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Wednesday, April 22, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Commentary...
Together, we can do this!
By Katy Yoder
Columnist
Sitting at our dining room
table with two happy but
confused pups looking at us
lovingly, I9m feeling grateful
for having a home and family
to help move through these
strange times. Like so many
folks, business is waning and
opportunities for freelance
work is disappearing faster
than toilet paper at Costco.
I have my work-music
playing: instrumental folk
with gentle guitar played by
artists like Brooks Williams
and Adam Rafferty. The
calming cords soothe my
nerves as I listen and watch
news revealing the escalation
of the coronavirus. My hus-
band, Gary, recently joked
that I9m becoming a real
<Debbie Downer.= I can9t
help going to worst-case sce-
narios and possibilities of
food shortages, roving bands
of desperate people and the
loss of Internet& now that
would really mess with peo-
ple9s ability to cope!
I can9t stop running
through possible disasters
like no more food, fuel or
toilet paper. What would that
really mean for us? There are
no fancy toilets in our house
that shoot warm water on
your bum to wash away the
last porcelain deposit. We
didn9t stockpile a six-foot-
high wall of TP and if this
situation goes on for months,
we9ll be wishing the mulleins
were already grown and those
soft, green leaves were ready
to be harvested and used for
all kinds of personal hygiene.
Then there9s the fact that
we9ve chosen a plant-based
diet. The bunnies that live
free around our barnyard and
have created dens beneath
our barn are safe except for
the red-tailed hawks, badgers
and coyotes that come in for
a quick lunch. I should have
bought a 50-lb. bag of beans
A L S
MET
rtist
B y A
e
n Le
Brya
n
B ro w
and more rice. The beans
might make for some enter-
taining, albeit nose assaulting
humor as we digest and settle
into this new way of living.
My mom is celebrating
her 87th birthday. I9ll bake
a chocolate cake and order
takeout from Open Door9s
vegan dinner option. Our trip
to California to be with her
two siblings was canceled so
we9ll celebrate virtually with
family. We9re doing all we
can to keep her well and safe
from the virus. We9re taking
walks down our wide rural
road, chatting with neighbors
as we keep our distance. It9s
all so surreal. It feels like a
movie or a show on Netflix
that9s too far-fetched to be
anything more than a fantasy.
But here we are. I9m feeling
the distance of our daughter
200 miles away and other
family members who are hun-
kered down in their homes.
Everyone9s dealing with
their own version of the hard-
ships the pandemic is bring-
ing. Loss of income, sleep
and security and feelings of
anxiety and loneliness are
making us all more sensitive.
Keeping hopeful isn9t always
easy with emotions ready to
bubble up. During the White
House briefing, a Ford com-
mercial letting people know
they would be postpon-
ing car loans, made me cry.
Emotions are heightened and
burst easily, causing tension
and a wariness about what9s
going to happen next.
I9m angry, afraid, hope-
ful, confused, skeptical and
concerned about those I love
and share this planet with.
The world is very small, very
fragile and feels even more
dangerous. I9m trying to bal-
ance allowing myself to voice
my fears but not let them
pull me into a spiral I can9t
escape. Talking with family
and friends helps. I can feel
the love in their voices and
know there are people out
there who care about me.
Then there9s my spiritual
connection. I know there is
divine support ready to be
tapped and integrated into
my thinking. I have faith
and know it can bolster me
when I9m down. I know that
regardless of my personal
outcome, I will know peace
when my time comes to leave
this beautiful, blessed life and
planet. Seeing people suf-
fer and struggle is painful to
watch. Dark humor is releas-
ing some of the tension, but it
also reveals our deepest fears.
My husband is keeping
me above water and had a
great idea to look forward
to& If we have any money
left, we9re going to invest in
companies that manufacture
those toilets that spray away
any need for toilet paper.
Wonder why we didn9t think
about that sooner!
For now, our keyboards
are tapping as we work on
projects and deals. There are
still a few people willing to
buy houses and hire me to
write articles about people
and places that inspire. When
that9s finished, I9ll tap into
my creative side and let my
imagination out for a quick
exercise run. It9s the best way
to keep my over-active mind
under control as we wait for
the next news report from
stalwart journalists broad-
casting from their living
rooms and basements.
It9s a weird reality.
Stranger than fiction. But
we9re living it together, and
as Jake Shimabukuro pas-
sionately plays his ukulele
in the background, I know
someday this9ll be a story
we9ll tell our grandchildren
and great-grandchildren. I
want to make sure my story
is one I9m proud to share. A
story that reveals our nation9s
resiliency, love for each
other and ability to overcome
incredible hardship.
We will do this!
Bank will move to
new site in Sisters
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
MidOregon Credit Union
is preparing for a move across
town to a site between N.
Arrowleaf Trail and Highway
20, across from the Ray9s
Food Place parking lot.
The Planning Commission,
with a vote of 5-2, approved
a review of MidOregon9s
site plan and conditional use
request for a 3,206-square-
foot building with a drive-
through and supporting infra-
structure, as well as a shared
23-space parking lot.
The property is 0.78
of an acre and is currently
vacant. The site and sur-
rounding properties to the
west, east, and south are all
zoned Highway Commercial
and contain a mix of uses
including Ray9s, McDonald9s
restaurant, St. Charles medi-
cal office, and Mainline
Station. To the northeast
across Highway 20 is the Best
Western Ponderosa Lodge.
The commissioners9 main
areas of discussion centered
around safety and function of
the drive-through and whether
the proposed rendering of the
building adhered strongly
enough to the required 18809s
Western theme.
The City staff had recom-
mended approval, with con-
ditions, of the requested site
plan and conditional use pro-
posal, saying it satisfies the
approval criteria. Five of the
commissioners agreed; two
thought the proposed exterior
design was too contemporary.
See MIDOREGON on page 11
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