For Climate Action, receiving OLCV’s 2025 Volunteer of the Year Award

For Climate Action, buying 2 electric cars in 2026, Part 3

Brian Ettling and Tanya Couture standing in front of their electric cars in Portland, Oregon on May 10, 2026.

This is a 3-part blog about my wife Tanya and I switching from my 2002 Honda Civic LX manual transmission car to owning 2 electric cars. This blog is written in 3 parts:

Part 1: Tanya decides to buy her Electric Car in March 2026
Part 2: The death of my 2002 Honda Civic in late April 2026
Part 3: Tanya and I choose to buy an Electric Car for me in May 2026

Tanya and I attempt to shop for a used EV to replace my dead Honda Civic

On Wednesday evening, April 29th, my 2002 Honda Civic blew a head gasket and died. The car stopped running 35 miles from home. It left me stranded until a tow truck came to bring my car and I back to Portland. The next day, Tonkin Gresham Honda Service informed me that they could repair the head gasket at $2500 or build a new engine at $5,500.

I was in shock because the car never broke down on me before in 24 years of own the car. It was the only car I ever owned. I did not want to spend any more money on this car.

On Thursday, April 30th, I I texted this to Tanya after I told her my vehicle died the day before:

“If I get a car, I want an EV or no car at all. Frankly, I would rather not own a car and just use public transit. However, my work as an organizer requires me to have a car. I don’t want to be locked into another gasoline powered car. Yes, there are probably problems with EVs but I would rather deal with those issues than oil changes, overheating engines, etc”

That afternoon, Tanya and I went to Tonkin Gresham Honda to talk to their sales representative, Ben. He mentioned a white 2019 Nissan Leaf EV with a range around 150 miles and a price around $13,000. I asked if we could test drive it. Ben responded the vehicle needed some dealer inspections before he was authorized to allow it to be test driven by prospective buyers.

Ben was in his early twenties, looking barely out of college, like the other car salesmen we encountered recently shopping for EVs. Yet, he acted meek and genuine. He was slender and lanky. He looked more like a librarian you would trust to find sensitive personal information than the typical slick, overly confident, oozing with enthusiasm car salesman. He was someone you would root for in a movie or real life to make a sale, especially if you needed to buy a car.

Tanya and I did not want to make a rash decision buying a car, so we could be patient waiting until the Leaf passed dealer inspections before test driving it. At the same time, it was a relief that we could leave my defunct Honda Civic at this Gresham Honda dealership until we decided to purchase a car. While we were at the dealership, we got all my personal belongings out of my Honda Civic and then headed home.

Friday, May 1st, I carpooled with Nick Walden Poublon to The Dalles to knock on doors for his Oregon House District 52 campaign to try to win the May 19th Democratic primary election. A Portland TV reporter interviewed him that afternoon. I took publicity photos and a video as the TV reporter conducted an on camera interview with Nick. As the tradition with Nick, he bought a Burgerville milkshake for me on the drive back to Portland whenever rode together.

Photo by Brian Ettling of Nick Walden Poublon interviewed by a Portland OR area TV reporter on May 1, 2026.

On Saturday, May 2nd, I borrowed Tanya’s Hyundai Ioniq 6 EV to canvass for Nick in the Corbett area. I knocked on doors for residents who lived along the Columbia River Highway in the Columbia River Gorge. I drove far to engage with voters who lived in private homes by the Eagle Creek Fish Hatchery, which was a 32-mile drive from where we live in outer northeast Portland. I took Tanya’s car on some sketchy narrow steep gravel roads to try to interact with some voters. I estimated I drove over 75 miles total that day. On my drive leaving the hatchery, I noticed the dashboard flashed at me that the stored battery power was below 20% and the battery should be charged soon.

I drove to the Columbia River Outlet Mall where they have an Electrify America Level 3 Fast Charging Station. I ate my sack lunch from home waiting to charge Tanya’s Hyundai Ioniq 6. It took about 16 minutes from the level 3 hyper fast charge station charging the EV’s battery from 19% to 80%. It cost a whopping $.64 kilowatt per hour with a total cost of $32.51. This was much more expensive than the $.17 kilowatt per hour at the Rockwood Library, but it was great to have Tanya’s EV charged up to 80% within 16 minutes.

On Sunday, May 3rd, I carpooled with Nick Walden Poublon to canvass in The Dalles. Of course, he treated me with a milkshake afterwards. When I returned that evening, Tanya and I had doubts about buying the Nissan Leaf EV from Tonkin Gresham Honda. We were concerened about the short battery range. Even more troubling, we read reports of the EV battery overheating and potentially catching fire after getting charged using Level 3 fast charging stations. Thus, fast charging would not be available on this EV.

In the days before, Katie Collins, Nick’s campaign manager, told me that her husband Chris had a Nissan Leaf from that era. I texted Katie that evening to see if Tanya could chat with Chris. Katie and I exchanged phone numbers for Tanya and Chris so they could chat about Chris’ Nissan Leaf experience. Chris advised Tanya that an older Nissan Leaf with a shorter range and an outstanding recall on the battery might not be the best fit for us.

On Monday morning, May 4th, Tanya and I texted while she was at work and I was at home trying to figure out what to do about my car situation. She thought we should possibly buy a hybrid like a Toyota Pruis for me. I was adamant that I did not want a car that ran on any type of fossil fuels, including hybrids. However, my car died when I just spent over $4200, almost emptying my checking account. I was desperate for an inexpensive car.

In my text message to Tanya, I wrote:

“Thank you so much for your love and patience, Tanya. This is so hard because I am going through a life changing transition right now. My green Honda Civic was the only car I ever owned. I was so proud of that car. It gave me an independence to do whatever I wanted. It was always there for me, so I always tried to take care of it. The car died a a terrible time when my finances are not doing well. I am not getting paid to do what I love to do. If I drive another car, I want to be proud of it and make a statement that we can’t keep driving petroleum based cars that are causing climate change, fueling wars, powering petrostates that are very undemocratic, and giving money to large fossil fuel companies that are destroying our democracy and environment.

I know this is a huge financial decision for us. I am not in a financial position to get another ideal car for me right now. It has me feeling very depressed.

We will overcome this challenge though. I appreciate you and how supportive you are! Thank you for being with me in this very turbulent time for me right now”

The good news is that Tanya was just as determined and enthusiastic as I was that we should buy an EV for me. A few minutes later, Tanya forwarded to me texts from Ben, the salesman at Tonkin Gresham Honda. The first one he wrote the day before on Sunday:

“Hey, I’ll look forward to connecting as well. I didn’t know if I should have reached out today, sadly the 2019 Leaf plus did sell over the weekend. Glad there are more options we can explore. I’d seen a 2016 Leaf to suggest also. Have a good evening, talk tomorrow : )

Tanya responded she spotted on the internet two 2023 Hyundai Kona EVs at Tonkin GreshamHyundai, one was certified pre-owned. Plus, she saw a listing for a Chey Bolt EV. However, she could not find a price for them. She gave Ben the VIN (Vehicle Identification) numbers for both cars. Ben texted back:

“Hey, quick update. Reviewed the options you mentioned. I do not see the Chevy Bolt in our system. For the Hyundai Kona EV options both are on sale for $20,990. Considering how similar they are I’d go with the certified one if I were in your shoes. Sadly I wouldn’t be able to sell that one as a Honda dealer. Only pre-owned non certified vehicles of other manufacturers. Hope this info is helpful, look forward to hearing yours and Brian’s thoughts.”

Tanya and I were pleased how helpful Ben was. He hoped to buy a car through him especially since my Honda Civic was parked on the dealership lot. We hoped we would be able to get some kind of trade in value for the car, even if the engine was now inoperable.

We were surprised that someone bought the Nissan Leaf so quickly without the dealership finishing its inspection. It brought seriousness to our car shopping that we were competing against other car buyers in a ferocious hunt for affordable EVs. Our upmost feeling was relief that the car sold. It took a challenging decision off our hands. We liked the price, but we had deep concerns about the Nissan Leaf’s range and overheating battery issues.

After Tanya came home from work after 4 pm, we decided to drive to Tonkin Honda in Gresham to have a conversation with Ben about our next step forward with possible EVs to purchase.

When we arrived at Tonkin Honda, Ben stood near the door chatting with some of his work colleagues. He was pleased to see us and immediately led us to his desk. He apologized that the white 2019 Nissan Leaf sold so quickly over the weekend. Tanya and I appreciated him saying that, but we felt fine and held no grudge that the car sold. Ben seemed at a loss as far as what Tonkin Honda could sell us as far as EVs. He suggested the Honda Prologue EV that we could even lease. However, Tanya and I were not interested in that Honda EV model. It was out of our price range and too large of a vehicle for us. It was a joint model built with Chevrolet. It did not seem like Honda was serious about offering established reliable EVs yet.

We told Ben that we were thinking about going to Tonkin Gresham Hyundai to check out their used Kona EVs. He agreed with us that it was a smart car shopping thing to do. He again advised us to prioritize the Certified Preowned (CPO) Kona over the other EV, since the CPO Kona would have been fully inspected, serviced, and would have a better warranty than the non-CPO Kona EV. He was candid that he would love our business, but it would be outside of his scope if we bought a vehicle through Tonkin Hyundai. We appreciated his consistent sincerity and wish we could have bought an EV through him.

I brought up the uncomfortable fact that my Honda Civic was still on their parking lot. Ben was not worried at all. He said it was not bothering anyone, and we were fine keeping it there while we were deciding what to do next. I gave Ben another extra key to the vehicle and another manual we discovered at home over the weekend while I sorted through my belongings that used to be inside my Honda Civic. He was fine with us putting the manual inside the car.

Tanya and I went to see my now defunct 2002 Honda Civic for the last time. I probably should have taken a photo and said farewell. It was such a steady and reliable friend over the years. I could not fathom in that moment that it was my last time interacting with the car. I felt disappointed that it died on the highway on me the previous week. Yet, in the end, the car gave all it could to me at 333,109 miles. It was not the car’s fault that it could not get to 333,333 miles. My dream was over to squeeze more years out of it.

As well as the Honda Civic served me, I hope that it was still useful in its parts to add life to another car. I am all about reduce, reuse, and recycle. However, I planned to use this car as a trade in to get hopefully several hundred dollars to reduce the price of the next car. After I traded the car in, it would be out of my hands if the parts would be recycled.

Brian Ettling with his 2002 Honda Civic LX. Photo taken on February 22, 2025.

Tanya and I choose to Buy a 2023 Hyundai Konga Electric Car for me on May 4, 2024

Tanya and I then left Tonkin Gresham Honda to drive a few miles to go to Tonkin Gresham Hyundai to check out their used Kona EVs that Tanya saw listed online. Soon after we parked Tanya’s Hyundai Ioniq 6 EV on the Hyundai lot around 6 pm, it did not take us long to find the certified preowned grey 2003 Kona EV on the lot. We found an employee so we could request a test drive. The employee then introduced us to Dax, a young buff gregarious salesman, who sat in the back seat as I took the EV for a short test drive.

Tanya and I fell in love with this EV immediately. It was the perfect size for me. This Kona performed smoothly and comfortably when I took it for a test drive. Tanya and I could not find any objections to the price, plus the clean and well-maintained condition of the EV. It had over 26,000 miles with a price over $20,000. We did not want another EV buyer to grab it before we chose to buy it. We did not think we could bargain this price lower, and we were good with that. We decided that evening to buy the car.

We then had to sign a stack of papers. Tanya wrote a check for the downpayment to finalize the sale. I remarked to Tanya that I would miss having a green colored car. She cheerfully responded that this Kona’s grey color started off with the three letters just like green: g-r-e. I laughed and readily agreed with Tanya that I felt assured that the Kona’s grey color had the same first three letters, g-r-e, as the green color of my old Honda Civic.

Dax charged this Kona EV as we completed the paperwork. As it became dark around 8 pm, it was a joy to drive it off the lot and to our apartment complex. My dream came true to be driving my own EV, thanks to Tanya financing it. I will always be grateful to her. For years, I wanted to own an EV, especially if my Honda Civic died. Tanya enabled this dream to come true.

On Tuesday, May 5th, I eagerly started driving my new 2023 Hyundai Kona EV, especially for my democracy and climate organizing. I put around 50 miles on the car that day knocking on doors for Nick Walden Poublon in the Corbett, Oregon area. It was a gorgeous balmy most cloudy spring day when I canvassed homes in the most western part of the Columbia River Gorge. During my lunch break, I proudly took two selfie photos of my new EV in front of the Vista House scenic overlook of the gorge. I posted one of the photos the next day on my social media announcing to the world that I my Honda Civic died and I switched to an EV.

Brian Ettling with his new preowned 2023 Hyundai Kona electric car. Photo taken at Crown Point in the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon on May 5, 2026.

Learning to charge my 2023 Hyundai Kona Electric Car

On Wednesday, May 6th, I took my Hyundai Kona EV to the Rockwood Library for the first time to give the battery some charging. I immediately ran into a problem. I could not get the charge port door on the EV open to charge the car. I then drove the EV three miles to the Gresham Tonkin Hyundai to see if Dax, the salesman who sold me the car, could help me open my charge port door. Dax, was not available. However, a female salesperson congratulated me on buying the car recently. She happily showed me how to get the charge port door open. I then returned to the Rockwood Library. I charged the EV for about 2 hours for a cost of $2.15.

I entered a new world with charging EVs with a steep learning curve. When I decided to end the charging session at the Rockwood Library, I could not get their OpConnect Charging Station cable and nozzle to disconnect from my EV. It was securely stuck on my EV’s charge port and would not detach. I was anxious to start knocking on doors for Nick that day, but I was unsure what to do to remove the charging nozzle. I did not want to damage the nozzle, cable, or my EV. I asked the librarians for help. One librarian who owns an EV came out to help me. Somehow, we got the charging nozzle detached from my car, but we did not know how we did it.

That evening, I choose to stop by the Fred Meyers grocery store in Troutdale. This shopping center parking lot had a Blink Level 2 charger that I wanted to try using while I shopped. I could not get the Blink Charger to start charging. I called the customer service number on this charging station to have someone help me turn on the charger. It worked! I charged my EV for 21 minutes for 2.27 kilowatts per hour for a cost of $.49 per kilowatt hour. The Rockwood Library was still the cheapest place for me to charge at $.17 per kilowatt hour. Like my other charging sessions, I had trouble getting this Blink charging station to stop charging and disconnect. Fortunately, I phoned the Blink Customer service hotline. The same employee that assisted me to start my charge, 20 minutes earlier, then helped me to stop the charging. He remotely pressed the right buttons to get the charging nozzle to release its grip on my charging port.

On Thursday, May 7th, Nick Walden Poublon and I decided to meet at our rendezvous point at Columbia Gorge Outlet Mall to possibly carpool together in Hood River. While I waited for Nick, I decided to spend several minutes charging my Kona EV at the Electrify America. I would only get a few minutes of charging and add a few minutes to my range before Nick arrived. I got over 5 kilowatts charged on the battery at a cost of $3.39. It cost $.64 per kilowatt hour on a slower Level 2 charger to charge at this Electrify America Columbia Gorge Outlet Mall charging station. The Rockwood library only cost me about $.17 per kilowatt hour. Therefore, I did not want to charge often at the Electrify America charging station at that outlet mall.

Like my previous charging experience at the library, I had difficulties disengaging the charging nozzle from my car’s charging port. I called the help desk number on the charging station monitor to see if I could get a receptionist to stop charging my EV and enable the nozzle to disconnect. The Electrify America call center representative stopped remotely my charging session. She pressed a button so the charging nozzle disconnected loosely from my charging port.

I marveled at modern technology of the ability to call someone remotely. They could tap a few keystrokes on their computer to end an EV charging session, plus tell the machine to end the tight nozzle connection to my EV charge port. Good thing the Electrify America employee on the phone helped me. I had a fantastic day with perfect spring weather to knock on doors in the Corbett area of the Columbia River Gorge.

Columbia River Gorge at the Women’s Forum overlook near Crown Point. Photo by Brian Ettling taken on May 7, 2026.

Nick and I mutually agreed when we met at the Columbia River Gorge Outlet Mall parking lot that each of us could knock on more doors effectively if we canvassed separately that day. We enjoyed canvassing together, but it made more sense to drive individually to our areas that day. Therefore, I would be on my own, driving my car separately to the Corbett area with the opportunity to experience driving my own EV that day.

That evening Thursday, May 7th, I started charging my Kona EV at the Honda Training Center, located about a half a mile from where Tanya and I lived. I waved my credit card in front of the ChargePoint charging kiosk to start the charge session. I started charging at 8:15 pm and the battery stopped charging when it reached 80% at 11:24 pm, about 3 hours and 9 minutes later. It cost me a total of $4.27, and the charging rate was $.20 per kilowatt hour. The Rockwood Library was still cheaper at $.17 per kilowatt hour, but the Honda Training Center was the most convenient place for me to charge since it was only a half mile walk to my home.

On Friday, May 8th, I completed canvassing one small section in Hood River. I left that area around 5 pm to make it to the Honda Training Center to start charging around 6 pm. Sadly, I could not get the ChargePoint charging kiosk to start with waving my credit card. Tanya drove her car to meet up with me. She helped me learn how to use the ChargePoint app on my cell phone to place my iPhone directly in front of the charging kiosk to initiate the charging. I appreciated her help because I got 4 hours and 45 minutes charging my Kona EV from 6:35 pm to 11:20 pm to bring my EV to an 80% battery charge. It cost me a total of $5.95 charge it that day.

By Saturday, May 9th, I was a routine to canvass in Hood River for Nick during the day. Then leave Hood River around 5 pm to head to the Honda Training Center ChargePoint station. I arrived around 6:17 pm and started charging my EV around 6:19 pm. Tanya picked me up in her EV so I did not have to walk home. It took 5 hours and 21 minutes to charge my Kona EV to 80%. It stopped charging at 11:19 pm. It became a daily habit to walk from home to the Honda Training Center to pick up my car around 11:20 pm. Fortunately, it was May, so the weather had an evening coolness, but it was not frigid or rainy like the Portland winters. That day it cost me $6.20, which made sense because it took more time to charge than the previous day.

Tanya suggested I start charging my car early in the mornings. However, I did not want to get up super early to charge my car. I wanted to immediately start charging it when I returned home from work so I would be all set to drive over 100 miles round trip to Hood River the next day. The good news was that Sunday, May 10^th was Mother’s Day. Katie had not assigned me any areas to knock on doors that day. Canvassing can be awkward on Mother’s Day. People are often gathered with their families if they are home and not as interested in chatting with political canvassers that day. It was a welcome day off for Tanya and me to go hiking and spend time together. Tanya needed to charge her car at the Honda Training Center. It was fun to drive there in my EV and then take a photo of us with our EVs together before we went on a hike.

Monday, May 11th, Katie assigned me to canvass in Cascade Locks, Oregon. It was less of a commute than driving to Hood River. It would be 72 miles round trip, instead of around 106 miles round trip to Hood River. Thus, I would not need as much of a charge for my EV to reach 80%. I could canvass later into the evening that day until after 7 pm before heading back home. I arrived at the Honda Equipment facility at 7:50 pm and I needed to charge my EV until around 11:16 pm to get to an 80% charge. I had another late-night walk to my EV at the Honda Training Center to retrieve my car. This 3 hour and 26-minute charge cost me a total amount of $4.40.

Tuesday, May 12^th, Katie asked me to knock on doors in The Dalles, a much farther drive than Hood River. The Dalles is roughly 75 miles one way or 150 miles round trip from where Tanya and I live in Portland. This longer commute meant it would drain the EV battery even lower than Hood River, and it would take more time to charge after work. When I returned home, my battery charge was less than 20%. For this day, my solution was to charge it for several hours at night and then for a few hours in the morning to get the battery up to an 80% charge.

The Dalles, Oregon. Photo by Brian Ettling from May 13, 2026.

My most frustrating lowest point learning to charge my electric car

I started charging my EV at the Honda Training Center at 7:47 pm. Around 12:51 am, I walked the half mile from the apartment where Tanya and I live to the charging station at the Honda Training Center to stop charging and disconnect the charging cable and nozzle from my car. I figured I would charge it for the remaining amount of time needed in the morning. I was not ready to leave my EV parked overnight away from home.

When I arrived at the Honda Training Center shortly before 1 am, I stopped the charge remotely on my iPhone. However, I could not get the charging nozzle to disconnect from my EV’s charging port. It felt like the nozzle was cemented on my EV’s charge port. It would not budge no matter what tricks I tried. I felt so angry and helpless that there was no one around to help me at this very late hour. I called Charge Point’s helpline listed at the charging kiosk to see if anyone could help me. No one answered the phone. I tried restarting the charging since it was stuck, but I could not get the Charge Point kiosk to start charging my EV again.

It became obvious there was nothing else I could do but to leave my EV parked at the Honda Equipment in front of the Charge Point kiosks. I had to walk home to get some sleep that night. I left a note for Tanya to see if she could help me in the morning. She saw my note soon after she awoke. I then woke up and we decided she would drive us both to the Honda Training Center to see if she could get the nozzle to disengage.

To my amazement and disbelief, Tanya got the nozzle to disconnect immediately and easily. I was not sure what her trick was. However, I needed to learn whatever it was quickly because it was not the first time that the charging nozzle became stuck on my charge port.

When I woke up on the morning of Wednesday, May 13th, I received little sleep that night. Even worse, my stress level was high since I could not get the charging nozzle off my EV’s charge port. It was hard to sleep thinking my car might not be safe. In the previous nights when I retrieved my car from the Honda Training Center, I heard people partying and laughing on the other side of the street sitting around underneath a tree. They never noticed my car unattended, but what if they did? What if I could never get the nozzle off? Lots of what ifs raising my blood pressure.

I charged my EV at the Honda Training Center for over two hours that morning in the rain. Later that day, I drove 75 miles to The Dalles to canvass for Nick. It was a lovely overcast day. I canvassed on a bluff overlooking the town where I took a good panoramic photo, with the Columbia River bending around the north side of the city, and The Dalles Dam on the eastern edge of this urban area. I knocked on over 50 doors that day. I ended work at 6 pm to start heading home. I arrived at the Honda Training Center around 7:10 pm. The battery charge was less than 20%. I charged my EV until 10:30 pm, walking home in-between to have dinner with Tanya and then return to stop charging to take my car home to get some sleep.

A panoramic photo of The Dalles, Oregon taken by Brian Ettling on May 3, 2026.

Using 2 Electric Cars to hike on a new trail for us on Tanya’s birthday

The next morning, I woke up exhausted from working several days straight, plus dealing with the learning curve of how to charge my EV. If it was up to me, I would have relaxed at home, plus worked on chores such as laundry, on this day off. However, Thursday, May 14th was Tanya’s birthday. She took the day off so both of us could go on a big hike that day. I had little energy that day, plus I needed several hours to charge my EV up to 80% before heading The Dalles or another location to canvass for Nick on Friday, May 15th.

Besides my EV battery, my emotional and physical batteries were low that day. I needed a recharging that required rest and an easy day. The ironic part was that Tanya wanted to do a big hike for her birthday. We have been married for over 10 years, plus we dated for over 2 years before that. Our tradition was that on one of our birthday’s, the person having the birthday could choose whatever they wanted to do that day.

Tanya’s first choice for her birthday was to hike Eagle Creek in the Columbia River Gorge. She wanted to hike on that trail all the way to Tunnel Falls, which would be a 12-mile hike. We were chatting around 8:30 am and I thought we would be getting too late of a start, plus I hinted I did not have the energy for that hike. She then suggested hiking up Dog Mountain on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge. That’s a 6-mile trail round trip with a 2,800-foot elevation gain. I remember when we hiked that trail several years before that it felt highly strenuous for me to the extent that I did not feel a need to do it again. I found some way to gently tell her that I no motivation to hike that trail that day.

Tanya then suggested we hike from Larch Mountain to Multnomah Falls. I liked that option. For years, Tanya and I hiked around the summit trails of Larch Mountain and the trails around Multnomah Falls. We knew from the signs at both locations that there was a 7-mile connecting trail connecting Larch Mountain to Multnomah Falls. To hike that trail around trip would be over 14 miles with a 4,200-elevation gain. Tanya and I both felt that would be too much of a day hike for us. We are not backpackers, so we don’t do trails like this over more than one day.

For years, my idea was to hike this trail with friends using 2 cars. We would meet at Multnomah Falls, leave one car at the I-84 parking lot. We would then drive in the other car together to the summit of Larch Mountain. Park and leave the other vehicle there and then hike downhill from Larch Mountain to Multnomah Falls. We then carpool together from the Multnomah Falls parking lot to the Larch Mountain summit parking lot to retrieve the other car. We would then go home separately. Our only problem, in previous years, was that we only had one car, my Honda Civic, and we could not find anyone to do this adventure with us. We can close once in 2023 with a climate friend and her husband. However, when the four of us drove up on the road to Larch Mountain, a gate blocked the remaining the road stating it was closed for construction.

Photo of Multnomah Falls taken by Brian Ettling on August 12, 2023.

Now that we had 2 EVs, problem solved! We could hike Larch Mountain to Multnomah Falls 7 miles one way in a day! I quickly gathered my belongings for us to hike and headed out the door with my car sometime after 9 am. I did not bring a map because we hiked numerous times in the Larch Mountain and Multnomah Falls areas. We knew the area well, expect we knew nothing about the connecting trail. We assumed we would easily figure it out once we were hiking.

Tanya then drove her EV to meet me at the I-84 Multnomah Falls parking lot. We arrived at the parking area around the same time. We then carpooled in her car up to the Larch Mountain summit parking area. It was an overcast day that had rained the night before. We did not bother to go to the Sherrard Point Overlook at the summit to see views of Mt. Hood and other Cascade Mountains. The low grey clouds indicated no distant or near mountains were visible.

Tanya and I began hiking from the Larch Mountain summit area parking lot to try to find the trail connecting Larch Mountain to Multnomah Falls. Over the years, Tanya and I hiked several times on the Larch Mountain loop trail. We admired the tall Douglas Fir and other large pine trees on this trail that reached towards the sky and made the sun hard to see on a clear day. As we hiked downhill on Trail 441 for over a mile and a half, we came up to a familiar wooden junction sign that said “Columbia Gorge Highway 6 miles.” The sign made no mention of Multnomah Falls, Multnomah Falls Lodge, or I-84. However, around the corner, a posted wooden sign pointed to the Multnomah Creek Trail and the Multnomah Spur.

Tanya and I felt confused by the signage. We did not know what that meant to hike on the trail leading to the Columbia Gorge Highway. Where would this trail lead us to on the Columbia Gorge Highway? Unless we were hiking down to Multnomah Falls and the I-84 Multnomah Falls parking lot, this trail downhill was not going to help us.

We hiked a mile further on the Multnomah Spur Trail, but it did not lead us downhill. We kept heading east instead of north towards my car. After I scrambled across unstable rocks on a creek where I almost lost my footing and slipped into the water, it felt like everything was wrong. I noticed a sign heading to Franklin Ridge, which was a forested outcropping a mile and a half east of Multnomah Falls. I then knew we took the wrong path. In my exhaustion of lack of sleep, plus recent struggles with trying to get the charging nozzle unstuck from the charging point on my EV, I let out huge primal scream at the top of my lungs. Tanya was several hundred yards behind me. She did not seem to hear my outburst.

When she reached me, I shared, “We went the wrong way. This trail leads to Franklin Ridge. It does not look like it will get us back to Multnomah Falls. I am tired and exhausted. I think we need to head back to your car so we can start heading home.”

Tanya did not know what to say since she was in a good mood enjoying her birthday. She replied, “I am fine if we hike to Franklin Ridge. It would be something new for us to see. Plus, I think it does reconnect to the trail going to Multnomah Falls.”

With my lack of energy and frustration with us taking the wrong trail, I responded, “I think I am just going to start hiking back to your car.”

We hiked back to the junction with the wooden sign stating, ‘Columbia Gorge Highway 6 miles.’

I told Tanya, “This is the way down to Multnomah Falls. This signage is terrible. Looks like we are at the junction. We might as well hike down to Multnomah Falls and my car on this trail.”

Tanya smiled and brightened up with the decision we would hike on this new trail for us. We wanted to complete this trail for years, and now we would make it happen. As I hiked back on the Multnomah Spur Trail to this junction, I decided I did not want to spoil Tanya’s birthday. Even more, we came this far, we might as well complete this journey we started.

As soon as we started down Trail 441 leading to Multnomah Falls, we knew we made the best decision that day. Tanya and I loved this trail. It had the excitement of visiting a brand-new location. The landscape changed several times as we hiked downhill on this trail. For over a mile, we hiked through a spooky section of burned dead trees that probably succumbed to the 2017 Eagle Creek fire. The trail had a lot of loose large rocks that wanted to trip me or wrist my ankle. The standing dead trees gave a much deeper penetrating view of the forest and the crested ridges above this sloping downhill small canyon we were walking down the trail.

White Trillium flowers bloomed in large groups next to the trail, almost like they were posing for a group photo. One of the wooden bridges across Multnomah Creek collapsed into a huge sagging shadow of itself. Tanya and I crossed this trail bridge cautiously, fearing we could slip into the jagged rocky creek just a few feet below us. For most that bridge, I slid on my butt using my hands to drag me forward so I would not go sliding off into the creek.

Tanya hiking on the Larch Mountain Trail, which goes from Larch Mountain to Multnomah Falls. Photo taken by Brian Ettling on Tanya’s birthday on May 14, 2026.

Lush green vegetation almost as tall as Tanya and me underneath the burned-out trees made their statement that this forest was healing and would eventually return as another tall majestic Pacific Northwest forest. As we hiked a couple of miles further, the burned-out area was gone. We now hiked in an old pine tree forest providing a big canopy that we could only get small glimpses of the sky. Multnomah Creek became wider as we continued to traverse on this trail. Several large creeks, small waterfalls, and running brooks of water joined with Multnomah Creek making the creek a few inches deeper and louder as it continued its course downhill.

As we hiked through the forest, my bad mood dissipated. I shared with Tanya, “I am so glad we did this today. I love it here! This is different than any other trail we have done in the Gorge.”

Tanya was enthralled with the beauty of this area. Stopping periodically to take photos and admire the scenery. It warmed her heart to know that I was no longer grumpy but thrilled to be there. Before we knew it, we connected with our familiar Wahkeena Multnomah 5-mile loop trail that we took countless times over the years. It was almost 3:30 pm. The afternoon was starting to get late, so we were a bit anxious to return to my car. At the same time, we would miss this new trail we finally got to explore that day. On the connecting trail from Larch Mountain to Multnomah Falls, we saw no one. Tanya and I had that trail all to ourselves. It was a nice birthday gift from nature to have just the solitude of Tanya and me on this trail that day.

From the Wahkeena Multnomah Loop Trail junction to Multnomah Falls, we now had a 1.7-mile hike. Again, it was all downhill losing elevation. We hiked downward basically the whole time. Thus, our knees, ankles and shins were getting tired of bracing us as gravity and momentum pushed us downhill as we hiked. It rained lightly as Tanya and I reached the 11 paved switchbacks on the remaining part of this trail leading down to Multnomah Falls. I needed a bathroom, so that quickened my pace to reach the restrooms at the end of this trail.

I reached Multnomah Falls Lodge bathroom around 4:20 pm. We returned to my Hyundai Kona EV at the I-84 parking lot around 4:30 pm. I then drove my car to the Larch Mountain parking area to retrieve Tanya’s Ioniq 6 EV, making it up there after 5 pm. The summit parking lot was over a 4,000-foot elevation above sea level. Tanya and I set our EVs for maximum brake regeneration so our EVs would use the higher friction to slow down the cars on a down slope to grab more energy for our EVs’ batteries. Both of us marveled how we did not lose any miles driving 16 miles downhill from the Larch Mountain summit to I-84 in the Columbia Gorge. Each of our EVs actually gained a few miles for our batteries using our maximum regenerative braking.

Tanya and I felt exhilarated completing this new hike on her birthday. Yet, our bodies were exhausted from this 8-mile downhill hike, including hiking a mile off course. Tanya chose to go to our neighborhood Thai restaurant, Sa Ba Thai, that we regularly dine at once a month, for her birthday dinner. We topped off the day with Burgerville ice cream for dessert.

Brian Ettling and Tanya Couture celebrating Tanya’s birthday with desserts at Burgerville on May 14, 2026.

We could not have accomplished this new adventurous hike for Tanya’s birthday without our two EVs. Thank goodness Tanya decided to get 2 Hyundai EVs in the space of 2 months, especially while my 24-year-old Honda Civic died in the middle of all this change.

Conclusion: The joy of owning and driving my first electric car

It was a dream come true for Tanya and I to own an EV. Even more, to decide to each have our own EVs for our transportation needs.

On Friday morning, May 15th, my EV needed to charge for over 2 hours at the Honda Training Center. When my car finished charging at 80%, I struggled for a few minutes to get the charging nozzle off, then I discovered a trick that caused the nozzle to detach nice and easy. I immediately texted Tanya with my discovery:

“Hey Tanya!

I hope you are doing well. Happy Friday! I just wanted to share an update that I did struggle for about a minute or two with the Charge Point charge nozzle. However, when I clicked 3 times on my fob to unlock my car, the nozzle came off super easy. I think the car has a security feature to lock the nozzle on the charge port unless the car is fully unlocked. It seems like Hyundai does not want people tampering with the charge ports, nozzles, etc. for a Kona EV, etc, so they make it very hard for the nozzle to come off unless the car is fully unlocked with the fob or the unlock button inside the car. I thought hitting the unlock button twice with my fob did the trick, but I might have to do it 3 times so that the car knows it needs to be fully unlocked, including the contact between the charge cable nozzle and the Kona’s charge port. That’s my thinking this morning“

After I learned to click 3 times to unlock the car, I never had a problem with a stuck charge port nozzle again. From that point forward, I had no issues with my EV. I was in love driving my Hyundai Kona electric car.

My last day canvassing for Nick was Monday, May 18th. I drove to The Dalles that day to knock on doors to see if I could find any last-minute voters who had not voted. However, by this point, nearly everyone I encountered had voted. I knocked on doors by the outer portion of northeast The Dalles. I had great views of The Dalles Dam with the Columbia River cascading over the dam’s spillways and the barren prairie Columbia Hills located behind the dam. I even canvassed a subdivision that sat high over a hill overlooking the dam.

I had a great conversation with a union organizer who already voted, but not for Nick. We wanted to hear each other’s point of view about the candidates we supported. He invited me to come inside his home so I could see the view of the dam out his large family room window.

By that evening, nearly no one was home in this neighborhood. The few people who answered their door turned in their ballots that day or days before. My work was finished. It was now up to the voters to decide if they would support Nick.

Election Day, Tuesday May 19th, I was at home all day packing and preparing for my flight the next day. On Wednesday, May 20th, I planned to fly to St. Louis to visit family May 20-31. Tanya worked up to that Friday, May 22nd. She joined me in St. Louis to visit our families May 23-31.

While I packed for this vacation to St. Louis, I charged my EV one last time before the trip. I drove it to the Honda Training Center around 9 am. The battery charge was less than 20%. I then walked home while the vehicle charged to pack my suitcase and complete other errands before the trip. The time flew trying to get all my tasks accomplished that day, including taking out a mound of recycling to our apartment recycling bin, as well as last minute laundry. While I was busy during the day, it took about 7 and half hours to charge my EV. The cost was $9.20 and I gained about 180 miles of charge for the battery.

I was proud and thrilled when I added up my total miles driven and charging expenses for the month. On May 31st, I posted this on social media:

“For #ClimateAction, I have driven this Hyundai Kona electric car (EV) since May 4th. During that time, I put 1,519 miles on the car while it cost me just $80 to charge it using public level 2 chargers, and one level 3 fast charger for a few minutes. I would have pay a lot more in gasoline if I still had my Honda Civic car to drive that same distance.“

I never want to go back to driving a gasoline powered car. I love my 2023 Hyundai Kona EV. I hope to have this car for many years to come. I plan on taking very good car of this car, like how I tried to take excellent car of my 2002 Honda Civic LX stick shift car for 24 years.

I am ecstatic about driving an EV. I hope you will transition to an EV when the time is right for you! If you have the means to get an EV, do it. You will love it!

Brian Ettling with his new preowned 2023 Hyundai Kona electric car. Photo taken at Vista House/Crown Point in the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon on May 5, 2026.

For Climate Action, buying 2 electric cars in 2026, Part 2

Brian Ettling and Tanya Couture standing in front of their electric cars in Portland, Oregon on May 10, 2026.

This is a 3-part blog about my wife Tanya and I switching from my 2002 Honda Civic LX manual transmission car to owning 2 electric cars. This blog is written in 3 parts:

Part 1: Tanya decides to buy her Electric Car in March 2026
Part 2: The death of my 2002 Honda Civic in late April 2026
Part 3: Tanya and I choose to buy an Electric Car for me in May 2026

Tanya and I owned two cars for the first time, but my Honda Civic had repair issues

After Tanya bought her Hyundai Ioniq 6 EV on March 24, 2026, I felt freedom to go wherever I wanted with my car. I never minded that Tanya used it to commute to her job. However, I now had an independence to go wherever I wanted without worrying how Tanya would get to and from work. Tanya no longer needed my car, which felt a bit sad. Yet, it was now available for me all the time. I still planned on using Portland’s TriMet public transportation. However, now instead of taking the bus from home to connect with the MAX commuter trains, I planned to drive to the parking garage at the Gateway Transit Center or the park-n-ride lot at the E 122nd MAX blue line stop. I figured this would save me time to drive to locations where I could catch the MAX, instead of waiting for buses and the slow bus rides with all the passenger stops.

Having total and easy access to my car came in handy for returning to the dermatologist to get my stiches removed from the Mohr’s surgery on Monday, March 31st, as well as shopping that day for a new pair of walking shoes for my upcoming canvassing job. I also used my car to April 4th for my first canvassing event in Welches, Oregon for my friend Nick Walden Poublon who ran in the Democratic primary to represent Oregon House District 52. I knocked on over 50 doors for Nick that day. I drove my car to the E 122nd Max Blue Line stop to on April 8th for a Portland Citizens’ Climate Lobby coffee meeting with Congresswoman Maxine Dexter. Later that day, I knocked on doors in east Gresham, Oregon for Nick.

Portland Citizens’ Climate Lobby meeting with Congresswoman Maxine Dexter that Brian Ettling helped organize at Roseline Coffee in Portland, Oregon on April 8, 2026.

For the next week, I knocked on over 200 doors for Nick and drove over 150 miles on my car canvassing for him in east Gresham, Oregon. On Friday, April 17th, I took my car in for an oil change. I was worried that it might be expensive since my clutch squeaked like a rusty door in a haunted house movie. I was afraid it would need to be replaced. Sure enough, Steve, the service advisor at the Tonkin Gresham Honda Dealership, advised me that my clutch was worn out and I should get a new one installed. That would cost me over $2500. In addition, they noticed I had a bad front engine mount that would run over $600 to repair. I was looking at a bill over $3,200 to keep my car running. They would have to order the parts. Steve told me that it was fine to drive my car home, and he would inform me when the parts arrived.

The next day, Saturday April 18th, I planned to drive my car to Hood River to knock on doors for Nick. When I drove just 5 miles from home, I noticed the check engine light came on my Honda Civic. I immediately took the car back home. I did not want to take any chances with engine issues, especially since it was an over 50-mile drive to Hood River. Tanya offered to drive me in her Hyundai Ioniq 6 EV to Hood River to canvass. That was very helpful of her because I knocked on almost 60 doors that Saturday. On Sunday, April 19th, Katie Collins, Nick’s Walden Poublon’s Campaign Manager, gave me a ride to Hood River and Nick gave me a ride back home. Monday April 20th to Wednesday, April 23rd, Tanya generously allowed me to borrow her Hyundai Ioniq 6 EV so I could knock on doors in Hood River.

The joy of learning to charge Tanya’s Hyundai Ioniq 6 Electric Car

Monday, April 20th was my first time charging Tanya’s EV. I charged it at the NECA-IBEW Union Training Center located less than a mile from our apartment. The IBEW offered the ChargePoint EV charging network kiosks. My dad was a member of the IBEW union for over 40 years with his full-time job working for the electric utility in St. Louis, Missouri. He worked for the area power utility called Union Electric. Since 1997, Union Electric changed its name to Ameren. As I charged Tanya’s EV, I called my parents to let them know that I was charging her EV at an IBEW facility.

I charged Tanya’s Hyundai Ioniq 6 EV with the Level 3 fast charger outlet. It took 44 minutes to charge this Ioniq 6 EV up to 80%, the recommended level to charge the EV battery. Charging an EV battery up to 100%, especially using a Level 3 fast charger, is not considered to be healthy for the battery and will reduce the battery’s range over the long term. It cost me $12.76 to charge her EV, adding around 175 miles to the battery, at a cost of $0.30 per kilowatt hour. It impressed me how fast it was to charge Tanya’s EV, especially since I took time to walk around the IBEW campus, plus I read a book and called my mom waiting for the car to be charged. This Level 3 charging station inputted about 62.5 kilowatts of direct current into the battery.

Brian Ettling charging Tanya Couture’s Hyundai Ioniq 6 EV at the NECA-IBEW Union Training Center in outer northeast Portland, Oregon on April 20, 2026.

On Tuesday, April 21st and Wednesday, April 22nd, Tanya continued to let me borrow her Ioniq 6 EV to canvass in Hood River. On those days, I chose to charge her EV at the nearby Rockwood Library in Gresham, Oregon, which was a 3-mile drive from where Tanya and I live. The library charges a much lower rate of $.17 per kilowatt hour through the OpConnect EV charging network kiosks. Yes, the price was much cheaper, but the library only offered level 2 charging, which was a much slower rate of charging. It offered a 7.68-kilowatt charge of altering current, versus the 62.5 kilowatt of direct current I received the day before at the Level 3 charger at the IBEW facility. Thus, it can take many hours to charge an EV at a level 2 charger, as opposed to under an hour with a Level 3 fast charge.

I spent 3 hours and 15 minutes charging at the Rockwood Library. I did not have enough time to charge to 80%. On Tuesday, I charged Tanya’s EV to about 61% with a 171-mile range, which left me plenty of charge to drive her EV to Hood River and back, since it was over a 100-mile drive round trip. I did not mind spending hours at the library reading and writing blogs.

The good news was that it only cost me $3.10 to charge Tanya’s EV at the library. Yes, Level 2 charging is much slower than Level 3 fast charging, but the total costs are so much cheaper. Many EV owners simply charge at home with a Level 2 charger in the evenings or at night while they are sleeping. These EV owners have the convenience of paying a lower cost using their home electricity and the freedom of charging their vehicle while they are working, relaxing, or sleeping overnight. They simply plug it in for hours when they are settled in for the evening and night, without thinking much about it, and the EV is ready to go with an 80% or even 100% charge, if they choose, for the next day.

Tanya and I do not have the advantage of home charging since we are renters. Our apartment complex does not offer EV charging on our property. However, I hope to eventually approach ChargePoint, OpConnect, Blink or some other EV Charging Network, plus I want to engage with the managing corporation of our apartment complex, to try to get a few EV charging ports installed in a couple of our apartment facility’s parking spaces. We must more to make EV charging more friendly and accessible for apartment renters, like Tanya and me. I hope to make that a future active cause to advocate for more EV charging for renters.

In case you have not noticed, I loved charging Tanya’s EV. With petro-dictators like Vladmir Putin of Russia and Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia trampling over human rights and causing unnecessary wars of choice, oil producing nations blocking significant agreements at the annual United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change conferences, huge American fossil fuel corporations funding climate denial and slowing progress to renewable energy, and the Trump Administration fighting against policies to switch to clean energy and refusing to protect the environment, I was very happy to charge an EV with electrical power rather than fill up a car with gasoline. Even more, I would rather spend hours charging an EV than spend minutes supplying gasoline to a car that will contribute more to air pollution, emit greenhouse gases that cause climate change, and provide money to giant oil companies.

Are you bored reading all the details of me charging our EV for the first time? You probably are. I don’t blame you! However, I am not done yet! I felt like I was on a new adventure in uncharted territory learning how to charge our EV.

I had so much fun charging Tanya’s Hyundai Ioniq 6 EV on April 21st that I decided to charge her EV again at the Rockwood Library the next day on April 22^nd. I got there early to start charging her EV around 8:14 am and stopped charging 6 hours later around 2:13 pm. It cost me $5.74 to add 162 miles of range and charge the battery up to 58% of capacity. Like the previous day, I brought a book to read, called my mom, and brought my laptop computer to work on my blog.

At the end of the day in Hood River, I worried I might not have enough charge to get home. Thus, I used an Electrify America Level 3 Fast Charger at the Wal Mart in Hood River. It took me 23 minutes to get the battery up to an 80% charge, costing me $17.85 at $.48 a kilowatt hour. Obviously, the Rockwood Library is so much cheaper to charge at $.17 a kilowatt hour. I took the day off on Thursday, April 23rd. However, I had so much joy charging Tanya’s EV twice that week that I decided to charge her car that Friday, April 24th. I charged for about 2 and a half hours, getting her EV batter up to about 68% or over 180 miles of range.

The joyful moments in April 2026 of receiving the OLCV award and canvassing with Nick

I finished charging at 2:30 pm on that Friday, April 24th. I then quickly made lunch, cleaned the dishes, showered, and put on my dress suit for Tanya and I to attend the OLCV (Oregon League of Conservation Voters) Annual Celebration Dinner. We volunteered to help the OLCV staff make the event a success. Tanya and I were designated to manage the coat check for the paid guests that wanted to check their coats and gear near the front of the facility.

Tanya and I were elated to attend since OLCV selected me as the 2025 OLCV Volunteer of the Year. OLCV Political and Organizing Director Britney VanCitters presented me with the award towards the end of the event. The audience of several hundred people, including the current Oregon Governor Tina Kotek, former Governor Kate Brown, 3 members of Congress, many legislators, and other leading Oregon environmentalists gave me a standing ovation. To be more climate friendly, Tanya and I were excited to drive her Hyundai Ioniq 6 EV to this event.

Brian Ettling and Tanya Couture posing with his OLCV Volunteer of the Year Award that he received at the OLCV Annual Celebration Dinner on April 24, 2026.

The next day, Saturday, April 25th, I was back in the groove of knocking on doors for Nick Walden Poublon. On that Saturday and Sunday, April 26th, Nick Walden Poublon gave me rides to Hood River to canvass for his campaign. It was a joy to ride with Nick. I liked his sense of humor, optimism, and determination to win this election. He liked to buy at the Burgerville Drive Thru an extra-large Diet Coke for himself for the car ride home. He felt guilty purchasing a huge drink for himself, plus he wanted to award me for my hard work for him that day. Thus, he graciously would buy a small Burgerville milkshake for me. Milkshakes are my favorite dessert and drink, so Nick spoiled me fast with those daily rewards.

On Monday, April 27th, Tonkin Honda Service Department in Gresham had the replacement parts ready for my 2002 Honda Civic LX. I dropped the car off that morning, and the dealership gave me a new Honda CRV loaner car to use while my car was in the shop. I waited to several minutes that morning see if the mechanics could determine what caused the engine light to light up on Saturday, April 18th. They diagnosed the thermostat was worn out. They estimated the cost at $600. With the clutch getting replaced, the front engine mount, and now a new thermostat needed, my total bill was now over $4000! Ouch!

I drove the loaner car to the Columbia Gorge Outlet Mall, by Interstate 84 in Troutdale for Nick and I to carpool to Hood River to knock on doors. I always had a great time riding with Nick. It was not just the Burgerville milkshakes he bought me, such as chocolate, their specialty flavor of the month – strawberry cheesecake, and vanilla. Although receiving those milkshakes were fantastic, I liked the positive camaraderie we shared. We had a great time teasing each other. When I requested the vanilla milkshake when he ordered his extra large Diet Coke at the Burgerville Drive Thru, Nick pointedly asked me: “Isn’t a vanilla milkshake just melted ice cream?”

I laughed, agreed with him, but still ordered that milkshake anyway.

At our rendezvous point at the Columbia Outlet Mall, I carried my belongings to Nick’s car in my arms. Late that afternoon, I noticed my brown large brim sun hat was missing. It could not be found in Nick’s car. I hoped on the car ride back from Hood River to my car that the hat would be inside my car or maybe on the road where I possibly dropped it. Sure enough, when Nick pulled his car into the Columbia Gorge Outlet Mall at 5:30 pm, I spotted my hat in the middle of the road while sitting in the front passenger seat of Nick’s car.

I enthusiastically yelled, “Hey, Nick! That’s my hat!”

He did not see it in time, and he ran over the hat with his car. The hat fit me just as well as before, but it now looked dirty from tire marks across it. Whenever I wore or brought the hat canvassing in the future, I would point out sarcastically to Nick: “Here’s my hat you ran over!”

We both chuckled knowing it was 100% my fault he ran over my hat. When my car would be eventually fixed, I would miss the comedy of carpooling with Nick Walden Poublon.

Brian Ettling and Nick Walden Poublon. Photo taken in Hood River, Oregon on April 26, 2026.

On Tuesday, April 28th, I woke up to a text and email from the Gresham Honda Service Department that indicating that the rear main seal was leaking and they recommended replacing it. My total bill was now estimated to be $4500.

Nick was not available to drive me, so I used the new Honda CRV loaner car to knock on doors for Nick. I arrived home at my usual time around 8 pm. Tanya generously cooked dinner for me. We were eager to hopefully get my car back the next day fully repaired, while dreading what the final bill would be.

The death of my 2002 Honda Civic LX stick shift car

Around 10 am on Wednesday, April 29th, Steve Tischy, the Service Technician from Gresham Honda Service Department, called me to say that my car was ready to be picked up. It surprised me how fast my car was ready. I worried that all the repair work may not have been completed, but Steve assured me everything on the work order was finished. I then returned the loaner car to the Honda Dealership to pay the bill and retrieve my car. The final bill was over $4200, sucking most of the money out of my checking account.

I relished canvassed for Nick Walden Poublon to urge voters to support him in the Oregon House District 52 May 19th Democratic Primary. I was eager to drive my repaired Honda Civic out to Hood River to knock on doors for Nick and try to forget that massive car repair bill as soon as possible. The good news was a local newspaper of the Portland metro area, The Willamette Week, endorsed Nick in his primary race that day. I was certain I supported the strongest candidate in this Democratic primary. I felt I had a good short-term purpose engaging with voters to ask them to vote for Nick.

During the day, I texted Tanya: “I like the feel of the new clutch! Heck, I should, I guess, because I paid enough for it! Seriously, though, the new clutch does feel good!”

Tanya texted back, “Oh wonderful! No more squeaky squeaky?”

I was too busy that afternoon to text her back, but the answer was YES! The new clutch felt smooth, firm, and quiet when I engaged it. No more squeaky haunted house sound from the old clutch!

The weather on April 29th was a perfect balmy most clear spring day in Hood River to canvass. Nick’s campaign manager, Katie Collins, assigned me to knock on doors in a more rural area just outside of Hood River, Oregon. As usual in Hood River, nearly all the voters I encountered knocking on their doors were kind and open to chat with me about Nick and the upcoming election. In this area of Hood River with sprawling ranches and large homes with expansive yards, I received plenty of exercise canvassing where these homes were more sporadically spread out. It was a lovely day to photograph some horses while I worked, as well as the vibrant bushes of spring flowers at their peak colors of pink, white, and magenta. I looked forward to returning home to show the photos to Tanya and post them on social media of the beauty I saw that day.

View of Mt. Hood from Hood River, Oregon. Photo taken by Brian Ettling on April 26, 2026 while he knocked on doors there to urge voters to support Nick Walden Poublon in his Oregon House District 52 Democratic primary race.

At 7:13 pm, I texted Tanya: “I am leaving Hood River to head home now. I’ll be home around 8 pm.”

During the nearly one-hour car ride home from Hood River to our apartment in Gresham, I listened to NPR’s Fresh Air program hosted by Terry Gross. On that evening, Terry interviewed Pulitzer Prize-winning environmental journalist Elizabeth Kolbert about “How Trump’s EPA head has transformed the agency — and sided with polluters.”

As I listened to that episode while driving through the Columbia River Gorge on I-84, I felt angry to hear how EPA chief Lee Zeldin rescinded regulations to reduce the threat of climate change, cut or eliminated departments, and terminated the jobs of many scientists. It was another reminder that elections, such as the 2024 Presidential Election, matter and has consequences. As a climate organizer for over 16 years, it made my blood boil to hear how Zeldin gutted and eliminated EPA environmental and climate regulations. It was another reminder to me that I should not be driving a gasoline powered car and I should switch to an EV as soon as possible.

Around 7:20 pm, the check engine light lit up, and the temperature gauge showed the car overheating. I wanted to ignore it and drive back home to Portland. However, the car would not let me do that. I was losing power as I drove. I had no choice but to pull my car onto the shoulder of the highway and call for a tow.

After I stopped the car, I was unsure what to do. I had never been in a situation before driving a disabled vehicle. When I was sitting there inside my car on the side of the road, I noticed a bit of smoke rising from under the hood. No way was I going to open the hood to check on what was happening. I had read and heard that could be a very dangerous thing to do with a possible engine fire of giving oxygen to the flames to intensify the fire. I just sat in my car wondering what I should do next. I noticed that I was next to mile marker 44 on I-84, next to the town of Cascade Locks. I felt good with my proximity to the mile marker that it should help a towing truck find me. I had never called for a towing truck before, and I was unsure what to do.

I called Tanya to let her know what happened to me. She suggested that I call State Farm on my insurance card to see if I could get my car towed. That was a terrific idea from Tanya since I was having trouble thinking straight as I was still shocked by the reality of the situation. I had a flat tire in April 2010 in central Illinois and my engine overheated with the thermostat failing near Price, Utah. Both of those situations I was able to get help to get my car repaired to get back on the road. This situation seemed like my car might have died on me.

I called State Farm to explain my situation and give them my policy number. The call receptionist told me I had good news that I had a free towing available within 15 miles of where my car had broken down. They suggested I get my car towed to Hood River, Oregon or White Salmon, Washington. I rejected that idea since I live in Portland, Oregon and wanted to see if I could still get my car fixed there. The response was I would need to pay $120 to get my car towed back to Portland. I agreed to pay the amount and gave the State Farm receptionist my credit card number of the phone. The State Farm employee then gave me the name of the towing company and informed me that they would soon be contacting me.

I was now stuck waiting for a tow truck to come rescue me. Soon after my State Farm call, the tow truck driver called me. He asked me to text him my exact location. I never did that before. It took me awhile, with Tanya’s help texting back and forth, for me to figure out to how to Share my Current Location button on my iPhone. On the phone, I attempted to explain I was at mile marker 44 on I-84, right next to Cascade Locks. I tried let him know that if he was driving east on I-84 that he would have to drive past my location to turn around at the next exit because I was on the shoulder of west bound I-84. English was a second language for this driver. He did not seem to understand my directions. He just wanted my Current Location texted to him.

All I could do was to sit there and wait as the sun set and it grew darker for me hanging out inside my Honda Civic. My car would flinch from the vibrations as 18-wheel tractor trailer trucks and even large pickup trucks drove by me at full interstate speeds. I did not have a book to read. I ate a raspberry fig bar. I texted Tanya to keep me company. I then texted Katie Collins and Nick Walden Poublon to inform them about my car situation. They texted back supportive statements while expressing frustration with car breakdowns.

To pass the time, I looked at my emails. I received a Google Alert that my letter to the editor supporting Nick was published in the Columbia River News. I shared the good news with Tanya, Nick, and Katie. They were all excited for me. I still had to wait a couple more hours in the dark for the tow truck to arrive. It finally arrived around 11:30 pm.

I had the tow truck operator haul my Honda Civic to Tonkin Gresham Honda to see if they could fix it the next day. I texted Tanya when I was around the Multnomah Falls area, about a 20-minute drive from where we live in outer northeast Portland. Tanya then headed to Tonkin Gresham Honda. She arrived about the same time I did around 12:30 am. Fortunately, a security guard was there who had not yet locked the gate but was in the process of doing that. He graciously allowed the tow truck to come on the lot to deposit my car. Tanya was parked on the street outside of the dealer lot ready to take me home. She had a late dinner ready for me.

I woke up the next morning on Thursday, April 30th hoping that the dealership forgot to fix the rear main seal and they could fix my car at a low cost. When I talked on the phone with Steve Tischy of Tonkin Gresham Honda that morning, he told me that they were surprised to see my car back on their lot so quickly. He assured me that they had fixed my rear main seal.

Later that morning, Steve called me with the bad news that my engine head gasket blew. They could not detect that when my car was in their shop the previous day. My choices were basically to repair the head gasket at $2,500 or build a new engine at $5,500. I told Steve that I was finished sinking money into my Honda Civic. Steve offered to put me in contact with one of the sales representatives at Tonkin Gresham Honda to possibly purchase another car.

It was the end for my 2002 Honda Civic LX stick shift car. I bought it brand new on February 22, 2002, and it lasted over 24 years. I put over 333,109 miles on it. My next goal was to get the odometer to 333,333 miles on it. I was within 224 miles of accomplishing this. The car was super dependable for me over the years. I drove it to 34 U.S. states and numerous cross-country trips from Crater Lake National Park, Oregon to Everglades National Park, Florida. The car transported me from Vancouver, Canada to the Florida Keys. I journeyed with the car from San Luis Obispo and Joshua Tree National Park, California to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I took it numerous times to beaches on the Pacific Coast, Gulf of Mexico beaches in southern Florida, and Atlantic Ocean beaches by Miami, Florida. The car traveled from 282 feet below sea level at Death Valley National Park in California to mountain passes such as Beartooth Pass on the Wyoming Montana border at 10,947 feet and the Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel in Colorado at 11,158 feet.

My Honda Civic was there for me when I went sky diving twice, zip lining, and riding in a hot air ballon. It met all the women I dated over the years and was there after my breakups. It was the car that Tanya and I drove to our wedding ceremony and reception. She also drove it every day to work while we lived in Portland, Oregon over the last 9 years. It was the vehicle that transported me to hike in numerous national parks across west to scenic viewpoints and hiking trails. It was the car that greeted me after completing challenging hikes, such hiking down to the bottom and back to the top of the Grand Canyon. It was there for me when I gave my climate change talk to over 213 visitors at the south rim of the Grand Canyon. I drove that car over 1,600 miles across Oregon in October and November 2017 to give 11 climate change talks across the state. I gave that car regular oil changes and maintained it like an airplane.

My 2002 Honda Civic was always there for me and felt like it was a part of me. The only car I ever owned. Hard to imagine life without it. This compact green low emissions car perfectly fit my personality. I hoped to drive it until 2032 until it was 30 years old. At the same time though, I wanted an electric car for years. Now the time arrived for me to make the transition.

Stay tuned for part 3 of this blog:
Tanya and I chose to Buy an Electric Car for me in May 2026

Brian Ettling with his 2002 Honda Civic LX. Photo taken on February 22, 2026, the 24th anniversary when he bought it brand new.

For Climate Action, buying 2 electric cars in 2026, Part 1

This is a 3-part blog about my wife Tanya and I switching from my 2002 Honda Civic LX manual transmission car to owning 2 electric cars. This blog is written in 3 parts:

Part 1: Tanya decides to buy her Electric Car in March 2026
Part 2: The death of my 2002 Honda Civic in late April 2026
Part 3: Tanya and I choose to buy an Electric Car for me in May 2026

Buying my 2002 Honda Civic LX stick shift car in February 2002

For decades, it was my dream to own an electric car. As I blogged about previously, I needed to buy my own car in the spring of 2002 when I worked as a seasonal park ranger at Crater Lake National Park, Oregon and Everglades National Park, Florida. Before then, I never owned a car. For the previous 5 years, I relied upon my girlfriend Shelia’s 1997 Ford Ranger truck for transportation from the parks to town from the parks to get groceries and for recreation. However, we broke up in the summer of 2001. She generously let me use her truck for many months after we stopped dating. By 2002, it was obvious I needed my own car.

The 9/11 terrorist attack happened the previously year. According to the FBI 9/11 Investigation, 15 of the 19 terrorists suspected carrying out the attacks were from Saudi Arabia. Dark networks of money in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East financed Saudi national Osama Bin Ladin and Al-Qaeda to commit these horrible acts by these terrorists. Where did Saudi Arabia make most of its money? Drilling oil on their lands and selling it on the global market. Who was one of their biggest customers? The United States. After 9/11, I wanted to buy and use the least amount of gasoline possible so I would not fund terrorism that killed many Americans that day.

I was intrigued by the concept of electric vehicles or EVs in 2002. However, I knew of no EVs that were available to purchase at that time. I still was curious about owning an EV then. I did not like all the air pollution created by gasoline powered vehicles and the American dependance on foreign oil. When I mentioned this to my roommate Mike, he dismissed and was condescending about my thoughts. He immediately took out a piece of paper to draw a car plugged into an outlet then attached to a power line getting electricity from a polluting coal powered plant. He scoffed at the idea of EVs reducing pollution if they received their power from dirty energy.

I refused to accept his patronizing tone and rejection of EVs reducing environmental pollution. Even as far back as 2002, I envisioned EVs as the primary automobiles, trucks, and buses of the future. I would never let someone’s absolute dismissal of EVs dissuade me of a world someday dominated with EVs and driving my own EV. I did not like Mike anyway. I was happy to no longer room with him when I stopped working in Flamingo in Everglades National Park in May 2002. I thought he was rather opinionated, arrogant, and intolerant of ideas different than his own thoughts. At the very least, someday I needed to purchase an EV just to prove Mike wrong.

On February 22, 2002, with the help of my parents, I bought my brand-new green Honda Civic that I still owned up to 2026, 24 years later! It was a stick shift manual transmission car that was fun to drive. It had a shiny emerald, green exterior, my favorite color! It had excellent gas mileage, with a sticker on the side window stating it was a low emissions vehicle. Sheila’s silver Ford Ranger extended cab pick up truck always seemed like it was too big of a vehicle for me to drive. I wanted a compact car. My new green Honda Civic fit my personality perfectly.

By the spring of 2002, I worked as a naturalist guide at the Flamingo Outpost in Everglades National Park for four years straight. I was felt burned out of my job of narrating the boat tours and stuck living in that remote area. I longed to return to work seasonally at Crater Lake National Park, Oregon where I worked in the summers from 1992 to 1997. In the summers of 1996 and 1997, I worked as an entrance station ranger for the National Park Service at Crater Lake. I trained my friend Amelia Bruno to work at the entrance station in 1997. She later became the supervisor of the entrance stations and fee collection program at Crater Lake. She was enthusiastic about hiring me to return working there for the summer.

My brand-new Honda Civic gave me the freedom I needed to break free of Flamingo, drive across the continental United States, and spend my summers working at Crater Lake National Park where I longed to be. I drove across the U.S. several times in the 1990s with Sheila to reach our seasonal jobs at Crater Lake, Everglades, and spend a couple of winters with my parents in St. Louis, Missouri. However, this would be my first solo drive across country. My parents were excited to see my car when I visited them in May 2002.

Brian Ettling and his mom Fran Ettling with his brand new 2002 Honda Civic. Photo taken in St. Louis, MO in May 2002.

My dad insisted riding with me from St. Louis to Crater Lake, Oregon in June 2002 to spend time with me. To save on gas, I set my cruise control around 60 mph. It alarmed him how slow I drove. He yelled, “You are driving too slow! Other cars and trucks are going to run you off the road!”

I will never forget him driving my car for the first time on Interstate I-70 in western Missouri. He drove my car upwards of 70 mph, which made me nervous that my over 42 average miles per gallon, would diminish with him at the wheel. On the other hand, he loved driving my car. He joyfully remarked, “This is such a sweet car to drive!”

All my previous summers at Crater Lake from 1992 to 1997, I relied upon Sheila’s compact Plymouth Horizon and her 1997 Ford Ranger Truck to ride together with her to obtain groceries in town and drive to the scenic overlooks and hiking trails in the park. In the summer of 2002, it felt so liberating to be able to explore the park on my own and to visit the nearby cities on my weekends without having to depend on Sheila’s cars. I hoped having a spiffy new car that it would help land me a girlfriend, but that would not happen until years later. I felt as free as a bird to have my own car for the first time in my life in 2002.

Discovering my passion for climate change advocacy

As the years progressed, I grew increasingly uncomfortable buying gasoline for my car. Besides the U.S. dependance on oil leading to Middle Eastern terrorism such as 9/11, I was deeply troubled by the disastrous 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, a major oil extraction country. Even worse, it angered me how the oil industry spent millions of dollars in advertising, lobbying, and public relations campaigns to deceive many Americans that climate change was a hoax.

In 1998, I started giving ranger talks in Everglades National Park. Visitors then asked me about this global warming thing. Visitors hate when park rangers tell you, “I don’t know.” Visitors expect park rangers to know everything. Don’t you?

Soon afterwards, I rushed to the nearest Miami bookstore and to the park library to read all I the scientific books I could find on climate change.

The information I learned really scared me, specifically sea level rise along our mangrove coastline in Everglades National Park. Sea level rose 8 inches in the 20th century, four times more than it had risen in previous centuries for the past three thousand years. Because of climate change, sea level is now expected to rise at least three feet in Everglades National Park by the end of the 21st century. The sea would swallow up most of the park and nearby Miami since the highest point of the park road less than three feet above sea level.

It shocked me that crocodiles, alligators, and beautiful Flamingos I enjoyed seeing in the Everglades could lose this ideal coastal habitat because of sea level rise caused by climate change.

I became so worried about climate change that I quit my winter job in Everglades National Park in 2008. I moved back to St. Louis in the winters to give speeches and organized about climate change. In November 2011, I co-founded the St. Louis Climate Reality Meet Up (now called Climate Meetup-St. Louis) group to discuss, learn, and take climate action.

Brian Ettling giving a ranger talk in Everglades City in the spring of 2004.

Meeting my wife Tanya and sharing a car while I organized for climate action

At one of the Climate Reality-St. Louis Meet Ups in early 2012, a beautiful slender woman with long blonde hair sat at the bar drinking a birch beer. Her name was Tanya. We slowly became friends. We started dating in February 2013 and we got married in November 2015. She is always 100% supportive of my climate change organizing.

In December 2015, just one month after we got married, I expressed my frustration to Tanya. I felt like I was not doing enough to organize and write on climate change. To boost my morale, my wife surprised me by booking an appointment with the nearby Tesla store to test drive the 100% electric Tesla Model S. We had a blast test driving this car. Tanya’s action lifted my spirits to see this could be the future for automobiles: 100% electric with no carbon tailpipe emissions!

In 2015, very few EVs were seen on the roads, and they seemed to be too expensive to own. Because of my frugal lifestyle as a summer seasonal park ranger at Crater Lake and a winter climate organizer in St. Louis, we could not afford to own a Tesla or any EV at that time.

In February 2017, Tanya found a job in Portland, Oregon, so we moved here. I worked one more summer as a seasonal park ranger at Crater Lake, but I decided to become a full-time climate organizer in October 2017. Ever since we test drove the Tesla in December 2015, Tanya and I dreamed of buying an EV. However, my 2002 Honda Civic was a reliable car then and years afterwards. Tanya primarily used it as a short commute to her job. I nearly always used TriMet buses and MAX light rail commuter trains to get around Portland to do my climate organizing.

We often talked about purchasing an EV, but we managed to jointly use my car for over 9 years while living together in Portland OR. My Honda Civic worked for all our driving needs. In the summer and fall of 2022 and 2024, plus the spring of 2024 and 2025, I worked campaign jobs, primarily for the community organization East County Rising (ECR). My work was primarily centered around me knocking on doors in the Gresham and eastern Portland metro area to urge voters to support progressive local and state level candidates running for office.

To commute to our jobs, Tanya and I came up with the compromise that I drove her to work in the mornings. I then had the car for the rest of the day to work for ECR. Tanya would take the public TriMet bus home while I worked. Our driving arrangement worked well overall, with small exceptions. It was mildly inconvenient to drop off Tanya at work when I wanted to sleep in longer in the mornings. Tanya had to deal with heat, rain, late buses, and walking around treacherous homeless encampments at times when she commuted home.

Brian Ettling and Tanya Couture in front of their 2002 green Honda Civic on February 22, 2024.

In the back of our minds, we were concerned about our joint sole reliability on an old car if it had a major breakdown, accident, or if the engine died. At the same time, we made it work for 9 years jointly using only one car. For the environment and climate, we felt like we were doing the best thing for the planet properly maintaining an older fuel-efficient compact car.

I strove to drive my car as minimal as possible while living in Portland. I loved using the TriMet public buses and MAX commuter trains often in my climate organizing to minimize the use of my car. I relished using public transportation to use less fossil fuels, less wear and tear on my 2002 Honda Civic, lessen my fears of my car getting into an accident driving it on busy Portland streets, not having to fight for parking and even parallel park in certain parts of Portland, not worrying about my car getting stolen or vandalized if I drove it and parked it in certain parts of the city, etc. In addition, I felt like I got good exercise walking and running to catch the buses and MAX trains. It was a joy for me to read books while riding public transportation instead of being nervous fighting traffic and dealing with the stress of driving a car.

Most of all, I liked using TriMet to get around Portland because I never wanted Tanya to feel trapped at home without my car available for her. Even with all my considerations for Tanya and my pleasure in taking public transit in the Portland area, Tanya and I knew my 2002 Honda Civic would not last forever. It became more expensive to maintain as parts wore out. Every other time I took my car to the local Honda dealership for an oil change, the mechanics found parts needed to be replaced. Expensive maintenance items were creeping up that could not be avoided to keep the car running to avoid a stressful engine breakdown.

On Sunday, June 26, 2022, I had a scare with my Honda Civic that made Tanya and I wonder if we should think about purchasing a different car. At that time, I worked as a campaign organizer for Raz Mason for her campaign to run for Oregon Senate District 26. She had an event in Canby, Oregon that day she wanted me to attend. As I drove down I-205 in southwest Portland just 10 miles from home, the engine light came on, and the car started losing power. It would not let me drive it over 35 mph. Fortunately, I was able to drive the car home. I told Tanya she had to take the bus to work the next day while I immediately took the car to the service department of my local Honda Dealership to see if they could diagnose the problem.

The Honda mechanic determined it was a bad sensor that had to be replaced. They had to order the part to get it fixed the next day. It cost me $430 to complete the repair. However, the car ran smoothly when we drove it the 4th of July weekend to see friends in Maple Falls, Washington to see friends who lived a couple of miles from the Canadian border. The car performed well the rest of that campaign season when I knocked on doors for Raz Mason in the summer and then worked for ECR in the fall of 2022.

That incident led Tanya to start researching suitable used hybrid cars and EVs that could possibly replace my Honda Civic. The car still seemed to be dependable and reliable, so we did not want to give up on it yet.

In October 2025, the timing belt and the passenger window switch needed to be replaced, costing over $2500. Tanya had kept an eye out online for possible replacement cars for my Honda Civic. At the same time, she knew how much I loved and was attached to that car. She figured that if I was committed to keep that car running for both of us she would abide by my decision, but she started to wonder if it was time to consider replacing my car.

Traveling to Florida in November 2025 and choosing to rent an electric car

November 1, 2025, was our 10th wedding anniversary. Tanya and I wanted to do something special to celebrate. She wanted us to go to Tampa, Florida for several days to visit her best friend, Bertha. Tanya had not seen Bertha in over 30 years since they attended high school in St. Louis. I was excited because I lived and worked for 16 years in Everglades National Park, Florida. I was eager to show Florida to Tanya since she had never been there before.

It was a long day of flying from Portland, Oregon to Tampa, Florida. We had to leave our apartment around 5:30 am to catch our 7:30 am flight. After a 3-hour layover in Phoenix, Arizona, we arrived at the Tampa airport around 7:30 pm. We found the Tampa airport to be very convoluted to reach the location where my rental car reservation was booked. It was after 8 pm when Tanya and I stood in a line for several minutes to obtain our rental car.

By the time, we walked up to the rental car desk, we were bone tired from flying all day. The rental car agent gave us lots of choices for cars. However, I didn’t care. I just wanted to get in a rental car, drive to Bertha’s house, and fall into a bed. I felt overwhelmed and indecisive with the rental car options. Then the rental agent offered, ‘I tell you what: I have a Hyundai Ioniq 5 EV that I have available for you to rent. This would be great for me if you could rent it. I will include in the agreement that you won’t have to bring it back on a full charge.’

My ears perked up: Rent an EV! Not use gasoline on this vacation! Get a brief experience of driving an EV! I enthusiastically told him, ‘Yes! I will do it! Please sign me up to rent the EV!’

After we signed the paperwork, it took Tanya and I a few minutes to look for the car in the cavernous parking garage at the Tampa Airport. When we found the car, it looked like a lovely and ideal car for us to rent. It was a grayish blue color. However, when the sun shined on the car during our trip, we noticed that the car looked like it had a touch of a greenish hue.

It was a mid-sized car roomier than my Honda Civic. Tanya and I noticed after we got into the car that it had a battery charge of over 270 miles. As we started driving the car through the maze of the parking garage and then outside on the Tampa streets, we were amazed that the car was much quieter to drive than my Honda Civic. It drove with the silence of being inside a library, unlike the more vocal engine of my Civic.

Brian Ettling and Tanya Couture with their Hyundai Ionia 5 electric car rental at Fort De Soto Park, Florida. Photo taken on November 5, 2025.

We had a terrific time driving that EV to see and stay with Tanya’s friend in Wesley Chapel, Florida. While staying with Bertha and her husband for 4 full days and 5 nights, we visited Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park so Tanya could see manatees for the first time. We drove to the Siesta Ky Beach to swim and lie on the sand. We then went to Myakka River State Park so Tanya could look at alligators and various wading birds. On the third day of our trip, Tanya and I drove to Fort De Soto Park to enjoy another beach, see more birds, and walk around the historic fort. On the final full day of the trip, Tanya ventured up to Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge so we could get more views of manatees before we left Florida the next day.

Thursday morning, November 6th, our trip to Florida was over. Tanya and I headed to the Budget Rental Car Returns at Tampa International Airport to drop off our vehicle and then catch our flight. We were excited to fly to St. Louis, Missouri to see Tanya’s parents and brother, plus meet up with my mom. The next day, Friday, November 7th, Tanya, my mom, and I planned to drive to Kansas City, Missouri to attend my niece Bailey’s wedding. We looked forward to spending time with family. However, we were sad to stop driving our Hyundai Ioniq 5 EV.

Tanya and I could not wait to tell family and friends about our Florida vacation and renting an EV. Nearly every day since then, Tanya and I talked about eventually owning an EV.

The dark cloud of evil oil industry and petrostates after we returned from our trip

The fabulous memories of this trip did not last long. Late November 2025, I read the crushing news that the United Nations COP30 Climate Summit held in Brazil was a failure.

For background, COP stands for Conference of the Parties, basically international countries that agreed to participate in and be bound by the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). Today there are 198 Parties or countries participating in the Convention.

The UNFCCC is a multilateral treaty adopted in 1992 – shortly after the first assessment report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1990 – to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations “at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic (human-induced) interference with the climate system.”

The 30 in COP30 refers to the 30 of these international conferences held over the years. Berlin Germany held the first COP in 1995. COP30 was held in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025.

According to Reuters, the host of the conference, “Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had launched the summit calling for countries to agree on a “roadmap” for advancing a COP28 pledge to shift away from fossil fuels.

The result was similar to Egypt’s COP27 and Azerbaijan’s COP29, where countries agreed to spend more money to address climate dangers while ignoring their primary cause.

Nearly three-fourths of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions since 2020 have come from coal, oil and gas. Demand for these fuels is likely to rise through 2050, the International Energy Agency said in a report midway through the COP30 summit that reversed expectations of a rapid shift to clean energy.”

For the first time, the U.S. did not send a delegation after President Donald Trump said the country will leave the landmark Paris treaty that committed countries to act on climate change in 2015. He has branded climate change “a con”. In May 2024, Trump pressed oil executives to give $1 billion for his campaign. In return, he promised ‘to do what they wanted.’

Many climate advocates felt like this was another COP wrecked by fossil fuel interests, autocratic petro-states such as Russia and Saudi Arabia, and our American and global leaders’ cowardice.

After I saw this news, I told Tanya that I was done driving a gasoline-powered car. I really wanted us to get an EV. This was a shift in thinking for me because I love my 2022 green Honda Civic. It was almost 24 years old now and still running well. For years, I wanted to see how long Tanya and I could drive it before it died. If possible, I wanted to even drive for another 6 years so that I could say that I owned the same car for over 30 years or close to half of my life.

Brian Ettling’s 2002 green Honda Civic. Photo taken on November 20, 2021 at the White River East Snowpack near Mt. Hood around the time his car reached 300,000 miles.

Climate change triggering flooding in December 2025

Locally, climate change is showing more of an impact on our weather. In December 2025, record rainfalls from ‘atmospheric river’ weather conditions brought flooding to the Portland, Oregon area. Then in 2026, the opposite happened, Oregon experienced very little rain or snow for the rest of the winter. We were projected to have a record low snowpack.

By the end of March 2026, Crater Lake National Park registered its lowest snow water equivalent levels ever recorded for the month of March, according to the National Weather Service. This alarmed me to see reported in the news because I noticed the snow pack diminishing while I worked as a seasonal park ranger for 25 years from 1992 to 2017. NBC Montana posted a graphic image on Facebook of the dismal snowpack level in the western U.S. states on March 26, 2026. It was gut wrenching for me to spot that Oregon only had about 15% of its normal winter snowpack. Even worse, nearly all those states had snowpacks that were severely below normal (<50%) or well below normal (50-69%).

Locally the red warning lights were flashing, and the alarm bells rang loudly that we must act quickly and effectively to reduce climate change. What’s causing climate change? For many decades, climate scientists stated it was because of humanity, collectively and individually, burning fossil fuels, such as oil, coal, and natural gas, which emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Throwing all that dirty fossil fuel pollution into our air supply warmed up and destabilized our global and local climate. Most climate scientists think if we act quickly, together and personally, we can reduce the damage we are doing to our planet and to ourselves.

For over 17 years, I spoke out for the urgent need for effective climate action. I gave climate change ranger talks at Crater Lake National Park, lobbied Congressional offices in Washington D.C. over 10 times, organized for an Oregon legislative climate resolution, created comedy videos that led to an appearance on TV Comedy Central’s Tosh.o, was a plaintiff in a Missouri Sierra Club lawsuit against my local electric utility for their over reliance on dirty coal energy, led two speaking tours across my home state of Missouri and one in Oregon, and I gave over 200 climate change talks in 12 U.S. states, Washington D.C. and Ottawa Canada. Even more, locally I use public transportation on almost a daily basis to reduce my car’s tailpipe emissions.

Driving a gasoline powered car when it was not feasible to use public transportation really bothered me. My wife Tanya and I were eager to buy an electric vehicle when the timing was right for us. Our recent visit to Florida, November 1-6, 2025, showed us that driving an EV was fun and it was easy to recharge it. That trip inspired us that we wanted our next car to be an EV!

NBC Montana Image Facebook page posted on March 26, 2026 of the western U.S. snowpack.

Tanya decided it was time to shop around for her own EV in March 2026

It took over a month to write, but I completed and posted my blog, For Climate Action, renting an EV for a 2025 Florida Vacation, on March 6, 2026. Around that time, I had regular conversations with my friends Katie Collins and Nick Walden Poublon to work for his campaign to run for Oregon House District 52. Like my work over the previous four years, I would be knocking on doors and attending campaign events. Even more, I would be driving long distances to areas such as Hood River, over miles 50 miles, and The Dalles, over 75 miles, from home.

At this point, Tanya decided it was time to buy her own EV so she would not be dependent on my car. Katie, Nick, and I figured I would start working for them around the beginning of April 2026. I had various activities happening in April, such as I was finishing up and graduating from the ECR Senior Fellowship Program on March 21st. I was scheduled to have Mohr’s surgery on my nose on March 23rd to remove a small area of basil cell skin cancer on my nose. Before I started working for Katie and Nick in April, I wanted to complete as many blogs as possible to help prepare me write an eventual memoir of my life that I hope will be published.

After the ECR Fellowship graduation celebration, Tanya asked me if we could go to Platt Auto Group in Milwaukie OR to look at a used dark brown Nissan Aria. Platt specialized in selling used EVs. It sounded like an excellent idea, even possibly overdue, for us to drive there to see the EV she spotted online, as well as check out other possible EVs on their inventory lot.

When we arrived on that Saturday afternoon, I was awestruck to see various models of around 30 EVs in this tight parking lot. A few other customers milled around to look at the EVs. Then Tanya spotted the used grey Nissan Aria Venture Plus with a charging range over 300 miles. The car was unlocked so we were able to sit inside to get a feel for the vehicle. We soon encountered the salesman working on the lot that day. He graciously responded to our request to take it for a test drive. Almost immediately as I drove it, it felt like it was too big of a car for Tanya and me. It was around the size of a small SUV (sport utility vehicle) and it appeared to be so much bigger than my Honda Civic that we were used to driving. Tanya liked the range of the vehicle and the price, but she readily agreed with me that it seemed to be too much car for us.

The Nissan Aria looked like a great EV, but not an ideal fit for Tanya and me. In addition to seeing this EV online, Tanya noticed a Hyundai Ioniq 6 at the Tonkin Gladstone Hyundai dealership just a mile down the road with a range well over 300 miles. On Sunday afternoon, March 22nd, Tanya and I decided to go to the Tonkin Hyundai dealership to see that EV. When we arrived, we noticed a big selection of new and used vehicles there. However, it did not take us long to find the Ioniq 6 on the large parking lot, much more spacious than Pratt EV Auto Sales lot.

Immediately, when we saw the Ioniq 6 EV, it felt more like a suitable car for us. It had inviting bright white appearance of a mid-size sedan with a stylish well rounded oval appearance. We soon chatted with a small mousy looking salesman named Mason who enthusiastically agreed to our request to take it for a test drive. Mason had a deep knowledge when showing us all the features of this EV. Tanya and I immediately felt this EV was a good fit for us.

Tanya’s used 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 6 Electric car. Photo taken on March 25, 2026.

As we admired the Ioniq 6, Mason pointed out the ceramic coding that the previous owner put on the exterior to make the white color shine even more intensively. After the test drive, Tanya and I went to Mason’s desk to chat with him further about this Ioniq 6. He kept asking us, ‘Is there anything I can do for you today for you to buy this vehicle?’

He seemed eager to make the sale, but Tanya and I were not ready to take the plunge yet. We wanted to think more about it, sleep on it, and do more research before deciding to negotiate to purchase the vehicle. We choose to make an appointment with Mason on Tuesday, March 24th at 5 pm to have another discussion about the car. After we left, Tanya and I both felt like this EV might sell quickly, so we needed to determine soon if we would buy it.

Tanya and I decided to buy (and bargain down the price) for an EV on March 24, 2026

After we got home, I kept thinking about Mason asking us several times, ‘Is there anything I can do for you today for you to buy this vehicle?’

It felt like Mason was hinting about negotiating the vehicle price with us. I googled to see if we could negotiate the price of this Certified Pre Owned vehicle and the answer was yes. I then researched the trade in value of the car, plus the itemized costs on the sales printout they gave us at the dealership. I told Tanya that we could bargain down and even eliminate several of the expense items listed on the sales print out. We were both excited about the possibility of negotiating down the price further to make the car more affordable for us.

Late Monday morning, March 23rd, I had Mohr’s surgery on my nose to remove a small spot of basil cell cancer. The procedure took a couple hours and felt like a very bad bee sting on my nose, as the doctors warned me beforehand. After they completed the procedure, they gave me a choice of a simple badge but leaving me with a deep pocket scar on my nose. Or, they could insert stitches leaving me with a much bigger bandage. They would then take out the stitches a week later, but it would leave a much less noticeable scar on my nose. I chose the stitches, which left me with a protruding large white bandage on my nose for all to see.

Tanya and I made an appointment with Mason to see the Ioniq 6 on Tuesday, March 24th. She noticed that the listed online price of the Ioniq 6 dropped since we saw the car on Sunday. We were relieved that the car had not sold. At the same time, we were committed to go to the 5 pm appointment at the dealership to further discuss the EV. We concluded that if we were keeping this appointment, we were serious about buying this car.

This felt frighteningly serious that we were purchasing a car. Yet, the timing felt right for both of us that we needed a second car since I would be working soon canvassing for Nick Walden Poublon. I would need use of my car with driving a lot of miles to east Gresham, Hood River, The Dalles, etc. to knock on doors for Nick. Plus, the Iran War started one month earlier with no end in sight. It looked to greatly increase gasoline prices. We agreed it was time to buy an EV with gas prices possibly skyrocketing. Even more, we would be competing with more potential buyers switching to EVs to avoid the gas price hikes. On top of that, Tanya and I wanted to purchase an EV for years. We were nervous but felt the time to buy had come.

The price of gasoline at the Chevron Gas Station in Gladstone, Oregon on March 24, 2026.

When we arrived at Tonkin Hyundai Dealership, Mason happily greeted us. However, he was helping another couple purchase a car. Thus, we got switched to the sales manager, a large overweight scruffy looking, slightly disheveled middle-aged man who was not nearly as warm and personal as Mason.

He was direct with us, “So are you looking to buy the car?”

Me: “Yes, we are interested, but we have some questions about the price to go over with you.”

The sales manager: “Ok.”

Me: “First, we noticed the price dropped $250 since we saw it on Saturday.”

Sales manager: “Gee. I did not know that. Sometimes I am the last person to know these things.”

I could not tell if he was acting like he didn’t know that or generally caught off guard that the price of the car dropped.

He replied, “Ok. We will deduct that off the price.”

I then stated, “We are not paying for the ceramic coding because Mason told us that the previous owner placed that on the vehicle.”

The sales manager sighed and retorted, “Yeah. Mason should not have that. I will have to have a talk with him afterwards.”

I next affirmed, “We do not want the extended warranty.”

As I shared with Tanya the previous day, I nearly got burned with the extended warranty when I bought my Honda Civic brand new 24 years ago. At the Honda Largo Dealership in Key Largo, Florida in 2002, that salesperson and I were getting close to determine the final amount I would buy for the car with my monthly payments. Suddenly, the monthly payments jumped a lot, nearly out of my price range. The costs were not adding up. Then it dawned on me that the marketing person negotiating the financing terms with me snuck in the extended warranty.

When I realized this, I lost my temper, “You tried to sneak in the extended warranty on me when I specifically told you that I didn’t want it!”

The Honda sales agent knew she was caught red handed by me. She knew she was in the wrong and I caught her deception. She said with embarrassment, “Ok! If you don’t want the extended warranty, I will take it off!”

I was not going to let that experience happen again.

This time, the Hyundai sales manager went through all the reasons why Tanya and I needed the extended warranty with all the possible maintenance repairs. Tanya and I were not buying his reasoning. This Ioniq 6 was already a Certified Pre Owned vehicle, meaning it was overall in excellent condition. Now it looked like he wanted to scare us with all the future servicing costs. He was determined to make this to be part of the sale, but Tanya and I would not back down.

Finally, he relented, “Are both of you Costco members?”

“Yes,” we responded.

“I will give you the extended warranty at the Costco rate.”

He then walked to the back office to readjust the sales price for us.

In a hush tone, I whispered to Tanya that I was glad we dealt with the sales manager and not Mason. My impression was that Mason was meek and accommodating to us. However, if we had negotiated with him, Mason would have went to the back office for approval to agree to our demands. The sales manager would probably insisted Mason play hardball instead of agreeing to our negotiating demands. I thought it was better to deal with the sales manager directly rather than him putting pressure on Mason to be stubborn in bargaining the price with us.

When he returned, I was not finished bargaining the price. I felt like I was still just getting started. Me: “What’s this CA tax?”

The sales manager: “That’s the corporate earnings tax that the state of Oregon charges businesses for the cost of doing business our state that we pass along to you.”

Me: “That seems like your problem, not ours in buying this car.”

“Well, that’s something we can do very little about.”

Me: “I still don’t see why we should be paying this.”

Sales manager: “Fine. If I take that off, will you sign on the bottom line to buy the car?”

Me: “These licensing and registration fees seem high. Is that really the costs?”

The sales manager trying to be flexible: “Let me go to the back to see the exact costs for the licensing and registration.”

He returned with several hundred dollars taken off that expense.

I felt like I was playing with house money and I still was not done negotiating. Tanya sat mostly in silence, but she was pleased and proud of me with my hard negotiating tactics. The price had come down nearly $4,000 since we walked into the showroom that afternoon.

I still felt like a dog on a bone haggling over the price and I was not done yet. Finally, Tanya placed her hand on my arm and gently told me, “I think we have done about as good as we are going to do with the price. I don’t think you need to do anymore.”

I could see Tanya was happy how the price came down and how I helped her. She felt it was time to reign me in with my adrenaline rush of bargaining that day. I saw she wanted to complete the deal, and she was impressed how I helped her. Looking at Tanya eager to complete the sale, it felt like it was time for me to let her sign and finish with the paperwork.

I did not know I had that skill in me to be a dogged negotiator. As Tanya started signing the paperwork, I asked the sales manager for the final sales printout. He looked a bit beaten with all my tactics to haggle down the price. I had to ask several times, but he finally gave me a copy of the final sales printout that showed we had lowered the sales price almost $4000.

While Tanya signed the large stack of paperwork, I had nothing to do. I told Tanya that I would go for a short walk. She was engrossed with completing the paperwork, so she had no issue with me getting some fresh air. It was almost 6:45 pm. The sky was overcast and getting a tad darker. I walked two blocks to see a sign I wanted to take a photo of the previous day. I saw at the nearby Chevron gas station that that that price of unleaded gasoline was $4.95 a gallon, nearly $5.00 a gallon in Oregon to buy gasoline. I marveled at Tanya’s timing to buy an EV at the time of spiking gas prices due to Donald Trump’s unnecessary war with Iran.

It felt like a thrilling new chapter for Tanya and me with her buying an EV that evening with each of us taking a car home. Tanya with her new Ioniq 6, and me with my 24-year-old Honda Civic. The next day, Tanya and I were on a video call with her parents to announce the big news she bought an EV. My mother-in-law Nancy Couture asked me with exasperation, “Brian, is this another green colored car?”

“No!” I proclaimed, “It’s Couture white!”

Both cars of Tanya’s parents are older white Toyotas. Tanya looked so good driving her new 2024 used Hyundai Ioniq 6. The car looked like it was made for her. She had a new vibe like she got a new pair of wings to have her own car and to no longer be dependent on my car. For years, she wanted an EV and her dream came true! I was so excited for her!

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this blog:
The Death of my 2002 Honda Civic in late April 2026

Tanya Couture with her used 2024 Hyundai Ionia 6 Electric car. Photo taken on March 25, 2026.

My dangerous journey home to learn how to be a writer

Brian Ettling with Lake Superior behind him at Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Photo taken on April 11, 2010.

The spring of 2010 was a transformative time in my life. In the winter of 2007-08, while working in Everglades National Park, Florida, I decided it would be my final season working my winter job as a naturalist park ranger there after 16 years. I wanted to pursue my vision to take action to pursue a career to speak out, organize, and even go to graduate school to reduce the threat of climate change. However, I had no idea how to follow this calling in 2008.

I then returned to work at my summer seasonal job at Crater Lake National Park. My shared my vision to want to do something about climate change with my Crater Lake Interpretation Supervisor, Eric Anderson, and the Lead Naturalist Ranger, David Grimes. They were supportive and encouraging. Eric signed me up to attend an online National Park Service (NPS) training about communicating about climate change. It was informative to get the perspective and to hear rangers in other national parks talk about it, but the training did not lead me to any action.

That summer of 2008, I was still grieving for the loss of my mentor, park ranger Steve Robinson, who passed away in October 2007. I did not feel like I had a sense of healing until I took a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii at the end October and the beginning of November 2008.

During the winter of 2008 in between my summer seasonal Crater Lake ranger job, I stayed with my parents in St. Louis, Missouri. I found a short-term job working retail at the nearby REI (Recreation Equipment Incorporated) store. In January 2009, I was one of the first employees laid off after the Christmas holiday shopping season. Even worse, the Great Recession of 2008 impacted REI sales. The first hires that REI had to let go were short term employees like me.

In June 2008, Eric Anderson invited John Morris, an Interpretive Program Manager for NPS in the Alaska Regional office, to give a communicating climate change training to the interpretative ranger staff at Crater Lake. During his visit, he gave an evening program to the park visitors about the impact of climate change in the national parks. John’s easy manner at sharing the complex and sobering information about climate change with the public, especially with mixing in some humor, made a deep impression on me. I knew I eventually wanted to give public climate change presentations. In 2008 though, I still felt I knew so little about the subject.

In March 2009, I returned to work seasonally at Crater Lake. I was selected as one of the three rangers to work in the Classroom at Crater Lake Program leading snowshoe ranger talks for grade school, middle school, and high school field trips visiting the park.

During 2008 and the spring of 2009, I read books on the threat of climate change to absorb knowledge, but I still had no idea what to do as I became more alarmed about global warming. In August 2009, I visited my friend Lizzy Bauer at Redwoods National Park in northern California. She informed me that her evening campfire ranger program was on the impacts of climate change on the redwood ecosystem and wildlife. She showed me the PowerPoint of this presentation, and she even allowed me to have a copy of it on a flash drive.

After I saw Lizzy’s ranger climate presentation, I knew I eventually wanted to give a climate change evening ranger program at Crater Lake National Park. I still had much uncertainty how I would do this because I still felt like I did not know enough about global warming to and how to communicate it with the public. In the summer and fall of 2009, it was a deep internal conflict for me wanting to pursue my passion to do something to speak out and pursue a career communicating about climate change. Yet, I had no idea how to pursue this vision.

It was not until the fall of 2009 when my life’s vision became crystal clear. At that time, I was housesitting for a friend in Ashland, Oregon. As I wrote about in other blogs, I got into an argument with my friend Naomi about what I should do with my life. She deliberately and forcefully pressed me on that question: ‘What do you really want to do with your life?’

I then blurted out: “Fine! I would like to be the Climate Change Comedian!”

She fell out of her chair laughing and replied, “I want you to go home and grab that website domain immediately!”

I went home and did that. I bought the website domain, www.climateachangecomedian.com. Naomi then advised me to create my own climate change PowerPoint and build my website. I had no idea how to build a website. That was a daunting task for me for months afterwards.

While I lived with my parents in St. Louis in the winter months of 2010, I created my first climate change PowerPoint, “Let’s Have Fun Getting Serious About Climate Change.” I showed it to my friend John Dantico in March 2010. He did not respond to the jokes in my presentation. He was unsure about the science of climate change that I showed in my PowerPoint. John was savvy with technology though. He agreed to help me build my Climate Change Comedian website.

Title of the original climate change PowerPoint Presentation that Brian Ettling created during the winter and spring of 2010

To build this website, we knew I would need images and a website logo to promote me. Another friend in St. Louis, Tyrone Manthey, was an excellent photographer. Ty and his wife Carna were the parents of my best friend from high school, Scott Manthey. They were like a second mom and dad to me when I was a teenager in the 1980s. In March 2010, they were in the process to moving from their home in St. Louis to their newly built dream home in Baraboo, Wisconsin.

In their process of moving, I made a deal with Ty and Carna. I helped them with some of their packing and loading of boxes. In exchange, I asked Ty to take serious and goofy photos of me with my inflatable Earth Ball in a nearby park to create the promotional photos. The photos that Ty took were great and helpful. I used those photos frequently over the years in my climate change PowerPoints and in other ways to promote me.

I was still looking for the ultimate iconic photo to promote me as a climate change communicator, public speaker, and even a comedian. In April 2010, I took trip to Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to visit friends. I would stay with my friends Dean and Bernie Shumway in the Door County Peninsula of Wisconsin. I then planned to travel to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to visit my friend Cherie Barth in Houghton. I would then stay with Ty and Carna in their new home in Baraboo, Wisconsin. I figured during this trip, I would get the ideal photo of me posing with my Earth Ball outside with one of the Great Lakes behind me.

At the beginning of 2026, I wrote a 6-part blog of finding that perfect image My Earth Ball Photo by Lake Superior. When I visited Dean and Bernie Shumway in Sister Bay, Wisconsin in Door County, Dean took a good photo of me on April 7, 2010 on Washington Island. It is located on Lake Michigan just north of the Door County Peninsula. It is only accessible by ferry, which Dean, Bernie, and I took to the island. It was a cold overcast blustery day at the beach when I inflated my Earth Ball for Dean to take a photo of me with Lake Michigan behind me.

With the gloomy grey sky and I was bundled up in the photo to stay warm, even wearing thick black gloves to keep my fingers from getting frostbite holding the Earth Ball. It was a pleasant photo that I liked. However, it was not the photo I was looking for to represent me as a climate change communicator and wannabe comedian.

During that trip to Wisconsin and Michigan, I finally got the suitable photo I envisioned to promote me when my friends Cherie and Dan took me to Copper Harbor, Michigan on April 10, 2010. It was a sunny clear cool spring day. Lake Superior was mostly calm with a light chop on the water from a gentle breeze. The lake had a welcoming bright deep blue color looking like a gigantic inland sea. It was the perfect day to get the iconic image I wanted of me holding my Earth Ball looking happy on the rocky brown shoreline of Lake Superior with the huge lake stretching out to the horizon behind.

Brian Ettling by Copper Harbor in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with Lake Superior behind him. Photo taken on April 10, 2010.

I nailed the photo I wanted to promote me for climate action. I now needed to travel safely home to St. Louis, Missouri for John Dantico to help me build my climate change comedian website. This is the focus of this blog the journey home from Copper Harbor, Michigan to St. Louis, Missouri to next build my www.climatechangecomedian.com website.

This blog is about the story in between my blogs For Climate Action, my EarthBall photo by Lake Superior, Part 6, which was about getting my ideal EarthBall photo in Copper Harbor, Michigan in April 2010 and my blog For Climate Action, my process of becoming a writer.

That latter blog was about my friend John challenging me to regularly write after we created my website in late April 2010. I then detailed how I evolved to become a writer. To return from Copper Harbor, Michigan to St. Louis, Missouri with my ideal photo became a treacherous journey April 11-14th that I want to recount the details here.

I should first point out that I took this vacation under risky conditions before I left my parents’ home in April 2010. Prior to the start of the trip, in March 2010, I took my car to the local Honda dealership to be serviced. I did not like how my 2002 Honda Civic handled driving at interstate speeds. The mechanic took it for a drive. He noticed wheel alignment to be out of balance, plus he found other problems in need of maintenance. The front compliance bushings were torn, the power steering fluid needed a fluid exchange, the right front strut was leaking and needed to be replaced. Moreover, the mechanic recommended I replaced the tires, especially the back two tires, because the tread was wearing out. The final bill was over $1100.

I was furious when they informed me that the tires needed to be replaced because I bought a new pair of tires two years before. They should have lasted longer. It was not the fault of this Honda Dealership. I bought these tires elsewhere two years earlier, and they should have lasted longer. I decided to spend over $1,100 to repair my car, but I was not ready to spend money on a new set of tires. I thought I would chance it on these old worn set of tires to drive over 1,500 miles from St. Louis to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the first 10 days of April 2010. I thought those tires should hold up fine for the trip. Seriously, what could go wrong?

April 11, 2010 – Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park in the U.P. of Michigan

I was not sure how I would top the day before, April 10, 2010. It was memorable driving around the Keweenaw Peninsula with my friends Cherie and Dan to see waterfalls, rolling mountains, forests, and the shoreline of Lake Superior while capturing the optimal photo of me holding my Earth Ball with this Great Lake behind me. On April 11th, Cherie and Dan took me to one of the most beautiful places I saw in my life, Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park, located on northwestern shoreline of the U.P. of Michigan, just a few miles from the Wisconsin border.

Cherie, Dan, and I went to Porcupine Mountain on a Sunday. No other tourists or locals came to the park that day, even though it was a weekend. It was a sunny cool spring day. The area was just beginning to emerge from winter. The park still had some snow on the ground. The deciduous trees were still barren of leaves. They all stood like wooden husks allowing more glimpses of the remaining snow on the ground and other trees than one would see in late spring and summer when the tree foliage hid the land surface and the trees in the forests behind them.

Except for one or two other hikers, the only other visitor we saw that day was a Bald Eagle perched on a tree. It was so peaceful and quiet that the eagle did not mind our presence. It allowed us to get several photos of us before flying off to another distant tree.

The signage on the trails and the wayside signs indicated the park was a popular destination for cross country skiing in the winter. But, those same hiking trails looked to be a rewarding experience to walk on in the spring, summer, and fall when it was not possible to travel by skis.

Cherie, Dan, and I decided to hike in different directions to take in the natural solitude and make our individual heart felt connections to the park that day. This is Michigan’s largest state park around 60,000 acres to lose yourself in the outdoors. Dan and I hiked up at our own separate paces to The Lake of the Clouds Overlook. We hiked on the 1.7-mile Lake of the Clouds Trail which was a moderate trail with an elevation gain of over 300 feet to reach the overlook to get a panoramic view of Lake of the Clouds. This lake was only a couple miles south of the enormous Lake Superior. Yet, it was a hidden wonder nestled between two rolling mountains ridges.

Lake of the Clouds at Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park, Michigan. Photo taken by Brian Ettling on April 11, 2010.

It was a great day to be alive! The stillness was so soothing there. It was a viewpoint where one could spend hours admiring the natural beauty of the enclosed lake with the old growth forests and raised rounded mountains as far as the eye could see. At the overlook and on the hiking trail, nearly no sounds of overhead airplanes, distractions no cars whizzing by on roads, nor people were there any people talking loudly.

The scenic grandeur was so visceral there that I wondered why everyone wasn’t there. Yet, I felt so blessed that it was just Cherie, Dan, and I there with just a few other hikers at this hidden gem. The views and time spent in this park was an ideal place to renew one’s soul.

I hiked for a couple of miles on the Escarpment Trail, which traversed the spine of this mountainous ridge so I could get more views of the majestic Lake of the Clouds and the pristine valley below. Though I hiked high above this lake on the trail, I still wanted to hike the distance of the length of the lake to see it from multiple perspectives. Each view of this trail was worthy to take quality photos and appreciate the scene. I even hiked past the lake to see the start of the Upper Carp River meandering through the marshes.

I then hiked downhill to the main park highway to walk it for about a mile to the Lake Superior Trailhead. I walked a couple of miles on that trail to get better views of the lake. It amazed me this Great Lake was as calm as glass that day. My first experience seeing Lake Superior a few days before at Whitefish point on the far southeastern shore was that it was moody, angry and did not want to be messed with. Today, on the other end at the far southwestern shore of Lake Superior, the lake wanted to show it could be still, quiet, and peaceful. I was no longer religious, but it reminded me of the Bible verse Psalms 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

The pensive and relaxed state of Lake Superior that day was a reminder that life could be good, meditative, and restful.

Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park was as mesmerizing and sacred of a place as any national park I saw. The words I write here cannot do it justice. I hiked a couple of miles on the Lake Superior trail hoping to catch a clear view of the lake unobstructed by trees. The trailhead started several hundred feet above the lake. The trail winded downhill through the forest but got nowhere near the lake shore on this portion of the trail. However, the vegetation started to subdue to enable one to get a wild screen view of this largest of all the Great Lakes.

A view of Lake Superior from Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park, Michigan. Photo taken by Brian Ettling on April 11, 2010.

I took two self-photographs with my digital camera to try to capture this spectacular day with the placid Lake Superior and the leafless trees still in their winter hibernation mode behind me. I then walked back up to the trailhead to meet up with Cherie and Dan so we could start driving back to their house in Houghton.

I was so focused on connecting with nature that day that I realized as I headed back to rendezvous with Cherie and Dan that I lost my winter Mountain Hardwear hat. That hat was mad of thick polyester material that kept my head comfortably warm in the freezing winter temperatures. I bought it with the hefty employee discount from when I worked the holiday season at REI just 14 months before. I hoped that I left it in Cherie’s car.

I finally found Cherie’s car after I hiked a mile down the road to a pullout where I found Cherie’s car. She was there impatiently waiting for Dan and me to return. She was more upset with Dan than me for being gone so long that day. We did not set up a time to meet up. We just figured we would eventually find all of us to then head back to their home.

When I returned to her car, I asked Cherie if she saw my winter hat on a trail or in her car. She had not seen it, and she became grumpy at me for losing my hat. I was not too concerned about it. I figured I could order another hat through REI or Mountain Hardware. She expressed more frustration with me that I misplaced my hat. I figured I was so delighted to be exploring Porcupine Mountain that it was the cost of recreating there that day. California naturalist John Muir once wrote, “In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks”.

Yes, I totally agree with John Muir that I always receive more than I seek when I hike in nature. Sadly, sometimes others and I lose personal items losing ourselves in nature. I persuaded Cherie to drive me to the Lake of the Clouds Overlook to walk a short path from the parking lot to the overlook to see if I had possibly left my hat there. I even walked part of the Escarpment Trail again hoping to spot my hat. It was not to be found. I hope someone else was able to find it and use it with the extreme cold temperatures that area receives in the winter.

It was too late for Cherie and Dan to cook a meal at home that evening. The three of us found a local pizza restaurant to dine 13 miles east of the eastern entrance of the park at the town of Ontonagon. It was just warm enough to eat outside.

Across the street from the restaurant, I noticed a closed tourist gift store selling locally made souvenirs and nearby shiny mineral rocks. The sign at the top of the building announced it as The Gitche Gumee Landing. One of the Native American titles for Lake Superior was Gitche Gumee. It was the Ojibwe people name for Lake Superior, meaning “Big Sea” or “Huge Water.”

Image by Brian Ettling of the Gitche Gumee Landing Gift Shop in Ontonagon, Michigan. Photo taken on April 11, 2010.

Like many people over the last 50 years, I first heard term Gitche Gumee from Gordon Lightfoot’s song, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” In the song, Lightfoot wrote and sang,

For the song starts with Lightfoot singing,

“The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called Gitche Gumee…”

After dinner we drove back to Cherie and Dan’s house in Houghton. The drive was only about one hour. I hiked so much that day that I fell asleep in the passenger seat during the ride back. The magnificent day wore me out!

This was my last time seeing Lake Superior. The next day, I planned to back my car to head directly south to visit my friends Carna and Ty Manthey in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Ever since I took that trip 16 years ago, I schemed to try to return to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to see marvelous Lake Superior and natural wonders of that area. I still hope to return there. I hope you will make it a high priority to visit there.

Visiting my friends Carna and Ty Manthey in Baraboo, Wisconsin

The next day, April 12, 2010, I say goodbye to my friends Cherie and Dan in Houghton, Michigan to drive straight down the Baraboo, Wisconsin to visit my friends, Ty and Carna Manthey.

It was an uneventful drive from Houghton, Michigan to Baraboo, Wisconsin traveling through the small rural conservative towns as I left the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to drive through the center of Wisconsin. No awe-inspiring scenery that day. I reached Carna and Ty’s new log cabin home late in the afternoon.

I looked forward to seeing them since I just helped pack up their belongings from their old home in St. Louis over a month earlier. Both Ty and Carner were born and raised in the Baraboo, Wisconsin area. I knew them since 1982 when their son Scott became my best friend in junior high school and high school. I frequently hung out at their house back then. I admired how they were always easy going, relaxed, positive people, with a great sense of humor.

Photo by Brian Ettling of Devil’s Lake State Park, Wisconsin. Photo taken on April 13, 2010.

Ty’s job with the U.S. Defense Mapping Agency brought them to St. Louis in 1982, but Scott’s parents always dreamed of moving back to Wisconsin, to the area where they originally lived. They often shared their dream to build a dream home in the Baraboo after Ty retired from their job. Even more, they envisioned building a log cabin kind of home in a rural area just outside of the town. I was curious to see what their ideal home looked like.

When I arrived, I noticed that their home was at the bottom of a steep curving gravel driveway. The wood of their log cabin home was an orangish brown color that glistened in the sun on a clear day. The roof had a dark green color that matched well with the wooden exterior walls. The house had a single second story room that sat in the middle of the home like a crown. The home was surrounded by dirt since the construction of the home and moving in was recently completed. Plus, it was coming out of winter, so no grass had time to grow yet.

As I drove up the gravel dirt driveway in my Honda Civic, I was unsure how I would eventually drive back down the narrow sloping angled driveway. At least I made it safely to the top. Leaving to go down the drive would be a problem to solve for a different day.

Ty and Carna’s new home was stunning. They did an amazing job designing it and investing the money to build it. Located a couple miles outside of Baraboo, he property had a wide-open country feel. The back side of their living room had a large window looking out into a forest of small pine trees. They frequently observed wild deer and other animals. When someone thinks of Wisconsin, people often think of daily farms. However, the scene out of their back window looked more like a scene from the American western states or even the Pacific Northwest.

Their home had the feel of someplace you would want to go on vacation to an AirBnb or a Bed and Breakfast. I felt so content staying there that I did not want to leave ever.

I was honored to be their first house guest, even before either of their adult children, Scott and Michelle, and their families, or other relatives came to visit. Ty and Carna took pride in showing me around their and the Baraboo area.

They first took me to see Devil’s Lake State Park where they had met as teenagers and started courting there. Both of their parents used to bring them and their siblings there as children. The scenery there was fascinating. The park had a good size lake with a very large cliff behind it. The terminal moraines of an ice age glacier was located there. Ty and Carna told me the story how they initially met at Devil’s Lake. They shared the story with me with such delight like they were still two teenagers in love. I was honored to be there to have this experience with them.

The town of Baraboo had a lot of character and history. We drove by old residential home that was painted in a bright Pepto-Bismol bright pink color. We stopped by to see a roadside historical plaque attached to a large stone that noted the first schoolhouse in the Baraboo Valley was built on that spot in 1844.

I took a couple of photos of an American Staffordshire Terrier breed dog sitting in a in the driver’s seat of a pickup truck patiently waiting for its owner to return. The way the dog sat near the steering wheel facing forward, it looked like the dog was driving this parked vehicle.

During my visit, we ate lunch and dinners at the small diners in Baraboo. It still had the feel of a small, sleepy town where everyone knew each other and treated each other like family.

I learned the trivia that Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus started in Baraboo in 1884. Right by the center of town, Ty pointed out the Clown Museum associated with the circus history for the town. I have always considered myself an amateur comedian and humorous idiot, so I had to get my photo in front of the clown museum.

Brian Ettling standing in front of a window of the International Clown Hall of Fame in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Photo taken on April 13, 2010.

My car became stuck in a ditch leaving my friends’ home in Baraboo, Wisconsin

On April 14th, I was eager to head home to St. Louis from this vacation to Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This was a fantastic journey, but it was time for me to go home.

After I returned home, my friend John Dantico and I had an agreement he would help me build my www.climatechangecomedian.com website. I needed to start packing for my cross-country drive and summer park ranger job at Crater Lake National Park. Even more, the Honda maintenance department at my nearby dealership advised me to get new car tires. I wanted to replace my tires before that long multi-state two-thousand-mile drive from St. Louis, Missouri to Crater Lake, Oregon. I did not want to risk having a blown tire on that long car trip, especially on the most remote parts of that drive in the deserts and mountains out west.

Ty left early that morning before 6 am for some errands in town and meet with some friends. I probably should have asked him to help me back down my car their steep curved gravel driveway. I would need to do that drive in reverse gear, since I did not see much room to turn the car around by their garage. Ty would have been happy to help me with that, but he left quickly that morning. Thus, I would be all on my own on this. It was all on me to get my car safely down the driveway to the paved flat street.

After I loaded my car with my suitcase and belongings around 6:30 am. Carna was sleep in still that morning, so I was unable to say goodbye to her. I was determined to get on the road early because I needed to get oil change. I drove over 1,500 miles on this trip. I normally try to get an oil change every 3,750 miles. I was now over 4,000 miles.

Thus, I was anxious to get on the road early and complete this oil change. I had a lot to do once I returned to St. Louis. I did not even eat breakfast that morning, which was unusual for me. I needed to get home later that day. I figured I would eat breakfast at a diner, Denny’s or McDonald’s while my car got an oil change.

It was now time for me to conquer my fear to go down Ty and Carna’s narrow curving steep gravel driveway in reverse. Gulp! I wondered how I had allowed myself to get into this situation.

Ty and Carna Manthey’s home in Baraboo, Wisconsin with the steep curved driveway that Brian had to figure out how to drive in reverse to go down to the street on April 14, 2010.

My heart was in my throat as I slowed back down the steep driveway. I needed to keep angling the steering wheel to stay on the pavement. However, it was hard to tilt the steering wheel precise enough to stay within the parameters of the bending driveway. Even worse, I had to drive my car in reverse, which severely limited my visibility and maneuvering skills.

I made several attempts to drive towards the bottom of the driveway. However, my car was getting close to veering off the driveway into a ditch with sharp rocks at the bottom. I did not know how I was going to get out of this situation without possibly ending up in this rocky ditch. At the same time, I worried about possibly even bottoming out between road and the ditch if my wheel went over the edge, possibly then damaging the undercarriage of my car.

No matter how many times I tried, I could not safely guide my car in reverse to the bottom of the driveway. Each time, I started down the steep hill and came close each time to my car driving off the edge, I became even more worried, anxious, and scared.

My worst fears came true when my back passenger wheel came off the driveway and it was dangling over a metal culvert near the bottom of the driveway. I was stuck. I could not drive my car further without possibly causing damage to the vehicle. The car seemed fine for this moment resting in this position, but it did not look like a stable situation for my vehicle to stay parked in that position.

Fortunately, Carna was now up and awake. From her window, she saw what unfolded with my car. Some time before my visit, she had a stroke which she was then trying to recover. As a result of that ailment, Carna walked with a heavy limp, and she was limited in her speaking ability. Despite her physical challenges, Carna walked outside and asked me if she could call for a nearby tow truck to come rescue my car. My mind was out of control with anger, shock, and bewilderment that fate and my poor decisions up to that point allowed this precarious situation to happen with my car.

Carna acted like a guardian angel. I will always be grateful to her for calling for a tow truck, with my permission. The tow truck came within about 20 minutes. The tow truck operator easily towed my car onto the road so I could finally drive it safely back to St. Louis.

Brian Ettling’s 2002 Honda Civic LX hanging over the side of a culvert at the home of Ty and Carna Manthey at their home in Baraboo, Wisconsin.

My flat tire when I had almost reached home in St. Louis, Missouri

An hour drive from Baraboo to Madison, Wisconsin, I found a Honda Dealer service center I could get an oil change. They were busy servicing other cars that morning. However, they squeezed me in to get an oil change around 11 am. I braced for news that my car would need an alignment, tire balancing, or other major servicing after I maneuvered my car into the culvert in Ty and Carna’s driveway in Baraboo. They did not seem to find anything wrong with my car. Unlike the Honda Dealership in St. Louis, they did not advise me to replace my tires.

I thought I would be safe to drive back to St. Louis. By the point, I had not eaten anything since dinner the previous day. I felt famished. My stomach and body yearned for food. I stopped by a Denny’s in Madison for a big breakfast that would fill me up for the day for the car ride home. I did not leave Madison to start driving back to St. Louis until sometime after 1 pm that day.

I had a 5-and-a-half-hour drive ahead. I hoped to be home to my parents’ house in St. Louis for a late dinner. Along the way, I stopped for gasoline, used the restroom, and buy a late lunch.

The drive leaving Wisconsin and driving south down the interstates in through the center of Illinois until I got 50 miles outside of St. Louis around 6:30 pm. It felt like I was driving on a rough patch of Interstate 55 when the sound of the road became unbearable, especially from the rear end of the driver’s side of the car. The car was leaning a bit and getting hard to handle of the road. I just wanted to ignore it and drive home, but the car did not want to drive much further. I pulled over to the shoulder of the highway to see what was wrong.

After I brought the car safely to a complete stop, I got outside of the car to discover the problem. My worst fear was realized: my driver’s side rear tired had blown out and was completely flat. I should have bought a new set of tires before I embarked on this trip to Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Looks like I needed to use the tire jack that came with vehicle to elevate the back end, take the damaged tire off my car, and attach the small emergency donut tire. I would then have to drive slowly and carefully back to my parents’ house. I only had one problem: I had never changed a flat tire before, and I was unsure how to accomplish this.

I called my parents to let them know what happened. My mom and dad decided they to hop into their car to start driving my way to help me change this tire. I was relieved and comforted my Dad and Mom were willing to drive to my location to assist me. The bad news: it would take them about 50 minutes to drive from their home to my location to assist me.

I then took any suitcases and belongings out of my trunk to reach the donut tire and tire jack, located deep in the lower compartment of my trunk. Before I knew it, a car pulled up behind me. It was a slender young man with a crew cut hair style in early 30s where his U.S. Army fatigues work uniform.

He introduced himself as Stephen Hrabusicky, a veteran who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He offered to change my tires from the worn-out flat tire to attach the temporary spare donut tire on my car. I gladly accepted his help.

I mentioned to him how I drove on a rough section of I-55 when this happened.

He retorted, ‘Welcome to the socialist state of Illinois where they don’t fix the roads.’

I appreciated Stephen was changing my tire during this odd conversation, but I was skeptical that anything that happened to my tire had anything to do with politics. The last thing on my mind was politics in that moment. I only wanted to get my tire changed and go home.

Still, I could not let his bonkers comment stand. I replied, “I don’t know, but when I have traveled through Oklahoma, I found their roads to be in much worse shape than Illinois.”

Steven: “That’s because they don’t have much money in Oklahoma.”

I stopped myself from saying anything further because I appreciated his assistance. Before I knew it, he had the donut spare tire securely attached to my car and he was lowering the tire jack. I thanked him and I got his name and address so I could send him a thank you card.

Steven left the scene minutes before my parents arrived. They were amazed someone graciously changed my tire. They wished they could have thanked him in person. My parents then followed me home as I drove 35 to 40 miles per hour on the interstate riding on the spare tire.

I was exhausted and relieved I made it back safely to my parents’ home late that evening.

The next morning, I quickly researched the best quality tires using Consumer Reports. For my wheel measurements, they recommended a set of Hancock Radial tires. I found a nearby Autotire Center that had those tires in stock. I made an appointment for them to install the tires the next day. They tried to sell me on getting my front and rear struts replaced. However, I seemed skeptical that they were trying to sell me on an unnecessary repair, so I declined.

Final Thoughts

After driving my car into a culvert and experiencing a tire blow out on April 14, 2010, the good news was that my car was in good working order for many months afterwards. A few days after my new tires were installed, I met with my friend John Dantico to help me set up my www.climatechangecomedian.com website.

As I wrote in my blog, For Climate Action, my process of becoming a writer, I never forgot John advising me after he set up my website, “Now you will need to consistently set aside time to write a blog for your website so you can create followers and draw attention to your website.”

At that time, I did not think of myself as a writer. I had no idea what specific topics I should be writing and blogging. Over time, I wrote many my blogs for my own website, as well as guest blogs for friends’ websites, a 2012 published article in Yale Climate Connections, and numerous newspaper opinion editorials, guest commentaries, and letters to the editor.

As the years went by, I became more comfortable blogging about my own journeys. In early May 2010, I completed a cross-country drive from St. Louis to Crater Lake National Park, Oregon. I returned to Crater Lake to work another season as a naturalist park ranger. During that 2,000-mile drive in May, I stopped in Vail, Colorado to experience zip lining for the first time. One month later, in June 2010, I rode in a hot air balloon with my friend, Lise Wall. In July 2010, I flew in a small private airplane over Crate Lake for the first time.

Ever since John and I created my website and I started blogging, I had adventures and peak life experiences that I blogged about that helped mold me into the climate and democracy organizer that I am today.

Thank goodness I survived driving my car into a culvert in Baraboo, Wisconsin and encountering a blown tire in Illinois on April 14, 2010. I am grateful I blogged here about that experience. Even more, I feel blessed I wrote blogs about many other experiences trying to make a difference to create a healthier planet from climate change and trying to uphold American Democracy.

Thank you for reading my writings!

Brian Ettling photographed by Tyrone Manthey. Image taken at Bee Tree Park in St. Louis, Missouri on March 23, 2010.

For democracy and climate action, 5 things I know for sure

Photo of Brian Ettling taken on November 15, 2023.

“What do you know for sure?”
– The question film critic Gene Siskel
often asked his guests before concluding an interview.

February 1, 2025, marked the 15th anniversary when I started blogging. I felt pressure to begin writing a blog to maintain my www.climatechangecomedian.com website that my friend John Dantico helped me launch in April 2010.

After he successfully helped me create my website, John gave me advice that shook me to my core. He remarked, “Now you will need to consistently set aside time to write a blog for your website so you can create followers and draw attention to your website.”

My swallowed hard and my stomach tensed up. I thought, “Me! Write regularly? There’s no way! I am not a writer.”

My website sat dormant for the next 10 months. At that time, I did not think of myself as a writer, so I made every excuse possible to not write. By the end of January 2011, I was out of excuses. One month earlier, I went through the worst break up of my life when a woman I deeply loved dumped me. As part of the way to re-invent myself and move forward in life, I decided it was time for me to start blogging.

At that time, I spent my winters at my parents’ home in St. Louis, Missouri in between my summer job working as a naturalist ranger at Crater Lake National Park, Oregon. I stared at my laptop as I sat at their dining room table for hours trying to come up with something to write.

On February 1, 2011, I did it! I wrote my My First Blog Ever.

In that blog, I focused on the two things I knew for sure at that time:

1) Think Globally,
Act Daily

2) Each and every one of us can change the world. We do this by
a) The way we vote
b) The products we buy
c) The attitudes we share with each other.

I came up with those two personal mantras or core beliefs when I worked as a naturalist guide in Everglades National Park in Flamingo, Florida from 1998 to 2002. I narrated two different boat tours. One tour that went into the open water of Florida with the possibility of seeing dolphins and a few wading birds. The other tour went into the mangrove backcountry with possible views of alligators, crocodiles, a few wading birds, and manatees.

While I pointed out wildlife and notable plants and trees on these tours, I talked about the Everglades as one of the world’s most endangered ecosystems. Coastal human development spreading from Miami and Ft. Lauderdale shrunk the historical natural Everglades ecosystem in half. Most of the natural Everglades’ water in the went to the urban areas and farms. As a result, the ecosystem had lost about 90% of its fish, birds, and alligators since early 20th century. On some days, a visitor could still see some alligators and birds. However, all the historical reports stated the natural Everglades once teeming with fish, birds and other wildlife.

After I gave this sobering news to visitors, I went around the boat to talk to visitors individually after I wrapped up my narration. Some visitors felt angry at humans but felt hopeless to do anything about it. I affirmed that they can and must do what they can to save the Everglades and the planet. I always ended my talks with the Joe Pogder quote, “The Everglades is a test. If we pass the test, we get to keep the planet.”

In addition, I quoted Marjory Stoneman Douglas, considered to be the Mother of Everglades National Park. Decades ago, I heard her say in a documentary that when it comes to saving the Everglades, the environment, and the Earth from human destruction, “It’s not a matter of being optimistic or pessimistic, it’s simply something that has to be done.”

Those quotes did not seem to provide enough reassurance to visitors of their agency. Thus, I created my own quotes at that time to enlighten them of their own personal power. My conversations on those boats seemed to go better as I shared my unique perspective on the world. I especially liked my twist on that common expression at that time, “Think globally, act locally.”

In the early 2000s, I was not motivated to act locally in a neighborhood or in a community sense. I lived and worked seasonally in the national parks. Looking back now, I was acting locally with seeing environmental destruction in the Everglades. However, I was not really interested in acting locally, just acting daily. Therefore, I loved my own bending of that sound bite. I liked the idea of acting daily of mentioning in my ranger talks the environmental damage and the solutions we could do as individuals. When I was not working, I wrote letters and made phone calls to the offices of my members of Congress and attended local Miami environmental meetings.

I remember park visitors even laughing when I would say, ‘When it comes to taking action, I have often heard the expression “Think globally, act locally.” But what if I don’t feel like acting locally? Well, I can still act daily and that gives me hope.’

Those two expressions that I created on my own propelled for decades afterwards. I remember writing them down and posting them on my refrigerator somewhere around the year 2001 while living and working in Flamingo, Florida. While living at that time in Everglades National Park, I began collecting inspiring quotes by famous people to help guide my life and thinking. I ended up with a small green backpack filled with various insightful quotes written on scraps of paper in several Zip Lock bags to keep them safe. My first two quotes I shared here and in my first blog in February 2011 were always my favorites of my collection.

A meme Brian Ettling created in December 2017 that included his original quote from around the year 2000.

3. Ranger Brian’s Pocket-sized Wisdom

In the summer of 2008, I worked in my third season as a naturalist or interpretation ranger at Crater Lake National Park. That August, the lead interpretation ranger Dave Grimes, assigned me to lead sunset guided ranger hikes up the Watchman Peak at Crater Lake National Park. The hike was less of a mile long one way and led to the fire lookout tower at the summit of the Watchman Peak, which was just over 8,000 feet above sea level. As I wrote more extensively in my blog post, For Climate Action, advice from a former park ranger, I was still grieving my mentor, park ranger Steve Robinson, passing away in October 2007.

I choose to end my ranger hike up the Watchman Peak with a small pocket-sized card that I gave to visitors as a gift at the conclusion of my program. I called it Ranger Brian’s Wisdom. However, most of the wisdom was my mentor Steve Robinson’s advice to me in our many hours of conversation over the years when we both worked in Everglades and Crater Lake National Parks from 1993 to 2007. My pocket-sized prose was like a good John Lennon and Paul McCartney Beatles composed song because it was a synergy of both our ideas. Although I admit most of the thoughts originated with Steve, it was certainly things we agreed upon in our long discussions. I ended Ranger Brian’s Wisdom with my own original quote, “Think globally, act daily.”

I stopped working as a seasonal park ranger at Crater Lake National Park in October 2017. Thus, I ended giving my sunset guided ranger hikes up the Watchman Peak that same summer. However, I still have a stack of those cards Ranger Brian’s Wisdom in my dresser drawer that I give out to friends now and then.

Besides my first two quotes I shared here and in my first blog, I hope to be remembered for the words I composed with the guidance of my mentor Steve Robinson in Ranger Brian’s Wisdom.

Image of Brian Ettling’s pocket sized card that he gave to visitors as a gift at the conclusion of his ranger guided sunset hike on Watchman Peak 2008-2017.

4. Never Give into Despair, Cynicism, Pessimism, and Hopelessness

For my liberal, progressive, and climate friends, 2017 was a depressing year for them and me. The swearing in of Donald Trump as President on January 20th soon led to his lie that his inauguration crowd size was bigger than Obama’s inauguration crowds. A few days later, Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway promoted “alternative facts,” when host of NBC’s Meet the Press Chuck Todd pressed her on Trump’s falsehood of “the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period.” It was obvious from the beginning of the year that Donald Trump was not interested in the truth, being held accountable by the press and the American public, and that he intended to assert lies even when the truth was obvious.

A couple of days later, Donald Trump issued an executive order barring citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. It was the beginning of Trump’s actions as President to foster discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities he did not like.

For climate action, the news was bleak in March 2017 when Trump moved to dismantle President dismantle Obama’s climate legacy. Trump issued an executive order to basically end the Clean Power Plan, Obama’s flagship policy to curb carbon emissions. Trump’s executive order rescinded the Clean Power Plan’s moratorium on the sale of coalmining leases on federal lands. His action was consistent with his wrong and shortsighted assertion since his 2014 tweet that “Global warming is an expensive hoax!”

With that 2017 executive order on coal, Trump conveniently ignored the evidence that coal is the most carbon-intensive and dirtiest fossil fuel causing global climate change.

Trump followed up that March executive order on coal with withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accords on June 1, 2017. In his announcement, he made the head scratching comment that he was “elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris.” He blindly ignored that climate change is a global problem that was and would continue to severely harm the U.S.

The decision was a blow to environmentalists, business leaders and international figures, many of whom have urged Trump to reconsider.

On the legal front, in May 2017, Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, who was overseeing an investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 elections and possible ties to the Trump campaign and top aides.

A few days later in May, the U.S. Justice Department appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as a special counsel to oversee the growing probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible ties to associates of President Trump. That cloud of impropriety hung over Donald Trump for the rest of 2017.

The national news became more dour as the year progressed. In August 2017, the smoke from the fire season in the Pacific Northwest was so intense that NASA documented images of the fires from space. On a personal level, the smoke was hazardous to breathe, dampened park visitors’ experiences to Crater Lake National Park, and it made it more challenging for me to work as a park ranger there in the summer of 2017.

For scientists and U.S. federal agencies, they had no doubt that climate change played a role in causing these severe 2017 wildfires in the Pacific Northwest.

For years afterward, Trump was clueless about the connection with catastrophic wildfires and climate change. In November 2018, he continued his bogus assertion that solely blaming wildfires on poor forest management while ignoring the influence of climate change.

While these forest fires raged in the Pacific Northwest, deadly violence broke out at a white supremacy rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Instead of condemning the racist hate groups for causing the violence, Trump declared “there is blame on both sides.”

In September 2017, the category 4 Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico leading to widespread destruction.

Sadly, in the recovery efforts after the hurricane in October 2017, Donald Trump gave a callous response of accusing the island’s leaders of wanting “everything done for them” as they cope with the devastation.

It proved once again his insincerity and lack of caring in response to a natural disaster.

In October 2017, a mass shooting in Las Vegas led to nearly 60 deaths and trauma for the victims’ families as well as those in attendance.

2017 would later become the deadliest year for U.S. mass killings in at least a decade.

After the Las Vegas mass shooting, the other terrible news in 2017 leading up to that event, and Donald Trump’s continuous inappropriate reactions, I posted this on my social media on October 3, 2017: “My response to friends to friends who are feeling frustrated right now about climate action, gun control, civil rights, women’s rights, equality, immigration reform, voting rights, etc. NEVER GIVE UP HOPE.

‘Action is the antidote for despair.’ – Joan Baez.”

I followed it up with this meme I created:

A meme Brian Ettling created in October 2017 in response to the actions of Donald Trump and dire events that happened that year.

I felt like Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans’ response to climate change, natural disasters, the far-right violence in Charlottesville VA, gun violence, and promotion of disinformation from the beginning of the year was intentional to leave people feeling hopeless and losing the moral courage to take action. I wanted to boost people’s spirits. I had a need help people that care to see that Trump and the far right wanted Democrats, progressives, liberals, climate advocates, and friends not to give up. That they can and should try to make a difference, no matter how bad the news was then.

Over the years, I continued to post that meme in response to tragic events when people are hurting. I hope this idea of mine goes on long after I am gone to never give into hopelessness. I believe strongly that we can never give into pessimism and giving up on action because that is exactly what the other side wants us to do.

5. Make a difference with joy!

As I wrote in my previous blog, it was a gut-wrenching blow for me when Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans won the November 5, 2025 Presidential election. I put all my work energy in 2024 into knocking on doors and organizing events to urge Oregon voters and elsewhere to not return him to power again. Fortunately, I received an award certificate from Oregon Representative Hoa Nguyen and a thank you card from Oregon Representative Ricki Ruiz for all my canvassing efforts. Plus, it was a morale boost when I traveled for a day to Woodburn, Oregon on November 21, 2024 to chase ballots for Oregon House Democratic candidate Lesly Muñoz who was declared the winner of her race less than a week later.

Even though I felt raw after in late November 2024 with Donald Trump’s victory at the beginning of the month, it was a morale boost to travel with my wife Tanya to my hometown of St. Louis Missouri November 28th to December 8th to see my parents, Tanya’s parents, our siblings, and extended family living there. The good tidings of being on vacation and spending time with family inspired me to create this meme:

A meme and quote Brian Ettling created on December 1, 2024.

It was a quick creative thought during our trip that I immediately turned into a meme and put on social media. I thought it summed up my attitude on life succinctly. As long as I could remember, I always wanted to make a difference in the world and do it in a way that was fun, fulfilling, and inspired others.

For decades, I loved the quote:

“Nothing great was ever done without enthusiasm,” Ralph Waldo Emerson

So many people, including me, laughed and felt happier after hearing the song from Monty Python’s Life of Brian:

“Always look on the bright side of life.”

Oh, I must add as a fellow Brian, I love that movie title!

As I mentioned earlier in this blog, I have collected inspirational quotes for many years. One of my favorite quotes is from teenage Holocaust victim Anne Frank who wrote in her book, The Diary of a Young Girl

“Whoever is happy will make others happy.”

I admire the quote credited to American evangelical minister Billy Graham:

“Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.”

In addition, I was influenced for years by the quote falsely attributed to Abraham Lincoln,

“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

According to Quote Investigator, no direct evidence exists Abraham Lincoln made that statement. I was drawn to that quote decades ago believing Lincoln said it. Even if I know better now it is most likely that Lincoln never uttered those words, I still believe it is an inspiring quote. I wish whoever originated it took ownership instead of attaching it to Lincoln.

to add to the previous quotes noted, I liked this Bible quote from Philippians 4:8.

“Finally, Brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

I could go on to share so many other positive quotes from my green backpack of quotes I wrote and captured on slips of paper over the decades. They are too numerous to count.

All those quotes, the optimism I received from parents and teachers growing up, as well as other influencers led me to my personal outlook of “Making a difference with joy!”

In Conclusion: So, what do I know for sure?

Almost 30 years ago, I heard TV host and entrepreneur Oprah Winfrey talk about an interview film critic Gene Siskel had with her when she promoted the 1998 movie Beloved. She was the leading actress in the film when she sat down with Siskel to create publicity for the motion picture. He ended the interview, the way he liked to conclude all his interviews with notable people, asking the question, “What do you know for sure?”

Immediately after Gene Siskel asked Oprah that question, she was stumped, caught off guard, and did not know how to answer it. His question stuck on her mind for days afterwards. To this day, Winfrey thinks Siskel was the first person to ask her that type of question. It caused her to regularly take stock of her life. After Siskel’s death in 1999, Oprah choose to weave it into her television program and magazine. she then regularly wrote a column in the last page of her monthly O, The Oprah Magazine called “What I Know for Sure.” She then took those original essays from 2000 onwards and compiled them into a 2014 book, What I know for Sure.

Gene Siskel posed this question of the people he interviewed, including Oprah, as to satisfy “His quest for knowledge and drive to understand the human spirit.” He was curious to reveal the interior of the minds and provide un-scripted and passionate responses from even the most frigid and guarded celebrities. His motive for asking the question was clear: “The world consists of people from diverse walks of life, each carrying with them a different life story. If he could get his guests to share with him and his viewers the one thing in life that they are certain is true, perhaps the world could be a better place.”

No doubt that Gene Siskel asking Oprah Winfrey that question in 1998 made her a better person. Ever since Oprah shared that story on TV decades ago, I have been asking myself that question: “What do I know for sure?”

I especially want my friends and family to know my answer to this question if I was struck by lightning or hit by a bus tomorrow, God forbid. I don’t want them to have to guess: What did Brian know for sure?

I hope it does not sound macabre to say this, but I heard recently that many wise men and women, philosophers, authors, and social commenters say that ‘the meaning of life is the preparation for death.’

One quote in particular:

“Tota vita discendum est mori” (All of life is a preparation for death). – Seneca

Thus, I want family, friends, and anyone curious about me to know this is what I know for sure:

1) Think Globally,
Act Daily

2) Each and every one of us can change the world. We do this by
a) The way we vote
b) The products we buy
c) The attitudes we share with each other.

3) Ranger Brian’s Wisdom
For Every Question,
There Is Not Necessarily an Answer.
Yield to the Mysteries of Nature.

Take Time to Enjoy the View
and Smell the Roses.
Find your Own Sacred Place.

If Nature is Your Hobby,
You Will Never Be Bored.
You Can Never Step in the Same Stream Twice.

There Are Things We Love, Things We Hate,
And Things to Which We are Indifferent.
However, In Nature, Everything Matters.

Every Single Person Makes the World Every Single Day.
Think Globally, Act Daily.

4) Remember that your political adversaries want you to feel demoralized, cynical, and hopeless about taking political action. NEVER GIVE THEM THAT SATISFACTION.

5) Make a difference with joy!

Photo of Brian Ettling by his home in Portland, Oregon, taken on April 27, 2023.

For Our Democracy, My Actions and Reactions to 2024 Presidential Election, Part 4

“Democracy is based upon the conviction that
there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people.”
— quote from American Pastor Harry Emerson Fosdick

Democracy. It is defined by Meriam Webster’s Dictionary as

“1. Government by the people: rule of the majority.
a. A form of government in which the people elect representatives to make decisions, policies, laws, etc. according to law.
b. a form of government in which the people vote directly against or in favor of decisions, policies, laws, etc.”

Since the January 6, 2021, an insurrection attack on the U.S. Capitol by a violent mob of Donald Trump supporters trying to overthrow the U.S. Government election results, I am worried about our American democracy. Before the January 6th insurrection, I took it for granted that it was strong and would always exist.

After January 6th, I switched from being strictly a climate organizer to a climate and democracy organizer. To document my lifelong shift in thinking, I wrote an 8-part blog from October to December 2023, For Climate Action, let’s protect our democracy.

I followed up those writings with a related blog I posted in April 2024, For Climate Action, be kind to people knocking at your door. The blog was about my dedication and frustration to knocking on doors in in the Portland OR metro area as a U.S. Census Enumerator in 2020 and as a paid political canvasser/field organizer for the 2022 midterm elections. I wanted to uphold our democracy and to urge my fellow community members to vote for support Democratic candidates who would pass strong climate bills and uphold our democracy.

With the Oregon Primary Election happening in May 2024 and the general election looming on November 5, 2024, I was eager to engage with voters to urge them to support strong Democratic candidates that would stand up for our democracy from the rising threat of authoritarianism. This multi-part blog is an account of my actions January to November 2024. In this blog, I conclude about my reaction to the 2024 election and what actions we should take now.

Part 1: Organizing and canvassing for our democracy in the spring and summer of 2024
Part 2: Rough times and the friendly cats when I canvassed in summer and fall 2024
Part 3: The Good and Bad Personal Moments canvassing in the autumn of 2024
Part 4: My actions and reactions to the November 2024 U.S. Presidential Election

Part 4: My actions and reactions to the November 2024 U.S. Presidential Election

The Final Days of the 2024 Election Campaign

On Saturday, November 2nd, it was back to the hard work of canvassing with only 3 days left until election day. Around this time, I saw a sign on someone’s lawn that said:

Photo taken by Brian Ettling of a sign he saw in Gresham, Oregon on October 25, 2024.

I took a photo of that sign to post on my social media with the comment, “For our #democracy, a sign I recently saw while knocking on doors for Democratic candidates in Gresham, OR. All of us need to step up our game to speak out, have tough conversations with friends and family, make phone calls, knock on doors, support Democratic candidates, and #vote if we want to keep our freedoms and standard of living.”

As it was a couple of days until the election, I thought all of us needed to be ‘all hands on deck’ to prevent Donald Trump from becoming elected President and losing our democracy.

On the evening of Saturday, November 2nd, my supervisor with East County Rising (ECR), Billy Fish wanted me to stop by the office to make sure I had plenty of campaign lit to distribute to the other Field Organizers. I would be meeting and doling out campaign lit to half of the team daily for the remainder of the election season canvassing.

As I walked inside of the front doors of the ECR office, it had the chaotic feel of various candidate campaigns scrambling to get campaign lit to volunteers and paid field organizers for the final days of the campaign push. I soon saw Aimee Santos-Lyons, the campaign manager for Oregon Representative Hoa Nguyen’s re-election campaign. We had not seen each other in weeks, and we were happy to see each other. Our work styles and methods did not mesh when I worked for her in August, but we still had deep respect and admiration for each other.

I asked her how Hoa’s campaign was going. Aimee sighed and replied, “Not good! I am not sure if we are going to win.”

I was surprised by her dour response. I didn’t buy it. I responded, “I ran into so many voters who told me that they planned to vote for Hoa. I think she is going to win!”

Aimee smiled and remarked, “I hope so! From your lips to God’s ears!”

Aimie then went on to say, “Win or lose, we plan to have a post-election party for Hoa this Thursday, November 7th. I hope you will come and please bring your wife!”

I enthusiastically stated, “I will be there. Count me in! I will do my best to bring Tanya, and we are going to celebrate because Hoa is going to win!”

Aimee appreciated my optimism, but she was too tired and stressed about the campaign to feel hope at that moment.

Brian Ettling and Aimee Santos-Lyons in southeast Portland, Oregon on November 7, 2024.

The Presidential Election Day, November 5, 2024

On election day, my supervisor Billy Fish wanted me to be at a union organizing office for a gathering at 6 am for an election day Latino Network Get Out the Vote last minute effort. I dropped Tanya off at work and I arrived at the union hall around 6:20 am. I was assigned to a middle-class neighborhood in southeast Portland to canvass around 8 am. It was a damp bone-chilling rainy overcast blah day to try to canvass. The kind of day when you want to stay in bed under the covers since it was cold, rainy, and windy.

This was simply a lit drop, meaning placing campaign lit at people’s doors without knocking or engaging with people. This was early in the morning when many people have left for work or are not fully awake yet.

With the cold damp air, I drank plenty of lukewarm water to stay hydrated and warm. After about an hour, I felt a small urge to use the bathroom. I seemed fine to make it through my turf or list of houses to drop off lit. It was a safe quiet middle class neighborhood. I felt I was in a steady rhythm of competing my turf or list. Sadly, I did not see any bathrooms nearby. No port-a-johns in this neighborhood, no parks with a public restroom, nor any fast-food restaurants or businesses with a public restroom on the busy street next to this neighborhood. The urge to use the bathroom grew stronger as I was further away from my car trying to complete my turf.

I was about 80% through my list when I felt like I needed to just start walking back to my car to drive to the nearest public restroom in the area. I was still several hundred yards away from my car when the need to use the bathroom felt so strong that I had to walk carefully, almost limping or in a strange gait so I would not upset my bladder.

Finally, my bladder could not hold it any longer and I peed in my pants. I felt angry and disgusted I let this happen to me. I decided to drive home to change into a fresh and dry pair of clothes. I was so finished with canvassing and working my heart out for this election. I don’t know what else I could have done by this point to help elect local Democratic candidates.

It took me almost over 15 minutes to drive from southeast Portland to where Tanya and I live in outer northeast Portland to change my clothes. While I was at home around 9 am, I received a Signal message from Billy Fish.

He asked me what my ETA (estimated time of arrival) was to the 9 am morning rendezvous point to receive my final campaign lit.

I replied, ‘Actually, I am home right now. I had an accident with my bladder while trying to do the (lit) drop this morning. I had to go home to change clothes. I will be there in 10 minutes.’

Billy replied, “Oh no! No worries”

He then gave me my turf assignments for the day.

I then dragged myself to the rendezvous point to briefly meet up with Billy and then I worked on my first turf of the day. It did not feel like a productive use of my time. Very few people were home that day. For those that were home, they assured me that they had already voted. I had a couple of people who had not turned in their ballots yet. I showed them on my phone map the closest place to them to turn in their ballots. Around 2 pm, I sent this Signal message to Billy,

“Hey Billy! I completed my first turf and my lunch break. However, I think I am going to call it a day. I started very early this morning at 6:20 am. I just don’t feel like I have any energy to complete a second turf, especially with the rain happening. Even more, my wife was anticipating that I would pick her up from work today, which would take time away from me completing a second turf. Thus, I worked from 6:20 am to 2 pm, with a half hour lunch break. It sounds like I can recycle the remaining lit. Thank you for this opportunity to work for ECR for the fall election campaign, especially to be a lead field organizer the last couple of weeks. I really enjoyed working with everyone on our team…Let’s keep talking and stay in touch!”

Billy messaged back: “Ok thank you for all the hard work. It’s been great working with you.”

Photo of Brian Ettling taken in Woodburn, Oregon on November 21, 2024.

I then went to pick up Tanya. I am not sure what we did after that. I just knew I wanted to get my mind off politics and the election. The problem was that it was hard to relax because that was nearly all I was doing for months.

Processing the election night returns on November 5, 2024

I did not want to have the TV or radio on or even look at the internet to know what was going on with the world or the election. Tanya and I ate an early quiet dinner. It was wonderful as always to be with her, especially in this moment of peace for me that my election work was over.

Around 6 pm, I laid in bed reading. It was hard for me to find a non-political book since nearly everything I read is political. However, I found something fun for me to read to get my mind away from politics and the election. I just wanted to relax and go to bed early. I planned to look at the election results the next day to see the results, good or bad. This method worked for me for the 2022 mid-term elections when I canvassed hard. I did not look at the results until the next day and the Republicans barely won control of the U.S. House and Senate in that election.

Tanya was in the living room with the TV volume on low watching the election results. I could tell by her silence and the vibe from the TV in the other room that the results were not good. On the other hand, it was early in the evening. Anything could still happen.

Then Tanya went to bed looking very glum and downcast. She might have even let out a scream of frustration. She did not have to say anything for me to know that Kamala Harris lost and the Democrats had a bad election. Then it sunk in that Donald Trump would be President again and the MAGA movement would be triumphant again. This was something I fought so hard from happening again over the last 4 years.

Now I could not sleep, and I turned on the TV to see the results myself. It was as bad if not worse than I thought. My worst fears about the election were realized. I was stunned to see Donald Trump had won. I stayed up late into the night trying to contemplate it. I felt so let down by the United States and American voters.

At 2:38 am on November 6th, I posted on Facebook:

“Really America? I literally don’t know what more I could have done in this election. My back and shoulder hurts from all the doors I knocked on to support local Democratic candidates.”

Fortunately, I had numerous supportive, kind, and appreciative comments from friends thanking me for all of my efforts in the 2024 election.

Tanya had her own reaction to the election that she posted on November 6th that mirrored mine. I re-posted her comments on social media:

“I don’t quite know what to say right now. We had the opportunity to choose democracy and we chose something horrendous.”

In the days ahead, I posted more of my thoughts on the election results on social media, such as on Novembrer 12th :

A meme Brian Ettling posted on social media on November 12, 2024.

This post stirred up a hornet’s nest for friends and followers of mine on social media who wanted to blame the Democratic Party for the loss. I held my ground. For friends that wanted to blame the Democrats, I shared this quote with them from Democratic elections lawyer Marc E. Elias who said it best on Twitter: “If you are a Democrat who is spending time attacking Kamala Harris or her campaign rather than focusing on the fight ahead, you aren’t helping anyone.”

On November 13th, I created a social media meme holding up an American Flag with this text:

A meme Brian Ettling posted on social media on November 13, 2024.

This meme spurred interesting comments and mostly supportive responses from friends.

Over week after the election, I posted this meme with a photo of me knocking on a door:

I received mostly receptive comments to that meme.

I had one more thought I wanted to get off my chest why Trump won the 2024 Presidential election, on November 21st, I created this meme:

That meme created a good discussion with friends who responded they had ‘No soliciting’ signs on their doors. We exchanged ideas to best engage voters in the future. I appreciated friends who comforted me as I felt raw and bitter after the 2024 Presidential election results.

My personal victories from the 2024 Presidential Election

Tanya and I attended the post-election party for Representative Hoa Nguyen on Thursday, November 7th. Good news! It was an election victory party! She beat her election opponent John Masterman 52.9% to 46.8%, a 6% winning margin or a winning margin of 1,678 votes.

Campaign Manager Aimee Santos-Lyons’ worst fears of losing the campaign did not come true. Instead, her hard work and determination helped propel Hoa to victory. Tanya and I had fun attending this party. It was held at Hoa’s favorite restaurant Yoonique Pho and Grill in southeast Portland. This was a wonderful Vietnamese restaurant I discovered during the campaign since it was a favorite hangout of Hoa, Aimee and other volunteers in the campaign. We frequently had lunch there after a canvassing event. Thus, the food was delicious for this party.

Several local elected leaders came to speak to congratulate Hoa at this party, including my Oregon Senator Kayse Jama, Oregon Senator Khanh Pham, founder of East County Rising and Gresham City Councilor Eddy Morales. Aimee then had some remarks about the significance of Hoa’s win in this purplish district that Oregon Republicans targeted to try to win. She then had awards to volunteers who worked the hardest to help Hoa win.

To my surprise, Aimee had an award certificate for me for knocking on the most doors while also encountering the most hostile interactions with voters. She estimated I knocked on over 2,500 doors for Hoa. Even more, Aimee never forgot my horrible day back in August when two different voters waded up Hoa’s lit after I knocked on their doors and threw it at me. A couple of times when I ran into her that fall at canvassing events would still talk about that day.

Aimiee called me up to the front to present me with a certificate for “Most Grief Received Doorknocking” which was signed by Rep. Hoa Nguyen. This was totally unexpected for me to receive this award for the long hours of canvassing that summer and autumn.

On the back of the certificate was printed:

BRIAN
YOU ARE AMAZING! YOU ARE IMPORTANT!
YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
YOU ARE INCREDIBLY APPRECIATED AND YOU DESERVE THE BEST!

In addition, they gave me a bottle of Del Rio Pinot Noir wine from the Rogue Valley of Oregon. A few weeks later, Tanya and I shared this bottle of wine with good friends. I am normally not a wine drinker, but I loved the sweet taste of this wine. It tasted like victory and the satisfaction of completing a hard task.

Oregon Representative Hoa Nguyen and Brian Ettling at her re-election celebration party on November 7, 2024.

Before I left the party, I got a selfie with Aimee. We remarked how we enjoyed getting to know each other during the campaign. Tanya then took a photo with Hoa and me holding up the certificate. As Tanya and I got ready to leave and say goodbye to new friends, Billy Fish came up to give me a hug to tell me how much he enjoyed working with me and he hoped to stay in touch.

Although it was a huge disappointment that Donald Trump won and the Republicans maintained control of Congress, all the legislative candidates I knocked on doors for in east Portland won their races. I felt like all my hard work knocking on doors, phone banking, and helping with campaign events made a positive difference.

Just two weeks later, I received a thank you card from Oregon Representative Ricki Ruiz. In his handwritten card, he wrote:

Brian,
The door knocking king!
The cat Whisperer! Thank you
for everything you did this
year for us and for other
campaigns. You are truly a
rockstar! I am very much
looking forward to seeing you
around!
Thank you again!
Ricki Ruiz

Screenshot of a handwritten thank you card that Oregon Representative Ricki Ruiz wrote to Brian Ettling on November 21, 2024.

I kept that handwritten card handy next to Hoa Nguyen’s Certificate to me for “Most Grief Received Doorknocking” promptly displayed in the spare bedroom of the apartment where Tanya and I live. I will never forget the kindness of Hoa, Aimee, Billy, Ricki, and the other dedicated local Democratic organizers I met on this election campaign season.

The memories are bittersweet because this was the last time I saw Hoa. On February 28, 2025, Oregon Democratic Rep. Hoa Nguyen announced she had a cancer diagnosis.

Sadly, she retreated from her public work to focus on her cancer treatment. Her battle with Stage 4 cervical cancer did not improve. She passed away on October 9, 2025, less than a year after her re-election victory. Her loss was a deep blow to the east Portland community for her advocacy for vulnerable and low-income students to stay in school. Plus, she was a strong environmental advocate for bills I asked her to support and co-sponsor. She is missed to this day.

My final act of 2024 election campaign season: Ballot chasing in Woodburn, Oregon

Two weeks after the November 5th Presidential election, I was still not finished with my campaign efforts. On November 15^th, the local news reported Democratic Oregon House candidate Lesley Munoz took a one vote lead over incumbent Republican Rep. Tracy Cramer in House District 22 to represent Woodburn. At that point, hundreds of ballots still needed to be counted but it looked like the there was a possibility that Munoz could win that seat.

Later that day, on November 15th, Lesly Munoz was gaining momentum as voted were counted. The Salem Reporter noted a 34-vote edge for Munoz.

I heard buzz from my fellow East County Rising Field Organizers and Democratic organizing friends that ballot chasers might be needed by the local Democratic Party and the local unions in Woodburn. The ballot chasers would help track down voters who did not sign their ballots or signed their ballot with a signature that did not match the one the state had on file. We would then encourage these voters to fill out statements that they voted if they forgot to sign their ballot or a statement that the signature on the ballot is their signature. They then had to turn in that statement at the elections nearest elections office in Salem for their vote to count.

On November 21st, I drove one hour south to Woodburn, Oregon. I was “chasing ballots” for OR House District 22. Democrat Lesly Munoz was leading by just 132 votes over her opponent. I spent that day tracking down voters who did not sign their ballots or don’t have a matching signature on their ballots to help them cure their ballots by the November 26^th deadline.

It was a fascinating experience to track down some voters at their homes to urge them to cure their ballots to make their votes count in this election. The voters I chatted with seemed interested in signing a voter statement certifying their vote and submitting it to the county elections office in person.

It was a good reminder to fill out your ballot correctly before dropping it off in the mail. Oregon is an exclusive vote by mail state. It’s always good to double check your ballot or even have a family member to look it over to confirm you filled it out correctly. Make sure that your signature on envelope outside of your ballot matches your driver’s license. Local election staff who count the ballots check the signatures on the ballot against a database that holds voter registration information to make sure the voter is who they say they are. The signature you used when signing for your driver’s license is often the signature the county elections office uses to match your ballot with the signature they have on file to count your vote.

Late in the afternoon, I headed to my car winding down a full day of chasing ballots in Woodburn. As I was right next to my car, I noticed into three friendly cats in who came out from under a chain linked fence to greet me. A sign posted on the fence stated, “Beware of DOG.”

I never saw the dog, thankfully. But, a sign was needed that said, “Beware of the CATS.” These cats were so adorable that they would steal your heart and you would never want to go home.

Two of the cats sat on my lap and they all wanted a lot of attention. They seemed like they were hungry, asking for some food, and possibly wanted to be let into their home. They looked a bit neglected, but they were thrilled that I spent several minutes focusing on them. I had fun taking many selfies with them to post on social media later in the day. To me, it was another reminder that if you are doing good work, the universe or at least cats will thank you!

Brian Ettling encountering two friendly cats in Woodburn, Oregon on November 21, 2024 when he went ballot chasing for Lesley Munoz to help her win her Oregon Representative seat.

On November 27th, the day before Thanksgiving, the news announced Democrat Lesly Munoz won over Republican state Rep. Tracy Cramer by a margin of 161 votes. By winning this House race, Oregon Democrats sealed supermajorities in both legislative chambers. The three-fifths supermajority allowed Democrats to pass any bill on raising new taxes on a party-line vote.

The return of Donald Trump to the White House with Republican majorities in Congress cast a gloomy shadow over everything at that time. At the same time, Oregon voters electing a super majority of Democrats to the Legislature in November 2024 gave me hope at that time for keeping our democracy and fighting climate change.

Final Thoughts

I am proud of my career as a seasonal park ranger, climate change public speaker and organizer, as well as a democracy organizer for years. I loved working seasonally at Everglades and Crater Lake National Parks from 1992 to 2017. Plus, it was a thrill to give 200 to 300 climate change talks from 2010 to 2022 in 12 U.S. states, Washington D.C. and Ottawa, Canada. I was honored to travel briefly to Washington D.C. to lobby Congress 10 times from 2015 to 2024.

Having said that, I did not want to be anywhere else than to be canvassing to engage with voters in the east Portland metro area in the spring, summer, and fall of 2024. Upholding our democracy in 2024 was too vital for me to sit on the sidelines. Yes, I had many brutal days with canvassing with rude people slamming their doors in my face, dogs charging at me, tripping and slipping on porches, summer heat, and getting drenched in the rain. I was so glad when my job was over after the May 2024 election primary and the November Presidential election. The result of the Presidential election and GOP Congressional control of Congress broke my heart.

I think a lot about this quote from climate activist Greta Thunberg:

“Once we start to act, hope is everywhere. So instead of looking for hope, look for action. Then, and only then, hope will come.”

To keep our democracy, we must act by knocking on doors and phone banking to engage with people we don’t know to urge them to vote. In addition, our family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors look to us as social cues to how to vote and support various issues. Make sure you are chatting with strangers and people you know well about the importance of defending our democracy, fair access to voting, climate action, and other issues you are passionate. Hopefully, these blogs about my actions during the election 2024 will inspire you.

As I documented in my blogs, engaging with voters is heavy lifting many days. As I write this in April 2026, the Presidency of Donald Trump seems overwhelming, deflating, and hopeless. Don’t ever give up! That’s what Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans want you to do.

Instead, I think former Speaker of the U.S. House Nancy Pelosi said it best: for our democracy, “We don’t agonize. We organize.”

Or, as I have said for many years:

For Our Democracy, My Actions and Reactions to 2024 Presidential Election, Part 3

Photo of Brian Ettling from August 6, 2023

‘In order to fix the climate crisis, we need to fix the democracy crisis.’
– Former Vice President Al Gore

Since the January 6, 2021, an insurrection attack on the U.S. Capitol by a violent mob of Donald Trump supporters trying to overthrow the U.S. Government election results, I am worried about our American democracy. Before the January 6th insurrection, I took it for granted that it was strong and would always exist.

After January 6th, I switched from being strictly a climate organizer to a climate and democracy organizer. To document my lifelong shift in thinking, I wrote an 8-part blog from October to December 2023, For Climate Action, let’s protect our democracy.

I followed up those writings with a related blog I posted in April 2024, For Climate Action, be kind to people knocking at your door. The blog was about my dedication and frustration to knocking on doors in in the Portland OR metro area as a U.S. Census Enumerator in 2020 and as a paid political canvasser/field organizer for the 2022 midterm elections. I wanted to uphold our democracy and to urge my fellow community members to vote for support Democratic candidates who would pass strong climate bills and uphold our democracy.

With the Oregon Primary Election happening in May 2024 and the general election looming on November 5, 2024, I was eager to engage with voters to urge them to support strong Democratic candidates that would stand up for our democracy from the rising threat of authoritarianism. This multi-part blog is an account of my actions January to November 2024. I will then conclude about my reaction to the 2024 election and what actions we should take now.

Part 3: The Good and Bad Personal Moments canvassing in the autumn of 2024

Biking for a day on the Springwater Trail to renew my spirit and energy

I worked 6 days a week for over a month, so I needed two days off to clear my head, recharge my batteries, and get a fresh start to return to work on Wednesday.

On Monday, September 16th, I woke up and decided to take a bike ride around the city of Portland to refresh my spirits. It was a perfect sunny autumn day with the temperature in the upper 70s and almost no clouds in the sky. I loaded the bike that Tanya and I share onto the front of a public bus and rode the bus to SE 162nd and Powell Blvd. I then rode the bike through a southeast Portland subdivision to connect to the Springwater Corridor bike trail.

Brian Ettling biking on the Springwater Corridor trail on September 16, 2024.

This multi-use pedestrian and bike trail is a wonderful hidden gem in Portland. No buses, trucks, vehicles, or motorcycles are allowed on it. For most of it, big deciduous trees lined either side of the path, with some houses, businesses, and industrial parks hidden but accessible behind the trees. This trail was definitely in the middle of the Portland Metro Area. However, all the trees and lack of noise of the made the trail feel more rural and outdoorsy than it should be. This bike path was the perfect tonic for me to forget about work while I enjoyed the beauty and serenity of it for the first time. Tanya and I had lived in Portland for over 7 years at that time, but I had never been on this paved bike path before.

I rode on the section from behind Powell Bute to Sellwood, located several miles due south of downtown Portland. This portion of the Springwater Trail from behind Powell Butte to Sellwood was about 8 miles. The Springwater Trail in this portion was nearly flat with minimal curves. It was a breeze to ride the bike that Tanya and I owned on this trail. I steered around a few other cyclists, runners, mother walking children, skateboards, and a few homeless camps to remind me that I still resided in Portland OR.

As I approached Sellwood, I texted my friend Walt Minkeski to let him know that I was bicycling near his home on the Springwater Trail. I asked him if we would be interested if I stopped by to say hello. Walt’s response was, “Please drop by…About what time will you arrive?”

I texted my estimated arrival time and I set my GPS for Walt’s house in Sellwood. Walt was a retired engineer in his 70s. I knew him for years since Tanya and I moved to Portland in 2017. Walt and I volunteered with Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) and Oregon League of Conservation Voters (OLCV). Walt was slowing down a big since he had regular doctor’s visits to combat his lung cancer. Walt was a well-known climate and environmental champion in the Portland metro area. A few months earlier, he asked me to take over one of his volunteer roles: the CCL volunteer Congressional Liaison for the Oregon District 03. Walt liked how I had success reaching out to schedule CCL lobby meetings with the staff of our then Congressman Earl Blumenauer.

Walt wanted to meet with me for months to share his cancer treatments were not going well. He hoped I would step up to be the CCL Congressional Liaison in his place. Since Tanya and I moved to Portland in 2017, Walt became a mentor to me. We attended numerous CCL Lobby meetings together in Washington D.C. and in Oregon. We also served together on the OLCV Multnomah County Endorsement Committee, conducting group interviews with legislative candidates and incumbents to determine if OLCV should endorse them. We developed a friendship over the years. He took me backpacking in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness at the end of July 2021.

Walt indicated to me that his doctors believed he only had about a year or two left to live. Thus, it was a blessing I was able to take time off work and serendipitously drop by his house to spend some quality time with him. We hung out in his backyard picking grapes off the vines of this fence. The grapes were tasty to snack on while we harvested the grapes. They were overall sweet with a hint of a bitter taste, but we had to watch out for the seeds within the grapes.

Being with Walt was always a revelation how he treated everyone with kindness. At the house next door were men of Latino background working on the roof speaking to each other in Spanish. The fence and the grapevines were so high that we could not see them. Many years prior, Walt spent time in Belize where he was able to pick up Spanish. Walt had a pleasant conversation with them in Spanish just making sure they were having a great day.

After Walt gave me a big container of grapes from his backyard, I continued my bike ride around Portland. I next took the Springwater Trail north along the east path of the Willamette River from Sellwood to downtown Portland. This portion of the Springwater Trail gave me lovely views of the river and Portland City Skyline. I then took the bike upon the MAX commuter train and public buses to head home.

Photo by Brian Ettling of the Portland, Oregon downtown skyline. Photo taken on the Sellwood Bridge on September 16, 2024.

Balancing Enjoying Life while working hard to canvass for our democracy

The next evening, September 17, my wife Tanya and I went downtown to see American Historian Heather Cox Richardson give a lecture about American history and the importance of staying active to protect democracy against the authoritarian threat of Donald Trump. After the bike ride on the Springwater Trail around Portland and the Heather Cox Richardson lecture, I was re-energized to knock on doors for our democracy.

At the same time, I was still nervous about a negative outcome to the election. On September 18th, I posted on social media a photo of me knocking on a door with this comment: “For #democracy, this election is still way too close. I am still worried we could lose our freedoms to a strongman autocratic wannabe dictator who is running for President. Over these next 47 days, please do all you can to knock on doors, phone bank, and speak with your family, neighbors, & friends to support Democratic candidates.”

I was back at full throttle to canvass to elect OR Democratic legislative and local candidates. The next few weeks, according to my social media posts, I estimated I knocked on over 930 doors.

I balanced this hard work with pleasure. On Saturday evening, September 29th, Tanya and I attended an Oregon Symphony concert to see them accompany the music for the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. This was one of the scariest and most entertaining movies of my childhood. We enjoyed seeing it on a big movie screen with a live orchestra playing the film music.

On October 4th, Tanya and I had a fun date on that Thursday evening to go see Liberace and Liza Tribute Variety Show, performed by David Saffert and Jillian Snow, at the Alberta Rose Theatre in northeast Portland OR. Tanya went to college with David Saffert. We like to see this performance live when they are in Portland OR.

On Friday evening, October 5th, I liked seeing climate scientist Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson speak at Powell’s Books in downtown Portland about her new book, What if We Get It Right. The book was about envisioning a positive world we want to create where we effectively reduce the climate change threat. I enjoyed having her sign my book and get a picture with her.

Over the next week, I knocked on over 550 doors in east Portland for nearby Oregon Legislative candidates and local candidates.

Tanya and I missed hiking with each other. With working up to 6 days a week canvassing, including weekends, we had not had a chance to go for a hike since our vacation in August.

Tanya took a vacation day off on October 7^th so we could walk in a scenic area to close to Mt. Hood. We hiked to Mirror Lake and Tom, Dick & Harry Mountain (Yes! That really is the name) to get great views of Mt. Hood and surrounding mountains, as well as to see some autumn colors. This is one of my favorite hikes in Oregon. On a clear day, one can see 5 nearby Cascade Volcanos: Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Jefferson. The visibility was nearly crystal clear to easily spot all these mountains while we ate our lunch on the summit. It was spectacular clear fall day, the best kind of Indian summer day to explore in the outdoors.

Brian Ettling and Tanya Couture on the summit of Tom, Dick, and Harry Mountain with Mt. Hood behind them. Photo taken on October 7, 2024.

My good and bad days of canvassing in late October

From October 8th onward, I worked almost every day until the election to urge voters to elect Democratic legislators and local candidates in the east Portland area. On my one day off on October 21st, I knocked on 30 doors in my own apartment complex to urge my neighbors to vote. Tanya thought I was insane. However, I thought it was important to make sure that my neighbors voted. Years earlier, I volunteered to be part of the Multnomah Democrats Neighborhood Leader program to canvass in my own neighborhood to increase the turnout for voters living nearby. I was able to sleep in that morning. It took only an hour and a half to knock on my neighbors’ doors. I felt like I made a difference for our democracy and my neighborhood.

In the remaining weeks leading up to the election, I saw the best and worst in people as I knocked the doors. One October day when I canvassed in a rural area outside of Damascus OR, I had a long driveway to hike up to the house that was around a half mile long. When I got up to the front door and knocked, the old reclusive man just yelled at me, “Not interested!”

He then slammed the door in door in my face. It was annoying to devote that much energy walking to one house only to have the voter be so rude to me. On the other hand, I had some other extremely long driveways where the voters were kind to chat with me when I finally reached their front door.

On a cold rainy day in late October, I walked up to a front door. The rain puddle on the front porch created a reflective surface that made it hard to see the green algae living in the water. When I took a step into the algae, it was so slick that I slid into the air like I had stepped on a banana peel. I landed on my back and had the wind knocked out of me. I was briefly worried that I somehow injured myself. I lucked out that I was fine, just shaken up.

I did have the joy of talking to an 88-year-old mom voting for the first time because she did not want Donald Trump to win. When I talked with her 50 something daughter who lived at the same residence, she was so proud that her mom was voting for the first time.

I knocked on one door in Gresham where a middle-aged man acted rather frosty to me. I handed him the campaign lit. He was in the process of telling me, “You can have this back!” However, his 20 something daughter with purple hair and multiple piercings reached around to grab the information from her dad. She seemed intent to learn about the candidates and vote in the upcoming election. She would not let the grumpy attitude of her intimidating dad stop her.

When I knocked on doors one afternoon, I had a long conversation with another young 20 something woman about the election and politics. She told me that she could not vote for Trump and the Republicans because she just watched the Handmaid’s Tale Series. That book and television series looked too bleak for me to watch. However, it amazed me that it left an impression on this woman to take voting seriously, especially against Trump and GOP candidates.

I was so dedicated and tenacious as a Field Organizer that my boss Billy Fish promoted me to a Lead Field Organizer position for the last couple weeks of the campaign. I oversaw distributing campaign lit to have of the ECR Field Organizer Team. My other duties included providing water, snacks, and rides for restroom breaks for the Field Organizers without cars. It was good news to receive a boost in pay the last few weeks on the campaign. The bad news was that I worked more hours as I was already feeling burned out from the election work.

Brian Ettling canvassing in his own neighborhood in northeast Portland, Oregon on October 21, 2024 to urge his neighbors to vote for Democratic candidates in the November 5th election.

Speaking to Danish High School students curious about the Presidential election

My wife Tanya is Danish American, and my mother-in-law Nancy is originally from Denmark. In mid-October, one of Nancy’s Danish cousins asked me if I would do a live Zoom interview with Danish high school students who had questions for me about the upcoming American election.

After exchanging emails for several days, I scheduled the Zoom interview with the Danish High School students on October 23^rd. I talked with 3 high school students, two young men and young woman. I greeted them with the little bit of Danish I could speak. However, like most Danes, they spoke English well. They asked me very insightful questions, such as, who did I think would win the U.S. Presidential election?

I replied the same way that I had for months: “It depends upon which voter I talked with last.”

I talked with many voters who absolutely did not want Donald Trump to win. That gave me hope Kamala Harris would win. On the other hand, I encountered many voters who told me that they did not plan to vote or planned to vote for Donald Trump. That always left me feeling deflated Donald Trump could win again. Even more, the polls were tight that it made me nervous if Kamala Harris would win. The Danish high school students appreciated my candid answers.

Somehow the issue of guns in the United States came up. I informed the students that I encountered many voters who shared with me that they like their guns. Even more, those voters thought their guns were protecting them and they felt strongly the U.S. Constitution should continue their right to bear arms. Personally, I told the students that I was strongly opposed to gun ownership in the U.S. I shared with the students that a fellow climate advocate and friend of mine, KB Mercer, died by suicide using a gun on September 21, 2024.

I shared the well-known fact from the National Library of Medicine, linked in the Psychiatry peer-reviewed journal, and other sources that “People report that they need them for safety and/or sport. However, having a firearm in the home actually increases the rate for suicide, homicide, domestic violence, and accidents.”

We had a long pause after I gave my thoughts on guns to the students. They were silent for a moment. They then said to me in their best and their slow English-speaking style, “We are very sorry about the loss of your friend.”

I was moved to know that they cared about the information I just shared with them about losing my friend KB. These students had a big heart. That was gracious of them to acknowledge and express empathy for my loss. I was impressed with the depth of their questions, curiosity about the U.S, and their great listening skills.

I took a screenshot of the Zoom interview of the Danish High School students and me. Because of the time difference, Denmark was 9 hours ahead of Portland, we conducted this interview early in the morning. It was 7 am my time, around 4 pm Danish time. This conversation was a great start to another full day of canvassing. I will never forget their kindness and genuine curious to learn more about the world, especially the U.S. 2024 Presidential election.

Three Danish high school students speaking to Brian Ettling on Zoom on October 23, 2024. The students wanted to get a perspective from an American about the upcoming November 5th U.S. Presidential election.

From October 23rd to election day, November 5th, I was singularly focused on knocking on doors to engage with voters, as well as performing my duties as a Lead Field Organizer to provide campaign lit, snacks, water, and car rides to the field organizers needing assistance. I still felt I needed to do all I could in the remaining days of this election to make sure that Kamala Harris and the Democrats won seats in Congress. I hoped other American who were as worried as me were fully devoted to engaging voters to vote to successfully shape the outcome. As I posted on social media on October 26th:

“Let this sink in:
History will judge each and everyone of us for our actions for the next 10 days and last 9 years if we allow Donald Trump to become President on Nov 5th.

The actions you will take over the next10 days will determine if we get to keep our democracy. Please STEP UP YOU GAME to organize, support Democratic candidates, vote, and speak to your friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers to vote.”

My wife Tanya was my supportive and loving partner with all my election canvassing

I don’t talk enough about all the sacrifices my wife Tanya made for our democracy. She was just as worried as me if Donald Trump was elected President again. She worked full time at the medical lab research job, plus she was going to school to get a master’s degree in data analytics. That did not leave much energy for her to work on political campaigns. She cares deeply about politics on issues such as maintaining and strengthening our democracy, climate action, women’s rights, respecting our international allies, protecting immigrants, access to affordable healthcare, and many other issues.

Tanya volunteered for Barak Obama’s Presidential Campaign in 2008. However, she was not as comfortable as me with knocking on doors, making phone calls, organizing events, etc. Tanya was our primary and mostly sole breadwinner while I have been political organizing since we moved to Portland in 2017. During the first 9 years we lived in Portland, we only had one car. We shared my green 2002 Honda Civic. She primarily drove it to her job. I primarily used public transit to attend climate organizing events in the Portland area. Plus, I would carpool with other climate organizers when I would lobby for climate bills at the Oregon Capitol in Salem.

When I canvassed in spring, summer, and fall of 2022 and 2024, I needed my car. I tried for one day to use public transit. I quickly found it did not work because it took too long to get to the areas or turfs that I was assigned to canvass. Even more, the campaign lit I carried was heavy. I needed to store the excess campaign lit in my car. Plus, I always had a bottle of water on me since I would get thirsty, especially in the heat of summer, or after I had long conversations with voters. Because of my fear of ferocious dogs charging, voters slamming doors in my face, and possibly threatening people when I canvassed, I mostly felt a bit edgy and nervous. The stress would dry out my mouth and throat, so I drank a lot of water. Plus, I kept several containers of water in my car to keep me hydrated. Even more, I packed a lunch, which was easier to store in my car than a heavy backpack. With drinking lots of water, the urge to use the bathroom could happen suddenly. It was helpful to have my car nearby when I needed a bathroom fast.

Brian Ettling and Tanya Couture with their completed 2024 Oregon Presidential election ballots and bumpers stickers showing support for Kamala Harris for President & Tim Walz for Vice President. Photo taken at home in northeast Portland when they were getting ready to drop off their completed ballots in a nearby ballot drop off box on October 29, 2024.

Because it was vital for me to have my car when canvassing, that meant Tanya had to make a sacrifice for her commute to work. The deal we worked out was I would drive her to work each morning around 7 am. She would take the bus home from work while I canvassed. Tanya never complained about taking the bus home, even though the bus was late sometimes and occasionally some odd characters were on the bus. Tanya walked almost a mile from the bus stop to our apartment. That meant some days she had to walk intense heat or rain showers. Even worse, she had a homeless encampment she had to walk around to get home from the bus in 2022 that she did not feel safe walking by. I did not feel safe walking by the camping trailers with homeless people living on the inside either. Some of them looked like they struggled with drug addiction and mental issues. Even worse, some of these homeless individuals had threatening dogs that liked to lunge at people that walked too close to their camping trailers.

After Tanya came home, she was then trapped because I had the car. She could not drive to a grocery store, a gym, a hiking trail, or go anywhere she wanted involving a car because I had the car for my job. Again, she never complained, but I could feel that she felt constrained. I felt like she made many sacrifices so I could engage with voters.

After watching the news, she would say to me, ‘I wish there was something else I could do.’
I would respond, ‘What do you mean? You are doing a lot. You are sacrificing taking a bus each day from work and supporting me so I can work so hard for our democracy.’

Tanya did not want to knock on doors, phone bank, organize campaign events, or work on a campaign. It was not her cup of tea to do what I did for political organizing. I respected her for that. I thanked her every chance I could for the sacrifices she made so I could work on political campaigns in 2022, 2024, and the spring of 2025. If you ever get a chance to meet Tanya, I hope you will thank her for all she did to help me be a climate and democracy organizer.

Taking Tanya to work each morning was draining for me. I am a night owl. I like to stay up past midnight to read, surf the internet and social media, and write. I then had to set my alarm clock early to take Tanya to work. This meant I had to drag myself out of bed when I wanted to sleep longer so she could get an early start working at her job around 7 am. Many mornings, I just wanted to stay in bed. At the same time, it was a chance to be with her for a few minutes while I dropped her off at work since I would not see her until I came home from work that evening.

One of the few perks of taking Tanya to work early in the morning is sometimes I got to see glorious sun rises. On October 30th, I saw spectacular sun rise that was breath taking. As I drove Tanya to work, I noticed the pre-dawn sky to the east of us was pink absorbing the sun light while the sun was still below the horizon. Mt. Hood was visible to the east that morning with a healthy snowpack of autumn snow. The mountain cast its own lighthouse beacon like shadow as the sun approached the horizon near Mt. Hood. Just the little glimpse I saw while taking Tanya to work inspired me that I must go to a nearby scenic spot to admire this sunrise.

I knew immediately I had to drive to my favorite nearby viewpoint where I can a full view of Mt. Hood. It was a local protected duck pond that I liked to walk to on many days to admire the mountain and take photos. After dropping Tanya off at work, I drove directly to the duck pond to see the sunrise. The sun had not yet peaked over the horizon. However, it created a bright white glow on the horizon as the sun rose behind the distant clouds. The clouds behind and above Mt. Hood where first a brilliant salmon pink color and then the clouds turned to an orangish hue the sun approached the horizon. This was one of the best sunrises I saw in my years of walking and driving to the duck pond to see the early morning dawn sky there.

Photo by Brian Ettling of the sunrise of Mt. Hood seen from northeast Portland, Oregon on October 30, 2024.

This sunrise was what I needed as I became more tired of canvassing with the election less than a week away. Thank goodness I drove Tanya to work that morning, and I did not stay in bed.

Playing Pickleball with Tanya for the first time on our wedding anniversary

Two days later, Friday, November 1st, was the 9th wedding anniversary for Tanya and me. Because of how supportive she was of my political canvassing, plus I cherish every chance I can to spend time with her, I asked her what she wanted to do for our anniversary. Both of us worked during that day, but we could easily have a fun date that evening.

When I canvassed in Troutdale in mid-October, I noticed a new pickleball would be opening soon, East County Pickleball. For a couple of years, Tanya and I wanted to try practicing or playing pickleball together. Tanya told me that she wanted to play pickleball for our anniversary. During the week of October 28th, I made a reservation for Tanya and I to play for an hour at this new Pickleball multi-court facility, which as a 20 minute drive east of us. Next to East County Pickleball in the same strip mall was a Thai restaurant that we ate at years prior that we liked.

When I made a reservation for East County Pickleball, the confirmation email stated that one of their rules was for players to “have proper foot attire for court play (non-marking court shoes). No BLACK SOLES on the courts, unless they are non-marking court shoes.”

Gulp! All I had was black and dark soled shoes. Thus, the night before we played pickleball, I drove to a nearby shoe store to buy a pair of shoes with light colored soles so I would not scuff up their brand-new pickle ball courts. I wanted this to be a successful anniversary date!

This was a terrific anniversary date. The Thai dinner was deliciously. However, we could not escape politics and the election because the mounted flat screen TVs in the Chiang Rai Thai Cuisine showed Fox News with Donald Trump getting ready to give a speech at his next campaign election rally. We mostly ignored it though to enjoy our dinner and time together. We then walked next door at this small Troutdale strip mall to the new pickle ball facility.

This new pickleball facility was spacious with 12 courts, with only a few courts reserved that evening. The place had a great atmosphere with old school and newer pop songs played on their sound system. The owner checked us in. She was welcoming, gregarious, and a pleasure to make small talk. Everything was freshly painted with pleasing light blue and beige colors on the pickleball courts. It felt like a hip and joyful place to be to learn, practice, or even seriously become a devoted pickleball player.

Tanya and I had a blast laughing as we practiced hitting the pickle ball back and for to each other across the net. Before we knew it, the middle-aged couple next to us asked if we would want to join them in a mixed doubles game. Tanya and I knew nothing of pickle ball game rules. We followed their lead. They were patient, generous, and kind teaching us the rules, how the game is scored, where to position ourselves on the court, etc.

Before we knew it, our paid one-hour reservation had expired. We were glad we tried pickleball together for our anniversary. We enjoyed the experience so much that we started coming back to play pickle ball there for several times afterwards on a monthly basis. Playing pickleball that evening was a great way to be for Tanya and I to be together. Even better, we forget about politics, canvassing, and the upcoming Presidential election for a few hours.

Stay tuned for the next part of this blog:
Part 4: My actions and reactions to the November 2024 U.S. Presidential Election

Brian Ettling and Tanya Couture playing pickleball at East County Pickleball courts on November 1, 2024.

For Our Democracy, My Actions and Reactions to 2024 Presidential Election, Part 2

Photo of Brian Ettling taken on August 27, 2025.

“Democracy is not something you believe in or a place to hang your hat,
but it’s something you do. You participate. If you stop doing it, democracy crumbles.”
– Activist, writer and speaker Abbie Hoffman

Since the January 6, 2021, an insurrection attack on the U.S. Capitol by a violent mob of Donald Trump supporters trying to overthrow the U.S. Government election results, I am worried about our American democracy. Before the January 6th insurrection, I took it for granted that it was strong and would always exist.

After January 6th, I switched from being strictly a climate organizer to a climate and democracy organizer. To document my lifelong shift in thinking, I wrote an 8-part blog from October to December 2023, For Climate Action, let’s protect our democracy.

I followed up those writings with a related blog I posted in April 2024, For Climate Action, be kind to people knocking at your door. The blog was about my dedication and frustration to knocking on doors in in the Portland OR metro area as a U.S. Census Enumerator in 2020 and as a paid political canvasser/field organizer for the 2022 midterm elections. I wanted to uphold our democracy and to urge my fellow community members to vote for support Democratic candidates who would pass strong climate bills and uphold our democracy.

With the Oregon Primary Election happening in May 2024 and the general election looming on November 5, 2024, I was eager to engage with voters to urge them to support strong Democratic candidates that would stand up for our democracy from the rising threat of authoritarianism. This multi-part blog is an account of my actions January to November 2024. I will then conclude about my reaction to the 2024 election and what actions we should take now.

Part 2: Rough Times and the friendly cats when I canvassed in summer and fall 2024

Helping people in search of government services while canvassing in the fall of 2024

After that August trip to Washington state, I had almost no breaks from canvassing until the November 5th election. My East County Rising supervisor, Billy Fish, assigned me to work 6 days a week as a field organizer knocking on doors. Except for dates with Tanya to attend a lecture to see Heather Cox Richardson on September 17^thin downtown Portland and seeing the Oregon Symphony perform a live accompaniment to the 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind on September 28th, plus I went to a book lecture and signing climate scientist Aryana Johnson on October 4th, I canvassed nearly all the time up until the November Election Day. I had one day off a week for me, but that did not feel like enough for me to recharge spirit and energy.

The most rewarding part of canvassing was playing a small role to try to help people in dire circumstances. This happened at least three times during the campaign.

Brian Ettling canvassing for Oregon Representative Hoa Nguyen for her re-election campaign in southeast Portland on July 27, 2024.

On Friday morning, August 2nd, I canvassed for Representative Hoa Nguyen’s campaign in southeast Portland when I chatted with a constituent named Susan who needed help for her family. (names changed to protect their identity) Susan gave me permission from to give her phone number to Rep. Nguyen’s staff. Susan lived with her daughter, Sarah.

Susan told me four family members total lived in their household. Susan was a full-time caregiver for her daughter Sarah, who had epilepsy for years. Sarah struggled getting approval for disability status in Oregon. They felt like the system refused to help them and they felt discouraged. I shared Hoa’s background as an education specialist with a focus to get students back into school and then help connect them with services so they can attend school.

Even more, Sarah’s partner dealt with tumors on her uterus. Susan shared with me that her daughter-in-law Audra desperately wanted to work, possibly from home, but she will need accommodation for her disability.

I received this reply from Hoa’s legislative staff, “Thank you so much for reaching out to us and connecting our office with this constituent. I will happily reach out to them via phone to provide some assistance in any way I can. It may take a few follow-ups with our legislative contacts at ODHS, but I will jump on this right away.

I really appreciate you letting us know about this! Thank you for your continued advocacy and engagement with our office.”

This felt so empowering for me to be able to connect this family with the legislator’s constituent services to see how they could help them.

August 11^th, I had another constituent who needed help getting connected to services. It was a married couple from Myanmar. The wife’s name showed up as a registered voter in Rep. Nguyen’s district. The first thing they said, “We are not American citizens, so we cannot vote.”

However, her name showed up on my VAN app canvassing list, so I assumed that she could vote. I told them that she could vote. Thus, I tried to find out if they could vote. The husband told me that they have these print out cards from the Oregon Health Authority. He wants to know where to go to the healthcare clinic and what is the name of the healthcare clinic.

Even more, the man just moved to the U.S. from Myanmar, and he was looking for a job. He spoke pretty good English. In addition, he was fluent European Spanish (he emphasized that he did not understand Mexican or South American Spanish well). He wanted to get a job but unsure how to get one.

He worked as a tour guide in Myanmar for years where he regularly used English and Spanish.

I passed along this information to Aaron on Rep. Nguyen’s staff. He replied he was happy to contact them directly. He thought there were a few different services that would be helpful.

Aaron later advised me to be careful in these situations because the wife could not vote. He soon broke the news to her that she could not vote. She was not an American citizen. She was a registered driver in Oregon. In Oregon, when someone registers to drive in the DMV they are automatically registered to vote, unless they opt out. Thus, our VAN voter database incorrectly listed her as a voter. He warned me to be careful in these situations because we could be accused of trying to encourage noncitizens to vote. I appreciated his words of wisdom.

Brian Ettling canvassing for Oregon Representative Hoa Nguyen for her re-election campaign in southeast Portland on August 24, 2024.

On August 25, I had a conversation with a constituent, Jody, who could use some help/advice with constituent services that I emailed to Aaron.

Jody’s daughter had a drug addict problem and Jody was concerned for her granddaughter. She wanted to adopt her, but she was unsure how to complete the paperwork. Jody had bad past experiences with Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) when she was struggling to make ends meet trying to raise her family. They refused to be helpful in her situation. If she wanted to go to college to improve her job situation, they would threaten to cut her benefits.

I was eager for Aaron to engage with Jody. Aaron replied that he would connect with her and see how he could help her.

On October 20, I chatted with a constituent of Rep. Ricki Ruiz in south Gresham, Oregon. This woman was upset because she lived in an apartment with a lease that stated, ‘No smoking.’ Unfortunately, her downstairs neighbor constantly smoked marijuana and the apartment building was not well insulated. The pot smoke drifted up through weak points in the ventilation system. She was an asthmatic with young kids. She was irritated with her apartment manager refusing to do anything about it. When she brought up this matter, the manager would say that he needed proof before they could act. I asked Ricki’s Chief of Staff Omar Sandoval if he knew of anyone for the City of Gresham that could help her while keeping her complaint anonymous.

Hopefully, my interactions with these constituents in the summer and fall on 2024 helped improved their lives in some small way.

My worst day of knocking on doors in a rural area outside of Damacus, Oregon

At the other extreme, on September 8^th, I had the most hostile encounter with anyone I had ever canvassed. I knocked on doors in a rural area in Clackamas County south of the Portland metro area. It was a lovely summer Sunday afternoon with clear skies and a perfect day to be walking out in the country. The downside was that the houses were far apart with very long driveways and the properties were separated by vast fields or lawns. Because the houses were a far distance from each other, the good news was that I got a lot of walking exercise that day. I got selfie photos with a friendly horse and another with a baby goat.

Brian Ettling encountering a friendly horse while canvassing near Damascus, Oregon on September 8, 2024 to urge voters to support OR Representative Hoa Nguyen.

I knocked on the door of one family where it turned out that the man that answered the door was clearly a Trump supporter. He remarked, ‘I am not in favor of any of your candidates. However, can I get you some cold water to drink?’

He then offered for me to come inside his home on this warm September day so he could refill my water bottle with cold water, and he allowed me to use the restroom. It made me feel proud to be an American at that moment that we can still meet people who disagree with us about politics. Yet, we can still be neighborly and supportive to each other.

I love animals. It was a thrill encountering a friendly horse and baby goat that day. When I was walking by a chain linked fence, a curious horse came up to say hello. I took three selfies with the horse, including one with Rep. Hoa Nguyen’s campaign. Later that day, I posted the horse photos on social media, especially the one with me holding up the campaign lit, to promote Hoa Nguyen’s re-election campaign.

Towards the end of the day, the baby goat was loose from the farm it resided. It looked separated from a group of goats on a nearby property. It followed me down the road like I could somehow get it home. I did not have answers for this goat. However, it allowed me to take two selfie photos with it. Seeing the farm animals was the best part of that day.

My low point of the day happened in the middle of the afternoon. I walked down one very side road to a large two-story house with a lively party happening on the inside. The person who answered the door lectured me that “people around here don’t like people walking around on people’s doors. This ain’t Portland and there ain’t no sidewalks here. People get suspicious when they see someone walking around knocking on doors.”

I found his comments odd because I had met nothing but kind and polite people in this rural area. I just ignored him when he lectured me. I just smiled and I did not say anything.

I turned around to walk further up the street. He then yelled at me, “This is a private street, and you need to go away.”

I didn’t like his condescending tone towards me. It’s like my humanity didn’t exist for him and I didn’t want to give him any satisfaction that he could just order me around. I didn’t even look at him. I had one more house to canvas on that street. I then went up to the final house, which I thought was the address I needed to canvas. The house was totally empty. There were no blinds as I walked by the front windows, revealing no furniture inside. It looked dusty and abandoned for a long period of time. I then turned around to leave this house and side street. As I left that lonely house, the hostile individual came roaring up to me full speed on his four-wheeler. He then shouted at me, “Didn’t I tell you to leave this private street? That other house is empty and belongs to me. Did you not hear what I was telling you? Are you deaf?” I kept walking with my eyes straight ahead trying not to notice him. He temper exploded, “Did you not hear me?”

I felt full of fear and dread. I stated as I walked, “I am just doing my job, which you are making it hard for me to do. I am leaving your street right now!”

Another two-story house was on this street that did not belong to him. He raced the four-wheeler in front of that house to then block it make sure I would not canvass that door, even though it was not on my list. He then swiftly rode the four-wheeler back to his house watching me the whole time. He acted like he owned the whole street. Oddly, one other property owner lived on that street. As I left the street, I took a photo of the signs. The top sign stated: “Caution: Speed Bumps Ahead.” The bottom sign read: “Speed Limit 5 MPH.” There was no private property sign.

This incident emotionally shook me. I was alarmed that my stubbornness almost got me in a dangerous situation where I could have been injured or worse. I somehow endured through an incident where my life felt threatened. It was a quiet area with few cars traveling around. Yet, I could hear my heart beating in my chest very loud from what just happened.

Photo by Brian Ettling of the scenery he saw canvassing for Oregon Representative Hoa Nguyen in a rural area near Happy Valley OR on September 8, 2024.

Friendly Cats when I was canvassing in the summer and fall of 2024

Although that guy left a very searing memory in my mind, I was comforted by the many friendly cats when I canvassed from the end of July to November 5, 2024.

It seemed like I encountered very loving and kind cats on numerous days when I canvassed in the summer and fall of 2024. Some of these cats were probably hungry and wanted food. Some of these cats lobbied me to let them inside their owners’ home. Some were just curious about me wondering what I was doing in their neighbor. Other cats just loved people and wanted affection from me. Whatever the reason, the friendly cats were the best part of canvassing. At one point, I had seven days in a row with a friendly cat to greet me. The cats made the grind of the long days and the many humans slamming their doors in my face well worth it.

I don’t want to anthropomorphize the cats. At the same time, on my worst days, the friendly cats seemed to cross my path to say, ‘You got this, dude! Don’t let the rude human bastards get you down! I care about you! Oh, by the way, can you scratch my chin, rub my back, let me inside, and give me some food while you here?’

One of the first cats I remembered was a very friendly black cat in the Powellhurst-Gilbert working class neighborhood in southeast Portland. It was a hot weekday on August 13^th. I knocked on someone’s door, but they were not home. It sounded like there were teenagers inside having fun playing video games. They did not answer the door, which was fine by me.

At the edge of the porch, curious slender black cat came up to me wanting its chin scratched and its back rubbed. It may have wanted me to let it inside. I took three photos with the cat. It did not seem to mind at all. I probably spent close to 10 minutes interacting with this cat on this porch. The kids and maybe the adults did not seem to care. They never opened the door to check on the cat or me. I finally said goodbye to the cat, so I could get some work done knocking on doors that day. I returned to this neighborhood on September 4th. I was shocked this same friendly black cat greeted me again and I took a selfie with it.

Brian Ettling with a friendly black cat he saw in the Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood while he canvassed for Oregon Rep. Hoa Nguyen on September 4. 2024.

In between seeing this short haired black cat, I encountered a long-haired black cat in a secluded upscale neighborhood in outer southeast Portland that wanted to get know me.

I saw many different breeds of friendly cats when I canvassed in the summer and autumn of 2024. I had a sweet Siamese cat in front of a low-income apartment in southeast Portland.

I had a white and beige fluffy long-haired cat that wanted attention in the Centennial neighborhood in southeast Portland. It did not mind that I took selfie photo with it. None of the friendly cats cared that I took self-photographs with them on my iPhone. The only constraint was not the cats. Sometimes the sun would be at odd angles behind a tree or building late in the day that would make it too dark to photograph the cats. The cats were not bothered that the lighting was too poor to photograph them. That was my problem, not there’s.

I had a gregarious Russian blue that I took a selfie photo with me in the Gresham Butte neighborhood on September 29th. I had a lovely black and white tuxedo cat come up to me for affection on October 6th. This cat did the stop, flop, and roll maneuver on the hard pavement. My understanding is that the flop and roll action that cats do is to show you that they like you and trust you. When cats do that, they are exposing their soft underbelly, which they would never want to show that vulnerable area to predators. When the cats roll on their backs and show that soft area to humans, they are basically saying, ‘I like you and I trust you.’

On October 5, 2024, it rained hard in Gresham. I got soaked canvassing. I just wanted to give up and go to my lovely apartment. I hated my job that day. At my worst moment, a middle-aged Latino woman encouraged me to sit on her porch. She got a cup of coffee for me. I strongly dislike the taste of coffee. However, gesture was so kind that I had to drink some of it. The hot temperature of the water warming me up and the aroma of the coffee uplifted me in that moment. While she insisted I have a seat on her porch, she went digging through her house and car parked in her garage desperately trying to find an umbrella for me. All her generosity brought tenderness to my soul and a rejuvenation to canvass this neighborhood some more.

The rain continued to pour hard. I canvassed more, but I had a difficult time locating one house listed on my canvassing phone app. I walked back and forth by this Victorian style house on a corner. I had such a hard time trying to find the address of a specific house that I wanted to go home and stop canvassing. On the porch of that Victorian House, a grey and white calico cat came out to greet me. It acted like it knew I was having a horrible day. It decided to be friendly and seemed to want to say to me: ‘Everything is going to be alright! Don’t give up!’

That cat in that moment provided so much comfort for me. It only wanted to interact with me for a few minutes before heading on. However, I will always appreciate that cat and that manifestation of the universe giving me joy and comfort on that blah grey cold rainy day.

Brian Ettling with a friendly long haired beige cat he saw in the Centennial neighborhood while he canvassed for Oregon Rep. Hoa Nguyen on September 15. 2024.

On another cool grey autumn day in October, I canvassed a middle-class suburban neighborhood in Troutdale, Oregon. I felt like I was making good progress knocking on a lot of doors that day. Not that many people were home, so I went through my big list of homes somewhat quickly. When I walked up the steps to knock on the door on one gray split level home, a long-haired gray and white hefty cat greeted me.

I then sat on the steps to allow the cat to approach me. The cat hobbled towards me because it only had 3 legs. One of its back legs was missing. This cat wanted lots of attention, but it also indicated that it wanted to be let inside. I tried to explain to the cat that I didn’t have a key or way to let the cat inside. The cat didn’t understand my excuse. After I petted the cat on the steps for a while, I walked down the rest of the steps to start heading to my next house.

The 3-legged cat then followed me down the steps and the paved sideway. It wanted more attention from me while also still pleading with me to let it inside the house. I tried to explain to the cat again that I did not have an ability to let it inside. It then followed me through vegetated assortment of wild plants in the front yard. It seemed happy exploring the front yard while continuing to be curious about me. I then told the cat again that I had work to do and I had to leave. Finally, the cat got the message and headed back to the front porch.

The cat then meowed on the front steps on the porch. This time, a human that I could not see cracked open the front door to let the cat inside. I thought it was hilarious that the whole time a human decided to avoid me while I interacted with their cat outside. Even more funny, I kept explaining to the cat that I could not let the cat inside because I thought nobody was home and the door was locked. The human waited for me to leave to let the cat back inside.

I never held it against anyone who did not want to answer the door. I would rather have someone not answer the door than to yell at me and slam the door in my face. Ultimately, the cat won because it went inside like it wanted the whole time. Actually, all of us won! The person inside did not have to talk with me. I did not have to talk to a person who did not want to chat with me. The cat got attention from a new person and then it was let back inside.

Brian Ettling with a friendly long haired grey and white cat he saw in Troutdate OR while he canvassed for Oregon Rep. Zach Hudson on October 18, 2024.

Cats have an interesting if not mischievous sense of humor. On November 1st when I canvassed on streets not far from my home in my neighborhood, a curious Russian Blue breed cat approached me. I kneeled down to its level to interact with it and give it attention. I laid my canvassing bad next to me so I could focus on the cat. The next thing I knew, this grey cat plopped on top of my work bag so I could fully devote myself to it. I gave it a full neck and back massage for several minutes. I then had to find a way to reclaim my tote bag from the cat to continue canvassing. I snapped a photo of the cat on top of my bag. However, I don’t remember the cat’s reaction when I decided to reclaim the bag and continue canvassing.

For East County Rising, we had a Signal chat for all the field organizers to stay in communications. On Signal, I would post my selfies with the cats to the delight of my co-workers. They liked my cat selfie posts so much that they started posting their own interactions with cats while canvassing, as well as friendly encounters with dogs, and other humorous happenings they experienced while door knocking.

By the time the November 5th election came, I had worked 7 days in a row and 36 out of 40 days knocking on doors in Portland OR for ECR to urge local voters to vote for local Democratic candidates. I felt bone tired.

On Sunday, November 3rd, I had a rough day canvassing in northeast Portland. I walked up 3 steps to a small house in the working-class neighborhood of Sumner in northeast Portland. When I moved toward the front door on the porch, my leg fell through a square hole on the porch that I did not see in time. It startled me to suddenly fall inside fancy designed air space. It was scared I had injured my leg, but I was only shaken up by the experience. This shock to my system, while I was thankfully ok, was another indication to me that I wanted to be finished with the canvassing that would end on election day, Tuesday, November 5th.

As I felt jarred from falling through that spot on the porch, I stumbled across a friendly
cat late in the afternoon. I walked up to a porch to knock on a door. No one answered so I rolled up the campaign lit and placed it in between the doorknob and the door frame. A black cat then came up to me wondering what I was doing and if I could give it attention. I spent several minutes doing my best to make this cat happy. I sat on this porch so long hanging with the cat that I think that the owner came to the door wondering what was going on outside.

Brian Ettling with a friendly black cat he saw in the Sumner neighborhood of northeast Portland while he canvassed for East County Rising endorsed local candidates on November 3, 2024.

Just one hour after I engaged with this friendly black and white cat in northeast Portland on November 3rd, I saw a brown banner in front of someone’s home that read,
“C.L.A.W.S: Cat Lovers Against White Supremacy.”

Anyway, this friendly cat and that banner was the comfort I needed to get through the last 48 hours of knocking on doors to urge last minute voters to turn in their ballots. Just a few minutes later, I knocked on someone’s door of a middle-aged woman. When I said I was knocking on doors for the election campaign, she got excited: “Oh good! I am filling out my ballot right now and I am trying to figure out who I should vote for!”

She let me inside her home. I then sat at her kitchen table with her and I gave her my recommendations for the candidates and ballot measures she should vote for on her ballot. She was appreciative and thrilled that I knocked on her door because she felt overwhelmed filling out her election ballot with only a couple days left to vote. I wanted to thank all the lovable cats who kept me going to reach this undecided voter with just a couple days left before election day.

Again, it felt like friendly cats were placed in my path when I canvassed that fall to keep my spirit strong. Cats live in their own worlds, but it almost felt like they wanted American democracy to succeed. I doubt there is any research on this. However, cats probably thrive better in democracies than authoritarian governments, and cats probably somehow know this.

A sign Brian Ettling saw in the Sumner neighborhood of northeast Portland while he canvassed for East County Rising endorsed local candidates on November 3, 2024.

The stress of canvassing when someone threatened to call the police on me

If friendly cats were one of the best perks of canvassing, the angry people were the worst part of the job. On Saturday, September 14th, I had a busy day canvassing in Gresham, Oregon. Many homeowners had doorbell cameras. That makes my job as a canvasser easier. I ring the doorbell camera, and the homeowner looks on their smart phone app to see who is at their door. Most people can tell I am a political canvasser, so they don’t answer the door. I made sure I held up my candidate slate card lit so they can clearly see what I am placing at their door, and then I left. The doorbell cameras saved me from many uncomfortable conversations with homeowners who don’t want to talk with me.

Occasionally, someone would answer the voice command speaker to ask me who I was and what I wanted. I explained I was leaving behind voter information about the election. On this day, the homeowner on the speaker said, ‘Don’t leave anything at my door!’

At this point, I canvassed full time for about a month. I was tired of many people slamming their doors in my face and being rude. I approached every door being humble and friendly. Yet, it felt like I lost a bit of my soul every time a person was antagonistic with me. When the person snarled, ‘Don’t leave anything at my door,’ I had enough of people being nasty with me, so I left the campaign lit at his door anyway.

He then yelled over the speaker, “I am going to call the cops on you!”

My thinking was: ‘Good ahead! I worked on the spring 2024 Gresham Safety ballot imitative for more funding for police and firefighters. The big reason for that ballot measure was that Gresham Police was understaffed and overworked. It took on average around 30 minutes for them to respond to 911 residential calls. Even then, it could take longer due to other robberies and violent crimes happening at the same time. I doubt they will make it a priority to respond to your complaint that someone left election information at your door without permission.’

I then canvassed other houses in this neighborhood. However, I felt paranoid the police would come get me. In fact, two Gresham Police cars drove by that afternoon, but they paid no attention to me. My heart level raced whenever I saw the Police cars thinking I would get busted. I then decided the stress of thinking the Police might confront me was too much. In the future, I would not be spiteful to homeowners who insisted to not eave anything at their door.

The next day, Sunday, September 15th, I had some voters yelling and acting hostile to me. For Monday, September 16th, Billy sent me turfs for the same streets I had canvassed in the last few weeks. I was worried about browbeating the same voters. I asked him if I could take Monday, September 16th and Tuesday, September 17th off work, and he readily agreed.

Stay tuned for for the next part of this blog:
Part 3: The Good and Bad Personal Moments canvassing in the autumn of 2024

Brian Ettling posing with a baby goat while canvassing for Oregon Representative Hoa Nguyen near Damascus, Oregon on September 8, 2024.

For Our Democracy, My Actions and Reactions to 2024 Presidential Election, Part 1

“We don’t agonize. We organize”
– Democratic Congresswoman and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi

Democracy. It is defined by Meriam Webster’s Dictionary as

“1. Government by the people:rule of the majority.
a. A form of government in which the people elect representatives to make decisions, policies, laws, etc. according to law.
b. a form of government in which the people vote directly against or in favor of decisions, policies, laws, etc.”

Since the January 6, 2021, an insurrection attack on the U.S. Capitol by a violent mob of Donald Trump supporters trying to overthrow the U.S. Government election results, I am worried about our American democracy. Before the January 6th insurrection, I took it for granted that it was strong and would always exist.

After January 6th, I switched from being strictly a climate organizer to a climate and democracy organizer. To document my lifelong shift in thinking, I wrote an 8-part blog from October to December 2023, For Climate Action, let’s protect our democracy.

I followed up those writings with a related blog I posted in April 2024, For Climate Action, be kind to people knocking at your door. The blog was about my dedication and frustration to knocking on doors in in the Portland OR metro area as a U.S. Census Enumerator in 2020 and as a paid political canvasser/field organizer for the 2022 midterm elections. I wanted to uphold our democracy and to urge my fellow community members to vote for support Democratic candidates who would pass strong climate bills and uphold our democracy.

With the Oregon Primary Election happening in May 2024 and the general election looming on November 5, 2024, I was eager to engage with voters to urge them to support strong Democratic candidates that would stand up for our democracy from the rising threat of authoritarianism. This multi-part blog is an account of my actions January to November 2024. I will then conclude about my reaction to the 2024 election and what actions we should take now.

Part 1: Organizing and Canvassing for our democracy in the spring and summer of 2024

From February to April 2024, I helped the Portland Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) chapter organize a Congressional Candidate Climate Forum on April 18, 2024. It was attended by Multnomah County Commissioner Susheela Jayapal and Oregon Representative Maxine Dexter. I felt that the that candidate forum that I helped organize was a success. It may have played an important role in getting Dr. Maxine Dexter to win the Democracy primary on May 21st and elected to Congress on November 5, 2024.

In the middle of planning for this CCL candidate forum, in the second week of April 2024, Tanya and I took week-long trip back to St. Louis, Missouri to see family. Even more, this trip centered around a day long road trip to southern Illinois to see the solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. Seeing the eclipse was one of the highlights of my life. Months later, I blogged about it, 2024 Solar Eclipse Renewed me to take Climate Action.

On May 1st, after the CCL candidate forum, I worked for East County Rising (ECR) as a field organizer, also known as a canvasser, to knock on doors to urge voters to support their endorsed candidates for the May 21^st Oregon primary election. I later blogged about this experience on the highs and lows of knocking on doors for the May 2024 Oregon Primary Election.

A quick vacation to Crater Lake National Park after the May 2024 election primary

After one day the primary election, Tanya and I took a much needed four-day vacation from May 22^nd to May 27^th visit Crater Lake National Park in southern Oregon to go snowshoeing. It felt great get my mind off politics, elections, and trying to persuade people to vote.

The weather was beautiful on the Crater Lake rim when we snowshoed on that Thursday afternoon and Friday all day. On Thursday afternoon, the sky was clear with a stunning blue with no haze and just a few clouds. There was little to no wind, so the lake was a giant mirror reflecting the small band of clouds and deep blue sky. Friday was an overcast cooler day, reminding us that winter had not given up its grip on Crater Lake for the season.

Brian Ettling and Tanya Couture at Crater Lake National Park on May 24, 2024.

We have each owned pair of snowshoes for years. It was enjoyable to use them at Crater Lake where they still had a healthy snowpack of over 8 feet of snow on the ground at an elevation over 7,000 feet. I worked at Crater Lake during the summers from 1992 to 2017. It brought back a lot of memories since I spent a good portion of my life there. The park was just as splendid, awe inspiring, and serene as I remembered. At the same time, I was glad to just be a visitor, and I liked my life since 2017 of organizing for climate action.

The calendar said May 25th. However, we had dinner at a picnic table by the Mazama Motor Inn cabin we were staying in the park. The elevation there is just over 6,000 feet. We had walls of snow surrounding us as we ate toasted hot dogs for dinner with a side of chopped broccoli. The temperature was probably a balmy 50 degrees, but the mounts of snow around us looked like we were having dinner in Greenland or Antarctica.

On Saturday, May 25th, we drove back to Portland leaving to travel north of the park on Highway 138 to see the various spectacular waterfalls on that route. We enjoyed walking on the short trails to see these waterfalls, such as Watson Falls, Tokatee Falls, and Susan Creek Falls. The falls were all roaring strong from a hearty winter snowpack that fed them high upstream in the distance. It was Saturday of Memorial Weekend. The popular waterfalls on this route certainly had other visitors, especially family groups, admiring them. It was not crowded though.

As soon as I returned from this trip, I prepared for my next excursion to Washington D.C. June 7-12 to attend the CCL conference and lobby day. Much later, I blogged about that trip, especially the highpoint of my thrill meeting U.S. Congressman Jamie Raskin.

Visits to Portland Oregon from my friend Itzel Morales and my mom Fran Ettling

The next day, I flew back home to Portland, Oregon. On the flight back, I had magnificent views of Mt. Hood out the window as the plane descended into Portland on this lovely summer day.

The next weekend, my friend from Climate Reality Project, Itzel Morales Lagunes, visited with Tanya and me after she had attended a wellness conference near the Columbia River Gorge. Itzel and I were co-presenters at the Climate Reality Los Angeles Training in August 2018. I enjoyed co-creating and jointly delivering that presentation. I admired her enthusiasm, optimism for the future, the hard work she put into this presentation, all her climate work, and her flexibility in meshing our presentations together. Tanya and I were delighted that Itzel wanted to stay with us in Portland and spend time with us. We had very few out of town visitors in our 7 years living there. We were excited to show her our area.

We first met at the Tryon Creek State Natural Area in southwest Portland, a 15-minute drive from downtown Portland. It was summer so the forest was lush green. This 658 acre heavily forested park featured 8 miles of hiking trails. We walked for about a mile so Itzel could get the feel of a Pacific Northwest forest. Tryon Creek is Oregon’s only state park within a major metropolitan area. It’s a second growth forest of deciduous and evergreen trees. This shady canyon valley with the meandering Tryon Creek wandering through provided a suitable environment for trees so tall it was hard to see the tops of them.

Brian Ettling, Tanya Couture, and Itzel Morales Lagunes at the Redwood Deck at Hoyt Arboretum in Washington Park near downtown Portland, Oregon.

After we got a good feel for this park, we then drove Itzel to see the Portland International Park Rose Test Garden. The brilliantly colored roses were at their peak for the summer creating a joyful spectacle for our eyes. The bright color range of red, pink, orange, yellow, and other fabulous variety of roses were a must to take many photos with our cameras. We then took Itzel to see the outside of the Pittock Mansion with its broad high view of the Portland skyline.

From the Pittock Mansion, we walked a mile for Itzel to see the Redwood Deck at Hoyt Arboretum in Washington Park. The park contains 70 redwood trees — including coast redwoods (the earliest of which was planted in 1931) and giant sequoias. Since their planting almost 100 years ago, these trees grew to an impressive height and girth. From the deck and hike among the trees, it feels like one gets a small taste of Redwood and Sequoia National Parks in California.

The next day, Tanya and I made sure Itzel got to see the most accessible and impressive waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge.

My mom Fran Ettling came to visit Tanya and me for four days at the end of June. She also wanted to see the Rose Garden. The roses were still looked fabulous just two weeks after my previous visit with Tanya and Itzel. I insisted on taking Portland’s public transit, TriMet buses and MAX commuter trains, to travel over an hour from our home into the city. My 84-year-old mom did great on public transit. She enjoyed taking TriMet. It reminded of her when she used to take the streetcars growing up in St. Louis, Missouri.

My mom requested for Tanya, her, and me to have a dinner at the Portland City Grill, which it located on the 30^th floor of the U.S. Bankcorp Tower in downtown Portland. The restaurant has big windows with terrific views of the city, surrounding area, and sightings of Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams on clear days. It is a tradition when my mom comes to visit us in Portland to have dinner there every time from 2019 onwards.

Attending and even speaking at Oregon Legislators campaign kick off events

After my mom left Portland, it was time for me to network to see if I could work for a legislative campaign for the 2024 election season. I came to the campaign kickoff event for Rep. Ricki Ruiz in Gresham, Oregon on June 22nd. On June 30th, Rep. Zach Hudson asked me to give a short speech to introduce him as his campaign kickoff event in Troutdale.

This was the first time that an elected leader asked me to give an introduction for them. I was honored to do that. Even more, Zach is a kind, decent, humble man, and dedicated public servant. I made sure that I crafted an introductory speech that Zach would be proud.

Brian Ettling giving an introduction to Oregon Representative Zach Hudson at his campaign kickoff event in Troutdale, Oregon on June 30, 2024.

Here are the remarks that I gave at the Kickoff Campaign even for Zach:

Introduction to Representative Zach Hudson at Campaign Kick off

Thank you for coming to Representative Zach Hudson’s Campaign Kick Off event today. My name is Brian Ettling. I am a friend of Zach’s who has known him for several years.

Zach wanted me to introduce him because he has admired me for years as a local climate organizer. I was honored because I am not a constituent, but I live just a few blocks away from his district at NE 158^th and Sandy.

My story is that I worked 25 years as a seasonal park ranger at Crater Lake National Park in southern Oregon. I loved being a park ranger, but sadly I saw the impacts of climate change there with a diminishing annual snowpack and more intense wildfire seasons. At times, the wildfire smoke was hazardous to breathe and forced visitors with health issues to cancel their vacations. I became so worried about climate change that I quit my summer job at Crater Lake in 2017 to organize and lobby for climate action. Thus, I have lobbied Oregon legislators to pass climate policies since 2018.

Zach and I first met when he was running for office in 2020. I must have made quite an impression because he immediately asked me to endorse his campaign. Zach was the first candidate for office to ever ask me for his endorsement. Zach listed me as one of his endorsers in the 2022 Oregon Voters pamphlet. It was exciting because that was the one and only time my name has ever appeared in an Oregon Voters Pamphlet.

I have always been proud to support Zach because he truly does listen when I chat with him about climate policy bills that I urged him to support. He has always treated me like I matter and he truly cares about me. I have had other elected officials and legislators besides Zach who have always treated me with kindness and truly listened to me who are here today.

However, I have had a few negative experiences lobbying in Washington D.C. and Salem with elected officials who have not treated me well. They acted bored, uninterested, and it was beneath their time when I tried to chat with them. Incidentally, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz grumbled and refused to even acknowledge me when I said hello to him at the U.S. Capitol exactly one year ago. We are all very thankful that Zach is no Ted Cruz.

I know for sure that Zach truly cares about me. However, I also have been around Zach long enough to know that he truly cares about you. Zach has lived in East Multnomah County for 18 years with his wife and three children. He truly cares about our community. He treats everyone like a neighbor.

Zach has taught at Gresham High School, Corbett High School, Reynolds High School and Mount Hood Community College. At the moment, he substitute-teaches at local schools while the legislature is not in session. He cares about quality education not just for his kids, but for your kids, all the kids in our community, and his students.

Since serving in the Oregon Legislature in 2021, Zach collaborated with legislators on both sides of the aisle on bills to help working families, first responders, students, and Oregon’s natural areas. Zach currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the House Education Committee, Chair of the House Higher Education Committee, and on the House Business and Labor Committee.

Zach loves the communities of East Multnomah County, and he enjoys getting involved. He served on the Troutdale City Council, the Troutdale Citizens Advisory Committee and the Troutdale Budget Committee, and he helped organize the Troutdale SummerFest for many years.

As someone who lives in east Multnomah County, I applaud the efforts of Senator Chris Gorsek, Rep. Ricki Ruiz, Zach and other to fight hard to keep open the Legacy Mt. Hood Birthing Center.

As a climate organizer, I deeply appreciate all of Zach’s efforts in the Oregon Legislature to fight to

Continue the electric vehicle rebate program
Limit the impact of megafarms
Reform the Oregon Forest Resources Institute
Divest the State Treasury from investments in coal
Monitor and support marine reserves
Increase state use of clean energy technology

I know I can always count on him to support strong and effective climate bills and to protect Oregon’s beautiful natural environment. We will need Zach in the Oregon Legislature in 2025 to help pass a major transportation package to fund and maintain our roads, highways, and bridges while also investing in public transportation, electric vehicles, and to continue transitioning the state to clean energy. I will be eager to continue to chat with Zach about climate legislation.

I hope you will also be eager to engage with Zach as he intends to be a champion on education, access to healthcare – especially reproductive healthcare for women, civil rights and justice, affordable housing, reducing gun violence, campaign finance reform, consumer protection, and many other issues facing Oregon. I know from personal experience that Zach wants to listen and fight for you!

On top of all this, Zach is a talented violinist.

Please give a warm welcome for my friend Zach Hudson.

The attendees gave my speech a good response. They laughed at my attempts at humor, especially when I remarked, “We are all very thankful that Zach is no Ted Cruz.”

Brian Ettling and Oregon Representative Zach Hudson at his re-election campaign kickoff event in Troutdale, Oregon on June 30, 2024.

On July 10^th, I went to Rep. Hoa Nguyen’s campaign kick off event. Billy Fish, my old ECR boss from the spring of 2024, helped organize this event. I asked him if he had any jobs for the upcoming campaigns. Billy said he did, and he would be happy to hire me again.

Settling on a Paid Field Organizer/Canvassing job for the summer and fall of 2024

In June and July, I regularly chatted on the phone with my friend Katie Collins. She was the campaign manager for Nick Walden Poublon, who was running for Oregon House District 52, which represents an area east of Portland from The Dalles and Hood River to Sandy, Oregon. Katie and Nick recruited me for months to work their campaign. They were in negotiations with FuturePac, which is the Oregon House Democratic Campaign Committee, on when they could hire more staff. In early July, Katie encouraged me to submit my resume to FuturePac.

It took a long time for FuturePac to respond after I submitted my resume. In late July, FuturePac told that I wanted to work for ECR under Billy Fish. I was then in a delicate situation where I just wanted a campaign job. I preferred to work with Katie and Nick. I was eager to help Nick win to flip that legislative seat from a Republican to a Democrat. However, friends who were seasoned campaign staff advised me that they did not feel like Nick could win. They felt like I would be better off working for a legislative candidate under the ECR umbrella.

It felt frustrating that people well connected with Oregon Democratic Party did not think Nick could win. This was a purple district. In the May 2024 primary, Nick received 5,319 votes as the Democratic candidate and his general election opponent Jeff Helfrich received 5,323 votes as the Republican candidate. Previous elections in this district were extremely close Democratic Representative Anna Williams won this seat by only 84 votes in 2020 over Helfrich. In 2018, Williams beat Helfrich by 897 votes out of 31, 414 votes cast (less than a 3% margin of victory. I could not believe no one else in Oregon was salivating like me to try to flip this seat.

By late July, Billy Fish told me that ECR wanted to hire me for a Campaign Field Director. FuturePac seemed to be dragging their feet to hire a Field Director for Nick’s Campaign. On Thursday, July 25^th, I met Katie and Nick in Hood River, Oregon to knock on doors for Nick that day. Sadly, I broke the news to them that I decided to work for ECR as a Field Campaign Director since it was closer to my home and community. Even more, I did not want to burn any bridges with ECR since I had already indicated to them that I was interested in working for them.

I liked Katie and Nick. I hated sharing this news to them. I had my eye on working on their campaign all year since I met Nick for lunch on February 4^th. When I chatted with them in Hood River on July 25^th, I lamented, “I sure hope I do not regret this decision.”

Brian Ettling and Nick Walden Poublon in Troutdale, Oregon on July 25, 2024.

Nick and Katie took the news graciously. They were not mad or disappointed with me. They understood I was in a tough spot to choose where to work. They were annoyed with FuturePac with dragging their feet to get a Field Campaign Manager hired that I ended up working with ECR instead. On Friday, July 26^th, I started work for Rep. Hoa Nguyen’s re-election campaign.

Briefly working Full Time for the Representative Hoa Nguyen Re-election Campaign

On my first day of work for Rep. Hoa Nguyen’s re-election campaign, I was introduced to Hoa’s campaign manager Aimee Santos-Lyons. My first interaction with Aimee was unusual. She texted me that she ran out of gas not far from where I lived. Fortunately, I have a gas can in the trunk of my car for such emergencies. I was able to fill up the gas can at the nearby Costco gas station and rendezvous with her where her car was stuck. We were able to put the gallon of gas in her Minivan so she could drive to a nearby gas station to fill up her car.

After she filled her gas tank, we met up at a location to knock on some doors together. I admired her enthusiastic energy and how she greeted every voter with a perky, “Happy Friday!”

Aimee took me out to lunch at a fabulous Vietnamese restaurant called Yoonique Pho and Grill in southwest Portland. My lunch looked so delicious that I took a photo with my iPhone. Yoonique is one of Aimee’s favorite places to eat in Portland, as well as for Hoa. It was a gathering place for Hoa’s campaign on Saturdays for lunch after we would canvass in the mornings.

Hoa Nguyen is a big hearted and devoted public servant. I had known her for two years and was impressed with her. Besides being a state legislator, she served on the David Douglas School Board. Her full-time job for David Douglas was to locate students who were not in school and find the resources they needed to get back into school. I was honored to be working on her campaign. I enjoyed the times I canvassed with her. We even went to eat at Yoonique one time together after the two of us went on a joint canvass.

Just days after I started working on her campaign, we laughed about my canvassing. Her doorbell camera filmed me knocking on her door, posing with her campaign lit, and leaving the campaign lit at her door. I had no idea that was her home when I knocked on the door. She texted me the video. It was hilarious to see me in action doing my job. I proudly posted the video on social media. I included that video at the end of this blog.

Brian Ettling and Oregon Representative Hoa Nguyen canvassing together in southeast Portland on August 11, 2024.

It was not long though before I realized this was an all-encompassing job with little to no time off. I figured that I would spend many hours to do all I could to help this campaign win. The red flag that soon jumped out at me was that I served three bosses in this job: Judy with Future Pac, Bill Fish with ECR, and Aimee with Hoa’s campaign. Judy needed me to deliver timely reports to her about the canvassing on a weekly basis. Billy would be making my schedule and teaching me how to work the VAN data system where ECR and the Oregon Democratic Party kept their voter database and campaign statistics. Aimee and I would be in contact daily about organizing the canvassing, recruiting volunteers, phone banking, and setting up the house parties for Hoa.

My decision to not be the Field Manager for Rep. Nguyen’s re-election campaign

I soon learned the expression, ‘You can’t serve more than one master at the same time.’

Billy was so busy setting up and cutting the turf for canvassers that he little time to teach me how to use the VAN data system. When I took the job, I explained I needed some time off when my in-laws came to visit August 8-11. I knew I would probably be working, but I needed one full day at least to clean the apartment before they arrived on the 8^th. Tanya, her parents, and I planned to travel to the Olympic Peninsula August 17-21, so I would be away on vacation then.

FutuePac expected me to knock on over 350 doors a week, plus commit to making over 100 phone calls a week to reach out to voters and to recruit campaign volunteers, plus provide planning for house parties. When I started in late July, Billy and I agreed that my days off would be Mondays and Tuesdays. With everything happening in the campaigns in August, it soon became one day off that varied due to all the campaign activities that were happening.

Hoa Nguyen’s campaign had many plates spinning in the air with canvassing events, house parties, phone banking for donations, recruiting volunteers, etc. My stress level went up greatly when I would ask her, “What do you want me to prioritize right now?”

Her answer: “Everything!”

I really admired her energy and dedication to winning this very tight election campaign. However, our styles of organizing were soon in conflict. I really wanted to know what the biggest priority was when we would meet. She would then go over everything the campaign was doing. She would give me long lectures on how to prioritize my time. I felt like I was living the expression: “I asked this person what time it is and they told me how to build a watch.”

By mid-August, I was very unhappy with the job situation. I worked a full day and then Billy kept me for an hour and a half one evening to go over what to say when recruiting volunteers. Aimee and I would have these long-drawn-out meetings that I felt like were not accomplishing anything. The meetings took away my time from the Future Pac goals of hitting my 350 doors knocked per week and making 100 phone calls.

On Wednesday, August 14th, I reached my breaking point. I had a horrible day at work. I started work around 8:30 am that day to pick up campaign literature on a 30-minute drive to southwest Portland and back. Then I had a 10 am Zoom FuturePac Meeting. After that Zoom meeting ended around 11 am, Aimee cornered me into having another planning meeting with her that did not feel productive or effective. I asked her again what she wanted me to prioritize. The answer again was “Everything” followed by a lecture how to manage my time.

Brian Ettling canvassing for Oregon Rep. Hoa Nguyen’s re-election campaign on August 14, 2024. He convinced a voter a few minutes before to post a lawn sign on their property.

I was eager to start knocking on doors to try to reach the 350 doors goal for the week. I did not start knocking on the doors until after 2 pm since it took time for me to have lunch and drive to my turf (assigned canvassing area). After I started knocking, I had at least two people scream at me that they did not want to be bothered with people knocking at their door. Two different people even wadded up the campaign lit and threw it at me. After I came home after 8 pm, I wanted to quit. I did not want to do that job ever again. My wife Tanya was worried I would make a rash decision. We agreed that we should talk with Aimee the next day.

I requested a meeting with Aimee and told her that I did not want to be the Field Director for Hoa’s campaign anymore. Earlier that week, we were on a campaign marketing call. The internal polls showed that Hoa’s poll numbers were very dicey. She was running basically tied with her opponent. She could lose this race. I didn’t want Hoa to lose this race. I told Aimee that she needed a new Field Director that was not me. Hoa’s race was too vital to maintain a strong majority in the Oregon House. Aimee appreciated hearing my decision. She knew that the working relationship was not going well for us. I felt that Aimee was a good campaign manager. She was driven and completely dedicated to make sure that Hoa would win. I believed she needed a Field Director with more experience than me and she agreed.

She did not want to lose me as a field organizer. She knew that Billy would really want to keep me on as a field organizer for ECR. She asked me to stay on as the Field Director for a couple of weeks until they found my replacement. I affirmed that I would be happy to do that. I then knocked on doors for the rest of the day with a huge sense of relief that the chaos and responsibilities of the Field Director for Hoa’s campaign were no longer on my shoulders.

Vacation on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington in August 2024

Our relationship was a breeze after that. With this weight off my shoulders, Tanya and I enjoyed a five-day vacation. We took an Amtrak train on Saturday, August 17th from Portland to Tacoma, Washington to meet up with my first college roommate Billy Maher. We roomed together at our freshman year at William Jewell College in 1988. I last saw Billy in 2012, over 12 years earlier. He started to date his partner Alvin around that time. It was fun to meet Alvin.

Billy cooked for me a Thai dinner at his parents’ home in Kansas City when we were college roommates that was one of the best meals of my life. Before college, Billy spent a year in Thailand as an exchange student. Wow! He mastered how to cook Thai cuisine when I had the meal he cooked at his parents’ house 36 years earlier. Billy cooked an amazing meal when we stayed with Alvin and him in Tacoma on August 17th.

Since we roomed together in 1988, Billy traveled frequently to Asia and was fluent in several Asia languages. Tanya and I enjoyed hearing his storied about Asian culture. He had several funny stories about surprising Asian cab drivers by speaking easily in their language. It always floored these Uber, Lift, and cab drivers since Billy looks like an average white American who should not be able to speak their language so clearly.

The next day, Tanya’s parents picked us up at Billy and Alvin’s home. We then headed to the Washington Coast to stay for two nights. My mother-in-law Nancy found a comfortable beach rental with two bedrooms, a kitchen, and living room area in Pacific Beach, Washington. The weather was overcast and drab when we went for a walk at the beach. At the same time, it was still serene and refreshing to spend time walking on the beach. Though the clouds made the beach seem a bit gloomy, the sunset we saw was outstanding.

Brian Ettling and Tanya Couture at the beach at Pacific Beach, Washington.

The next day we drove to the Quinault Rain Forest, located in the southern most part of Olympic National Park. We planned to walk several miles on a loop trail in the old growth rain forest. The trees were towering and majestic with huge ferns and an abundance of green plants on the ground. It was another Pacific Northwest coastal overcast day. The grey sky made it easier to photography the trees in the rain forest. It was one of those days where one could really strain their neck to keep looking up at the tall trees. Many of the trees were so large that you could not wrap your arms around them, and you could easily hide behind them.

My in-laws, Tanya, and me love to hike. We relished our time in this rain forest until it started raining hard that afternoon. Even with wearing our rain ponchos, we got soaked. At the end of our hike, we saw a sign for the world’s largest spruce tree. We walked over to see it, but, it was a fast view. We were tired and weary from battling the steady rain that afternoon. We could not wait to return to our beach rental at Pacific Beach to change into dry clothes. The rain didn’t stop so we stayed inside to watch the Democratic National Convention on TV.

As Tanya’s parents, Tanya, and I watched the Democratic Convention together, we felt a sense of hope from the speakers and watching Kamala Harris that she might win the election.

The next day, we drove up the coast on Hwy 101 to see the beach by Kalaloch Lodge. The weather was most cloudy with patches of blue sky. After the dreary rainy weather we experienced the previous day, we glad to see a bit of blue sky with no rain. Like the beach we saw at Pacific Beach, we marveled at seeing and hearing the ocean waves, the view of the sea extending out to the horizon, and observing huge groups of sea gulls gathered on the beach.

We then traveled to Lake Crescent Lodge in Olympic National Park to eat a late lunch and to take a short walk along the lake shore. We admired the steep green mountains that ringed the lake with the clouds shrouding the tops of the mountains on this overcast summer day.

We next headed to Sequim, Washington to spend the night with my mother-in-law Nancy’s cousin Peter and his wife Karen. They own a comfortable and spacious home that sits high on a coastal hill. Their home is at an elevation to have a bird’s eye view out their back windows and deck of Sequim Bay and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. One can see far enough out to Victoria, Canada and even see Mt. Baker and the northern most Cascade Mountains in Washington on a clear day. Peter and Karen’s home has the perfect coziness to visit family with surrounding scenery to put you at ease that you would never want to leave.

We had no choice but to leave on Wednesday, August 21^st. Tanya’s parents had to catch their flight back to St. Louis, Tanya had to return to her job, and I had to resume my campaign work for ECR and Hoa’s campaign that next day.

Stay tuned for the next part of this blog:
Part 2: Rough Times and the friendly cats when I canvassed in summer and fall 2024

Brian Ettling canvassing at the door of Oregon Representative Hoa Nguyen in southeast Portland, Oregon on August 4, 2024.