4
Wednesday, June 10, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
In the
PINES
By T. Lee Brown
Mama is cry
In last week9s episode,
I shared the story of one
Friday in May several years
back. My husband headed
off on his bicycle to work;
our 19-month-old son and
I embarked on our weekly
routine of taking the city
bus to a certain diner. Along
the way, we encountered an
aggressive, aggravated guy
who willfully chucked a big
ol9 plank of wood on the side-
walk as we walked by, nearly
hitting us.
Instead of confront-
ing Plank Dude, I decided
to mentally give him an
<Aggro Pass.= Normally, I
should probably be ashamed
to admit, I was the kind of
person who leapt straight to
judgment and anger when
provoked. OK, maybe I still
am, sometimes 4 mostly
harmless, but often annoying,
like a chatty gray squirrel
with an Irish temper.
On that day, for some rea-
son, I felt acutely aware that
Plank Dude could be going
through grief, trauma, with-
drawal, or pain. I invented
the pass just for this occasion
4 an imaginary Get Out of
Jail Free card that would get
me safely past my anger into
something resembling com-
passion, and let the incident
go.
My son and I took the
bus to the diner, singing all
the way. The familiar servers
and hosts greeted us, always
delighted to interact with the
radiant, smiling child. We
ate our eggs and bacon and
scones, played with plastic
dinosaurs. Paid our bill.
Our weekly routine con-
tinued: I held him up to
touch the thrillingly spiky,
dangerous-looking posts of
the wrought-iron fence. Then
he gestured across the street
to the apartment building
with motorbikes out front.
<Motorcycle,= he announced
in his baby-toddler voice.
I glanced at my flip-phone
to check the time. We had
a good fifteen minutes to
kill before our bus came. I
noticed a voicemail was wait-
ing, too, but didn9t recognize
the number. Probably a sales
call.
We played in the thin May
leaves, leftover from winter,
that mounded around parked
cars on a quiet side street.
With the child thoroughly
occupied, I went ahead and
listened to the voicemail.
<Mrs. Berger, this is
_____,= a female voice
began. Like many a sales-
robot, they got my name
wrong. My husband was
Berger. When we married I
kept my maiden name.
<I9m calling from Oregon
Health Sciences University
hospital,= the voice continued.
This was not a sales call.
From this point on, I lis-
tened as though from a great
distance. Obviously some-
thing bad had happened. Why
would my husband be taken
across the river to big, fancy
OHSU instead of a hospital
close to our home or to his
office? The bad thing must
be really, really bad.
These thoughts sailed
overhead in bursts while I
slowed my breathing and
kept an eye on Gusty. Panic
must not take over.
I thought of recent dreams
I9d had, dreams in which my
husband lay in a hospital bed
in our bedroom, comatose,
while I measured the bath-
room to figure out whether
a wheelchair would fit. The
phone call seemed to be fol-
lowing some kind of etheric
script, a script my sleeping
mind had somehow got hold
of and begun to read in the
wrong order.
My husband, the woman
said, had been in a bicycle
accident and sustained a
severe traumatic brain injury.
He was in the brain trauma
ward in the intensive care
unit. I called the number pro-
vided; her voicemail picked
up. I left a message and
returned to the leaves.
Then I took our son in my
arms. Did I tell him Dada was
in the hospital? Did he notice
Mama was in shock? I don9t
remember. I know we walked
to the bus stop. I know we
ran back and forth beneath
the telephone pole archway
nearby, just like every Friday.
We settled down on the
bench next to an older man.
After exchanging the brief
hellos of bus stops, I told
him about the phone call I9d
just received. The old man
grunted.
<It happens,= he said.
The bus was late and
crowded. I stood in the aisle,
hanging onto a pole, hold-
ing my son9s hand. Near us
sat a woman around my age
with her 4-year-old child. A
motorized wheelchair with
many straps and gadgets held
him upright. His eyes seemed
kind and curious.
She said his name was
Angel. She said it with such
tenderness, I could see he
really was her angel, her light
from above.
We said goodbye to
Angel and his mother. My
son remembered to thank the
driver as we exited the bus.
We walked one block, and
then I sat down on the side-
walk. He sat down next to
me and twirled a leaf, very
concerned.
<Is Mama cry?= he asked.
Yes, Mama is cry.
I methodically called all
our car-owning friends who
lived nearby, asking for a
ride to the hospital. I left
four messages. Mama and
child walked home hand-
in-hand, avoiding the house
where a few hours previous
I9d mentally handed out the
Aggro Pass. After all, the guy
might9ve just lost his mother,
might be kicking a drug
habit& might9ve just gotten
a call from a hospital.
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City of Sisters
COVID-19
Situation Report
By Cory Misley
City Manager
Last Saturday, June 6,
Deschutes County was
approved by the state to
move into Phase 2 of re-
opening and will be in this
phase for a minimum of 21
days. Some key changes
include an increase to gath-
ering limits of 50 people
indoors 100 people outdoors,
up to 250 people in venues
with six-feet of physical dis-
tance and other measures in
place, restaurant and bar cur-
fews extended to midnight,
and increased travel will be
allowed throughout Oregon
although staying local is still
recommended.
Current state informa-
tion on re-opening can be
found at govstatus.egov.com/
or-covid-19.
The City of Sisters is still
providing some services in an
adjusted way. The Creekside
Campground opened in early
June and has been operat-
ing under a contingency
plan allowing only one-third
of campsites to be open (as
well as other measures). All
city playgrounds have been
closed and will likely remain
so under state restrictions in
Phase 2.
City operations and cus-
tomer service never ceased,
although City Hall has been
Learn more at www.ci.sisters.or.us
WE ARE
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and remains closed to the
public until Phase 3. City
Council and committee meet-
ings have resumed in person
for June, subject to social dis-
tancing and with the public
participating via conference
call (specific meeting infor-
mation available on the front
page of the City website).
For temporary policies the
City wants to extend beyond
its emergency declaration
(currently until June 24) it
must convert administrative
orders into Council resolu-
tions and has been preparing
to do so leading up to that
date.
One key administrative
order (enabled by the emer-
gency declaration) was the
right-of-way pilot Parklet
Program that has been imple-
mented by a handful of busi-
nesses. The feedback has
been very positive and it is
anticipated that this program
will continue for the rest
of this summer, subject to
refinements.
The City continues to
stay informed and active
with the phased re-opening.
Balancing health and the
economy has and continues
to be the focus. Resources
as well as updates from the
City of Sisters can be found
at ci.sisters.or.us/administra
tion/page/coronavirus-
information-and-resources.
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