Last weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, staff members of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center got to start and end their 8-, 10- or 12-hour shifts with people screaming at them. I cannot tell you how heartbreaking that was for the people who have been sacrificing and fighting for their communities and patients for the past 14 months. People were crying in the parking lot and hallways. And then you know what? We pulled ourselves together and we did our damn jobs, caring for the ill and wounded of New Hampshire and Vermont.
But here’s the thing: There are only so many beds and we are filling them up, and there are only so many nurses, therapists and doctors, and we are losing staff to heartbreak, exhaustion, no available child care, etc. …
So, you want the “right” to go maskless and not be vaccinated? Then you earn the “right” to no room in the emergency department or intensive care unit, or for that elective surgery you were planning. That’s because we are in crisis mode, people.
I was told I was a Satan worshiper because I feared COVID-19. I was told I am responsible for people getting sick because “vaccinations make people sick.” Can we stop now, please? This is hard enough, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better.
CLAUDIA COZENS-HOFFMAN
Grantham
The writer is a speech-language pathologist at DHMC.
Some liberals of the modern persuasion have expressed alarm at the increasingly pervasive illiberalism of their beloved ideology.
But, given the trajectory it assumed upon deviating from its classical roots, the quasi-religious, pseudo-scientific and pseudo-intellectual cesspit that is wokeness is precisely where modern liberalism was destined to land.
The only surprising thing is that anyone is surprised.
ANTHONY STIMSON
Lebanon
I send my ardent thanks to staff writer Liz Sauchelli for her fine piece about the Upper Valley Humane Society (“Humane society turns to social services,” Aug. 9). And similarly, I send my heartfelt and grateful thanks to UVHS Executive Director Nikki Grimes, to all staff and volunteers, and to the board of directors for their dedicated and steadfast work on behalf of animals in the Upper Valley and, increasingly (as the article makes clear), the humans they share their lives with. We are all, indeed, interconnected. The breadth of vision on the part of Grimes and the board is admirable.
I have been a friend and supporter of the UVHS throughout my 18 years in the Upper Valley and will strive to continue and grow that support in the years to come.
How a society treats its animal members is a true measure of the goodness and worth of that society.
ERIC ESAU
Newbury, Vt.
We are trying to reach New Hampshire Army National Guard retirees who may have served in the Lebanon, Claremont or Woodsville units and who have retired in the Upper Valley area.
The Guard’s 12th annual retiree luncheon has been set for Sept. 23 at the Joint Force Headquarters building on the state military reservation in Concord. Retirees who have not attended prior luncheons or have relocated are urged to contact Command Sgt. Maj. (Ret.) David Follansbee at dave_follansbee@comcast.net or 603-623-7757.
This year’s luncheon will feature a briefing on the status of the New Hampshire Army National Guard as well as exhibits and displays of interest to retirees. A group photograph is also planned. The luncheon fee is $8 at the door.
If you are a New Hampshire Guard retiree and plan to attend, RSVP no later than Sept. 13. The planning committee asks that you pass this information along if you know of someone who has retired from the New Hampshire Guard.
DAVID FOLLANSBEE
Manchester