Be a positive influence

One of my favorite people, Ronald Reagan, exuded confidence and optimism -- characteristics of American people that seem to be in short supply today. Even in the darkest days of the 1980s he did not see darkness and fear but saw it being "Morning in America again."

I am tired of being inundated with the gloomy and fatalistic prophecies stating this as the end of America, of the world, of capitalism, of everything that is good and just, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Life is so much better when we choose to live it in a positive, optimistic, enthusiastic manner, and I choose to do that.

I choose to throw off the cloak of gloom and doom and dark thoughts. I choose not to attend the pity parties that seem to permeate the media. I choose to look forward to the future with hope and optimism. I choose to view gold as a bright shiny metal that can be made into beautiful pieces of jewelry and not something I will have to eat in the future. I choose to smile and to have a brightness to my disposition that leaves all those I meet better people for having crossed my path. I choose to look for the good in all people. And I choose to thank God for all the blessings he has brought into my life.

I invite you to join me in being a positive influence on the people in our small part of the world.

RICHARD R. CUBA, Cape Girardeau