<p>Rich Wandschneider</p>

Sunday night and a blank computer screen looking at me. Its not that I dont have anything to write about, but how to sort out all that goes on in my head and the world and make connections that make sense to me and that might resonate with you. Not for you to agree or disagree with, but to chew on and think about, maybe help you remember something or even chuckle a bit.

Theres Bill Fisher to think about. Bill was mayor of Wallowa when I came in 1971, still pumping gas and fixing cars alongside mayoral duties. Which gets me to thinking about all the Wallowans I met in those years: Orrin Kirkeby in his dark bank office and cases of coke and the time he called me late one night to ask me to help him get the Mingo Motel open before Chief Joseph Days. (Which involved Bud Stangel flying me to Portland early the next morning to get plumbing plans signed off on at the state health office.)

And the Johnsons. Clifford Johnson was on the County Court, Howard and Reid were ranchers, and Hubert was the plumber and electrician and everyman in Wallowa, and Tiny Johnson was the town cop in Enterprise who gave me a ticket for making a u-turn in front of his office on Main Street in Enterprise my first week, and Lola Hopkins was a Johnson drawing pictures for greeting cards and writing stories. And Gene Wycoff, who worked for the outfit I worked for, the Oregon State Extension Servicethough he was in Corvallis and I was here in the countywas married to a Johnson. 

Years later, when I had the bookstore, I suggested to Tom Johnson, who was then an Extension Agent in Washington, that he make up a chart with all the Wallowa County Johnsons on it and if we only sold it to Johnsons wed do fine on it.

Bill Fisher and I got back together with the powwow and the Nez Perce Homeland project in Wallowa. Bill was a calm and determined man about that. He and Taz Conner and Terry Crenshaw and a few others from Wallowa had taken the bit when the Oregon Historic Trails Committee said they would have money available to help commemorate Oregon Trailsand the shortest and only trail leading OUT of Oregon was the Nez Perce Trail the Joseph Band had taken when chased out of here in 1877.

Joseph and Enterprise had listened politely to the Trail Committees possibilities but had passed on them. The Wallowans rose to do something, and thought their case would be stronger if they had countywide support. Soon Ralph Swinehart, Rob Lamb, Joe McCormack and I started traveling to meetings in Terry Crenshaws classroom. And after looking at land near the forks of the rivers where the Indians used to meet and where Old Joseph was first buried and being turned down by some landowners the McCraes sold us the land and made the current powwow grounds, dance arbor, and soon to be long house possible. 

Bill was the Wallowa old-timer who was in on it at the beginning, not afraid of casino talk or Indians owning land in the county, and right up to his death. He was a pleasure to be with and work with, and at his service men came from nearby reservations to honor him and publicly thank the family and community for Bills friendship.

Thinking funerals leads me to the little girl in Tucson killed by the fame seeker whod targeted a Congresswoman, shot but not killed her, but killed six others including her. It turns out she was a registered organ donor, and another girl is now alive because of her! Nine years old and thinking like that, going into student politics and going to meet her Congresswoman, thinking that she might make differences in the world.

Id started to write about her but worried that it was too far removed from you, my readers. Then Bill Fisher brought it all together, how politics and good neighborliness can be healing.

And the amazing thing about writing these columns is that I never know quite where theyll go, but writing it down sometimes clears my own thoughts or gives me a new one. Tonight Ill go to sleep thinking how Bill Fisher and young Christina-Taylor Green, who lived in different places and one for a long time, one a mere nine years, both in their ways made the world a better place.