4 A
❘
WEDNESDAY EDITION
❘ DECEMBER 30, 2015
Siuslaw News
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
RYAN CRONK , EDITOR
❘ 541-902-3520 ❘
EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
Opinion
E XTRAORDINARY P EOPLE
C ATHERINE J. R OURKE
For the Siuslaw News
_____________
I
t’s Christmas morning and
there’s much to be done. There
are meals to serve, rooms to
clean, dishes to wash, gas tanks to
fill, fires to put out, phones to
answer, items to ring up and patients
requiring immediate medical atten-
tion.
Somebody’s gotta do it.
While we were still snug in our
beds with visions of sugar plums
dancing in our heads, some creatures
began stirring around town, making
their lists and checking them twice.
While we ate ourselves silly and
made merry, these holiday heroes
merrily made their way to hospitals
and hotels, mini marts and super-
markets, assisted living centers and
emergency dispatch centers, restau-
rants and resorts, covering the holi-
day shift so co-workers could spend
it with their families.
At 7 a.m. Florence resembles a
ghost town with empty parking lots
and Highway 101 void of traffic. Yet
good cheer prevails among these
holiday workers manning their often
demanding public stations.
“I’m having a great time,” says
Dustin, a cashier at 7-11. “There’s
been a real jovial spirit and people
have been really gracious. For me,
every day’s a holiday. Working
Christmas is no big deal.”
Some cashiers have been on duty
since 6 a.m., ready to ring up last-
minute purchases — more tape to
wrap gifts, another jar of gravy or
dessert for a holiday gathering.
While many worked for the extra
buck, most volunteered so others
could have the day off.
By 9 a.m. the pace quickens at
Driftwood Shores Resort.
Housekeepers clean rooms while
front desk manager Debbie Fleeman
Holiday heroes
helps guests. An 18-year resort vet-
Katie Burch
eran, she has worked most holidays.
of Surfside Restaurant
“I really love people and want our
at Driftwood Shores
guests to enjoy the holidays,” she
says. “If I can be a part of that, then
it brings joy to my heart.”
Over at the Surfside Restaurant,
servers set tables and cooks hover
over sizzling hot grills, preparing for
Shane Stapp
one of their busiest days of the year.
of Porter’s
From no-shows to kitchen snafus,
Shell
food service can pose a daunting
task on the hol-
e
Beth DeGuir
idays. Yet
s
er
iv
R
e
re
of Th
everyone main-
rt
o
es
R
o
Casin
tains a holiday
spirit in spite of
it all.
“We’ll serve
about 250 people
today and our job
PHOTOS BY CATHERINE ROURKE
is to make them
“I’m elated to
Marsha busy on
happy,” says
be part of some-
the holidays.
Katie Burch, front
thing that really
“It still feels
of the house man-
matters and
like I’m at
ager. “I don’t mind
makes a differ-
home since we’re one big hos-
it at all.”
ence in our
pital family here,” she notes.
Server Cindy
community,”
Then there’s Kathryn Haworth, a
Kwiatkowski has
says co-chair
registered nurse who volunteered to
been working
and head cook Julie Brown,
work a 24-hour shift at PeaceHealth
Christmas for sever-
who arrived at 4 a.m. along with
Home Health and Hospice.
al years now.
other volunteers. The Lodge is burst-
“I wanted to be available because
“Despite the burning feet, there’s
ing with joy as happy faces and
I know how busy all the other nurses
a feeling of accomplishment at the
peals of laughter flood the room.
are,” she says. “I’ve been a nurse for
end of the day, knowing we gave
Meanwhile, it’s another day of 24-
50 years and I love every minute of
everyone a good time,” she says.
7 emergency and on-call response
what I do. I can celebrate Christmas
There’s no shortage of holiday
for police, firefighter, ambulance and
any day and would rather celebrate
spirit at the Elks Lodge, where an
medical crews across town.
my patients and co-workers.”
army of volunteers gears up for the
Pharmacist Marsha Day holds the
By mid-afternoon, a bevy of slot
Herculean task of preparing and
fort this holiday like she has for 25
attendants, security guards, food
serving 850 meals at its annual
years at PeaceHealth Peace Harbor
service workers and gaming person-
Community Appreciation Dinner.
Medical Center, where dozens of
nel flit about Three Rivers Casino
“It’s so gratifying,” says Elks
hospital staff and on-call personnel
Resort. Line cook Beth DeGuire has
spokesman Howard Ziebell. “It
will cover three shifts.
been prepping salads and desserts at
gives you a feeling like you’ve never
“I don’t think I’ve ever had one
World Market Buffet since 11 a.m.,
had before.”
off and it’s mostly been by choice,”
and will continue until about 9 p.m.
As 326 diners fill the vast hall in
she says. “It’s integral to me that my
She’s another holiday hero who vol-
one seating, the Lodge looks like a
co-workers enjoy Christmas with
unteered so a co-worker could spend
loaves-and-fishes scene from some
their families.”
Christmas with her 1-year-old
epic Hollywood Biblical flick. By
The non-retail pharmacy serves
daughter.
some small miracle, 75 volunteers
emergency department outpatients as
“I think it’s only fair for people
will serve 850 meals in just three
well as hospital patients, keeping
with kids to have the holiday off,”
hours.
Beth said. “Making people happy is
my top priority on any day of the
year.”
By nightfall, temperatures plum-
met close to freezing. Over at
Porter’s Shell, cashier Ron Mason, a
father of three, says he’s happy to
work on Christmas. Outside,
gas attendant
Shane Stapp
works the pump
in a Santa hat,
filling tanks and
braving the cold
until midnight
with a smile.
Where would
our city be with-
out these wonder-
ful people who
make our world go
round on the holi-
days? They fill our
glasses and tanks,
pour cups of kind-
ness and rush to our
aid, many doing it
for minimum wage and some for no
wage at all.
Here’s to all the extraordinary hol-
iday heroes who rose on Christmas
morning or worked a chilly night to
serve us and will do so again on the
New Year — people like Brian
Davis of River Cities Taxi who
drove passengers to and from the
Elks Lodge at no charge, the medical
personnel and church ministers, the
pet-sitters, the dishwashers, janitors
and other “unknown soldiers” and
invisible elves.
Florence thanks you for your good
cheer, remarkable resilience and
spirit of giving.
Happy holidays!
______________________
Catherine J. Rourke is an award-
winning writer, journalist and book
editor who teaches creative writing
at the Florence Regional Arts
Alliance. She may be contacted at
CJReditor@gmail.com.
NEIGHBORS
Long hiatus — Part II
B OB J ACKSON
N EIGHBORHOOD C ORRESPONDENT
For the Siuslaw News
____________
leeting images caught by the
mind’s eye are often badly
skewed by our imagination.
And so has it been with the occa-
sional appearance of the Friends of
Florence cancer bus, en route or
returning from treatment, which
always left me with a feeling of sad-
ness for the unfortunate souls con-
fined inside. This misconception was
to change dramatically.
When I stepped aboard for my
first journey to Eugene, I was con-
fronted by a busload of happy, smil-
ing faces, and warmly greeted as if
we were old friends. Without a
notepad I was unable to record their
names; however, one of them made
F
it easy for me. She was acting as a
caregiver, escorting a gentleman in a
wheelchair, plus aiding anyone else
needing assistance.
“Think camera,” she said with a
wide smile, “replace the ‘c’ with a
‘t,’ and you have my name —
Tamera!”
I had a lively conversation with an
extremely attractive young lady
across from me, her large, luminous
eyes glowed with good humor. Her
forehead appeared large and slick as
a billiard ball because of a complete
absence of hair, including eyelashes.
We joked about it and she laughing-
ly remarked that what she missed the
most was losing her nose hair.
“Without nose hair,” she said,
“there is nothing to stop nasal drip,
and it runs off my chin like a snot-
nosed little kid. It is embarrassing!”
Time passed quickly on the com-
fortable bus, and as we turned off
onto Country Club Road we were
impressed with the neighborhood of
impeccably landscaped professional
buildings.
Willamette Valley Cancer Institute
had none of the harsh austere
appearance of a medical facility.
From the very beginning, everything
was warm and friendly. We were
ushered into a waiting room that was
complete with hot coffee and tea.
I had barely settled in, when a tall
smiling young man appeared like in
that old TV show, and loudly
announced “come on down.” And
with that, he led me down a long
hallway to a waiting hard-backed
chair.
Everywhere there were more and
more of the ominous warning signs:
“Danger — Radiation!”
After removing my upper cloth-
ing, I was given a warm blanket,
which they much too quickly
removed and led me into a room and
onto a cold table, where mysterious
lines were drawn upon my chest
with an ink pen in the neighborhood
of my cancerous tumor. Other loca-
tions were precisely marked and
referred to as “Tattoos.”
At some point after being jostled
by pillows and wedged into an exact
position, the medical people left the
room, and I was at the mercy of the
unfathomable workings of the radia-
tion procedure. Absolutely none of
which I understood.
What happened next was so
bizarre it defies description. As I lay
bare-chested with my hands clasped
high above my head, a large, thin,
plate-shaped disc with blinking
lights slowly emerged from beneath
my resting place. It hovered there,
blinking and humming, then disap-
peared, as another one came out
from under the other side of the slab
and repeated the humming and click-
ing sounds. Like something right out
of a science fiction magazine.
It was a brief interlude, and then
the attendants reappeared. I was
given another warm blanket and
escorted from the scene. This proce-
dure was repeated for all four weeks
of treatment.
With two sessions to go, I was
told that I had enough and could
stop. It was a big relief, as I was
feeling worse every week.
I was forewarned about the cumu-
lative after effects of the radiation. I
had no idea of how really bad it
would become in the weeks ahead.
More to come.
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