Day 6 Bike from Vantage to Othello

 

Day 6 Bike from Vantage to Othello

 

Othello, Washington

 

     I arrived in Othello after biking 50 miles in 95 degree heat.  There is only one town (named Royal City for some reason I much research) which offered me an hour respite in an air conditioned pub. When I told the waitress that I was biking across the country, the kitchen staff all came out to wish me well. I did not want to leave, but I had an appointment in Othello 2 hours later and I did not want to miss it.  The land has flattened out entirely and one can see great expanses of wheat.

   Othello is the only town of any size for a hundred miles.  I met with Don Short, the lovely Lutheran Pastor, who gave me an overview the town and his congregation.  He informed me that the city is over 90 percent Mexican.  This means that it has a much larger percentage of Latino people than Miami.   It is an agricultural region and they have relied on Mexican farm workers for nearly a century.  Many of them have become U.S. citizens and some have purchased the farms on which they once labored.  Don told me that although some of the town Anglo population is saddened by the fact that they are a rapidly shrinking minority, there does not seem to be hostility over this fact.  One complaint has been that it is now necessary to drive 20 miles to get a hamburger.  Nearly every restaurant in town serves Mexican food.  One can see colorful murals in town which are a testimony to their cultural contribution.

    Although a very red congressional district, there is much anger over the reduction of guest worker visas allowed under the previous administration.  A local orchard went unpicked a few years ago because of their inability to get workers.  Don and I discussed the urgency of us establishing a functional immigration policy.   Evidently, the crisis at the Mexican border is not a pressing issue for the Mexicans trying to make a living in Othello.  I was able to see the complex diversity of Latino persons in the U.S.

    He invited me to breakfast with the Lutheran Men’s group on Saturday, which was wonderful.  We were given a huge menu containing Spanish words I had never seen before.  On the back page was a list Americano options. 

    We discussed the book  Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans which spoke of the urgency of equipping all persons of tell the story of their lives.   Don also shared that preaching in our contemporary age is a rather simple affair- Jesus commanded his disciples to love one another.   It is a clear and obvious proclamation, but embodying it in social policy is often complex.