Tuesday, November 22, 2022 A7
REDMOND SPOKESMAN
Write to us: news@redmondspokesman.com
GUEST COLUMN
ANTISOCIAL MEDIA
Inside the
teenage mind
A
s a kid, I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I
grew up: A veterinarian.
Now that I’m older — 17 years
old, almost 18 — I’ve decided that’s not
for me. I still love animals, but I learned
veterinarians don’t just get to hold cuddly
kittens. They have to deal with things like
blood, manure and messy surgeries. Gross!
So my desire to be a veterinarian went out
Rogers
the window fast.
But I have been writing my own stories
ever since I was little, and I’ve always been creative and ar-
tistic. As I’ve gotten older, writing and character creation
has become my passion. Now, I feel the need for a career
that will let me express this passion and share it with peo-
ple.
I’m still unsure about what exactly it is that I want to do.
I know it’s something creative, like working in movies as a
scriptwriter, someone who makes characters, does makeup,
or even a journalist and a freelance creative writer. I think
I might like to attend some sort of cosmetology school, or
attend classes that will better sharpen my writing skills so
that I can maybe pursue scriptwriting for movies.
I dislike school and homework, but I’m very good at it
and I get good grades. I love to have freedom and fun. I’m a
very social person with my friends and love going out and
spending time with them. I also love spending time with
my family and parents, who are very important to me.
As I think about my future, college may help me reach
some of my goals. But there are so many avenues avail-
able and things that interest me that it is difficult to decide
where to go and what to study. It is wonderful that we have
so many options, but at the same time it is scary. Society
puts a lot of pressure on teenagers to make these decisions
and this can cause major stress.
The decision of what college to attend has actually been
quite easy for me.
My parents and I have always loved St. George, Utah, and
would love to move there. Ever since my parents and I vis-
ited for a fun trip years ago, we all fell in love with the area.
It’s beautiful and warm and has so much to do and — a ma-
jor plus — it’s close to Las Vegas.
Another bonus is that St. George is home to Utah Tech, a
college I would love to attend. Another great thing is a few
close friends of mine live just a few hours away from there.
My parents would also like to retire to St. George, which
would be amazing for me because it’s important that they’re
near me. The thought of them retiring there has helped me
make my decision.
Figuring out my future and also moving away from my
friends is something that is weighing heavy on my mind,
but at the same time I want to move and am excited to see
new things. It has created a lot of mixed feelings.
Sometimes the world can make teenagers feel pressured
into figuring out what we want to do, and that we have to
figure it out as soon as we graduate high school. It puts a lot
of pressure on those who don’t know what they want to do,
or if they even want to go to college.
This is something that is pushed onto teenagers so much.
It’s always questions like “What do you wanna be when you
grow up?” or “What college are you going to?”
I know for me there have been times where I have been
stressed out trying to figure out my career path. And at the
moment, I don’t know if I want to go to college — just be-
cause I dislike homework and I would like to be done with
that once I graduate high school. Homework is extremely
boring and I would rather be doing other things. And that’s
okay, not everyone has to go to college. It’s not for every-
one, and some don’t need it, depending on their career
choice.
Choosing a college can be hard. You have to make sure
it’s in the area you want to be and that it has what you want.
Not only that, but the fear of sharing a dorm with com-
plete strangers is a big consideration. I don’t know what
they’ll be like, if I’ll like them or if we’ll get along. There’s
so much more to think about. I also have to worry about
transportation, money and food. My dad has told me many
times that Top Ramen, cheap pizza and macaroni and
cheese are things that college kids eat a lot. Not that I mind
that — I love those foods.
But I’m a very unsocial person at times and can be very
scared of new people, so this adds on to the fear of attend-
ing a college. There will be so many people there that I
won’t know!
I do know one thing for sure. I want to have fun and
grow even more and see the world. I want new things to
do, see, try and experience in my life. As scared as I am of
becoming an adult, I am also so excited to accept the chal-
lenges that will come my way.
█
— Nicole Rogers is a high school senior preparing to attend college in 2023.
She has been interning at the Redmond Spokesman four hours a week.
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GUEST COLUMN
Remembering radio host
James ‘Jimbo’ Bohannon
A
great voice is stilled.
James “Jimbo” Bo-
hannon died of can-
cer of the esophagus on Nov.
12. Only weeks earlier, he had
to resign from his “Jim Bo-
hannon Show,” the overnight
broadcast that aired on 500
radio stations, largely AM,
weeknights from 11 p.m. to
2 a.m. ET.
Jim was a
big man with
a big voice,
a big curios-
ity and a big
heart. Over
most of the
King
29 years that
his show was
on the air, I had the pleasure of
being a guest from time to time.
At first, my wife, Linda Gas-
parello — a writer, broadcaster
and an occasional guest on the
show — and I would journey to
a studio in suburban northern
Virginia — the building always
looked forbidding in the dark
of night. Later, the show moved
to the CBS studios on M Street
in Washington. But in recent
years, Bohannon broadcast
from his home in Westminster,
S.C.
As with most of us in the
trade, I believe “in studio”
trumps virtual. But one of the
pleasures of radio is that it is
portable and can be done with
a phone anywhere. Before Jim
took over the show, it was the
springboard for Larry King,
who once interviewed me in a
bedroom in the Algonquin Ho-
tel in New York. That was odd,
but I was used to guesting on
the radio from odd spots, like
sitting in a parked car in a hotel
lot overlooking the River Moy
in Ballina, Ireland.
Jim’s show was a mixture of
guests, whom he interviewed
with genuine curiosity and gruff
respect for views other than his
own, and call-ins. He also was
kind. I asked him to interview
a friend, Ryan Prior, who was
establishing a charity to sup-
port Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
research and medical educa-
tion. Bohannon asked informed
and perceptive questions and
elicited an interesting hour of
broadcasting with his skill as an
interviewer.
He was less indulgent of crazy
folks. If you do call-in radio, you
get crazies. When their rants
began, Jim simply cut them off.
No apology, but no indulgence
either. Some were regulars and
went to lengths to circumvent
the security provisions of West-
wood One, the show’s syndi-
cator.
One technique was to use
a different phone for each at-
tempt, say a wife’s or a neigh-
bor’s phone. I once said,
“George, in St. Louis, did you
take your medicine today?” Jim
chuckled, but I doubt he would
have addressed a caller that way.
Jim had a superficial toughness
— he was a Vietnam veteran —
but his kindness always broke
through.
Unlike many in the star busi-
ness, Jim didn’t yearn, that I
could discern, to emulate his
predecessor, Larry King, be-
coming a television star. Like
many, if not most, broadcasters,
he loved radio. It is flexible, mo-
bile and not slaved to technol-
ogy and big crews.
That isn’t to say Jim didn’t
enjoy doing television, but he
was a radio man, having started
in it, like many, when he was in
high school — in his case, in his
native Missouri. He found his
footing in Washington, where
he did some television and a lot
of radio before taking over the
late-night slot that uniquely fit-
ted him.
Jim seemed supremely happy
in the wee hours. So were his
listeners from coast to coast
who enjoyed his camaraderie,
humor, wisdom and masterful
interviewing.
The one talent that great
commercial broadcasters must
have is the skill in “hitting time”
to accommodate syndicated ra-
dio advertising. Jim seamlessly
guided his interviews to a full
stop without the interviewees
knowing they had been diverted
to silence. It takes skill to do
that. It also takes skill — and the
love of craft — to be fresh night
after night; and skill to elicit
gems of truth and wisdom from
reluctant subjects.
Jim had those talents, but I
shall remember especially his
talent for friendship. He has
signed off but won’t be forgot-
ten by those who knew him and
shared the time of stars in the
sky with a true star of the mi-
crophone.
█
Llewellyn King is executive
producer and host of “White House
Chronicle” on PBS. He wrote this for
InsideSources.com.
GUEST COLUMN
Feds should ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’
bor Day fires unman-
aged? Those dead
saw Oregon Sen.
trees are a magnet
Ron Wyden’s
for insect infestation,
most recent po-
litical ad on televi-
and are also vulner-
sion regarding the
able to burn again,
forest fires in Ore-
which, of course, will
gon. I was encour-
kill the adjacent trees
Paterson
aged to find that he
and vegetation.
supports increasing efforts
Why do we tolerate such
to reduce the unhealthy fuel waste? When did we abandon
loads on our federal for-
the concepts of “reduce, re-
use and recycle” for a healthy
est lands through thinning
planet?
projects and the use of pre-
scribed burning.
I am a former educator,
I also support his efforts
school district superinten-
dent and patriotic Vietnam
to increase funding for more
combat veteran. I am keenly
equipment to aid firefighters
aware of the financial chal-
in their effort to control and
lenges that our schools, on all
suppress fires on our federal
levels, are facing as they deal
forest lands. I understand
with teacher shortages, crum-
and appreciate Wyden’s ini-
bling school infrastructure,
tiatives. In fact, I find them
increased security concerns
very encouraging.
and the cost of transporta-
But here are things I don’t
tion, just to name a few. As a
understand, and which I
veteran, I am very sensitive
would urge Wyden to con-
sider. Why are our federal
to the housing, education,
land management agencies
employment and adequate
leaving hundreds of thou-
health care needs of Oregon’s
sands of acres of dead and
veterans.
dying trees killed by 2020 La-
Conservative estimates
BY LEE PATERSON
I
indicate that over 400,000
acres of U.S. Forest Service
and BLM lands burned in the
Labor Day fires, with a tim-
ber value of over $4 billion.
Harvesting just half of the
dead trees on those acres in a
timely and responsible man-
ner could have generated $2
billion. This is money that
would help our schools and
veterans, as well as offset the
costs of the projects Wyden is
proposing.
Why is the federal govern-
ment allowing this incredi-
ble waste of the public’s re-
source?
I am a responsible envi-
ronmentalist, as I believe are
most Oregonians. And like
everyone else, I have wit-
nessed the impacts of global
warming and the changing
climate. It cannot be denied
that this warming trend has
diminished the health and
natural fire resiliency of our
federal forests, making them
ever more vulnerable to cat-
astrophic forest fire and dis-
ease.
Wyden’s support of pre-
fire management is certainly
a step in the right direction.
But without equal attention
given to post-fire manage-
ment, Oregon’s legacy of
beautiful, forest landscapes
will evolve into forestland
deserts covered by brush and
dead, gray-ghost trees. In
fact, a short trip up the San-
tiam Canyon or the North
Umpqua River drainage will
provide a glimpse into that
dark future already becoming
a reality.
So, as I support Wyden’s
initiative, I only ask that he
do everything possible to
stop the waste and remember
our obligation, as good stew-
ards of the land, to “reduce,
reuse and recycle.”
It’s the responsible thing
to do.
█
Lee Paterson has helped found and lead
many community organizations for
over 50 years. The figures in this column
are taken from a report commissioned
by the Oregon Forest Resource Institute
and conducted by the forest consulting
firm of Mason, Bruce & Girard.