The Columbia Press
February 19, 2021
7
Off the Shelf
Senior Moments
by Kelly Knudsen
with Emma Edwards
I’ve learned a lot from obituaries Delights when books jump into our bags
I’ll begin my column today
with a confession. I enjoy
reading obituaries and often
come away happy.
Of course, there are the sad
ones that provoke us to pray
for all concerned even if we
do not know the family.
And there are times you
read an obituary wishing you
had known the person when
they were living.
Or maybe you knew the per-
son, but not the salient facts
about them and you wish you
had.
I have a daughter-in-law in
California who now and then
sends copies of obituaries she
has read that she “knows I
would enjoy.”
No, I am not known (nor is
she) as someone on a “death
watch.” But it’s interesting
to find out that a particular
person was an immigrant
and to learn all that he or
she accomplished in their
lifetimes.
One woman wrote in an
obituary recently, “My hus-
band died while we were on
vacation in the mountains he
loved; it was easy to decide
on a song for his funeral ser-
vice. John Denver wrote it, …
‘Healing time on Earth.’ ”
I looked it up and was able
to find it. I am sure you will
find it apropos (as I did) at
this time of our lives and
our country. Here is the first
verse:
Let the mountains talk, let
the rivers run.
There’s a wisdom here;
there is much to learn.
There is much to know,
much to understand.
In this healing time all
across the land.
If you’re able to research it,
there are several verses. And
I suspect it will bless your
heart.
Obituaries can both delight
and bless us, for sure.
It’s a fact that many of us
seniors turn to the obituaries
when we first open our local
newspaper and, secondly, to
the public safety calls.
I get to thinking that may-
be it would be fun to help our
family out by writing our own
obituaries. And no, I have
not done so myself, but I am
truly thinking about it.
And then there is the pic-
ture. For sure I think fami-
ly would appreciate it if we
picked out the picture we
wanted in the paper.
Then there is the epitaph on
your gravestone. One epitaph
that could be the most quoted
in history is, “I told you I was
sick.”
I learned that some women
like to put their favorite reci-
pe on their gravestone while
others (usually men) prefer
fewer words.
A favorite male inscription
of mine is “Here lies John
Yeast. Pardon me for not ris-
ing.”
In closing, I can’t help but
share one of the most mean-
ingful epitaphs I have ever
read on a gravestone. The
stone shows an open Bi-
ble and engraved over it is
“Whoever believes in Him,
may have eternal life! John
3:15.”
I would be remiss should I
not remind all of us to read
on to the secret of it all by
reading the next verse, John
3:16.
Actually, no secret -- God
put it there for all of us.
We delightedly reopened
the Warrenton Communi-
ty Library (WCL) doors this
week for patrons to browse
for books and materials and
use the computers, with a
time limit of 30 minutes.
Thank you to everyone for
understanding the impor-
tance of utilizing the drive-
through during the past two
months and helping Clatsop
County slow the spread of
COVID-19 in our communi-
ty.
We are delighted to let peo-
ple in again, with masks and
social distancing, helping
them fill their informational
and literacy needs.
Working at a library has
many perks for book lov-
ers, especially in the winter
months during a pandemic.
Carole Feldman, WCL’s li-
brary administrative assis-
tant, jokes daily about the
books calling out to her as
she walks through the stacks
and, twice a week, she tells
me that another book grew
legs and jumped in her bag.
Books follow me home,
too.
Recently, a junior graph-
ic novel titled, “When Stars
Are Scattered” by Victoria
Jamieson and Omar Mo-
hamed, decided to jump in
my bag. Graphic novels are
a type of comic book featur-
ing graphic art in a narrative
form, utilizing pictures to
tell the story.
This heartwarming, beau-
tifully illustrated 256-page
memoir about Omar and his
younger brother, Hassan,
who have lived at a refugee
camp in Kenya for more than
15 years, offered inspiration,
reinforced the idea of never
The cover of “When Stars are Scattered” and authors Omar
Mohamed and Victoria Jamieson.
giving up, and demonstrated
the importance and value of
kindness.
Omar described living in an
“open prison” refugee camp,
drinking tree bark tea for din-
ner because that’s all there
was, and not being able to
go to school because he had
to take care of his nonverbal
younger brother. Yet he nev-
er lost hope.
All of us are suffering
during the pandemic as we
can’t do things we love. We
are trapped indoors, we can’t
see or hug our loved ones,
we have to wear masks and
life as we know it has ceased.
The same as Omar’s life. Yet
he was able to hold on with
faith, love, and support from
unexpected places. And he
got through it.
No one asks to be a refugee
and no one asks for a pan-
demic. Year after year, Omar
believed life would improve
for him and his brother, and
eventually it did.
A prayer from Ramadan
that Omar shared in the story
spoke to me and sticks with
me daily.
“Indeed, with hardship will
be ease.”
We’ve had plenty of hard-
ship over the last 12 months.
Ease is on the horizon.
Kelly Knudsen is director
of Warrenton Community
Library. She has a master’s
degree in library and infor-
mation science.
Special columns in The Columbia Press
Every week: Senior Moments with Emma Edwards
Week 1: Financial Focus with Adam Miller
Week 2: Here’s to Your Health from CMH
Week 3: Off the Shelf by Kelly Knudsen
Last week: Mayor’s Message by Henry Balensifer