Speak Out 3/26/12

Park peacocks

WE so enjoyed the story in the paper about "Peacocks delight generations at Cape County Memorial Park Cemetery." We've lived here all our lives and when my son was small we always stopped to see the peacocks. Sometimes we ate our lunch sitting there on the bench, and we'd feed them too. And does anybody remember the real old tom turkey that was there for so many years? I am wondering how old he was when he died. But my son was small when we started driving through there to admire the peacocks and now his grandparents, my parents, are buried there nearby. Every time we pull through there all he has to do is lower his glass and talk to the animals. He has this sound he can make and they always speak back to him in peacock talk. So, we get a real kick out of the peacocks at Cape County Memorial Park.

Gold investment

THE national debt will continue to increase. I want to invest in gold.

Profiles in courage

TRUE profiles in courage -- our military, past and present, especially those whose names are on memorials.

Cape's fuzzball

FOR those who seem to want to rail against that lovable little fuzz ball from Cape Girardeau, I implore you to lighten up a bit. Before you rush (no pun intended) to judgment, please sit down and listen to him. Remember, the Bible tells us that a prophet is never a hero in his hometown. You go Rushbaugh and keep up the good work.

Time change

I'D like to register a complaint about this time. Instead of having this fall-back, spring-forward nonsense, let's just arrive at one time and leave it alone. This messes up our internal clocks; it's confusing to the children who, supposedly, it was going to help. Tell that to some of the lawmakers and let them get their children up an hour earlier and see if they think it is a wonderful thing. I don't like it. I would like to see it changed.

Kettle, meet pot

I was just watching TV and I believe one of the Republican candidates made the comment that it is time for us to send a president to Washington that will be a good president for the people. Where were the Republicans when George Bush first ran for president and when he ran for his second term? Do they call him a good president after the mess he got us in?

Too much war

ONE deployment to a war zone is by far enough for a human being to be expected to endure. My heart goes out to those civilians in Afghanistan. What would we do if someone burned our Bibles and shot our innocent children in the ears? I totally blame the military. Too much, too soon and far too many deployments and way too little, if any, mental health care.

Fiddler props

A huge job well done to Mr. and Mrs. Bradshaw and the cast and crew of "Fiddler on the Roof" from the Central High School Drama Department. The show was excellent and my favorite one so far. Great job.

FEMA fiasco

WHEN I heard that FEMA had denied Harrisburg, Ill., federal aid, I had to go see for myself. The devastation was even worse than I had imagined. I concluded that FEMA had made their decision while flying over at 36,000 feet on a cloudy night. Then I heard that they denied help because most of the people had insurance. That would be like the Coast Guard going out on a rescue mission, but turning back to port because most of the people in the water were wearing life jackets. When I parallel their reckless decision with some of the insane pork barrel projects that come to mind I find my stomach churning with disgust.

Why the light?

I have seen many negative comments in Speak Out concerning the new stop light in Jackson at Old Orchard Road. One of which I have personally made myself. So, what is the deal with the stoplight there and why is it even there? Can we get some answers? It is the worst stoplight in Cape Girardeau County and it replaced the previous worst stop light in the county, which is the stoplight at the opposite end of Old Orchard Road.

Field condition

I watched the Southeast softball girls play softball recently and I am just wondering what is going on out there with that. Their coach is great and the girls look like they have a great attitude, but that field is the most horrible looking field I think I have ever seen and I have been watching these girls play softball for years. Is the athletic department just letting that field go? Don't they care what kind of field those girls are playing on? This is supposed to be a Division I team, and I wouldn't let my grandkids play grade school ball on a field that looks like that. I was embarrassed to even be from this area. What is going on up there?

Moving tribute

ROBERT "Beaver" Glueck, a veteran, died Friday, March 9 and on Monday, March 12, on the way from Chaffee, Mo., to burial at Bloomfield, Mo., at the military grave site, there was a spectacular sight at the roundabout at Blomeyer, Mo., as numerous other military veterans, some in wheelchairs, held many different kinds of flags and saluted as we passed. There was a man in a red truck with a huge camera capturing this. The family would be so very grateful if they would contact them.

Slam dunk

THIS Republican nomination is a slam dunk. Vote for money and control or vote for morals and middle-class knowledge.

JFK similarities?

THE more I see Rick Santorum, the more I recognize a lot of JFK in his beliefs and actions.

FEMA outrage

FEMA needs to be totally revamped and investigated. Denying help to Southern Illinois was wrong. I live in a very affluent neighborhood in St. Louis. Last year, we had a smalltouch down that took many roofs. It wasn't a third the damage that Harrisburg, Ill., suffered. FEMA was there the next day approving practically everything in sight.