David Sanders:  

Chronicles of Dave My earliest recollections are of living in Firth, ID. I was one year old, or so they tell me, when we moved there, and about eight when we left. Since Dad was a pastor we ended up living in a lot of interesting places. My best friends in Firth were Clinton Tew and Tracy Hunter. I wonder if you guys would even still remember me. I think all the boys in my second or third grade class were in love with Colene Hall. Colene, Colene, I was your most foolish secret admirer. And Cora Burgess, you were the friendliest girl! You always made people feel at ease, always encouraging. That is a great gift! From Firth to Wolf Point, MT. That's on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Interesting times. Best friends were Craig Tapaha and Gary Hesch. My favorite memory there was when David Story, the national drug speaker, came and talked to the community about his life of crime and drugs and salvation. Remember how he had that table for arm wrestling and we all got to try our strength on one another? Next was Orofino, ID. Dad didn't pastor at this time and it was a difficult time for the family with us three oldest kids becoming teenagers. I don't know, I guess by the time you get to high school if you haven't lived in a place for at least most of your life it is hard to really fit in and make friends. So I can't really say I had a best friend, although Todd Osterberg and I hung out a lot and he helped me get my first job. I would have to say I appreciated James Cermack's personality - really an awesome guy who was maybe just as shy as I was. (Again, I apologize for my spelling of names, James!) Jerry O'Brien was another classmate whose company I enjoyed. We were in Dave Dankl's Isshinryu class together for a while. Thanks, Jerry, for pushing me in the boys restroom upstairs at the high school. The broken sink was not an act of vandalism as was assumed, just an accident. Right, Jerry? I can still picture that thing dropping away from me, getting smaller and smaller. November of 1986, We moved to Cordova, Alaska. I have to write that out, "ALASKA." That was an amazing and cold trip up the ALCAN Highway (see pictures). I still remember the day I first began to be proud of not just living in Alaska, but about being a Cordovan. That was the day Scott Guse pointed out the Bear and the Lady on Mount Eccles to me. I thought, "wow, and we live here." After I graduated and came home one summer from college, Mt. Redoubt had blown ash all over everything. Remember that? I wrote a poem about it and about how the Lady was covered with grey. Someone, let me know if the newspaper ever does a memories column about stuff like that and I'll send it in...if I can find it. Let's see, friends... friends... ...Expand for more