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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (June 10, 2020)
2 Wednesday, June 10, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon O P I N I O N COVID-19 and friendship By Rosemary Vasquez Guest Columnist PHOTO BY CEILI CORNELIUS Justin Veloso engaged in a solitary demonstration Wednesday. He was joined later by several Sisters youth and by the weekend, many in Sisters had taken up his efforts. Letters to the Editor… The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer9s name, address and phone number. Letters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not necessarily shared by the Editor. The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is 10 a.m. Monday. To the Editor: We went with masks to the Redmond Vigil, May 31. There might have been 100 of us, including children. The sun was set- ting. It began with statements by the organizer and then locals were encouraged to speak and some (whites mostly and a few of color) stepped up and took the sterilized megaphone. The evening was lovely, peaceful and yet emotionally charged by moving stories that were deeply heart wrenching. They had fami- lies that included members who are black and saw the misery of what their black children suffered that their white children did not. They were old enough to watch the live broadcast of the Rodney King beating in L.A. and were sick and tired of the killings by police happen- ing to other black men and women over and over again. Our black speakers shared their outright fear in these times and thanked whites for being with them this evening. Seniors to teens voiced their shock and anguish. One woman noted it was time for whites (as she was) to fig- ure it out and be willing to be uncomfortable. Two whites came from the event in Prineville to share they were frightened for their lives. MAGA hats came out (some were armed) to protest the vigil and they outnum- bered those honoring the death of George Floyd. We were taken aback; it CAN happen here. A preacher shared a prayer. After which, we were silent for eight minutes in solemn sadness for the loss of yet one more innocent being whose only crime was the color of his skin. Eight minutes is a long time to know you are being killed. Lastly, we chanted <BLACK LIVES MATTER= eight times and went home to try to figure out how to help people in our towns, states and nation to finally stop hating those who differ. It is so hard to fathom the reason for the hate because humans9 similarities are far greater in number than any one physical difference. On the up side, at least this vigil occurred. There is hope. Susan Cobb s s s To the Editor: Returning to Sisters on Sunday from our desert lockdown, we discovered a protest on the corner of Locust and Cascade in front of See LETTERS on page 23 Sisters Weather Forecast Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Monday Sunday Mostly Sunny AM Showers Showers Mostly Cloudy Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy 78/50 73/48 63/41 58/42 66/44 68/44 The Nugget Newspaper, LLC Website: www.nuggetnews.com 442 E. Main Ave., P.O. Box 698, Sisters, Oregon 97759 Tel: 541-549-9941 | Email: editor@nuggetnews.com Postmaster: Send address changes to The Nugget Newspaper, P.O. Box 698, Sisters, OR 97759. Third Class Postage Paid at Sisters, Oregon. Editor in Chief: Jim Cornelius Production Manager: Leith Easterling Creative Director: Jess Draper Community Marketing Partner: Vicki Curlett <I made extra spaghetti sauce, so here is a jar for you,= says my friend Melinda. <With COVID-19 I am spending more time at home and cooking as if I am Julia Child!= <I brought you Kung Pao chicken,= says another friend, Paula, when she arrives at my house for our noon day walk. <If you put it in the micro, it will kill any COVID germs.= She hands it to me with gloved hands. This sharing of food did not happen before COVID. According to an NIH study of 2009, <&acts of kind- ness flood the brain with dopamine, a chemical that creates a natural high.= A benefit spurred by COVID. We are trying to take care of each other. Now when I go to the grocery store, I ask my friends if they need anything to minimize the time they must spend inside a grocery store full of shoppers. With highlighted blonde hair, hazel eyes that change color like a chameleon, Maria is attractive, and energetic. Before COVID, we met monthly in a writ- ing group and, on occasion, socialized. With the arrival of COVID, the distance between us has shortened. She lives in Sage Meadow, and I in High Meadow, making it easy to see each other often, and we do. We have walked on the meadow between our homes, one in front of the other six feet apart. The one in the front yelling over her shoulder to the other. It is hard to hear with the six-foot distancing. At the top of the meadow there are two benches pro- viding a panoramic vista with a captivating view of the Cascades. We each brought a little backpack with wine and snacks, a pic- nic at sunset. Wine seems to have the capacity to strengthen bonds of friend- ship, kind of a superglue. We decided since we live alone and are in our 70s, it would be good to check in with each other each day. We text, <I9m OK. Are you OK?= We have time on our hands, so we talk about many things when we check in with each other by phone. We are more than writ- ing buddies now. We open ourselves to each other in a different way than we did before COVID. It is a deeper friendship. Pamela and I were con- nected through our politi- cal affiliation and volun- teer work. Yet, we are as different as the keys on a piano. She has fair skin, a winning smile, short blond hair, piercing blue eyes, and a willingness to help oth- ers 4 as in making masks for St. Charles and hiding the holes the moths made in my sweaters. I am the once- brown-haired, olive-skinned friend who does not sew. She is a very bright lady with computer skills that never fail to impress me. Her concern for the envi- ronment is foremost. Pre- Covid, she would say, <Let9s take my car. I get great mile- age.= Now if we venture to a trail out of town, we take separate cars. Before Covid, we sporadically walked together. Now, we meet Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at noon for an hour walk. She organizes a cou- ple of other friends to meet for coffee to support local businesses and to socialize. You can see us in town on a patch of grass across from Fika, in our lawn chairs, telling stories about our lives in the 1960s and 970s. Hours of walking and sharing champagne on our decks opens the door to family histories, relationship struggles, and career accom- plishments. COVID has given us time to nurture our relationships and to deepen the bonds of friendship. I am now closer friends with these extraordinary women. Like the support beams in a house, they have become my SP9s (support persons), and I am grateful. Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper. Classifieds & Circulation: Lisa May Owner: J. Louis Mullen The Nugget is mailed to residents within the Sisters School District; subscriptions are available outside delivery area. Third-class postage: one year, $55; six months (or less), $30. First-class postage: one year, $95; six months, $65. Published Weekly. ©2020 The Nugget Newspaper, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is pro- hibited. All advertising which appears in The Nugget is the property of The Nugget and may not be used without explicit permission. The Nugget Newspaper, LLC. assumes no liability or responsibility for information contained in advertisements, articles, stories, lists, calendar etc. within this publication. All submissions to The Nugget Newspaper will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyrighting purposes and subject to The Nugget Newspaper9s unrestricted right to edit and comment editorially, that all rights are currently available, and that the material in no way infringes upon the rights of any person. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return or safety of artwork, photos, or manuscripts. Have a story idea for The Nugget? Send an email to editor@nuggetnews.com