THE READER - EL PERICO DECEMBER 2020 by PioneerMedia.Me

DE C E M B E R 2020 | VO LUME 27 | I SSUE 10

Covid Pushes Healthcare Systems Near Breaking Point BY CHRIS BOWLING

WE’RE NOT CRYING WOLF. THE WOLF IS IN THE HOUSE.

JOBS: SHORT-STAFFED NURSING INDUSTRY BOOK: MY OMAHA OBSESSION DISH: A TRADITIONAL FEAST ART: SURVEILLANCE AND GUN CULTURE HOODOO: PINE RIDGE TOY DRIVE FILM: TOP 10 MOVIE MOMENTS OF 2020 / REVIEW: POSSESSOR FEATURE: DEATH CAN’T ESCAPE COVID’S DISRUPTION HEARTLAND HEALING: ACUPUNCTURE’S JOURNEY TO AMERICA OTE: TOP OMAHA RELEASES DURING COVID

DECEMBER 2020

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JOBS: Short-Staffed Nursing Industry Faces Strain

publisher/editor........... John Heaston john@thereader.com graphic designers........... Ken Guthrie Sebastian Molina news..........................Robyn Murray copy@thereader.com lead reporter............... Chris Bowling chris@thereader.com associate publisher.... Karlha Velásquez karlha@el-perico.com creative coordinator...... Lynn Sánchez lynn@pioneermedia.me

COVER: Health Care Workers Beg for Help During a COVID-19 Crisis

BOOK: An Intrepid Dive Into “The Most Delicious of Rabbitholes”

HOLIDAY: HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

DISH: Holiday meals are about bringing family together

PICKS: Cool Things To Do in December

ART: Panopticon: Exhibit At Zodiac Gallery Reveals Threat Of Surveillance And Gun Culture

HOODOO: 2020 Pine Ridge Toy Drive Goes Virtual

FILM: The Top 10 Movie Moments of 2020 / Possessor is a Corporate Creature Feature

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“Solamente están haciendo lo que tiene que hacerse durante una emergencia”, dijo Walters.

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CROSSWORDS: Your Favorite Fill in The Blanks 63

Doctores como Davidson se han vuelto más capaces

OUR SISTER MEDIA CHANNELS

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Trabajadores de la salud claman por para tratar la enfermedad. ayuda ante COVID-19 Medicamentos como el

Remdesivir, aprobado por la FDA pero rechazado por la Organización Mundial de la Salud, cuentan con mayo disponibilidad. Los esteroides brindan a los cuerpos de

Cuidados Intensivos COVID y una unidad para que las personas puedan morir en paz. Pero el personal ha logrado ajustarse, llevando más camas y agregando equipos adicionales para poder trabajar con los pacientes.

COMICS: Ted Rall, Jen Sorensen and Garry Trudeau

“Pero en algún momento durante una emergencia, con un aumento de adrenalina que usualmente dura poco tiempo, tienes que detenerte para procesarlo, encargarte de la situación, y eso no está bien. Y por eso el riesgo es que las

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de servicios de cuidados a la salud de primera línea y agregó fondos para ayudar a mejorar la infraestructura y contratar a más enfermeras itinerantes, los efectos emocionales no son fáciles de remediar.

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IN MEMORIAM: Gone, But Not Forgotten

FEATURE III: Even Death’s Disrupted by COVID-19

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

HEARTLAND HEALING: Acupuncture’s Journey to America

Navidades latinas en pandemia // Latino Christmas in Pandemic

DECEMBER 2020

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OVER THE EDGE: Top Omaha releases during the year of COVID-19 OUR DIGITAL MARKETING SERVICES

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“I never would have imagined in a million years that I wouldn’t be able to play my senior football season. I’ve looked forward to it since I was eight years old. The feeling of loss is indescribable.” — Hunter, Omaha ERIC FRANCIS PHOTOGRAPHY, @COVIDCHRONICLES402 ON INSTAGRAM

DECEMBER 2020

O M A H A

J O B S

COVID-19 Strains Already Short-Staffed Hospitals by Chris Bowling

ebraska’s had a nursing problem for a long time.

Specifically, the state can’t attract or retain enough nurses to staff its hospitals, senior care facilities and other healthcare services. The most up-todate data puts Nebraska at about 28,300 full-time nurses statewide, which is about 4,192 nurses behind where it should be. Those estimates come from the Nebraska Center for Nursing which was established in 2000 by the Nebraska Legislature to address the state’s shortage. Lisa Ulrich Walters, president of the center, said COVID-19 is straining an already short-staffed workforce. “Finding the bodies and the skilled bodies to be at those beds is what people are forgetting,” Ulrich Walters said. “It’s more than just the bed and the equipment. It’s the people with the skills at the beds who are going to make the difference.” As all of healthcare enters into its ninth month battling the virus, Ulrich Walters said nurses are just as worn down as everyone

else. Hospitals in Nebraska are filling up as cases and hospitalizations have risen exponentially since the summer. Deaths are also on the rise. The greater demand has pushed for some nurses to work in areas that may be outside their comfort zone. The Nebraska Medical Center alone has three COVID ICU’s with more patients than ever that require constant supervision to fight a virus for which there’s no known treatment. Seeing all that sickness and death while cases continue rising has serious impacts on people’s mental health as well. “[The public] needs to help the doctors and nurses, and respiratory therapists, and everybody else who supports care that goes to the bedside, the pharmacists, the dietitians, the social workers, they need to help them by doing the right thing,” Ulrich Walters said. “And that is limiting social contact, wearing a mask and trying to avoid large settings.” The consequence is losing members of a workforce that’s already strapped thin.

December 2020

Juan-Paulo Ramierez, a consultant who oversees data for the Nebraska Center for Nursing said, it’s hard to know how many nurses have left the field since the pandemic began. He expects we’ll see a decrease as nurses and officials like Ulrich Walters have heard of many nurses burning out. But nursing is also a field that holds steady in times of

tragedy when people feel most called to action. The fact that the tragedy is continuing nonstop for months, however, leaves many unsure what workforce will be left behind after this. “Everyone is scratching their head on that,” Remierez said. “That’s the golden question.”

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DECEMBER 2020

C O V E R

S T O R Y

As The COVID Crisis Continues, Health Care Workers Beg to Be Heard BY CHRIS BOWLING

Now hospital staff are begging people to listen: Nebraska is out of time.

f the patient’s lucky, they’ll have a window in their hospital room. Maybe it will be open so they can feel the chill of fall in Omaha, see the falling leaves blow toward Leavenworth Street.

“This is real,” said Dr. Kelly Cawcutt, associate medical director of infection control and epidemiology at Nebraska Medicine. “This is absolutely happening in our hospitals. We’re not crying wolf. The wolf is in the house.”

If they’re not lucky, fluorescent lights will beam down as an ICU nurse at Nebraska Medicine slides a tube from their throat, the sound of spit sucked through plastic filling the room. But chances are they don’t notice much as they’re dying of COVID-19. They’re given painkillers and anti-anxiety medication as hospital staff turn off the ventilator and the IV. Many have been medically paralyzed for a while, a rarity before COVID-19. A family member comes in to witness their loved one’s final moments. It could take 30 seconds, 30 minutes or multiple hours. As they wait, there’s a shallow rattle as the person struggles through their final breaths. The sound mixes with shouting and beeping from beyond the glass door as staff try, often unsuccessfully, to save the next person. “Those [moments] happen all the time,” said Dr. Ross Davidson, a chief pulmonary and critical care fellow who works in Nebraska Medicine’s COVID ICUs. “They happen every single day.”

AMANDA PAPPAS, A NURSE IN ONE OF THE COVID ICU’S AT THE NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER, STANDS IN HER PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT ON NOV. 24, 2020. PHOTO BY AMANDA PAPPAS

DR. ROSS DAVIDSON, A CHIEF FELLOW OF CRITICAL CARE AND PULMONARY MEDICINE, STANDS IN HIS PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT ON NOV. 25, 2020. PHOTO BY DR. ROSS DAVIDSON. Time is something people don’t understand about COVID-19. While Nebraska reaches more than 1,000 deaths from the disease, as of this writing, these are not singular moments. They are weeks watching terrifying infection rates climb higher and higher, days watching a person require more machines to stay alive, hours spent telling family members that their husband, wife, mother or grandfather is going to die. Doctors and nurses work longer and more often just to feel themselves lose control after months fighting this virus every day.

DECEMBER 2020

Shadowboxing the Virus If Nebraska were its own country it’d have one of the highest infection rates in the world. The state has nearly four times the number of new infections it had two months ago and its infection rate is currently the sixth highest in the United States with around one out of every 1,000 Nebraskans testing positive for the virus every day. The number of people in the hospital is more than four times higher than it was two months ago and the frequency of deaths has only increased. If you lined up everyone who’s had COVID-19 since March, they would stretch all the way from Omaha to just outside Kearney, allowing for six feet of social distancing between people, of course. Meanwhile, hospitals have become overwhelmed. While state data shows about a quarter

of Nebraska’s hospital beds are still open with an abundance of ventilators, health care workers who spoke to The Reader said an already strained health care system is being pushed to the edge. Not every bed can hold a person with COVID-19, and even as health care workers take on more patients per shift, Cawcutt said they could reach their limits by mid-December if things don’t slow. “The question is, as we add more COVID units and more teams to take care of these patients, will it be enough?” asked Cawcutt. “Is it possible to even be enough?” Trends show that Nebraska is improving as cases and hospitalizations decline. Cities around the state have also instituted their own mask mandates. But Nebraska still has one of the highest rates of sustained infection in the county. The scariest thing is that Nebraska has already decided its future. New hospitalizations lag reported cases, and in two weeks time, Centers for Disease Control projections put the number of

The contact tracers can’t keep up, said Chad Wetzel, a senior epidemiologist with the Douglas County Health Department. Thirty people are on the job locally, the same number since the summer, and up to 250 people statewide can be contracted to help. The time it takes to contact people who’ve tested positive has increased, and trying to create a map of where people got the virus is impossible. “I think that the only way that we’re most likely going to see a decrease in the rate of transmission is if we see stricter directed health measures,” Wetzel said. Since declaring a state of emergency in March, Gov. Pete Ricketts has had the authority to close businesses, issue mask mandates and limit public gatherings. But since cases have exploded across the state, he’s done little to reinstate directed health measures since easing them this summer. Ricketts has also repeatedly opposed a statewide mask mandate. The state’s also threatened legal action against cities or counties who institute their own. Recently, Ricketts announced new directed health measures if COVID-19 patients occupied 25% of the state’s hospital beds. Those would close bars but allow restaurants, churches, salons, gyms and other businesses to continue operating. The state needs better leadership, many say. “I would like to give him more credit as an independent thinker and somebody who actually cares about Nebraskans and recognizes that our state can be a leader nationwide and worldwide in finding solutions here,”

Health care workers have started to speak. They’ve started sharing personal stories of fear and exhaustion. They’re tweeting that Gov. Pete Ricketts needs to enact a mask mandate and limit public activity.

COVID-19 Daily Case Increases data: COVID Tracking Project

DATE

Daily Case Totals

Fighting the pandemic, in that sense, is shadowboxing, and Nebraska is losing — its tools to contain the virus becoming either useless or underutilized.

said state Senator Megan Hunt. “If he would only unmuzzle the public health officials who have the power to give us the guidance.”

And it hasn’t gone unnoticed as national media have written and broadcast their stories. The tweets have been seen across the nation. But there’s still skepticism. Not only could this amount of spread in Nebraska have been prevented; this is the one place it shouldn’t have happened. Two years ago, when The Atlantic sought out doctors for a story called “The Next Plague Is Coming. Is America Ready?” it came to the University of Nebraska Medical Center. For years UNMC doctors have been praised as the nation’s leaders in containing new infectious diseases. This is where SARS and Ebola patients were sent. But that expertise wasn’t enough to guide the pandemic away from the state. And now

doctors don’t know if it’ll be enough to stop it. “I just am dreading the next [few months],” said Dr. Jordan Warchol, the staff physician in Nebraska Medicine’s emergency room. “From now until mid-January, I don’t think anything’s going to get better.”

A Slap in The Face

Center. These days it’s common to see people waiting for a bed in the emergency room. Pappas wonders will they need refrigerated trucks to hold all the dead bodies? Will she ever have to help move someone out of the hospital because their life is less worth saving than someone else’s?

When Amanda Pappas thinks about how bad the pandemic could get, her thoughts turn to nightmares.

Meanwhile, she sees the pictures of people in packed bars, dining without masks or walking around grocery stores with their noses exposed.

The COVID ICU nurse talked to a doctor recently who wondered whether hospitals would need to commandeer the CHI

“It just feels like a slap in the face to all of us that are overworked and tired,” Pappas said, who transferred to the COVID

Nebraska’s Current COVID-19 Hospitalizations Current Hospitalized

Nebraskans

new cases at double what they are today.

S T O R Y

Positive Increase 7 Day

C O V E R

Chart: Chris Bowling • Source: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services • Created with Datawrapper

DECEMBER 2020

C O V E R

Mindy, a COVID ICU nurse in Council Bluffs who asked her last name not be included, tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 14. She’s worked to exhaustion and broke down crying while praying with patients who are dying alone. She feels like they’re not getting the help they need from the public, the government or even her own hospital.

Case Growth by County

Seven-day COVID-19 case growth averages by county.

Nebraskans

ICU in August, “just taking care of these patients all the time for them to act like it’s not that big of a deal or some people are still claiming that it’s fake.”

Douglas

Lancaster

“I feel like we’ve been — sorry — we’ve been shit on,” she said. Lisa Ulrich Walters, president of the Nebraska Center for Nursing, said the pandemic is having a huge impact on an already-stretched-thin nursing population. The organization, established in 2000 to address the state’s nursing shortage, projects that the state has about 4,192 fewer nurses than it needs — that number is probably higher because many nurses work less than full time. Walters said they don’t keep track of how many nurses have left the field in recent months, but she and others interviewed for this story said hospital units have felt the impact of nurses quitting or transferring. And while Ricketts has reiterated his support to frontline health care workers and added funds to help bolster infrastructure and hire more traveling nurses, the emotional effects can not be easily remedied. “They’re just doing what has to be done in the time of an emergency,” Walters said. “But at some point in an emergency with that high adrenaline, usually it’s short-lived, you have to stop to process it, deal with that situation, and this isn’t OK. And so the risk is that people end up with post-traumatic stress disorder.” The emotional toll health care workers have taken over the past

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Data: Johns Hopkins University, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services • Created with Datawrapper

nine months sting even more because of the efforts taken to make sure something like this wouldn’t happen. Cawcutt said planning for the pandemic began in January. At that time, officials at UNMC and Nebraska Medicine knew they’d probably need more beds than the 10 in the hospital’s biocontainment unit. They didn’t imagine having 10 COVID units across the medical school’s campus. That includes an entire tower dedicated to COVID, three separate COVID ICUs and one unit for people to die in peace. But staff has managed to adjust, bringing in beds, adding additional teams to handle the patients. Doctors like Davidson have also become more adept at treating the illness. Drugs are more available. Steroids give people’s bodies a better chance at fighting the complications of COVID-19. But maybe the most telling experience health care workers have picked up is being able to tell when someone cannot be saved. “You get them and they’re on a ton of oxygen, but they’re able to speak with you,” Davidson said. “You see them every day. You watch their oxygen levels progress, and you see, and they know … They know that they’re

DECEMBER 2020

at risk to die, and they’re scared to death. You’re scared with them.” In Nebraska, about one in five people hospitalized with COVID die. Some are discharged without ever needing a ventilator. Some leave with holes in their throats where a tracheostomy tube allows them to breathe. Some tell doctors not to resuscitate them if they go into cardiac arrest. Others don’t understand what doctors are trying to tell them. Davidson has spent hours shouting through a face mask and face shield, over the whine of machines, to patients, trying to explain that a person will die if they don’t let the hospital push a tube down their throat. Sometimes these conversations take place through a translator. The patient looks at him, speaking a language they don’t understand, dressed like a visitor to an alien world, telling them they will die. They don’t believe him. And then, many of them die. “If you see one of our COVID patients suffer and pass away,” Davidson said, “I just have to believe that you would not be a person, politician or whoever that would continue to believe that general public health, COVID mitigation efforts are wrong.”

Some wonder if it’s possible for the message to ever get across. For months the language has stayed the same — wear a mask, wash your hands, socially distance, stay home if you can — and still people fight it. Some don’t even accept the science after it’s too late. When a friend of Warchol’s had to tell the family of one man that he had died of COVID-19, they responded: “There’s no way he could’ve died from COVID, because COVID isn’t real.”

Our Hands Are Tied Tony Vargas doesn’t do well feeling defeated. The state senator representing District 1 in South Omaha can deftly flip any situation on its head to see opportunity and solutions. But if anything could challenge that optimism, it’s COVID-19. In April, he was in New York City, watching his father, Antonio Vargas, die after catching the virus. Weeks later Vargas was back in Nebraska watching his bill to protect meatpacking workers, hard-hit by the virus, flounder. Senators refused to wear masks, and recently Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte announced he “got

Douglas County

CARES Rental Assistance Program

WHAT IS THE PROGRAM? The DC CARES Rental Assistance Program provides funds to assist low to moderate-income, eligible County residents with unpaid rent due to a COVID-19 related hardship. This program is intended to stabilize housing for the low to moderate-income residents and those at greatest risk due to loss of employment and/or loss of work wages due to COVID-19. This program’s rental assistance has a maximum benefit of $7,000 per household, which can include arrears that occurred after April 1, 2020 and future rent payments through December 2020.

Maximum Benefit of

7,000 Per Household

DEADLINE to apply is 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, December 13, 2020 What are the eligibility requirements? • Douglas County resident • Income was negatively impacted due to COVID-19 • Had household gross income at or below 100% of the area median income before COVID-19 • Applicant is listed on the rental/lease agreement • US citizen or qualified resident alien • Inability to pay rent due to COVID-19

The program description, FAQ, documentation requirements and application to apply can be found online at www.douglascounty-ne.gov. For additional questions or further assistance call 402-444-7232 (Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.).

Douglas County

DEADLINE is December 14, 2020 at 11:59 p.m.

CARES Utility Assistance Program

The Douglas County Board of Commissioners allocated $4 million in CARES Act funding to provide local utility assistance to Douglas County residents impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Douglas County is partnering with Dollar Energy Fund, Metropolitan Utilities District and Omaha Public Power District to provide utility assistance.

Eligibility guidelines for CARES Act applicants: Eligible applicants are defined as Douglas County residents who meet all the following requirements: • Income was negatively impacted due to COVID-19; • Applicant is listed as the customer of record for the utility services being provided; • U.S. citizen or qualified resident alien; and • Inability to pay utilities due to COVID-19.

Required documents to apply: • Photo I.D. (additional documentation may be required based on the type of I.D.); • Demonstration of financial hardship (proof of impact to income will be required); • Completed COVID-19 Impact Statement (form will be provided during the application process), and • Copy of current utility bill(s).

Amount of assistance: • Up to $1,200 per household to be applied directly to the M.U.D. bill and up to $1,200 per household to be applied directly to the OPPD bill. • These funds can be used toward unpaid utility bills that occurred after March 1, 2020.

Apply online at: https://www.dollarenergy.org/MyApp/ Customers who need help through the application process may call 1-888-650-9132 to hear a list of the partnering agencies. DECEMBER 2020

C O V E R

An Uphill Battle Ahead 7 Day Average New Deaths

A video was shared online showing Ricketts, who’s talked up masks in press conferences, not wearing a mask in a crowded Omaha bar. The server who shot the video was fired. On Twitter, Taylor Gage, the governor’s spokesman, insinuated doctors calling for stronger health health measures did so because of their political views. Just like most places in America, COVID-19 has become a political issue that Vargas, and many other politicians, can do little about.

DATE

“It frustrates me that our hands are tied to do that,” he said. “But I also recognize that the governor is able to do something about it, and he’s choosing not to utilize this tool that could potentially save more lives.” Since Ricketts declared a state of emergency, Vargas said he and other senators have tried to lobby the governor for stronger health measures, but to little effect. The strategy now is grassroots advocacy: retweeting doctors sharing harrowing stories inside COVID ICUs, trying to build coalitions with business owners and changing public health from the bottom up. “We’ve seen Iowa move in new ways and that happens because of elected officials or everybody working in concert to say that we need to do more,” he said. “We saw that in North Dakota, we’ve seen that in Utah, and it really gives me hope, it really does.” That’s starting to have results as more than half the state now

through this then I have to do everything I can to maintain a level head and keep fighting. That’s what I signed up for.”

Deaths in Nebraska due to COVID-19

New Deaths

his wish” by catching the virus, a step toward herd immunity.

S T O R Y

lives in cities that have instituted their own mask mandates, with or without the governor’s help. For others like Senator Megan Hunt it’s so little so late. It doesn’t mean they stop trying, but the fact that working class people and the most vulnerable have had to fight for these solutions is unacceptable. “[Those in power] know that they can leave the workers and the poor and the vulnerable among themselves to support each other with their little food banks and their clothing drives and their GoFundMe,” she said. “A nation and a state that depends on GoFundMe to keep people housed, to keep people healthy, to keep children fed, is a broken state.” Hunt wants people to take note of how elections contribute to these situations. Because of the legislature’s political makeup, something she attributes to the $1.8 million Ricketts has personally spent in the state, it’d be impossible to gather the 33 of 49 senators to call a special ses-

DECEMBER 2020

sion to put decision-making tools back in their hands, Hunt said. Vargas hopes people see that, too, but he also wants them to see mounting public pressure change the governor’s mind. Either way, it’s just not an option to quit, he said, especially when things are so dire. Vargas thinks back to April. His dad was unconscious for 29 days. He had a collapsed lung and two incisions along his abdomen. He was 100% reliant on a ventilator. His mom, older brother and nephew were bedridden with the illness. And then his dad died. If he shut down then, no one would have blamed him. But he thought about his parents. They were immigrants to this country who had nothing, didn’t know the language and had no job. They fought against so many odds to make a life for him and his brothers. He owed it to them to keep going. “I haven’t reached my breaking point yet, and I really hope I don’t,” Vargas said. “But if my parents, my mother, can get

Time isn’t stopping for COVID-19. Every day the sun sets and Amanda Pappas gets a skinny vanilla latte from Scooters before her night shift. It’s her one pick-me-up before she goes into the COVID ICU where so many don’t leave. As the sun rises, Dr. Jordan Warchol walks into an already busy emergency room where people stand waiting for beds.

Days pass and Dr. Kelly Cawcutt watches while no new directed health measures come. As weeks turn to months, Lisa Walters wonders how much more health care workers can take. Because the worst case scenario keeps getting surpassed and the nightmares seem just around the corner. Still, doctors need to adapt. If there is a breaking point, Dr. Ross Davidson said, he’ll lose something inside of him, but he’d never stop showing up to work. “I think that we have an uphill battle ahead,” he said. “I think that if we want that uphill battle to be less steep, we’d have to change things now, like literally tomorrow. I don’t think it’s going to happen. So what I’m personally preparing for is a pretty long winter with a lot of work and a lot of seeing a lot of people be very sick and die.”

e r ’ u o y w o n k e w s ’ t I t u b , t I r e ov . t e y r e v o t o n It’s up to each of us to do our part. Wear a mask – the right way. Give each other space. Get a flu shot. We know what to do. Let’s get to it.

DECEMBER 2020

B O O K

An Intrepid Dive Into

“The Most Delicious of Rabbitholes” Miss Cassette finds her bailiwick in secret histories by Jon Schriner

n her new book My Omaha Obsession: Searching for the City, the blogger and author mysteriously styled as Miss Cassette dives into researching the histories of historic Omaha homes and restaurants. It is not, by far, her first foray into this realm. Her popular and aptly titled local blog, My Omaha Obsession, is filled with her obsessive quests to answer those questions about each structure that strikes her fancy. Now, Miss Cassette has assembled a crop of new “ghost stories,” as she calls them, in the form of a book. The ghosts here are sometimes men and women of yesteryear, but often are the structures themselves, described in architectural terms and categorized according to their apparent styles. This work is truly a collection of differing stories, though there are threads that tie a few of the investigations together. But, there is one constant throughout the entire volume: Miss Cassette.

DECEMBER 2020

The book feels autobiographical in some ways, as the author weaves her experience of stakeouts, imaginative office settings, interviews with homeowners, and life events into each new uncovering. Miss Cassette is perhaps the central character in her own non-fiction detective novel. There is no self aggrandizing agenda here. She stands in awe of what she has found, fascinated by the minutiae as much as the cosmic. The research she has done is staggering to the point of sometimes dizzying levels of depth. And most is described in detail. In “The Secret of the House That Moved,” street addresses and family names come flying in at a blistering pace, and when paired with dates and extensive external sources, it all becomes viciously complex. Take Miss Cassette’s advice and keep a notepad handy. Having a Maps app open on your phone to track addresses is helpful, too. The reader dives into volumes of dusty city surveys, newspaper clippings and var-

B O O K

In the end, Miss Cassette has written something worth reading. It is slices of Omaha’s history, written through the lens of a dedicated and obsessive investigator. The compiled research alone is enough to garner plaudits. But crafting those details into an engaging story takes something more than obsession. It takes heart and love of craft. Miss Cassette displays both in this debut offering.

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Her book is Omaha, sometimes laid bare and stripped to its roots. It’s sometimes confusing, not unlike some of the very streets written about herein. But it cannot be classified as uninteresting. The peculiar histories Miss Cassette has unearthed are certainly worth tearing into her voluminous research.

LaMesaOmaha.com

Thanks Omaha For Over

The book should appeal to a fairly wide audience, especially locally. There’s plenty here for the architect, historian, real estate agent and detective alike. But it’s especially appealing to someone who just loves Omaha. Miss Cassette very obviously embodies the latter.

The narrative style is, at times, almost a tangent to itself. If that sounds impossible, let Miss Cassette show you the ways. The style oscillates between conversation with the reader, straightforward non-fiction reporting, and the wistful nostalgia of autobiography. Between these abrupt stylistic shifts,

There are plenty of pictures included, which genuinely help to give life to the people and places. There are photographs, diagrams, newspaper clippings and just about everything her editor would let in, though she laments what was left on the cutting room floor.

And that’s how each of these investigations are told, through tangents. Some lead to amazing discoveries, while others seem to convolute the narrative, tying the story into knots. By the end of the volume, the knots begin to seem endearing, Miss Cassette lovably unable to overcome her own desire to tell absolutely all of the story, relevant or not.

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And even for someone with no interest in the structure and history of Omaha’s iconic domiciles, there may yet be a hook to snare attention. My personal favorite in the collection was the third entry, “For the Love of Rose Lodge.” It is as much a tale of grand real estate as it is an exploration of prohibition-era hijinx, including speakeasies, mysterious structure fires, liquor raids, high society underground, and fried chicken. Actually, fried chicken is at the same time the genesis, central figure, and conclusion of the story. Everything else is tangential.

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Miss Cassette commands the language with aplomb. Her excitement, wonder, and sheer obsession come through in millions of colors. Descriptions of structures, places, emotions and people are vivid and almost tactile.

ious real estate tomes from Omaha’s past. The accuracy of her “amateur gumshoe” work could not be called into question. And mostly, it makes for a fascinating read, even to someone such as me, with only a faintly passing interest in such things.

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DECEMBER 2020

D I S H

A Traditional Feast

What makes a holiday meal traditional isn’t the food, but the family, and their decision not to give up. by Sara Locke kraken images/unsplash

urvival of the fittest doesn’t necessarily mean the biggest and strongest will rise victorious at the end of every battle; rather, those most capable of adapting to change. No amount of flexibility can limbo under the fact that 2020 was… difficult. But as we adapt, we find where we are and are not willing to give.

Regardless of what this year has handed us, it’s important to remember our family’s traditions, and to preserve them for future generations. Even if that means temporarily adapting them to our current circumstances. Even if that means putting them on the shelf for just one season. This month, The Reader asked a few of our foodie friends about the hol-

iday traditions that bring them a little closer to home.

Colin & Jessica Duggan Kitchen Table 1415 Farnam kitchentableomaha.com From almost any angle you view Colin and Jessica Duggan, it would appear that they pour everything they have into Kitchen Table. A restaurant that feels like your slightly cooler older sibling’s house, wherein your sibling happened to have married a world-class chef – who makes even grilled cheese taste gourmet. The local sourcing, casual comfort, and homey vibe inform the diner that this isn’t the cute couple’s “home away from home,” but the very place they live their lives.

DECEMBER 2020

But be warned, fellow fans. They’ve been cheating on us. They have a family and traditions that don’t include us! Don’t get salty, we never said this was exclusive. When spending holidays with the family they’re actually related to, Jessica and Colin devour every moment, and maybe a few celebratory bites. “For us, the preparation and the sharing of recipes and techniques has always been a huge part of Thanksgiving. Of course, we have our standard recipes and traditions that we all look forward to every year. Grandma Bev’s cheesy cabbage and Grandpa Wayne’s sweet potato casserole. But there’s almost always something new that someone is proud of and proud to share with the family.”

Ashish and Kimberly know that this will be the year traditions look a little different, but that a taste of home can bring everyone back together, if only for a moment. “My favorite Christmas meal is Duck Mappas,” Ashish said. “It’s duck with Kerala spices and coconut milk. Kerala spices include cardamom, clove, cinnamon, ginger, pepper, turmeric, tamarind, nutmeg, and curry. We also serve Appam, a South Indian pancake made with fermented rice batter and coconut milk. And for dessert, we have Kerala plum cake.” This is often likened to an Indian version of the traditional fruit cake, but the result is much more tender and moist, and very rich in fruit flavors.

Ashish Sathyan Kinaara

Angie Grote Communications Manager at Food Bank for the Heartland

13816 P St. kinaaraomaha.com/

donate.foodbankheartland.org/ default.aspx?tsid=9194

After the closure of the deliciously creative Indian Bowl, you’d think owner Ashish Sathyan and his wife Kimberly would have considered that the first of the many blows 2020 had in store. Instead, they turned this into the year they may be most grateful for. After opening their new and wildly popular establishment, Kinaara, in February, the couple welcomed their beautiful little girl, Ameya, in May of this year.

Food Bank for the Heartland has had more on their plate this year than could have been anticipated, but the team has pulled together beautifully. With a 72% increase in the number of Heartland families served this year over last, the Food Bank has found itself increasingly grateful for its donors and volunteers. Angie Grote, communications manager for the Food Bank, has found plenty of

D I S H positive in this year of challenges. When the community was most in need, she found how many were willing to put in the work to see that nobody was left behind. Sometimes, we have to be one another’s family when things get difficult. And even in moments of peace and celebration, Angie knows that it’s family that matters most. “My kids and I love to bake biscotti every year to celebrate the holidays. We follow my Great Aunt Rose’s recipe. She passed away in April at the age of 106. It is special to me to continue her tradition of baking these beloved cookies for family and friends, and having my children participate. Although, we inevitably end up with flour all over the kitchen!”

Kane Adkisson Mootz/Kano kanoomaha.com/ If you’ve been fortunate enough to have a chat with Kano and Mootz’ Kane Adkisson, you’ll quickly understand the role travel has in his worldly cuisine. Adkisson’s creations manage to transport you to the furthest reaches, while always managing to taste like home. You may not then be surprised to learn that his love and respect for the traditions and dishes of his fellow man was instilled in him in childhood, and that celebrating them is sacred to him and his family. “My family has a really fun Christmas tradition. On Thanksgiving we all choose a country, write it down and throw it in a hat and choose one. We theme our Christmas around whichever country was chosen. We dress up, exchange gifts that are traditional in that country, and base our dinner around their traditional celebratory meal. It’s a lot of

fun, and we’ve done it since I can remember!”

Dan Hoppen Restaurant Hoppen Podcast restauranthoppen.com/ Dan and his podcast serve as a virtual love letter to the Omaha culinary culture, and the people who make it happen. I was excited to find out what makes a meal a celebration to someone who sees the deeper meaning in every dish. “Each year my mom, dad, sister, and my wife get together on Christmas morning to open presents. Then we celebrate with a delicious lunch – Though it’s not always traditional. Mom is a tremendous cook, and we trust her to design the menu and deliver amazing food, which she always does. One year that might mean a brunch theme with waffles and candied bacon. Another it might be a taco bar. If she’s feeling traditional, we might have mashed potatoes and a sugar glazed ham. To us, it doesn’t matter necessarily what we’re eating, as long as the food is delicious and we have family. That’s all that matters.”

Coming Soon!

No matter how your family is celebrating the end of this year, The Reader wants to thank you for allowing us to be part of what connects you to your fellow Omahans. We are grateful for our readers, and for the restaurant professionals, farmers, and suppliers who have kept Omaha on its feet during an incredibly challenging season. We are here for you, and we can’t wait to see what we can make of the next year! Happy holidays, and a very happy New Year!

G et Ready O ma ha DECEMBER 2020

W PICKS W Dec. 3-4 The Waiting Room

Steve Rannazzisi Thru Dec. 20 The Rose Streamed Event

It’s a Wonderful Life A full winter snow is yet to descend upon Omaha, but that does not mean you can’t get into the holiday season spirit with a showing of ”It’s a Wonderful Life” at The Rose Theater through Dec 20th. This American treasure is a story about George Bailey, and the saving of both his life and his Christmas spirit by a guardian angel. As the first show ever produced at The Rose in 1995, this classic is celebrating both the power of community on stage, and the arts in Omaha over the last two and half decades. This production is suitable for all audiences, and has a running time of 75 minutes. To purchase a digital ticket and stream the show in the comfort and safety of your own home., visit www.rosetheater.org. — AJK O’Donnell

Looking for laughter? Head on over to The Waiting Room to be merry with comedian Steve Rannazzisi for shows on Thursday, Dec. 3 (doors open at 7, show at 8 p.m.) and Friday December 4th (shows at 7:00 and 9:30 p.m.). All tickets are general admission seated, and cost $25. Rannazzisi wrote and starred in the FX Network comedy series “The League,” which ran for seven seasons. Fans may also recognize him as the spokesperson for Buffalo Wild Wings and his web series “Daddy Knows Best,” starring as the titular terrible dad. Rannazzisi is a veteran of both stage and screen, and is sure to entertain all who attend his appearance in Omaha. For more information regarding tickets, visit www.waitingroomlounge.com and for more information regarding Rannazzisi, visit steverannazzisi.com.

Her all-star backing band is led by music director and keyboardist David P. Murphy, with Mark Haar on bass and Joey Gulizia on percussion-drums. A different guest artist joins her each week: John Morrissey (Dec. 2-6); Paul Tranisi (Dec. 11-13); and Kathy Tyree (Dec. 18-20). Friday-Saturday shows are at 7:30 p.m. Sunday shows are at 2 p.m. Susie Baer Collins directs, sets designed by Jim Othuse and Tim Burkhart and John Gibilisco handles the sound. Strict safety measures are observed. Just ask Metoyer Moten. “The place is immaculate. Masks are mandatory. The risers have been removed to provide physical distancing for patrons. A new HVAC system sanitizes everything. The whole experience is touch-less,” she said. “I will be performing behind a plexiglass barrier, which will make for some fun jokes, I’m sure.“ For tickets, call 402-553-0800 or visit www. omahaplayhouse.com.

(Howard Drew Theatre)

Christmas in My Heart The silky smooth vocals of Omaha’s first lady of song and theater, Camille Metoyer Moten, help complete the sound of the holidays around here. She headlines a series of live, in-person concerts at the scene of some of her greatest stage triumphs, the Omaha Community Playhouse, performing sacred and secular Christmas music.

December 2020

A book of his Omaha Black community images was published shortly after his death in 2019. On Sunday Dec. 13 at 4 p.m., a oneday-only live exhibit and panel discussion of his work will contextualize the impact Smith and his work made as part of O-pa’s “Voices AMPLIFIED!” series. Moderator Deb Bunting will examine Smith’s work with Kristine Gerber, who edited the book, and former Omaha educator and columnist Janice Gilmore. Links are available one week prior to the event at o-pa-.org. — Leo Adam Biga

Dec. 18-19 The Waiting Room

— Leo Adam Biga

Dec. 13 Streamed Event via O-pa’s Facebook & YouTube

— AJK O’Donnell

Dec. 4-6, 11-13, 18-20 Omaha Community Playhouse

meant walking a fine line between advocacy and objective journalism. Always the consummate pro, he never crossed that line.

Worth a Thousand Words:

The Photography of Rudy Smith The late Rudy Smith spent more than half a century documenting the Black experience through his award-winning photojournalism. Most of his work was for the Omaha World-Herald, where he was a staff photographer and one of the paper’s first Black newsroom professionals. He also shot for The Omaha Star and some national publications. Smith photographed all manner of subjects, but took particular interest in representing his own Black community. Smith was a civil rights activist before taking up a camera and his support for social justice never stopped. That

PetRock Holiday Spectacular Has 2020 got you yearning for a gentler, more analog era when life was all earth-toned, shag carpeted rec rooms, huge headphones and groovy singer-songwriters ruled FM radio? Even if this era predates your actual birth, you can still jam out to PetRock, the ultimate musical tribute to the smooth rock of the ‘70s playing at the Waiting Room Dec. 18 and 19. With a set list featuring legendary golden oldies by England Dan & John Ford Coley, ELO and Todd Rundgren, the show promises to be DY-NO-MITE! for both Gen Y and Boomers alike. At press time, in-person shows were scheduled for 8:30 p.m. both nights. Tickets or show updates as the show draws near: www.waitingroomlounge.com/events. — Lynn Sanchez

CELEBRATE WITH US THIS SEASON

December 2020 VGA.09.20.01.The_Reader.indd 1

23 11/17/20 11:01 AM

Panopticon

exhibit at Zodiac reveals threat of surveillance and gun culture

by Jonathan Orozco

dragon installation with GUNS

iming to deconstruct violence and oppression in our current political and social situation through the intersection of surveillance, weaponry and consumerism, Lincoln-based artist couple Nancy Friedemann-Sánchez and Charley Friedman present new work at The Garden of the Zodiac Gallery.

Titled after the infamously designed prison, Panopticon, which continues through Jan. 21, considers how citizens of the United States regulate their own lives in the face of constant surveillance and threat of death by firearm. They successfully accomplish this through a combination of wall and floor sculpture. Emerging from the late 18th century, the panopticon was proposed as an alternative to former penitentiary design and punitive surveillance. Built with a cylindrical outer wall and central inner control booth, those incarcerated could not see if anyone occupied the booth or not, nor could they know if they were being watched. This feeling of potentially being watched would encourage people to regulate their own behavior, or at least, that was the goal.

Eye sculpture

Although never realized, the legacy of constant surveillance endures today. What both

DECEMBER 2020

Friedemann-Sánchez and Friedman establish is that Americans now live within a formless, yet omnipresent, panopticon that forces us to adjust our thoughts and actions.

stretched towards the viewer. The squat figure even refers to human biology and the current pandemic since it resembles a type of virus called a bacteriophage.

Entering the gallery, surveillance is literally personified through disembodied eye sculptures by Friedemann-Sánchez. These woodcarvings are scattered throughout the space, all grouped in clusters. The approach is comical and cartoonish, drawing inspiration from Byzantine or Etruscan art, but presented as surrealist pieces.

Instead of being passive, the artwork stares back at us, the viewer, and we are placed in an uncomfortable situation where we have to consider our own behavior as we walk around the gallery.

Referring to one of German surrealist Hans Bellmer’s Poupée sculptures—dismembered female doll figurines, which he posed in domestic settings and photographed—Friedemann-Sánchez too dismembers American mass surveillance. In one grouping titled Scaffold, head-sized eyeballs are propped onto formless limbs, some sharpened at the ends, and all circling around a pre-Columbian styled vessel containing pointed tree branches. This amorphous grouping lends itself to free association. For example, one such eye is mounted on a spinal timber, all connected to multiple other branches that appear like limbs, with one leg alluringly

Surrounding these peculiar sculptures is a work titled “Gun Show” by Friedman. Composed of multiple black wood cutouts in the shape of firearms, American gun culture is invoked with all its violent consequences at the fore. In the United States of America, firearms are enshrined within the country’s civic religion, where keeping and bearing arms is tantamount to freedom and a true expression of liberty. But at what expense? Friedman considers the country’s fraught history with handguns and rifles, measuring it through contemporary life. The weapons themselves are witty and surprisingly delightful to look at. There are guns and rifles shaped as clouds, as human viscera, as toys, maps and even Swiss cheese. Some are so abstracted that they appear as a single curved

Single handgun

A R T YOU ARE NOT ALONE...

line for a barrel with a tab for a trigger. This excess of individualized weaponry points to weapons as a consumerist item flooding society, each individually made to satisfy the unique taste of every person. Just visit any Wal-Mart; you can buy groceries, garments, home decor and firearms all in one convenient trip.

WE’RE ALL IN

Panopticon’s wall of guns

According to Friedman, every gun is essentially a barrel, a trigger and a rear sight, all objects that are activated by humans. Firearms themselves don’t commit massacres; they need a human to direct a bullet. In a perverse way, guns are components to this formless panopticon we live in and connect to Friedemann-Sánchez’s eye carvings since guns use human eyes as directional tools. Weapons are therefore tools to regulate human activity and thought. Firearms enter the minds of every American in childhood where school shooting drills are conducted in preparation for actual shootings. How can the minds of American children not be altered by seasonal reminders that their lives may end at the hands of a terrorist, domestic as well as foreign, or even friend or family? Since shootings have occurred in virtually every setting in the country, from schools, to theaters, and festivals, it fundamentally tells every American that there is no safe place where a shooting cannot occur. It makes us regulate how we live and how we raise future generations to live their lives. At the center of these eye sculptures and guns is a dragon-like creature titled Kill, Overkill, Super Overkill. Friedemann-Sánchez, who frequently refers to the colonization of Latin America, also titled it in Spanish, naming it Matar, Rematar, Recontra Matar. With this sculpture, the artist works in a Duchampian approach, crafting this figure with found objects from South America, as well as from around her own home. Sourced from the Tikuna people from Amazonia, the figure’s head

looks like an alligator, with its elongated face and sharp canines. Toward the figure’s body is a yanchama, a textile that is made from processed natural fibers, and at the figure’s center are rocks coated in graphite. Pierced by rods similar to those found in Friedemann-Sánchez’s other work titled Scaffold, the figure looks like it exhaled its last breath. Taking into consideration where the sculpture’s materials are sourced, this figure can be seen as a stand in for a bull wounded during a bullfight. This figure died while surrounded by walls of firearms and highly attentive and unblinking eyes. Both Friedemann-Sánchez and Friedman consider the panopticon as a form of social control, particularly in the United States, where it is not a fascistic government spying and controlling us, but ourselves through our own actions and complicity. We allow ourselves to be surveilled through our iPhone cameras, ignoring that black eye staring at us as we scroll through social media. And it is not a well-regulated militia that propagates mass shootings in this country, but the actions of a delusional minority. And we have done nothing impactful enough to stop them. Panopticon runs through Jan. 21 at the Garden of the Zodiac Gallery. Located at 1042 Howard Street in the Old Market Passageway, the gallery is open Tuesday - Saturday from noon-8pm and on Sunday from noon-6pm. For more information, please contact 402.341.1877, email gardenofthezodiac@gmail. com, or visit the Garden of the Zodiac page on Facebook.

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DECEMBER 2020

H O O D O O

We Are All Related

The Toy Drive for Pine Ridge goes Virtual by B.J. Huchtemann

“T

he Lakota say Mitákuye Oyás’in, meaning we are all related,” Larry Dunn observed. “We. Are. All. Related.”

“An elder on the reservation that I’ve been acquainted with for quite a few years, very stoic — it takes quite a bit sometimes to break through the generational trauma and really connect with some of the elders,” Dunn said. “Last year when I saw him in the summer, he came over to thank me for propane that we had bought him. He had a tear in his eye, actually hugged me. And he said ‘You saved my family.’”

Dunn finds that to be even truer now, trying to coordinate donations for the Toy Drive for Pine Ridge during the pandemic. November and December are typically the season for Toy Drive fundraising concert events. The need for some Christmas joy on the reservation is even greater this year, with cases of Covid-19 hitting South Dakota harder than many states. “The reservation has locked down their borders a few times during the pandemic in hope of keeping everyone safe,” Larry Dunn said. “As with most of their basic services, the healthcare on the reservation is definitely lacking so they’re doing what they can to stay safe.” Since 2003, Dunn has been organizing events to bring some cheer to the Pine Ridge reservation during the holiday season. He became involved in the life of the reservation as he pursued Lakota spiritual traditions. Dunn is also known in the music community as Lash LaRue, the longtime front man of local rockabilly trio The Mercurys. The Toy Drive was established to use his musical skills and that of his friends to bring toys to the reservation. “None of this happens without community involvement. It’s really the essence of what the Lakota people have taught me. We’re all in this life together and we all need to watch out for each other. I think it’s more important these days during a pandemic and with all the crazy political strife going on in the world today to keep that in mind.” The Toy Drive has grown to a 501(c)(3) that gets strong support from the community, including regular involvement from local musicians. Liquid Courage Tattoo, The Blues Society of Omaha and KIWR,

89.7, The River and Rick Galusha’s “P.S. Blues” radio show all have supported the Toy Drive efforts for years.

there is a “message” section where you can specify if you want your donation to go to toys or the propane fund.

The Toy Drive has remained a grassroots endeavor, and this year is no different. In fact, it’s that direct support from the community that is going to make gift-giving possible this season as drop-off sites replace the in-person events.

“Without having our usual events, it’s tough to know what to expect donation-wise. We still have the same amount of schools that we deliver toys to and roughly the same number of kids, but I’m stressed over the amount of toys we may or may not get this year.” Dunn said, noting that toys will be dropped off at the schools, which will distribute the gifts instead of having the usual Christmas parties.

Dunn will have a trailer outside for socially-distanced drop offs, 5-8 p.m., at the Blues Society of Omaha’s Thursday, Dec. 3 show featuring local rockin’ brass-driven group Travis the Band at Stocks ‘n’ Bonds, 8528 Park Drive. Until Dec. 7, donations of new, unwrapped toys can also be dropped off at Liquid Courage Tattoo, 809 S. 75th St, Beardmore Subaru at 410 Ft. Crook Rd. N in Bellevue and at the Edward Jones office at 607 Pinnacle Drive, Suite B, in Papillion. Toys will be collected on Dec. 7 to be packed for the trip to Pine Ridge. Toys are appreciated for all ages including teens. It’s a sad fact that teen suicide rates are higher on the reservation than in the rest of the U.S., so anything that helps a young person feel remembered and gives them some hope is appreciated. If you are reading this after Dec. 7, you can still make donations via PayPal at toydriveforpineridge.org. When you donate on the website,

DECEMBER 2020

“It’s been quite a few years since we’ve had to buy any toys, but this year may be different,” Dunn said. “And any toys we need to buy takes away from the amount we have available to spend on propane.” The emergency propane fund that the Toy Drive coordinates is used to help elders during the bitter cold winters. The reservation is one of the poorest counties in the United States, with high unemployment rates and frigid winters much worse than those we have in eastern Nebraska. Many homes on the reservation don’t have electricity and use propane for heating. Sometimes people on the reservation have to choose between food and buying propane for heat. The Toy Drive emergency propane fund helps these families survive.

Sunday, Dec. 13, 9 a.m. - noon, Rick Galusha’s “P.S. Blues” radio show and the Toy Drive are teaming up with Live from Mars House. A virtual simulcast will take place on 89.7, The River, and on Live From Mars House platforms on Twitch and on Facebook at fb.com/livefrommarshouse. You can find more information about life on the reservation, the history of the Toy Drive and make online donations at toydriveforpineridge.org.

Hot Notes It’s going to take our collective efforts and energy to find some joys in December and January. Do what you can for whoever you can. Check your favorite venues for the possibilities of socially-distanced live events but most likely live-streaming is going to be the thing that gets us and artists through. The above-mentioned Live from Mars House regularly feature local artists. My Austin hero-pal Jon Dee Graham has resumed livestreaming his Wednesday night shows that have happened at the Continental Club for decades. Look for live-fromhome sets Wednesdays at 7 p.m. at fb.com/jon.d.graham. Minneapolis-based Davina & The Vagabonds are planning a socially-distanced live show to record a holiday CD. You can get tickets to the live stream scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 5, 8 p.m., or pre-purchase the CD by checking out fb.com/ davinaandthevagabonds.

F I L M

The Top 10 Movie Moments of 2020 Technically, Not Everything Sucked This Year by Ryan Syrek

ere, in the final month of the worst year, I bring you tidings of modest comfort and medium joy! Because a few high-profile cinema nuggets have yet to shake loose down the pant leg of streaming services, this isn’t my top 10 films of the year. That list will arrive at the start of 2021, when it is (maybe) safe to be optimistic again. However, since happiness is in such short supply, why not roll around a bit in the top 10 movie moments of this turd year?

Best Song: Jaja Ding Dong

The phrase I’ve repeated most often this year is undoubtedly, “What is with so many people acting like we’re not in the middle of a raging pandemic?!” My second most-common utterance is definitely, “I only want to listen to Jaja Ding Dong!” It’s a great response to virtually any question asked of you. Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is a flawed-but-fun bit of Ferrell-ian shenanigans. Its crowning achievement and lasting impact on our culture is a childish song about genitals and sex stuff. Certainly not the height of wit or comic insight, the comfort food of comedy is always ribald.

Best Performance: Delroy Lindo in Da 5 Bloods To be stone-cold serious for just a second, we absolutely cannot let the fact that Da 5 Bloods came out during this demonic fart of a year prevent Delroy Lindo from getting his Oscar. The movie is another genius trash can through the window from Spike Lee, one of his best in ages. While the film itself should be lauded, Lindo should be carried out atop a gleeful mob’s shoulders. Metaphorically, of course, as “be-

ing happy about a thing” doesn’t omit the need to socially distance, no matter what legions of Midwesterners seem to think. Lindo’s performance is a broad, sophisticated, legendary moment that deserves celebration, dammit.

of audiences’ senses. When the camera panned in the attic during Host, the naughty words my mouth made before my brain knew what was happening are a testimony to the legit-ness of the fright. Well done, Zoom ghosts.

Best Surprise Beefcake: Oliver Sacks

Best New Character: Dennis Caleb McCoy

Given his substantive contributions to medical narratives, the fact that Oliver Sacks: His Own Life was a very good documentary wasn’t surprising. What was shocking, however, was what he described doing to a bowl of Jell-O. What was almost as shocking was the fact that the renowned neurologist was a swarthy mega-hunk back in the day. Whatever you expected in a poignant nonfiction contemplation of mortality and the power of capturing the stories of those who are neurologically different, most could not have expected a barrage of scientist thirst trap pics. If you can hear us from the great beyond, Dr. Sacks, me-ow.

I’ve described Bill & Ted Face the Music as a children’s movie for grown-ups. Its goofy and simplistic moralizing felt like an emotional balm on the wound that is 2020. And the best part of it was Dennis Caleb McCoy. Anthony Carrigan is multi-dimensionally good as the suddenly sentient murder robot. His pitch-perfect delivery belies the character’s unique take on humanity and is also, you know, make-ya-snort funny. They clearly tried to position Bill and Ted’s daughters for any future films in the franchise, but I would follow Dennis Caleb McCoy to Hades and beyond.

Best Clothing Item: The jacket from Deerskin Against their better judgment, in April, Film Streams invited me to livetweet Deerskin, writer/director Quentin Dupieux’s ode to outerwear that drives a man to murder. As someone who loved Dupieux’s Rubber, a film about a killer car tire, I felt prepared. Yet, somehow, the sheer absurdity and existential gibberish of Deerskin whacked down any mental defenses I had prepared. This begs the question: Does the fringe-heavy coat from the film actually have some kind of magic powers? More importantly, would it look good on me?

Best Scare: The attic in Host Clearly, what absolutely nobody needed this year was to be scared any further. That didn’t stop writer/director Rob Savage from goosing our collective bejeepers. As silly as a Zoom séance sounds, the results were surprisingly spooky. Save for the brilliant moment in the car in The Haunting of Hill House last year, lightning-fast scares are usually unearned and ugly manipulation

DECEMBER 2020

Best Laughs: Extra Ordinary Actually, let’s keep this chuckle bus a-gigglin’ for a moment. Everybody wants to know a funny movie to watch. That was true before the world made us all Biff Tannen kissing fresh fertilizer. The distinction of being the funniest movie of this year may thus seem like a low bar to clear, but I would tell you it is also maybe the most critical. Extra Ordinary is a horror comedy powered by the irresistible hilarity of Maeve Higgins, Ireland’s cultural apology for Bono. Blissfully devoid of any real-world significance or deeper meaning, the relentlessly pleasant endeavor is just charming and punctuated by several big laughs. In a way, it only makes sense that 2020’s best comedy heavily involves demons, right?

Best Grandparent: Lucky Grandma Any way you slice it, this has not been a great year for grandparents. The curmudgeonly force of nature that is the lead in writer/director Sasie Sealy’s brilliant Lucky Grandma is the elderly epitome of the bleak year. Resilient as hell, smarter than anyone gives her

credit for, and determined to gut out whatever monstrous crap is tossed at her, Tsai Chin’s character will stick with me long after our collective angst has shifted from “When will there be a viable vaccine?” to “Why are so many idiots not taking this viable vaccine?” I’m 100% in for a Fast Five style franchise built around this woman. Bring some grumpy friends in, add even more gang violence and nobody tell Ludacris.

Best Violent Escapism: Extraction To go the other way with it for a minute… Violent escapism is a much healthier alternative than, I don’t know, creating a nation-warping conspiracy theory about pedophilia or something. Extraction is the latest “sad angry man kills everybody” film. While it’s not fit to wick John’s dog, boy howdy does it really produce just a staggering amount of violence. The kitchen scene in particular stuck with me, as at a certain point, I found myself visually scanning the room, thinking about what object was going to do what damage to the next bad guy’s face. Is that healthy? Eh, when our collective primary objective is trying to avoid a real damn plague, I think any doctor would give a prescription that reads “Take two hours of Chris Hemsworth murdering people in the face and don’t call me in the morning because the hospitals are overrun.”

Best Use of Rudy Giuliani It’s definitely not “as a lawyer.” No one film moment captured the nation’s collective attention this year more than the “shirt tuck” seen round the world in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. Wherever you come down politically, I think everyone can agree that the best and most common use of Rudy Giuliani is in the phrase “Did you see what Rudy Giuliani just did?” Those are my best movie moments from this biblically cursed year! Share yours with me on twitter (@thereaderfilm) and brace yourself for my impending top 10 films of 2020 arriving next month, as it will be unlike any other list I’ve compiled in my nearly 20 years of doing this…

F I L M

Possessor

Best Thrift Store! T

OF THE B I

is a Corporate Creature Feature

Thanks Omaha for voting us

by Ryan Syrek

One of the villains in the Mission-Impossible-as-a-horror-movie is a data-mining corporation that does shit like make minimum-wage workers watch streaming video of untold horrors so they can catalogue what curtains people own. The other “bad guy” is a company that literally murders people using advanced technology. Black Mirror looks sugar-coated next to Possessor. Concerned more with style and thematic substance over plot intricacies, the spawn of David Cronenberg kept his sophomore feature-length effort lean. Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough) uses a brain implant or some such pseudoscience tomfoolery to take control of unsuspecting individuals. She then pilots their bodies to commit assassinations. Having one-sided Freaky Friday-ed so many people, Vos is now frazzled. When she takes over Colin Tate (Christopher Abbott), a cocaine-enthusiast wang who is about to marry into a data-mining fortune, things get messy. Tate and Vos wind up with comingled psyches and covered in so, so very much blood. Possessor is tense and gross, but not like “refreshing presidential election results every 15 seconds” tense and gross. Cronenberg’s film is that delicious kind of disorienting. And

Abbott—who is like the Bizarro Kit Harington, in that he looks just like him but can actually act—is masterfully controlled here. As his character French kisses the mouth of madness, Abbott never oversteers his performance. Although on screen far less, Riseborough manages to be equally mesmerizing. Without any dialogue dump or ham-fisted explanation, Possessor exposes the soul of both characters and condemns the capitalist overlords who are pulling invisible digital threads. The fact that nothing is spelled out is going to absolutely piss off wide swaths of viewers. The main reason that so many movies vomit exposition into the mouths of audiences—baby bird-style—is because so many demand it. Possessor is the kind of proudly self-confident film that shrugs and says “Go ahead and hate it then, I guess?” And many people will do just that! However, anybody who has ever yearned to see what a slightly-more-literal David Lynch spy movie would look like is going to be in absolute heaven. Possessor is show-don’t-tell terror that doesn’t finger-wag at technology users but flips the bird to the ugly manipulators who actually profit from controlling us like disposable puppets. What a blissfully upsetting experience!

although it is certainly punctuated with brief moments of icky-icky-gross killin’, for the most part, it’s actually pretty gorgeous. The atmosphere is simultaneously upsetting and comforting, never creating anxiety through abrupt editing or jarring shifts but through a persistent turning of the mental screws.

nyone who has watched Mark Zuckerberg attempt to smile has known the face of true terror. Yet when movies use corporations as villains, the depiction is almost always all slick suits and shadowy boardrooms, granting monied douchebags a stealthy swagger they probably don’t even hate. Writer/director Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor gives it to us ugly. And it’s great.

4 Omaha Locations Shop 24/7 Online ThriftWorld.com

Building trust in trying times.SM bbb.org/smallbusiness

Grade = A DECEMBER 2020

F E A T U R E

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P a r t

Not Even Death Escapes

COVID’s Disruption by Leo Adam Biga

never easy helping a family lay someone to rest.

he harsh reality of pandemic-restricted gatherings has cut attendance by about half from pre-COVID 19 services at Jon Reichmuth’s Funeral Homes in Elkhorn, Yutan and Bennington.

“It’s one thing for grandma to slip away in the nursing home at 90, but another to lose somebody in a tragic, gruesome accident,” he said. “As staff, each of us have our own kryptonite or weakness in certain circumstances,” he said, noting that the death of a child is particularly painful for all. “Some people are under the misconception we’re heartless or unemotional, but that’s not true. We all go home to families.”

This is by far the biggest instant change they’ve ever had to deal with, said Reichmuth, a 44-year tenured funeral director. “One day it was here and we had to figure out how to protect ourselves and adjust to these restraints on our facilities and gatherings.” Reichmuth said staff have had to identify new procedures and equipment to keep people safe, even as knowledge about COVID-19 constantly changes. It’s a constant conversation to make sure staff and families still feel comfortable. That’s been especially important when figuring how to even hold funerals safely. In the beginning, gatherings were limited to 10 people. That’s since progressed to larger, safer events. “Now people understand the restrictions a little better and are a little more open to options we can provide,” Reichmuth said. “But it’s still not good and it looks like this situation isn’t changing anytime soon.” Some services have been postponed or rescheduled, a problem Reichmuth saw early on that’s started to reappear.

Vicky and Dwayne Pruess. “Folks are waiting until spring,” he said. “That’s not good either. But given what we’re dealing with, it’s just something we have to endure.” Being apart when you expect to be together is difficult, said Vicky Pruess, whose husband of 47 years, Dwayne Pruess, died July 7. COVID kept many folks from the mortuary visitation at Reichmuth’s and the private service in Elkhorn. “Dwayne was really close to a lot of his cousins. To have to exclude them and our friends was really hard,” said Vicky. “Your heart goes out to everyone dealing with death at this particular time.” COVID has crippled industries and cost people livelihoods. When an impacted

December 2020

family loses a loved one, the pricey trappings of embalming, a casket, a procession and a headstone are prohibitive compared to cremation, which is replacing traditional services and interment. Over his career Reichmuth has embalmed, buried and cremated thousands of individuals. Back in the ‘70s when he started in the business, he said probably 95% of the deceased his staff cared for were embalmed and had traditional burial. Today that’s only 40%. Industry professionals say fewer people now feel bound to follow religious-influenced burial traditions when cremation offers a cheaper, more eco-friendly option. But no matter which method they choose, Reichmuth said it’s

As hard as a particular death may be, a funeral director must remain composed. Navigating families through these difficult situations is part skill and part intuition. Experience helps. However, COVID’s added new permutations, especially when a person dies alone. “Sometimes a loved one’s been quarantined for months and the first time the family actually sees them in person is here in a casket at the funeral home,” Reichmuth said “That’s devastating.” In the semi-rural areas his business serves, relationships are paramount. Reichmuth said they see a lot of the same families coming back from generation to generation. Relationships run deep out here. Vicky Pruess knew who would handle her husband’s services long before he died at

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P a r t

knows staff can’t change the fact someone died, but they can focus on the things they did that brought joy in their lifetime. The Pruess family wrote an online tribute to the husband and father they lost. It shared the story of Dwayne’s life as a farmer and family man who loved motorcycles, trucks, boating, softball and Westerns. Someone affectionately posted about Dwayne Pruess being “bigger than life.”

Jon Reichmuth. photo by Sam Foo. home following a long illness. She said Reichmuth’s become part of their extended family by helping them through the loss of friends and relatives. “They were in constant contact about Dwayne,” she said, “letting us know they were there for us when the time came. You don’t get that personal connection most places. They’ve never lost that small town touch.” But familiarity is fading. Reichmuth said back in the ‘70s, the staff knew almost everybody that came in for a funeral. With so much change over the past few decades, that’s no longer the case. However, personalized services hold more meaning than ever. Reichmuth said they try to find something extraordi-

nary about the person – and a way to present that. “We did the services for a guy who restored a classic Ford pickup,” he said. “We used the truck instead of the funeral coach since it had such meaning to his family.” Even small, subtle things are meaningful. When Reichmuth discovered kolaches were a tradition in one family, he served the pastry at visitation instead of the typical cookies. Another family was nostalgic about their late grandma’s lasagna. “We got the recipe and my caterer made this dish for the funeral lunch,” he said. “It took everyone back.” It’s all about promoting conversations, reminiscences and stories. Reichmuth said he

“Certain facets of our industry think everything should be in person, but that’s not possible anymore, especially in the last eight months,” Reichmuth said “We’re scattered and now with COVID we’re isolated. People need to be able to connect. Our website is completely interactive. People can upload photos or leave a memory or a condolence.” Reichmuth also added webcasting in 2009, but said they’ve never utilized it like they have in the past eight months. Live streaming allows people to participate online. Vicky appreciated those who viewed her husband’s funeral that way but feels it’s no substitute for saying goodbye in person. “It’s still not the same as having those loved ones around you right close with you,” she said. R e i c h m u t h ’s belief in the communal power of healing is why he holds an annual memorial service the Saturday after Thanksgiving for those who’ve suffered a recent loss.

3 They’ve debated whether to even do it this year. “We decided we’re going ahead,” he said. “We’ll stream it. It’s an uplifting ceremony that brings people together. We have a remembrance gift for each family. Folks tend to linger just visiting and relaxing. Sometimes they just need to get out of the house and hear a good message.” The added stress of dealing with death in a pandemic taxes everyone, including funeral directors, whose essential worker status is never more evident. “Whether you’re sitting down for dinner or at a movie, if you happen to get called out, you have to go,” Reichmuth said. “Families look to us to take care of it. It’s always been that way, and that’s okay, that’s what we’re here for. “Hopefully you do a good job for them and help to lighten their load on their next step. It’s very satisfying.” Visit www.reichmuthfuneralhomes.com.

THE Pruesses kissing. December 2020

I N

M E M O R I A M

Alfred Martinez Sr. October 25, 1931 – November 9, 2020 Mr. Al Martinez Sr. passed away from Parkinson’s Disease complicated by COVID-19. He was a decorated member of the armed forces, a community activist and a pioneer as the first Latino police officer on the Omaha Police Department, working there for 33 years. He served his South Omaha community for more than 50 years. Born and raised in South Omaha, Al enlisted in the U.S. Navy in his teens and married the love of his life, Dee. The couple went on to raise five children together. After leaving the Navy, Martinez was a rare two-time recipient of an admiralty in the Nebraska Navy, an honor bestowed by the governor. He went on to help serve as a six-time commander of the American G.I. Forum, a veteran’s organization in South Omaha, and was an active member till the end of his life. “He brought a lot of influential politicians and people down to the G.I. Forum who might not have stepped foot in South Omaha if not for Al,” said Joe Cabral, a family friend and community leader. “He was civic-minded and instrumental in helping raise awareness for his South Omaha community.”

During his tenure as an Omaha police officer, Martinez forged and bridged community pathways between the Latinos community and the OPD which had not existed before. His son Mark Martinez is a retired deputy police chief, a former U.S. marshal and first Latino elected to the Omaha School Board. Mark is just one of three sons who followed their father’s police officer legacy. “Dad was just a humble person who wanted to help others,” Mark said. “His love for his fellow man helped him in his life and career. He looked after and cared for the marginalized.” Al was an active member of the OPD’s Latino Peace Officers Association and oftentimes mentored other Latinos who were interested in becoming police officers. Throughout their lives, Al and Dee often would open their home to displaced or troubled youth who needed a stable home environment while still raising their own five kids. Al was also very involved in his home parish Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, and was chair person for the well-known annual church fiesta for a number of years. “He definitely set an example and a high standard for us in helping those who were hurting in our community,” Mark said. Martinez also coached for the Special Olympics of Nebraska and was a volunteer baseball coach in his spare time. In 1985 he was named Nebraska’s first “Hispanic Man of the Year” and in 2018 was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Omaha Police Department. On November 24th, 2020, City Council District 4 representative Vinny Palermo declared “Al Martinez Sr. Day” to acknowledge his selfless dedication to his family, community and to the Omaha Police Department. Al’s legacy continues through his loving family and through the people and community he loved and served.

DECEMBER 2020

c r o s s w o r d The answers will fall in line.

Mental Blocks by Matt Jones

Across

29. ___ the altar 30. Roofing goo

1. Like blue material 10. Curtain holder

32. Lawyer/novelist who wrote “Presumed Innocent”

13. Cookie with a Thin Crisps variety

35. Keanu, in “The Matrix”

14. Really bad invitation turnout

38. Screw-up

5. More up to the task

40. Web page for newbies

15. “H to the ___ ...” (Jay-Z lyric) 16. Farm structure

43. The ___ Dolls (cabaret/punk band)

17. Destines to destruction

45. Former MTV personality Daisy

18. Deride loudly

48. Guarantee

19. Set of which all seven elements are fittingly hidden in the grid

50. “Who’s ready?” response 53. Cedars-___ (L.A. hospital)

22. Org. taken over by Mahmoud Abbas in November 2004

55. ___ Nabisco (bygone corporation) 56. Part of AMA

23. Those, in Toledo

57. Room in a Spanish house

24. Campus activist gp. of the 1960s

58. 4, on some clocks

27. Problem for a valet

59. Form a scab

31. Popular place to hang out 33. Base x height / 2, for a triangle 34. Bread served with vindaloo 36. He said “Say hello to my little friend!” 37. Heavy president and family 39. Court figure 41. Drill bit, usually 42. Mean 44. Big galoot 46. Namer of Einstein as Person of the Century 47. She played Ferris Bueller’s girlfriend

60. Belly laugh sound 49. One who gives up too easily

65. Gore, as distinguished from his father

3. Whipping reminder

51. It may be hard to follow

66. Clear a videotape

4. They may show actors’ or doctors’ names

52. Own (up)

67. Mixture

5. Et cetera

54. Get to the poi?

68. Rule opposed by Gandhi

55. What you should hear in the background as you’re solving/playing 60. Pilgrimage to Mecca 63. Kirsten of “Wimbledon” 64. Word after guard or third

69. German dissents 70. Word repeated in an NPR game show title Down 1. Dominic Monaghan TV show 2. Buffalo’s lake

11. ___fest (Osbourne-hosted tour) 12. Egg carton amt.

6. Betty of cartoons

20. Under the weather 21. Abbr. on a cornerstone

9. Fix a botched job at Baskin-Robbins, e.g. 10. Wu-Tang member aka Bobby Digital

62. Monogram of Peter Parker’s publisher boss, in “Spider-Man”

15. 1040 org.

7. King of Katzenstein, in a Dr. Seuss story 8. Fit together

61. Pie ___ mode

24. Pep rally intangible 25. “She ___ Wrong”

AnsweR to last month’s “For the Birds”

26. Closet organizer, maybe 27. Daughter of Muhammad 28. Pertaining to a radioactive element

December 2020

C R O S S W O R D

MRI

AnswerS in next next month’s issue or online at TheReader.com

by s.e. Wilkinson

Across 1. USO show attendees

31. ____ Reader, quarterly magazine that uses the slogan “Cure ignorance”

4. It’s full of holes

32. Right direction?

8. Breakfast cereal pioneer

33. Trig or calc 34. Fed. workplace monitor

14. Scarfed down

36. Actor’s representative: Abbr.

15. Scent 16. TV’s Greene and Michaels

37. Breakfast grain

17. The Bulldogs’ sch.

40. Canon SLR

18. Singer born Paul David Hewson

43. Not so gloomy 47. “____ little teapot ...”

19. Words that begin the line before “Deny thy father and refuse thy name”

49. Praiseful poem 51. “Does ____ any better than this?”

20. Kids’ character Eddie Murphy spoofed on “SNL” in the early ‘80s and again in 2019

53. Resignee of 1974 54. Finds the right words, say 55. ____ slaw

22. “Can’t wait!”

56. Sans opposite

24. Jane of fiction

57. 11-time NCAA basketball champs

25. Back in fashion 26. Abbr. in many company names

44. Lug

28. Scuba tank filler

45. After-tax amount

29. A single Time?

46. Not halal, in Arab cuisine

33. Swiffer product 35. Called up 37. “____ Sings Dylan” (1965 folk album) 38. Snake in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” 39. Brainiac 41. T or F, frequently: Abbr. 42. Something to pass at a fund-raiser

47. “____ all a blur” 48. Doze (off) 50. Top-quality 52. Beach hill 55. Ugandan leader? 58. Lukewarm 59. ____ van 60. Very light brown 62. 1011, in old Rome

December 2020

63. Monty Python co-founder John

3. Tool for undoing stitches

13. General on Chinese menus

64. Botch

4. Elapse

65. Waste away

5. Prefix with meter

21. Jerry’s partner in ice cream

66. It may be hard to keep

6. Anderson of “WKRP in Cincinnati”

67. “Ciao!”

7. How Arabic and Hebrew are written

68. ____ and outs

8. Influence

Down

9. Like some bad apples

1. Assess

10. Ask for a hand?

2. He might provide assistance after a crash

11. “My treat!” 12. One in a gardener’s handful

23. ____ capita 27. Conditioner’s cousin 28. “Life of Pi” director Lee 30. Med. scan that allows the body’s organs to be seen in their normal functioning position ... or what can be seen in 3-, 7-, 9- and 27-Down

AnsweR to last month’s “UPHILL BATTLE”

C O M I C S Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau

which deaths matter? by Jen Sorensen

TED RALL

December 2020

H E A R T L A N D

H E A L I N G

Acupuncture’s

Journey to America by Michael Braunstein

ames Reston woke up in Peking ready to go to work. He called it Peking because that’s how the Chinese capital was known in July of 1971. Reston had a busy day ahead and within a couple of hours he was prepping for a series of interviews with important heads of state. As a distinguished columnist for the then-prestigious New York Times and a member of the press pool accompanying President Richard Nixon and Special Envoy Henry Kissinger, he was set to interview none other than Chairman Mao. For thousands of years, China had been a sleeping giant as far as world politics and trade were concerned and President Nixon was set to change all that by opening up the beast of the East. At precisely 10:30 a.m., as Reston sat in a conference room at the Peking International Club, he “felt the first stab of pain across my groin.” By nightfall, his temperature soared and 36 hours later, under exceptional care of his Chinese doctors, he was minus an appendix. Poke and smoke. That’s not the unusual part of the story. James Reston had his appendix removed and his post-op pain treated not with drugs but with acupuncture as the sole anesthesia. Needless to say, Reston was impressed that his doctors in China used medical science that had been described in The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine from 2000 years ago. Acupuncture had been in use for at least 2000 years before

that. So, with the insertion of three slight needles not much bigger than a human hair and the burning of a Chinese herb, Reston’s pain was gone and he slept, on his way to recovery. Two weeks later, Reston wrote about his experience with acupuncture in his column in the New York Times. When Nixon learned more about it, he sponsored research of Traditional Chinese Medicine at UCLA Medical School and the validation of a traditional course of treatment that had stood the test of centuries began. A small but dedicated group of practitioners, mostly on the West Coast, were using acupuncture as a therapy. Most of them had traveled to China to learn the full background of the technique and brought the knowledge back to the states. Over time, some states began to regulate the use of the technique. Doctors and dentists, as licensed medical practitioners, were allowed to use it. Others who could produce documented expertise were often waived in. But overall, state health departments didn’t know what to do with the practice. Some states made it legal as a stand-alone therapy, others did not. I personally had my first acupuncture treatment in Tokyo in 1977. My Scottish terrier had her first acupuncture in North Hollywood in 1986 and a lifelong allergy she had was cured, full stop. But across the country, though acceptance by the general population was growing, acupuncture languished in the

DECEMBER 2020

areas where it was less accessible. Nebraska was one of them. OM- Aha. If you don’t know who Sandy Aquila is, you should. Ms. Aquila has been in the vanguard of forward thinking therapies since the 1970s. One of the first licensed massage therapists in Omaha, she became passionate about the wisdom of time-tested therapies that have been commonplace in Ayurvedic medicine and in Traditional Chinese Medicine for millennia. Her commitment to those paths of healing galvanized into a desire to make them legitimately available in her home state of Nebraska. Using some innovative lobbying techniques, she and her associates lifted massage therapy into the field of licensed practice in the state, removing forever the stigma of “massage parlor” from the lexicon. To the point. The mission did not stop there. By the 1990s, qualified, well-trained acupuncturists in Nebraska were helping people with health issues. But their stature was not guaranteed by statute. An attorney general’s opinion had opened acupuncture to doctors, dentists and chiropractors but someone who may have studied Traditional Chinese Medicine at a fully accredited college and completed national licensure requirements was still not legally able to offer the therapy in Nebraska. That anomaly changed on March 14, 2001. Nebraska governor Mike Johanns signed into law a bill that went on to bene-

Photo: Katherine Hanlon/Unsplash

fit countless Nebraskans. LB 270 provided for the licensing of acupuncturists in Nebraska who have met the rigorous training that the bill stipulates. Instrumental in the adoption of LB 270 was the work of the Nebraska Oriental Medicine Association. NOMA was a consumer group founded by Ms. Aquila, Cynthia Defilippo, Letitia dePallares and attorney Shelden Lebron. Licensing acupuncturists in Nebraska was an example of expanding medical freedom to our citizens. If someone chooses to use something more natural than drugs, surgery, unproven injections or invasive interventions to address health issues, that freedom is still available — for now. There are signs that our medical freedoms, choice over our own bodies, are under siege. Many people have worked to expand those freedoms over the years, freedoms that should not be lost now. Be well. Heartland Healing is a metaphysically based polemic describing alternatives to conventional methods of healing the body, mind and planet. It is provided as information and entertainment, certainly not medical advice. Important to remember and pass on to others: for a weekly dose of Heartland Healing, visit HeartlandHealing.com.

O V E R

T H E

E D G E

Soundtrack to a Pandemic

Top Omaha releases during the year of COVID-19 by Tim McMahan

his has been a wacky year music-wise, thanks to COVID-19. As you know, beginning in March, bands have been sidelined as clubs closed and tours were cancelled. No Maha, no South by Southwest, no nothing. As a result, bands were left to either hold onto their recordings until this whole pandemic thing blew over (whenever that would be) or take a damn-the-torpedoes approach and release their music anyway with virtually no way to promote it other than social media and word of mouth. Next month we’re publishing the usual year-in-review issue of The Reader (as well as predictions for 2021). With the focus being COVID-COVID-COVID, no doubt we’ll forget to mention all the fine music released during the fog of the pandemic. With that in mind, I’ve compiled a list of all the local releases I’ve heard in 2020. All of it is worth checking out and purchasing. As a bonus to our online readers, I’m including links to every release’s Bandcamp page, where you can listen and purchase the music. These 40 releases do not comprise a complete list (just ask the bands that weren’t mentioned), but it’s a start. Jack McLaughlin, “Madyssen Is So Quick to Sin” b/w “Rained all Summer Long” — Released Jan. 23, the A-side features guests Conor Oberst and Shawn Foree. Criteria, Years (2020, 15 Passenger) — The band’s first album since 2005’s When We Break (Saddle Creek), it absolutely rocks. InDreama, “Poison House” — Four minutes of bouncy psych-rock candy from Nik Fackler and Co. Relax, It’s Science, Now It’s Your Problem (2020, self-release) — The debut album by the double-bass-attack punkers.

Death Cow, Pioneer (2020, self-release) — The songs’ harmony vocals and power-chord riffs are pure ’90s FM rock territory. Magu-, Renovate (2020, self-release) — A refined psych-rock experience that borders on prog rock.

Dereck Higgins, DHX (2020, self-release) - One of six 2020 releases of electronic club music by the Omaha legend.

Twinsmith, “Dreamer” — Second single on their new label, Silver Street.

Benny Leather, Temporary Insanity (2020, FDH Records) — Electro-punk debut LP features Modern Love’s Chandra Moskowitz (yes, the world famous chef!) and Thick Paint’s Sarah Bohling.

Win/Win, Home (2020, self-release) 4-song EP of sing-along indie. Joan App, “Beautiful Machines” — Joe Knapp (Son, Ambulance) returns with a one-off that left us wanting more. Simon Joyner, Some Only Let the Jukebox Hear Them Weep (2020, Grapefruit) — A 2014 live set recorded in Phoenix, just one of many releases from Joyner in 2020. The Sunks, “Dear Judy” — First song from a never-released album. Supermoon, Half Country (2020, Majestic Litter) — (Former) Omahan Jake Bellows (Neva Dinova) and Morgan Nagler of Whispertown. Gorgeous. Big Nope, Back to You (2020, self-release) — See Through Dresses’ drummer Nate Van Fleet steps out on this rocking 3-song EP. Nathan Ma, “Blue Bird”— One of my favorite tracks of the year, produced by David Nance. Mike Schlesinger, Live at The Sydney (2020, self-release) — A bright spot streamed live during spring’s COVID misery. Pagan Athletes, Live at the DN (2020, self-release) - A sonic acid trip from the Wolf Brothers, Griffin and Nathan. Eddy Mink, Open Container Heart Surgery (2020, self-release) — Pedal-steel fueled indie rock sung with grit, heart and soul by Kerry Eddy. Jack Hotel, A Town Called Hesitation (2020, Sower Records) — Acoustic C&W by way of Lincoln, NE.

Digital Leather, New Wave Gold (2020, No Coast) — The 24th full-length album released by Digital Leather (Shawn Foree) over 20 years, and one of his best.

DÉSIR, Solar (2020, self-release) — Layered, dense ambient electronic songs from Omaha. Uh Oh, Joe and Mari Sing the Hits (2020, self-release) — Includes covers of songs by Alex G, Waxahatchee, Better Oblivion Community Center and John Frusciante. The World, The World (unreleased tracks - 1990) (2020, self-release) — Long-lost vault tracks featuring members of Digital Sex (Stephen Sheehan) and Mousetrap. Las Cruxes, “Para Mi” b/w “Solo Tu” (2020, Afonico/Sony) — Spanish-language punk. Chévere! Bright Eyes, Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was (2020, Dead Ocean) — This first new Bright Eyes recording since 2011 will be remembered as a pandemic event. No Thanks, Submerger (2020, Black Site Records) - Debut on KC label Black Site by self-proclaimed Omaha “goth punks.” Essential. Koso, “The Potential of Getting Violent” — Protest song of pure rage over the James Scurlock homicide pulls no punches. McCarthy Trenching, Perfect Game (2020, self-release) — The 10-song LP has all of Dan McCarthy’s storytelling charm. Stephen Sheehan, “Thanks for Living” — Quiet, powerful new track by former Digital Sex frontman.

STATHI, “Her Memoir” — Omaha singer/songwriter Stathi Spiros Patseas’ first release since debut EP Life of Compromise. James McMann, I’m On My Way (2020, self-release) — Funk by the former Grasshopper Takeover bassist. Steady Wells, “Good Again” — Jordan Smith of Twinsmith; good time indie rock. Those Far Out Arrows, Fill Yer Cup (2020, self-release) — More modern takes on classic psych rock styles that recall BRMC and Them. The Laces, Wooden Change (2020, Mighty Feeble Records) — A “best of” collection of bedroom pop from Doug Kabourek’s pre-Fizzle Like a Flood project. Anna McClellan, I Saw First Light (2020, Father/Daughter) — The follow-up to her 2018 debut Yes and No. James Schroeder, Mesa Buoy (2020, self-release) — David Nance sideman/ guitarist extraordinaire cooks his own dinner on this stunning debut. Ethan Jones, McMcCartney (2020, self-release) — Ladyfinger/Dumb Beach guitarist’s homemade rock anthems seethe and sizzle. David Nance, Staunch Honey (2020, Trouble In Mind) — Follow-up to 2018 break-out LP Peaced and Slightly Pulverized features a stripped-down, soulful sound. Problems, Ought Not Be Overthought (2020, Knightwerk Records) — Infectious electronic club music by Darren Keen (The Show Is the Rainbow). Over The Edge is a monthly column by Reader senior contributing writer Tim McMahan focused on culture, society, music, the media and the arts. Email Tim at tim.mcmahan@ gmail.com.

DECEMBER 2020

Servicios de salud claman por ser escuchados ante incremento de muertes y hospitalizaciones por COVID-19.

POR Chris Bowling

i el paciente ene suerte, tendrá una ventana en su cuarto de hospital. Tal vez estará abierta para sen r el otoño frío en Omaha mientras observa las hojas que caen y que vuelan hacia la Calle Leavenworth.

Si no, verá las “flores fluorescentes” que descienden, mientras una enfermera de la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos en Nebraska Medical Center desliza un tubo hacia adentro de su garganta, mientras el sonido de la saliva succionada a través del plás co rebota por el cuarto. Aunque es muy probable que no se den cuenta de ello pues están muriendo debido al COVID-19. Se les suministran analgésicos y medicamentos para la ansiedad, mientras el personal apaga el ven lador y la intravenosa. Muchos incluso han tenido paralización médica por un empo, algo muy raro antes del COVID-19. Un miembro de familia ingresa para poder estar durante los úl mos momentos del ser querido. Podría tomar 30 segundos, 30 minutos o incluso varias horas.

Mientras esperan, hay pequeños movimientos mientras la persona batalla a través de sus úl mos respiros. El sonido se mezcla con los grupos y con el constante bip detrás de la puerta de cristal mientras el personal médico trata de salvar a la siguiente persona... en ocasiones sin éxito.

las enfermeras trabajan jornadas más largas y sienten que pierden más y más el control, ello después de meses peleando cada día con este virus.

“Estos [momentos] pasan todo el empo”, menciona el Dr. Ross Davidson, Jefe en Atención pulmonar y Cuidado Crí co que trabaja en la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos COVID en Nebraska Medical. “Esto pasa cada día”.

Ahora el personal del hospital está rogando a las personas que escuchen: a Nebraska se le ha acabado el empo.

El empo es algo que algunas personas no comprenden sobre el COVID-19. Mientras que Nebraska alcanza 1 000 muertes por la enfermedad, como en este ar culo se describe , estos no pasan desapercibido. Son semanas de observar con terror cómo las tasas de infección suben y suben, días de ver cómo una persona necesita de una máquina para seguir con vida, horas diciendo a los miembros de la familia que su marido, esposa, madre o abuelo va a morir. Los doctores y

“Esto es real”, dijo la Dra. Kelly Cawcu , Directora Médica Asociada de Control de Infecciones y Epidemología en Nebraska Medicine. “Esto en verdad está pasando en nuestros hospitales. No gritamos ‘ahí viene el lobo’. El lobo ya está dentro de la casa”.

Fingiendo un combate contra el Virus Si Nebraska fuera un país tendría la tasa más alta de infección en todo el mundo. El Estado ene más de cuatro veces el número de nuevas infecciones que ha tenido hace dos meses y su tasa de infección actual es de Estados Unidos que equivale a que cada

día alrededor de uno de cada 1 000 habitantes de Nebraska ene un resultado de contagio posi vo por el virus. El número de personas en el hospital es casi cuatro veces más alto que lo que era hace un mes y la frecuencia de muertes solamente ha incrementado. Si se alinearan todas las personas que han tenido COVID-19 desde marzo, abarcaría una distancia desde Omaha hasta las afueras de Kearney – permi endo, desde luego, una distancia sica de seis pies entre cada persona. Mientras tanto, los hospitales están completamente abrumados. Mientras que los datos en el Estado muestran que alrededor de un cuarto de las camas de hospitales en Nebraska todavía están disponibles con una abundancia de ven ladores, los prestadores de servicios de cuidados a la salud que hablaron con The

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DECEMBER 2020

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“La pregunta es si mientras agregamos más unidades COVID y más equipos para cuidar de estos pacientes, ¿acaso será suficiente?”, pregunta Cawcu . “¿Es incluso posible tener suficientes?”. Las tendencias muestran que Nebraska está mejorando a medida que disminuyen los casos y las hospitalizaciones. Las ciudades de todo el estado también han introducido sus propias leyes sobre el uso de las máscaras. Pero Nebraska todavía tiene una de las tasas más altas de infección sostenida en el condado. En ese sen do, pelear contra la pandemia es como boxear contra nuestra sombra... y Nebraska está perdiendo – sus herramientas para contener la propagación del virus han sido inú les o no son aprovechadas al máximo. Los rastreadores de contacto no pueden mantener el paso, nos dijo Chad Wetzel, epidemiólogo con el Departamento de Salud del Condado de Douglas. Cuentan con 30 personas a nivel local, el mismo número con el que se contaba ya durante el verano, con hasta 250 personas en todo el Estado que pueden ser contratadas para ayudar. El empo que toma contactar a las

“Creo que la única forma en que veremos una disminución en la tasa de transferencia es si se implementan medidas de salud más estrictas”, nos dijo Wetzel.

Incremento de casos de COVID-19 por día. Datos: COVID Tracking Project.

Desde que se declaró un estado de emergencia en marzo, el Gobernador Pete Ricke s ha tenido la autoridad para cerrar negocios, emi r mandatos sobre el uso de mascarilla facial y limitar las reuniones en público. Pero desde que los casos aumentaron a una velocidad ver ginosa en todo el Estado, el Gobernador no ha hecho mucho por reestablecer las medidas de salud dirigidas desde que su aplicación se volvió un poco más laxa este verano. Ricke s también se ha opuesto en varias ocasiones al mandato para el uso de mascarilla facial en todo el Estado. El Estado también ha amenazado con tomar acciones legales contra las ciudades o condados que establezcan un mandato por su propia cuenta. Ricke s recientemente anunció que nuevas medidas de salud dirigidas se aplicarían si los pacientes por COVID-19 ocupaban el 25% de las camas de los hospitales en el Estado. Ello incluiría el cierre de bares, pero permi ría que los restaurantes, iglesias, salones de belleza, gimnasios y otros negocios con núen operando.

Total de casos diarios

personas que han dado posi vo al contagio a incrementado y tratar de crear un mapa de en dónde una persona se contagió resulta ser algo casi imposible.

Incrementos de casos en 7 días

Reader dijeron que el sistema de cuidados a la salud, que ya estaba trabajando a marcha forzada – está siendo empujado sobre el límite. No todas las camas pueden usarse para una persona con COVID-19. Aún cuando cada prestador de servicios de cuidados a la salud está trabajando con más pacientes durante cada turno, Cawcu comenta que podrían alcanzar el límite a mediados de diciembre si esto no baja de ritmo.

Muchos consideran que el Estado necesita de un mejor liderazgo. “Me gustaría darle más crédito como pensador independiente y como alguien a quien en verdad le importan los habitantes de Nebraska y que reconoce que nuestro Estado puede ser líder a nivel nacional y mundial en cuanto a encontrar aquí las soluciones necesarias”, dijo la Senadora Estatal Megan Hunt. “Si tan solo pudiera dejar de silenciar a los oficiales de salud que enen el poder para guiarnos en estos momentos”. Los prestadores de servicios de cuidados a la salud han comenzado a hablar. Han comenzado a compar r sus historias personales sobre miedo y cansancio. Están enviando tweets diciendo que el Gobernador Pete Ricke s necesita establecer un mandato para el uso de cubrebocas y limitar las ac vidades públicas.

Y esto no ha sido ignorado por los medios de comunicación a nivel nacional que han escrito sobre y transmi do sus historias. Los tweets han sido vistos en todo el país. Pero todavía hay escep cismo. No solo podría haberse prevenido toda la transmisión del virus en Nebraska, sino que este es el único lugar en donde no debería haber pasado. Hace dos años, cuando The Atlantic buscó a varios doctores para una historia llamada “The Next Plague Is Coming. Is America Ready?” – La Siguiente Plaga Está en Camino. ¿Los EE.UU. están listos para ello? – visitó el University of Nebraska Medical Center. Durante años, los doctores del UNMC han sido felicitados como líderes a nivel nacional en cuanto a la contención de nuevas enfermedades infecciosas. Es

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Pero ese gran conocimiento no fue suficiente para guiar a la pandemia lejos del Estado. Y ahora los doctores no saben si ahora podrán hacer lo necesario para detenerla. “Estoy temiendo los siguientes [meses]”, dijo el Dr. Jordan Warchol, médico en la sala de emergencias de Nebraska Medicine. “Desde hoy hasta mediados de enero, no creo que nada vaya a ser mejor”.

Una fuerte bofetada Cuando Amanda Pappas piensa sobre lo mal que se podrían poner las cosas por la pandemia, sus pensamientos se convierten en pesadillas. La enfermera de la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos COVID habló recientemente con un doctor que se preguntaba si nos hospitales necesitarían hacer uso del CHI Center. Hoy en día es común ver a las personas que están esperando por una cama en la sala de emergencias. Pappas se pregunta si pronto el personal podría comenzar a llevar a los pacientes a la arena en donde antes se llevaban a cabo conciertos. ¿Necesitarán de camiones refrigerados para poder contener todos los cuerpos de los difuntos? ¿Acaso ella tendrá que ayudar a mover a alguien fuera del hospital porque vale menos la pena salvar su vida que la de alguien más? Mientras tanto, ella ve las imágenes de las personas en los bares repletos, saliendo a comer sin usar cubrebocas o caminando en las endas de comes bles con sus narices expuestas. “Todo eso se siente como una bofetada en la cara para todos los que estamos tan cansados y desgatados por la sobrecarga de trabajo”, dijo Pappas, quien se transfirió a la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos COVID en agosto. “Cuidar todo el empo de estos pacientes para que estas personas actúen como si no fuera gran cosa o para que algunas personas todavía con núen diciendo que es falso”. Mindy, una enfermera de la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos

Hospitalizaciones por COVID-19 en Nebraska.

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COVID en Council Bluffs que “Pero en algún momento durante pidió que se omi ere su apellido, una emergencia, con un aumendio posi vo a COVID-19 el 14 de to de adrenalina que usualmente noviembre. Ella trabajó hasta el dura poco empo, enes que decansancio y se desmoronó en tenerte para procesarlo, encarllanto mientras rezaba con los garte de la situación, y eso no pacientes que estaban muriendo está bien. Y por eso el riesgo es solos. Ella siente que no están que las personas terminan con obteniendo la ayuda que necesi- estrés postraumá co”. ta del público, el gobierno o incEl desgaste emocional de los luso su propio hospital. proveedores de servicios de “Siento que – y pido una dis- cuidados a la salud durante los úl mos nueve meses duele aún más culpa - no han hecho más que debido a los esfuerzos que se cubrirnos de mierda”, nos dijo han llevado a cabo para asegurar Lisa Ulrich Walters, Presidenta que algo como esto no pasara. del Nebraska Center for Nursing, Cawcu dijo que la planeación dijo que la pandemia está tenienpara la pandemia comenzó en do un gran impacto sobre la ya sobrecargada población de en- enero. En ese momento, los ofifermeras. La organización, estab- ciales en UNMC y Nebraska Medlecida en el 2000 para enfrentar icine sabían que probablemente la escasez de enfermeras en el necesitarían más camas a las 10 Estado, proyecta que el Estado que había en la unidad de bioene alrededor de 4,192 menos contención del hospital. enfermeras de las que necesita... No imaginaron tener 10 uniy ese número probablemente dades COVID en el campus de es más lato pues muchas enferla escuela de medicina. Esto meras trabajan menos de empo incluye toda una torre dedicacompleto. da a COVID, tres Unidades de Cuidados Intensivos COVID y Walters dijo que no llevan un una unidad para que las persoconteo de cuántas enfermeras han dejado de laborar como nas puedan morir en paz. Pero tales durante los úl mos meses, el personal ha logrado ajustarse, pero ella y otras personas entrev- llevando más camas y agregando equipos adicionales para poder istadas para esta historia dijeron trabajar con los pacientes. que las unidades de hospitales han sen do el impacto de las enDoctores como Davidson se fermeras que han renunciado o han vuelto más capaces para traque han sido transferidas. tar la enfermedad. Medicamentos como el Remdesivir, aprobaY aunque Ricke s ha reiterado su apoyo a los proveedores de do por la FDA pero rechazado servicios de cuidados a la salud por la Organización Mundial de de primera línea y agregó fondos la Salud, cuentan con mayo dispara ayudar a mejorar la infrae- ponibilidad. Los esteroides brinstructura y contratar a más en- dan a los cuerpos de las personas de una mejor oportunidad para fermeras i nerantes, los efectos luchar contra las complicaciones emocionales no son fáciles de por el COVID-19. Pero lo que más remediar. han aprendido los proveedores “Solamente están haciendo lo de servicios de cuidados a la saque ene que hacerse durante lud es poder saber cuando una una emergencia”, dijo Walters.

DECEMBER 2020

persona va en un lento descenso que no puede ser detenido. “Los a endes y están usando un mundo de oxígeno, pero todavía pueden hablar con go”, dijo Davidson. “Los observas todos los días. Observas su progreso por los niveles de oxígeno y entonces lo ves y ellos lo saben... Saben que enen un alto riesgo de morir y enen miedo de la muerte. Y tú estás atemorizados junto con ellos”.

Hospitalizados

Nebrasqueños

a donde se enviaron a pacientes contagiados de Sars y Ébola.

No todos los que van al hospital mueren por COVID. Algunos salen de ahí sin haber necesitado de un ven lador. Algunos salen con agujeros en sus gargantas debido a cómo se coloca un tubo de traqueostomía para que puedan respirar. Algunos no quieren vivir con un ven lador y les piden a sus doctores que no los resuciten si enen un paro cardiaco. Otros no comprenden lo que los doctores están tratando de decirles. Davidson ha pasado horas gritando a los pacientes a través de un cubrebocas y un protector facial - por encima del ruido de las máquinas – tratando de explicar a una persona que morirá si no permite que el hospital empuje un tubo por su garganta. En ocasiones estas conversaciones se llevan a cabo a través de un traductor. El paciente le ve hablando un idioma que no comprende, ves do como alguien que visita desde otro planeta, diciéndoles que morirán. No le creen. Y después, muchos de ellos mueren. “Si observas a uno de nuestros pacientes de COVID sufrir y fallecer”, dijo Davidson, “solo tengo que creer que no serías una persona, polí co o alguien que con nuaría creyendo que la salud pública general, que los esfuerzos de mi gación del COVID no son correctos”. Algunos se preguntan si el mensaje sería comprendido. Durante meses el mensaje ha sido el mismo – usa un cubrebocas, lávate las manos, mantén un distanciamiento social, quédate en casa si puedes hacerlo – y las personas todavía luchan en su contra. Algunos ni siquiera aceptan la ciencia después de que es demasiado tarde.

Cuando un amigo de Warchol tuvo que decirle a la familia de un hombre que había fallecido por COVID-19, ellos respondieron: “No pudo haber muerto por COVID porque el COVID no existe”.

Nuestras manos están cansadas Tony Vargas no se siente bien frente a la derrota. El Senador estatal representando al Distrito 1 en el sur de Omaha puede voltear cualquier situación para observar oportunidades y soluciones. Pero si hay algo que puede presentarse como un reto para su op mismo, es el COVID-19. En abril, él estaba en la ciudad de Nueva York, viendo como su papá, Antonio Vargas, falleció después de haber contraído el virus. Semanas después Vargas estaba de vuelta en Nebraska viendo como su proyecto para proteger a los trabajadores de las plantas empacadoras de carne, quienes se han visto muy afectados el virus, se tambaleaba.

Los Senadores se reusaron a usar cubrebocas y recientemente el Sen. Mike Groene de North Pla e anunció que él “recibió lo que había deseado” al contagiarse por el virus, lo cual era un paso hacia la inmunidad colec va. Un video fue compar do en línea que muestra a Ricke s, quien ha hablado sobre los cubrebocas en sus conferencias de prensa, no usando un cubrebocas en un bar lleno en Omaha. La persona que grabó el video fue despedida. En Twi er, Taylor Gage, el portavoz del Gobernador, insinuó que los doctores que hacían un llamado por medidas de cuidados a la salud más severas lo hacían debido a su opinión polí ca. Justo como la mayoría de los lugares en los EE.UU., el COVID-19 se ha conver do en un tema polí co sobre el que Vargas, y muchos otros polí cos, no pueden hacer mucho. “Me frustra que nuestras manos estén atadas”, nos dijo. “Pero también reconozco que el Gobernador puede hacer algo sobre esto y ha escogido no usar

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diciembre 2020

Incremento de casos por condado.

sivos COVID de donde muchos no salen.

Promedios de casos de COVID-19 en siete días.

Nebrasqueños

Al salir el sol, el Dr. Jordan Warchol entra a una atareada sala de emergencias en donde las personas están paradas esperando por una cama, algo que era muy raro ver antes del COVID-19. Los días pasan y la Dra. Kelly Cawcu observa cómo no se implementan nuevas medidas para la salud. Mientras que las semanas se convierten en meses, Lisa Walters se pregunta cuanto podrán aguantar los proveedores de servicios de cuidados a la salud.

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Data: Johns Hopkins University, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services • Created with Datawrapper

La estrategia ahora es el ac vismo comunitario: darle retweet a los doctores que comparten las horrorosas historias vividas dentro de las Unidades de Cuidados Intensivos COVID, tratando de construir coaliciones con los dueños de negocios y cambiando la salud pública de abajo hacia arriba. “Hemos visto que a Iowa moverse de nuevas formas y eso sucedió debido a que los oficiales electos o a que todos trabajaron juntos para decir que necesitamos hacer más”, nos dijo. “Vimos a Dakota del Norte , vimos las cosas en Utah, y todo eso en verdad me da esperanza”. Para otros, como la Senadora Megan Hunt, es demasiado poco, demasiado tarde. No quiere decir que debamos dejar de intentar las cosas, pero el hecho de que las personas de la clase trabajadora y los más vulnerables hayan tenido que encontrar soluciones para estos problemas es completamente inaceptable. “[Las personas en el poder] saben que pueden dejar que los trabajadores y los pobres y los más vulnerables se apoyen los unos a los otros con sus pequeños bancos de alimentos y sus colectas de ropa y sus campañas de GoFundMe”, nos dijo. “Una nación

Hunt quiere que las personas tomen nota de cómo las elecciones contribuyen a estas situaciones. Debido a la composición polí ca de la legislatura, algo que ella atribuye a los $1.8 millones que Ricke s ha gastado personalmente en el Estado, Hunt comenta que sería imposible que 33 de los 49 Senadores accedan a celebrar una sesión especial para poder poner las herramientas para la toma de decisiones de vuelta en sus manos. Vargas espera que las personas vean eso, pero también quiere que vean como el aumento en la presión publica puede cambiar la forma de pensar del Gobernador. De cualquier forma, nos dijo que darse por vencidos no es una opción, especialmente cuando las cosas son tan graves. Vargas recuerda el mes de abril. Su papá estuvo inconsciente durante 29 días. Tuvo un pulmón colapsado y dos incisiones en su abdomen. Dependía al 100% de un ven lador. Su mamá, hermano mayor y sobrino estaban en cama debido a la enfermedad. Y después falleció su papá. Nadie le hubiera recriminado el que se hubiera dado por vencido en ese momento. Pero después pensó sobre sus padres. Ellos eran inmigrantes en este país que no tenían nada, no conocían el idioma y no tenían un empleo. Pelearon en contra

DECEMBER 2020

de todo para poder ganarse la vida y proveer para él y sus hermanos. Él les debía el seguir adelante. “No he llegado a mi punto crí co y en verdad espero no hacerlo”, dijo Vargas. “Pero si mis padres, si mi mama puede seguir adelante, entonces tengo que hacer todo lo que pueda para mantenerme enfocado y seguir peleando. Eso es lo que busco hacer”. *** El empo no se de ene por el COVID-19. Cada día el sol se esconde y Amanda Pappas compra un la e de vainilla con leche sin grasa en Scooters antes del turno de la noche. Es lo que le da la energía que necesita para entrar a la Unidad de Cuidados Inten-

“Creo que tenemos una muy di cil batalla colina arriba por delante”, nos dijo. “Creo que, si queremos que esa batalla no sea tan empinada, tenemos que cambiar las cosas ahora, literalmente mañana. No creo que eso vaya a pasar. Así que me estoy preparando personalmente para lo que será un largo invierno con mucho trabajo y en el que veré a muchas personas bastante enfermas que morirán”.

Muertes en Nebraska debido al COVID-19

Promedio de muertos en 7 días

Desde que Ricke s declaró un estado de emergencia, Vargas dijo que él y otros Senadores han tratado de convencer al Gobernador de implementar medidas de salud más estrictas, pero no han logrado su come do.

y un Estado que depende en GoFundMe para que las personas tengan un hogar, para que las personas estén saludables, para que los niños tengan que comer, es un Estado roto”.

Nuevos casos

esta herramienta que potencialmente podría salvar más vidas”.

El escenario del peor de los casos con núa siendo sobrepasado y las pesadillas parecen estar justo a la vuelta de la esquina. Aún así, los doctores necesitan adaptarse. Si hay un punto crí co, dijo el Dr. Ross Davidson, él perdería algo dentro de si mismo, pero jamás dejaría de presentarse al trabajo.

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NAVIDADES LATINAS EN PANDEMIA: cuando la tecnología es la herramienta de unión POR KARLHA VEL ASQUEZ RIVAS

uando Rosa Álvarez “comemos lentejas, para la recibió su residencia buena suerte; pedimos deseos comemos doce estadounidense en su cuando correo postal en enero de uvas cerca de partir el año, este año pensó que podría ir a caminamos con una maleta por visitar a su familia en Venezuela la calle para que podamos viajar y darle una sorpresa a su mamá y usamos ropa interior amarilla”, después de 5 años sin verla. dijo sonriendo, y agregó que Pero todo cambió cuando llegó posiblemente haría eso “con su la pandemia, ahora tenía que mamá” en el teléfono para que quedarse hasta quién sabe la acompañe en sus viajes y el cuándo en para esta navidad y año que viene. fin de año. Para los latinoamericanos la navidad es el momento en el que se hacen regalos a los niños, así como juegos de intercambio entre amistades, pero en realidad es el año nuevo el que une a las familias y se practican rituales para esperar que el año nuevo sea mejor.

Así que los abrazos, las hallacas, el pan de jamón y los brindis en familia se harán, pero de manera de virtual a través de la plataforma Zoom. “Llegué aquí para visitar a unos amigos. Recorrí gran parte de Estados Unidos y caí en Omaha, donde conocí a quien es ahora mi esposo. Ahora tengo una familia aquí. Pero Para mi era imposible regresar a mi país por trámites administrativos que estaba realizando aquí”, dijo. Tiene prevista la reunión con su familia por Zoom el 31 de diciembre. “Vamos a estar celebrando desde nuestras casas y esta vez vamos a integrar vía Zoom a la familia de mi marido. Mi mamá vino el año pasado para celebrar conmigo las navidades, ahora tendremos que conformarnos vernos a través del teléfono”, contó. Normalmente ella preparaba con su mamá las hallacas - una especie de tamal de maíz relleno con carne de res, de cerdo, aceitunas, pasas y otros ingredientes y envuelto en hojas de plátano -, paleta de cerdo, pan de jamón:

La pandemia le afectó todos sus proyectos, pero en agosto formó parte de los 35 675 casos de afectados por COVID-19 que se conoce hasta ahora en Omaha. Las noticias sobre los efectos del virus le llenaron la cabeza de angustia e incertidumbre. “La verdad no pensé que sería peor, me afectó como cualquier gripe. Entiendo que a cada individuo le da diferente, hay quienes han muerto. Es bueno tomar en cuenta las reglas sugeridas para evitar más contagios, pero creo que los medios no informan bien, me parece un juego macabro todo esto sobre todo el de cerrar toda una ciudad pues lo que hace es que la gente se empobrezca más. Ahora estoy bien gracias a Dios y a los cuidados que tuve, aunque ya no tenga trabajo”, dijo. A pesar de que Rosa perdió su trabajo en el restaurante ahora

ARTICULO DESTACADO // FEATURE ARTICLE

solo tiene un trabajo de medio tiempo limpiando oficinas por las noches, y comparte el cuidado de su hijo de 2 años con su esposo. “Será en otra ocasión cuando pueda abrazar a mi mamá y podernos encontrar pronto, aunque sea en medio de la pandemia. Tengo la esperanza de que el año que viene sea menos caótico”.

que hará una conferencia por Facetime (aplicación de videollamada) a la que su hija se ocupará de “esa tecnología” durante navidad. “Quiero estar con mi familia, pero hay que evitar reuniones. Las normas son las normas”, dijo resignado.

Sin visitas es mejor Evitar las reuniones José Ribas solía hacer grandes reuniones en su casa en diciembre. Para él en un encuentro mexicano nunca falta una carne asada, el champurrado, piñatas para los niños, música y otras cosas que hacían un encuentro ameno y familiar. “invitábamos hasta al perro del vecino. Todos estaban ahí en el patio también traían comida así que eso nunca faltaba. Tampoco las bebidas”, comentó. Ribas tampoco esperaba que este año sea tocado por una pandemia. Había comprado unos boletos de avión para irse de vacaciones con su familia para Acapulco para para pasar las navidades y luego pasar la fiesta de año nuevo en su casa. Tuvo que suspender todos sus planes. “Los latinos somos muy unidos y nos gusta estar con toda la familia. Es muy frustrante toda esta situación, pero no quiero que mis seres queridos se enfermen, sobre todo los más ancianos que son vulnerables”, dijo. Pero a José le queda ese gusanito por hacer una fiesta. Decidió entonces invitar a 6 de sus 22 miembros de su familia que vive en Omaha mientras

La joven Esmeralda Rodríguez espera que pase pronto la pandemia para poder “volver a la normalidad”. Para nosotros es más importante el año nuevo, eso es lo que celebramos más en El Salvador. Contó que solían pasar esas fiestas en la casa de sus tíos en donde se comía, se bailaba y se compartía. También se pedía por los más necesitados para que el año siguiente sea mejor. A pesar de que este año no fue como esperaba, se siente agradecida de tener un trabajo y a su familia con ella. “Obviamente nuestras vidas han cambiado, pero estoy agradecida de que están conmigo. Al menos existe la tecnología que nos une un poco más. Por los momentos celebraremos de esta manera”, dijo. Estas son algunas de las historias en la cual cualquier persona se sentiría identificado, en el que las fiestas más familias se reducen a una pantalla de teléfono o computadora, y si se tiene suerte con buena conexión. Es por ello que ante esta pandemia y a pesar de las distancias el equipo de El Perico les desea Feliz Navidad y un próspero año 2021. No olvide seguirnos por las redes sociales de Facebook e Instagram.

DECEMBER 2020

LATINO CHRISTMAS IN PANDEMIC: When Technology is The Tool of Union BY KARLHA VEL ASQUEZ RIVAS When Rosa Álvarez received her U.S. residency in her mail in January this year, she thought she could go visit her family in Venezuela and surprise her mom after 5 years without seeing her. But everything changed when the pandemic arrived, now she had to stay for who knows when for this Christmas and New Year’s Eve. For Latin Americans, Christmas is the time when gifts are made to children, as well as exchange games between friendships, but in reality it is the new year that brings families together and rituals are practiced to hope that the new year will be better. So hugs, hallacas, ham with bread and family toasts will be made, but in a virtual way through the Zoom platform. And she is scheduled to “meet” with her family on December 31rst. “We’ll be celebrating from our homes and this time we’re going to integrate my husband’s family via Zoom. My mom came in last year to celebrate Christmas with me, now we’re going to have to settle to see each other on the phone,” she said. Normally she prepared with her mother the hallacas - a kind of corn tamal stuffed with beef, pork, olives, raisins and other ingredients and wrapped in banana leaves -, ham with bread: “We asked for wishes when we eat twelve grapes around the year, are some stuff that we are going to do,” she said, smiling. The pandemic affected all of her projects, but in August she was part of the 35,675 COVID19-affected cases known so far in Omaha. News of the effects of the virus filled her head with anguish and uncertainty.

DECEMBER 2020

She lost her job at the restaurant and only has a parttime job cleaning office at night, and shares her 2-year-old son’s care with her husband. “I’m hopeful that next year will be less chaotic.”

Avoid meetings José Ribas used to hold big meetings at his house in December. “We even invited the neighbor’s dog. Everyone was there in the yard, they brought food too, so that was never missing. Neither were the drinks,” he said. Ribas also did not expect this year to be touched by a pandemic. “We Latinos are very close and we like to be with the whole family. It’s very frustrating this whole situation, but I don’t want my loved ones to get sick, especially the older ones who are vulnerable,” he said. However, Joseph has a little gut left to throw a party. He then decided to invite 6 of his 22 family members living in Omaha while he will give a lecture through Facetime (video call app), which his daughter will be in charge of “that technology” over Christmas. “I want to be with my family, but you have to avoid meetings. The rules are the rules,” he said resignedly. These are some of the stories in which anyone identifies with, in which the most family parties are reduced to a phone or computer screen, if you get lucky with good connection. Despite the distances, the team of El Perico wishes them Merry Christmas and a prosperous year 2021.

ARTICULO DESTACADO // FEATURE ARTICLE

SUPPORT FREE PRESS // SOPORTE PRENSA GRATUITA

DECEMBER 2020

FOTOS COMUNITARIAS

COMMUNITY PHOTOS

ELITE STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY

RUDY PARTIDA fue reconocido con el prestigioso premio “Chairman’s Circle” otorgado a los agentes de State Farm en todo el país.

La familia SCHNEIDER-MORENO comparte esta imagen deseando a sus amigos, clientes y familiares que pasen una Feliz Navidad y un Prospero Año Nuevo.

La Nueva 99.5 FM y 10.20 AM estará realizando actividades de Navidad para sus radioescuchas, asegurando que mantendrán todas las normas de seguridad como distancia física e higiene para tranquilidad de todos los participantes.

MARÍA FIGUEROA, de Mariscos El Culichi, fue reconocida por manejar uno de los restaurantes de propietarios latinos de más crecimiento en el centro de Omaha por parte de NCC. ¡Felicidades!

DECEMBER 2020

ABRAHAM GÓMEZ MEZA, Coordinador de Salud Mental para Project Harmony, difunde en las redes de su organización que el índice de suicidios en menores de 19 años se duplico en los condados de Douglas y Sarpy. Para más información o ayuda: 800-273-8255.

El Departamento de Policía de Omaha tendrá más atención en las calles del sur de la ciudad donde hay reportes conductores hace caso omiso a las reglas de vialidad en las esquinas, cruces peatonales y de estacionamiento.

Teriyaki Express (calle 24) pide a los que les gusta la comida japonesa que no olviden que ellos también están batallando con la crisis de salud, y piden que visiten su local deleitar a su paladar.

FOTOS COMUNITARIAS

Lives We Lost More than 1,022 Nebraskans have died during the pandemic, these people are members of our community. Local media across Nebraska are collecting this information so we can remember our neighbors.

Do you know someone? Let us know at TheReader.com

DECEMBER 2020