SPEAKOUT

I WOULD LIKE to thank the employee security and everyone else that was involved in finding my little girl Friday afternoon at Famous Barr. Everyone was very understanding and helped me through a terrible experience. It seemed like hours. I would especially like to thank the woman who found her and brought her back to me. I didn't get her name. Thank you all very much again.

YES, I WAS calling in regards to the lady whose 31-year-old son is still living at home and doesn't do anything and she wanted some suggestions. I suggest she kick him out and tell him it's time to get out on his own.

I HAVE BEEN watching and reading all about this timber issue the past year, and I feel I need to write something today after watching the broadcasts on all the TV stations Monday. These so-called environmentalists, and I use the term loosely, are something else. All for a couple of acres of trees, they allow themselves to be seen on TV acting like animals, getting thrown to the ground, wrestled around by cops, handcuffed and thrown into the back of a police car for everyone to see. Especially the woman: I bet her kids were proud. Respect the Earth is their motto; I was raised to respect other human beings, the old fashion motto.

DON'T THOSE PEOPLE realize that trees have to be thinned out so the better ones can grow and make more trees? I think they're being about as silly as they can be. That's the way I feel about it. I don't like to cut trees down but I realize that nature calls for thinning out forests. Thank you.

I DOUBT THAT the American taxpayer realizes that we have national parks and national forests in this country. National parks are administered by the Park Service. They allow no hunting, no timber harvest; they were established to preserve natural features or historical interests or exceptional beauty. National forests are administered by the Forest Service, an agency of the Department of Agriculture. They are three or four times larger than the national parks. A national forest was established by law to furnish a continuous supply of timber for the use and necessities of the citizens of the United States. National forests actually provide more recreation than national parks. My point is, Shawnee National Forest over in Illinois where all the controversy is was established by law for the timber supply. I wish the preservationists would go home.

TO THE PEOPLE WHO oppose timber harvest, do they live in glass or plastic houses? Do they not wipe their behinds daily? Toilet paper is made of wood. Do you eat? Food comes in boxes made of wood. When trees are ready for harvest they must be cut before they rot and are useless for anything. It also opens up the forest so that the young seedlings receive sunlight to grow; otherwise, in heavy shaded areas the new seedlings will remain underbrush. A lot of trees are planted yearly. Just think how many wouldn't have jobs if the lumber industry would cease. Where would you live, in the forest? We've been cutting trees since Noah's ark. The Lord told Noah to cut gopher wood to build the ark. Good thing Noah cut those trees down, thus there would be no mankind today. Thank you.

FOR THE CALLER in Tuesday's Speak Out, I say hooray to the Soviets for protesting and bringing back their leader. But take notice they aren't protesting abortion in the Soviet Union as we are here. The Soviets as many other European and Asian countries use abortion as a form of birth control. Perhaps if they too protested abortion they would be arrested for trespassing, disturbing the peace, and starting riots and all the other charges the folks in Kansas are being brought up on. It's just plain and simple: if you're against abortion, don't have one.

HERE IT IS Wednesday, another day without Speak Out. To me, a day without Speak Out is just like another day without sunshine. Thank you.

TO THE PERSON who blamed Congress for the closing of the shoe factories, put the blame where it belongs: on former President Reagan and President Bush. They both vetoed textile and shoe import bills.

I WAS WONDERING how the Southeast Missourian chooses its persons to profile in the People Profile section. Is it a volunteer thing or somebody runs into somebody or what? How are these people chosen?

We use no particular selection process. We welcome reader suggestions on people to feature.

I JUST THOUGHT I'd give Police Chief Boyd a hand. I read here in your paper this morning that the police department would vigorously pursue and prosecute people engaged in homosexual activity, which is a violation of state law. How about going to the next GLSA meeting at SEMO and arrest all of them? They themselves are admitting to the public that they're homosexuals and lesbians, so arrest them. Thank you.

MY NAME WAS picked in a drawing at one of our large grocery stores. It was for a party and I could invite as many as 40 people. I invited 20, 10-year-olds and 10 of their moms. I hope the next three winners have as much fun as we did. Thanks to the manager. It was great.

I JUST WANT to give my opinion on the committee and Gilbert Godfrey on the Emmy Awards ceremony the other night. I think, to say the least, he was disgusting. Thank you.

THE WORDS SPOKEN by the daughter of a farmer in Monday night's paper are the truth. I was the daughter of a farmer, the wife of a farmer, the mother of a farmer now, and have two grandsons who are bound in farming. We are a special people who do not take handouts undeserved from the government. Thank you.

A BELATED BUT sincere thank you to the lady who witnessed my accident at Mount Auburn and Route K last Wednesday and reported it and what she saw to the police. I can't begin to thank you enough. Thank you.

THE ONLY ADVANTAGE I have found as a result of the drought of '91 is that hopefully the football field at Houck will be dry enough for the Central High Band to perform at half time. Their performance was prohibited last year, you know.

THE FLAP GOING on now about farmers and welfare is understandable on both sides. Farmers, generally speaking, are a hard-working group of people, not like we were 40 or 50 years ago when we worked harder and with no guarantees. However, there are an independent, hard-working group of people who resent being thought of as on welfare. I believe the largest outlay of tax money, next to defense and Social Security, is the farm program. To call it welfare is actually wrong except in that money you did not earn can be called welfare. For instance, unemployment compensation is a form of welfare. You could hardly blame the rest of the taxpayers for being upset, especially when it seems the millionaire farmer is getting the biggest share. Also, hearing if it wasn't for the farmer we would have nothing to eat is wearing kind of thin. Actually, if it wasn't for the processor, the transporter, the distributor, we would have nothing to eat. If it weren't for the farm machinery manufacturer we would get very hungry. If it weren't for my wife and myself and a million others like us getting up early in the morning, scraping ice off the windshield, and humping it spring, summer, and fall to go to work in factories and such to buy this produce, there wouldn't even be any farms. It would be good if we could go back to an honest work-oriented country as we were just a few years ago when accepting welfare was thought of as degrading.

GORBACHEV SAYS HE is a communist and will always be a communist. It makes you wonder why George Bush is so very anxious to give him economic and technical assistance. Thank you.

TO THE PERSON who spoke out on this issue of smoking in grocery stores; she wondered what these smokers do with their ashes and their butts: You, Miss Tidy, Clean and Neat, judge smokers as the scum of the Earth. You constantly bark against smokers. You are a fanatic. I don't smoke but I sure would rather a smoker come in my grocery store than you. You know why? You probably gawk at what everyone else is doing and don't watch where you're going with you and your kid's grocery cart while spitting out a wad of gum or tossing a candy wrapper or dirty used Kleenex on the floor, and you reek of heavy perfume that suffocates people around you. At the checkout you ask for the currency you get to be changed, to be returned, as it looks too dirty, and you challenge the checker about the bill while there are people standing in line with one or two items. At least our smokers are happy when they shop. Why don't you spike that Coke you're carrying around shopping with you and enjoy it. Thank you, Speak Out.

IT'S JUST A crying shame a city the size of Cape Girardeau has yet to come up with a Greyhound bus depot. Come on, Cape, get it together.

WHAT'S THE DEAL with the sports staff at the Missourian? If one writer is not ripping the team apart, another is kissing up to them. Brad Harris' column on the American Legion baseball team was rather harsh on a team of high-schoolers, but at least he didn't kiss up to the players and coaches like Marty Mishow did in his Aug. 20 column. His story was typical of how many people in this town pamper the athletes at Central and Notre Dame. Maybe if someone would get a little bit tougher on them and expect them to do their best, the kids might realize they let someone else down if not themselves when they fail to live up to expectations.

JUDGE PATRICK KELLY is as misguided as the rest of you baby killers out there in the world. They will pay for this.

KELSO IS GOING to have zoning? Come on, who are they trying to kid? They've already got stop signs. What are they going to zone? Where are they going to zone it at? That one little street doesn't really need to be zoned, does it?

I AGREE THAT these farmers have received welfare the past 40 years. They have received it in subsidies being paid for land to be laid out that you couldn't raise anything on, cash payments for land improvements and ponds. I would say there are a few farmers who receive over $10,000 a year in government aid in Cape County, and these same farmers look down on some families receiving $36 in food stamps. I would challenge you to go to the ASCS office and see who is getting the money. Thank you.

I WANT TO respond to the newspaper that the TV station sent out over a week ago. I think that you and the United Way do a tremendous job with the NIE program. I'm glad to finally see the TV station try to get involved and put something out that our young people can read instead of sitting like a bunch of dummies and watching TV. I understand they mailed out approximately 200,000. That means in that one day they got 60 percent coverage. They found out that a newspaper does work, and I want to compliment the Southeast Missourian on the good job they've been doing over the years and also the NIE program.

THIS IS TO the person who wondered where they put their butts and their ashes. Honey, I can tell you where to put them but I can't say it over the phone. Thank you.

I'M CALLING IN regard to the person who said farmers have been on welfare for the last 25 to 30 years. I would like to know if this person is on welfare or not.

I'M ON VACATION and I would just like to say to everybody back at the place where I work that I wish you were here.

I WAS JUST READING the newspaper from yesterday. I was reading where a guy said he quit smoking. That's good. I think everyone should quit smoking, and especially quit drinking. Drinking is what I'm really against because it kills a lot of people. Thank you.

I JUST WANT to say something to some of these kids who are getting into trouble. I was once one of those smarties too. I did some things around town, picked up candy, 10-cent articles and things. That was many years ago. One day I got caught and I had to pay up. Then I went on for a while and I tried to pay back everyone I had taken from. But now I'm older and I'm sitting here waiting. Someday I know I'll face my maker and what do I do then? I thought about suicide, but then I push it from my mind and hope that maybe God will forgive me. I just want to warn you: don't do that; it will get you in a lot of trouble and cause you a lot of agony. To the parents, if you see your kids with something you don't think belongs to them, question them and find out where they got it. It will help them later on. I hope the first time anybody picks up anything that doesn't belong to them they get caught because then they can straighten out their life to start with. It's a terrible thing to sit back and think about what you've done and keep wondering if you got everything paid from every place you took something. Thank you.

I HAVE A SOLUTION to the police brutality situation that is currently running rampant in this country. The police should be required to have background checks for a history of their personality and behavior, like violent and mental history just like the citizens of this country very shortly are going to have to undergo when they purchase a handgun. Maybe we could weed out a lot of people on the police forces who are causing the brutality. That would make me feel safe and I'm sure it would make a number of Americans feel safe.

I'D LIKE TO make a complaint about people handling food and turning around and working in a cash register. I think that's gross. I stopped at a meat store in Cape yesterday and the lady got some meat out of the counter for me and then waited on me and went back and got meat from somebody else and handled my money and somebody else's meat. You don't know who all has been handling that money.

I HOPE THE person who took my white concrete dog Saturday night in Scott City has a lot of restless nights. It was in memory of my wife's spitz that passed away.

I AM REALLY disappointed that KFVS dropped "People's Court." I only hope that KFVS can see fit to bring this program back on in the fall of the year with new programs. This is a very popular show, but at 5:30 a.m. in the morning I don't imagine they were getting the viewing public that they desired. I really miss the "People's Court." Thank you very much.

MORE BAD NEWS today: 1,400 shoe workers losing their jobs. Is this what the lawmakers get for their huge salary increase? If these people do not stop these foreign imports of shoes and other stuff into this country, the whole system is going to be on welfare. If nobody's working, where are they going to get the money for the welfare? It is high time that these politicians get out of the foreign countries and stop worrying about their economy and worry about the American worker in this country. Thank you.

I'M CALLING ABOUT the homosexuals in Cape. That disgusts me; that is sick. And another thing: why does SEMO support these groups? I don't even go to SEMO. How about that?

I JUST WANTED YOU to know I watched "Inside Edition" on 8-26-91 about the couple and the adoption. I can sympathize with that lady. We've tried 20 years to get a baby with no success. We set up with Cape County adoption and all we were ever offered were families with three to five children. I know of three couples who got newborn babies nine months to the day that they signed up. So I guess in Cape County it just depends on who you are and who you know. Thank you.