Oregon, You Trouble And Amaze Us

Oregon, You Amaze & Trouble Us

We prepare to leave Oregon more troubled than when we moved from the state three-plus years ago.

The state of the state is not good.

Oh, I have hope and believe it can and will become a land of common sense, as it was decades ago.

To get there will be a tumultuous journey and not one for the faint of heart.

On this trip, we met folks from Lyons to Aumsville, Portland to Columbia County.

Former state senators to current legislators.

Loggers, timber executives, mill workers, and Oregonians, doing all they can to progress the state forward, not backwards, as leaders seem to be hellbent on doing.

I leave more committed than ever to give others fighting for Oregon, the information needed to not complain but battle the seen and unseen forces using Oregon as a pawn.

We must silence the far-fetched and give voice to common sense.

The gray areas need a hard, black line so the public can distinguish the difference.

Five weeks is a long time to be gone from home.

We will always love Oregon and stoke the passion to fight for this place.

My grandson is a 7th-generation Oregonian, and I am a 5th-generation Oregonian.

That history doesn’t go away when you move.

While my heart will always have a large chunk here, the part that lives and beats is no longer Oregon.

Freedom is too damn important to me to live stifled by crazy.

Freedom is not just alluring, but when you lose it, as we did in Oregon, and find it again in Montana, that freedom becomes so important to your state of mind.

The nice thing about the world we live in is that I can live in Montana and still fight for Oregon.

It’s all about having contacts, providing context, and being bold in your battle plan.

The main reason we made this trip to Oregon was to meet our new grandson, Niko.

He is the reason we fight for this place.

I want to make sure he grows up, not in a state of ridiculous ignorance but in a state that does what Oregon used to do: dream.

Denial is not a state that brings hope or a future.

The original pioneers risked everything to settle this part of the country and make it great.

I want to see that kind of Oregon for my grandchildren and yours.

We shouldn’t have to leave a place to experience freedom.

I’m ready to go home.

I’m excited to see my mountains, my friends, and sit in my house looking out at Big Sky country and experience the sense of calm that comes over you when you know you are truly free.