Editor,
I am practicing thankfulness. I loved the rain. My hairdresser and I did a rain dance. We should have danced longer.
We saw the Grapes of Wrath at the UU, adapted from the book by John Steinbeck. In gorgeous black and white, “Tom Joad returns to find his family homestead overwhelmed by weather and the greed of the banking industry. With little work potential in the Oklahoma Dust Bowl, the entire family packs up [on a very old smoking jalopy] and heads for the promised land – California.” It won many Academy Awards.
It also showed the prejudices against “Okies,” the brutality of cops, the terrible conditions the growers forced onto the pickers. Yet, the belief in family, the spirit of the workers and their defiance against hatred sparkled, and Ma Joad, played by Jane Darwell, voiced the hope of many workers and poor people.
People should remember our Dust Bowl immigrants when they are considering the plight of Mexican and Central American immigrants who want to come to our country.
Also, I thank Suzie Bell and Dr. Dan Bell, the World Mission Builders and the many volunteers who started the ECHO Village on Passion Play Road. These Christians “walk their talk,” not like those who make harsh judgments of people, disrespect LGBTQ folk, and congratulate themselves on their righteousness.
ECHO Village should encourage building more low-cost housing. Most people who work in the service or hospitality industry in Eureka have a very hard time finding reasonable housing. I want Eureka’s citizens to make our town an example of ecology, compassion and kindness.
We Can Do It, my t-shirt says.
T.A. Laughlin