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contentscontents

10

246 a note from the editor

8 be inspired by...

10 documenting real life

24 i left my heart in...

36 laughter: the back to school edition

38 friendship is awesome: a celebration of friendship

52 say thank you

57 gratitude: a poem

58 falling in love with myself

62 words of wisdom from mr. rogers

30 make it happen

AUTUMN TIMEJohn Mayer - Fleet Foxes - Death Cab for Cutie - The Paper Kites - Kindred The

Family Soul - Jack Johnson

THANKSGIVING

Dido - Rumer - The Roots - Simon & Garfunkel - Phillip

Phillips - Ella Fitzgerald - Louis Armstrong - Diana

Krall - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - and more

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38

36 laughter: the back to school edition

38 friendship is awesome: a celebration of friendship

52 say thank you

57 gratitude: a poem

58 falling in love with myself

62 words of wisdom from mr. rogers

click here to listen

to this issue's playlists

Charlene Hardy

is a portrait photographer specializing in Fine Art Portraiture

of Children. She lives in Kennewick, Washington with

her husband and four children. Charlene enjoys making timeless

portraits of children using film and the hands on approach of

developing and scanning the film herself.

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THIS ISSUE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY

photo by Jonathan Canlas

Stefanie Hunsaker

Co-creator of Happy Magazine, design editor and photographer.

Amber Gideon

Co-creator of Happy Magazine, content editor and writer.

photo by Angie Monson

April Brown

is mother to an amazing new-adult, a paralegal/office manager extraordinaire and aspiring photographer living in Washington state.

Avalon Shearer is 10 years old and lives with her parents, a dog and some fish in Nevada. She loves reading, swimming, Star Wars, Chinese food and the color blue.

Jami Brooks

Jami Brooks is a Washington state native who lives in the Tri Cities with her husband and son. She had some of her poetry published in high school and even has a few books in her future. Her hobbies include cooking and entertaining family and friends, singing and dancing around the house when she's cleaning, reading the Narnia series with her son, and laughing with her husband as much as possible.

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Curtsty Thompson

Happy Magazine staff writer and super cool little old lady.

Kevin Harris

Happy Magazine illustrator and design consultant and one wild

and crazy guy .

a note from the editor

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I had an interesting conversation with my mom recently. The gist of it was that I was arguing that people change all the time, we have to, it’s natural and an important part of how we adapt, survive, and grow as humans. My mom took the opposite side. In her mind, she has never changed, ever, only the circumstances around her. Well, I’m right and she’s wrong. But seriously, I am right. You see these last few months especially, I have been struggling physically. I had been diagnosed with everything from early onset Alzheimer’s to a brain tumor. While my final and accurate diagnoses is fairly serious, I can report that it’s neither of the two things listed above. As you can imagine, the past few months were a little hellish. I was worried and scared. I struggled with a thousand little things. I wanted help but didn’t know where or who to ask. I was afraid of being abandoned because sickness isn’t easy on anyone. And I started to think about the important stuff and the stuff I could control. The only thing on my list was myself. And I changed. And while all that was happening, the magazine got put to the side. Life happens and I embraced it. It is 100% fully my fault that this magazine is late this month. I apologize to those who

have been patiently waiting and I thank you in advance for your understanding. In the space of these last few months, like the weather, I have changed tremendously and now I’m ready to get back into the swing of things with my new perspective on, well… pretty much everything.

Stefanie and I love fall and we wanted to honor and recognize all the different things that make it special. The fall encompasses some of our favorite holidays, Halloween and Thanksgiving and every parent’s favorite time of year, Back to School!

This issue, however, focuses specifically on friendship. You meet some young people in the beginning stages of friendship and some people who have been friends for decades. And, of course, we feature some incredibly creative people and their endeavors to make the world around them a more fun and magical place.

We hope you enjoy this issue and we look forward to bringing you the Winter issue (hopefully sooner rather than later) where we plan on getting a little magical!

Yours truly,

Amber Gideon

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be inspired by...

NAT GEOTraveling the world to experience different cultures and landscapes is a dream most of us will never realize. But following National Geographic on Instagram will give you a little taste of what it would be like. Enjoy breathtaking images from around the globe and take a peek into foreign cultures as well as the lives of animals.

http://instagram.com/natgeoSTORY CORPSSince 2003, StoryCorps has collected and archived more than 50,000 interviews with over 90,000 participants. Each conversation is recorded on a CD to share, and is preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind. You can also enjoy many of the recorded heartwarming stories as animated shorts. Some favorites are "A Good Man", "The Icing On The Cake", and "Facundo The Great".

http://storycorps.org/animation/

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HUMANS OF NEW YORK (HONY)If you're one of the few people who hasn't heard of or doesn't follow HONY on Instagram, Facebook, or Tumblr, go do it now! Brandon Stanton's simple photographs and accompanying stories will touch your heart, make you smile or laugh and feel more kindness toward your fellow men.

http://www.humansofnewyork.com

https://www.facebook.com/humansofnewyork

http://instagram.com/humansofny

SAVE FAMILY PHOTOSThe mission of Save Family Photos is simple - Save and share family stories, one photo at a time. Follow along on Tumblr or Instagram to see and enjoy old photos shared by people all over the world along with stories of their relatives and ancestors featured in the pictures. It may even inspire you to dig out those old family photo albums.www.savefamilyphotos.com http://instagram.com/savefamilyphotos

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documenting life...

by CHARLENE HARDY

Documenting Childhood ONE ROLL A WEEK

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At the start of 2014, I found myself searching for a personal project to undertake during the next year.

As I reflected on the possible projects I would someday like to attempt, my mind kept wandering back to my family. I love photographing my children, documenting them as they grow and become beautiful individuals of their own. In fact in the past years, I have taken hundreds maybe thousands of photographs, trying to capture and freeze their quickly fleeting childhoods. But with the realization that I had taken so much time to document them so carefully, I had missed really being there for them- cheering them on, helping them up when they stumbled, and just getting to know their quickly changing personalities. My project for 2014 suddenly became very important and clear. I felt the need to continue to document my children and their milestones but do it in a more meaningful and careful manner.

As I contemplated starting this new project, I thought of ways to slow myself down to really take the time to get to know what was going on in the lives of my children. I remembered the huge photo albums my own mother kept so carefully, how as children my brothers and sisters loved to thumb through the pages and remember events of the past. I thought of my own mother with her camera carefully composing and changing settings on her camera as we squirmed with the excitement knowing our photo was being taken and it would be put into the family photo album. I wanted to re-create that feeling for my children who have grown up in the digital age- where photos are taken at lighting speed, never printed and can be deleted

as fast as they are taken. I wanted my four children to experience the anticipation and the sound of the shutter being tripped, the feeling of importance knowing that the photos I would take were permanent, they couldn’t be deleted instants after they were made. I had the tools to make this happen- I would just have to carve the time out of our busy days and make this a priority.

In keeping with the fact that I was attempting to re-create the process of having photos taken when I was younger, I chose to use black and white Tmax 400 film. I had used this film all through high school and college and felt the black and white format would lend itself beautifully to the intent of my project- making timeless photographs simply focusing on my children. Determined to focus on quality over quantity, I would limit myself to one roll a week to document my children’s lives that week. The medium format camera would limit me to 16 frames each week- having four kids would mean I would try to keep it to 4 frames per child. I took a deep breath as a realized this may be the hardest part of the project- as a digital photographer I was used to “re-do photos” tripping the shutter first and thinking later. Knowing I had just four chances at capturing their personality would help me to slow down, carefully observing and anticipating moments. I also decided to photograph the weekly portraits in the same spot each week so they would have continuity and looking back at the photos after the year was completed- the focus would be on the changes that took place in the children during the year and not on the changes in scenery.

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WEEK 7After school with my 13-year-old daughter, we talked about school, friends and her dance classes. During this conversation, I am gently reminded of what it is like to be a teen, competing for the attention of friends, teachers and even her parents. “Everyone asks me why I am so quiet. I talk, the problem is no one is ever listening.”

WEEK 1January 1st came and I had everything set, the film, the camera and even the chemicals to develop the film myself. Setting up a stool and studying the light in a small study I have in my house, I called my oldest daughter into the room. She eyed my equipment cautiously and asked what was going on. I told her about my project as she plopped down on the stool letting me know that she was not quite convinced this was how she wanted to spend her last moments of winter break. I put the camera up to my eye and studied the scene before me. I was taken aback by how grown up she has become, when I took the time to really look at her. She sighed impatiently and I snapped the first frame. Lowering the camera, I saw her looking at me in disbelief. I tried my best to explain how I was slowing down; I wanted to spend time with her, documenting her growing up in a meaningful way.

As I repeated, the process with the remaining three kids I experienced the same thing- at first they were confused about why I was taking one photo at a time and in between frames we began to talk, the pace of each session was determined by how much they had to tell me. They had my undivided attention for a few minutes each week where they could open up and tell me about their day, friend problems, anything they felt the need to tell me, no topic is off limits. Sometimes we start talking and I take the four photos and our conversations aren’t done so we stay longer and linger over the few precious moments of time together without any distractions.

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WEEK 9My daughter is 11, quickly growing and changing into a beautiful young woman. I love watching her grow but find myself clinging to the moments of child-like freedom she is exhibiting less and less now. She has had a trying year so far but today she tells me she is happy; giggling and laughing just like she did when she was a toddler. I am thankful I am able to take the time to spend with her and capture this moment forever.

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WEEK 11 Today I spent two hours with my 11-year-old daughter at a retina specialist, where they numbed her eyes and then tried to dilate them. It was an exhausting process- we got bad news about her progressing vision loss. Her eyes were causing her pain and she kept closing them to try to ease the burning sensation. I took her home and we ended up in the study talking. At one point, I sighed my heart heavy and I asked her, “What are we going to do?” Tugging her hair as she thought she replied quietly, “I just want to be able to keep dancing.” This is one of those weeks I will not likely be forgetting soon, documenting the year is harder than I ever imagined. I remind myself that there will be ups and downs throughout every childhood.

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WEEK 16 My son, 5 years old has his own idea of “ready for church.”

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WEEK 16 My son, 5 years old has his own idea of “ready for church.”

WEEK 18My 5-year-old son came home from school wearing an alligator mask. I look it over closely, smiling to myself as I examine his hard work; jagged edges from the safety scissors cutting through construction paper and marks where he used too much pressure coloring, no doubt breaking crayons as he created the mask. “Today I learned about alligators. They are carnivores, that means they eat meat. Am I made out of meat?”

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WEEK 27Today is the Fourth of July. I asked each one of my children why they were happy to live in America. My 8 year old thought long and hard, her answer reminding me of the simple pleasures of childhood. “I am happy I live in America because we get to celebrate the Fourth of July. This means that my Dad gets to stay home from work and we get to spend the whole day together doing fun things!”

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WEEK 28Activity Day Camp time is here. This is the first year my daughter has attend-ed. She came home each day with so much to say. She was especially excited about her paper mache project. “I like going to camp. I wish it were longer or instead of learning about manners, I wish we learned more useful things-like how to get candy to put in our piñatas!”

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WEEK 30

This summer will be known as the summer of pets. Each child begged, saved and convinced us to let them buy their own pet. My 13 year old very carefully chose a beta fish to call her own. “I am calling him DaVinci. Leonardo DaVinci was pretty unique like my fish.” She has decided she wants to become an art historian and has spent most the summer lost in some of my art history textbooks from college, studying paintings by the masters.

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Doing this project has been an adventure. Hearing about their lives through

their own voices has really helped me to get to know them better. Some weeks are easy to document, filled with simple childhood pleasures such as, being chosen to be a part of the yearbook staff, dancing in a production or finally getting a 100% on a spelling test. But some weeks are hard to document, disappointments are plenty in childhood, yet still heart wrenching to watch someone you love go through. I try my best to capture a little of what is going on in their lives, the good and the not so good, each week- knowing that both the children and I are learning and growing together from these events.

As of this week [early August], I have completed 31 weeks of my new project and I feel I have grown as a photographer and a mother in doing this project. I love that I am able to share my love of film photography with my children in a way that also allows us to spend time with each other. I am learning to slow down and enjoy the everyday treasures in these fleeting moments. j

I AM LEARNING TO SLOW DOWN AND ENJOY THE EVERYDAY TREASURES IN THESE FLEETING MOMENTS.

For more information on Charlene's work and her “One Roll a Week” project, please visit http://charlenehardyphotography.com

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MORE IDEAS FOR DOCUMENTING CHILDHOOD

Record all the hilarious and sweet things your kids say in this adorable book. It will provide hours of entertainment for them someday.available at amazon

A Week In The Life, a project by Ali Edwards. Once a year Ali documents everything that happens during one week of her family's life. You can find all her projects for inspiration and kits to do your own album at https://aliedwards.com/projects/week-in-the-life

Have your Instagram feed turned into a book with Chatbooks! With an option to set up a subscription so books will be sent to you automatically it couldn't be easier. 60 page books are only $6.www.chatbooks.com

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I left my heart in...

SEATTLEby STEFANIE HUNSAKER

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The first few months of my life in Seattle were spent wondering what I had gotten myself into. I knew no

one, had no job, was starting a new school that ran on quarters instead of semesters, which I was used to, and there was the rain; the rain that soaked through my coat every day as I trudged back and forth to my classes after losing three umbrellas.

Eventually, I got to know my roommates and made some friends in my classes. I found a part time job and got used to walking several blocks home from the grocery store with my backpack full of food, even in the rain. Before long I fell unabashedly in love with the Emerald City and it felt more like home to me than where I had grown up. The wonderful mix of natural beauty and urban landscape never ceased to invigorate and interest me. The radio stations played music I liked instead music that annoyed me and I had my first taste of sushi. There were neighborhoods, each with their own identity and name, there were so many places to explore and so many interesting people!

But the thing that truly captured my heart and gives Seattle a permanent place in it

is the undeniable creative vibe that pulses through the city. Instead of asking, “Why would you want to do that?” there is a feeling asking of “Why not?” in Seattle. Why not make bus stops interesting and beautiful? Why not paint a mural on the side of your house or place of business? Why not build a huge troll sculpture hiding underneath a bridge? It is evidenced in the city’s

rich history of artists and musicians. Jimi Hendrix, the grunge rock

scene, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and of course

Kenny G and Sir Mix-a-lot. As well as in

the many successful and innovative companies the area has produced, A m a z o n , Starbucks, & Microsoft. The list goes on and on.

More importantly to me, it is seen in the way

anything and everything has the potential for

creative expression and beauty, from manhole covers in

the street, to traffic light control boxes on the corner, to the architecture of the public library. I feel possibility and creativity everywhere and always leave the city feeling inspired and refreshed.

Take a look around next time you’re there and notice not only all the traditional art the city has to offer, but also all the unexpected and surprising places it pops up. Maybe it will leave you asking, “Why not?” a little more often. j

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STEFANIE'S SEATTLE FAVORITES

Red Mill Burgers: The best onion rings I've ever had. Plus yummy orange

creamsicle shakes!

Greenlake: A fun park and neighborhood near Woodland Park Zoo. When the weather is good it is

especially nice to enjoy walking around the lake, paddle surfing, relaxing

and people watching in the shade, or playing at the playground which is

equipped with an old school merry-go-round!

EMP (Experience Music Project): The outside of this

music and pop culture museum is awe-inpiring. Inside is almost

just as cool with exhibits of Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana

memorabilia. But the best part is pretending to be a real rock

band in the On Stage area.Top Pot

Doughnuts: Delicious!! Worth the long wait in line on weekend mornings.

The Fremont Troll: It's just so weird and fun you gotta visit it at least

once!

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STEFANIE'S SEATTLE FAVORITES

Chihuly Garden & Glass: The #1 place I recommend visiting while

in Seattle. An unbelievable display of gorgeous glass art and sculptures by master glass blower, Dale Chihuly. It

was even a major hit with my kids! The Collections Cafe is a great place to eat

and recover after having your mind blown by the crazy beauty of it all.

Red Mill Burgers: The best onion rings I've ever had. Plus yummy orange

creamsicle shakes!

The Fremont Troll: It's just so weird and fun you gotta visit it at least

once!

University of Washington campus: This place always brings back many happy memories for me.

From the gorgeous green quad to the view of Mt. Rainier from Drumheller

Fountain, it is such an amazingly beautiful campus that it is a worthwhile place to stop by and explore, even if you

are a die hard WSU fan.

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We believe travel is good for the soul and love to

explore new destinations. But some places will always have a special place in our hearts.

Is there somewhere you've left your heart? A neighborhood, town, or city? A state or country? Your hometown or favorite vacation destination? Wherever it is we want to hear about it!

Contact us at happymagazine@outlook.comto share the place that calls to your heart.

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make it happen...TURNING BIG IDEAS & DREAMS INTO REALITY

Ronn Campbell is gregarious and welcoming. When you meet him for the first time you aren’t quite sure it was actually the first time.

You are immediately pulled into his world and conversation as though you have always been there. In fact, the first time I met him I could have sworn I’d known him forever.

I actually met Ronn at his annual Halloween party. A friend brought me as a guest where there are only two rules: 1. You must be 21 years old or older. 2. You must wear a costume. If you don’t have a costume, you can either leave or borrow one from Ronn.

Ronn was dressed as a vampire and not the sparkly kind either. I mean a real costume

with a red lined cape and everything. My friend was dressed as a witch, and I was some sort boring sexy thing in black with feathers. It was a memorable night and it helped inspire me to come up with better costumes in the future. You see, Ronn’s party wasn’t like any other party I’ve ever been to. It was serious business in the most fun way possible.

Driving up to the house you can’t help but be struck by how much time and effort went into making this experience. And that’s just seeing the outside! Inside nearly every room has been transformed. And then it really hits you: It’s not store bought trinkets. Almost everything you see is unique. And it was all done to entertain you. Ronn is always looking for things to incorporate into Skull Manor his

making halloween dreams come truE:

An interview with ronn CAmpbell

by AMBER GIDEON photos by APRIL BROWN

"Halloween night is the one time of year you are expected to go to your

neighbors and knock on the

door and meet and greet."

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Halloween themed yard haunt and annual Halloween party.

As I looked around I noticed something. Veteran attendees wore amazingly detailed costumes. Newbs like myself bought something off the store shelves. It was pretty clear who was who but all were welcome. I didn’t know it at the time, but I made a vague mental note to try and find out what exactly made Ronn tick and why and how he put this amazing thing together.

In September I met up with Ronn at his house to get the skinny.

Come August of each year, his home begins its annual transformation. It’s an amalgamation of store bought Halloween items, usually heavily altered, and originals hand built by Ronn himself. Ronn estimates that 70% of their decorations and props are homemade. The other 30% are store bought or store bought and altered.

Ronn has always loved Halloween and we laugh about the types of costumes available when we were kids. As he so aptly and accurately puts it, the costumes sucked. They were plastic with plastic face masks with ill cut eye slits and useless breathing holes. Because he grew up poor, instead of buying the terrible Halloween costumes of the 70’s, he and his siblings made their own. Although he remembers getting made fun of a little for their homemade costumes, the more important thing he took away from the experience was that he learned to look at things a little differently. He looks at things and see their shape and then ideas begin to form. As he says, “There is no limit except imagination”.

“There is no limit except imagination.”

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His training began with his mother teaching him to cook and sew and extended well into adulthood with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatrical Design from the University of Idaho, and a Masters of Fine Arts in Scenery and Lighting Design from Humboldt State University in California. He is also on the Kennedy Center Board for the American College Theatre Festival and currently works as an Associate Professor of Theater at Columbia Basin College and handles most of the technical side of things like sets, light, sound, and teaches make up, and sometimes directs.

When he’s not busy with all that he was also does a lot of freelance work for local high schools and he just recently returned from a 2 week trip to WSU where he was a lighting designer for Las Memorias which is an outreach program for teens that allows them to turn their own thoughts and stories into a play and then perform it. It teaches them public speaking, confidence, and it also provides them with a scholarship. He was also getting ready to fly out to Iowa in a few weeks to teach scene painting.

His dedication to his craft via the Halloween Party and yard haunt continues by attending special Halloween conventions like West Coast Haunters in Portland, OR, every June, and HauntCon in Baton Rouge, LA.

Ronn has rarely ever received any negativity regarding his Halloween display nor the party. At most his neighbors have only jokingly complained that they can’t compete. To that Ronn responds by opening his storage space, fondly called the Morgue and offers them some decorations.

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“Halloween night is the one time of year you are expected to go to your neighbors and knock on the door and meet and greet. I think a lot of people are confused on what it’s about. They think it’s devil worshipping, no no, you’ve missed the whole point! It’s like Christmas caroling but spookier. You’re supposed to go to your neighbors and knock on the door and meet. It’s supposed to be a community event.” Says Ronn.

And community event it is! On average, Ronn’s house sees about 150 trick-or-treaters a year. To put that in perspective, my fairly busy neighborhood is full of young families and we probably saw maybe 30 – 40 total this year. When asked why he thinks so many people are drawn to it he says, “We aren’t into the blood and gore. I don’t find that scary, I think it’s disgusting.”

He also has a rather fair assessment of Halloween monsters vs real life monsters. “The kids get to name all the big monsters, Stuart and Jennifer and Fred and George. They’re not scary names because real monsters look nice and offer kids candy to help them find a puppy.”

Halloween is also a family affair for the the Campbells. In their own way, the whole family gets into it. Ronn solicits their opinion and they help set everything up. Ronn describes his family as sort of the modern Addams Family. They are kooky and a little spooky and

they love unconditionally. Creativity and originality ooze from their pores. As Morticia Addams would say, “Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly.”

For Ronn, Halloween is really all about the kids. He enjoys the time he spends setting up Skull Manor and when other people get excited about it, it just fuels him to do it again and better the next year.Skull Manor is a creative feat in and of itself but what it inspires in others is probably more than Ronn could ever have imagined. In fact, one of Ronn’s most favorite recent memories is when a neighbor’s grandchild recently came over to visit and excitedly chatted up Ronn about everything that he noticed that was new from the previous year. Ronn invited him and his grandparents over to see the inside of the house as well. As the grandson was running around the house excitedly pointing out all the neat things he saw, the grandparents told Ronn how wonderful this was for their grandson and how he was autistic and normally doesn’t say a word.

We chat excitedly for about an hour when I finally stump Ronn with the most important question yet, Favorite Halloween Song: “I’d have to say Monster Mash”. j

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ENJOY A GOOD LAUGH WHILE ADMIRING THESE PRECIOUS SCHOOL PHOTOS. WHAT

ELSE ARE THEY FOR, RIGHT?

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FRIENDSHIPIS

AWESOME

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“Why did you do all this for me?' he asked. 'I don't deserve it. I've never done anything for you.' 'You have been my friend,' replied Charlotte. 'That in itself is a tremendous thing.”

― E.B. White, Charlotte's Web

Friendship is the cornerstone relationship of humanity. It’s what binds us together and inspires us to be better people. It’s the basis of all true love and crosses the boundaries set up by culture and society. It knows no bounds. It’s torn down false ideas, moved nations, inspired revolutions and created families. Friendship is quite simply, love in action and it can begin with something as simple as a shared interest like an 80’s pop band, or a request for help in building a house in the middle of winter. Sometimes friendship seems almost hereditary, like when the sons of old friends bond quick and easy as soon as they can speak.

These are the stories, in words and pictures, of three set of friends and some of the things that brought them together.

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phil&

Delmarfriendship est. 1978

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Phil and Delmar have been friends for 36 years. They met in summer of 1978 when Phil and his wife joined the same church that Delmar attended.

A few months later in late fall Delmar approached Phil about building a house together. Delmar was working for a contractor who had offered him the job as a sub contractor and he needed help. Phil was working as a stained glass artist and jumped at the chance to have a steady paycheck for a while. For the next few months they spent their days drinking hot chocolate, eating Butterfingers and doughnuts, and building a house in the bitter cold. Delmar recalls, “One day we were the only crew working out there. Later that night I found out why. It had been 13 below zero that day!” They laugh as they recount how they decided to build a fire in a five-gallon bucket to keep warm. It was great until they realized it was burning a hole in the floor. Phil says luckily it was in a spot that would eventually have a wall built over it. “But after that we decided we better be cold instead of burning the house down."

Phil eventually moved to another nearby city and began attending a different congregation within the church he and Delmar attended. As fate would have it they kept in touch through the years by somehow managing to run into each other often at Fred Meyer! Delmar’s son worked at the store and Phil says whenever he needed something from there he usually wound up going around the same time Delmar arrived to pick up his son.

In 1995 Phil and his family moved back into the same area Delmar and his family lived, where they were again in the same church congregation. Over the years the bond they formed over building that house in the cold, and the appreciation for steady work, grew stronger because as Phil says, “I think we really solidified our friendship by serving people together. That’s when you really learn to understand somebody. When they are giving of themselves. One thing I know about Delmar is that he loves people and he’s willing to give of himself. And he makes me want to be a better person. That’s the truth. As I’ve told him many times, Delmar is my hero.” As Delmar laughs, Phil continues, “You don’t have a cape, but you truly are. You’re somebody for me to look up to.” They laugh as Phil says Delmar is so much and wiser than he is. In reality though, Delmar is only 3 years his elder.

Delmar responds, “One thing I can say about Phil is he also gives of himself very well.” He appreciates that Phil always lets him use his tools and shop area whenever he wants to. “People make fun of me because I have so many ideas. I want to build things. I just don’t have a place to do it.” He says Phil provides him with a place to go to discuss his ideas, gain new perspectives on them, and eventually make them a reality. Phil says all the construction knowledge he has came from his father and Delmar. “Delmar has had a big influence on my life. He doesn’t believe it, but he really has. So if I have space and I have tools, I am really more

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than happy to have Delmar over and use them. Then I can watch and learn from him.”

Delmar says Phil was a real example to him through the passing of his first wife and later remarrying, saying, “It takes a lot of courage and Phil is courageous.” When Delmar’s wife had to have emergency triple by-pass surgery he took a lot of comfort in knowing Phil had been through similar experiences. Delmar says, “It felt good knowing there was someone who’d felt the same way and could console you.” He says Phil embraces all his idiosyncrasies and crazy ideas and is his best friend, telling him, “Phil you’re a good man.”

Phil says, ”True, lasting friendship is a lot more than just going out together or even having fishing buddies. It’s good to have people around you are comfortable with, but true friendship is of more value than I think some people realize. I love Delmar because of the person he is and the person he encourages me to be. A true friend who makes you want to be a better person is of more value than a hundred acquaintances and Delmar is my true friend.” j

by STEFANIE HUNSAKER

"Phil is courageous"

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"Phil is courageous"

"delmar is my hero"

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"A true friend

who makes

you want

to be a

better person

is of more

value than

a hundred

acquaintances"

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sean&

haydenfriendship est. 2006

" A friend is a person you get

along well

with. you might not

be alike but you

get along good. i

like sean because we both like to

play video

games and we like to joke around

and hang

out."HAYDEN, AGE 11

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" A friend is someone who is nice and doesn't say bad words. I like Hayden because he's not mean and we try each other's games."

sean&

haydenfriendship est. 2006

SEAN, AGE 10

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I have something unique. I am a part of a 30 year plus friendship. It began in the 80’s and it’s still going strong in 2014! This is just of the stories I could

tell you about that friendship. This is the story of how we made our childhood dream come true.

It begins in the mid 80’s when two kids living in low cost housing development on the wrong side of town met and bonded over the love of a boy band. Well, let’s get something clear here before we go any further. Duran Duran wasn’t really a “boy band” in the way that the term is used now. In fact, they were grown men in eye liner and silk suits, riding the waves of 80’s pop stardom whose fans just happened to be preteen and teen girls. Or, in our case, elementary school girls with wild imaginations.

Our friendship was cemented by the bonds of neighborhood affiliation (for a time) and a rather innocent lust over the drummer, Roger Taylor, and lead singer, Simon Le Bon. Our walls were plastered with their faces. Their music was in constant rotation in our “ghetto blasters”, the lyrics of their songs were recited with an almost religious fervor. We purchased magazines with pull out posters and ridiculous interviews and fun facts. And at night, we would lay in bed and discuss

our future plans including starting our own band, Duran Duran Too. Oh yeah. We had it hardcore.

We were too young and too poor to ever see them in concert. Instead we rented the concert videos and watched them religiously, learning the background singer’s parts and moves. We would wait with our VCRs ready just in case

MTV played one of their videos. And we dreamed, and dreamed, and dreamed.

And then the band broke up and we grew up. Like the band, we had our ups and downs. Unlike the band, we remained friends.

Our musical tastes grew. The 90’s came and

grunge ruled our lives. We graduated. I got married. She got married. We started families and talked on the phone regularly. The concerns of adulthood took over. We pretty much forgot about the band until, in 2001, the band announced it was reuniting to record an album and tour the world. And you can bet your sweet Hammer pants that we were going to be there.

On March 5, 2005, we traveled to Spokane, Washington to make a childhood dream come true. The two hour trip was filled with discussions about pregnancy, childbirth, family size, and birth control, all the things that were central to our lives

amber

&stefanie

friendship est. 1984

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at that moment. I remember this in vivid detail. It’s the important stuff. The stuff that friends can discuss without judgment expect to receive support.

But once we arrived in Spokane and entered the Opera House, we began the dissent into the crazed Duranies we were as children.

It began with the o p e n i n g b a n d . Probably the worst o p e n i n g act I have even seen in my life. I know that S t e f a n i e w i l l c o n c u r . S t e f a n i e and I were horrified. It seemed like a bad omen. If they can’t get a decent opening act maybe they suck now? We waited impatiently. I spotted my sister and her now husband just down the row from us and waved hello. Stefanie and I nervously folded and refolded our content t-shirts. I can’t remember anything we talked about.

I looked around and then pulled out our smuggled in cameras from my bra. This is one of the perks of being chesty. I can smuggle anything in anywhere with these

babies! It was also a reminder that if this concert had happened when we were 10, there wouldn’t be any pictures.

Finally, after what seemed like the longest, most torturous 30 minutes of my life, the opening act stumbled off the stage and maybe 15 minutes later the light dimmed and we exploded from our seats and

screamed our bloody heads off for the next 2 hours.

It was fantastic! Simon danced, we danced, the band played, we screamed and sang along and, less innocently lusted after our old crushes. We swooned and sweated and very nearly lost our voices.

And when it was all over, after the encore, as the lights came back on, we looked at each other, smiled and in synchronicitious bliss, we headed for the nearest exit to where the band would be leaving the venue.

We queued up around the barriers, stomping our aching feet to get warm. I had picked out my shoes for Simon. This is the greatest evidence I have that we, well at least I, was fully delusional just

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:

Simon Le Bon shushing the crowd of giddy fans; Roger Taylor & Simon Le Bon on stage in the flesh; Simon with the always interesting Nick Rhodes; Simon Le Bon looking RIGHT at ME!

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like when I was a child in the throes of Duranmania. I made a mental note that I would wear sensible shoes to the next concert I attended. Also, a less revealing top.

And then the rest of our dream came true. The band exited the building and were less than 6 feet away from us. We did what any absolutely crazy Duranie would do, we screamed. That’s when a long legged, blue eyed, utterly beautiful Simon, flanked by a very tiny, heavily made up Nick Rhodes, “shhh’d” us and, I kid you not, this writhing, throbbing, throng of 30 to 40 year old women, collectively sighed. They refused to sign anything and quickly made like bandits off to their hotel. But before they could run off, and while the rest of the crowd was quiet, I made eye contact with Mr. Simon Le Bon and before my brain could stop my lips, I loudly told him, “I love you”.

In that brief amount of time we fired off our cameras and I have proof that he looked right at me! I’d like to think that he remembers that moment as fondly as I do. You can’t blame a girl for having a dream anyway.

Jacked up on a missed love connection and adrenaline, we stood outside in the cold and chatted with other like-minded fans until frostbite became an actual concern and then hightailed it to a 1he photo place so we could immediately relive the night all over again.

Now, there are a lot of other stories I could tell you about our friendship. There are stories that highlight our love and support for one another and there are hilarious stories of bad boyfriends, church dances, first periods, and trips to the mall. There are the stories of sneaking out, past loves, times apart, and attending local shows. There are stories about weddings, and receptions, and babies, and new houses, and depression and hard times, and nights out eating at restaurants and being so caught up in the conversation that we realize it’s past closing so we slowly make our way out to the parking lot to continue there in the cold. Or maybe the stories of attending the Twlight movies only to laugh so hard we thought the fans might jump us in the lobby. Or that time we went to see Conan O’Brien and she turned to me laughing, clutching her stomach and said, “I’m laughing so hard my stomach hurts!”

Yeah, there are a million stories because that is what friendship is. It’s all the shared memories and stories and love and support, and for us, one childhood dream come true. j

by AMBER GIDEON

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by CURTSY THOMPSON

A

We were in the grocery store recently and a little girl sitting in a cart looked at me and then

threw a piece of her hot dog directly at me, completley unprovoked. I picked it up but before I was able to chuck it back at her, her mother looked up and said to her “say thank you”. The little girl held out her hand for the dirty bite and sweetly said “thank you”. Her mother then looked at me, and when I didn’t say anything she cocked her head to one side and raised her eyebrows and I automatically said “you’re welcome”.

It struck me as totallly funny! Her mother had missed the whole incident but witnessing me picking up the offending piece of mystery meat, assumed my innocence and wanted her child to express gratitude for my

kindness- AND she wanted me to polish off the transaction with my own good manners!

Gratitude isn’t a natural emotion and practicing gratefulness and teaching our kids gratitude can be a slippery slope. We sometimes confuse good manners with a grateful spirit. I’m very manners-centric and when my grandson was a little boy, he wailed at me “how many manners are there?!!” I realized that some of the “manners” I was demanding might be better expressed as feelings of being grateful. In the case of that little girl, she was actually more grateful I didn’t have the chance to pelt her with dirty hot dog than she was thankful I had picked it up and was handing it back to her.

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When manners are applied, thankful means someone else did something for you. Grateful means you appreciate what was done. Did you catch that? Gratitude is the feeling or sentiment excited by kindness. Thanks are the expression of that sentiment. Good manners. But what about when gratefulness just fills your spirit for no reason? Maybe just because that the sun is shining?

Awhile back, facebookers posted 30 days of gratitude. I didn’t post, but I do keep a gratitude journal. When I look through previous entries, I think “how shallow am I?” One entry, “I’m grateful today that I don’t weigh more than I did last week”, another, “I’m grateful today that my hair looked good”, oh, and, “I’m grateful today that my gray pants zipped up without having to lay down on my back and hold my breath”. In the beginning I waxed profound things like “I’m grateful for my health“, ”I’m grateful for clean air to breathe”, but it just wasn’t the real me. There are days I am grateful that my pants fit!

Developing a grateful spirit is like creating any healthy habit. Commitment, dedication, and practice. Gratitude will change your perception of everything in your life. You'll enjoy the abundance of life minute by minute. Gratitude creates an effortless feeling of joy in the day-to-day, in the here and now, whether it be funny, crazy or even stressful.

We all see with 20/20 vision in hindsight.We can choose to scold ourselves for our

past or take the opportunity to practice the concept of gratitude and even, looking back, pick out little nuggets of feeling, even expressions of gratefulness. The real challenge is to worry less over what we did yesterday and appreciate the here and now.

When my second baby was born, my oldest child was just two. My oldest sister came from out of state to help out even though my mom lived across the street. My youngest sister was 12 at the time and came to my house everyday after school and allweekend. My oldest sister, who was there to help, was not domestically inclined in any way -she didn’t cook, she straightened but didn’t clean, she pretty much stayed up all-night and slept all day. Not much help. My youngest sister was a child herself, and would even argue with my two year-old. Again, not much help. My mom would have helped but she was somewhat controlling so I was judicious with my requests for assistance.

Anyway, back to my story, at the time the baby was born my little two year old was in the intermediate stage of potty training; she was doing a great job, but then one afternoon when I was basking in the quiet of nap time, sipping my iced tea and reading ‘The Godfather‘, she decided not only to poop but to schmear it all over herself and the room...yep, on the walls, the bedding, the chest of drawers, inside the toy box and on the door including the knob. Nooooooooooo!

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I had quietly opened the door a crack to check on her. and there she was asleep on herlittle bed, naked and covered in poop. I then did the most desperate (and also a little bit deceitful!) thing I had ever done. I called my mom. I told her everyone was sleeping wouldshe like to come over before my little sister got home from school and have a glass of icedtea. “Well, babe, I think I will,” she d r a w l e d unsuspecting.

Long, gross story short, when grandma walked down the hall to check on e v e r y o n e , I held my breath, but then she walked right back past me without saying anything. I thought “rats”, she‘s just going to get a glass of tea! But then she came back wearing rubber glovesand carrying an 80 gallon jug of cleaning solution, she stopped, cocked her head to one side and raised her eyebrows. to which I replied sweetly and guiltily, “Thank you”.

What I cherish about this memory is on

that day I felt the bright, warm glow ofgratefulness in my spirit. My mom helped me - she knew exactly what to do, there was no lecture, no judgment, she just simply took care of the problem. We did laugh about it for many years and she thanked me when I shared how grateful

I felt that day. I’m gratefuleveryday that my mom was funny. She gave that sense of fun and humor to all five of her children. The five of us have passed that on to all of our children and they pass it on to theirs.

That’s the true, shining glory of developing a grateful spirit. Even poop

can have a sweet, funny memory that evokes the wonderful, lovely feeling of gratefulness for all of the people in your life.

So, here’s the rub. How do we develop the “habit” of a truly grateful spirit? Less cringing under the weight of the “hindsight is 20/20” moments and more thoughts of gratitude. It takes very little effort actually, hardly any change and no heavy lifting.

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Let's try it :

1. It’s nearly impossible to be angry or anxious and appreciative at the same time. It’s also impossible to develop a true grateful spirit without being truly thankful. So, practice saying “thank you” throughout the day. Either out loud or silently to yourself say “thank you”; thank you for the sunshine or for the rain - or just “thank you” as a sort of chant. Breathe in with “thank” and breathe out with “you”.

2. When you feel angry or stressed or anxious at any situation or person, chant to yourself “thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou” over and over until you can bring focus back to yourself - at that moment you matter most; your health, your peace of mind, the tone of your day, that matters most to feeling grateful. Bring it back to yourself.

3. Tell your kids/spouse/daycare/neighbor/postal worker/grocery store checker/coworkers/friends/family “thank you” - I tell my hubby “thank you” everyday for something, I tell my kids and grandkids “thank you” for indulging me. Everybody I come in contact with everyday I say, “thank you”. It fills my spirit with gratitude that I’m surrounded by such awesome people.

4. Be honest with your feelings; my kids can’t “make” me mad. I make the choice to respond to their bad behavior with anger. Period. Now I tell them “I feel uncomfortable with your behavior“ instead of “you are making me mad!”. The driver of the car in front of me isn’t making me late - I’m late and slow traffic is highlighting that. Bummer. Once I started honestly translating my feelings and responses, it really took the energy out of the situation and helped me take ownership.

5. Which leads me to number five- take ownership of your feelings. Your feelings matter to your OWN happiness! Tell yourself “THANK YOU, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, YOU CRAZY, AWESOME BEAST“!

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Even times of deep sadness and sorrow contain an opportunity for gratitude. Ihave spent the last year nearly paralyzed with grief over the death of my youngest sister. It has been a challenge to feel thankful, even more challenging to express gratitude. But, I have chanted “thank you” through gallons of tears, “thank you” while dealing with medical bills that cannot be paid, “thank you” while I sort through her belongings - “thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou”. It has filled my days with a grateful heart that she was such a wonderful part of my life.

A grateful spirit is built through mindfulness. Sometimes when I drive I turn the volume up loud and I press my lips together, squint my eyes a little, bob my head and pump my shoulder to the beat - you can’t touch this! Other times, I turn the radio off and just lean intothe quiet and lead my thoughts into a calming thank you mantra. Even though these seem to be opposites, they produce the same mind body synergy - gratefulness. When it’s quiet I listento my little car and hear her humming along, everything okay; I hear the wind whistling through the cracks around the convertible top and the windows - it sounds familiar, comforting; I can hear my own thoughts.

I listen to my own thoughts; sometimes I entertain myself, sometimes I make myself laugh out loud, and often I

talk with God about things. He listens and then he reminds me to practice gratitude. He tells me, “say thank you“. j love, Curtsy

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by Avalon Shearer

Gratitude is an attitudethat means that you're grateful.It means that you're thankful

for what you have.It's inside everyone

and everything.

And people express itin different ways.

If I had a nickle for all the daysthat someone showed their gratitude to me,

I'd be a millionaire!But that is only

becausegratitude is a rich feeling!

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I guess I never felt like I fit in. I always kind of stood out. I was loud, animated, and pretty obnoxious at times. I was also completely clueless

about that fact. I had no filter and said whatever came into my mind. I can remember in first grade announcing my observation of the new girl to the entire class, yelling “Crystal has buck teeth!” It wasn’t the nicest thing to say, but ironically she became my best friend.

My lack of filter and hyperactivity usually pushed others away however and I didn’t understand it. I was just being myself. Kids didn’t know how to accept me, so they teased and picked apart what they felt were my flaws. One of those “flaws” was my full lips, which as a child, I could not appreciate the beauty of. I got called everything from “Fish Lips” to “Bubble Lips” to “Fish Face”. I remember at 7 years old feeling so angry that God had cursed me with lips that caused me to be teased.

It didn’t help that I was a lanky beanpole with fluffy blond hair either. I had sisters I thought were beautiful and didn’t know why I wasn’t like them. I didn't consider myself pretty and began constantly criticizing myself.

As I grew out of childhood and into my adolescent years everything in my life changed. My parents divorced and I moved away from my hometown in the lush green of western Washington to a farm town in the middle of nowwhere in the desert of eastern Washington. My attitude about myself on the other hand, didn’t change. I

now had new step brothers and a big sister that was too busy growing up to hang out with an annoying little trouble maker, so I was alone a lot and still felt like I wasn’t good enough. I did my best to glamourize my life, hoping that maybe I could form a new view of myself for everyone around me. It all backfired and I was right back where I was before. I was trying so hard to be someone I very clearly was not.

The teasing, bullying, and terror was ever present. I hated school, and I hated who I was, becoming way too bitter and angry for a 12 year old girl. Sports and choir provided some relief but I was it was temporary. I was miserable. I was bullied so bad that I was in tears almost daily. The severity of the situation and my lack of self-esteem is still not known to my parents to this day.

At the end of 7th grade I went to live with my Dad and stepmom, hoping for something better. I had never lived in a big city and Bellevue was something completely foreign to me. My brother was just 2 years older and I knew I would be under his watchful eye as much as he could manage while still having his own social life. I was 13 and terrified of my new life, and suddenly had chubbiness in areas I never had before. I had always been the skinny kid, and now I was being teased for NOT being skinny.

I was always the “New Kid” and therefore always had some sort of target on my back. I made a few close friends that are still amazing 20 years later, but I honestly

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wasn’t finding it much easier than what I left behind. The next 3 years consisted of rebellion, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, and basically feeling worthless. I looked in the mirror and tried to feel beautiful and be who they thought I should be. I knew that if I could just be like “them” then I would finally be something, someone, and anyone other than who I was. I failed at every turn to fit in. I wasn’t rich enough or had the nice clothes or had a car. I was invisible, yet visible enough to be bullied and made to feel worthless on a daily basis.

I tried one last time to escape and look for peace. I decided to spend my last few years of high school with my Mom and Step Dad back on the farm. I was at a point where I didn’t really care what people thought of me yet still longed to fit it somehow. I was determined that things would be different this time. I wanted so badly to just blend in. I didn’t fit into one specific category and pretty much hung out with the outcast kids. . I didn’t drink or smoke or sleep around, yet those were the kids I felt the most comfortable being with. I didn’t feel judged or expected to be something I wasn’t.

The last 2 years definitely weren’t anything glamorous. I didn’t do sports, and there wasn't a choir. I was just there to get through it all. I continued to endure harassment and abuse from a few individuals who felt like they had to dominate and manifest their power and insecurities in my direction. I couldn’t wait for it all to be over. I just wanted to

leave, and to be free. I wanted my life to finally be different. I just wanted to be HAPPY.

A year after I graduated I moved to Phoenix and fell in love with the big city. I knew that a change in environment meant that no one knew the old me. There was nothing holding me back but my own hesitations. I was determined to let go of the fears

I had about not being good enough, not being pretty enough, and not being what others thoughtI should be. I didn’t have to be who I was before. I chose for my life to be different.

Changes didn’t come instantly. It definitely took time to grow into my gorgeousness. Self-esteem and confidence were not something that came naturally to me. I can’t say that there was one major “Aha!” moment to pinpoint when things

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changed, but I still remember the first time a man genuinely complimented me and told me that I was attractive. I was shocked. It was something I just wasn’t used to. I blushed and even felt a bit awkward.

Once I stopped letting other people and society determine my worth, I found a whole new part of myself in Phoenix. I went out with friends. I explored. I traveled. I did things I shouldn’t have. I did things I was proud of. I fell in love. I fell out of love. I lived. I laughed. I learned. I made memories. I was HAPPY.

My life has become a great adventure and something incredible has happened along the way. I didn’t just fall in love with my life, I fell in love with myself!! I know that sounds crazy, but I finally accepted myself for who I am. I can never be someone else’s vision of myself. I have to be my own vision. I have to create myself the way I think I should be.

I think back to all the years of teasing, bullying, and being literally made to feel like my life was worthless and I wish I could cheerfully say “I’m grateful for it because it made me who I am.”, but I can’t. That scared, angry, bitter girl is not who I was, nor is it who I am today. Who I am today is someone who can look in the mirror and see someone amazing smiling back at her.

I can appreciate all my little physical flaws without letting them tear me apart. I can see my skin without makeup and truly see that I am beautiful. I love my

eyes and how the brown and green mix together. I love my full lips and how they remind my mother of her father. I love that I have tiny curls in the corner of my hairline that remind me of my big sister. I love that I have the height of my great grandmother and her six sisters. I love that my hands are a feminine carbon copy of my father’s. I love who I am today, and who I am continually becoming as my life progresses.

I can never change the things that have happened to me. I can forgive and erase the pain and decide that those experiences are not going to change me. I can accept myself for the amazing creature that I am. I can choose peace over pain. I can choose love over hate. I can make tomorrow better than today, and I can choose to be happy. j

by kevin harris

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by kevin harris

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“The real issue in life is not how many blessings we have, but what we do with our blessings. Some people have many blessings and hoard them. Some have few and give everything away.”Fred Rogers

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is committed to providing imagery and content that leaves its readers feeling

inspired and empowered to love themselves and others just as they are, to embrace and cultivate creativity and kindness in their everyday

lives, and feeling just plain happy!

happymagazine

65HAPPY MAGAZINE

Happy Magazine is a quartlery online magazine that explores and celebrates kindness, creativity, and love. Copyright is reserved. Reposting in whole or

in part on other sites or in publications without permission is prohibited. All rights to photographs and illustrations belong to their respective creatorts/

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