SCRATCHPAD
Th e power of thank you
By NIKKI DAVIDSON
COAST WEEKEND EDITOR
“I’ve got a story for you, and it’s a big
deal,” whispered my assignment editor
with an amused smirk.
I had just started my journalism career
in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and
was working a grueling early-morning
shift. After a year of coming into work
at 2 a.m. and leaving past dusk for “big
stories,” I wasn’t sure what to expect. I
couldn’t hide the hesitation on my face.
“You’re going to Washington, D.C.,” he
said in a hushed voice, careful not to alert
the other eager reporters in the newsroom
about the assignment.
I had to pinch myself. I was an Iowa
girl who had left my comfort zone in the
thanked the veteran for their service.
Despite the fact that the plane was full
of the toughest people I had ever met,
there suddenly wasn’t a dry eye to be
found. When I asked why the letters were
so moving, they explained they hadn’t ever
had people really ever tell them thank you
and mean it like this before.
This Veteran s Day, consider taking the
time to say thank you to a veteran and
really mean it. It could be the gratitude
they’ve never gotten.
Sadly, most Honor Flights are on hia-
tus due to COVID-19. The Oregon chap-
ter plans to resume trips in 2022. You can
learn more about the local Honor Flight
chapter at honorfl ightoforegon.org/
RS
STAFF AND CONTRIBUTO
ON THE
COVER
Passengers on
the Arrow 2
tugboat tour are
treated to views
of sea lions
lounging on the
waterfront of
Astoria.
cornfi elds, picking up my belongings and
moving 12 hours away from family to
Michigan. The idea of being sent to the
nation’s capital to cover a story seemed
like a dream.
It turns out the assignment was the
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to docu-
ment the area’s inaugural Honor Flight. I
would be fl ying with 80 surviving World
World II veterans to see the nation’s war
memorials for the fi rst time. The non-
profi t organizers hoped that by bringing a
reporter on the trip, it would be easier to
secure funding for their mission to give
America’s veterans a free trip to Washing-
ton, D.C., to see the war memorials cre-
ated for them.
Looking back 10 years later, most of the
18-hour trip is a blur. I recall how helpful
the veterans were, insisting on carrying my
camera gear from their wheelchairs, and
chuckling over the funny adventures they
shared with their comrades 60 years ago.
Others were more serious, confessing to
me they hadn’t ever talked about what they
experienced, and the painful memories that
never faded.
The entire trip was extremely moving,
but I mistakenly assumed the most emo-
tional part of the assignment would be
when the veterans arrived at the memori-
als. I was caught off -guard when the tears
started fl owing at a diff erent time.
We were on the plane home, and vol-
unteers announced it was time for a “mail
call,” and handed out dozens of letters
written by volunteers, family and local
school children. Each note genuinely
COAST WEEKEND EDITOR
THU RSDAY
NOV. 11
NIKKI DAVIDSON
2021
CALENDAR COORDINATOR
SARAH SMITH
A VIEW FROM
THE WATER
TUGBOAT
TOUR OFFE
RS NEW
PERSPECT
IVE OF AS
TORIA
PAGE 8
D
MUSHR WIL
OO
SUMMIT M
LONG BEA IN
CH
CONTRIBUTORS
ANDY CAMERON
DAVID CAMPICHE
BARBARA LLOYD McMICHAEL
PATRICK WEBB
PAGE 6
THEATER WO
RKS TO
TURN UP THE
HEAT
PAGE 10
PHOTO BY
HOW TO COO
DELICATA
K
SQUASH
PAGE 12
ANDY CAMERON
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2021 // 3