Of a certain AGE Sue Stafford Columnist Reach out and stay connected To my way of think- ing, there are a multitude of good reasons for living in a small town, especially here in Sisters where neighbors help neighbors. Since taking a tempo- rary leave from my writing assignments for The Nugget, I have received kind offers of help and a lovely hand- written note from a Nugget reader whom I9ve never met, wishing me well. Friends and neighbors have been checking on me regularly. My neighbor, Jim, cleared my driveway and front walk after our last snow. I guess I just started my social dis- tancing a little early, for which I am thankful. Last Thursday, the spirit of caring here in Sisters came right to my front door. I have enjoyed a rewarding relationship with the Sisters Garden Club, initially as an active member the first few years after I moved here. More recently, I have been writing articles about their annual Quilts in the Garden tour held the Thursday of Quilt Show Week. The garden club has always been generous with their monetary support of various community pro- grams and organizations. Last week their generosity, totally unexpected, extended to me. Two of their mem- bers, Tim Toth and Ruth Palmer, brought me a beau- tiful white orchid plant with a colorful heart-shaped plate on which to set it and a gen- erous gift certificate to an online food delivery service. To top it off, Ruth and Tim raked up all the pine needles and cones in my front yard (and there were tons). The kindness and gener- osity of the Sisters Garden Club toward me, is an exam- ple of the way Sisters resi- dents pull together and offer support, not only in times of difficulty but year-round. Currently, we are all living through an unprec- edented health crisis that is impacting every facet of our lives. We each have the abil- ity to do something. Call and check on elderly or disabled neighbors. Offer to help out a family with children out of school or parents out of work. Run errands, deliver groceries, pick up prescrip- tions, leave a surprise like home-baked cookies or a bouquet of flowers on some- one9s doorstep. Drop a line to a friend. Let someone know you are thinking of them. We are all in this together. Whether or not you can leave your house, reach out and stay connected. Wednesday, March 25, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon 15 Running commentary: the forest soothes By Charlie Kanzig Correspondent As I watched my dogs Kinzua and Raven race up the red cinder 1008 road just north of Cold Springs Campground, I paused to take in my surroundings: mature, sun-splashed, yellow-bellied ponderosa pines towering over the manzanita covered forest floor, birds singing songs of spring, and a smell of thawing ground. If we9ve got to practice social distancing, our forest is the place to do it. We Sisters Country people understood long before the coronavirus that we live in a special place, but being able to walk in the woods rather than sheltering in place made me feel more grateful than I have felt in a long time. Simple pleasures. Getting outside is good for the body and soul, maybe now more than ever before. Thank goodness we can still bike, hike, run, climb. Given that until at least April 28 school as we know it will be off-limits, some of my friends in education are embrac- ing the chance to begin a six week (or more) training pro- gram to prepare for running races that will, hopefully, be available in late spring or early summer. I think we are all looking to find some order in our lives that have been turned upside down by this pandemic. Planning a training regiment is a good way to do that. Portraits OF SISTERS PHOTO BY CHARLIE KANZIG The forest is good for the soul. Spring races throughout Central Oregon are being called off or postponed. Sean Meissner, longtime director of the Peterson Ridge Rumble, pulled the plug on the race originally scheduled for April 26. Seventeen years of exis- tence has made the Rumble almost a rite of spring for distance runners and I know Sean is heavy-hearted to have to nix the event for 2020. We are social beings and runners love to gather. Even today as I soaked in the soli- tude of the forest I did feel a sense of loneliness for part of the time. The beauty of nature is enhanced when shared, so I imagined whether I could invite all my running friends to meet at the 1008 road, safely spaced apart, and do an out and back run in which we could at least simply wave or say a quick hello as we passed one another on the course. Since I don9t want to cre- ate a health hazard or get on the wrong side of the CDC, I won9t be