Police seek help in Eagle Point poaching case ... Officials warn of scam involving fake invoices for school supplies ... Medford teenager indicted on attempted murder, assault charges ... Police seek help in Eagle Point poaching case ... Officials warn of scam involving fake invoices for school supplies ... SOUTHERN OREGON JOURNAL Origin Story: 3 a.m. By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 7, 2014 @ 12:01 am By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 7, 2014 @ 12:01 am --> Editor's Note: This is one in a series of occasional columns by reporter Ryan Pfeil documenting the arrival of his first child. To see others in the series, read his blog at www.mailtribune.... » Read more X Editor's Note: This is one in a series of occasional columns by reporter Ryan Pfeil documenting the arrival of his first child. To see others in the series, read his blog at www.mailtribune.com/pocketprotector . » Social News Dear Bethany, It's 3 a.m. and I can't stay inside the lines. They make up a series of boxes, these lines, all about an inch long and half an inch deep, patterned neatly on a series of pink papers. Your mom and I are supposed to use these boxes to document things you do. When you feed, when you ruin a perfectly good diaper. Et cetera. It's supposed to give nurses and doctors a better idea about your health, how you're faring your first few days in the world where you just crash landed. Yes, you're here. The wait is over. You're three days old and beautiful, and I'm awake with you at 3 a.m. You're in your mom's arms 10 feet away, belly up to the bar, and I'm writing about it inside a series of little pink boxes. Problem: Right now, I can't stay inside them, can't keep what I write straight. The resulting hooks and snaps of my pencil are less letters and more glyphs, obscure otherworldly jibber-jabber better suited to cave walls. Gravity is firing an impressive ordnance against my eyelids and my shields against it are just about gone. Everywhere sounds comfortable. The bed. The floor. Standing against a wall. On broken glass or hot sand. In frigid water while the Titanic sinks. Just drop me and let me fall, 3 a.m. darkness. Blindfold me and push me down a well. I'm so tired, Bethany. And I can't go to sleep because your air supply is limitless, because you shredded my personal definition of love the first time I saw you and gave me a better one. I don't want to block out your cries; I want to prevent them, even if you're telling me how and I've forgotten the language. I had fair warning. Friends and family who already had kids warned me I'd never sleep again. But they always said it with a smile or a laugh. In one case a cymbal crash. Jokes, I thought. Of course, I'll be tired, but not near the hyper sleep process from the "Alien" movies. Sleep is for wimps. It won't be that bad. My first child won't really hold Ryan's First Bank of Peace & Energy at gunpoint and clean out the safe. You did. I'm still working on wanted posters. Suspect is an 8-pound, 20-inch female with hands-down the brightest blue, most curious eyes I've ever seen. Confirmed armed with a shriek that could give Stephen King the inspiration for his next book. Rest-wise, I'm bankrupt, kid. You cleaned me out and left me a shuffling mess of short-circuiting synapses and languid eyes. A half hour of eyes-closed at a time was a miracle. Your mom is saying something. She's close, and it's clear and well articulated but sounds like a whisper underwater. The smothering air drowns her words. They turn to alphabet soup and barely reach my ear drums. Something about what time she started eating? Who knows? Who can quantify time in this state? Hours, minutes and seconds aren't familiar concepts at 3 a.m. when a baby you've known for 72 hours but would do absolutely anything for is crying. At 3 a.m., time is a treadmill, going nowhere. This is how I remember three days ago, Bethany. Despite the weakening dealt to me by the armies of No Sleep, Baby Tears and Frustration, that moment has such clarity, immortalized next to a new bank of memories I've just started. They're about you, all of them. When your mom told me you were en route. When I heard your heart beat for the first time. When I saw your developing form. When you kicked. When you arrived nine days late. All good, misty-eyed snapshots. So why is 3 a.m. three days after your birth in this conceptual album? Because origin stories — stories in general — need a defining conflict, Bethany; that test to see whether the character development up to this point will hold. This particular 3 a.m. was an army of comic-book bad guys standing shoulder to shoulder while they screamed a collective scream. But I had help. I didn't choose to love you, Bethany, I just do. No time to think. Blink-and-you'll-miss-it. What I feel for you roared out of some dormant, quiet place and flipped a dusty switch, never asked for permission. Love chooses you, I think. And it doesn't give up on you either, even at 3 a.m. Reach reporter Ryan Pfeil at 541-776-4468 or [email protected]. Follow him at www.twitter.com/ryanpfeil . By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 7, 2014 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2014 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501