FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2017
4 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
Opinion
— Special Column —
— Guest Opinion —
This is why
we stand
So I was
thinking ...
By Wyn Lohner
Special to The Baker County Press
About
Thanksgiving
By Jimmy Ingram
Special to The Baker County Press
The fourth Thursday in November
is a special time for most Americans.
A time to catch up with family and
friends and reflect on the things we
have to be thankful for.
Each year, it marks the beginning
of the holiday season, and the end
of civilized retail shopping. Being
able to gather around a table filled
with food with our loved ones is a
luxury we need to appreciate. But
that doesn’t mean that sometimes the
predictability of our family doesn’t
drive us nuts.
The phone addict. You’ve chosen
to spend quality time with your
loved ones doing what you do most
of the time: staring at your phone.
We love you and would like to
interact but apparently that can only
be done via text message, Facebook
messenger, Snapchat, or one of the
many social media outlets you refuse
to give up for two hours.
We haven’t seen you in a year so
asking, “Does anyone have a cell
phone charger?” seems like an odd
initial greeting. It’s nice to see you
too. Just please don’t send a group
text asking to “pass the turkey” or
someone at the dinner table may just
choose to submerge your phone in
gravy.
Grandpa’s sweater. If that
sweater looks familiar here’s why:
its same one grandpa wore last year,
the year before, and the year before
that. It has seen every presidential
administration since Gerald Ford.
It was in style in 1975, out of style
in 1985, and in 2017 could win an
award at an ugly sweater party.
It’s also a dry-clean-only garment,
which means the stain from the 1993
“gravy incident” remains. Grandpa
likes to brag that the sweater was
purchased from Bohn’s years ago for
$16 (which he reminds you would
be like $80 today).
I would say he got his money’s
worth.
Your aunt’s perfume. The smells
of Thanksgiving are unmistakable:
turkey, stuffing, fresh baked bread,
pies in the oven—and perfume.
Heavy, heavy perfume. The kind of
heaviness that leaves a purple haze
in the air and makes your eyes water.
I’m sure in small doses it smells
lovely. But your great aunt doesn’t
apply her perfume in small doses.
In fact, the cloud that fills the
room makes everyone wonder if it
was somehow applied from a fire
hose. And though hugs from your
aunt are always nice, the pungent
flowery residue will be enough to
permeate your clothes, every linen in
your house and even make its way to
your dog after you pet it.
Your cousin’s politics. Your
cousin never seems to resist turning
things political at the dinner table.
Even a benign subject like din-
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Submitted Photo
Jimmy Ingram is a local farmer and
father of two who enjoys people
watching within our wonderful
community and beyond.
ner rolls somehow reminds him of
what’s wrong with this country.
The pleasant sounds of chattering
silverware and laughter will soon be
interrupted by a speech beginning
with the phrase, “You know what
the problem is?” and end with him
mumbling, “But what do I know?”
sarcastically under his breath.
Your cousin makes some good
points.
He also makes some ridiculous
statements. Unfortunately for you
the only other subject your cousin
likes to discuss is football and his
team stinks this year so that subject
best not be broached either.
Your only real hope to calm him
down is that he becomes so nauseous
from your aunt’s perfume that he’s
rendered speechless.
The Black Friday prepper. At
some stage many years ago you
underwent a transformation from
relaxed family member to some sort
of bargain shopping superhero gone
mad.
Your inquiry into things like work
or school in the past have morphed
into statements like, “Did you know
Wal-Mart has 70” flatscreen TVs for
$350 at midnight!?” with a crazy
look in your eye.
While other members of the family
are conversing, you are like a war
general stationed at a nearby coun-
tertop with blueprints planning out
the logistics of tomorrows shopping
mission.
The only thing more odd than your
obsession with retail bargains is the
fact that you’ve managed to incor-
porate the word “training” when
describing your shopping prepared-
ness.
Can I just give you my Christmas
shopping list? Something tells me
you could have it filled in less than
seven minutes.
Mom’s effort. No one can fault
women on thanksgiving. They often
work tirelessly so the men can watch
bad football games and ask “when
are we going to eat.” Going over the
top to make the meal special for ev-
eryone is what mothers are good at.
But to all the hard working women
there, please remember: it doesn’t
have to be perfect. The gravy had a
lump? So what. The pie doesn’t look
as good as last year? Big deal. Short
one napkin at the table? So. We all
appreciate the effort that moms put
into holiday meals. Now please
relax, have a glass of wine, and
demand that the men do the dishes.
It’s only fair.
I hope each and every one of you
out there have a wonderful Thanks-
giving and are surrounded by the
people you love.
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It has been almost three years
now since five St. Louis Rams
football players entered their sta-
dium in uniform, with their hands
up, in a show of protest for the
police officer involved shooting of
Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mis-
souri.
Since that time we have watched
football players from around the
country disrespect the American
Flag, our veterans and our police
officers.
The unwillingness of the NFL to
step in and correct this behavior
that is occurring while these play-
ers are “at work” is, in my opinion,
unconscionable.
The only professional football
game I have watched since the
hands up incident was last year’s
Super Bowl—and that was only
for the opportunity to hopefully see
Peyton Manning go out on top.
For someone who grew up
watching football and looking
forward to seeing the start of the
season each fall, it has been diffi-
cult to avoid watching games.
However, I will continue to
boycott football until the league
decides to hold their players ac-
countable.
The degeneration of major sports
and the lack of role modeling,
which used to be expected, have
all but pushed me away from all
professional sports.
But then this year during the
World Series my faith was partially
restored. I now believe that at least
some of these sports, and the or-
ganizations operating within them,
actually care about what they stand
for and how they are perceived in
our country.
Kerry McQuisten / The Baker County Press
Wyn Lohner serves as Police Chief
for Baker City; however, this opinion
piece is submitted in his individual,
not professional, capacity.
I watched as families filled the
stadiums in Houston and Los An-
geles to watch their teams play.
I also watched as those organiza-
tions made a bold statement, bring-
ing in police officers on several
nights to sing the National Anthem.
I didn’t see a single player kneel as
they all stood in unison with their
fans.
Then this past week I got caught
up watching recordings of the
World Finals of the Professional
Bull Riders’ (PBR) Association.
Similar to Major League Base-
ball, the PBR had everyone stand-
ing for the National Anthem and
during their tributes to the military,
law enforcement and other first
responders.
Prior to one of the event rounds,
the PBR showed a video that left
some riders and many fans with
tears in their eyes.
The video, which is a tribute to
first responders and military per-
sonnel who have lost their lives in
the line of duty, can found at this
link: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=oQs8khhWsro
The final words in the video,
which I hope will echo through the
sporting world, simply state: “They
are why we stand.”
— Letters to the Editor —
Public comments requested
To the Editor:
The Blue Mountain Translator District is
reviewing proposed board policies related
to the collection of service charges for
properties outside the District. Currently,
the District directly executes state law
related to the collection of these poli-
cies, but the law, ORS 354.690, does not
specify details for implementation. ORS
354.690 simply requires that the District
“prepare a verified report” noting that
a physical inspection of a property led
to reasonable grounds to believe that a
property can receive television signals
before sending a service charge letter to a
property owner by mail to verify whether
signals are used. The District has no obli-
gation under ORS 354.690 to provide the
date of the inspection, explain the reason-
able grounds for sending a service charge
letter, or conduct these inspections on a
regular basis. Proposed policies may be
viewed at http://bmtd.org/wp-content/
uploads/2017/11/Proposed-Board-Poli-
cies-Regarding-Service-Charge-Fees-for-
Property-Entirely-Surrounded-by-the-
District-.pdf . Please contact the District at
541-963-0196 or bmtd.org@gmail.com to
provide comment.
Alex McHaddad, Secretary/Treasurer
Blue Mountain Translator District
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