Rose City Mixed Quartet, Twentieth Anniversary Portrait

The Rose City Mixed Quartet came visiting yesterday. Just because… We talked and ate and walked and laughed. And before they left they sang a song or two… Just because…

These four marvelous people – Mark Petersen, Cameron Griffith Herbert, Helen Dietz and Dale Webber – have been part of our lives since 2007. Or maybe it was 2006 when I did the smartest thing ever while in Astoria: I walked up to a group of perfect strangers in front of the Liberty Theater and asked if they ever did House Concerts.

From Cameron’s Garden

They, like a small crowd of us, had been waiting in the drizzle for the doors to open and decided to sing a song or two to brighten an otherwise miserable few minutes. In the years that have followed, they have sung their way into our lives and hugged their way into our hearts. We’ve celebrated birthdays and anniversaries and holidays with them, sometimes in Oysterville and sometimes in Portland. We’ve met their spouses, shared offspring stories and, through the magic of technology, we’ve admired their grandchildren and accompanied them on cruises and trips across the country and over the waters to Estonia.

So, yesterday when they arrived at our door with roses and dessert, we felt like a cherished part of our family was coming home! I doubt if they realize how much their visit and, more importantly, their friendship mean. If I could sing it for them, I would!