We folks who grew up in the 1930s and 1940s have been given another "Triple Whammy" to sully our so called "Golden" years.
In the '30s and '40s, we had a Depression, extreme heat and drought (the highest temperatures ever recorded), and World War II to contend with.
This year, we have extreme drought (accompanied by air quality alerts from Canadian forest fires), extended periods of extreme heat (comparable to 1930s), and now, another COVID-19 (variant) outbreak. Meeker County just happens to be labeled a "red" county, with increasing number of cases.
We can devise ways of keeping cool and conserving water resources: close the shades, keep the fans going (AC on, if you have it), open windows at night, sleep in the basement, if you have one. Loiter about air-conditioned stores, churches, public buildings, friends'/relatives' homes; restrict your water use. (We sure know how to do that.)
And just when we'd tossed our masks to the wind (Many of us kept some, just in case they might be needed again.), it becomes a great necessity to make them useful again. Take the words of our local Dr. Fauci, Dr. Cecil Leitch, seriously folks. Please take the time to get vaccinated now. It's convenient, painless, and might save friends, family, and strangers a lot of grief. Also, get out those masks and do yourselves and your neighbors a favor, by wearing them. After all, "We're all in this together." (Where have we heard those words before?)
Jeanie Shoultz Doran,
Litchfield
