OPINION
4A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2016
THE MYTH OF ISLANDS
Photo by Dwight Caswell
By ED HUNT
For The Daily Astorian
W riter’s
N otebook
A
n island is a lie.
On my way to work, I drive along
Washington’s Willapa Bay and pass by
the two islands that can be seen from the
mainland.
Long Island crowds just feet from the high-
way that hugs the shore. Heavily forested it
stretches away to the horizon, appearing as
solid shoreline. Long Island holds a grove of
ancient forest and in days past was inhabited
with settlements. There is a ferry landing just
off the road that used to bring trucks back and
forth across the narrow thread of water that
separates it from the rest of Washington state.
A little farther on is a defi ant little islet sev-
eral hundred yards from where the tourist pass
by on their way to the beach. The U.S. Geologi-
cal Survey named it Round Island back in 1858 ;
locals call it Baby Island. Its shoulders’ hunched
and spiked with snags and cedar that burl in the
winter storms. Only a few acres of brush and
trees, it appears a picturesque myth centered in
the waters of the bay. Steep rocks rising from the
silver gray waters and lonely alone.
‘How we treat each
other and how
we take care of
ourselves matters.
If you think you are
an island, just wait
until low tide.’
Unfortunately, few seek professional help.
So too some of the stress comes from our
own expectations. Physician Pranay Sinha,
in a 2014 essay titled “Why Do Doctors
Commit Suicide?” in The New York Times
explained it this way:
“There is a strange machismo that per-
vades medicine. Doctors, especially fl edg-
ling doctors like me, feel the need to proj-
ect intellectually, emotional and physical
prowess beyond what we truly possess. We
masquerade as strong and untroubled pro-
fessionals even in our darkest and most
self -doubting moments. How, then, are we
supposed to identify colleagues in trouble
— or admit that we need help ourselves?”
Individual strength, resilience and free-
dom are cultural virtues in our nation. Yet
we achieve most when we come together and
recognize our connections and that through
those connections our individual decisions
have repercussions on the world around us.
W
e like to think of ourselves as islands,
as individuals, as ecosystems wholly
within ourselves. We like to believe that our
actions affect no one beyond our ragged shore.
We like to believe ourselves surrounded by
waters isolated from the world outside. We
like to think ourselves individuals, the center
of our own solar systems — centered yet sep-
arated by time and space from mothers, wives,
children and friends who dip into our orbit for
a time only to swing away again.
It is easy to feel alone.
It is easy to think that our actions do not
shatter the mirrored water that fl ows around
us, yet the decisions we make ripple out into
the world.
We see it in politics, where the temptation
is to live and let live, assuming no responsibil-
ity for the community, the state, the nation or
the world.
I hear it all the time. I’ll take care of myself,
do what I want, and it won’t affect anyone else.
If other people make bad choices, can’t access
health care or mental health services or run out
of money when they are too old to work, that’s
their problem. It won’t affect me.
Y
et it does.
I work as a nurse in an emergency
room. It is the front line of the consequences
of bad choices.
I meet a lot of people who until that moment
thought they were islands. I have met many
people who thought their decisions affected
Ed Hunt/For The Daily Astorian
The U.S. Geological Survey named this islet in Washington’s Willapa Bay “Round Is-
land,” back in 1858, but locals call it Baby Island.
no one but them and them alone. Some have
long suffering loved ones at bedside, others
have long since burned those bridges to the
mainland. Perhaps they justifi ed this as a way
to limit that damage they caused, or perhaps
the connection was never very good in the fi rst
place.
If not family and friends, there are always
the professionals — the police offi cers, emer-
gency medical technicians, nurses, doctors and
socials workers — who crash in waves trying
to make a difference until the last breath.
Every wave recedes taking a little away
from the beach and leaving a little of itself
behind. Yet, the ocean itself is not unchanged.
I
have watched as addiction destroys fami-
lies and devastates public resources. I have
seen suicide shatter communities. I have seen
health care professionals struggle to make a
difference in the face of increasing needs and
decreasing resources.
Studies have shown that nurses experi-
ence depression at twice the rate of the gen-
eral population. Doctors have a suicide rate
that is at least twice that of the general popu-
lation and that rate is even greater for female
physicians. The stresses come from long
hours, increasing work loads and the crush-
ing expectations of health care systems that
are always demanding more and paying less.
T
his far north the tides are impressive — a
dozen feet in sea level change can drasti-
cally alter your perspective in a few hours time.
When the tide is low, the water drains out of old
Shoalwater Bay and Round Island is exposed
as connected to mainland by mudfl ats that the
unwary may be tempted to walk across.
Take away the oceans that appear to sep-
arate us, and you will fi nd underneath the
connections that tie us all together. What we
do and say and act affects those near and far.
How we treat each other and how we take
care of ourselves matters.
If you think you are an island, just wait
until low tide.
Ed Hunt is a writer and registered nurse
who blogs on medical issues at redtriage.com
and on other subjects at theebbtide.blogspot.
com. He lives in Grays River, Washington.
Open forum
Blown away by art
R
ecently my school had the honor
to spend some time with artists
from the community. The artist I went
to see was Sara Ruscetta. She showed
us her amazing chainsaw skills.
She told us how much time and
work goes into just one wood proj-
ect. Mind blowing to me. The little
tree she made for us was cool, and I
thought that it would be maybe one
more hour to wrap it up. No, I was
very wrong. The little tree she started
is going to take eight more hours to
fi nish.
Sara Ruscetta also showed us how
many saws she uses, and how they
help her with her projects. At the end
of our workshop, I was blown away
by the amount of time and work that
goes into chainsaw projects.
I am looking forward to next
year’s Honorary Artists of Oregon
Day, and hope to see more artists next
time.
TANNER RICH
Seaside
Creative kudos
O
n April 14, Seaside High School
observed the Honorary Artists of
Oregon Day by having workshops for
students led by professional artists.
One of our students helped create this
new tradition for all of Oregon. The
state passed HB3042 to inspire stu-
dents’ creativity.
On that day, I observed a profes-
sional cartoon/portrait artist, Dave
Poole, draw a portrait of a person from
our group. I found his drawing work-
shop interesting. Also, we were able
to ask him some questions. Finally, I
have learned some drawing skills.
I would like to thank the people
who put the event together, the artists
and the state legislators who passed
the bill.
BENNY OLSON
Seaside
Editor’s note: These letters were
among several from students about
Honorary Artists of Oregon Day on
April 14 collected by Seaside High
School teacher Tina Hess.
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