if you look good, you'll feel good (and you'll ride better too)

So, after months and months of impatient waiting, we finally got our new kits (uniforms) for my cycling team, Bridgetown Velo!!!! Wahoo, and I'm stoked for soooo many reasons (please, read below).

First of all, a big reason why I joined BTV was because not only were their representative riders at the Meet the Teams ride nice, but I liked their colors and their uniforms. As a graphic designer and an athlete, these things are quite important to me. So, I inquired about joining them, rode with them a few more times and then got accepted onto the team. Not too long afterwards I went to my first team meeting where a representative from Castelli USA (a very well known, innovative, and spendy Italian cycling apparel company who's US headquarters just were relocated to Portland) about joining up with them and getting new kits. As the Castelli rep talked and talked about the variations in garments, padding and fit and most everyone else's eyes glazed over with boredom... my twinkled with excitement and my head started spinning with possibility: Wow! gear! This is really cool. Not only am I going to need a kit to race and look like everyone else on my team, but the whole team is getting new kits!!! What are they gonna look like? Are they gonna keep their current logo (which kinda sucks) or go with a new one?

That evening, after the Rep left, we discussed getting new kits and what would be done about the design. If we would use the current logo or come up with a new one? Being brand new to the team and hardly knowing anyone in the room, I didn't want to step on any toes so I kept my mouth shut. However, it didn't take too long to realize that no one had a clear answer to the situation at hand, so I spoke up. "Hi, i know I'm new to the team, but I'm a graphic designer and logo design is kinda what i do - so, I volunteer my services to the team." So, not too long afterwards, I started emailing our team manager Josh about ideas and requirements from Castelli and got busy designing.

The main thing was creating a new logo. The one they'd be using for several years looked like this:

As you can see, not that exciting or appealing. 

So, I started sketching, playing mainly with type and came up with ideas, landing on two or three big ones...

Personally, the first one was my favorite and the first one I created, but the team thought it looked a little too much like a basketball (I was going for a bridge over water and bike wheel)... so I tweaked with the design a little and made the circle more of an oval. As well, some folks weren't too cracked about the font on that (personally I loved it though) - so I played around with some variations on a theme. But, came back to that type face over and over and over again. As well, I designed some other bridge/wheel combos and tried to "modernize" the look as well.

When it all came down to it though, we decided on a version of the typeface I liked with the wider spanning bridge and it's various alternative markings and layouts.

The kit design itself is based upon a template that Casetlli created for a team with similar colors from the Mid Atlantic region. With them, we played around with color blocking choices and decided if we'd rather have orange or navy as main color and how much we wanted to incorporate white into the kit. Eventually by the beginning of the year we had reached a design decision and everyone placed their orders.

In the meantime, we were out riding a lot as a team and racing. Pretty much everyone looked the same as each other except for us new Cat 4 women riders who all joined at the same time and had all been given a "hand-me down jersey" from some gracious team member or another. While it worked, it didn't work well and quite often, people would come to us at races and ask what team we were. My jersey was about two versions old and the BTV logo on that kit was pretty much indistinguishable. 

As you can see, there are three various jersey designs here and no one has matching shorts or anything cohesive. In fact, at this race (the Cherry Blossom Classic) my teammates and I would change out of our jerseys as soon as the race was over because we just were not happy with how mismatched and scruffy we looked. It's a proven fact that if you look good and feel good, chances are that you're gonna ride a little better too.

final design template

Also, it may be a little known jenn levo factoid here, but as a small child I would create my own major league sports teams. I would design a logo and alternate logos for them, pick their color choices, then create their uniforms and then ultimately make "baseball cards" for them, designing even the layout of the card. So, long story short... being able to design a new logo and help create the kit for my cycling team and have it come into production is pretty much a childhood dream come true. Not only am I stoked because now I can race and ride and look like everyone else on my team, but to have everyone on my team be wearing something that I created that is more labor intensive than a simple logo silk screened on a rec league t-shirt, is pretty fucking cool in my book.

Look for us and our new kits out on the roads and raceways of Portland and throughout the PNW! And if you pass us or get passed by us, don't forget to smile and say... nice kit! 

I can see the finish-line at all times

Well, first of all most of you know that last fall I joined a local cycling team here in Portland, Bridgetown Velo. And, while I had one novice race under my belt (that I won at the Raceway) I didn't have a clue about what type of races I liked doing or what type of rider I was until I got myself into a few various races and quickly figured things out. I learned that I do not really like racing for a few hours at a time. I'm a busy person, I've got things to do and I like to schedule. I like knowing that a race will take 5 minutes or 50 minutes, five laps or 15, and the start is in the same place as the finish and i can see it if i turn my head the right way. Yeah, and hills. I am not a fan hills either (please see what i said about being able to see the finish). What I do enjoy is going fast, going flat, and knowing exactly what is ahead of me and how long it should take so that i can adequately gauge my athletic efforts and energy. So, it was suggested to me, that along with the raceway and crits, I try my hand at track racing, aka: the velodrome.

So, for the past two Wednesday nights, that is exactly what I have done.

First of all, many things about the velodrome are scary. The main one is the steeply sloped bank. The track we race at in Portland is called the Alpenrose Velodrome and it's home to one of the steepest banks in the country. Laying at a sharp 43 degree angle, cyclist have to maintain a 12mph speed in order for their bike to "stick" to the track.

 

cleaning the 43 degree sloped banks

The other scary thing is learning to ride a fixed gear bike. For those not in the know (or not a hipster and or bike messenger), a fixed gear bike (aka: fixie, track bike) has only one gear and no breaks. There is no freewheel action on a fixed gear, meaning.... when ever you pedal, the back wheel moves. Whenever you stop pedaling, the back wheel stops. There is no coasting. Because of this, the timing of when you stop and slow down is very important to sync up. The great thing about fixed gear bikes is that it is a bike at it's upmost simplicity. There is no fluff over components, brakes, derailers, compact doubles or triples. It is a bike, it moves when you do, it stops when you do. There is no way to cheat it, to shave it down to anything more really than it already is or to cheat yourself when riding it. You do the work, not the bike, not the gears. In fact, the simplicity of a fixed gear bike has earned it a rather cult like status off it's usage on tracks and is the center of many debates of bike snobbery and bike hate, but... that's another topic for another day. 

Also, another scary thing about the velodrome and fixed gear bikes is crashes, like this one at our local velodrome.

So, the first track racing clinic I went to, honestly, I was scared shitless. Here I was, riding a type of bike I'd never ridden before (that has no breaks) racing on a very steep, very hard, concrete track. So, i took the fixed gear bike for a spin. At first learning to ride the fixed gear was a little tricky, but once I figured it out I couldn't keep myself from pedaling and going fast. I liked it. Everyone who was there at the clinic (about 20) divided up into groups. The instructors took us aside and pretty much described bike handling skills and the "do's and don'ts" of the track. Then, we hoped on the bikes and went for a couple of spins around the apron of the track. Before you knew it, just like playing follow the leader, we were up on the sloped bank, following the person ahead of us and matching their speed. On the track, one of the most important lessons to learn and remember is faster is safer. While this counterintuitive to initial thoughts on anything remotely dangerous, whereas you generally want to approach things hesitantly... the opposite is true in track racing. Slowing down will make you fall, speeding up will keep you safe. 

After going taking several laps and going up and down sections of the steeped bank and getting comfortable on the bikes, the slopes, and with our handling, we started doing pace line drills. Towards the end of the clinic, they divided the remaining folks into two groups and had us race. I was in the second group and we had about four of five folks (two were instructors). We did a three lap race with the instructors leading the pack until the final lap when they dropped back and then it was a sprint to the finish. A young man from one of the local cycling teams sprint out ahead and took the win, but I wasn't too far back coming in for second place. Overall, it was a really fun and enjoyable clinic and I was amazed at how quickly my fear of not only the fixed gear bike, but also riding the bike on the track, vanished and was replaced with a smile.

The following week I went back to the clinic and drug a friend who had expressed interest in the velodrome. Once again, we divided into groups and I rode with the same instructor as the following week, Meg. There were more people at this clinic, so i got to work a little bit more on pacing myself behind the people ahead of me and not just passing them like I had done prior. As well, I also tried to work hard at keeping a steady line while going around the track. Just as in the week prior, we ended the session with a race and this one had a few more people in my group. Right off the start, I jumped up front and then settled in behind an instructor who was leading the pack. A fellow with long hair and no shirt tried to jump ahead and ride parallel to us, but quickly tired in lap two-three and dropped back. I kept right on the instructors wheel and going into the final lap out of five, went for it. i had no idea who or how many people were behind me, but that's all the better reason to go and go hard all the way to the finish. In the final stretch, I could feel someone gaining on my side and closing in on the finish line, so with a final burst of energy I pushed for it and finished half a wheel in front of the other rider (who also happened to be the instructor). Afterwards, it was hard to wipe the smile off my face. I did it, I won! And now I feel really quite confident about entering in my first novice race sometime soon.

True, just as in the Raceway (where I have yet to race this year) novice races are one thing and jumping in the pack with the big girls is another thing, I'm pretty excited to try out this bike racing discipline a bit more. As well, no one on my team races at the velodrome I think, so perhaps myself (and the one other Bridgetown Velo rider female who showed up last Wednesday) will be the sole participants and representatives for our team? I don't mind, I went to my first bike race solo, I went to my first velo clinic solo and I can race solo too. So, stayed tuned, we'll see how it goes. Regardless, I like that I can see the finish-line at all times.

like the last samoa cookie in the box...

Catching you up on cool tid bits of info that I've been hoarding like the last samoa cookie in the box...

* When was the last time you thought about how sustainable your undies were? Well, apparently if this is something you were concerned about, you could head on over to the fashion forward starting with your ass backwards company called Uranus Apparel. With a tag line reading, "Help save planet Earth, starting with Uranus" the company makes boy-short underwear for women from the protein byproducts of soy foods that would otherwise be thrown away. Apparently, buttery soft and machine washable undies, these undies are available in sizes from extra small to large, come in sets of three in eco friendly colors and are bundled in a biodegradable burlap drawstring sack! Reviewers call the undies "warm and snug, yet they remain breathable enough for more sweltering temps."

* Recently, the State of New York, led by Governor David A. Paterson, signed Executive Order No. 18, which basically phased out the purchase and use of bottled water at state agency facilities. Interested in getting your local government or work place to follow suit? Go to this nice site for more information on how to get plastic out of mainstream America. As well, here is a good informational video by Captain Charles Moore, who started researching the plight and effect that discarded plastic has on our oceans.

photo from a Life Magazine article in 1955 about "Throwaway Living", glorifying the idea of disposability.

*The other week, CocaCola announced a new development in their packaging of their beverages. Across North America, Coke will start using a new plastic bottle for it's Dasani brand this year and then expand to some of its carbonated brands and Vitaminwater. The bottle is said to be made from a blend of petroleum-based materials and up to 30% plant-based materials that are by-products of sugar production. Coke also said the bottle has a lower reliance on a non-renewable resource, reducing carbon emissions by up to 25%, compared with other petroleum-based PET plastic bottles. As an added plus, the new bottle is fully recyclable and can be processed through existing manufacturing and recycling facilities. Personally, I applaud the Coca Cola Company for realizing that they are a huge contributer to the problem of plastic trash in our environment and are taking key steps to not be part of the problem anymore, but part of the solution.

*Similarly, did you know that three billion of the world's 200 billion-plus paper cups, that start as trees and end up at the dump each year, have the Starbucks logo emblazoned upon them? The Starbucks Company's Ben Packard, the vice president of Global Responsibility and Jim Hanna, Starbucks director of Environmental Impact, are taking on the responsibility to have all of the company's iconic coffee cups will be recyclable by 2012. Even though many coffee cups in today's market are readily repulpable and recyclable, many are made with a wax finish that is unable to truly and effectively break down or be handled by smaller recycling centers. Read up on the cup summit here.

* Much like how the uber recycling company Terracycle is trying to collect all the energy bar wrappers in the US to have a second life, they are also trying to collect all your used Frito Lay chip bags to be turned into tote bags, purses and pencil cases for sale later this year at retailers like Walmart. Eventually, TerraCycle plans to take a leap into the building materials market with a few new processing techniques it's developed, one of which fuses together shreds of bags, wrappers and pouches, turning them into a thick slab that can be used as tile, insulation or other study material.

* Planning on visiting NYC anytime soon and you're looking for a safe, enjoyable and affordable way to get around town? Well, thanks to New York City's Downtown Alliance they are currently hosting Bike Around Downtown. From May 13, 2009 to September 30, 2009, workers, residents and visitors can take advantage of free bicycle rentals. However, there are only 30 available bikes, so be sure to sign up in advance!

we need to play the game...

In regards once again to recent supreme court action in California, which never fails to rally the troops when it comes to equality and being able to join in holy matrimony with the person you love, I state my opinion when it comes to "gay marriage".

My opinion is mainly about rewriting the law books when it comes to how we view and define two people becoming committed to one another, regardless of their sexual orientation. 

I am a firm believer that we as a nation need to separate church and state. I am aware that the original phrase "separation between church and state" was made as a reference to not having a national church that everyone had to belong to, but, that phrase still sticks strongly to how religion and government should mix and not mix. Basically, we need to separate the two ideologies and take religion completely out of the government hands. 

As a result, we need to identify "marriage" as a term derived from religion, while "civil union" is a term reserved from the federal government. No one in the United States, regardless of orientation, should be getting "married" in the eyes of the government. Everyone, on the other hand, should be eligible to gain "civil unions" with the same rights guaranteed for all and this is the terminology that would be legit and fully recognized by the state. 

I think most people agree that everyone regardless of sex, race or orientation should be treated equally and have the same rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. However, ask them if they think gay people should get married and they'll say, hands down, that it doesn't agree with their said church, religion, moral upbringing, etc. As a result, if we took the hurtle of religion off the table by removing the word "marriage" from the legislation, then none of anyone's reservations about religion and marriage would be valid and relevant to the measure. As a result, voting on the issue would come down to human rights instead of religion and would undoubtedly pass. 

And, if folks wanted to be seen as "married" in the eyes of their church or their god (as well as being recognized by the state), then that is a separate matter that should be taken up with those respective religious institutions at a later point in time. Marriage, as a term and an idea, is a peripheral discussion that does not need to take up the valuable time of our federal government. And while we're at it, take "one nation under God, In God We Trust, and swearing on the bible" out of the government too.

That being said, I am in support of people being able to be with whomever they want to be with in the eyes of the government, but until we remove the word "marriage" from any legislation we put before voters, these measures, rights, and securities will never be seen as equal and will never pass across the great divide of our nation. I am in favor of the idea, just not the legislation. I agree it's all semantics, but we need our legislators to play the semantics game. 

if this keeps up, i'll be able to see my house from here.

I hail from Southern Ohio, in the western most county in the Appalachian Mountain range, just a little North of the Ohio River. I consider the surrounding hills of Kentucky and West Virginia to be home as well as the people that live there, as they are my people. We all come from the same land.. I love Appalachia dearly, I love it's heritage, I like it's work ethic, I love it's underdog status and I appreciate what a jewel it is to our nation and our environment. For example, the Appalachian mountain range is home to a diversity of plants and animals that rivals only the tropical rain forest in it's abundance. It's nice to think that long after the people who live and work in these hills are gone, the hills and the memories will still be there.

Or will they?

A recent court decision by a panel of federal judges has just ruled in favor of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in a controversial legal case focused on mountaintop removal coal mining. This ruling has cleared the way for almost 100 new permits to bury streams in Kentucky and West Virginia, which would flatten 98 square miles and bury more than 200 miles of streams in coal mining waste. In a process called Mountain Top Removal, big coal companies are using explosives to literally blow the tops off the mountains, extract the coal and essentially, destroy Appalachia. This land and these people, cannot afford to have their home land devastated like this.. The mining waste and toxic debris left after the blast pours down the mountainside, filling in the valleys, burying our streams and creating mile after mile of barren moonscape. Currently, more than 1,400 miles of Kentucky streams have been buried in the process of extracting coal from the mountains in this fashion. It only takes one year for a coal company to destroy a mountain that has existed for close to 300 million years.

(i just love ashley judd)

The coal industry has taken great care to try and convince the American public that there is such a thing as "clean coal", recently spending more than $30 million on an advertising and PR campaign under the name American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE). The member list for ACCCE reads like a who's who of the worst polluters, including two of the top 10 global warming polluters in the world,  as well as mining companies like Massey Energy that has over 4,000 documented Clean Water Act violations.

In fact, coal-fired power plants are one of our nation's largest and dirtiest sources of energy. By ending our dependence on coal, we can actually help improve our lives and our health, while also saving our cultural heritage from destructive mining and creating family-supporting, American jobs. Using existing technology and American innovation, we can lead the world with a clean energy economy and better the American way of life. There are readily available alternatives to coal that can meet our energy needs and save consumers money, boost the economy, create jobs, improve public health, and combat global warming. 

Please take a few minutes and familiarize yourself with other alternatives to coal and also see more of the ads that the Clean Coal people created and learn the true facts behind their claims.

And lastly, please Join the Fight to End Mountaintop Removal and send a note to President Obama and let him know that this action by the courts is to destroy this jewel of America, is NOT OKAY. 

(3/4/09)

brand new bags and the baggage that goes with it...

Once again, here I go talking about plastic bags. There is so much information I can find, studies I can present, research I can dig up on why not using these things is a good idea, that I am seriously afraid over overwhelming you with entirely too much information. 

However, I came across this great article in the New York Times that explained how not just a city, but an entire country banned plastic bags and the difference it has made. In 2002, Ireland passed a tax on plastic bags; customers who wanted them had to pay 33 cents per bag at the register. Within weeks, plastic bag usage dropped 94%. Within a year, nearly everyone was using reusable cloth bags, keeping them in offices and in the backs of cars. In this case, plastic bags were not outlawed, but had just become socially unacceptable. 

As well, China, which had formerly consumed more plastic bags than any other country in the world and squandered 37 million barrels of crude oil solely reserved for plastic bag production every year, banned the bags last year..

Banning bags and creating a tax for them, is a trend that can be seen across the US and the world currently. In some places like Australia, it was the social norm long ago. In this article, which appeared in the Sydney Herald in 2005, it discussed "reusable grocery bags" being the norm everywhere one went. At the same time though, the girth of the article explained how the bags that so many people are using are made out of practically the same thing that the plastic bags we're trying to get of are made of and how when not recycled, they too present a problem. While this is true and presents a problem in it's own right, at least it's not a single usage bag. Most of the time that people use these, they carry not only their groceries in them, but also take them to the beach, use them to carry things to work, school, and storage around the house. Ideally, cloth would be better, but also would be more expensive and unless it was organically grown and free of bleach and all those other harmful things, you're running into more issues as well. Keeping on the good side of mother earth and what you can do can be quite overwhelming and confusing at times. But just keep in mind that while one answer to the problem is only slightly better than another, together... every little thing that you can do helps. Reduce your consumption, reuse your items and recycle when you can.  

Speaking locally of plastic bags, I'll note that the swell folks over at Wend Magazine have been working with the local Surfrider group and Patagonia on their "Ban the Bag" campaign to end the use of plastic bags in Portland. If you’re in the Portland area, you’ll want to swing by the Patagonia store in the Pearl and check out the display that tells all about the plague of single use plastics and encourages banning plastic bags in Portland. Also at the store you can pick up (for a mere $22) a Ban the Bag t-shirt that helps support the cause, and even better, you can grab a "Ban the Bag" reusable bag for $3 and you’ll never have to use a plastic bag again. If you don't live in the Portland area but want to support the cause, bags and shirts will soon be available for sale on the Oregon Chapter of Surfrider website. If you'd like to sign the petition to create a ban (20 cent mandatory fee) on plastic bags within the City of Portland, to prevent marine debris, encourage the use of reusable bags and decrease our dependence on fossil fuels, you can sign up here. 

(Recently, I've been so impressed by Surfrider and their support of banning plastic bags in Portland and the work they've been doing on behalf of our oceans, that on Earth Day last month, I decided to put my wallet where my mouth was and I joined the organization.) 

Speaking of Surfrider, they are a big proponent of people picking up their butts on the beach. I don't know what it is exactly about cigarettes that make people think they don't count as trash... but they are. In fact, for the size and sheer amount of waste they produce a year... added with the toxins that are released from the butts, they are some of the most harmful basic pollutants on our beaches and in our water supplies. A recent study by San Diego State University found that even one cigarette butt in a liter of water can kill a fish in a period of 96 hours. SDSU Health Professors and other members of the Cigarette Butt Advisory Group are pushing for the items to be classified as hazardous waste and for new, tighter requirements for disposal.

Anyways, back to the bags....I went to the Patagonia store the other week to pick up a Ban the Bag bag and support the cause (I don't need another t-shirt, regardless of how good the cause is!) and I came across some t-shirts that had very familiar artwork on them.

 

The artwork belongs to none other than one of my favorite illustrators, Jay Ryan, who works out of his Chicago studio called The Bird Machine, creating posters for concerts and other exciting things of note. I love his strange animal laden artwork and was thrilled the other year when I got to meet him at Bumbershoot. 

(So yeah, I said I didn't need another t-shirt, but the polar bear one is cute and the Freedom to Roam shirt proceeds go to support programs that educate people and government about protecting ancient migration for animals and their natural habitats, so it is kinda tempting).

a day dream

I originally wrote this on a particularly dreary January day here in Portland. In my mind there were many other places I wanted to be at that time, and one of those was my summer camp in Maine. And now, here at the beginning of May, as schools are wrapping up, the sun is shining and people are making their summertime plans, I'm aware that for so many it warrants a return to Camp Tapawingo. While I am happy that my current summertime plans involve mountains, bike rides, beer, camping and graphic design here in Portland, Oregon... I'm always going to get a little nostalgic for my days there and the great people whose lives interacted among those tall pine trees. Anyways, here is that post. (I'm catching up on reposts from my old myspace blog).

  

It's funny because recently my mind has been inidated with thoughts of my favorite place in the whole wide world, Camp Tapawingo, located in the tiny hamlet of Sweden Maine, the tranquil place where I spent five summers of my young adult life. Be it a random thought of my favorite Maine beer (Alagash), looking up at the deep dark Maine sky, a song we always used to sing, jokes we made, an awesome day off spent hiking or canoeing, the best place to grab breakfast, a favorite camper, or trouble we should have gotten into but didn't.... my mind has been thinking back to those days and those people that have been so influential to me and the person i am today. 

For example, this morning during my spin class, my mind wondered off midway through the torturous 11min hill climb and settled into a peaceful day dream of climbing the hills and rolling roads near my summer camp on my bike. It took me back to so many mornings at camp that were spent doing exactly that. Almost every morning, I'd be up and out of bed by 6am. With the morning sun creeping through the window, I'd throw my clothes on and step out into the crisp and fresh Maine morning air before any of the campers or fellow staffers awoke.

Twice a week I'd make my way down the big hill and descend the steps that reached down to the lake. There, with the morning fog burning off the surface, I'd lay my towel on the deck, slip my goggles around my head and ever so quietly, dip into the still water. I'd push off the splintery wood and make my way across, breaking the surface with every breast stroke till I reached the rock on the other side. Once there, I'd sit for a minute and look back across the waters I'd passed through, up to the tall pine trees and then to the Main Lodge, perched ever so perfectly on the hill bathed in morning light. 

On the other mornings, I'd lace up my tennis shoes and walk over to the Den to sign myself out of camp. I'd walk to the edge of the camp border, just underneath the Camp Tapawingo sign, and from there I would run down the bumpy camp road, past the cemetery, all the way till it reached St. Route 93. Once here, I'd turn left and make my way down the massive road only to run back up the other side where it turned into Bridgeton Road, then turn around and do the whole thing over again. That hill is the hill of my dreams, I've never faced a hill so formable and impressive, that just to look at it, to drive up it, to hear your car engine kick in overdrive... would make your heart pound. It wasn't so much the steepness, but it was that once you reached the crest of the hill... you were that much closer to camp. That much closer to home, to your family away from your family, to people that understood you, and people you loved.

Then, every once and a while when I had more time to kill, I'd get out my bike and take it as far as I could in as short of an amount of time as I could. I'd ride it up and down the curvy hills, through swarms of black flies, through the pine trees and past the apple orchards and small farm houses that reached all the way to the next town. When there, once again, I'd turn around ... and then come back to camp. I always wanted to take that bike and ride it just a little bit farther each time, but duty would always call and I'd have to get back to either get to breakfast or to teach my next class. I never got enough time...

So, this morning, when pounding away on the stationary bike, thinking of challenging hills, I thought about that hill. I thought about how scared I was the first time my car reared up over it, I thought about all the people I didn't know who resided there in this place I'd never been. I thought about how just after one day, i felt at ease and at home, and I thought about how even though the faces and the stories always changed at camp, the challenges and the friendships were as ever present as that hill. And lastly, I thought about that sunshine and how it peered through the pines. How there was always one pinnacle moment in the summer, when you noticed the light had changed and at that moment, you accepted that fall and it's changes were on the way. 

I long to go back to my summer home. Though I won't be able to work at camp for a very long time to come, I toy often with the idea of visiting again. In the summers between the summers I worked there 1999-2006, I'd often fly up for a long weekend, meet with other formers counselor friends of mine, and return to camp once again to visit my friends and my family at this beloved home, far off in the Maine woods. Now, I live so very far away so trips are few and far between. This next time i visit though, I'm going to find a way to rent a nice road bike. And instead of driving up that big hill for a reunion of my favorite place... I'm going to ride my bike. I'll start from a long distance off and I'll ride and ride. (I did 70ish straight miles two weekends ago without any problems, so I figure a 100 plus ride, for starters, would be adequate, no?). Anyways, once I ride up that big hill and I turn down the bumpy road that takes me back underneath the large Camp Tapawingo sign, I won't have to worry about turning around to make it to someplace else, I will be at my destination. I will be home.

it's in my bones

So, recently my brother joined facebook and so last week, I spent some time pouring through the old albums I've posted on facebook, tagging him in every slightly embarrassing photo I came across. Many of the photos I really enjoy were shot during our family vacations. Every summer, for two weeks it seemed, the Levo family would pack up their station wagon or conversion van... and head out on the road to new uncharted territories. Many of these were enroute of my dad's Ham Radio Conventions and then some were the pursuit of my dad contacting someone in every county in every state in the USA via his Ham Radio. Which, is a pretty good reason why I can proudly say that I've visited 48 out of 50 states in this great country. Had I been a little older at the time, I'm sure I would remember our vacations to be just like the Griswalds trek out west to Wally World, but at this stage of my youth... it was more about finding creative ways to entertain ourselves in the car.

My brother and I passed the time by drawing, telling stories, and listening to music. These years, we hadn't quite developed our own taste of music yet either, so we were at the whims of whatever our parents seemed to be listening to. I always found that most of my friends parents introduced them at an early age to the Beatles, Billie Joel, Pink Floyd, Steve Miller Band, etc, which then influenced the type of music they currently listen to and enjoy. As well, when I look back on my childhood, I can easily say the same things, but for me... the artists that come to mind are the Beach Boys, Neil Diamond, The Righteous Brothers, Dolly Parton, Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross, Juice Newton, Johnny Cash, Kenny Rogers, Fleetwood Mac, Bee Gees, Abba, etc. These are the cassette tapes that my parents had in our car that we would listen to over and over and over again. (I mean, there is a lot of time between Hillsboro, Ohio and Denver, Colorado.) Also, add in the fact that my dad also moonlighted as a radio DJ at our local radio station, WSRW, and when I visited my grandparents over in the neighboring town of New Vienna at their shop, Red Dot Trophies, the radio was always on. Overall, I'd say I listened to a lot of music. However, I'd never really taken the time to think about how those early years influenced me till I've begun the search in my later years, to personally find the music that makes me happy. Time and time again, I go back to my roots of what I would consider "semi country folky alternative pop". Granted, it's nothing you're gonna hear on the radio anytime soon... but if you know the demographic and the style, you know what I mean.

Anyways, just like looking at old photos of my brother and I, I thought I'd take you down a little bit of jenn levo memory lane of the songs that made up my childhood. 

Kenny and Dolly - Islands in the Stream
(This song was my first record that I ever owned. I think I got this and the Muppets Take Manhattan* Soundtrack at the same time. Anyways, hands down, this is one of my favorite songs ever and it started an everlasting love between me and miss Dolly and men who look like Kenny Rogers. In fact, every saturday growing up when we'd go to the roller skating rink (it was the 80's) I'd request this song. Love Love Love.

Juice Newton - Queen of Hearts
We had Juice Newton's Greatest Hits on cassette and I think my brother and I burnt it up we played it so much.

Another album that probably melted from being overplayed in our household was also Dionne Warwick's Greatest Hits. This is why, this scene was my favorite part of the movie, My Best Friends Wedding.

The Beach Boys - Wouldn't It Be Nice
My first band loves! In fact, the Beach Boys were the first concert I ever went to back at the Ohio State Fair. It was probably the first time I smelt pot, but I probably couldn't tell you what it was other than... what's that funny smell mom? But hands down, no one had better harmonies than the Beach Boys.

Neil Diamond- Sweet Caroline
To me, my mom will always be an amazing person... but three things about her will always stand out to me A) her love for Penn State and Joe Paterno, and B) her belief that Roberto Clemente was the best baseball player ever, and C) her love for Neil Diamond. 

Fleetwood Mac - Dreams
This song reminds me of going to my dad's radio station and waiting for his shift to be over to pick him up. We'd run down the hallway to his studio and look in the window, waiting for the "on air" light to come on and watch him talk and listen to him over the radio at the same time. It always amazed me.

Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes
If you asked me what the first song I remember hearing over and over and being conscious of, I would... without a doubt, tell you it was this song.

Billie Joel - Uptown Girl
And, I can't embed this, but this is the first video I actually remember watching. This was actually one of the first gifts I can vividly recall deciding to purchase for my mom, who loved this song. Growing up, I always imagined my mom as being the Christie Brinkley in this video and my dad as the really lucky guy who got her. 

* = Muppets Take Manhattan.
This movie is probably one of the first places I started an interest in advertising. Jim Henson and his creations were such an important part of my youth that I was greatly saddened when he died suddenly in 1990. I could write about ten billion blogs about Fraggle Rock, the Muppet Show, Sesame Street, Emmett Otter and his Jug Band, The Bunny Picnic, etc... but alas... that's another day.

(originally posted April 1, 2009)