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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 10, 2016)
18 Wednesday, February 10, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon The Bunkhouse Chronicle Craig Rullman Columnist Smiling back at the Big Bad Wolf “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.” Robert Heinlein We are never more than about 72 hours from a descent into chaos and law- lessness — the rapid col- lapse of peaceful norms that most of us take for granted. Sometimes it happens much faster. (See related story, page 1). The intense media cov- erage of catastrophes, from earthquakes to hurricanes, from forest fires and torna- dos to civil unrest, or the rapid spread of infectious disease, should remind us of the extreme fragility of our complex systems, and our own exposure in the face of calamity. Major disrup- tions in the delivery of fuel, or food, or medicines, or the inability to access criti- cal emergency care, can spi- ral quickly, and the effects ripple out less like a rock tossed into a pond than an iceberg calved into a shal- low bay. I’m not suggesting we succumb to any particular paranoia of the day — and there are plenty of those — that everyone rush out and buy gas masks, stockpile potassium iodide, or build an EMP bunker in the yard. I am suggesting that we roll back the creeping tide of dependency and spend a few easy minutes thinking about our capacity for self-reli- ance, for building resilience in the face of adversity, those old-timey notions of being responsible for ourselves, by ourselves — and then to do something about it. A working knowledge of basic first aid, and the inex- pensive supplies to admin- ister it, can go a very long way. Learn CPR. Have a water filter that works. Learn to grow and preserve things. Know how to skin a buck, or gut a fish. Buy a few extra batteries. Be fit enough to carry something heavy for a few yards. Exploit your second amendment rights and pur- chase a firearm, then learn how, and when, to use it appropriately. Have the means to stay warm. If you require medicines, talk to your doctor about having an extra supply, just in case. Be realistic about what things you actually need, and how much of it you might require in an extended emergency when no deliv- eries of fuel or food, or the restoration of power are on the horizon. The goal is to be reason- ably self-sufficient, to be resilient because we have prepared, and to avoid fur- ther taxing emergency ser- vices that are often over- burdened on normal days. It doesn’t take much more than mindset to get started, an acceptance that bad things can and do happen, and that we have options in our response. So let’s take a page from The Nugget welcomes Karen Kassy to our team! Karen is deeply committed to Sisters — and to helping Sisters’ businesses thrive by ensuring that every advertising dollar is as effective as it can be. With two degrees in business and a background in advertising, writing and the arts, she has the skills, drive, and creative energy to help local businesses and organizations make their advertising compelling and powerful. Karen is known for her inclusive nature and for connecting people. She volunteered to help preserve Sisters’ recycling center, for which she received the Central Oregon Environmental Sustainability Award. She founded and organizes the Taste of Sisters fundraiser for the Kiwanis Food Bank and Furry Friends Foundation and is past chair of Newfoundland Dog Rescue. Karen has hit the ground running and is looking forward to helping all of The Nugget’s advertisers tell their story as part of a thriving, prosperous community. You can get in touch with Karen by phone at 541-549-9941 or by email at ads@nuggetnews.com. the CrossFit mindset and prepare for the “unknown and the unknowable.” And let’s not be selfish, either. In any event, even a small one on the scale of poten- tial disaster scenarios, there are those among us who will desperately need our help. Children, the elderly, and the infirm will need us to be at our very best, will- ing and prepared to offer a helping hand because we have planned ahead and refused to be victimized ourselves. There will be some who turn in on themselves, pre- ferring to barricade, to sand- bag their castles, to horde their material or exper- tise. Problem is, nobody wins a siege, and parad- ing around the ramparts, refusing to help or to share with our neighbors in a cataclysm, is a disgusting notion. Something tells me that the people of Sisters Country will be at their very best in the face of such an event, and a glance at a recent Nugget News headline seems to confirm it: seven-and-a- half tons of food donated to local food bank. That’s a big deal, folks, and a very loud statement about our commu- nity mindset, and what we might expect of our neigh- bors in tough times. We have no way of know- ing when the big bad wolf of natural disaster or general tribulation will strike, but if it does — when it does — and if we have prepared ahead of time, doing those little things now when it is easy, we might sit comfort- ably on our porches while he stalks the yard, smiling back at him as he huffs and puffs, because we know he can’t possibly blow our house down. Offering Aveda ™ Skin & Body Care! Valentine’s Day Gift Certifi cates! � hair | massage | nails facials | makeup 541-549-1784 161-C N. Elm St.
