Jennifer Beck Furber

My love of the ocean & live music began early. I started sailing when I was six weeks old. At three months, I was at Newport Folk Festival, anchored off Fort Adams.⁣
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The day I turned 5, my dad spear caught Bahamian lobster & a Caribbean reef octopus. My mom cooked down below while I sat on the boom with our seaworthy red tabby cat, Tiger & watched dolphins play in the harbor.⁣
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The day after I turned 5, we went to church in Exuma Bahamas’ Staniel Cay. The joy & exuberance found in those tropical services is why I love gospel music.⁣
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I still wear weird hats & sunglasses, always. ⁣
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Today, on my 50th birthday, it’s untethering to know everyone pictured in my first birthday portrait has passed on. ⁣
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The beautiful adventurous lifestyle I grew up in had an undercurrent of chaos & it set the tone for a lifetime living in extremes with an appreciation for constants. ⁣
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Solid, loyal friendships & authentic love has remained steady throughout my life & I’m grateful for the family I’ve created. I love deeply & am honored to share a heart language with everyone in my orbit. ⁣

25 years ago, this was our home in SE Portland, OR
where I got engaged & the first person to earn a Masters Degree in my family, taking 52 credits in one year. I bought my wedding dress up the street. I learned of the horrors of 9/11 inside my 4th grade classroom. I found out the hard way what neutrea were, was on an episode of a reality TV show. I survived 2 robberies & Luke survived living in a city.

We made it through 67 straight days & nights of pouring rain, saw RL Burnside on Burnside St, & was witness to the 24 hour Church of Elvis. We had a different German Shepherd & a cat named Slinky. We dreamed of islands & three kids someday.

Standing in front of our old house & walking the aisles of our old grocer today felt like a time machine, a memory tsunami.

It’s wild to point out all that’s changed & remained the same, ourselves included.

To visit: Felt. So. Good.