Page 69 - Southern Oregon Magazine Fall 2022

WE'LL BE BACK!

& bryant helgeland

It’s not about how many times you get

punched in the face. It’s about how

many times you get back up.

f you talk to anyone in business, they will tell you that your first needing to carry everything.
three to five years will be hard. That is a given. My first six years
have been, well, extra hard! Six months of construction effectively What do you need that we don’t carry? We can’t carry everything, nor
Iboarding up my storefront by a neighbor, two summers of smoke, do we want or need to. We have access to lots of things that we don’t
one winter that didn’t happen, two years of COVID-19, and the Almeda carry in the store. Let’s talk! We’re going to have a space to fill starting
fire, Mountain Provisions was two weeks short of our six-year anniver- from scratch.
sary when a fire started in our building damaging 100% of our inven-
tory and leaving Mountain Provisions without a storefront. We all need a break once in a while. Sometimes you get so focused
on the immediate task that you lose sight of the forest for the trees.
It has been quite a ride, and that doesn’t even get into my first fifteen Sometimes you don’t realize that you have that choice. Sometimes you
years here in the Rogue valley… A wise friend once reminded me, “It’s do this because you have no choice. Plenty of times it is a combination
not about how many times you get punched in the face. It’s about how of multiple factors. Listen to your body and what it needs. I had been
many times you get back up.” Life ain’t easy, welcome to the real world. ignoring what my body needed for many years due to ego, life circum-
stances, job duties, and other responsibilities. Whether you believe in
I’m not going anywhere. I’ve lived in the Rogue valley since 2001, and I Karma or not, sometimes the universe has a way of forcing you to pay
love it here. True, summers have been miserable lately but I’m the ever attention. I needed a break. I’m also incredibly stubborn. I probably
optimist in that we’ll get our stuff together and save the only planet we wouldn’t have actually taken the time I needed had I not been forced to
call home. We have it within our power to effect change but only if we do so. Thank you universe, I needed this! You reminded me that I cannot
do it in numbers. Vote! Our lives depend on it. Literally! Be engaged. move forward without letting go of the past, and that the only constant
Be involved. is change. I haven’t gotten away in far too long. I love the Rogue valley,
but sometimes you need to get away to get some perspective and appre-
I see this break and reset as an opportunity. We were wanting more ciate where you live.
space. We were in desperate need of parking. We have the opportunity
to finally fulfill the needs that the community demands. We will be back! The paddling is awesome. The backcountry skiing can be epic if winter
We don’t know where yet. We don’t know when yet, other than as soon cooperates. The mounting biking would be a lot better if I could keep
as possible. But we’re not going anywhere. I want Mountain Provisions the rubber side down. And the road biking is so good that you don’t
to be your resource for your outdoor needs. We have the knowledge tell your friends for fear that they spread the word. The fishing is world
and experience to curate our inventory to specific local needs without class, but that word is already out. I’m not much of a wine drinker, but
fall 2022 | www.southernoregonmagazine.com 67