Viewpoints

To the Editor:

Hello! I am a third grade student in Northern Virginia. In third-grade, we do state reports, and I have chosen your state! I am very excited to learn more about the great state of Iowa as I work on my report.
Information that I gather for my report will mainly be from books and websites, but I would also like to get information from the people who live in the state. This is why I am writing to you. I was hoping that you would be willing to send me some items to help me learn more about the best things in your state. It could be things like postcards, maps, pictures, souvenirs, general information, this newspaper article, or any other items that would be useful. You can mail items to the address below. I really appreciate your help!

Sincerely,

Kadyn
Mrs. Robinson’s Class
The Langley School
1411 Balls Hill Road
McLean, Virginia 22101
 

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that those who write about old age as the Golden Years either have been very lucky health-wise or have not reached old age.

As if I needed one, I encountered another health problem in which age and life style might be involved.

After a fruitless three day effort to secure medical help from my customary source, I was forced to look elsewhere, and a new physician prescribed a med that took care of the problem in a day!

The problem was serious because it denied this right-handed person the use of his right hand! I could not even open a pill bottle or lift a coffee cup without pain, and trying to shave with the left hand resulted in several scrapes that bled. There were a couple other more embarrassing chores which were difficult, but I shan’t go into those!

But even with that new health problem solved, the instructions about how to deal with it raised more questions. About diet.

Why Good Friday and Easter?

Why Good Friday and Easter? It all goes back to one moment in time, a moment that corrupted the human race. Moses tells us about that moment in the Book of Genesis: “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it” (Genesis 3:6).

The Fall into sin is not only the reason for Christianity but also all other religions.

All religions hearken back to the Fall and propose a remedy for it. And it is either God or man that provides the remedy.

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that I get up at about the same time every day, winter and summer, and so walk into the east facing living room around 7 a.m. Today (Feb. 26) I was greeted by blinding sunshine streaming in the window, the first time I had noticed that since last fall.

So the days are getting longer, by as much as five minutes every two days.

For some reason, I thought incorrectly that this was a Leap Year, but it isn’t, so we are into March.

March is the battlefield between seasons.

We had thunder with freezing rain one night.

And yesterday morning, when I went to get the morning papers, a male cardinal was loudly proclaiming his territory with vociferous song.

To All Church Attenders: “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, NASB).

Two years ago, I was introduced to a retired evangelical minister who oversees a food shelf ministry to Hispanics near the Gulf of Mexico in the southern part of Texas. We discussed the spiritual condition and challenges in our respective denominations. He knew about mine so I asked him about his denomination. He was quick to reply,

“There’s no fear of God.” This struck a fire in me as I realized I have been seeing the same issue - it lived with me for days and I have never forgotten that conversation.

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that there is an old saying that a fish out of water starts to rot from the head down.

That occurred to me as a result of all the bad publicity the once sacrosanct Federal Bureau of Investigation is inviting upon itself.

There has been a handful of top FBI officers who have expressed disdain for and dislike of the politics or personality of the duly-elected president, both when he was a candidate and since his election.

That is contrary to the expectation that such high ranking officials, and indeed even local agents, are supposed to keep their personal politics separate from their work activities.

And along comes the recent mass shooting at that school in Florida.

Federal, state and local law officers are fond of saying, “if you see something, say something” about suspicious individuals or activities.

In the February 14, 2018 issue of The Standard, there was a front page article about the car accident which claimed the lives of Joan Lyons and Mary Engrav. I was able to witness some of the outpouring of condolences and support given to their family members, and the community involvement in celebrating their lives.

There have been several tragic deaths in our area over the past few weeks. As one person said: “Our entire community is grieving.” Questions often asked are: “How do we get through this?”, and  “What can I do to help?” There are a variety of ways we can respond and help one another.

To the Editor:

Maybe we could talk more about how thankful we should be for toast: wimpy milk toast, toasted grill cheese, or trying to eat “just a piece of toast” when you’re not feeling well. Then there is always the possibility someone is not feeling well because they got toasted the night before.

We have garlic toast, French toast, BLTs on toast.  Oh, and the response a waiter or waitress loves when they serve a beautiful triple decker sandwich and the customer says, “Didn’t I say I wanted that on toast?”

Then, of course, there are toasted marshmallows that usually end up burned. I know I really appreciate it when some unexpected guest shows up commenting on how my house smells like burnt toast when they walk in the door.

Let’s not forget, peanut butter and jelly on toast, eggs and toast or creamed dried beef on toast. Since chemotherapy there have been many times my stomach could only handle plain toast.

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that regardless of how Americans feel individually about recent congressional decisions, many feel uneasy about the conduct of some of those legislators.

House minority leader Nancy Pelosi stood at the podium and talked, or read letters, for eight consecutive hours, supporting a view which she knew was a lost cause. But it was her cause of the moment, and she wasn’t about to give up without making that view known, ad infinitum.

Later, Republican Senator Rand Paul talked until the wee small hours of the morning, repeating a position he has repeated and echoed time after time, again, in a lost cause.

As a result of the above, the legislative bodies toiled all night before reaching an early-the-next-moming vote, which confirmed what everybody knew all along would be the outcome.

My wife and I have just returned from a mission trip to India. Just as India is half a world away, so their culture is just as different. It’s a place of the 5:30 a.m. Islamic call to prayer, cattle roaming the streets amidst heavy traffic, people everywhere, traffic (and the steering wheel) on the wrong side of the road,  roosters crowing all night long, 85 degree temperatures by 10 a.m. (and it’s their winter), Hindu priests walking and chanting through the neighborhoods receiving offerings of rice in their headdresses, no road signs, and if there are any, no one pays attention to them anyway (they are just “road decorations”), stench from the open sewers running along the sides of streets and homes,  this is India! As I said several times upon arrival, “We’re not in Kansas anymore!”