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Wednesday, April 1, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
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Time to get into other
people’s business
By Kema Clark
Guest Columnist
STAY HOME. SAVE LIVES.
#CentralOregonCares
Letters to the Editor…
The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer9s name, address and
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To the Editor:
A message to the citizens of Sisters 4
STAY HOME!
Yesterday (Saturday, March 28) I was
appalled to see literally 75 to 100 people
walking around the downtown core visiting
restaurants and shops! Just because it seems
that the virus has NOT reached our small
community yet does not mean that it can9t or
won9t. Because if it does it will rip through
our tiny and much-loved hamlet leaving a
wake of dead elderly and very sick adults.
The anger I felt driving through town on
my way to pick up some essentials from the
Bi-Mart was palpable! I have been locked up
in my house for seven days with my fiancée
and two kids and it has been far from easy.
However I do this, not to protect myself, but
to protect the elderly or immune compromised
that live here in <our= Sisters. To see these
flocks of people out walking around in arms
length of each other just literally blew my
mind. The false sense of security is shameless
and we need to do something to change this.
If the virus takes hold here it will rip
through our largely elderly community with
impunity and we will be virtually helpless to
stop it. The ONLY way to stop it is to take
away that which it feeds on. And that is peo-
ple! If there are no people in town and people
are ONLY going out for groceries or medical
then we can HUGELY REDUCE the chances
of this virus making its way here.
I am a 47-year-old healthy male who cares
about this town and this community but it
seems there are many who do not and that
angers me greatly. Now that being said many
of these people may not be from here and may
be people who are driving through town. Well
this is what SCARES me the most.
Somehow, some way we need to get the
message out that people need to stay inside.
See LETTERS on page 15
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Who knew we would
get to the point that it9s a
good thing to be the irri-
tating person who gets in
other people9s business?
Well, we9re there. Even
though you may have been
a private, mind-your-own-
business kind of person for
your entire life, it9s time to
change.
Let9s start with sons
and daughters getting in
their parents9 business. You
probably hated when your
parents stuck their noses
in your life and business
when you knew you were
grown and had a brain.
You wanted them to stay
out of things that you felt
didn9t concern them. You
also tended to stay out of
their business because you
knew how irritating it was
on your side.
You were probably
right. Most of the time. But
today, in this time of crisis,
you9re wrong. You need to
at least text or call your par-
ents daily. A text takes the
least time and effort, but it
will be worth a lot to your
parents. It9s very lonely and
quiet when older people
can9t go about their usual
routine, do the volunteering
they used to do and go to
the grocery store or library
and browse for a while.
Older people think about
<suppose I get this virus
and can9t call anyone and
no one checks on me and
I9m in my house sick for
two days before anyone
even knows?= That makes
older people even more
depressed than they already
are at being cooped up.
Be the son or daughter
that does the right thing and
check with your parents
every day. Do the same
for aunts, uncles, cousins,
friends, etc. Make a daily
list and send a text each
morning 4 you can copy
and paste the text to save
some time. Everyone on
your list will know some-
one cares.
OK. Now to the older
people out there. Don9t
be that person who just
sits around and watches
the news all day. First off,
watching the news all day
can make you crazier that
you already feel. Especially
if you only watch one sta-
tion all day. Try different
channels to get a different
perspective.
But, the best idea is to
not watch the news all day.
Check in maybe at lunch
and dinner, but during the
rest of the day watch a
<how-to= show, watch a
few <Too Cute= episodes on
the Animal Planet, watch
the replays of good base-
ball, football and basket-
ball games. Nat Geo Wild
is great. Forensic Files is
very interesting, but don9t
watch too much or you9ll
get really paranoid. Read
a book. Work a crossword
or sudoku puzzle from The
Nugget.
Put the television on
mute and turn on some
music 4 radio, CDs,
Alexa, whatever you have.
Play the music that makes
you want to get up and
dance. Then get up and
dance. If you can9t get up
and dance due to physical
problems, turn the music on
anyway and tap your finger
or bob your head and sing
along. It9s all good and will
make you feel a lot better.
Lastly, don9t think just
because you9re the older
person, you don9t need to
check on people. Make a
list to text or call each day,
just like I described earlier
for the younger generation.
People need to know that
others are thinking about
them.
You don9t want to be
that neighbor or friend or
relative who thinks your
feelings are all that matter.
When you put yourself in
other people9s shoes and try
to lighten their load, you9ll
also lighten your own load.
Love, hugs and positive
thoughts to everyone out
there.
Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and
are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.