OPINION READER’S FORUM
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2020
EDITOR’S DESK
Our ancestors can inspire our sacrifi ces
I
n March I wrote a column called
“Things to be grateful for in the
age of COVID-19.”
Although the positive things I
listed then remain true, I
have to admit the unre-
lenting, joyless slog
through stress and uncer-
tainty in the months
since has dampened my
Jade
feelings of gratitude.
This pandemic is hard. McDowell
NEWS EDITOR
Its toll has been immense
— physically, mentally,
fi nancially — on almost everyone.
One of the diffi cult aspects of it
has been that there’s no quick fi x.
Our modern, comfort-fi lled soci-
ety has mostly taught us that we
shouldn’t have to suffer any sort of
discomfort for any signifi cant amount
of time. Feeling pain? Take a pain-
killer. Hungry? Here’s a drive-thru.
Hot? Turn up the air conditioner.
Bored? Pull out your phone.
It’s hard not to imagine that our
ancestors who worked from sunup
to sundown for basic survival, who
never had a hot shower in their lives,
who survived the Great Depression
on scraps or lived in slavery or slept
among rats in the trenches of a world
war, wouldn’t shake their heads in
embarrassment at what wimps those
who bear their name today turned out
to be.
My four-greats grandmother
crossed the Atlantic, and then the
United States, burying her husband
along the Oregon Trail, and then
lying sick with cholera in a cov-
Hermiston Herald, File
Madison Garrett, left, Katelyn Rickords, Siobhan Holman and Chase Spratling struggle to
keep a handcart from rolling down a steep hill during a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints Pioneer Trek near Plymouth, Washington, in 2014. Historical reenactments help inspire
people with the stories of the diffi culties others before them went through.
ered wagon while her young children
cared for her. And yet, I complain if
the power goes out for an hour.
This fall people got tired of the
sacrifi ces they were being asked to
make, but the world needs us all to
toughen up now and be more like
those who came before us.
Hospitalizations in the United
States are soaring, and some states
say they are at or near hospital capac-
ity statewide. Oregon has the lowest
number of hospital beds per capita
in the nation, according to the Kaiser
Family Foundation, which means we
have less room for letting cases spike
out of control.
Even for those who are never
admitted to the hospital, an
often-overlooked aspect of the
virus is the lingering, sometimes
life-changing organ damage that it
can cause, along with the “long haul-
ers” who say they have been suffer-
ing fl u-like symptoms for several
months now, with their doctors at a
loss for when — or if — they might
return to health.
Despite these worrisome effects
that have caused lockdowns and
other precautions on a global scale,
there is light at the end of the tun-
nel. The effort to defeat this virus has
brought together the best minds in
the world in an unprecedented scale.
Doctors are saving more patients as
they refi ne their treatment strategies
and new therapies are approved. And
COLUMN
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Expressing gratitude despite pandemic
O
ne thing I appreci-
ate about the month
of November is that
numerous people in my Face-
book newsfeed are posting daily
about something that they are
grateful for. It has been espe-
cially refreshing reading these
lately because a lot of things
about this past
year have basically
sucked.
While I’ve had
my share of woes
since ushering in
2020, I have much
to express grati-
Tammy
tude about. One of Malgesini
the most exciting
things was taking a 60th birth-
day trip to California in Feb-
ruary with my bestie and her
daughter. Carol and I periodi-
cally talked about taking Cas-
sie to Disneyland since she was
around 8 years old — and 20
years later, we can check that
off our bucket list.
We squeaked the trip in a
month before the global pan-
demic brought most of the
world to a standstill, including
shuttering theme parks. How-
ever, for those fi ve days, it truly
was a magical experience —
from fl ying fi rst class, going to
Disneyland, Universal Studios
Hollywood and spending a day
in Huntington Beach.
My husband and I absolutely
adore our canine kids. And this
past year has been no differ-
ent. It brings me great joy when
they exuberantly greet me at the
door, eagerly anticipate going
on outings and exhibit true
unconditional love. My only
wish is that they lived longer
— well, I’d also really like it if
they could talk.
John and I recently had a
health scare with his 11-year-old
German shepherd. Lucifer, who
in his prime weighed more than
100 pounds, began refusing to
eat. It was breaking our hearts
watching our once majestic dog
withering away before our eyes.
Taking him to the doggie
doctor, we were prepared for
the worst — thinking he might
have liver or kidney problems.
We were relieved to fi nd out
his organs are in pretty good
shape. After looking at his lab
work, Dr. Barton determined
that Lucifer’s loss of appetite
was likely due to hip pain. He
received a cortisone shot and is
doing better with his movement
and appetite.
During this time, it seems the
General, my 8-year-old German
shepherd, has packed on the
pounds that Lucifer lost. Just the
other day while Lucifer was lei-
surely approaching his bowl, I
caught the General “red-pawed”
chowing down on brother’s
food. I yelled (OK, I swore)
at him, which actually scared
Lucifer more than the criminal
canine.
I immediately grabbed the
General’s leash. For a brief
moment, he thought he was
going for a walk. Imagine his
surprise when after attaching the
leash to him, I tied it to the door.
I’m also grateful for the sim-
ple things — including talking
to my folks several times a
week and lounging in my lit-
tle backyard pool with my hus-
band almost daily this past sum-
mer. In addition, I appreciate
an extensive hat collection that
helped me survive a pair of fi ve-
week hair crises. And I’m glad
that I have yet to run out of
Pepsi Zero Sugar.
“Showing gratitude is one of
the simplest yet most powerful
things humans can do for each
other.” — Randy Pausch
———
Tammy Malgesini, the for-
mer Hermiston Herald commu-
nity editor, enjoys spending time
with her husband and two Ger-
man shepherds, as well as enter-
taining herself with random
musings and drinking Pepsi
Zero.
Distance learning is diffi cult
As you are aware, we are liv-
ing in unprecedented times with the
pandemic. Our children have had to
resort to online learning. I am not
faulting the teachers, as I know they
are working tirelessly.
The main concern is that chil-
dren have been locked out of the
classrooms for over six months.
The socialization, the relationships
built with teachers and fellow stu-
dents are so critical. I am also con-
cerned with the children who were
and are continuing to struggle with
inequality in technology, watching
other siblings while parents have to
work, and with the most important
factor — nutrition. Schools for a lot
of children are a stable place. It’s a
place of comfort for some in really
bad situations. It’s a place of love
and caring from teachers, staff and
others employed by the school or
are volunteers, which are so crucial.
Also a real concern is that the
schools are the point of contact
when children are abused — for
important social services that can
protect the child and help them get
the services they need.
Lastly, it is also really import-
ant for kids to be part of activities,
drama, music and sports, which
helps round out children; these also
teach important lessons as well.
It is my hope and prayer that
soon school districts will start to
be bold and band together to keep
fi ghting for the children and let par-
CORRECTIONS
Printed on
recycled
newsprint
VOLUME 114 • NUMBER 41
Andrew Cutler | Publisher • acutler@eomediagroup.com • 541-278-2673
Jade McDowell | News Editor • jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4536
Jeanne Jewett | Multi-Media consultant • jjewett@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4531
Audra Workman | Multi-Media consultant • aworkman@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4538
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now we have announcements of vac-
cines that trials indicate are far more
effective than expected.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s
top infectious disease specialist, told
Jake Tapper on CNN’s “Meet the
Press” last weekend that if these vac-
cines become available soon and an
“overwhelming majority” of people
take them, we could be easing back
into “relative normal” by the second
or third quarter of 2021.
For now, however, we need to get
as many people as possible safely
through the winter. Much of the
unusually high COVID-19 rate in the
United States can be blamed on insti-
tutional failures of testing shortages,
poorly designed restrictions, mixed
messaging and economic failures
that have forced people to choose
between COVID-19 exposure and
no paycheck. But a lack of fortitude
when it comes to making sacrifi ces
on a personal level has added even
more layers of preventable suffering.
I’m not looking forward to more
months of this. I deeply miss having
game nights and movie nights with
friends, playing indoor sports, travel-
ing, attending concerts, eating inside
restaurants, hugging friends and all
the other things I’ve given up since
March. But our ancestors have lived
through far worse, which means we
can do this.
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ents have a choice while supporting
teachers who want to see their stu-
dents again.
Shane Robinson
Hermiston
Your turkeys are watching
This is Captain Butterball of
the Governor’s Party Team. Citi-
zens should be aware that we have
microchipped random turkeys and
hams at local markets. This allows
us to track the destination of these
products.
We are authorized to use drones
and communications technology to
fi nd those persons who choose to
disregard the six-person maximum
party size for Thanksgiving. Vio-
lators will be placed under house
arrest and confi ned to their bath-
room. Guests will be sent to their
homes. The suspect turkeys and
hams will be humanely consumed
by members of the team. Repeat
offenders will be relocated to Port-
land where they can join rioters and
looters.
Happy holidays to all in Umatilla
and Morrow counties.
Capt. Butterball,
aka Mike Mehren
Hermiston
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