valley views Phone connections I
f the fire alarm went off in your home or workplace and you had to evacuate quickly, what would you grab on your way out? Besides pets, spouses, chapstick and an extra change of underwear, I’m guessing most of us could agree on one item: our phones. Our phones have become an extension of us. We wouldn’t consider leaving home without them. I didn’t see it coming - this reliance I have (we have) on our phones. They’re our communication link to the outside world, but that’s only the beginning. They are calendars, calculators and contacts. Anyone remember the days when we
verted his weather icon actually memorized the phone numbers of friends into a widget so it is sized bigger than the other apps and family? I don’t know on his phone in order to anyone’s phone number allow him easier access anymore. Even my own. to knowledge about the I’ve got myself on speed weather each day. I had to dial. laugh. Our phones What are cameras. about just They record Jill Pertler looking outvideo. They Syndicated columnist side? are games and He didn’t memes. They have much of are FaceTime an answer to that. and Facebook, TikTok It’s the world we live in, and alarm clocks. They track your health and your isn’t it? We find it checking the weather on our wealth. They are apps, phone screen easier than maps and Snaps. They looking out the screen are banking, bill pay and door. better than cash. They are My phone helps me shopping and free shipping. They are movies and meditate and create my art. It teaches me how to streaming. They are the complete home improveweather. ment projects and has My son told me the even helped with the purother day that he con-
Slices of Life
chase of a used car. We spend a lot on our phones, and I’ve been known to complain about that. But they take the place of so many other appliances and gadgets that we used to have as uni-taskers. Regular folks - not professionals - used to spend hundreds or even thousands on cameras and video cameras. Long distance phone calling used to be an expensive thing. Our phones are the ultimate multitaskers. If I didn’t know better, I might say my phone is my best friend. If you could have an inanimate object as a best friend. But maybe phones aren’t inanimate… Consider Siri. I know I do. I ask her questions all the time. She
tells me where to go and what to do. Even if she doesn’t know the answer to my question, she’ll be up front and honest about it. If she is tired, or low on battery life she’ll always do her best to respond. As a friend. I talk to her regularly, and she gets back to me at record speed. You can always count on a good friend to respond. I like that about Siri. So, yeah, if the fire alarm went off in the wee hours of the morning and I was jarred from a peaceful sleep, I’d grab my phone, because Siri’s always been good to me. And I wouldn’t want to leave her in the lurch, or worse yet, in danger of going up in smoke. Plus if I got lost during
It’s time to bring Big Medicine home The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) held their Bison Range Restoration Celebration May 20-22, 2022, which was a monumental day that represented the righting of a terrible time in our U.S. history by restoring and honoring a broken treaty and returning the land and bison back to the CSKT. This was a day of healing, but it also represented the continued need for 10 - June 15, 2022
the Montana Historical healing with all of our Montana tribes, and the Society in Helena, Monneed to restore and hontana. or many of the broken Big Medicine was promises once born in 1933 and lived at made. And even though Members of the Montana the National American Indian Caucus Bison Range this special day celebrated on the Flata major piece head Indian that was missing for the Reservation and was a Salish, Kootenai, and true white bison, not an albino bison, who lived Pend d’Oreille people, there still remains a huge to age 26. He was a one void with Big Medicine in a million birth and a missing and sitting at physical representation of
Valley Views
the bison herd’s spiritual significance to the Salish, Kootenai, and Pend d’Oreille people as he was considered a special gift from the creator and represented the centralizing of the spiritual power of the buffalo. His birth came at a time where Indian people were reeling from the horrific U.S. removal and assimilation policy eras and still suffering from the impacts of the great depression.
Valley Journal
Big Medicine gave people hope and brought forth much needed healing. It is only fitting to now bring this healing full circle by bringing Big Medicine back to his people, his herd, and to his home. CSKT members had the vision to bring bison across the divide to help save them from extinction, the ancestors to which Big Medicine
see page 11
exit, she might be able to help me navigate a way out. Jill Pertler is an award-winning syndicated columnist, published playwright and author. Don’t miss a slice; follow the Slices of Life page on Facebook.
LETTER POLICY
Letters to the editor are welcome. The content is the opinion of the letter writer and not the newspaper. The decision to publish letters is made by the editor. Letters must be 350 words or less. A writer will only be published twice per month. Letters may be edited for content or length, or may not be published if considered libelous, in poor taste, spiteful, self-promotional or of limited interest to the general readership. Space limitations also dictate when or if letters are published. Letters must be signed by the author and name, address and phone number must be included – phone number is for verification purposes only. Letters from organizations must include the name of at least one author. Please limit “thank you” letters to four people/organizations or less. Deadline is 5 p.m. Friday to publish the following week. Opinions expressed in this section are not necessarily those of the newspaper.
