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Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, June 1, 2005
Years ago there were signs in restaurants that read, “Watch
Your Coat and Hat” because it wasn’t uncommon for your hat
or coat, or both, to get up and walk away from the coat-and-hat
rack on the person of someone who wasn’t you. Which reminds
me of the guy who claimed that he watched his coat and hat
while he ate, and when he finished, his shoes and socks were
gone.
All this talk about food also reminds me of a job I had years
ago in San Diego, working for a large catering company. I was
going to talk this week about clothing, and my problems with
color combinations and wearing clothes that should be thrown
away. But maybe that topic will hold whilst I discourse on one
of my episodes in food service.
The firm for which I slaved … er … worked, used a foreign-
made van to deliver food. It was, to put it mildly, underpowered.
Also, the engine was worn out. Once loaded with hundreds of
pounds of food in stainless steel containers, the rig was about
as speedy as a damp moth. Plus, it didn’t handle well. And
“No,” if you're wondering, it was not a VW.
One catering job was in Balboa Park, and the quickest way
to the site was up Laurel Street. As most anyone knows who
has been to San Diego, Laurel is the steepest street in the city.
We loaded the “truck,” a laughable term in this case, and
headed out. I knew we’d need a running start to make the hill,
but hit a red light at the base of Laurel. As it was still early in the
a.m., I backed up about half a block and took a running start.
Got about 30 feet up the first part of the steep portion, still
in first gear with my foot stomped on the gas pedal, and the
dang rig stopped. It simply could not maintain forward pro-
gress. I don’t recall what I said, but it probably wasn't nice.
Backed down and decided to try again. Waited about a block
away, watching the traffic light sequence, then gunned that
beast and got into second gear before hitting the base of the
steepness.
Unfortunately, the suspension at that speed did not jibe
well with the storm drain that stretched across the roadway.
The front of the van rose like “Shamu” on drugs until the rear
wheels crossed the drain, and then the van sort of shuddered
while the front bounced down. Hard.
Meanwhile, the food and I were having a tough time staying
in one place, as this was before safety belts. In an unfortunate
occurrence, two of the stainless steel containers bounced off a
shelf, hit some other stuff, and the lids popped off. It was not a
pretty picture. Had baked beans and potato salad all over the
bare, not-real-clean floor. I was a little fearful that the wave of
vittles would come forward and overpower me.
Adding to my chagrin, the van had been unable to keep
moving forward again; and now I was blocking one lane. Fortu-
nately a kindly cop held up traffic behind me so I could back
down, as I could not go forward to make a U-turn because of the
weak-sister rubber-band engine.
I did eventually make it to the catering site by going south
toward Downtown San Diego on Kettner Blvd., then onto a cou-
ple of side streets (not steep), and then up the main road, the
name of which I can’t recall right now, to the park.
Everyone seemed to enjoy their lunch. Although I did hear
a couple of comments about the unusual crunchiness in the
beans and potato salad.
Subscribe to the “I.V. News’ today! 592-2541
Illinois Valley News
An Independent Weekly Newspaper Co-owned and published by Robert R. (Bob) and
Jan Rodriguez - Bob Rodriguez, Editor El Jefe
Entered as second class matter June 11, 1937 at Post Office as Official Newspaper for
Josephine County and Josephine County Three Rivers School District, published at 321
S. Redwood Hwy., Cave Junction, OR 97523
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Post Office Box 1370 USPS 258-820
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Volume 68, No. 11
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‘Just the facts, folks’
From Carmen Burgess
Cave Junction
“What we are doing to the
forests of the world is but a
mirror reflection of what we
are doing to ourselves and to
one another.” (Mahatma Gan-
dhi)
“How fortunate for leaders
that
men
do
not
think.” (Adolph Hitler)
There is a battle brewing
in the forests of America; the
issue at hand being whether to
manage, mismanage, or not
manage our country’s pro-
tected resources. It seems that
no one can agree on the one
best answer, so the campaign
to conquer these pristine, an-
cient lands has become a free-
for-all brawl.
Will the special-interest
parties divvy up the booty,
while imposing criminal re-
strictions upon its rightful
owner? Or, will the People
wake up and defend their birth-
right, the one thing we all have
in common, and our national
treasure?
As Americans, we are free
to make personal moral
choices. Go ahead: love, or
hate your neighbor. However,
we are not, under any circum-
stance, permitted to covet or
steal our neighbor’s stuff, espe-
cially his earthly inheritance,
his Heaven on Terra. If we do,
we expect to pay strict penal-
ties, simply because this is a
Universal Law.
Perhaps the current sad
state of affairs is what Presi-
dent Theodore Roosevelt envi-
sioned while penning the fol-
lowing words:
“Defenders of the short-
sighted men, who in their greed
and selfishness will, if permit-
ted, rob our country of half its
charm by their reckless exter-
mination of all useful and
beautiful wild things some-
times seek to champion them
by saying that ‘the game be-
longs to the people.’ So it does;
and not merely to the people
now alive, but to the unborn
people.
“The ‘greatest good for
the greatest number’ applies to
the number within the womb of
time, compared to which those
now alive form but an insig-
nificant fraction. Our duty to
the whole, including the un-
born generations, bids us re-
strain an unprincipled present-
day minority from wasting the
heritage of these unborn gen-
erations.
“The movement for the
conservation of wildlife and the
larger movement for the con-
servation of all our natural re-
sources are essentially democ-
ratic in spirit, purpose, and
method.” (From “A Book-
Lover’s Holidays in the Open,”
1916).
It stand to reason then, that
I cannot take your portion of
our national forests, wilder-
ness, etc. And you cannot give
away your portion because you
are charged with protecting it
for the unborn; of which there
are potentially more than the
born.
In terms of the local battle
brewing on Fiddler Mt., part of
the Biscuit Timber Sale in the
Siskiyou National Forest, spe-
cifically in terms of whether to
salvage the burn in/near and
old-growth reserve, or protest
the logging thereof, let this
serve as a reminder that behind
the division, hate, blame, and
anger is a plethora of facts that
dispute the fiction, prejudice,
and negativism whose sole
purpose is to hide the truth.
All the while, the truth and
the one best answer lay hidden
awaiting discovery, if only we
do not delay. This should be a
wake-up call.
For example, are people
aware of the history behind the
preservation of our coveted
lands? In his 1913 autobiogra-
phy, Teddy Roosevelt gives us
a rare glimpse of the political
climate that spurred him to
fight for the protections laid
forth in his newly created For-
est Service (1905), headed by
Gilford Pinchot, its first chief.
“While the Agricultural
Appropriation Bill was passing
through the Senate, in 1907,
Sen. Fulton, of Oregon, se-
cured an amendment providing
that the President could not set
aside any additional National
Forests in the six Northwestern
States. This meant retaining
somesixteen million acres to be
exploited by land grabbers and
by the representatives of the
great special interests, at the
expense of the public interest.
“But for four years the
Forest Service had been gather-
ing field notes as to what for-
ests ought be set aside in the
States, and so was prepared to
act. It was equally undesirable
to veto the whole agricultural
bill, and to sign it with this
amendment effective.
“According, a plan to cre-
ate the necessary National For-
est in these States before the
Agricultural Bill could be
passed and signed was laid
before me by Mr. Pinchot. I
approved it. The necessary
papers were immediately pre-
pared. I signed the last procla-
mation a couple of days before
by my signature; the bill be-
came law; and when the
friends of the special interests
in the Senate got their amend-
ment through and woke up,
they discovered that sixteen
million acres of timberland had
been saved for the people by
putting them in National For-
ests before the land grabbers
could get at them.
“The opponents of the
Forest Service turned hand-
springs in their wrath; and dire
were their threats against the
Executive; but the threats could
not be carried out, and were
really only a tribute to the effi-
ciency of our action.”
Given this, it is reasonable
and plausible to infer that the
lands, originally set aside for
protection by any President,
cannot be removed, nor ma-
nipulated without the express
permission of the People. The
bottom line is that it is illegal,
as well as immoral, to make
choices for the People without
their consent.
If so, or if not, I hope that
people ponder this thought:
What legacy will they leave
their descendants when the owl
-- the symbol of death in
Northwest Coast Native
American legends -- calls their
name?
(Editor’s Note: A fee was
paid for the preceding letter).
Soccer team help
From Laurie Prouty
Cave Junction
The Illinois Valley High
School soccer team appreciates
all the people who helped its
members raise $760 in our last
raffle, donors and raffle ticket-
buyers alike.
We are at least half-way
toward purchasing new, port-
able goal posts so the team can
play on the new football field
at the school. Currently the
team plays at Evergreen Ele-
mentary.
Practices would continue
there, but games could be held
at the high school.
Wonderful prizes were
donated by Charlie Stoop, a set
of custom golf clubs; Kauff-
man Wood Products, a log-
framed mirror; Oregon Caves
Chateau, accommodations and
dinner for two; Kathi Pistone,
handcrafted cards; coach Gary
Enoch, a guided fishing trip;
Out ‘N’ About Treehouse Re-
sort, ropes course/zip line for
two; and Precision Glass,
windshield ding repair.
Donations still can be
made to the soccer team at the
high school.
Think you might be
Pregnant?
We can help.
Pregnancy Center of the Illinois Valley
offers FREE pregnancy
tests, support
and referrals.
You have
options!
592-6058
481 S. Junction Ave.
Courage is the ladder on which
all other virtues mount.
- Clare Booth Luce -