running towels, skyping with grandkids
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7/30/2019 Running Towels, Skyping With Grandkids
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If junk mail was dollar bills Id be a
millionaire. Where does all of this
um stuff come from? And why
the heck does it always land in MY mail-
box?.
Oddly, most of these pieces of junk mail
these days are election pamphlets sent to
me by every political candidate except
Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano
Roosevelt.If you ask me the money spent these
days on presidential campaigns is ridicu-
lous, insane, ludicrous and downright stu-
pid.
Get real, America!
Will somebody please tell me why we
are spending millions maybe even bil-
lions - of dollars on political campaigns
when people all over America are jobless
and/or going to bed hungry every night?
Ive been around for a bunch of elec-
tions but I cant remember a single one
that has involved such big bucks as this
one.
Political candidates these days tend to be
rather wealthy guys.But, to tell the truth, Id much rather
cast my votes for candidates who earn six
or eight bucks an hour working back-
break ing jobs that offer limited promo-
tions.
Id love to vote for a candidate who
doesnt have two nickels to rub together
and drives an 11-year-old car
with rusty fenders and
110,000 miles on the odome-
ter.
Im talking about a voter
who out of necessity lives
from paycheck to paycheck
and doesnt come close to
having all of the luxuries of life.
Thats the man or woman who recog-
nizes the REAL problems facing the old
U.S. of A. and, therefore, he or she is prob-
ably better-equipped to figure out what it
takes to get Americas economy back on
track than some candidate who has two
limousines gathering dust in his or her
garage and a pricey speedboat docked in
front of his summer retreat. Lets face it.Many political candidates have big
bucks but Id rath er see us elect candid ates
who have scads of bills and sometimes
cant come up with enough cash to pay
them all every month.
Contact Bob at [email protected].
Ive been working on solutions to the climate
crisisfor a long time, butI never really expected
thatit wouldhit homefor mequitethe wayit
did.
Chadwick Beach, the small NewJersey town
whereI grew up andwhere myparentsstill live,
was one of many communities in Superstorm
Sandys path.
Itwasan idyllic place togrow up. Mywife
andI stilltakeour kids back home each sum-
mer.
Its whereI fell in love with theocean and, by
extension, all of nature,fromredwood forests to
alpine meadows.
Fortunately, my parents werent home when
the storm slammedinto the Garden State.
The damage along theshoreline is so severe
that they havent been able to get back to their
house to learn itsfull extent.
But my uncles house is flooded, the restaurant
where I bussed tables has been destroyed, and
neighborshouses have beenspottedfloating in
the bay.
Ive seen photos online that showthe homes
just a few blocks from ours completely inundat-
ed, and thedamage reports from friends are
numbing.
No onehas seen anything like it before.
I wish I couldsay well never seeanything like
it againin our lifetimes, but thats nothow thewindis blowing.
The frightening consequences of climatedis-
ruption that scientists have warned us about for
decades are already here.
Sandy is only the latest and most devastating
incident in a pattern of extreme weather thats
become impossible to ignore.Our nation suffered through a record-high 14
weatherevents last year that caused at least $1
billion each in damages.
So farin 2012,weve seen a droughtthat dev-
astated Midwestern farmers,historic wildfires
that laidwaste to homes in Colorado, Texas,
Wyoming, Montana,and beyond, and thousands
of heatrecordsbroken across the nation.
In just14 months,twohurricanes have forced
us to evacuate neighborhoods something our
city government had never donebefore, wrote
NewYorkMayor Michael Bloomberg. If this is
a trend,it is simply not sustainable.
Hes right.
The connection between climate change and
catastrophes is nowpainfully obvious to scientists
and insurance companies alike.
Its getting clearer to theAmerican people,especially my friends and family on the Jersey
Shore.
And climate change is about more than just
temperature.Its about disrupting the basic weath-
er patterns that affect almost everything in our
lives from our water supplies, to how wegrow
ourfood, thekinds of diseases and insects preva-
lent where welive, and our ability to keep our
familiesand homes safe.
Our addiction to coal and oilthreatensthe
futureof our planet, hurting familiesnow and
putting ourchildren and grandchildren at risk.
We deserve strongaction from our leaders
notonlyto help thecommunities hit bydisasters
recover but also to reduce the likelihood and
severity of future disasters.
Making changes that will reduce climate dis-
ruption nowis lessexpensive thanjust staying
the course and dealing withmounting climate-
related chaos later. By reducingour useof dirty
fossil fuels and investing in clean energy and
energy efficiency, we can cut powerand fuel
costs,create millions of jobs,clean up our airand
water, and combat climate disruption at the same
time.
Its time to end our dependenceon fossil fuels
and invest in clean energy.
We mustdemand that our leaders accelerate
our transition to clean energy and adopt aggres-
sive efficiency measuresto reduce our energy
use.
Michael Bruneis theexecutive director of the
Sierra Club, the largest grassrootsenvironmentalorganization in the United States. www.sierra-
club.org
Distributedvia OtherWords (OtherWords.org).
Hurricane Sandys wake up call
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speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
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Letter to the Editor Policy
Well its fall and the leaves are changing and
weather is getting cooler so riding the motorcycle
is putting on the warmer gear.
One of the most important things we need to be
aware of is the riding hazards that are upon us
also.
Deer are in heat and so they are crossing the
road different times day and night so be very
aware and alert to deer running during peak season
of accidents.
We have those beautiful fall leaves but on the
road they can be slick riding in a curve and take
you down just as if it was ice.
Some of you may know of hedge apples theyfall this time of year and can me very dangerous
should you run over them as well.
People in automobiles will have the windows
rolled up due to cooler temperatures and may not
hear you coming down the road so use caution in
intersections and changing lanes expect them to
not see or hear you. This is the way to keep from
having accidents.
Still have some nice riding days left so dress
right and ride safe enjoying the fall colors. Email
me should you have any questions or suggestions
about the ride.
Jo Ann Collins, the Blonde Biker, is a Fairborn
resident and member of Chapter F of the Gold
Wing Road Riders Association. Email questions to
the Blonde Biker at [email protected].
LOCAL COLUMNIST
By
Karen Kelly Brown
The ash grove how graceful, how plainly tis
speakingThe wind through it playing has language
for me. Whenever the light through its branches is
breaking, A host of kind faces is gazing at me. The
friends from my childhood again are before me
Each step brings a memory as freely I roam.With
soft whispers laden the leaves rustle oer meThe
ash grove, the ash grove alone is my home.
This was the first song I learned in the first
real chorus I was in in third grade. My teacher
was Mrs. Rose. I adored her and I fell in love
with this song.
Now, decades later, this song is coming back to
me, reminding me of that childhood. I didnt wan-
der the ash groves of Wales, where the song was
supposedly written (although ironically I did singin Wales though not sure how close we were to
an actual ash grove). But I digress. Today, I am not
writing about singing, or Wales or my third grade
teacher as wonderful as that all was.
Im actually writing about a particular tree. Yes,
you guessed it an ash. NPR news reports: The
fight against the Emerald Ash Borer in the
Midwest is nearing its 10th anniversary. Scientists
and tree experts have tried many ways to stop the
infestation. But it has spread from Southern
Michigan throughout Ohio, threatening the states
4 billion ash trees.
The one in our yard is one of those billion trees.
Actually, the tree is in our neighbors yard but it
shades the common area we share, and weve
adopted this tree as our own.
Hes gotta be at least 125 years old (the tree, not
our neighbor). Hes tall and majestic and thoughsick, has shaded us through this last hot summer.
He patiently let the squirrels play on him and never
once did he complain. When it was extremely
windy and stormy, he gallantly held on tight to his
branches; he never once let a single one fall and
crush our gazebo. If he could speak, no doubt hed
tell us the long ago stories of the boys that would
climb his huge trunk and swing from the branches,
scraping their knees as they jumped off. Or of the
little girls that would gather under the umbrella of
shade, hosting tea parties in their petticoats and
crinoline.
Even though hes been sick for a few years, hes
held up quite well. He never complained, and he
always seemed happy to do his job which was
protecting us and providing us beauty. His beauty
was so simple. He was tall and green and graceful.
Today, he will go to the giant forest in the sky.Today, he can relax. He doesnt have to fight the
fight anymore. His leaves have turned brown, the
branches are all hard and dry and sagging the
suppleness gone the green becoming a dream of
the past. He gave a good fight, our ash tree.As I
look out the window, I see the majestic branches
standing a little taller today. He knows its time
and hes ready. He knows he lived a good life. We
will miss you, dear tree the hole in the ground
will represent the hole you will leave in our lives.
The Ash Grove
THE BLONDE BIKER
By
Jo Ann Collins
Local Columnist
Fall riding hazards
Running towels, skyping with grandkidsEvery decade, give or take a year or two, one
mustgo onthe hunt fora new washingmachine.Its
a difficulttaskwhich cantakehours of onlinecom-
parison shopping before heading into the jungle.Any online savings is usually lost in the shipping
charges. One hundred pounds of metal, porcelain
and plastic doesnt appear at your door with a 45-
cent stamp. One also needs to physically play with
the dials, caress the cabinet and check under the
hood.
It hasnt happened yet but Im sure in the next
few years therell be shops that will trick out your
new machine.Yes, high tech gurus that will add a
12-inch LED screen for sending and receiving
email while youre running towels. Watching X
FactororAmerican Idol? Youll be able to vote on
line while your jeans arerinsing.A DVD andvideo
phone will allow you to Skype with your honey or
watchthe latestflick from RedBox.
Our late 90s model washboard that had been ill
for too long finally died a few months back. I was
on it in a heartbeat. First stop, Consumer Reports,looking to see which one had four or five stars and
wasmost reasonably priced.After hoursof review-
ing comments and comparisons, I was armed with
enough data to wash Springboro, Centerville and
Miamisburg.
Lucy and I hit the streets to visit three places we
thoughtwouldgiveus thebest deals.At thefirststop
we met an associate who immediately identified
himselfas non-commissioned and wasonly here to
help us makean educateddecision onour purchase.
Right away we found out the one we thought we
wanted had only two dials at the top and a plastic
tub. Those were no, nos bad bad .. he
informedus. You need a porcelain or steel tub and
more dials at the top. He showed us the really hot
top-of-the-linemodelwith fivedialsanda mediocre
unit with a measly three dials. Dials were never
mentioned inanyof the material I hadreadover and
over online. Of course, more dials provided more
features and more things that can go wrong. He
gave us his best price possible that we wrote down
with the model numbers on the two units, A+ and
B+the names wegavethem.
We were a bit confused heading off to our next
stop, but were truly dial educated. The next visit
found us welcomed bya gentleman that didnot say
if he was an associate, salesman, manager, store
owner or CEO of a large conglomerate. His pres-ence to us exuded high pressure salesman. We
opened our folder, advised the gentleman what we
were doing and asked for a price on the following
machine models. His same model on the A+
machine had one extra dial that added $40 to the
price.His speedypresentation,pushiness,trying for
the close in the first minute was irritating. We just
said, Stop right now and departed as he tried to
followus outthe door. I wassure hed TO us(Turn
us Over) to the manager that would then offer spe-
cial financing, service contract, dealer prep, under-
coating, sealant, raggedy towel tangle up insurance
for just $89 more per month for one year. I would
counter with, But we want to pay cash right now.
Andthen hed say, We dont accept cash, andthats
when Id pull out a banana cream pie and let him
have it. I know I was thinking way too far out in
front andI really didnt have the pie with me.
We talked it over and decided to go back to the
first store get the machine we liked and not take a
chanceon a third store. Well, were back, wesaid
smiling at the associate we had just left 30 minutesearlier. Seems theunit wewanted was notin stock.
Theyd have to have it shipped from their
Chinese.errCincinnati warehouse, usually
threeor four daysat themost.It arrived intwo.Their
online ad featured free delivery on certain models
and this was one of them, so I spoke up and said,
Well take that free delivery, too. His comment
was, You missed thefine print,theres a feeof $50
fordelivery, butwe giveyou a receipt tomailin and
sometime in the next eight weeks youll get your
$50 back.
That dealdoes not work withme,I had togo to
court once toget mymoneybackon a similar trans-
action. Well just stuff it in the back of my van and
our younger son will hook it up and take care of
everything, I raged. And please dont bring up the
add ons. I will not listen to you if you do and may
leaveagain. Heres a checkfor paymentin fulljustgive mea receiptand wellbe finished. Hetakesoff
with the check andruns tothe other endof thestore
and returns about five minutes later. I asked, Why
did you have to run all the way down there. We
havean antiquated system.Our softwareis so outof
date ittakes a while toget everything processedand
printed on the line printer, he says. Wow, state-of-
the-art stuff sold by an old fashioned store. Whats
wrong with thispicture?
I sure hope the dryer doesnt go. I think I need a
weekoff toclearmymindof dials,spincycles,rins-
ingand pushy sales guys.
Christmasin SpringboroFestivalstarts tomorrow
night at 6:00 p.m. big parade Saturday at noon.
Dont miss this awesome annual event. C U at the
parade.
Merge wrights email address is:
MERGE WRIGHT
B
y Don Wr
ight
Times
Columnist
COMMENTARY
By
Michael Brune
Guest
Columnist
Thanks so much for cluttering up my mailbox!
Bob
Batz
Senior
Moments