That’s right: October 18, 2025, “No Kings Day,” will go down in American history as a defining day for our troubled, imperiled democracy.
The protests were mobilized around one theme: that in the United States we have no kings. And they took place to challenge the authority of a sitting president and his administration that have falsely called peaceful American cities, like my hometown of Portland, Oregon, “war zones.”
Current estimates peg the number of protesters at 7 million, at least, in more than 2,600 locations, spread throughout every state.
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Every Friday since early April I have been joining a group of mostly older (like me) Portland residents at peaceful protests on Portland’s Sellwood Bridge during the Friday night, after-work rush hour.
The local organizers live in southeast Portland, like me, not far from Sellwood Bridge. The bridge is found on the south side of Portland, straddling the Willamette River. It’s a busy corridor for traffic heading from mostly Democratic and left-of-center leaning Multnomah County to a more evenly split jurisdiction politically, Clackamas County, which lies the south.
The organizers call their weekly civic event “Friday protests on the Sellwood Bridge.” It is an apt name. Their mission is simple too: “Our goal is to encourage our community to stay engaged and to use our voices and First Amendment rights to protest any erosion of our Constitutional freedoms or functioning government.”
The last event took place on Friday, May 30, 2025. My photos, all intentionally hiding most of the faces of the participants, were taken at the protest under sunny, warm skies.
That night, from about 5:30-7 p.m., over 75 folks assembled on the Sellwood Bridge to defend our country, exercise protected speech, and engage hundreds and hundreds of rush-hour commuters. We come with our own signs—painted, drawn, or marked out with Sharpies. Participants can also use the many more professional signs and repurposed but evergreen cardboard signs brought by the organizers.
On the last Friday of May 2025, the horn energy was righteous under the early summer sun.
Supporters in the passing rush hour cars, and also cyclists, outnumbered the few angry white male bird flippers by about a ratio of 25-1. That was encouraging.
Like previous weeks, I saw the outrage and solidarity in people’s faces. They showed with their expressions they were all in on the resistance themes. I observed how they leaned into their horns, giving protesters a thumbs ups, pumping their fists, and even yelling in support.
For the commuters, they see people engaged. They see protest happening. They see the signs focusing on: cuts to Medicaid, violations of due process, cuts to our federal health system, illegal firings of tens of thousands of federal workers, threats to the environment and education, the gutting of our federal bureaucracy, the illegal disappearance of lawful residents to gulags out of the United States, and more.
The drivers recognize that their frustration and outrage at the ongoing coup to the U.S. Constitution is not a personal assault, but one shared by their neighbors and our country. And man, were they laying in on the horns on May 30, 2025.
The Sellwood Bridge Protest logo
The importance of showing up, week after week
The protests each Friday on the Sellwood Bridge are all organic, with almost no coordination, outside of weekly email reminders.
A few people started the civil actions in February 2025, and they have grown. The entire purpose is to keep showing up, to keep calling out the violations of law by the current president, and to demand a restoration of law and the end of corruption and lawbreaking by the current administration of President Donald Trump, a convicted felon.
What’s important about the events each week is the consistency of civil disobedience and the act of protest.
Renown historian of 20th century tyranny, Professor Timothy Snyder of the University of Toronto, in an interview on May 31, 2025, with MSNBC’s host Ali Velshi, said, “Democracy is a verb.” It’s not a static thing. It’s action. When there is action, others engage, and the acts themselves become part of a system that is vital to human goodness.
I think Snyder described the value of action so perfectly: “But we also have to recognize that it’s not on any one of us to solve the whole thing. Right. So each of us does a little bit, and together that changes the whole landscape.”
I plan to keep going to these events as long as my democracy is under siege, and it looks like it will be a long and painful four years, at least.
Protesters against the administration of President Donald Trump numbered at least 3,000 and shared a diverse range of creative protest signs, defending American democracy.
On the weekend marking the 250th anniversary of the first shots fired in the American Revolution against a tyrannical monarch and the British Empire, at least 3,000 people gathered in downtown Portland, Oregon to protest the administration of President Donald Trump.
The April 19, 2025 events kicked off at Pioneer Square, a gathering place for many public events in the city, and then the march took over the streets for over an hour. Protesters represented all ages and carried a wide array of colorful, creative, and biting signs criticizing Trump, Elon Musk, and the administration for its many actions. I saw about a dozen Portland police officers following on bikes, but mostly there was no visible law enforcement presence based on my observations.
There was no need for any police given the entirely peaceful nature of the civil action by thousands of people exercising their protected speech, as allowed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The day was a fitting one too.
Nationally some have dubbed collective national protests on April 19, 2025, as “No Kings Day, Part II.” The reasons for unrest today have a striking similarity to what happened two and a half centuries ago, as British forces gathered in Massachusetts to confront increasingly rebellious colonial residents.
The issues that led to the first conflict of the American Revolution—the right to self-determination, liberty, democracy, the rule of law, a life free from the power of kings—helped to forge a nation 13 years later, in 1788.
That year, the newly christened United States of America was created through the adoption of a founding charter, the Constitution. While revolutionary, it was also terribly marred and flawed by enshrining slavery, our country’s greatest sin. It would still take over two centuries to guarantee the document’s original promise for all persons.
This framework for a nation, set forth in the Constitution, called for a system of checks and balances by three branches of government: the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. On April 19, 2025, in Portland, people gathered with deep and profound concern that this sacred charter had been irrevocably broken by a man who has proclaimed himself to be a king.
At these protests in Portland, the residents who gathered to assemble recalled our original bold vision for a country with their calls for accountability, the rule of law, and the safeguarding of our democratic freedoms. Their demands reminded us all of our daring experiment to forge a more perfect union, stretching from 1775 to 1788, and grounded in our Constitution: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
Lastly, I observed few persons from a group being targeted for enforcement and deportation action by this administration: Latinos. There was a lot of chatter online by some of the organizers (I can’t confirm who the organizers are based on published posts), who said it would be safe for all people. However, many Latinos are fearful in Oregon, given the cancellations this month of upcoming Latino cultural events statewide. I believe they do not want to be seen, photographed, or filmed at these events. There were very few African Americans too. The lack of diversity at this event is telling and needs to be discussed.
(Click on each photo to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)
Portland does get its summer concerts in the parks right, even if so many other things are not going well.
We have a lot of issues now in our city, from a wave of gun violence to massive open air drug use of deadly fentanyl, and the failure of our community to meet these and other challenges. These problems have also led to an exodus of nearly 3 percent of Multnomah County’s population since 2020.
In fact, this week, the local weekly newspaper, Willamette Week, published a litany of woes that national and international journalists have shared about the falling star that Portland has become from its quirky, almost rock star status less than a decade ago.
“Portland is on a short list of destination cities for national media,” wrote the Willamette Week. “Rather than a model, however, we have become a cautionary tale. It wasn’t long ago that the nation’s leading newspapers and magazines regularly wrote the same glowing profile of the Rose City—a lovably weird outpost wedged between the Cascades and the Pacific where colorful (but mostly white) residents pedaled tall bikes while playing the bagpipes, eating Voodoo doughnuts, and slurping elderflower-flavored kombucha.”
The Voodoo doughnuts and bagpipes were always absurdities and click-bait style gimmicks disconnected from lived reality of nearly everyone who lives here, but that’s what feeds the media and social media appetites.
Portland, and its countless brand messengers, ran with it, until the city hit the brick wall of harsh reality. This collision of fantasy and reality has made us a model of what can go wrong with civic life and the brute truth of complex issues like gun violence, deadly opioid-fueled drug use, mental health disorders, gentrification, racial disparities, political experiments gone amok, and more.
Despite our many issues, the city can still put on some good public events that bring together diverse residents. That was on display on July 15, 2023, at the great public park near my home, Sellwood Park.
The Portland-based Latin Music group Conjunto Alegre dished up the standards of salsa, merengue, cumbia, bachata, cha-cha, and more. This is a wonderful and eclectic ensemble from the diaspora of musicians from Latin countries who call Portland home.
Even dance-challenged–and yes, mostly white–Portlanders were on their feet dancing. The band had fun. The crowd had fun. Kids had fun. The breeze cooled all of us down at the end of a hot day. And for a couple of hours, the magic of Portland had returned. I loved it!
Rare calm waves visited the north coast of Oregon on March 18, 2023, bringing out dozens of surfers from miles around.
As my work day closed on the first day of spring, when those in the Northern Hemisphere recognize the vernal equinox, I also learned it was another important day.
Since July 2012, the United Nations has recognized March 20 as “the International Day of Happiness, recognizing the relevance of happiness and well-being as universal goals and aspirations in the lives of human beings around the world and the importance of their recognition in public policy objectives.”
The promise of a day surfing brings out my best, always.
The first day honoring happiness was observed on March 20, 2013. And I have been ignorant of the event for more than 10 years, it appears. Shame on me.
In its naming of a day dedicated to happiness, the body also “recognized the need for a more inclusive, equitable and balanced approach to economic growth that promotes sustainable development, poverty eradication, happiness and the well-being of all peoples.”
I have a lot more work to do to address issues that promote the happiness and well-being of all peoples. I come up far, far short.
From time to time I also need to care for my spirit. I long ago realized I could do little for others if I did not tend to myself. When the weather and free time allow it, I practice self-care in the Pacific Ocean, with a surfboard, to disconnect from things that weigh on me. Surfing for just a couple of hours allows me to just live in the moment to recalibrate my priorities.
By doing this I can better focus on what really matters in my life and what I do for others.
I hope everyone had a great day and will work the rest of the year with the well-being of others in their own, special way.
(Click on each photo to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)
After weeks of planning to cross country ski, I finally did it. I am a bit tired, but feel alive.
Though I now roller ski every week, it is not the same as skiing on snow. There is nothing that compares to Nordic skiing on fresh snow. The workouts are always deeply fulfilling, and I can eat voluminous amounts of food when I am done.
For Nordic skiers of the world, this also is the time of year to Nordic ski the world over, in places where one can ski.
February and the first half of March is when the biggest ski races in the world happen for amateur skiers: the American Birkebeiner in northern Wisconsin at the end of February, the Birkebeinerrennet in central Norway in mid-March, and the biggest, the Vasaloppet races in central Sweden, at the end of February and first weekend of March. I was allowing myself the guilty pleasure of watching videos of these races from past years, but without getting out myself. I grew envious of Swedes and Norwegians who can ski all the time most of the winter. Me, I get wet this time of year, roller skiing in the rain or drizzle in Portland.
Cross-country skiing that is accessible from my home is fickle at best during the winter, and now more unpredictable with climate change disrupting winter weather in my region. The closest ski area is 75 miles away, on Mt. Hood, at a spot called Teacup, on the east face of the mountain. It is pretty, but it mostly has a lot of big descents and big climbs instead of long, flat straightaways. It is nothing like my fun ski life I had in Anchorage, from 2004 to 2010, where I could literally strap on skis and walk 100 feet to a shared used trail on most winter days.
Alas, all the ski videos got the best of me. I was antsy to get to the snow. Then we had a good new dump with consistently cold temperatures to make the drive to Mt. Hood worth it on March 5, 2023.
It was nice to finally skate ski again after 13 months of not being on a trail since my last trip to the Methow Valley. I miss being able to do it often, like I could in Alaska. My 150-mile round trip took four hours, involving some white outs, rain mixed with snow, and icy roads. It was a reminder to me why I may do it only once a year in Oregon and why I stick to roller skiing, which I can do any day of the year.
Yes, I do miss that snow. I am proud to say I face planted my first 10 yards today. I was so used to my roller ski balance I was unready for snow. Quickly, I found my muscle memory and soon was off for nearly three hours of looping the descents and long, lung-busting climbs. I saw nearly 50 cars and a lot of people out. Unfortunately, none of us saw Mt. Hood, which was mostly hidden in the clouds.
I want to give credit to the group that maintains the 24 km of trails here, on the Mt. Hood National Forest, called Teacup Nordic. It is a nonprofit that promotes nature, cross-country skiing, and healthy lifestyles encouraged by outdoor sports. The group is a mostly volunteer-powered. They run the venue and produce programs for kids, families, and adults. They do a good job. On many days, I Iike to see the morning photo of the trail groomer of the Nordic trails he’s groomed, telling skiers about conditions. It is a bright spot when all I see is rain in Portland. Thinking of a snowy trail still makes me smile!
Sellwood after the stormRamen shop, SellwoodSellwood Pool in snow
(Click on each photo to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)
Around 3 p.m. on Feb. 22, 2023, big flakes began falling in my neighborhood in Portland, Ore. I did not think much of it, because the normally accurate National Weather Service’s winter storm warning only called for one to three inches through the next day. And to my surprise it really started falling. By 6 p.m., when I called it a day working at home, nearly three inches of snow had already fallen, and the blowing flakes were still coming down, heavy and wet.
After a nice and soggy snow walk, I settled in, wondering what the next morning would bring.
Much like Bill Murray’s weatherman Phil Connors in Groundhog Day, who finally sees a new day that ends his torment in Punxsutawney, Penn., when I opened the blinds at 5:30 a.m., I saw a massive dump of snow had accumulated. It was far greater than predicted. Our regional weather data gatherers reported Portland recorded the second-largest snowfall in a single day by the time it all ended, with parts of the city recording up to 11 inches of white stuff.
For hundreds of thousands, this historic snowstorm did what we know happens here, by bringing the commute to a crawl. Most drivers in Portland don’t have good winter driving skills, and the excess of large vehicle owners driving recklessly, causing mishap, not to mention trucks jackknifing and shutting down the arterials, paralyzed the evening commute. Countless big and “manly” pick-ups” and SUVs were abandoned, as were the semis, and it turned into a saga of six-hour commutes for many workers. I really felt sorry for most. I had that happen before to me, in Portland’s February 2017 snowstorm. I counted my blessings, as I am now a telecommuter. I will never forget how lucky I was not to be risking my life to commute–it’s something I hated doing for years of my life.
Before my workday began, I did a nice three-quarter mile walk in my neighborhood, snapping the proverbial winter shots I often do and relishing the snowy quiet.
Local and state transportation officials were urging people to avoid driving if they could, which is impossible for tens of thousands of people who have to work, particularly if they are essential workers. But the icy conditions probably grounded many, and those who showed up showed up like they always do, because when you work, you show up if you aren’t privileged.
As the day ended, I did a fun run through a snow covered wooded trail. It was glorious. I also marveled at narcissistic behemoth vehicle owners gunning it 50 mph on ice covered streets as if they were immune from laws of physics. They always do that here, because that’s who they are. Mostly, I smiled at the teens enjoying the bliss of sledding on a popular sledding hill. Now that was how to make the most of the weather.
As the nation navigates from extreme winter weather that cancelled thousands of flights, lead to fatal crashes by dangerous truck drivers, and imperiled many living on the margins, Christmas Day finally arrives.
Snow and ice hit the Pacific Northwest, blanketing Seattle in perilous ice and closing portions of Interstate 84 outside of Portland. Fortunately, Portland had mostly light snow just before Christmas eve that today, Dec. 25, is turning to wet, soppy mush.
To everyone who is braving the elements or trying to connect with families and friends, please travel safely. Enjoy the season and, if you can, be kind and think of others who may be less fortunate.
Oregon has seen freakishly warm October weather. On some of those warm days, when there is no rain, we will also see fog blanket the coast. That is what I found last weekend when I headed to Seaside, Oregon, one of my favorite Oregon surfing locales. It was a mild day in terms of wave energy and size, and I caught some nice rides. This is how it looked before I went in with my now-aging Stewart 9.3 ft. board. It still works.
(Click on each photo to see a larger picture on a separate page.)
There is an entire genre of photography devoted to the collapse of the United States’ consumerist structures, notably the shopping mall.
Malls in decay represent a specific type of schadenfreude in a country where consumer activity drives about 70 percent of our economy. The collapse of the venerable shopping mall, a landmark from the 1950s through the 1980s, in mostly suburban American, reveals deeper troubles in our economy and the promises we were told and believed.
The Lloyd Center, a major landmark in the Lloyd District in Portland, has been slowly dying for years. There were efforts to revive it as late as 2021, and it’s all but certain as of late July 2022 the final nail in the coffin appears to have been pounded in.
I made what might be my last visit to the Lloyd center in late July 2022, when I was working at the state office building nearby, on the hottest day of the year. The center was meant to be open as a cooling center. The ice rink was still being used, even as the thermometer outside was pushing 95F. Nearly all the stores were shuttered, and major retailers had closed their doors.
I for one will miss it because it provided an urban retail space to serve many residents who didn’t have cars and who didn’t want to drive to the suburbs. I imagine there are other photographers like me getting their final photographs before the death of yet another American shopping mall is formally announced.
What Beautiful Light 