{"id":16169,"date":"2021-06-16T00:33:01","date_gmt":"2021-06-16T00:33:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=16169"},"modified":"2021-06-16T19:43:16","modified_gmt":"2021-06-16T19:43:16","slug":"unexpected-bright-spots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2021\/06\/16\/unexpected-bright-spots\/","title":{"rendered":"UNEXPECTED BRIGHT SPOTS"},"content":{"rendered":"

By JoEllen Collins<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
JoEllen Collins\u2014a longtime resident of the Wood River Valley\u2014is a teacher, writer, fabric artist, choir member and unabashedly proud grandma known as \u201cBibi Jo.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Perhaps it is the sun, or perhaps it is just being able to finally get out and around the people I care for, but I am feeling rather chipper this week.\u00a0At the same time, I am very aware of the sadness that has visited me and our community and families. This will be a summer of mourning, of\u00a0honoring and saying goodbye to the many people we know who have left us, through COVID or other ravages.<\/p>\n

I am off as I write this\u00a0to a celebratory garden \u201cparty\u201d in Southern California commemorating the vibrant spirit of my cousin\u2019s wife.\u00a0She lived a long and lovely life, and so it is not as hard to bid her farewell as if her life had been cut short. However, of course it is always sad to realize that we won\u2019t have that person again in our lives.<\/p>\n

Many other memorials due to the delays caused by\u00a0the pandemic are now about to be offered.\u00a0Usually, I would fear them because I cry easily and talk too much, but I am actually very ready to fly for the L.A. services this weekend. I feel strongly about the family giving the fete. My cousin\u2019s father, my \u201cUncle Doc\u201d (their last name is Docter), was a second father to me. When his son asked me to write my remembrances of Doc, I agreed to do so because, as I have grown older, I have understood how much he helped in forming my personality and beliefs. I loved this meaningful trip down memory lane, something positive amidst the grief. I will give this record to my cousin, along with a few old photos that capture my uncle\u2019s influence. I also will visit with many members of this large family after many\u00a0years of physical distance from them.\u00a0So, all is OK.<\/p>\n

In contrast to the sadness, several things have happened to me lately because of the goodness of my neighbors. A woman friend of about my same age and I were out to dinner. When the bill came, the server said that a gentleman at a nearby table had paid it. When we went over to thank him and his daughter, we asked why he was so nice to do this. He said that he saw us enjoying ourselves and told his daughter, \u201cI hope that when I am their age, someone will treat me to a dinner.\u201d\u00a0Generosity!<\/p>\n

A few days ago I went to the dog park out Warm Springs with a friend, and her dog found a place to \u201chide\u201d and wouldn\u2019t come out.\u00a0After a long time of offering treats and jumping over barriers, I noticed a family across the river watching us.\u00a0Shortly, they crossed the bridge and, after their daughter\u2014a self-titled \u201cdog-whisperer\u201d\u2014used her charms, the pup accepted the leash. What a selfless action. Kindness!<\/p>\n

Finally, Caritas Chorale is rehearsing again, and I can experience the shared pleasure of singing with others. Joy!<\/p>\n

This is also a summer of gratitude.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By JoEllen Collins Perhaps it is the sun, or perhaps it is just being able to finally get out and around the people I care for, but I am feeling rather chipper this week.\u00a0At the same time, I am very aware of the sadness that has visited me and our community and families. This will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7944,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,22],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-16169","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-commentary","8":"category-on-lifes-terms"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16169"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16172,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16169\/revisions\/16172"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}