Some of us will be sending checks to help the Haitians, and some of us won’t. Some of us are texting to help the Haitians. If you send a certain text, a $10 donation shows up on your next telephone bill. Presumably, once you pay that telephone bill, the $10 will be sent to Haiti. And then again, some of us aren‘t going to do any texting for Haiti at all.
It is a matter of free choice.
A wealthy San Francisco businessman whipped out his checkbook, wrote a check for $100,000 and sent it off to be used to help the Haitians almost before the ground in Haiti had stopped shaking. For his trouble, he was criticized by some who didn’t think he had given enough, and who said his money was tainted. Of course, his critics didn’t say how much they had given. Maybe they didn’t give anything. Maybe they just like to criticize wealthy people, and this gives them the chance.
It is a matter of free choice.
It looks like the bison in Yellowstone National Park might have made a few too many free choices a few years ago, and now there are too many of them. Eighty-eight too many of them, apparently. Park officials put out the word that as a result, 88 bison might have to eat bullets this year, and right away, a bison billionaire offered to save them.
Ted Turner said he would take the bison, and keep them on his big Montana ranch for five years, or until the park or somebody else came along and got them. The only thing he wants for this is to keep 95 percent of the offspring — offspring that would never materialize if the park’s plan to kill the 88 were carried out.
That is Turner’s free choice.
Turner-haters, of course, are foaming at their mouths. They aren’t offering to take the buffalo themselves, but they are offering plenty of criticism. Which is their free choice, too.
I wonder: How would the Haitians choose? How about the buffalo?
The cat has been staying in her den, probably because of the change in the weather. A big storm is on the way. And, as you know, there have been all kinds of earthquakes lately. Also, she is afraid the new high-speed train tracks will run through our house.
I don’t think they will do that, although there are times when we can hear trains going through town on their tracks, and it will sound like they might be going up the alley behind our house. If they do build the new high-speed tracks through town, or through the farmlands down the road, we’ll have even more railroad noise. She probably will pack her bag and move. She most certainly will if we start having earthquakes here.
She doesn’t care for loud noises or vibrations, either. She was very unhappy New Year’s Eve when some of the neighbors set off firecrackers. She came close to moving out of town on July 4th.
Every once in a while, I will lie down on the couch and she will jump up on my stomach. This is usually after I’ve had a big lunch, and my stomach will be going about its business, which involves activity similar to that of a concrete mixer. She starts purring and punching me with her front feet until at least some of the vibration stops, then she lies down on the stomach and immediately goes to sleep. Sometimes, I will go to sleep too, and when I do, I start to vibrate. Mrs. Doud says it’s snoring, but I think it is just purring, sort of like the cat purrs, although somewhat less artfully.
When I purr above a certain point, the cat jumps off and goes and looks out the window, at where there isn’t so much noise and vibration.
Mrs. Doud thinks the surface of the world is moving around on us, and she likely is right. I can tell you that the cat is absolutely sure of it, and isn’t one bit happy.
Recently I’ve read some letters to the editor and some comments on the Red Line concerning the salary increase for John Stafford, Madera Unified School District’s superintendent. Not only have I read that he received an 8 percent salary increase and a large increase for his car allowance, but I’ve heard that he received the promise of a bonus of one year’s salary when he retires, as well as fully paid medical coverage for him and one other person until he is eligible for Medicare.
Is this fact or rumor? I have seen no article about the school district’s action in The Madera Tribune. Why not? Why hasn’t the Tribune researched this and reported it to the community as either fact or simply rumor? The people of Madera deserve to know if this is true. The Tribune has a duty and responsibility to find out and inform the community. (Editor’s note: We have been researching this matter.)
If this information is correct, I truly think the school board needs a reality check about awarding salary increases and other perks to one individual, who was been superintendent for only one year and whose track record for his accomplishments, if any, is meager.
To award anyone a salary increase with the promise of a bonus upon retirement when almost everyone else in the district has been forced to take furloughs with a loss of income, is not appropriate. To award anyone a salary increase when people have been laid-off is not appropriate and is a misuse of the district’s funds.
It looks like Mrs. Doud and I are going to have to shelve the plans we had made to build a wind farm in our back yard.
In 2008, when oil prices were headed to about the level of the space station, we heard that T. Boone Pickens, the Texas energy billionaire, had decided to start building wind farms big time. He ordered 667 wind generators, and started appearing in commercials on television, touting the many benefits of generating electricity with windmills.
It sounded pretty good, especially to a country boy and girl who were used to seeing windmills pump water back where they grew up.
Planning was about as far as it got with us, though. Those big windmills — at least the ones big enough to generate electricity — cost an arm and a leg, it turns out. The price of electricity has to be pretty high in order for it to pay off the loan if you plan to put the windmill on your credit card.
Pickens knows that, which is how he got to be a billionaire. He now has cut his windmill order in half, according to The Wall Street Journal, and he soon will be appearing on television commercials urging the government to help get the country on natural gas, for generating electricity and running vehicles.
You just can’t keep up with that guy.
It turns out that the prices for natural gas and even oil have been going down, and it is so cheap now to generate electricity with natural gas that wind turbines aren’t economical in comparison.
This has to be heartbreaking to those who want the country to use wind power for all its electrical needs, from cars to flat-screen TVs. Windmills don’t commit global warming, and environmentalists like that.
Of course, Pickens is not an environmentalist unless it suits him. That, too, is why he is a billionaire.
In 1987, Madera Art Guild paid a donation to Madera Community Hospital for the name of my mother, Lorene Routson, to be put on a plaque and hung on a wall with other names, instead of giving flowers for the funeral.
In 1999, when the hospital was being remodeled, the names were taken down.
I asked about the names and was told they would be put back up. In 2009, they still weren’t up. A person at the hospital said they had been lost. What a shame to throw names in the garbage, like the names of our loved ones were trash.
Then, they get more money and new names to put on the wall. In a few years, will they take those names down for more names so they can ask for more money?
What a disgrace that our loved ones’ names were lost when we were told they would always be on the wall if we gave our money to Madera Community Hospital. There were probably around 200 or more names on the wall.
The American people once again are proving themselves capable of being charitable in the extreme. As a result of the awful tragedy brought on by the earthquake in Haiti, they are sending hundreds of thousands, even millions, of dollars to help the Haitians in their hour of extreme need.
The most interesting effort is the one launched by Wyclef Jean, the Haitian-immigrant rapper, whose nearly impossible-to-understand lyrics endeared him to enough people to enable him to sell several platinum albums and make him a multimillionaire.
Wyclef Jean also has a charity, Yele (YAY lay) to benefit Haiti, and he has turned that charity over to earthquake relief. Apparently, he is raising millions with it online to help the land of his birth.
Other charities and organizations also are hurrying aid to the Haitians, and that is the right thing to do. The Haitians need all the help they can get.
Hispaniola, the island which Haiti occupies, was invaded by Christopher Columbus in December 1492; the first recorded outbreak of smallpox in the Americas was recorded in 1507 in what is now Haiti. Disease, ill treatment and malnutrition almost wiped out the native population, so the Spaniards began importing African slaves to work in the mines and on the plantations of Hispaniola.
The island became a haven for pirates. It started out poor and went down from there. Eventually, in 1806, the slaves revolted and tried to form a nation, but the French, who by that time had gained control, put down the rebellion, killing many thousands.
Fast forward to 1957, after much tragedy and bad weather, the country was taken over by the Duvalier family and ruled as a “hermit kingdom,” enforced by a private army and terrorist death squads.
Through most of the 20th century, the United States did all it could to help Haiti. But Haiti seldom got to the point of helping itself. It is a very sad place.
Last week, I read of the passing of Mrs. Alberta Thornton, a wonderful and wise woman who reminds me of so many other people I know.
Like Mr. and Mrs. Ramirez, Alberta also taught Sunday school. Like Mrs. Doris Scott and Carles Beckett, Alberta was also a volunteer at Madera Community Hospital. Alberta and I shared many common interests. Teaching, supporting the local library, and promoting literacy.
In 1999 and 2000, Alberta was an active member of the Madera Writers Guild, as I was, and she took upon herself the enormous task of editing our organization’s first book, which was published in 2000. Its title: “Kaleidoscope.” In her very brief bibliography at the back of the book, she described herself as, “one-time teacher and now a great grandmother, has had stories published in children’s magazines and essays in various other magazines.” Alberta wrote many short stories and contributed several to the first edition. I invite my fellow community members to read her short stories: “The Trap,” “A Brief Lesson in Writing Haiku,” “rendezvous,” “Mickey,” and “Full Circle.”
Alberta edited the second edition The Writers’ Guild of Madera published, along with Julie Collins. We used to meet every Saturday morning at Linda Cole’s Books and Bagels. So, Chuck Doud is not the only editor I have ever known. I also knew Alberta Thornton.
I was always impressed by Alberta’s solid character. She was an American our country can be proud of. Alberta led a Christ-centered life and gave a good example and was a good influence on everyone she met.
In the second edition the writing group published, Alberta contributed two fun-to-read stories: “Touring in the Twenties” and “Toast to a Skillet.” Copies of both of these editions were presented to the local library and may be found in The California Room, which holds copies of books written by local authors.
Alberta passed away at 96 years young. On behalf of our grateful community, we thank Alberta for her many, many contributions that improved the quality of life and our spiritual life here in beautiful Madera.
Alberta, I’ll never forget, was the first to coin the phrase, “B.C.” as “before computers.” I’ll miss Alberta’s wit, humor, and companionship. No one in my life will ever replace her. God bless you, Alberta.
All comments are edited for length and content. Because of content or space limitations, some comments may not be published. More than one comment from the same person during the same week will normally not be published. Please limit calls to two minutes or less.
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A record number of calls were received concerning the Madera Unified Board of Trustees decision to give the superintendent an increase in salary. There were far too many to list individually, but the gist of the messages were as follows.
A man said, “I have just learned the school board decision on giving the superintendent a raise was unanimous. I hope everyone is taking names of the board members because they should all be voted out of office.”
A woman suggested “since the school board did not do the right thing for the teachers, employees and children of Madera, the superintendent should do the right thing, I would think even he has a conscience. He should forego his raise at least until we get through this budget crisis.”
Another man said, “I bet this superintendent is only going to be around for a another year or two. Then he’ll take our money and run to another district.”
Another man suggested, “even though it is too late to change the school board’s decision it is not too late to show our disapproval at Tuesday’s (tonight’s) board meeting and later when we vote. They are a disgrace to all right-thinking people in this town.”
A man wanted “everyone to take a look at their utility bills. There is an announcement, by the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Board, that all the alleys are supposed to be paved by 2010. Madera can’t comply because they don’t have enough money so they’re asking us not to use the alleys.” He thought about “the leaf blowers that blow all the dust, and maybe they should look at that for a solution to the dust.”
A woman wanted someone to “please tell me how many people have to die on Avenue 12 before something is done about it? It is a death corridor.”
A woman responded to the man about the food give away “at Town and Country Park with lots of Caucasians with Cadillacs, BMWs, Lexuses, where they are getting free food.” This week’s caller said, “there aren’t even that many Caucasian people in this town. Take another gander.”
A man who said he “called in before about the lack of downtown Christmas decorations and at Courthouse Park” said he “recently was driving through the little town of Le Grand. It is not much more than a spit and a holler, but they had light displays and ‘Season’s Greetings’ hanging across the street. If a little bitty burg like Le Grand can do that what is wrong with Madera?”
A man who “who was at the (county) board of supervisors meeting on Jan. 5” said he “wanted to thank supervisors Bigelow, Rodriguez, Wheeler and Dominici for coming out right away in backing the rail route through town. Finally, supervisor Moss accepted the motion. He probably should retire. The people of Chowchilla need someone who is more understanding of what’s going on.”
A woman mentioned the same meeting and the decision on the railroad “being on the front page. When at the same meeting they decided to give layoff notices to every county employee, but that doesn’t make the paper. Somebody might want to look into that.”
A man said, “Madera County Human Resources has hired an independent attorney to investigate the district attorney … You guys might want to look into that.”
“Chuck Doud’s and Leon Emo’s wonderful columns are a perfect way to start the day,” said a woman. “Please continue to write in your entertaining style. The message by R.S. of Chowchilla (in Emo’s Friday column) ‘teach Emo how to write’ contained a split infinitive and is not a good example of writing skill. Keep up the good work fellows.”
A woman asked, “how she could get several copies of the Jan. 7 issue.” (Note: Call 674-2424 during regular business hours)
A man had “a question for the readers of the Red Line. Can we please get one or more of our citizens to run against (supervisor) Frank Bigelow in the June 10 election? (Note: One candidate has already filed papers as an opponent.)
“Now that Mark McGuire has finally admitted and apologized for his steroid use it is time for Barry Bonds to do the same,” a man said. “Come on Barry. Everyone knows, but only Giants’ fans won’t admit you did just as much as McGuire. Come clean and earn a little respect from the rest of baseball.”
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Thank you for your comments. Remember, the Red Line is open for your messages 24 hours a day by calling 674-4478 or by visiting the Red Line online at www.maderatribuneredline.com.
I see it and I find it hard to believe. I’m talking about the security of the jet industry across the globe.
It reminds me of a bunch of grammar school kids.
There is a lot less chance of a bomb going off if there is no luggage to have to worry about blowing up. That gives more people at hand, that would have being involved with luggage one way or another, to help with best of security, plus go nude everybody or would you rather be dead?
If one is flying use bus, or train more often, and if you must fly send your luggage ahead by UPS, Fed Ex, U.S.P.S. You get the idea.
When we are out of our element we need to slow down as a nation. Don’t freak out or anything of that sort. There is so much evil around us every day, just listen to the news.
The Internet is used for evil more than one thinks. Be careful whom you trust and what you trust. Slow down, listen to your senses, gut feeling, intuition or call it whatever you do, but listen.
I’m getting very confused. On the one hand, I’m hearing that it’s dangerous to the health if one doesn’t get enough sleep, and on the other I’m hearing that you’ll hasten your own death if you sit around or lie around too much.
I’m perfectly willing to get more sleep if it will make me healthier, but then if I have to keep getting up and using my muscles (What muscles? Mrs. Doud might ask.) to keep from getting sick … well, you can see my point.
An Australian study has determined that watching more than two to four hours of television a day is likely to make you die sooner. The same is true, apparently, when it comes to sitting in front of a computer, or sitting slouched in a chair playing with a video game.
If that is the case, it’s a wonder we aren’t all dead already. Everybody I know does at least two of those things, and some do all three.
Maybe the solution is to stand up or even dance around a little while watching TV, working on a computer or playing video games.
I think I would have to take lessons in that. Dancing and writing on a computer aren’t compatible activities, in my book. I just tried it and it makes it very hard to hit the right keys. To prove that — this is the fourth time I have had to type this paragraph. Also, the dance performance wasn’t much to look at, either.
I once belonged to a gym that let you watch television while you were on the treadmill, but there was always something on the tube I didn’t care to see — soccer games in Argentina, for example. A little of that goes a long way. One is inclined to quit treadmilling and go home, where something one actually wants to watch, such as a special on getting more sleep, is on the tube. One can get exercise there by getting up, going to the kitchen and opening the refrigerator during commercials.
