RIGHT NOW

Posted on September 13, 2020 by webadmin

My friend is worried. I’m concerned too. It seems we’ve lost the three Cs. Caring, concern and compassion. We seem to have replaced them with spitefulness, name calling and hatred. Not even of our enemies but of our brothers and sisters.
OH, Yah, negativity has ruled before; anybody remember the aftermath of the Vietnam War? Now, during the Pandemic and pre and post-election, caring about others seems to be low on the list of important things. Better to rant, rail and rag than to seek compromise and caring.
My friend found a song from the 1960’s that she thinks holds the answer. Maybe you remember it?
Come on people now,
Smile on your brother,
Everybody get together,
Try to love one another,
RIGHT NOW!
The song has a very long and successful history. “Get Together” was the second single released from the Youngbloods’ debut album in July 1967. It became the de facto anthem of the “hippie movement” and it remains the Youngbloods most well-known and successful song to this day.
The song was originally recorded as “Let’s Get Together” by the Kingston Trio in a live performance in March 1964. Many prominent popular groups have recorded the song.
The most notable recording came in 1967, when the Youngbloods released their version under the title “Get Together”. It was used in a radio public service announcement as a call for brotherhood by the National Conference of Christians and Jews. The Youngbloods’ version, the most-remembered today, was re-released in 1969, peaking at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Just think of the social boundaries this song has spanned: from “hippie” to National Conference of Christians and Jews. Perhaps it has a message we should consider.
In his book, “The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho has the shepherd boy, Santiago, say, “the world we live in will be either better or worse, depending on whether we become better or worse. And that’s where the power of love comes in. Because when we love, we always strive to become better than we are.”
Are we striving to become better than we are or are we smugly tearing each other down? Can we heed the plea to love one another? RIGHT NOW! “Come on, let’s get together and love one another. RIGHT NOW!”

 

Posted in Featured, General Interest | 5 Comments

YOU DON’T KNOW HOW GOOD YOU’VE GOT IT

Posted on September 11, 2020 by webadmin

By Jackie Deal

You don’t know how good you’ve got it until you meet someone else who’s got it worse! I’m sitting out a Level 1, expecting Level 2 at any minute; yes, I’m talking about the forest fires ravaging Oregon. They’ve evacuated about 10 miles East of us. The smoke and ash are so thick you can’t see a block away. I can’t see my favorite mountain that rises right behind my place. It’s another in the strange feelings recent events have caused. Life is suspended. All that exists, outside my window is a world of gray, cold, uninviting. Maybe this is how a goldfish feels in his little bowl of water!
I’m packed; my “To Go Bag” is in the trunk, my car full of gas. And where would we go? Well, let’s see: there are fires North of us, fires South of us and fires East of us. Guess that leaves West to the Pacific Ocean! (Yes, spell-corrector I‘m capitalizing them because they’re so important!)
About an hour ago I met a young woman buying piles of clothes at the Thrift store. “Are you from Nonpareil?” I asked. “Yah”, she said, “and I only got out with the clothes on my back when they evacuated us.” I’ve got a pair of jeans and a couple of shirts, sweatshirts etc. in my trunk. Nothing fancy, no dress-up clothes.
My next-door neighbor in Quartzsite comes to Oregon for the summer just like I do. I live in an Escapees co-op park in Sutherlin, Oregon and she works at a campground at Detroit Lakes, Oregon. They were evacuated, Level 3. She got in her motor home, her son in her car and they headed west. Fires were burning on both sides of the highway, trees were falling across the highway. Things were so bad her son drove on ahead to see if it got better. He came back, “Mom, its worse; turn around. We have to go back.”
They headed back east only to run into State Troopers, “Lady, you turn that RV around and get out of here! It’s worse the way you’re going now!” They made it back west through the inferno to safety but they hope never to do it again!
The ash has tapered off; is that a good sign? The smoke is worse, visibility is nil. Yesterday we had the most beautiful sunset at 2:30 p.m. One good thing: the smoke has blocked the sun and the high 90s temperatures we were expecting haven’t materialized. In fact it’s cold: low 50s.
What’s ahead, I don’t know. I’m writing this, going to email it and only time will tell. Have we got it good or not?

 

Posted in Creative Work, Featured, General Interest, Life at Timber Valley | Tagged | 5 Comments

Please Welcome Ray & Janice Lot 132

Posted on August 28, 2020 by Dick Shanahan

Say “Hello” to Ray and Janice Vaughn who recently took possession of lot 132. “They aren’t new” you say, “I see them all the time.”
Ray and Janice have been around the park for several years off and on. They signed up on the AWL list four years ago and have come in from time to time for various activities as guests of the Regan’s. Not only are they not new to Timber Valley, they are not new to Sutherlin, having lived here for 50 years. You may also recognize them from Saturday donuts as they are the ones who have been delivering them lately.
With their move to lot #132, they have taken on a big project getting their new
destination trailer set up, adding a new deck and awnings. Still in the works, is a bit of landscaping. They both look forward to having the time to join in the park landscaping projects.
The Vaughn’s have been rv’ing for many years traveling to Alaska one summer and spending winters in Quartzite and Yuma, Arizona. They also enjoy cruising, with Costa Rica and the Panama Canal being favorites. They have already joined Chapter 9 and look forward to future rallies. Ray retired from Roseburg Lumber and Janice worked as a payroll clerk. Together, they have 3 boys and 3 girls, 13 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren.

Posted in General Interest, Members, News | 1 Comment

SUCH A STRANGE SENSATION

Posted on August 20, 2020 by webadmin

By Jackie Deal

Such a strange sensation! Really weird. Explanation? Okay. I self-quarantined for a short time and the effects were surprising. You see, a young man, let’s call him John, tested positive for corona virus. I had
been in a meeting (outside the park) with him, masks: sorta, six feet apart: almost. I was advised that the tests were “preliminary” and often gave false positives and that he was having further tests. Quarantining was left up to me.
After some soul searching I decided that there were people in this park I didn’t want to expose. I wasn’t overly fearful: I have no underlying conditions and I think my immune system is in pretty good shape. (How do we know?) BUT! I resolved to quarantine, isolate, sequester, call it what you will; it’s the same. Two weeks if necessary.
The first day, the very first day, it hit me. I sat back with my morning coffee and thought “Oh, Goodie, I have a day all to myself (14 of them to be exact); what am I going to do??
Huh? I dunno. Well then, what do I want to do? I dunno. Okay, Let’s start with, what day is this? I dunno. It seems that without a daily schedule I was lost. Lost. Lost is not a nice feeling. There was no incentive, no push. No gotta do this so I can do that next. Gotta do it today ’cuz tomorrow…..
Realization: I define myself not by what I am but by what I do. Abraham Maslow and other more modern psychologists (more modern than Freud) would say “Oh, woe, you must be all that you can be and not be what you do.” Maslow’s term was “self-actualize”. When our basic needs are taken care of we should be free to be all that we can be. Yah, Okay, I’m working on it.
The “rest of the story”? After one day of quarantining I got the good news that John’s next test was negative: it did NOT show corona virus. Whoopie!! I’m back in circulation but with a new respect for “contacts” who must isolate. And maybe, perhaps, just a little more self-awareness.

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Creature of the Night

Posted on July 26, 2020 by Thom Hoch

You put a game camera out at the edge of the forest and you never really know what you’ll get.

These images were captured Friday night and early Saturday morning by Jimmy Smith, lot 197.  They were taken behind his place, up on the hill, at the southern edge of the Park. The pics speak for themselves… (a picture is worth a thousand word??)  But I think I’d be keeping close tabs on my small pets, especially after dark.

The time-stamp on the first picture is 11:51pm; the last picture is 1:55am – about 2 hours later. So he or she was hanging around for a while.

 

 

 

 

Posted in Featured, General Interest, News | 7 Comments

Good News …

Posted on July 21, 2020 by webadmin

Bored out of my mind, done with the day’s work, tired of listening to the silence I again started poking around in the internet. The same search as I have done before but this time I searched for “covid cases by zip code Oregon” and got projects.oregonlive.com.
I see a map. I see Portland and a few other cities. I move down the map. I noticed when I tapped my screen the zip code on the right changed. Example, I tapped Silverton, and now I can read zip code, 97381, population, 15,822. 53 cases

I kept tapping southward until I got our zip code and I read
“Population 9550, Cases <10*

The * says OHA {Oregon Health Authority} would not release numbers for any zip code with fewer than 10 cases.

97479 may have 9 cases or even no cases. If you see the map you will see that south of us, Roseburg is pale green, indicating areas that they have 18 cases per ten thousand population. Even if 97479 has 9 we would still have half the cases per ten thousand population

This doesn’t mean we should throw away our masks and party in the streets. It means we are doing it right in not letting Coivid in.

Finding this information today makes me less burdened by all the restrictions. I know they are for the good of our community. Stay Well

Posted in General Interest, News | Tagged | 3 Comments

The Latest Fashion Accessory

Posted on July 20, 2020 by webadmin

Fashionable Member

Fashion has always demanded accessories. To be “in style” means more than the basics; it means the latest in fashion accessories. You know, “diamonds are a girl’s best friend”. Remember Mamma Bush and her large white pearls? As teeny boppers we wore saddle shoes and Peter Pan collars. What is “in” for the mature fashion addict is definitely not “in” for teens. But now we have a fashion accessory that is “in” for every age and is seen everywhere.
You’re right: it’s the mask: cloth or paper, colored or plain. It is definitely IN. You see lovely turquoise colors, and of course, the plain white. Then there’s every imaginable pattern, whipped up by talented seamstresses: flowers, geometrics, doggies and kitties; anything your heart desires. You could even show your political affiliation, not on your sleeve but over your mouth! And men could coordinate their baseball caps with their masks, making a definite fashion or political statement.
And the mask can be worn in various tantalizing ways. There’s the socially correct: over the mouth and nose. Then the daring: just below the nose but over the mouth. If one is careful, one can probably pass the most critical inspection with this manner. Frequently seen: the under the chin, over the ears, giving a dumbo-like look to the ears while protecting the vocal cords, ready to be snatched up the moment a “fashion cop” comes in view. The ultimate, seen on an airplane: over the eyes for a sleep mask. Talk about double-duty.
As usual, there are those who object to the latest fashion. I don’t remember the advent of the swimming suit rather than the “bathing dress”. But I do remember the coming of the bikini. Oh, scandalous. And of course the predictions, “It will never last.”
The mask isn’t scandalous, though the objections by some are almost as violent. And as for lasting? At this moment it looks pretty permanent. There are advantages to the mask. Think about the savings in lipstick! Lips can’t be seen and lipstick smeared on the inside of a mask isn’t very appetizing. So do away with lipstick. But oh my, think of the people put out of work! Lipstick makers and sellers. Entire empires might collapse.
And it’s a pain to try to eat or drink, yes, yes, you have to pull the mask down and then you have to put the mask back up. Just the energy involved might cause some folks to eat less and thus lose weight. Just think we could become the leanest, thinnest people in history!
You can’t really tell if a person is smiling or snarling behind the mask. Think of all the nastiness that could be avoided if you thought everyone was smiling at you! On the other hand, no discernible smile might make people think you were hoity-toity and your circle of friends could collapse.
There’s an old saying, “Don’t be a slave to fashion”. But in this instance it seems intelligent to adopt the latest fashion accessory knowing that like the cuffed pants and the tent dress things change with time.

 

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New local COVID-19 cases directly linked to travel outside Douglas County, especially outside Oregon

Posted on July 18, 2020 by webadmin

PORTLAND, Ore. — As of 12:01 a.m. Saturday, July 18, COVID-19 has claimed three more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 257, the Oregon Health Authority reported . They also stated 353 new confirmed and presumptive cases, bringing the state total to 14,149.

Of the total number, Douglas County, is now at 83, according the the County’s COVID-19 Response Team. For a quick look at the last five days check out below:

 

Reminder: The majority of the county’s new positives have been directly linked to travel outside Douglas County, and especially those residents that have chosen to travel outside of Oregon.

“Whatever your reason for traveling, we encourage you to please consider the risk and travel in a COVID-19 safe manner,” said the Response Team. “The COVID-19 virus is still here, still infectious and will be around for quite some time.

“Current data from CDC and OHA shows that traveling and coming into contact with people from other areas DOES significantly increase your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19.

“So, before you travel, attend a party or invite your relatives from out of state to visit, you need to assess the risk to you, your family and to your local community. The bottom line is that each and every person needs to take personal responsibility for their actions and adopt the proper precautionary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”

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Gnome Gold Mine in Timber Valley SKP Park

Posted on July 17, 2020 by webadmin

The founders of the Timber Valley SKP park were wise with great foresight. It was said at the time that this property was a gold mine. They were correct!! We are positioned on a gold mine.

OH Sure Sharon, we know you. You are peddling FAKE NEWS.

Well let me tell you the story. In a recent website article written by Jackie Deal, exercise is necessary in order to assist our immune systems. My friend and neighbor Judy Leonard have taken Jackie’s advice seriously and we walk in the mornings. For weeks we looked at a lovely tree that is beautifully shaped but had big gouge at the base. The hole resembled a half shell or an alcove. We just knew the empty space was ideal for “something”.

Sure enough one morning a gnome appeared all by itself but soon another one joined him and eventually the population grew to three. The gnomes soon felt comfortable enough to bring their beasts of burden to the surface. The creatures appear like lovely colored lady bugs and we are sure these helpers perform the gold mining for the gnomes. As time went by the dirt floor of the gnome abode was replaced by a thick luxurious rug of green moss. Next the gnomes added a well placed log for safety and then draped Oregon Spanish Moss with hanging tendrils across their ceiling to make the entire area a secure, comfortable nest. In addition the door to the mine was exposed . Now how do we know this is a gold mine. Well it is quite obvious as there are piles of gold decorating the moss.

Judy, Jackie and I challenge you to stimulate your immune system by walking around this wonderful place, finding the gold mine and enjoying the wonders it has to share.

When you find it, enjoy this little happy, fun and pretty artistic fantasy project. We appreciate all that participated with the names not mentioned in order to protect the location. Seek and yee shall find.

The Gnomes awoke the Fairies and they constructed a village across the street from the gold mine.

Posted in Featured, General Interest | 5 Comments

To Mask or to Shield by Jackie Deal

Posted on July 15, 2020 by webadmin

“Cover your mouth when you sneeze.” Remember Mom barking that at you? So you sneezed, or coughed, into your hand and then proceeded to spread your nasty snotty germs everywhere you touched. Forgive Mom, she didn’t know any better. Now the advice, gleamed from kindergarteners is, “Cough into your elbow.”’ Yah, it’s doubtful you’re going to touch any surface with the inner aspect of your elbow.

But with the Corona virus on the rampage we need more protection than just our elbows. Enter the ubiquitous, hated mask. It’s steamy, foggy, miserable and you’re constantly adjusting it. Act two: enter the Face Shield. That’s those futuristic looking plastic shields medical people and clerks are beginning to wear. Are they as good? As safe?

Let’s research it and see. First off, they’ve been approved by the Governor, or at least included along with masks as approved face coverings.

Dr. Adalja, M.D., a pandemic preparedness expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, says, “There’s a lot of at least biological possibility to suspect that [shields] are definitely better than homemade face masks, and maybe even better than other types of masks as well, because they not only prevent you from spreading it … [and] because it also covers your eyes, it provides more protection to the mucus membranes of your face where you might be getting infected.” Another benefit, says Adalja: “With a mask, you may find yourself constantly adjusting it and therefore touching your face and possibly transferring the virus from your hands, but wearing a shield doesn’t really put you in a position where you’re touching your face so much, because it’s not as cumbersome to wear.” (Love that first sentence, it takes her 30 or more words to say: “There’re just as good or maybe better.”)

James Cherry, M.D., a distinguished research professor and infectious disease expert at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, says that while experts aren’t yet sure about how vulnerable our , “With many viruses, the eyes are important.” He points to measles and adenoviruses as examples of viruses that are known to infect people through their eyes.”

You probably don’t realize how many times you touch your face even without a mask and wearing a mask only increases that. Who are we protecting? Us or them? Originally it was said that masks stopped us, if we were a nonsymptomatic corona victim, from spreading viruses to others. Then they’ve kinda equivocated (fancy word for can’t make up their minds) as to who’s protecting whom.

I’ve been told that shields were, and maybe soon will be, available at Bi-Mart and Costco. Ask for them, wear ‘em. Masks or shields: whichever floats your boat, butters your bread or protects you from Covid.

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