“I can do anything you can do, better! I can do anything, better than you! Yes, I can, yes I can, yes I can!” — Irving Berlin
Seventy handicapped children and young adults rose above their challenges to master new skills, row a raft, swim in sparkling waters, set up their tents and help out with serving during four recent days on the Rogue River. One young man who used to beat on the washer and dryer at his group home was discovered to be a natural drummer; he played in the band we danced to under the stars. Another young girl walked up to the stage with a little pink guitar and the musicians welcomed her to play with them. And when the rafts were loaded up and the water fights began, every child, regardless of abilities, managed to get themselves and everyone else wet—squealing, laughing and beating on the sides of the boat with their bailing jugs.
I wish you all could have shared in their laughter as it drifted along with us and delighted our souls. We join together to send heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped raise the funds to once again take these youngsters on our annual camping and river-rafting trip on the Rogue. It is awesome to give them an opportunity to row a raft, dance to a band each evening and swim in the middle of the river—young volunteers swimming beside them—with nothing but forest, sheer cliffs and the clean river all around. They watched in awe as deer with their fawns came down to the water’s edge to drink and as osprey dove beside them, snatching up a fish, shaking to shed the water and soaring aloft to present their catch to their babies, whose heads peeked out of their nest. Turtles plopped into the water from where they were sunning on the rocks, and some campers saw an eagle. We all saw many great blue herons, snowy egrets and flocks of Canada geese flying over our heads so close we could hear the wind in their wings and look into their golden eyes. (The kids all attempted to honk in answer to their calls.) These are rare treats for children who reside in group homes.
We camped at Indian Mary Campground, in Galice, Ore., the smallest Indian reservation in the country. It was donated to Josephine County by the original owners Indian Mary and Umpah Joe so that the families in the area would always have a lovely wilderness to enjoy and direct access to the river. The campground is lush and green, heavily treed with lots of shade and rolling meadows. We are grateful to be allowed to reserve a site in this serene place; we felt it was our family home for those four delightful days.
Everyone on the trip volunteers their time. The rafts are loaned to us and the rowers take time off work to come with us each August. The folks who shop for food, cook for weeks ahead and come to serve do it out of love. And the food! Homemade muffins at breakfast and French toast with fresh-picked blackberries, barbecued tri-tip and chicken, hot fudge sundaes for dessert, homemade lasagna, luscious salads made with ingredients from everyone’s gardens—to name a few of the treats.
Our largest expenses are the bus that transports us to and from Oregon, the insurance for the trip, camping fees, the two handicapped-accessible toilet facilities we rent and the food to feed the rafters and volunteers. The trip is offered free to all. Heartfelt thanks go to all of you who attended our paella dinner fundraiser, sponsored and hosted by Marnie and Whitt Jackson at their home in Nicasio; to those who got in touch when they learned what we were doing and sent so many generous checks; and to everyone who put money in the can on the counter in the hardware store, which kindly allows us to raise funds this way every year. We could never do it without you. We do indeed get by with a great deal of help from our friends.
The driver who busses us every year tells me that his year starts and ends with this trip. He says the love, caring, camaraderie and sharing of victories and joys that he experiences with us carries him over until it’s August once again and he heads to Nicasio to pick us up at 5 a.m. One young man who volunteered on the trip for the first time told me, “You could never have properly explained this to me. You have to be here, among all these people, all this joy, all this love, to understand.” He plans to be with us again next year.
From all of us to all of you, bless you for helping this miracle happen, each and every August. We send you our love and gratitude.
Joyce Goldfield has been leading rafting trips for disabled youth for 37 years. She lives in Inverness.