Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 26, 2017)
VIEWPOINTS Saturday, August 26, 2017 East Oregonian Page 5A Adults look but never leap I ’ve never been a huge fan of trampolines, especially as an adult. There is something about the lack of control one has when others are jumping next to them that just puts knots in my stomach. Maybe because when I was about 22 years old, I found myself with an ankle swollen to three times the normal size after a fun “jump off” with my friend Chad and walked around in an aircast for weeks. Yes, I’m pretty certain that absolutely has something to do with it. My boys, on the other hand, would love it if the whole world was a giant trampoline. They would run and jump everywhere — flipping, twisting, turning and casting all their trust in the rebound, knowing and believing that with each bounce the momentum won’t stop, the adrenaline will keep them going and they’ll always bounce back — even if they stumble. Something happens when we “grow up” that takes the trust right out of the jump. We quit doing it. We quit jumping like we should, which means we quit trusting like we should, too. The next time you’re near a trampoline, notice all of the “grownups” just watching. Why, as adults, do we reach this place where we are afraid to jump or trust that we’re going to land safely? Why do we not want to take risks in front of a crowd? Why do we watch instead of participate? Life isn’t a spectator sport. One of the last times I took my kids to the trampoline park, I questioned why I hadn’t brought my sweats with me as I watched their joy and happiness explode with every bound. And then I laughed to myself just picturing what it would look like jumping with my boys while all the other “watchers” watched this grown woman absolutely make a fool out of herself. I can’t jump worth a darn any more. In fact, I’d be out of breath before I could even get out of the first pit — I’m sure of it. The point is though, I shouldn’t be afraid to jump. I should not be listening to the loudest voice in my head, but the truest one. I may not be as young as I once was or as physically capable I should not be listening to the loudest voice in my head, but the truest one. of bouncing from one surface to another with ease, but there certainly are a lot of areas in my life where “jumping” should be the only option. Participating rather than watching, doing instead of observing. In my opinion, there’s nothing worse than just watching and not doing anything about it. So let’s jump. It may be grabbing a pen and a journal to start writing or sketching or even making a list of the areas we need to be bolder and braver in — without the fear of failure. It may be pulling out a map and circling the places we need to be jumping to. It may be a list of names of people we’d like to have jumping with us. Whatever it is, we need to do it. Let’s jump and soar our way through those places where we feel like we’re sinking. Let’s bound after those dreams we’ve hidden away because they seemed too silly to catch. Let’s glide into a new place, with a faith that trusts we’re going to land safely and securely because we know that God doesn’t compare our leaps. He simply delights in our attempts, and we should, too. ■ Lindsay Murdock lives in Echo. L indsay M urdock FROM SUN UP TO SUN DOWN Sportsmen can thank themselves Walden should open the door for the attack on public lands to experimental medical care Board of Game has unleashed “I’m a Teddy Roosevelt a withering attack on bears and conservationist,” declares Interior wolves that is wholly at odds with Secretary Ryan Zinke. America’s long tradition of ethical, Really? Roosevelt pushed and sportsmanlike, fair-chase hunting. ultimately signed the Antiquities … There comes a time when the Act of 1906 that gave presidents U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service the authority to create national must stand up for the authorities monuments. He then established and principles that underpin our 18 of them. But now, at President Ted work and say, ‘no.’” Trump’s request, Zinke works to Williams That thinking doesn’t compute open national monuments to fossil Comment with Congress or the Trump fuel extraction. administration. In April, the Hunters and anglers say they president signed legislation are astonished and outraged. But repealing the federal wildlife agency’s without their support, Trump wouldn’t be Alaska refuge rule. On federal lands president and Zinke wouldn’t be running Alaska now allows the shooting of grizzly Interior. If sportsmen read newspapers and brown bears over bait, shooting instead of hook-and-bullet rags, they’d have understood that state seizure of public mother bears with cubs as well as killing the cubs themselves, lands is a plank in the shooting bears and GOP platform and that wolves from planes, and state lands get sold off or dispatching wolves and reserved for extractive wolf pups in their dens. industry. When the Association In a Petersen’s Hunting of Fish & Wildlife piece entitled “Why Agencies attacked Ashe Sportsmen Should Vote for Donald Trump” the for standing up for the magazine’s editor reveals wildlife that belongs to his reaction to meeting the candidate: “My all Americans it was joined by The Pope heart started to pound, my breath coming and Young Club, Quail Forever, Orion in short gulps.” the Hunters Institute, Pheasants Forever, Wild Sheep Foundation, Rocky Mountain A group calling itself Sportsmen for Trump offered this: “Mr. Trump is the only Elk Foundation, Boone and Crockett Club, Ducks Unlimited, Quality Deer candidate that will represent our values.” Management Association and Safari Club, “We as hunters, anglers and Americans to mention just a few. can chalk this day up as a win for our The hypocrisy is mind-boggling. sport,” effused Outdoorhub on Trump’s Consider some of the pious statements inauguration. issuing from these same groups on the “Zinke a Good Choice as Interior issue of public lands remaining in public Secretary,” proclaimed Bowhunting.com. hands: As a condition for entering the Union, Pope and Young Club, Quail Forever, most Western states agreed to disclaim all Orion the Hunters Institute, Pheasants right to unappropriated public lands. In Forever, Wild Sheep Foundation: “As exchange, the federal government gave sportsmen-based organizations, we are them “trust lands” with which to generate alarmed that some decision makers are revenue through sale and development. promoting the idea that federal public So far, Utah has sold off 4.1 million acres lands should be transferred to individual of its trust lands, New Mexico 4 million, states.” Montana 800,000, Idaho 1.5 million, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation: Colorado 1.7 million, Arizona 1.7 million. “Transferring or selling these lands to Of the 3.4 million acres given to Oregon, states … may also close the door to public only 780,000 remain. One might suppose that the state access for hunters, anglers, hikers and wildlife professionals who belong to the others.” Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies Boone and Crockett Club: “Federal would work for the best interests of the lands are the foundation of the most hunting- and fishing-license buyers who successful conservation system in the help pay their salaries. Instead, they led the world.” successful charge against the U.S. Fish and Ducks Unlimited: “We do not believe Wildlife Service rule to reassert control it would be constructive to … liquidate of the American public’s 73 million acres the national interest in federal land of national wildlife refuges in Alaska. management.” Necessitating that rule was the board’s Compounding their hypocrisy, these attempt to convert both federal and state groups were virtually silent about the lands to a vast Stop & Shop for moose felonious, 41-day armed occupation and and caribou meat by killing off bears and trashing of the Malheur National Wildlife wolves. Refuge in Oregon. Traditionally, the Fish and Wildlife With friends like the publications that Service has allowed states to manage “educate” them and the organizations that wildlife on the agency’s refuges, but “represent” them, hunters and anglers things got so out of hand in Alaska it had don’t need enemies. to protect the public’s wildlife from the ■ board’s 1920s-style predator jihad. As Ted Williams is a contributor to Writers then-Director Dan Ashe wrote in the Aug. on the Range, the opinion service of High 3, 2016, Huffington Post: “The Alaska Country News. Hunters and anglers say they are astonished and outraged. By TED ABRAM FreedomWorks S ay you’ve got some rare disease and your health has been tanking for a year, even with all the best medical attention, tests and care. Your doctors have diagnosed you, and there’s just not a cure available. You have one month to live and no options. There is a potential cure, but it has only been tested on mice effectively and is not available because it is still being tested by the Food and Drug Administration. You’re going to die because bureaucrats have not determined that this drug is safe for humans. It might kill you; it also might cure you like it did those mice Ten-year-old Diego Morris found himself in a similar situation five years ago. After being diagnosed with a particularly aggressive form of cancer and being treated with chemotherapy, he still needed treatment. His family and family friends found something that might save his life: a drug called Mifamurtide. It was available in other countries, but wasn’t permitted here. Dedicated to saving Diego’s life, his family traveled to London to get the treatment. Diego is now in remission — and cancer-free. He went on to become the honorary chair of the Goldwater Institute’s right to try campaign, and in 2016 testified before the United States Senate on the need to pass right to try laws that allow terminal patients access to drugs that haven’t received full FDA approval. Without this unapproved drug, none of this would have happened. Diego would most likely be dead. Right to try has gained great momentum at the state level. In 2014, five states passed right to try. In 2015, eighteen states passed it. In 2016, six more became right to try states. And already in 2017, seven more states join the ranks of right to try states. What’s more, both President Trump and Vice President Pence have expressed their support for such laws. Pence signed right to try into law in Indiana in 2015, and in his typically powerful and direct style, President Trump spoke out in favor of right to try laws earlier this year: “One thing that’s always disturbed me, they come up with a new drug for a patient who is terminal, and the FDA says ‘we can’t have this drug used on the patient.’ But they say, ‘But the patient within four weeks will be dead.’ [The FDA] says, ‘Well, we still can’t approve the drug and we don’t want to hurt the patient.” But the patient is not going to live more than four weeks.” With right to try laws in 37 states and support from the White House, you would think many senators and representatives from these states would support it at the national level and vote in favor of the right to try bill. And in fact, the Senate recently did just that. Senator Ron Johnson (R-Ohio) recently moved to bring right to try up for a vote, and it passed with overwhelming support. Now the bill awaits approval by the House. But one man is stopping the legislation designed to make potentially life-saving treatments available to patients. Our congressman, Chairman Greg Walden, heads the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The bill is stalled in his committee, even with bipartisan committee support. People’s lives are literally hanging in the balance, and he is sitting on his hands. I encourage you to contact Congressman Walden and tell him we want to open up the path to life-saving medical care for those who are on their deathbeds. Giving them this right is simply the right thing to do. ■ Ted Abram is a retired judge and a FreedomWorks board member who lives in Klamath Falls, in Oregon’s Second District. Can you catch fish during an eclipse? By LLOYD PIERCY For The East Oregonian M y grandsons Forest, Jim and friend Sam were given a choice between a 40-minute drive to eclipse totality or fishing as a science experiment under 99 percent totality. They chose fishing. The boys — all between 12 and 13 years old — had been fishing the day before and the early morning of the eclipse. Decent fishermen all, they caught and released in excess of 40 smallmouth bass, mostly one-pounders with a few approaching four pounds. The bite had been particularly good in the mornings and evenings with low light. They even spent the night with catfish rods on the beach at Hat Rock State Park. Fishing the rock structure around Hat Rock State park in kayaks, they worked the edges of the islands coaxing the bass from their crannies, a decent control for our fishing experiment. A check of the internet showed that others have experimented with fishing during an eclipse: wild stories of strange fish behavior were easy to find, whetting our interest. As the light softened the color of the water became more clear green, visibility in the water increased was really a unique, beautiful set of colors I had never seen in my years living on this riverbank. The temperature dropped dramatically to 53 degrees. Birds circled and settled in the trees and began to chatter as they would in the pre-dawn. The boys, splitting their time between their viewing glasses and their fishing, worked the bank hard. They caught a large perch — the only one they caught — and two bass. On the Columbia River at Hat Rock, the fishing was not discernibly different during this eclipse, in the hands of our young scientists. I hope when they are around 30 years old they will travel to another eclipse to continue their research, watching the spectacular sight of the orb around the sun was amazing. That’s Farmer Lloyd’s take on things. ■ Lloyd Piercy lives in Echo.