Desert Messenger

6 www.DesertMessenger.com December 4, 2019 DESERT MESSENGER Quartzsite's FREE Community Paper Proud to be a Quartzsite Licensed Business 928-916-4235 O� T��� - E���� T���! Founded by Walt Akin October 1, 2004 P�������� �� P���� R��� P��������� C�. P.O. Box 3185 Quartzsite, AZ 85359 P�������� ����� � ����� 1st & 3rd Wednesday Sept. thru May with Special Summer Editions June, July & August EDITOR/PUBLISHER Shanana "Rain" Golden-Bear CONTRIBUTING JOURNALIST Joanne Winer GUEST COLUMNIST Gypsy Jane Finley CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Starr BearCat NAME PLATE LETTERING Paul Winer www.DesertMessenger.com www.MyQuartzsite.com E-mail: Editor@DesertMessenger.com 2018 © Copyright All Rights Reserved Copyright 2013 Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Desert Messenger. LIKE US on Facebook.com/ DesertMessengerNews FOLLOW US on Twitter @QuartzsiteRain Neighborhood Watch to meet Quartzsite Neighborhood Watch meets the fi rst Thursday of each month at 6:00 PM. The next meeting will be THURS- DAY, DEC. 5TH, 2019, at the Quartzsite Community Cen- ter. For more information contact the Quartzsite Police Department at 928-927-4644. County Landfill Transfer Station now on Winter Hours The Quartzsite Transfer Station is now on their WINTER hours. They are open Sunday thru Wednes- day, 7:30am to 2:30pm. Dump your trash for free at the Transfer Station. Please cover your load. For more info call the Main landfi ll 928- 916-1253 or Main offi ce at 928-854- 9152. The transfer station is locat- ed north of Town, just off Hwy. 95, near the Sewer Treatment Plant. By Shanana "Rain" Golden-Bear Read Desert Messenger online! Sign up for free email alerts when the Desert Messenger becomes available online! Join thousands reading the paper online at: www.DesertMessengerOnline.com LETTERS TO EDITOR POLICY Desert Messenger encourages letters from its readers. Letters should be no longer than 300 words, and may be edited for grammar, content and length. OPINIONS EXPRESSED HEREIN DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THOSE OF THE DESERT MESSENGER. We invite you to not only see a problem, but search for the solution to share with the com- munity, keeping the benefit of all in mind. Letters considered libelous, in poor taste, on a personal issue, mean spirited or dominated by Scripture quotes will not be published. Third party letters will not be accepted. To avoid confusion over people with common or similar names, writers must provide a full name and indicate the name they are known by. Writers must provide a full street address and phone number. Rvers can provide the loca- tion of park/BLM land, etc. Street addresses will not be published. Phone numbers are for verification only and will not be printed. Mail letters to: Desert Messenger, P.O. Box 3185, Quartzsite, AZ 85359 or E-mail to Editor@DesertMessenger.com 928-916-4235 "Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." ~Melody Beattie DEADLINE : WED. DEC. 11 TH for the Dec. 18 TH edition Desert Messenger News Email: editor@DesertMessenger.com 928-916-4235 www.DesertMessenger.com As I begin writing this morning, the bright red and orange sunrise calls me to take a break and just enjoy the beauty we have surrounding us. Are we so blessed or what to be in the beautiful Sonoran Desert? We sometimes forget the beauty around us, and get caught up in the nega- tive news of the world. Grandma Aggie (Agnes Baker Pil- grim) the oldest member of Oregon's Takelma tribe and a vocal advocate for clean water and Native American rights, died last week at the age of 95. I fi rst met her in Southern Oregon over a decade before she co-founded the International Council of Thir- teen Indigenous Grandmothers. She would often say, "I'm everybody's Grandma!" And we were grateful to be one of her many grandchildren. In 1994 she revived the Siletz trib- al sacred Salmon Ceremony along the Rogue River. This is where I learned to make frybread "her way" (much different than Lakota style) for the hundreds of people gathered for the feast; that's a lot of frybread! She didn't just teach; she shared heart to heart about the sacredness of making food for the people. The women learned how to hold good intentions for the health of the peo- ple. Grandma was a strong, loving elder, willing to teach anyone who would listen. Those of us mourning the loss of this deeply wise woman are also mourning the traditional standards of decency, grace, humility, compas- sion, love of family and all living be- ings. She touched everyone she met, leaving memories for a lifetime. Quartzsite has its own gathering of elders each year; they're known as "snowbirds." Just listen to their words of wisdom, hear the hope for the future, and their love of life. Quartzsite is known for many things; swap meets, beautiful winter weath- er, "the Gathering Place," the "put it on your bucket list," friendly people, vendors, social connections, music jams, entertainment, more RV parks per capita than anywhere, thousands of acres of pristine Sonoran Desert camping, incredible OHV trails, tons of rocks for sale or rockhounding, rich history of colorful characters, gold mining, creativity of RVers, ... and lots of "elder" Snowbirds! The next time you're visiting with an "elder," listen for how they teach through sharing of their stories. We truly are blessed to have so many wisdom keepers among us. Let us teach our children about how water is precious and the source of life for all beings. Let us all remem- ber to care for all life as she did; to open our hearts and feel connected to each other; and to pray and speak for those who are the voiceless.

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