Speak Out 12/5/05

Thank postal workers

MAIL IS a very close to free service, unless you are shipping something massive. Postal workers work hard every day to guarantee the mail is delivered. The things they put up with daily are more than these poor people should deal with. Next time you see a postal worker, smile and wave. And if possible, thank them for their normally thankless job.

Work or welfare

PLEASE TELL me how a family with two incomes receives Medicaid. I am a single mother going to school and working and can't get any help because they say I make too much money. If I made enough money to support my family, I wouldn't be working my butt off putting myself through school to get a better job with better pay. Please explain to me why when I call the Division of Family Services office they tell me I need to quit my job or work fewer hours and they will help me. This is why people choose not to work. They don't have to. Something needs to be done about the people who sit at home without a job and receive welfare. This sickens me. It makes absolutely no sense.

More dignity, civility

JUST UP I-55 in Springfield, Ill., is the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. We spent a wonderful afternoon and morning there and were taken in time from Lincoln's birthplace to his final train ride home through a mourning nation. I am not ashamed to say I felt a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye as I left the last display of his funeral ride home. How wonderful it would be if we could gather up all the raucous voices of both sides of today's political spectrum and send them to this museum and library for the day. Perhaps they could come back with a new perspective, and we could talk in more dignified and civil tones.

Drivers beware

INSTEAD OF a fence by the county park to control the deer, why not teach them to cross at the yellow deer-crossing signs? Do you think deer are smart enough not to go around the fence or jump over it? Maybe if we stop taking their homes to build our homes, the deer would stay off our roads. Do you really think the deer want to get hit by a car? You know they're out there. That's what the yellow signs say. Why not watch for them? If you see a sign in your neighborhood that says "Children at play" and you hit a kid, is it the kid's fault?

Big increase

I'M SORRY the Cape Girar-deau Public Library has decided to raise the out-of-district user fee by about 25 percent. Every year I renew my card even though I rarely go to the library. I didn't mind to support the library, but I can't take a 25 percent increase in the user fee. I won't renew my card unless I really need to use the library.

Worthwhile books

THANK YOU, Gary Rust, for bringing worthwhile books to our attention. I especially appreciated your "Teddy and Winston" column. Thank you, Gary.

Parade candy

I WISH grinches wouldn't call Speak Out. Getting candy is one of the fun things of the Christmas Parade of Lights, and it's one thing children and even an adult might enjoy. I don't think candy should be done away with. If somebody's bothering you, find you a different spot to stand or sit.