Nate Harling and Bettina Morrish

00:04 My name is Bettina morrish. I'm 47. I am in Lexington, Kentucky on June 5th, 2011 and I'm here with my son Nate harling.

00:16 Nate harling. I'm 14 years old. I'm here with my mom Bettina morrish. And as you already know it is June 5th, 2011 and I am in Lexington Kentucky on Sunday. I dragged you out of bed this morning to come do this cuz I'm sick. I didn't do this because you're sick, but I wanted to go out with hoping that you might help us make a little family history or give us your perspective on, you know, family and stuff and what it's like to be a teenager in 2011 in Lexington, Kentucky. Yeah. I'm kind of interested in that kind of stuff.

00:55 Yeah, I'll start by interviewing you and then you can ask me some questions if you want, but I want you tell the you tell us a little bit about where you were born and where you grew up and what some of your favorite childhood memories are and start anywhere.

01:15 Well

01:17 I was born here in Lexington, Kentucky and

01:23 Well, my favorite childhood memories are from Wright's Lake in Oregon place where our family used to go a lot of the time but

01:35 We don't really have ownership with the house up there anymore. So not frequently, but it was everywhere some of my favorite childhood. Memories are in.

01:45 Just my beautiful voice. I like it just a little bit in my last interview. I talked a lot about rights like about what it was like for me to go up there, but I'm interested in what you remember and what what was meaningful about it for you.

01:59 Well, it's meaningful about it for me is that I just had a lot of memories there cuz it's why are some of my earliest memories are of I remember almost everything in that it says a bunch of houses around a very large wake with a little island tall rocks in the middle like to go out to a jump off.

02:25 And that would be fun and for our beds were outside, which was actually pretty cool. In fact, the one of my favorite memories prayers when I woke up in the middle of the night one morning, and I saw a mountain lion going by.

02:44 Our house and that was kind of cool freak me out though, but it was cool getting to wake me up.

02:50 I didn't want to move back side. I didn't want to make any sudden movements.

02:56 What about the house? What about what what kinds of things to do there?

03:02 Nothing really in the house. I did everything outside when I was there at like 2

03:08 This fire and I remember getting a lot of cuts on my feet cuz I always insist on going Barefoot because that's just how I like to do things in your like me or your grandmother a key made it always made a big fuss about that when I was a kid because it was a point of Pride. I never wore shoes up there and so my feet were black as night at the end of the day and I was proud of that. So I thought that it was like really tough and you know, she was just disgusted and so I had to have supposed to clean my feet before I went into my sleeping bag every night, but I didn't always do that.

03:51 Remember to add house.

03:54 Do you remember that house? It was in that house interesting thing is much more fun to the trees, I guess so.

04:17 Oh and there is the big old mountain that look like it had a dog's face on it. That was cool. Dog face over the time when you were

04:31 Really little you know, there's no way you remember that. You were quite little you would have been a baby. So no way you remember him and your dad and a key and I took the new all the way up the channel.

04:46 You went out the cabin to the to the lake and we got in the canoe and then if you're trying to write it took us up the narrow channel that that fed the like you ended the Footbridge used to jump off with his cousins and you keep on going all the way back there. And when you were really little there was a sub there was a summer where coyotes had come down really far because the campgrounds in closed for renovation. So there are far fewer people and coyotes are shy so we are going through third metem in the lake or in the water and there are these coyotes and they were really quite class and then you start crying.

05:24 And they came closer but it was like staring me that you thought you were dinner. Yeah, they're gone, but that was the only time in my 30 something years or 40 something years of going up there at that. I

05:44 Ever saw them when I was little that used to drive cattle through there. And they and and so you wouldn't always here. They come they drive cattle across the big mountain passes and then bring them from Tahoe down. And so you'd wake up in the morning. Remember hearing cowbells, really really really early in the morning and then they'll be gone then you just another big but there be cow pies never saw the cattle, but remember cow pies from forever.

06:18 But I never saw a mountain lion. I will say that that was that saying year went when were right now, it's later that you saw that second the last outing. Do you remember the end the door?

06:37 The big heavy Dumbledore the blank when you when you shut it out of there.

06:47 When your grandpa was about 20 something he cross-country skied there in the winter time and I guess you have to be really careful about leaving any sign of food up there in a carrot that guess there was a left an open Sardine Can or something in the bed was to hit tantalizing for the bear. So when they came to open the cabin in the

07:12 In the M the spring or actually summer cuz you can't get in there until July because the snow is so high they found the whole place trashed because I bear had pulled the door off the hinges Gadsden Gadsden that got the lock open it up and then trash the kitchen.

07:33 Wouldn't have found much there.

07:35 When I was growing up there that we had.

07:41 My Grandmother Had stock the cabinets with food and so that food have been there since the 1930s. I'm not I really couldn't even make that up. There was this whole thing of Kool-Aid that had this really old fashion label on it and lately I saw that same kind of cool Aid package in a museum.

08:00 But we had it and we were supposed to do you know, it was hard as rock. I would never drink 19th kind of psychic if it's in a museum, you might not want to hike.

08:24 I like some rules to live by for me. Yeah, have you did you know that that was what Gigi used to do up there your great-grandmother.

08:35 She had these famous parties up there.

08:38 The Winnie the Pooh parties

08:41 Which was shortened to take pool parties, and she would every year she would have these Winnie the Pooh parties where she had these these collector item Winnie the Pooh dolls, and she would

08:56 I know, you know, I I don't exactly know how it work cuz I don't think I'm ever going to more than one but she would have all the neighbor kids and they would make it Winnie the Pooh cake and there'd be like a treasure hunt and your grandmother couldn't go anywhere your great-grandma couldn't go anywhere without making it having a party of some form. And while when I was a kid, I thought that was kind of annoying that makes it I mean I can definitely see that coming from your side of the family. Yeah. Yeah Tampa's Mom. Oh, yeah. I know I think Dad married somebody like his mom. Talk with a 2000 we loved your grandmother. Your grandmother was so wonderful. She had these wonderful Winnie the Pooh parties.

09:51 And yeah, you know go figure.

09:55 Is it it was a different time?

09:58 But I think people felt really special there.

10:01 Did you ever catch any snakes or frogs I continent is snake. I don't remember about frogs, but I, many of snake.

10:10 Some of which I realize we're probably a bad idea to catch after the fact, but I caught a lot of snakes in the woods across the way.

10:30 Did we ever do any hiking like that? You remember? I remember one that was like forever and we went all the way up to.

10:39 Like that on top of that the dog face man.

10:47 Grass Lake

10:54 And took forever and when we got there.

10:59 I was pretty cool. But then I realized we have to get back so that wasn't very fun for me. There's a killer hell going up there. It's a big hell in that has infinitely longer one time. I was up there with a friend and I was taking pictures and I took off my glasses to take a picture of my telephoto lens and I got the bottom of the hill and realize that my glasses were still up there.

11:26 The song I had to go back and my friend was not very happy with me. He thought that was, you know a little bit much if I were your friend, I would have just stayed at the bottom and waited. I still wish they had me now so we couldn't hold it against you.

11:48 You say you want to go back there sometime. Definitely. What would you like to do when we go?

11:55 This stuff on your fishing again Academy on fishing for

12:03 Like 4 years ago.

12:06 Remind me to buy sorry for the taste of the water.

12:12 It was weird sweet yams Sweet Water was it was absolutely sweetest call this water. It came from that pump from a well.

12:23 Survitec is in California. That's part of my growing up there and then your grandparents that can sampha moved to, Oregon.

12:35 Move too many houses in Oregon

12:42 Remember that too.

12:45 Tell us we're back awesome.

12:50 It's on the Salmon River which is an unbelievably Cold River, but it's awesome. And it has of course a lot of salmon salmon River, but

13:03 It's very fast in there Rapids just in front of the house and so is very loud.

13:11 So it's not always the very easy to sleep at night because especially when it gets really loud, but it can be soothing sometimes when it's not like you like that the higher water levels in the one. I always found that noise to be the most soothing noise in the world. I could go to sleep immediately hearing that but I can see your point and

13:40 And then like a big property that was not the land this for you are so we had Big Woods that we like to explore in and there was a big rock which we like to go on. But of course the neighbors who would never Venture there decided it was their property so they wouldn't let us go on there anymore. But I still did it anyway bottom of it, but it look like it was like

14:09 Pike 40 ft 30-ish 30 ft tall

14:16 And it had it was weird cuz I had like a mini cave on the bottom of it cuz it was like chipped out and I'm sure if something would live down there. So I never really check that out and I would go around on top of it. You could climb up some little roots and stuff because it has a lot of growth on it. And on the top there like a considerable amount of trees. I'm just be fun to just go up on the topping.

14:45 Hang out there for a little while.

14:49 Feel when you used to go there.

14:53 I just felt relaxed when I was on top of that rock. It was cool connected.

15:01 Might also love about your grandparents from your perspective.

15:05 Kayaking Tampa first

15:08 Parents actually is

15:12 A very

15:15 She's one of those people who doesn't really think before they talk but that's okay because we love her anyway, and

15:25 Shell she is. Also one of those people who likes to throw parties for everything.

15:32 Like I mean

15:36 If you had to go get braces, it's like there's a racist party.

15:42 You just Mountain, you know, she would do something like that. Someone got their braces off probably. Yeah.

15:50 You know that would happen. I would probably happen.

15:54 Twilight butt

15:58 And she's German and

16:05 Is there Accents in strong to you?

16:09 Not really like kind of but

16:14 I'm just so used to it that I'm not sure about I don't really notice it that much anymore.

16:24 But what do you think about her Wicked you can think of some memories with her that you

16:31 They that come to mind when you think about her.

16:40 Camelot

16:44 I just didn't think about like the way she talks all the time in.

16:51 I think about how it's very hard to sleep in a car and she's there.

16:57 Because she's a constant source of discussion good but not good when you're trying to sleep and

17:07 But she is.

17:11 Remember my just a lot of memories with her like

17:16 Erowid beer rights Lake she would always insist on doing something new.

17:26 But there wasn't that much new to do.

17:29 Because but everything was fine there anyway, but what are you

17:42 My mom I was headed and it shoots his to do anything. She was famous for the fact that she would walk around with a bikini and cowboy boots on that hurt. Her gentleman admirers always enjoyed that a lot. But you know, he who was a very beautiful woman was not especially self-conscious. So she was she was just she's very natural and she would do anything. So, you know when I was a kid, we hiked a lot we voted a lot. Yeah, and you're right. She always wanted us to be active in and out and we had plenty of times particularly. It rides like where we go away, you know for the whole day. I remember you're not allowed to just relax that's true. But he has no has no concept of that. She can't you just says like one gear really?

18:35 5 which is hard for her now because you know, her heart is not good and she keeps on thinking she has to go and 5th gear and I think she told Baba the other day, you know her sister that she didn't know how to just slow down that she really had no experience with it and at age 77, that's a big experience not to have me know. So that's a real adjustment for her. But for me and I think going with with her was with her at United at my place is like Rice Lake we always went on adventures and you know, she was totally into it. We would we would go one day when you're my candy was really little your Uncle Kenny a hole.

19:33 Set of hula skirts out of skunk cabbage. And then we we we dance the hula in front of Island. Like I might you know, I was always fishing while we were doing things of course, right or we went hiking or we went there was one time we went we were camping at Island Lake and there was a huge snowdrift behind our campsite. So we sled in the snow in our swimsuits, but just, you know a little bit chilly for your butt and a swimsuit or somebody said I thought was hers. So we didn't know we had we always had a good time and you know, she was always so I was in the moment. It's a really cool thing.

20:21 And then you know that he's German. So another be some other memories for me is going to Germany with her to go see my family and for me that was a really important thing. I think seeing your parent in the place where they grew up.

20:39 Seeing them in their context means a lot.

20:45 She had four brothers fishes for three brothers and one sister and then she has a 1/4 brother who died when he was 12 after the war. So, you know, she's really close to her family and but the most important thing for me was to see a key with her mother mention. My grandmother was an amazing woman. I probably told you lost about her, but you know, she lost everything.

21:16 Time she lost everything after World War II and she had to restart from scratch and you know, I don't think she ever looked back. I don't think that she ever had. No, she's just like a key. She just doesn't she just lives in the moment. And I think that's one of his most valuable qualities is that she she doesn't regret. You know, she didn't you're right. She doesn't filter much but she but she also does she doesn't she doesn't regret she she moves on and she finds Value Inn in what there is and what she has and you know what she say about have gone through some tough Financial jolts over the last 10 years and I think they've done a fantastic job.

22:04 You know what, they've been disappointed, but they have carried on and done some twice at least twice that their investment that their retirement savings were embezzled by somebody.

22:20 But just you know absolutely awful, but they carry on and they stay positive and that's a quality that

22:33 Becky has I can't I can't undervalue. You know, that's just it's just super what about

22:44 Sampha, tell us a little bit about Tampa and your other grandparents, too.

22:48 Do you know why you come sample?

22:54 I couldn't say grandpa right in the same kind of stuck, but

23:00 He's just one of the toughest guys I meant, but he's got to

23:06 But he's also very understanding when he needs to be.

23:09 Can you give an example?

23:25 I know it's just like that's why I remember I passively about how he does things really, I mean the night that Dad got lost in the mountains. Yes. I do. Remember that. I went to Tampa. Do you want up there and look for look for him? He was 74 years old. You're 42 year old father was lost on top of a 8000 foot Mountain.

23:51 And sampha, and I went up at 11 started up the worst Trail in Oregon to go to go see whether we could meet him halfway and bring him back.

24:03 Cuz I didn't work but now it didn't work. But the fact that matter is that nobody doubted for a minute that that we do that the Tampa should be doing it. You know, he's he's he's got to go back into the yeah. Yeah. He shouldn't be like they at the x-rays and they said he shouldn't be able to walk but no and he has a handshake that I wouldn't doubt. He's probably like unknowingly broken a few hands in his lifetime.

24:38 Yeah, if possible.

24:43 If a sample story

24:50 Favorite moment with him

24:54 An example of like how I

24:59 Have I said earlier?

25:03 About how he can be stubborn but like forgiving and

25:08 It's cuz

25:11 Once when we are in at the house on Ashland and we were where I've had to send that bow and arrow stuff and then I shot one and I didn't see him coming and had Direction so it kind of like was right by them. And at first she was very angry in like made sure that I knew what to do, right, but then he was able to forgive me up at 4 in this use it as a teaching experience when it could have been. I could have ended up just fearing my grandfather with the arrow, but that didn't happen.

25:46 He is he was a tough dad.

25:49 Loving very loving but you had very high expectations and I was terribly worried about it about disappointing him, which I think I probably didn't plenty of occasions, but I remember once when I was little I

26:09 I just got my was playing on something and it and it did something really really heavy fell on my toe. And I remember screaming bloody murder because it was so surprising, you know, it was one of those things but then came down to my toenails hurt if like and I screamed bloody murder and I have never seen anyone run so fast to pick me up and he picked me up and just grabbed me and told me it was okay and I was probably be out for another time when I was in I was really little I was having a birthday party cuz you know, my birthday was in May and we had a pool and I was standing I remember this really clearly. I was standing on the edge of the pool like a kind of balance around the edge and I fell in and I didn't swim yet.

26:58 And Sanford oven and pulled me out. And apparently I said to every bite I drowned it and I was almost dead.

27:08 Which is a little bit like your drains wrist instrument the story which is a sample Story 2 about the chainsaw. But so, you know, he was very loving.

27:23 He's very loving even if he was was tough and Tuff is only came from from his desire for us to have very full lives. He wanted us that he wanted us to have a really really full life like for instance when I was at College in Connecticut. He wanted

27:49 I was going to I got a job in the summer in North Carolina first time ever gone to the South and I

27:59 I was going to getting a ride from a friend of mine from college who lives in Memphis and

28:09 Sample was from disappointed with me because I was taking such an easy way out to get there. His suggestion to me was that I hop on.

28:19 A freight boat

28:22 Freighter in and go down the coast that way as like Dad but I've got a ride from point A to point B, but that's just me. He just one unless he wants to see Point C D and F. Right and he's always wanted us to live very full life and I will say what that makes us very conscious, you know, I've trying to do more Kenny and I both in particular. What are you? What are your impressions of my brother can Moorish?

29:02 He is a very outgoing, has a lot of fun a lot of the time at your expense, but he has a lot of fun.

29:12 That gives you guys something and yes, it's it's red and

29:19 One thing that I remember at bottom

29:23 He's a very active guy and he's

29:27 Crowley was up, but I think he was like 40 to the last once and he was 42 and from a standstill he was able to jump up and without touching it touching it was able to balance on top of the fence fence in his yard. That's about 4 feet up so

29:51 That's pretty cool.

29:56 He's very bald also has absolutely no hair. Does he shave his head either? Okay. Well, I was never able I've always seen them with a completely bald head so I couldn't just couldn't picture with hair and then I saw pictures of him when he was younger and he had like really long completely blond hair and was like, who's that? So that was kind of confusing for me, but

30:32 What was he like when you guys are going up?

30:35 Exactly the same. He hasn't changed the dog. He's always been super energetic, you know always obsessed with fishing so that he was able to make that into a livelihood is a minor miracle, but it's a wonderful thing for him.

30:54 He has a

30:57 Learning disability

30:59 That's a little bit. I can't remember what it is. It's related to dyslexia. So for him school was difficult and I remember once telling my mom something like what your mom Kenny's play smart and she said is he I don't know. Is he smart? Of course? He's really something she would I know but her point and I was that, you know, he wasn't strong in school. They always do that. My problem was under

31:31 Under motivation. I mean, I always knew I was smart but I took a long time. I'm not the best in school, but you know, I'm smart. Yeah, so we can talk about that. Next Kenny was he had a hard time in school until he figured out this this LD thing and then when he went to college, he did really really well as you go to Lewis and Clark the school that I think you would really like in Portland.

31:59 So don't think that will cost him though. You're probably right. They probably have you know a mushroom hunting team instead of like

32:14 How do I get from Beaver driving but you know, he he was always doing crazy things many of which my parents had.

32:34 No idea. Yeah, I mean like not at all. I always got in trouble for doing the responsible thing is the Kennedys were so exponentially more dangerous than mine when we have the we got a new burglar alarm. And so we were saying the burglar alarm at night and a key the burglar alarm went off and it was Kenny.

33:11 Leaving

33:14 I think a necchi came downstairs like in her nightgown. It was like ready to take on the burglar. She was she was three-quarters asleep. My brother is just saying. Oh, yeah, I forgot something outside. I had to go get it. She totally bought it and it really in there like Mom. What are you doing out here in your in your night got to go take on the burglar you. She was she was taking you out here to kill. I don't know what she would do, but I don't think she had thought about it. But you know, we have we learned later that he was out jumping from roof to roof on in the in the villages in the village down below.

33:52 You know doing you no coming up fire escapes and and doing cross roof running like we used to do things. Like that was a thing he used to do that. I remember when he was about 9 when we would go hiking or something he would do essentially that he would run down the trail and run up and off and jump off of everything that he that he did. Remember the time when we were in Yosemite where he was doing it off of every Boulder off of every log and it was it was really beautiful to watch. You know, he couldn't see anything with that jumping over it so he is a jumper

34:40 Somebody has it and see what teams were to the bane of his existence cuz of the otherwise then he would have been pretty good at basketball. Probably. He kept me up inside it is it kills him enough that Max plays baseball and Italy play softball cuz he has to sit still and watch and their team sports need sports teams words.

35:14 Sure, where you are at this point in your life. We have got a few minutes left. Well, I go to Sayre school and

35:24 I like Ford Sport athlete I play basketball with cross a little bit of baseball and some cross country.

35:34 And

35:37 That's what I like to do. I get decent grades in school course not what I should be getting but still at your thought or are thought with your grades are really good test scores. So I guess I should be getting

35:56 Higher School grads

36:04 I really really like.

36:07 Play Macross, that's probably my favorite thing in the world and I want to

36:14 I want to go to college on a scholarship which sunbathing may be unrealistic light went on here, but I think I can do it. So that's going to be cool.

36:25 Do you get to trouble?

36:31 Why didn't wake when I dislike forget assignments and school all the time?

36:40 So that really what do you think your life is going to look like saying 10 years 20 years?

36:48 In 10 years

36:54 I don't know you think you'll be living in Kentucky. I hope to God I'm not I don't want to be one of those guys. Like when you said that Center would be enough vitamin C. I know what goes on with Lexington Ian's if they end up going to school in the state then usually they end up coming back to Lexington and they stay there forever. So I don't really want to do that. Okay, cuz I want to be more adventurous.

37:24 I like the West Coast. I like this girl site.

37:28 There are a lot of places where I'd like to be at that point.

37:34 Do you have any favorite relatives and he favorite?

37:40 Memories of people

37:44 Talk must have had that right to talk about your other grandparents, but that's okay. What degree do you think you are who you are because of family. How much of it is you and how much of it is family. Do you think?

38:00 The more I

38:04 Observe the more I realize I'm a lot like my family in many ways. But also how I have a lot of my own unique.

38:14 Things that only I do or and you know, so

38:23 Give me an example. Okay?

38:27 I'm a lot like Uncle Kenny and

38:32 A very large amount of ways, but also

38:36 I'm not like him because he'll I love doing things for us. I will I like structured.

38:43 Things she's not really into it all and

38:49 I have a temper sometimes like you.

38:54 But but also

39:01 I know I just have a lot of different.

39:06 Things than the rest of my family but a lot of things that are shared traits Among Us.

39:16 Hello.

39:17 Who do you think?

39:21 Is the most important person in your life who has been the most important person in your life?

39:32 In my family, I would say.

39:37 You and Dad shared because

39:41 I mean if you guys have taught me most things.

39:46 About everything and you said really good example for me and why I want to be like and but outside of my family.

39:56 That's important person that my life is probably.

40:02 Chris isaak's my advisor cuz she's just been really great for me and she helps me out a lot. What is she was just really understanding person and

40:17 She's just a really sweet person that she's also.

40:23 She'll also tell you when you're doing something wrong and that you should

40:29 Stop doing that thing up.

40:39 Also coached white lacrosse coach and he's just great in a lot of ways.

40:48 So is there anything?

40:51 That you've never told me that you want to tell me now.

40:55 Is there anything about me that you've always wanted to know but I've never asked.

41:05 I'm not open book, huh? What's that's not bad.

41:13 Any favorite stories you haven't what's your favorite story about your brother, Nick?

41:20 Who is the bachelor online Dad and Mom?

41:28 I'm trying to think of him because he know we don't have much time. So I need one.

41:40 If somebody what do you like about your brother?

41:49 Is this a real nice kid who I don't think he's ever done a bad thing in his life cuz he's scared to do anything wrong cuz he's

42:03 Is a very moral kid, who is he liked and that way? He's like my dad. He's very much.

42:13 And

42:15 When you think about Nick you think of what first was the first image that comes to mind Sports? Cuz he's an absolute is completely obsessed with them.

42:26 But that's just what he does. He's a really good baseball player.

42:31 And oh, I mean if he's watching TV.

42:37 Well, either he's watching one of his stupid little Nick's in the choir dress or is watching SportsCenter, which is like

42:45 I don't think you just get sick of it. He'll watch the same one for like memorize as I listen to you.

42:51 It's like some people are like a dictionary. He is like a

42:58 Box score about everything and he will tell you.

43:06 He knows the number of every player in every sport probably except for soccer because soccer slam and he knew every single one.

43:22 Are you guys going to be friends when you're older?

43:28 Are you friends now?

43:31 I think you guys were going to be actually really good buds. Once you're just a little you know beyond the nest.

43:39 You're super matches for each other. It's fine though. Cuz I don't know what anyone says we look alike because we're very different and I've been looking thing that we only want him. Like, I don't know what your talks with her. You both have very expressive faces. Yeah, everybody has his hands like

44:06 Really really short in like

44:11 Solid

44:15 P-Square P-Square, I say he's more around. He's like he reminds me of the

44:22 He's kind of like a bar. But but he's very he's very discretely athletic you wouldn't guess it and I'm about a foot taller and 60 lb more.

44:39 And we just had a completely different builds.

44:44 And he is very freckly like my mom and I am not like you didn't fight for me.

45:01 Baby last

45:05 Bought something you want to say before we say, thank you.

45:12 You want some advice for you in 10 years?

45:24 Have a lot of money. That's a good idea. Thanks for doing this. I know you weren't feeling well this morning and I really appreciate you coming down and adding to our little archive. No problem and hungry.