Respect veterans

Combat veterans do not have the luxury of dismissing evil as a momentary aberration in an otherwise civilized world. They have seen the ugliness that humans are capable of inflicting, that they themselves are capable of inflicting.

When they come back to the “world,” no one wants to know about their war. It’s carefully ignored or rejected outright.

Bringing up the topic is like passing gas at the dinner table. Everybody looks away, embarrassed, and acts like nothing happened. Besides, telling war stories hurts. The dismissal shrug doesn’t veil the experience.

Americans are being wasted in an amazing variety of ways overseas. When they return home they’re wasted again, like greasy paper plates at a picnic. Disposable soldiers that have given more than can be imagined.

On behalf of my family and my friends, thank you.

No corn cobs

I wanted to commend Dr. Dave Stauffacher and his remarkable staff at Columbia Gorge Veterinary Clinic, for the excellent care our dog received. Arlo, our ever-hungry chocolate lab, ate corn cobs at a picnic, which ended up obstructing his intestines.

This is not the first “corn-cob-ectomy” that Dr. Dave has performed, and I wanted to warn others during the barbecue season to watch their dogs around corn cobs, if they have a dog like Arlo that will eat just about anything.

From the call I made to the CGVC office in the Heights, through the communication before and after surgery, it was so comforting to know that people like Dr. Dave and his office could be trusted with the care and treatment of Arlo, and I just wanted to give a big thank-you for an incredible experience.

Support turbines

It seems we are at both a dilemma and a crossroads. The reality is that we (and the rest of the world) need more energy and everyone in the U.S. is afflicted with the “not in my back yard” syndrome. That seems to be the reason we can’t drill off-shore, develop nuclear (which accounts for 80 percent of French electricity), build a new refinery (which is part of the current problem) or now utilize a renewable, clean energy — the wind in the Gorge.

I guess we could all ride bikes or go back to horses as no one is willing to be proactive and make any sort of self-sacrifice. With so many hills in the Gorge, I would expect most to only be using their car engines half-time. Coast downhill and drive back up. Double your mileage!

Well, then, I guess we will just have to live with high energy costs and high food costs. We could also just stay in “the box,” so my suggestion to the Stevensons: Use the existing infrastructure. They are on a railroad line; I have seen miles of coal cars go by. Let’s just set up a coal-fired power plant! I think most of the infrastructure is there already. Overhead would be a great deal less. Get our energy online sooner. Heck, a little coal smoke in the Gorge, no one would even notice if there were a few wind turbines around. What do you think?

Personally, I would like to see us use a little more of our “American Ingenuity.” How do you think we became the greatest nation in the world? Our current situation is unacceptable. It is going to require us to take a step forward.

Intolerance

On the third of July I was down at the marina following the advice of my vet. When someone started yelling at me to stop with the hydrotherapy that I was doing with my dog; I went ahead and finished my dog’s five-minute first-time-in-the-water-after-having-her-cast-removed therapy session. I lost my temper (I’m not sorry that I did). If these people would have asked me what I was doing I wouldn’t have lost my temper and said the things I did. They would have found out that what I was doing was trying to prevent my dog from being permanently disabled. Next time ask before jumping to conclusions.

Kiteboarder objects

Open letter to The Port of Hood River — On this Independence Day weekend we should all reflect on the qualities that make our country great, and the current issues that require our attention: A new president, our war on terror, a stumbling economy.

With that in mind I would like to bring to your attention a local issue that requires some thought. The closure of “kite beach” or “the Spit” for three days to arrange the terrific fireworks display that was put on this Fourth of July holiday needs to be reconsidered. At this point kiteboarders outnumber windsurfers at the Hood River waterfront on most days, often by a large margin.

Enthusiasts come from around the world and especially on holiday weekends to enjoy the conditions here. Since the Spit is the only approved kite launch area in Hood River, closing it for a prolonged period of time really doesn’t make sense.

The inconvenience to the kite teaching businesses also seems excessive. Does it not make more sense to relocate the fireworks staging area to a place that is less in demand? Perhaps the parking lot adjacent to the “swimming beach” or the marina is a better staging area? Perhaps a barge in front of the waterfront buildings, anchored to the enormous log booms in the water; or adjacent to the former Nichols Boat Works property, that is now empty, would be better?

Also, if it is “necessary” to close the Spit for an approved activity like the wonderful fireworks display, I believe that it is in everyone’s best interest to provide an alternative safe launch area for kiteboarders, and it is the port’s obligation to provide this.

The most reasonable solution would be to temporarily open the Event Site to kiteboarding during the closure period. It would be a very simple thing to partition one-half of the Event Site (the downwind side) for kiters, while leaving one-half for windsurfers. I believe this would be much safer than the current situation, which involves kiteboarders and kite schools trying to access the river from multiple poor quality or unsafe areas along the waterfront.

Another more expensive but durable and far-sighted solution would be for the port to build another quality access site, perhaps on either side of the new Waterfront Community Park. Kiteboarding (like windsurfing) has become a very significant part of our community’s economy and local culture. Indeed it is most likely going to be featured in our new county logo.

The port should help embrace and promote this activity in a safe and responsible fashion; I expect the investment would pay off handsomely in the long run. Building infrastructure that supports these activities and our economy should be a top priority.

Strong spirit

“I’m still standing.” It’s often underestimated how much a short meeting with someone in a store or service position can affect you. Indeed, we meet these random people daily or do business with the same people daily keeping our distance. Yet, Lyle Coreson’s daily statement to me as I paid for my gas at the Parkdale Square has impacted the way I look at life.

To every “How are you?” he replied, “I’m still standing,” to which sometimes he added, “Which is good for an old man like me.” The first time I heard this, I was pregnant with my second child, exhausted and worried I couldn’t do it all. Then this loveable, very tall, teddy bear of a man with a crew cut made that statement, and I instantly realized how lucky I was (no matter how tired and overwhelmed).

The thing is, I had no idea how really lucky I was until Lyle was no longer standing. After battling with brain cancer, he passed away last week. He was battling it the whole time I have known him, the whole time he said to me those statements with certitude, “I’m still standing.”

Money might have been exchanged, weather discussed, but his smiling positive attitude touches me deeply today. I am lucky to have spent five minutes every other day with him. I am lucky to be surrounded with many strong people such as Lyle who give Parkdale its incredible living atmosphere.

Lyle, you will be missed.