PLSO Oregon Surveyor Nov/Dec 2019

Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org 3 From the Editor know a little bit about Reikki so when I learned that she had never been to see the Redwoods in northern California, I made a point of taking her there. Imag- ine my confusion upon our arrival in the Jedediah Smith grove near Eureka, where I looked over at her in the passenger seat of my pickup and saw that she was cry- ing. Of course I was puzzled and being incredibly naïve about all things Reikki, I simply asked her, what was the matter? After all, these monstrous old trees had never evoked such an emotion in me! I would simply stand there at the base of one of these ancient monsters and look toward their top with nothing but a feel- ing of awe. What was I missing? I didn’t realize that this friend of mine understood the story these old trees had to tell and the tears she shed were an expression of their sadness. To this day I’ve never claimed to be able to talk with trees or listen to their voices, but I do know that when I’m among them some feeling comes over me that is un- like anything I’ve experienced. I liken it to the feeling you get when you come home after being away for a long time. All the memories come flooding in. The sights, smells and sounds trigger an im- mediate transport back to some point in my past. I always come away frommy walks in the forest, wherever that may be, with a sense of rebirth, as if my spiritual cup has been refilled! My wife has even commented that the change that comes over me after hiking through the woods is obvious. When I’ve been cooped up in the house for too long, she can tell that it’s time for me to get out there for a lit- tle forest therapy. Now I’ve got to believe youmust be think- ing that old Greg has gone completely bonkers, but those of you who enjoy go- ing out into the forest should look within your own soul and I’m sure you’ll be- gin to understand, but I’ve been circling around my point in this editorial. You’ve seen the advertisement in the magazine that I’m looking for a replacement so I can move on to other things unrelated to surveying, but then I’ve always sought out things that rekindle my sense of won- der. It’s getting more and more difficult for me to capture that feeling within the context of my career. Like a gnarly old tree that the loggers overlooked, I need to find some other way to tell my stories. To tell them in such a way that there are those out there that understand what I have to say and are willing to stop and listen. While I was working, I had my head down and my eyes focused on the path laid out by my career. I don’t need to do that anymore. When I took the position of editor of this magazine it was with the avowed purpose of raising the profes- sional bar with a magazine that contained interesting articles intended to upgrade the general knowledge of our readers, approach a more literary construct and where each issue was anticipated by the membership. Having received two nation- al editorial awards in the past two years, and with the help of Benjamin Caulder of LLM Publications, along with my ed- itorial staff, we’ve even won a national award for the magazine. I think I’ve ac- complished what I set out to do. It’s time to bring on some fresh perspective to the task. I think Brian Portwood will do an excellent job.  x