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We are the Luminaries

August 8, 2023 by Watt Childress 2 Comments

We are the Luminaries
coo coo cachoo

Friendly Nehalem Gathering
Featuring a Mind-Glowing Story

Porch at Riverside Food-Carts
Wednesday August 16, 2023
7:30 pm till Dark

The Oregon coast becomes a superstar during peak tourist season.
Visitors surge into our homeplace, sometimes like screaming groupies.
Residents must adapt to life in a crowded bubble of celebrity.

Thankfully August brings bright marine dinoflagellates here
to help us through the final stretch of summer.
Our eukaryote kin remind us that every living cell hosts inner starlight.
We counter pressures on the spaces we cherish by combining our shine.

Yes, bioluminescence is a perfect metaphor for community spirit.
Resilience glows when we celebrate mutual respect and dispel misunderstandings.
A primordial way for humans to grow this radiance is through storytelling.

My friend Mark Nelson told me one of the best stories I’ve ever heard
while standing on a local sidewalk, which affirmed the sacred nature of our locality.
He recalled the magical mystery of a personal encounter with superstardom
when he was 6 years old. Now shimmering in our 60s,
Mark is joining me to share this true story as part of a healing community talk.
We’re conspiring to spread fresh faith in humanity’s capacity for love.

Afterwards, depending on the elements, we’ll lead a phosphorescent frolic by the docks.
Everyone can sing-a-long to a few pop psalms and reground our shared local fame,
then maybe jump in the river for a baptismal swim with psychedelic cousins.
Children of all ages are welcome, including prodigal hippies.
No need for drugs or alcohol.

Filed Under: Happenings, ULE

About Watt Childress

Watt owns Jupiter's Books in Cannon Beach, Oregon and he publishes the Upper Left Edge. He has written for HIPFiSH, The Daily Astorian, The North Coast Citizen, The Seaside Signal, The Oregonian, and The Vancouver Observer. Also Appalachian Magazine, The Kingsport Times-News, The Tennessean, The Third Eye, Farmazine, The Griot, and Presbyterian Survey. His lettered compulsion took a turn, thirty-some years ago, when he began sending odd columns to the Reverend Billy Lloyd Hults, former publisher of The Upper Left Edge. Watt lives on a tiny hill-farm perched beside the Nehalem Valley. There he and his kin care for dairy goats, chickens, ducks, dogs, newts and other critters.

Comments

  1. Scott Hardy says

    August 8, 2023 at 8:07 pm

    We are all glowing and growing!

    If I can’t be there in person, I will be sending you light and love.

    Reply
  2. Logan James Garner says

    August 8, 2023 at 10:43 pm

    This is a beautiful poem, Watt. While I won’t be in town for the event, I am already sufficiently envious. I’ll be there in spirit!

    Take a plunge into that starlit river for me. Cheers.

    Reply

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Readers’ Comments

  • Watt Childress
    June 13, 2026 at 2:40 pm
    on Reverend Billy wants Oregon to Legalize Potlucks
    I can see how one comes to that conclusion, given all the frustration that accompanies disempowerment. Here's a truth that
  • DHCG
    June 7, 2026 at 2:49 pm
    on Reverend Billy wants Oregon to Legalize Potlucks
    “ They could encourage togetherness by example, tee-up other practical reforms to help free folks from the overreach of top-down
  • Susan Banyas
    June 7, 2026 at 11:00 am
    on Opening the Book of Indigenous Grief
    "The future is made from grief that has been grieved." Thank you Cliff. Thank you Little People, for this gift
  • Watt Childress
    June 6, 2026 at 4:18 pm
    on Reverend Billy wants Oregon to Legalize Potlucks
    I imagine most members of city and county governments here on the coast support open community potlucks. It would help
  • Watt Childress
    June 6, 2026 at 4:13 pm
    on Reverend Billy wants Oregon to Legalize Potlucks
    I'd like to believe it would never get to that point, where someone would be penalized with a fine and/or
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