SPEAK OUT

Just as long as it isn't my wealth

A SPEAK Out caller recently asked Mr. Degenhardt to rethink his position. The caller evidently felt Mr. Degenhardt favored some form of confiscating and redistributing wealth. If so, Mr. Degenhardt's position is a sentiment I sympathize with, at least to the extent that the wealth being confiscated and redistributed isn't mine.

Thanks for pointing out the weeds

THIS IS in reply to a Speak Out comment a couple of weeks ago. The board of directors of Habitat for Humanity would like to thank the individual who recently pointed out the condition of one of our lots. It is our intention to maintain our properties at a level which the community would be proud. We value the community's input and support and apologize for the oversight. Again, thank you for bringing it to our attention.

Good news, bad news and a comment

I'VE GOT good news, I've got bad news and I've got a general comment. The comment first. It's pretty pathetic when the customers in stores are nicer, sweeter and more helpful to you than the actual employees of same. The good news is that a 7- or 8-year-old boy actually opened the door and held it open while we walked through it two times on the same day. We thanked him. He said, "Your welcome." I shouldn't even have to be calling this in, but we all know how rare that is these days. And our congratulations to the parents who were not anywhere around, that we saw, for teaching him such wonderful and, sadly, too uncommon manners. The bad news: You know how everybody says "That's not my department" when we're trying to get somebody to help you? Well, this happened to us in reverse. All of a sudden some woman was spouting off how this was her department, she worked every department and she knew everything about everything. We told her what we were looking for. She said, "Oh, no, we don't have that item," as though we were looking for something completely strange and alien, which was in fact a common item. That's fine. It's just the attitude. "What do you want?" she said, not "How may I help you?" and acted as though we were taking up her time and she was doing us a favor. That's what she's paid for. And in a great big store, like the one we were in, you can hardly find anybody to help you anyway.

Postal Service still a good bargain

I KEEP reading in Speak Out people complaining about the Postal Service, but the reality is that we have the cheapest, most efficient postal service in the world. And I don't work for the Postal Service and neither does anybody who I know. I'm just trying to state a fact here. If they need to raise the rates in order to continue providing this service, that's just fine with me. I send probably five pieces of mail a week. That's roughly 250 pieces of mail per year, and if they increase a penny per piece, that will cost me a whole $2.50 a year. Wow!

Basketball, not garden plots

IT SEEMS once again that the city is putting other things before the children. I understood there was a playground put into the Red Star area when the city acquired those lots. Vegetable and flower gardens are beautiful, but I just heard where Poplar Bluff had put in a basketball court for their youths who didn't have anything to do. I think that might help our Red Star area more than flowers and vegetable gardens that have to be weeded and have to be watered. Think about it.

Reasoning reflects AARP position

HOORAY TO the caller who thinks Gil Degenhardt should give up a year of his Medicare coverage so that people who are presently working can be covered when they reach the age of 65. When I turned 50, I refused to join the AARP as a matter principle. Mr. Degenhardt's reasoning is representative of this self-centered group. They want everyone else to bite their bullet.

Puzzled about media news choices

I'M CONCERNED about the story that took over America's media for more than 10 days, and that's the killing in Florida of a homosexual dress maker by a homosexual prostitute. I don't understand the significance of this story. It seems to be a very simple regional story to me. However, it was the No. 1 story on every television newscast and on almost every radio newscast. It's been No. 1 on the morning shows. We've had it on "Nightline," "Dateline," "Primetime Live" and "20/20." I don't understand the significance of this when there is a courageous newspaper, The Village Voice, that has been trying to get a story out, and it's suppressed in the United States. That story is about United Nations peacekeeping troops in Somalia killing African children, torturing them, prostituting them, raping them and forcing them to eat vomit mixed with worms, throwing them in a metal cage and letting a little kid die of thirst. This was done by Belgium, Canadian and Italian troops, not Third World country troops. But this story cannot get out. There are millions of dollars missing in aid funds from Africa that United Nations workers stole. There are United Nations female aid workers who prostituted themselves to United Nations troops. This story can't get out, but a courageous newspaper is trying.

Shades of the Flat Earth Society

THE NAIVE caller complaining about space exploration reminds me of the Flat Earth Society back in the 1400s. They didn't want to explore or do anything new. Guess what? You benefited from that. It did take a little bit of time, but you're here now in America. If nobody had taken the time to explore, you wouldn't be here unless you're an American Indian.