FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2016
4 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
Opinion
— Editorial —
The
Christmas
gift list
We saw someone post on social
media the other day that each year
their Christmas list gets shorter, be-
cause the older one gets, the things
wanted simply can’t be bought.
That’s exactly how we feel—
more so this year than ever.
Thinking back to childhood,
opening Christmas gifts under the
tree, trying desperately to go to
sleep so that Santa Claus would
come, eating dinner and sorting
out a pile of newly acquired loot—
those were magical times. We get
to relive them through our own
children.
But what happens to us as we
mature? Hopefully our thoughts
develop and turn more toward the
reason for the holiday, and with
that reason our spirits start to make
new lists that don’t include things
that can be wrapped up in neat
little boxes.
With that, our wishes are pared
down to the things no one should
be without—love, health, joy ...
Let’s face it—if you’re an adult
and your Christmas revolves
around sinking yourself into debt
to buy gifts for other adults, or you
demand that friends and family
members put themselves into debt
for your gifts, you’re missing the
point probably not just of the holi-
day, but of life in general.
If you have those most precious
to you around you for Christmas,
and you’re able to make memories
together, be grateful. Many of us
will never have the chance. Think
of those who serve overseas in our
military this winter, and those sep-
arated for a million other reasons.
So go bake the cookies together.
Dance beneath the Christmas tree
lights. Kiss under the mistletoe and
watch those cheesy holiday movies
snuggled up together.
Then say a few prayers. Take a
few photos. And what the heck—
make a Christmas wish no matter
how old you are.
—The Baker County Press Editorial Board
— Letters to the Editor —
Monument would hurt Oregon’s
ag industry
To the Editor:
Malheur County plays an important role
in Oregon’s agriculture economy. Mal-
heur County is fourth among Oregon’s 36
counties in farm and ranch sales and it is
No. 1 in cattle production with more than
$130 million in annual sales.
But this industry is at risk right now.
Special interest groups, the Oregon
Natural Desert Association and KEEN
Footwear are lobbying President Obama
to create a 2.5 million acre national monu-
ment in Eastern Oregon. The monument
would dramatically restrict access in the
region, and it would destroy the county’s
ranching industry and the livlihoods of
30,000 people.
If President Obama declares an Eastern
Oregon monument, it will happen in the
next seven weeks before he leaves office
on Jan. 20.
We need your voice today.
Support rural Oregon today by sending
a letter to Oregon’s Democratic leaders.
If you have the capacity, please consider
a donation to support the campaign in its
final weeks.
Jerome Rosa
Executive Director
Oregon Cattlemen’s Association
We’re in the danger zone
To the Editor:
All along, we’ve known that this is the
danger zone.
If President Obama is going to declare a
national monument in Eastern Oregon, it’s
most likely to happen in the three months
between Election Day and Inauguration
Day. That’s what happened with President
Bill Clinton when he created or expanded
eight national monuments in his final
month in office in January 2001.
President Obama has created 24 national
monuments and set aside more land and
water than any president in U.S. history.
The other side, led by the Oregon Natural
Desert Association and KEEN Footwear,
is keeping the pressure on. With the elec-
tion over, the threat of a monument in
Eastern Oregon has never been bigger.
We have just 10 weeks left to make our
case.
There are three ways you can stand with
rural Oregon:
1. Share our message — “No Monument
Without a Vote of Congress”— with your
friends and family by email or on Face-
book. Check out our Facebook page for
posts you can share.
2. Send letters to Oregon’s Democratic
leaders on our website at OurLandOur-
Voice.com. We’ve already had more than
8,000 advocates send more than 5,000
messages.
3. Make a donation. If you’ve already
contributed, thank you. If you have the
capacity to give again or if you haven’t
donated, you can do it today. Even a $5
donation helps.
Thank you again for your continued
support for our families and rural Oregon
during the last few weeks of this adminis-
tration.
Steve Russell
Chairman
Owyhee Basin Stewardship Coalition
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Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown
So I was
thinking ...
The lives of
messy people
and clean
freaks
By Jimmy Ingram
Special to The Baker County Press
Mess-maker or a neat freak?
While most people think of them-
selves as fitting directly between
these two polar opposites, the truth
is most of us are closer to one than
the other. Life is a balancing act and
neither of these personality types
will ever understand the other . . .
Messy people: Everyone knows a
messy person.
The person whose car has never
been cleaned, whose type of bed-
room flooring is still a mystery (it’s
under there somewhere), and whose
bathroom is a level 1 biohazard.
They are gamblers at heart.
Is that shirt on the floor clean or
dirty? Are matching socks really
that important for a job interview?
Is there enough spare change on the
floorboard of the car to buy lunch?
They don’t know and probably
don’t care.
Their type B personality leads
them through life in a relaxed,
stress-free manner, showing little
concern for things like navigable
hallways, counter space or germs.
Life is made more interesting with
daily treasure hunts for things like
clean silverware or car keys. And of
course the calling card of the mess-
maker is the ability to “chill.”
They are able to brush the worries
of the world aside along with six
days’ worth of dirty dishes, empty
pizza boxes, and aluminum cans.
In their world stains add character,
as the person may point out a stains
resemblance to a geometric shape
or the Virgin Mary.
Did you happen to miss that ar-
ticle in the paper from last July?
No worries, Mr. Messy prob-
ably still has that paper, along with
300+ others piled somewhere in the
garage.
Getting thirsty on that long drive?
No problem, just reach to the back
seat floorboard of their car and
you’ll find 13 almost-empty water
bottles, which will provide you with
a cumulative 16 ounces of refresh-
ing, aged to perfection H20.
While messy folks drive neat
people crazy, they feel perfectly
comfortable in their own skin.
They’ve learned to adapt to dis-
order with philosophies like “that’s
good enough for now” and “I’m
sure I have it somewhere.”
Plus they are given the benefit of
good intentions when they offer to
loan you something it turns out they
can’t find. It was nice of them to at
least offer, after all. They once tried
to arrange something but it was just
too high of a mountain to climb.
503.378.3111
Submitted Photo
Jimmy Ingram is a local farmer and
father of two who enjoys people
watching within our wonderful
community and beyond.
That’s okay. Messy or not, we
still like them.
Neat Freaks: These are the order
keepers. The systematically ar-
ranging, label-making, vacuum-
wielding, borderline-OCD self-pro-
claimed super heroes of the world.
The floors of their home and
automobile are clean enough to eat
from—except food isn’t allowed
near any of those areas.
Cleaning supplies for every
surface imaginable are kept neatly
arranged in cabinets like soldiers
awaiting battle. Their high-powered
Commando 8 industrial strength
vacuum is kept on standby at all
times.
Household items are arranged by
purpose, date, color, maybe even
shape in the neat freak’s home. You
will be asked to remove your shoes
when entering the home, but to be
safe you should always leave them
outside, or maybe even on the lawn.
Thirsty? Go ahead and grab a
soda from the neat freak’s fridge
but be sure and follow their refresh-
ment requirements: Soft drinks
shall be opened over the sink and
the can will be rinsed thoroughly
and placed in the recycling bin open
side up when finished.
No, they won’t actually ask you
to do this but the look on their face
when you ask for something to
drink says it all. The life of a neat
freak is difficult. Guests in their
house or vehicle are risk-assessed
beforehand.
Dirty clothes, muddy shoes, or
anything not spill-proof will likely
deny you entrance into one of their
secure areas. Sure, if you acciden-
tally you spill your glass of wine on
their carpet they’ll shrug it off and
say “no big deal” but deep down
inside they will be on the verge of a
nervous breakdown.
Neat freaks like to think of them-
selves as just like everyone else
but their friends and families know
different.
Respect their cleanliness and
they will respect you. Violate their
order, and you’ll only be invited to
outdoor events at their home. If it
comes to this be sure and remind
them they have a few dandelions
in their lawn just to watch them
squirm.
It’s likely we all know someone
who fits into one of these catego-
ries.
Maybe you’ve lived with one,
are married to one, or even are one
yourself.
Most people who know me know
which category I fall into.
Could be one reason why I enjoy
hosting outdoor barbecues.
Governor.Oregon.gov
State Rep. Cliff Bentz
503.986.1460
State Sen. Ted Ferrioli
541.490.6528
Baker County
Commissioners Bill Harvey;
Mark Bennett; Tim Kerns
541.523.8200
Copyright © 2014 -2016
— Special Column —
541.523.8201
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