A farewell to Musser
Editor:
Jim “Musser” was an icon in my hometown, sharpening skis by hand in his historic shop surrounded by a ski fence.
He had a rotary phone and sometimes took Coors beer as payment. His hours were his own, but he did the best job sharpening skis. Musser was an Elk, and he had this epic home on the lake. He had a gate that read: Keep Gate Closed, yet there was no fence.
He had a sharp, sarcastic sense of humor, which I loved. He even used to tell me to say hello to my “Father”, when he meant my husband, Jim, as he used to sharpen his skis too — and we’d laugh!
I was honored to deliver him Meals on Wheels through the Seniors’ Resource Center for many years. He was working on building a deck on his home, and we’d talk about his plan and how we were gonna sit on the deck and share a Coors.
Unfortunately, Musser got Alzheimer’s disease and had to retire from working in his shop. He was living at Bear Creek Alzheimer’s wing for only a few months. I visited him and was very sad as he didn’t belong there.
He loved that I visited him and brightened his day. Even though he couldn’t remember my name, he remembered my smile.
I just learned that he passed. Gonna miss this guy immensely as there was no one else like him and no business could ever replace his smile and his twisted humor.
Peace out, Musser!
Kristina Sherwood
Evergreen
Appreciation
Editor:
This past Thursday I was an early customer at King Soopers, picking up a few pieces of fruit. My dialogue at the checkout stand went:
Customer: “Good morning. I appreciate you being here.”
Veteran cashier: “Thank you. We don’t get many customers saying that.”
I was stunned and disappointed. In these challenging times for all, it seems the least we can do is to thank individuals being there for us — stocking shelves, making deliveries, cleaning deeply, performing checkout, keeping family practice medical offices open, answering ambulance calls, organizing neighborhood support groups — all falling into the “essential services” category.
Many of these people are interacting with the general public, sometimes necessarily less than six feet apart. It would be surprising if they don’t feel a bit scared, yet they soldier on.
Let’s all make “Thank you” more regular than not.
In addition, our local food bank, EChO, is about to get walloped with unprecedented demand as unemployment rolls soar, just as their regular sources of leftover food from grocery stores and restaurants dramatically shrink. My wife and I sent a cash contribution today to EChO. Who else may be able to pitch in?
Bob Benson
Evergreen
State of emergency in America
Editor:
While most of America focuses on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and economic fallout (as they should), we need also to take our eyes off that bouncing ball and look ahead to the November 2020 elections.
Pandemics, wars and other crises cannot not stand in the way of constitutionally mandated American elections. Health risks and fears that are associated with exposure to groups by in-person voting require enhancements to the process. That insight is what prompted Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Ron Wyden to propose the Natural Disaster and Emergency Ballot Act (NDEBA) enabling early voting up to 20 days before the election and absentee ballot availability along with funds to support the needed transition.
Delayed primaries in five states and lower-than-normal in-person voting for Illinois, Florida and Arizona last Tuesday illustrate the importance of changing our election process now before the coronavirus obsession demands all of our focus.
Nothing can illustrate the importance of voter involvement in the elections of our leaders more than our current U.S. condition. Much of our present situation could have been muted had proper planning, availability and focus of resources with national leadership existed before now.
As we struggle to survive this international emergency, we need to look ahead and apply urgency to ensure a positive outcome and the assurance that this does not occur again. The best way do that is to elect capable and credible leaders to guide America back to the safe, responsible and respected nation we have all experienced in the past.
A trusted election process with considerable turnout can be the foundation to the outcome most Americans unequivocally need in this time of worldwide crisis.
Roger Peeters
Morrison