Honor

When I was a little girl, we moved back to the small community of Empire, Oregon, which is now a district in the larger city of Coos Bay. My grandparents on both sides of my family brought their children to the same little town when they were small. Having grown up in the same little town, my mother and father began to share some of their stories with us as we settled in and became part of the community there. I was in the 4th grade, and had been quite shy. Moving to a new town was a challenge, and, as a newcomer, I had to get used to the many questions people would ask about where we were from and who we were. To me, the most intriguing part of my story, which I had only recently learned myself, was the fact that my grandfather had been the Mayor of Empire, so that is what I told people...all people...who asked. I quickly discovered that this simple fact stopped all questions. It seemed that I was no longer an "outsider" if my grandfather had been the Mayor~ either that or they thought I was a delusional child, having moved there from out of state.

Well, this evening I had the privilege of going to a Coos Bay City Council meeting. I'm sorry to say that, until this year, I had never attended a meeting of the council. I had attended meetings in another part of the country where I had lived and been an advocate for people who were Deaf and Hearing Impaired, but never here in my home town had I taken the time to be a part of the decisions that were made until asked to attend a meeting recently.

As I listened to the discussion, it suddenly occurred me that I had taken so many things for granted for many years. The members of the council were respectful, thoughtful and serious about helping this community. I found myself wanting to honor them for their sacrifice of time and willingness to accept the simple fact that they would never have the agreement and approval of 100% of the citizens of this community, but they were willing to gather as much information as they could and make decisions that effect us all. They were willing to be spoken to as if they were inconsiderate and rude by those who didn't agree or understand their decisions, and continue to serve our community.

It made me think of my grandfather, and wonder what motivated him to get involved. I pondered, also, the words of my father, who told me when I was young, "you can have a much greater impact on an organization from inside than outside. It's better to get involved than to sit on the outside and complain."

I ended my day with no photos that I really liked, but still a desire to give honor to those who work hard to keep the city moving forward and thank them for their time and patience.