Speak Out 11/10/01

Highway solution

I'VE GOT it! I noticed where Missouri is considering reducing the number of cars provided for state officials. If they eliminate them altogether, do the same for the rest of Missouri's population and ban out-of-state residents from driving in Missouri, that will, at long last, resolve our road problem.

Unfettered speech

SPEAK OUT is the greatest forum for unfettered free speech in the history of journalism. Do not be deterred by members of the establishment who resort to name-calling to try to get you to quit making your invaluable contributions to public discourse.

Make it faster

I'M GOING to make a prediction. If this construction at I-55 continues as long as they say it will, someone is going to get injured or killed. It will either be on the interstate or on Highway 74-25. Perhaps MoDOT needs to re-evaluate its plan and pour enough resources into the project to have it finished in two months, not two years.

Bless the volunteers

VOLUNTEERS. WHAT would this world do without the volunteers? Cape Girar-deau County, look around you. There are many volunteers in this area. Believe it or not, all the fire departments except for Jackson and Cape are all volunteers. These people give a lot of their time for others to help them in many ways. Today's fire service has really grown, and they wear more than one hat. My hat is off to the volunteers. May God bless them all.

Clear admonition

I READ with interest the comment that said we need to read the New Testament when it comes to homosexuality. This caller seemed to insinuate that there is no mention of homosexuality there. Guess again. All over the New Testament there is mention of men and women who "burn in unnatural lust for their own kind." For those who can't figure out what that means, it is referring to homosexuals. What else does the New Testament say about these people? It says, "They shall not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven." That sounds pretty clear to me.

All together now ...

WELL, FOR goodness sake. Almost on the very day Jack Stapleton praised American residents for coming together, David Limbaugh admits the world has changed since Sept. 11, Mona Charen says it hasn't and Cal Thomas says 8 million of us should be kicked out of the country.

Weightless wonders

I WAS a member of an undefeated Central High School state championship team. Yes, it was a baseball team. But I swear most of the boys didn't lift weights. In fact, some of them smoked cigarettes and caroused around at night. Though that is not an appropriate lifestyle and not conducive to producing a state championship team, the fellows were such gifted natural athletes they overcame this drawback. To this day, I firmly believe lifting weights in high school is counterproductive and lessens the chances for a state championship.

Honest trick-or-treaters

WHILE I was taking my child trick-or-treating this Halloween, I didn't want to forget the kids coming to my house. I left a bucket of candy on my front doorstep with a sign that read "Take one." I wasn't expecting to find any candy in it when I returned. As I was walking home I saw two 12-year-old boys approaching my door. I hid behind the bushes to watch what they would do. Fully expecting them to dump the entire bucket, I was amazed that each boy only took one piece of candy. As they were walking away I jumped out of the bushes and said, "Hey, you two, come here." They must have jumped out of their shorts. I told them that I saw what they did. They exclaimed, "We only we took one, I swear." I said, "I know, and I want to thank you for that." I then dumped over half the bucket of candy into their bags and wished them a happy Halloween. It was so refreshing to know that there are a lot of good-hearted, honest kids.