As I drove down Galveston this morning I saw that for a third time the sign of new small business, Primal Cuts, had been vandalized.
While talking to the owner after the first time, he mentioned that it seemed pretty obvious that a large rock had been thrown through the sign. All this really disgusts me! The only way I can comprehend what might be going on is that someone does not like meat eaters, but to cause big expense to a man who is just trying to make a living like the rest of us is a disgrace and embarrassment.
I don't want to be someone who complains without offering a solution, so here's a few things I came up with: 1) Go into the store and show moral support to the owner, maybe even like them on Facebook (They support community events, too). 2) Patronize the store (the quality there is excellent!).
Opening a new business is hard enough with out this discouragement. Let's show our small businesses support and counteract someone else's ignorance.
- Chelsea Town
Do Your Doggy Doo
Duty, Bend
I'm a homeowner that frequents Shevlin Park. The other day I stepped in a big pile of dog doo on the trail next to a picnic area. Really, I have to literally dodge dog waste on the trails in Shevlin Park? I see dogs off leash all the time.Is this really fair to public park-goers and the environment? Isn't the meningitis scare in Prineville enough to make people concerned about public health and safety? Not only do I see this in Shevlin Park, but at the Shevlin Park Commons. Are people really that inconsiderate or too lazy to pick up after their pet?
Don't people care enough to clean up after their pet in public places? I love dogs, but they belong on a leash in public parks and owners must clean up after them. In Bend, this is clearly not the case and I'm very disappointed that the general public is simply unaware of, or doesn't care about our parks, natural wildlife or the people that use them.
-Anonymous
More "Alternative"
Needed in Healers Issue
I really appreciate when the Source devotes occasional editions to local heroes and I was excited to see last week's issue focused on those in the healing profession. What surprised me though was that all of these individuals were involved in conventional medicine. For its size, Bend offers a remarkable number of naturopaths, acupuncturists, body-workers, energy healers and other "alternative" health care practitioners.
In no way do I wish to denigrate the hard work and sacrifice made by the local heroes that you (chose) for your "Healers Issue." Our conventional medical system seems only marginally functional, and I can only imagine how hard it is to deal with the stresses that stem from the long hours balancing direct patient care with a host of bureaucratic requirements, like dealing with insurance companies. People who go out of their way to put patients first in such a system truly deserve to be honored.
Perhaps my reservation is more about semantics. As someone who is initiated in a tradition from Mexico, I think of healing as being something much bigger and more mysterious than simply repairing the physical body. In many healing traditions - indigenous, shamanic, Ayurveda, traditional Chinese medicine, etc. - there is a sense that healing is about balance, and that the distinctions that modern people make between body, mind and spirit are largely superficial. An imbalance at one level will eventually show up elsewhere. Similarly, an individual's well-being is intimately tied to the well-being of the world around them, their community, and the natural world in which they live.
From a more holistic or traditional perspective, we are a very sick people, and that is not only reflected in hospitalization rates, the incidence of cancer, heart disease or the like. We are also sick because we are increasingly isolated and lacking in healthy community support, and because we treat the natural world with such low regard. We are sick because our way of life sees humility and gratitude as quaint relics from the past. We are sick because we have forgotten who we are.
Congratulations to the local heroes honored in the last issue of the Source. But I wonder - could the Source devote a future issue to some of the remarkable healers in Bend who are working outside the conventional medical model?
-Best Wishes, Lawrence Messerman
Editor's note: While Dr. Joshua Cook works as an emergency room physician, he is trained, not as an M.D., but as an osteopath, a specialty that emphasizes a hands-on, holistic approach and bodywork.
