Speak Out 6/5/09

Where's Bob?

I was noticing on the Wall of Fame downtown that you have celebrities from Missouri. I noticed you don't have Bob Barker. He's one of the most loved men in the United States.

Flooding problem

I'D like to know when the city's going to do something about the flooding problem behind the Stewart Drive residential area right off Kingshighway. This has been a problem for more than 20 years. I keep hearing the city is going to fix it, but it never does because there are bigger projects.

Lockers emptied

IT'S the last full day of school. Father called and said his daughter was sick and could not come. Guess what? It was empty-your-locker day. What happened? Everything was thrown away. Thank goodness her violin was not in her locker.

Federal offices

SOMEONE needs to check how many offices that the U.S. government is paying rent on around Cape Girardeau. They could be located in the old federal building on Broadway. There are quite a few: IRS, FBI, Social Security.

Happy dogs

I'M glad that my life is so full that I don't have to stick my nose into other people's business. So what if they choose to carry a dog in the back of their pickup? I've seen some of these dogs with their owners, and they couldn't look happier.

Restaurant behavior

RESTAURANTS with wine lists also usually have a children's menu. Children belong there. They need to be well-behaved.

Voting memory

IT is as simple as this: If you misbehave, there are consequences. Remember this when you go to vote.

Greatest gift

I'D like to commend Sam Blackwell for his work in helping Mrs. Hummel's second-grade class with the book about "John the Giraffe." And also the teachers at Blanchard Elementary School who made it possible for each child to have a copy. I think letting children know someone cares enough about them to do this project is one of the greatest gifts that anybody could have given them.

Secular nation

PRESIDENT Obama is quoted in the recent "Human Events" as saying: "We do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and set of values." That is secularism. The weakness shows up because a moral code is usually derived from some faith like Judaism or Christianity and we divorce ourselves from faith. We render every man's morality equal to every other man's and thus makes them all valueless. When President Obama says we are a nation bound by ideals and values, he postulates an impossibility. Where do these secularized ideals and values come from if the liberal dogma requires every man makes up his own? Those secular ideas and values don't come at all. The common bonds that used to unite the western societies together are cut. Religion is discarded in the world of the secular humanist because man can live his life without it.

American genius

SOME people say the government bailing out industries with subsidies is socialism. It's not. The government needs to bail out some corporations from time to time. There can be too much of it, but I really don't think this country can be communist. I don't think anyone can get the power to turn it into a communist state. The genius of America will survive.

Not a bad person

THE Rev. Larry Rice has homeless centers in St. Louis, and my aunt's church helps with food and sending a mobile church there. You need to check this, because Rice is not "underhanded." I know a lot of churches that help with his homeless center up there. Maybe a homeless shelter isn't something you would like to have in Cape Girardeau, but Rice needs to be checked out, because from what I understand he is not a bad person.

Dirt beach

I want to know why there's never any sand on the beach at Boutin Lake at Trail of Tears State Park. When I moved here in the early 1990s, it was a nice place to go. For the last three or four years, the beach is just dirt.

Skating memories

I was raised back East. As young boys and girls we had to walk everywhere. We would walk to this pond and brush off the snow, and then we would ice skate. By the time we got out ice skates on our feet were freezing. But that's a good memory too. Children today don't know what they're missing.