I like movies.

Who doesn’t, right?

As I sat down to pen this column regarding our annual year-in-review section, a last line from a movie I’ve always enjoyed came to mind.

In the final scene of the 2010 remake of the movie “True Grit,” the main character — Mattie Ross, now an aged woman — reflects back on her adventures outlined in the movie. She is at the grave of Deputy U.S. Marshal Reuben J. “Rooster” Cogburn and surmises the passage of the years.

“Time just gets away from us,” Ross said in the movie.

I like the movie and as I prepared for The Observer’s year in review, the line resonated. Time does seem to get away from us.

Last year, as we entered into 2022, the COVID pandemic was still a lingering and dangerous foe.

As a nation we’d weathered the first bout of the disease and then faced the delta variant of the malady and then omicron descended. Cases climbed. More deaths were reported. The winter proved to be hard as COVID outbreaks continued.

Last winter, it seemed like the old mantra of social distancing and masks and vaccinations would be with us for the long term.

Then, the COVID pandemic sort of faded away. At least in terms of visibility. Sure, COVID is still with us, still dangerous, but as 2022 rolled forward, the threat of the virus seemed to diminish.

A contrast, to be sure, from this time last year.

In a way, it hardly seems possible that nearly 12 months are behind us. I know that the newsrooms of the EO Media Group in Eastern Oregon have been as busy as ever — and busier some months — as we scrambled to cover the news occurring in places like Pendleton or Baker City or Wallowa.

In a real sense, though, I can’t deny the pandemic redefined all of us in different ways. There seems to be a clear demarcation line now in our lives — before COVID and after COVID.

I think, though, there are some important lesson to be learned — and I hope they were clear in our coverage — from the pandemic. There is no doubt the pandemic highlighted already existing deep divisions in our society, but it is equally evident that the infection also showed we are a resilient and tough group in Eastern Oregon.

Resiliency, I think is the key theme. Our region suffered through some hard times in 2020 and 2021 but we came though, perhaps a bit bloodied but unbowed.

Everyone can appreciate the great scenery we live around — the Blue Mountains, the Elkhorns, the Wallowas. But I hope our year in review also shows that our area is populated with a group of people who are sturdy and robust in their views toward the future.

The Observer — and other papers in the EO Media Group — essentially became the initial recording element to a monumental piece of history involving the pandemic. I plan to ensure we continue to strive for excellence and to furnish the best news product as possible.

Time does get away from us, but it will never smother the resiliency of our region, and it remains a great place to live, work and play.