THE PUBLIC MIND: CREATIVE LEADERS SHOULD SUGGEST COMMUNITY IDEAS

~To the Editor:

~~All the pros and cons of riverbo~at gambling~ need to be put in their right perspective. Gambling is gambling. W~ebster's definition is: " ... to play for money or other stakes, to ~make a wag~er, to venture. It says nothing about winning or gaining.

To "~g~amble" on finishing out in front, or being triumphant, maybe if you would turn on the lights and look at th~e loss that is very much~ a part of gambling~.

The men and ~women that wil~~l be st~~anding~ on ~the other side of tha~t table,~ sailing, ta~kin~g your m~oney and~ sa~ying, "So~rry, yo~u lose." These people want you to lose. It's their job to take ~our ~money.

I'~m a man ~th~at moved to Cape Girardeau in 1921. I ~was v~ery young and as I gr~ew, I watched fat~her and mother~ work very hard for all we had. I've watched Cape Girardeau grow, from dirt streets, to asphalt, to concrete. As a child, I read by kerosene lamps. In the late '20s to have electricity you had to have the ~know-how to use it wisely.

I stand ama~zed as to the city that stands a~round me. We have had ~many wise and creati~ve leaders.

We have to have a firm foundation to build on for our children, and gambling ~is not a fir~m foundation.

There are still some wise and creative leaders around, ~w~hy not let them suggest some ideas?

Willie Mecham

Cape Girardeau