A few days ago, I bought a new mouse for my computer and quickly discovered that in spite of all my pleading to the contrary, manufacturers of small products one buys from hooks in stores are still doing their best to make sure nobody who buys them can actually touch or use these products.
The mouse was encased, of course, in a clear plastic bubble pack, contoured to hold the mouse in a permanent state of antiseptic limbo. Which is okay, because one does not want to buy a mouse that has been handled by others. I know this might come as a shock to you, but most people do not wash their hands before going to buy a mouse. The plastic bubble container serves to keep the mouse pure until touched by its new owner.
But the packages have become so tough to get into, I suspect a lot of these new owners give up and throw the mouse away when it becomes clear to them that the only way they will be able to open the package is with explosives.
When I got the mouse to the office, I tried to cut it open with a pair of scissors, but that didn’t work. I might as well have gone after a whole, raw beef roast with a pair of chopsticks. I got out my pocket knife and tried prying and poking the bubble package open, but all I did was scratch it up — the knife, not the package.
Eventually, I got the package open, but I’m not saying how. I want to see if I can patent the method. If I can, I may make some good money. In any case, however, it will take a while for my fingernails to grow back.
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“I am calling about … the Italian immigrant article. I would like to add a couple of things that were omitted. Otherwise I enjoyed it. My grandfather, Dominic Sordi, and my grand- mother, Julia, had a fourth son that was not mentioned. He was born on July 6, 1919, and his name was Dominic Sordi Jr. —also known as Babe. He was my father. Also, let it be known that my grandfather never did speak English.”
A man commented on a lady’s statement about the (Madera High) “freshman (football) team trying out for the playoffs.” He said, “If that (varsity) team goes to the playoffs, something is not right. Why not send the freshman team? They would put up a better fight.”
A caller wanted to know “when are we going to get our logo back on our football helmets? We’re not the stripes, we’re Madera Coyotes.”
“The reason I was calling,” began a woman, “is that I was at a football game at Madera South.” She had a problem with her offspring being charged an adult price. “They said they didn’t know my son was a student. I also had my 4-year old son there and they also charged him an adult price. What is Madera South doing? Are they that poor they can’t afford it? I told one of the parents I was going to call the Red Line and they said go ahead.”
“After my wife and I were in town last night,” began a man, “we noticed a large amount of new graffiti around on walls and fences and everything. These little pukes that are doing this at night need to be home. I thought there was curfew in Madera. But most of all, the general public, if you see this happening, you need to report it to the police with a description. These gangs do not respect other people’s property. Something needs to be done about it. Police Department, when you are out on patrol, you need to be looking for it too. It makes Madera look like trash. Take them all down. Take them out.”
A lady “was wondering when the City of Madera was going to do something about all the crows. People keep complaining. People were complaining the city buses (being dirty). It’s not the buses. It’s the crows. You wash the bus one day and the next day there will be poop everywhere. You have to get out of your car with an umbrella because the poop is just raining down.”
A man read “today’s paper” concerning the “shopping cart dilemma.” He commented, “I have to laugh … It says on the handle there’s a state law about taking these shopping carts off the premises. You have a built in system, City of Madera. Why are you so frustrated? Arrest these people. Make a little bit of extra money.”
After the final Coyote football game of the season, many messages called for a new coach. One man commented, “Another year without the playoffs, or are we going? Just want to know so I can show up. Maybe we’re ready to play after 10 games. Get him (the coach) out of here; 1 and 9, 0 and 5 in the TRAC (Tri-River Athletic Conference). A laughing stock.”
“After the great season they had under coach Randy Blankenship,” said a caller, “I’m just looking at how many points they scored. The total was 174 to 68. You would think a legend would score a little bit more than that. Madera Unified, please get it right. This guy is robbing you. What are you paying him?”
A man, after “reading the paper Monday morning” quoted the coach: “When we execute, we can play with anybody.” The caller went onto say, “They (Clovis East) are up 49-7, they’re playing their second and third string players against you. We’re bound to get a few yards. Your only win was against a junior high team. It is time for the legend to go.”
An online reader, self-identified as “Jim Thornton,” commented on a letter about a Japanese spy allegedly caught in rural Madera during World War II. He writes, “I was born in 1940, grew up in Madera from 1951 through 1960, and have relatives still there. Further, my dad’s family has lived in Madera since the early 1920s. I have never heard anything about such an incident; seems like it would have been really big news and known by many. Further, a spy would not want to be captured, so why would he have waited around for people to return? … Is it documented by the sheriff, the historical society, or anybody else?”
An Internet guest, “Jerry Williams,” responded to a letter that complained about the price of prescription medicine. He writes that research and development by drug companies is necessary for vaccines, treatments and cures to be found, “but it all costs money, lots of money for labs, and scientists, clinical trials, and equipment. For one drug that is successful, there are hundreds that have failed to make it to market. All you see is a high cost, but instead of complaining you need to understand the reasons…”
A Web site visitor, “Yolanda,” wrote regarding President-elect Barack Obama, “You know, now that education pays off maybe our kids will learn a good lesson that to stay in school is a good thing.”
“Tara S.” writes, “In my opinion, Bush has been a great president in the fact that … have you seen our country being attacked in the last eight years? No, I think not.”
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Thank you for your calls. Remember, the Red Line is open for your messages 24 hours a day by calling 674-4478, or by visiting www.maderatribuneredline.com.
Eleven days after Sen. Barack Obama became President-elect Obama, it is interesting to note some interesting developments.
First, people around the nation and even around the world have been celebrating as though what they perceive to be the nation’s and the world’s problems will be all taken care of by Jan. 21, the day after Obama takes office. But we all know that won’t happen. They are kidding themselves.
Obama proved to be a terrific campaigner and fundraiser, and to that extent he has shown considerable leadership capabilities. But the problems won’t go away just because Obama is president. And he will be under much pressure from his Democrat colleagues to get a liberal social agenda under way while they have dominance in Congress. Obama’s backers will be in for a real disappointment unless they lower their expectations.
Second, Obama’s backers continue to do their best to revile President George Bush and Gov. Sarah Palin, Sen. John McCain’s vice-presidential nominee. They seem to forget that Bush did not run for re-election — he was only Obama’s straw man in the campaign just past, someone Obama could afford to publicly revile. That was necessary because Obama’s actual opponent, Sen. John McCain, was difficult to attack.
Yet, when Obama won, Bush was gracious to him and his family, welcomed them to the White House and ordered his staff to make sure the transition of administrations goes smoothly. And Palin — she has gone back to being the governor of Alaska, where the only thing the press can revile her for is sorting her clothes.
Palin frightens Obama’s friends, by the way. They see her as an ominous threat to Democrat dominance, especially if Obama falters during his first term. As long as they perceive her so, they will continue to hate her.
The latest news out of Lawrence Livermore National Lab is that two teams of astronomers have discovered four “nearly indecipherable specks of light” that appear to be planets orbiting two stars well outside our solar system. The astronomers don’t think there could be any life on these stars, and all four are trillions of miles away from Madera. But they think it is only a matter of time until they spot a planet just like earth.
Personally, I don’t see what all the excitement is about. As a people, we have been aware for quite a while that there are other inhabited planets out there, and that their citizens have been visiting us in flying saucers, and even taking a few of us up and looking us over.
Just the other day on the History Channel, I saw a program about people who said they had been kidnapped by visitors from outer space, examined by goofy-appearing scientists using ghastly-looking instruments that inflicted pain, and then sent back to earth without even a “thank you very much.”
It has often been suspected that visitors from outer space actually take over the bodies of ordinary citizens who then run for public office, appear on radio talk shows and/or contribute regularly to Internet blogs. The astronomers would know all this if they weren’t so busy looking at galaxies that are trillions of miles away, or so busy looking at Mars.
The Mars mission rover was just shut off for good after finding out that the Martians are all still hiding underground where they can’t be seen, a fact we have known ever since the first Martians came down here for a visit. They learned we are a mean bunch, and they don’t want to have anything to do with us on their own planet.
I wonder how many people who are pro-choice also believe in human rights?
…Thoughts are unseen, just as God and Satan are; the spiritual realm is very real. Satan is a liar and a deceiver, still influencing the thoughts of people to believe lies.
It’s no surprise that our country is not in good shape. The downslide of a nation begins with ungodly moral convictions, with disobedience to God. God says the only way to eternal life is through His Son. God says “thou shalt” and “thou shalt not.” That sounds pretty narrow minded.
I am happy to be a narrow-minded thinking Christian. In the days that I was not, thank God for the privilege to repent and His continuous mercy and forgiveness through His Son.
In the pages of the Bible we can learn of God’s love, mercy, goodness, and righteousness. It is also written that the Lord is a man of war; the Lord is a jealous God; the Lord avenges; the Lord will take vengeance; the Lord is slow to anger, but the day of His wrath is coming.
Jesus Christ is coming to protect and defend those who accept Him and strive to obey Him. He will be making war with those who have been warring against Him in unbelief and disobedience.
More can be understood by studying, not just by reading, the Bible. God requires that we dig deep and reason with Him to receive golden nuggets of truth. I welcome any and all prayers. May I rightly understand, wisely discern, and be of good courage to speak.
The Madera Unified School District Board of Trustees and the Madera City Council both are moving with deliberation to establish voting by district for their respective governing bodies. The school board did so in response to a lawsuit filed by a San Francisco legal-rights law firm and the city is pursuing district voting because it was one of the goals that came out of the Vision 2025 planning process.
In both cases, they are doing the right thing. Both the school district and the city have been growing, and some people in the district and the city feel they would prefer to be represented on those bodies by people who live near them rather than by folks who live across town.
This is natural, even though there is little evidence that representation by “at large” school board or city council members has had negative effects.
In fact, the opposite may be true. For example, most of the new schools built in Madera over the past four years have been built on the city’s east side during a time when nobody from the areas where they were built had served on the board.
In the case of the city, most of the community improvements financed with city help through the Madera Redevelopment Agency have been on the east side — where no present city council members live.
In both cases, changing to district elections probably will have no immediate effect on how the citizens of the school district and the city are represented.
However, in future years, people are likely to feel closer ties to those who represent them on these panels, and as a result may be more likely to take part in deliberations, which will be good.
Now that gasoline prices are easing — I saw gas for $2.36 just yesterday, down more than $2 a gallon from prices of just a few months ago — I wonder whether some of the folks who traded in their big, comfortable, but gas-guzzling cars for smaller and more efficient ones aren’t starting to regret their decisions.
We did not do any trading-in at our house. Mrs. Doud drives a little car that gets very good mileage, and I have a big gas hog. She likes her car, and I like mine. When we feel the need to skimp on gas, we drive her car. Actually, she drives it, because I have a hard time fitting behind the wheel. When we feel the need to be comfortable and carry a lot of stuff, we drive my car. Or rather, I drive it, because she has a hard time seeing over the steering wheel.
Around town, her car is the best. It gets good mileage even in stop-and-go traffic. It’s easy to park. But on the road, my car is preferable because it is comfortable and has a lot of room, and when moving along at highway speeds with a tailwind, it is fairly economical on gas. Around town, though, I like to stay within sight distance of a service station, because the little disappear- ing-line gizmo on the gas gauge goes toward empty with surprising swiftness. And if I run out of gas, the car is way too heavy to push.
We have friends who own hybrid cars, and they like them very much. A hybrid might be in our future, too, one of these days.
For now, though, we’re happy to have the best of both worlds, although I have been giving an eye to those cute little scooters for sale up the street. I wouldn’t mind having one, but Mrs. Doud wouldn’t let me take it any farther than the end of the driveway.
Apparently a Renaissance Faire took place recently in Sycamore Island Park on the outskirts of Madera, California (near Fresno). Below are several videos of the happenings there. Be forewarned that the first and second jousting video both contain an inappropriate slip of the tongue.
As a loyal Tribune reader I sure hope you guys give some coverage to the two excellent marching bands we have here in Madera.
This Saturday, Nov. 15, Madera South High School and Madera High are hosting the Heart of California Tournament of Champions marching band competition. It starts at 5:15 p.m. at the stadium. These kids work really hard and have done well this year in competitions. South has won their division in the four competitions they have attended this year, and Madera has taken some awards too.
The government is talking about whether to send us some more economic stimulus checks, and I say, “bring them on.” Mrs. Doud and I can always use another economic stimulus check, although I will have to say that I don’t know where the last one went. I know we were supposed to spend it on things that would stimulate the economy, but I don’t think we did.
We may have gone out to eat a couple of times, and I think I may have gotten a new shirt, and Mrs. Doud was talking about getting some new shoes.
But that was about it.
We probably paid off some bills and put the rest in the bank.
Which at another time would have been the same as following good advice, but it turned out that putting money in the bank didn’t do much to stimulate the economy, which is kind of embarrassing.
I guess we should have gotten a new refrigerator with the money, and I will promise you here and now that if we get another economic stimulus check, a new refrigerator will be high on our list of uses for it.
I was looking at refrigerators the other day, and the new ones are pretty good. They’ve got them arranged now so that the freezer part is on the bottom and the milk, cheese and egg part is on the top, which makes a lot of sense.
I have a hard time seeing into our refrigerator because the freezer part is on the top and the milk, cheese and egg part is on the bottom, and I have to keep bending over to see into it. The older I get, the harder it is to bend over.
I’m ready for that stimulus check right now. I promise to blow it on a new fridge, and if we have any left over, I think I’ll get the cat a new bed, as she is getting older, too.
