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Wednesday, October 18, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Commentary...
We’re all in this together
By Katy Yoder
Correspondent
As natural disasters hap-
pen more frequently, it’s
impossible to remain insu-
lated. Maybe that’s the reason
for all this? Hopefully, it’s
waking us up and we’ll begin
making the changes needed to
save this amazing gift called
Earth. When things will ever
get back to “normal” seems
impossible to predict.
For Sisters, it’s been quite
a year — challenging, scary
and life-altering. I felt pretty
lucky through the snows last
winter. At least our buildings
seemed to have minimal dam-
age. All through the heavy
snows and freezing weather,
I was more concerned with
keeping my ailing horse alive.
I spent hours hand-walking
her in our arena, trying to
bring her comfort and hope-
fully helping her get better.
During our walks, I’d look
up at the trusses and won-
der how they were handling
the snow-load. I knew sev-
eral barn roofs like ours had
fallen in. The sense of vulner-
ability and potential disaster
followed me as I led Willow
around the arena. When the
weather finally cleared, I
thought we’d emerged with
our building intact. That
wasn’t the case.
It was a challenge finding
an engineering company who
could work on an engineered
fix. I knew what could hap-
pen if we didn’t repair the
roof before the next snows
fell. Then things got worse.
Spring brought death to our
family. First my mother’s
long-time companion, then
my horse. As I look out at the
snow-covered mountains and
autumn-adorned trees, I wish
they were still here.
I know Boyd would have
loved seeing the eclipse. At
first, I thought it was just an
over-hyped event that would
clog highways and bring
even more people to Central
Oregon. Though I was hope-
ful it would bring a much-
needed infusion of cash for
local businesses. I was wrong
on both accounts. The cars
didn’t come because the fires
and smoke beat them to it.
It turned out to be one of
the most memorable, spiritual
and epic experiences of my
life. Seeing it with family and
strangers who shared our awe
was beautiful too. Feeling the
cold wash over us as the skies
darkened and the eclipse was
fully in view is something
I will never forget. I finally
understood those people I’d
heard interviewed who chase
eclipses around the globe.
The closest I could come to
describing it was having the
eye of God peak through
the sky for a brief moment;
reminding us all what an
amazing world we are privi-
leged to call home.
Then the fires took center
stage. This is my last year
with Sisters Folk Festival and
I assumed my final working
festival. I envisioned how it
would go, and that I’d be able
to say good-bye to patrons
who I only see once a year.
But the smoke choked that
dream away, too. Instead,
it’s been a whirlwind of try-
ing to learn what it takes to
deal with a canceled event
and handle it the best way
possible.
With the cancellation our
brave, stalwart businesses
took another blow, leaving
them vulnerable and less
able to weather the winter
ahead. I have seen an uptick
in business in Sisters though;
I assume it’s because people
are trying to help their local
businesses survive. That’s so
wonderful to see.
Like many of us, I have
family impacted by many of
the natural disasters hitting
our country. Family in Florida
were evacuated but sustained
limited damage. After they
seemed to come out OK dur-
ing the hurricane, our family
in Houston had their home
flooded when a dam was
released.
Then came the fires in
Northern California. As
it unfolds. I follow social
media, emails, talk on the
phone and watch the news
to hear how my family and
friends in the area are doing.
So far everyone’s homes are
standing. In one case, only
because they chose to stay
and fight. I’m not condoning
that decision, but it seems to
have worked for them this
time. But it isn’t over yet and
I don’t know how everyone
will fare.
I grew up in the Bay Area
and have many friends there.
It’s hard to digest what I see.
Santa Rosa was the place
we went every year to show
our horses. Sonoma is where
my aunt and her family have
lived for 40 years. Suisun is
an area on the other side of
the Napa hills that has had
fires started from blustering
winds delivering a rain of ash
over miles of dry grasses and
green oaks. I grew up spend-
ing time riding in the hills of
Napa and Sonoma. I watched
the area become the wine
mecca it is today. So much of
it is gone.
As I was looking at
Facebook keeping up with
friends and family in the fire
zones, I saw something beau-
tiful. It gave me hope for a
better tomorrow. There were
hundreds of Californians
who had not been as badly
affected by the fire who were
writing posts. They were
offering a place to sleep, take
a shower and to leave home-
less animals. They were giv-
ing clothing, food, cooking
essentials, rooms to share and
many other gifts for anyone
who was in need.
It made me cry.
Maybe these terrible times
are our opportunity to turn
off the hatred, divisiveness
and polarization and choose
compassion? I fully believe
it’s also another terrible
wake-up call that we must all
take better care of our Earth
home. Disasters are dreadful,
but they’re also a chance for
human-kind to do good. For
those who have died in these
tragedies, it can be a way for
the living to share love in
their honor. Sometimes I lose
hope, but as long as I’m alive,
not enough to give up.
