Sweet Lorane Community News, April 16, 2020

April 16, 2020Newspaper ColumnsCOVID-19, Mark Lanzarotta, Tiny Ramppaedwards Leave a comment

Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
April 16, 2020
By Pat Edwards

For Jim and me, Week 5 of the COVID-19 pandemic’s self-isolation is a close repeat of Week 4. We are still being blessed by sunny and warm days where we can distance ourselves from each other out of doors while still being able to spend some time with family members. One day last week, our son, Rob, came over and cut up some of last winter’s fallen tree branches for firewood on our 5-acre homesite. While he was here, I began mowing our property on our riding lawnmower and our daughter, Michele, manned the hand mower on the hilly areas where the riding mower won’t reach. Jim even came outside for awhile once I was done with the riding mower and pulled our little trailer behind it and picked up small tree limbs and brush to put on the burn pile. We were all together, but still distanced from each other, and it felt so good to be doing something productive as a family.

It is such a temptation to begin to feel that maybe, in our area, anyway, this virus is not such a big deal. But I think that those of us who begin to feel that way don’t realize that so far, it hasn’t been a New York or New Orleans-like crisis because we have been following the directives and haven’t allowed the virus cases to spread. We are doing a really good job of containing it by distancing ourselves from each other and we must continue to follow the CDC’s directives so that we can truly feel safe again as soon as possible.

While COVID-19 has been taking up so much of our local news, there are still events taking place that affect our local families and community. The Lorane and Crow areas have each lost one our own. Recently, we learned of the accidental death of Lorane resident, Mark Lanzarotta. Mark and his wife Beth built and opened the Lanzarotta Bed and Breakfast on Hamm Road a few years ago and they were well-respected Lorane Grange members. I did not have the opportunity to meet either Mark or Beth, but our thoughts and deep condolences go out to the family for their loss.

This past week, we were also saddened to learn of the passing of Tiny Ramp who was a life-long resident of Crow, Oregon. She was the matriarch of the Ramp family. Tiny and her husband Monty raised four sons and were huge supporters of Crow High School’s athletic programs. Among the things that her friends and family remarked about Tiny were the fantastic pies, chocolate chip cookies and beautiful quilts she made over the years and, most of all, her beautiful smile. She was described as sweet, loving, kind, clever, and a li’l bit of a dynamo. Another of her good friends remembers her ruthlessness at playing card games and her love for her family. I, personally, will miss her sweet smile. To me it was her trademark. Our love and prayers go out to the Ramp family for their loss.

On a much brighter note, a couple of weeks ago, we had a live-video “gender reveal” party put on by our granddaughter, Linsey, and her husband Brent on the day they found out the gender of one of our three expected great-grandbabies. While many of us watched our Facebook computer/cell phone screens, Linsey and Brent were given 12 colored eggs in a carton—6 pink ones and 6 blue ones. We were told that only 11 of them had been hard-boiled, but no one knew (except the kind neighbor who had prepared them) which one was still raw and would indicate the gender of the baby. They began breaking eggs over each others heads until Linsey became the recipient of the raw egg—a blue one—meaning they will be expecting their second boy in August. This breaks our family tradition of having one boy per generation, but we were all excited and thrilled and it allowed us to have some fun while social-distancing.

We had already found out that another granddaughter, Stephanie, and her husband, Chad, will be having their fourth girl in June, and we just got the news that a third granddaughter, Tia, and her partner, Jesse, are expecting their first. That means that this “GiGi” is going to be really busy making Christmas stockings before December rolls around. I guess I’d better get busy!

Sweet Lorane Community News, April 9, 2020

April 9, 2020Newspaper ColumnsCOVID-19, Graduation, pandemicpaedwards Leave a comment

Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
April 9, 2020
By Pat Edwards

“Week” 4 of lockdown is proving to be much improved thanks to our beautiful blue skies and warmer temperatures. As I go out each day in shirt sleeves, and wield the shovel in my flower beds, it’s hard to imagine that we are surrounded by tragedy and that in other parts of Oregon and the nation, thousands are dying. It’s hard to glory in another beautiful spring when we let our minds dwell on all of the news articles that come out daily on the tragic events affecting so many families. We need those reminders, however, to give our self-imposed isolation meaning and a sense that we are indeed doing what needs to be done.

Something that hits very close to home this week is that the rest of the school year has been cancelled for our children and teachers. It’s a necessary step in trying to keep a lid on the pandemic’s march, but the far-reaching consequences for our high school seniors, especially, are hard to imagine. For most seniors, this 12th spring of their elementary and high school educations puts them in the spotlight with the exciting prospects of the high school prom, final track, baseball and softball seasons, followed by possibly a senior trip and the biggest reward of all—graduation. Most will still graduate, but, as of now, there will be no ceremony for parents and friends to attend; no mortar-boards flying in the air after diplomas are handed out. Instead, unless our school districts figure out a way of holding these ceremonies in the summertime, their diplomas will be delivered to them by mail. It is my hope that the school districts, with perhaps the help of the communities involved, will make sure that these seniors have their proms and their graduation ceremonies once the need for self-isolation passes so that these important milestones are not lost to them. Jim and I would gladly donate to these projects if funds are short. I think a lot of parents, grandparents, and hopefully, community members and business owners would, as well.

Until that time, however, we need to continue to make the most of each day. Many are finding that working in their gardens help; some are taking on home-improvement projects; others are finding ways of making and sharing needed medical supplies or working on crafts that will help to uplift our spirits. The ones in essential services are sacrificing their own safety by providing us all with comfort and aid in our daily lives so that we can continue to live our lives in isolation.

For the past few warm and sunny days this week, besides wielding my shovel, Toby, BB and I have been taking short walks up our road and back. Because we live at the bottom of the hill and our walks take us uphill to start out, my back has been complaining a lot, but it’s a pain I’m willing to bear because it’s one that will eventually level out as my stamina returns after an idle winter. It’s kind of like the effects of this pandemic on those of us who are isolating… If we can hold up to the inconvenience and pain of lost wages and having to be apart from our loved ones, we will come out of this whole experience stronger, prouder and maybe even a little more respectful and tolerant of each other.

Stay safe everyone!

Sweet Lorane Community News, April 2, 2020

April 2, 2020Newspaper ColumnsCOVID-19, pandemicpaedwards Leave a comment

Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
April 2, 2020
By Pat Edwards

“Living in the Pandemic, Week Three” is leveling out a bit for Jim and me. We’ve developed a routine and, as I imagine most people have by now, we’ve had a chance to adjust to the many changes in our lives that have occurred in such a very short time.

I’m enjoying seeing the surfaces of my counters and furniture that I have access to once again now that I’ve gone through and taken care of the clutter that had been hiding them. I’m not known for my housekeeping routines, but I’ve been rather restricted from doing a whole lot these days because 5 rooms full of furniture and other items have been rehomed to our living room and dining room since early January. It was determined that our roof had been leaking into the walls on the backside of our house for quite some time without our knowing about it. The five rooms (2 guest bedrooms, our utility room, the guest bathroom and our family room) have been opened up and fans used to dry out the affected walls, but the repairs won’t be done until a whole new roof has been put on the house. The process of coming to terms between the insurance company and contractor has been a long one. Fortunately, we have full access to our kitchen, master bedroom and bathroom, my computer room, and a small section of the family room where Jim’s recliner and big-screen TV is located. As a bonus, the utility room where our washer and dryer are located can still be accessed even though there is plastic covering the missing drywall along the ceiling. We’re still living that particular “adventure” I told you about in an earlier column.

With only my trips to town to make the store deposits at Selco’s drive-up window and Jim’s quick runs to Lorane to pick up the deposits at the store and to order a cheeseburger lunch from the Lorane Deli on Tuesdays, we have settled into our home routine without distress.

Of course, our lives have been home-based for quite some time, but not to this extent. Jim’s doctor’s appointments are now conducted over the phone and, the other day I set up an app on my computer where I can upload Jim’s diabetes data recorded by his electronic sensor so it can be analyzed by his endocrinologist and discussed over the phone. Our medication refills arrive by mail as they always have, too, so there is little reason to go into town now, thanks to our family who is making sure we have everything we need.

With the rainy weather, our days are free to do inside whatever we feel up to each day. How Jim can sit and watch the same TV shows all day long, though, is beyond me, but he’s content. I haven’t been able to focus on any major writing projects so far, so for me, when I’m ready for some quiet time, I’ve been working on jigsaw puzzles which I’ve always loved, and I’ve actually enjoyed the nap I frequently take in the afternoons after mornings spent washing dishes by hand, cleaning surfaces, doing laundry and keeping up on email.

Our two dogs and two cats are loving the extra attention they are getting, too. When I settle into my recliner in my computer room for a nap, there’s a competition between Toby, our small blue heeler dog, and Jo-Jo, our very social and loving cat, to see which one will settle onto my chest first for naptime. If Toby wins out, frequently Jo-Jo will jump up anyway and park himself right next to Toby. He will then resist the nudges and calculated shifts that Toby makes to dislodge him. At those times, I usually give up on taking a nap.

I have no doubt that many who have been much more social are finding these quiet days extremely boring, but I’m also hoping that the optimists among us who haven’t experienced a slower style of life for many years, if ever, will learn to enjoy these quiet times, too. I’ve felt for many years that our lives have gotten so frenetic that many people who have never allowed themselves to really relax and enjoy each day will find their stress levels, heart rates and blood pressure readings have decreased.

There are positives in even the darkest situations we find ourselves in. We just need to look for and appreciate them.