Speak Out 6/13/12

Generous person

Thanks and best wishes to the kind man who interrupted his lunch to open the door and help my husband, who was on a scooter, into Pagoda Garden on Saturday. Then, without us knowing, he paid for our meals and left. I don't know who he is, but he was very thoughtful and we will pass it on.

Feeding deer

I am complaining about not being able to feed the deer. We have fed the deer for 21 years, and they have never eaten any of our hostas or potted flowers. Now that we have had to quit feeding them, they have eaten all the hostas off all of our plants -- and thanks to you all because you decided this is the way it had to be. We did it for 21 years and it has never bothered anybody.

Different times

The caller claimed when they came to Missouri -- of course they didn't give how many years ago they moved to Missouri -- that there wasn't a heavyset person to be found. I find that hard to believe, but on the other hand times are different. If your kid wonders off a little, someone will call child protective services instead of being kind and just returning the child to the door and saying, "Here, I found little junior." Let's get someone in trouble with the state. That seems to be the solution for everything in 2012 America.

Road lights

The city of Cape Girardeau needs to see to it that since Big Bend Road has been improved, our corner lights are put back up. In the dead of the night, Big Bend is a crossing for several deer to make their way to the river. It is so dark an accident is just waiting to occur. Light up our streets and maybe save a life.

Squirrel problem

With reading each day in the local newspaper about the concerns for deer in the city, there seems to be more concern for the destruction the squirrels are doing to gardens, flowers, telephone lines, garden hoses, automobile wiring, electric cords, etc. As is said, "They are only nasty rats with fuzzy tails." Is there not anything that can be done to prevent this destruction?

Burning ordinance

We are under a no-burn order because of the extreme dry conditions. Why does this not apply to the farmers who are burning the large wheat fields putting all this black smoke and this awful smell into the air? Is there a separate set of rules for them?

Rising costs

Recently I asked my husband, "Why is it that we always seem to come up barely making it at the end of the month?" We get the same amount of money because we are on a fixed income like most everyone else. Used to be that it seemed like we would have a little bit of money left over, and now we barely make it to the end of the month and have enough to pay our bills and living expenses. Then I got to thinking, food has gone up, gas has doubled or tripled according to the different days, and it costs more to fill up your car. Our utility bill here in Cape has gone up from $50 usually to up to $70. Everything has gone up. So I answered my own question. I am not better off today than I was four years ago.