Viewpoints

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that when I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes nearly 20 years ago, and brought home a list of dietary restrictions, my mother, in her mid-70s, said if I had to eat like that, I would have to do the cooking, since she was too old to learn to cook all over again.
And so, I became the chief cook for the two of us.

She ate what I prepared, but she would make comments, such as “nothing wrong with it that a little salt wouldn’t cure.” Or maybe, “it’s better with a cream sauce.” In fact, sometimes she would set aside a portion of something (peas, cauliflower) and make a cream sauce for her portion.

At any rate, when she died 15 years ago, I was pretty much used to doing the cooking, so only had to adjust to one instead of two.

It is not easy to cook for one. But with the ability to freeze unused portions of most things for another day, I get by with ham chunks and turkey breasts with bone attached.

Proverbs 18:24 …a true friend sticks closer than one’s nearest kin.

Have you noticed the different kinds of people who come into our lives? Some people come into our life for a reason. Doctors, nurses and other health professionals wait upon our every need when we are in the hospital for an illness or disease. Patrolmen, lawyers, and people in the court system help us through a difficult time in our lives. Waitresses, clerks and other store personnel help us find what we need. These people come into our lives for a specific reason, to help, to give advice, to serve.

To the Editor:

Mr. Quandahl is living in a world of  wrong facts, according to his latest letter. His president lost the popular vote by almost three million votes, not a landslide victory.

He expects you to trust what he says to be the gospel truth, but let me tell you he is a long way off from the gospel and uses Christians  and Evangelical values and morals as his passport to another world. Whether a man or woman, it’s hard to believe that someone believes that he or she is pure and has morals and is working their way to heaven but still votes for an alleged lifetime sexual  predator, a lifetime liar who is reported to be tied in with Russia and Putin, and who has a cabinet member who reportedly launders money for Russia.

But neither Mr. Quandahl, nor Kristi Hager, nor one-time Republican candidate Lowell Engle will ever mention these facts, which are true. Go ahead and check, but I think you also were duped.

To the Editor:

Following the passing of Dan Otting this past week I have felt moved to write to you to express the sadness felt by a number of people here in the UK (United Kingdom). I have been a close friend of Brother Leo Jones and Mary Anne, Dan and the family since 1983 when I first visited Waukon.

In 2001 I brought a group of high school students to the U.S. from England and part of the itinerary was a two-day visit to Waukon where we stayed with Dan and Mary Anne. For the students, this was by far the most memorable aspect of their whole American experience. The hospitality we received was second to none.

Dan always enjoyed hosting international students and my last visit was for Thanksgiving in 2013 when I came with a student from Beirut and one from Palestine and we shared a wonderful few days in Waukon. They remember the stories that Dan told late into the night about the characters and events over the years in Waukon.

To the Editor:

I would like to thank Mr. Ward for his wonderful fake writing skills as it appears he has obtained his information from the fake news, as he likes to refer to it.

I plan on showing in this letter how Mr. Ward’s letter writing is fake, like the fake news. How to get started? Might as well start with Mr. Trump being accused as a serial sexual abuser, as Mr. Ward claims. Where in heavens did he come up with this accusation? I know; the fake news. I got on the computer and Googled if Donald Trump was a serial sexual abuser, and to my surprise sites started to pop up. Which one to choose? I scrolled down to where it stated, “Trump Civil Child Rape, Sexual Abuse & C. “Filed” SDNY Fed’l CT 1:16-CV-04642 6-20-16.” What a shock! Maybe Mr. Ward was right after all.

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that I have not taken a photograph since I retired after 44 years of using a camera, but there have been times when I wished I could.

An example came one recent morning, after that overnight thundersneet (snow and sleet) event. What I heard against my bedroom window made me expect to see ice covered utility wires at dawn, but they were clear. However, a day later, as I looked toward the rising sun, I noticed the bare limbs (bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang, as Shakespeare wrote) of two trees between me and the sun were glistening with a thin ice coat, first rose-tinged and then silver as the sun rose higher.

Very pretty.

That storm did deposit a layer about an inch thick of white frozen ice and snow on my driveway, however, which was not so pretty.

To the Editor:

During the last twelve years, there has been a local organization, “Corner of Hope”, operating in this community. During those twelve years, over $300,000 has been raised. These funds are sent to the Food Resource Bank (FRB), a faith-based organization whose sole purpose is to help alleviate world hunger in the poorer regions of the world.

The funds we send are equally divided between Catholic Relief Services, Lutheran Relief and Church World Relief Services. These organizations then use these funds, not by giving food, but by showing them how to raise their own food. This can be done in a variety of ways; different and better seed, tillage practices, pest control and water management. In one instance, land was purchased by the FRB and parceled off and sold to the peasant farmers. This was done because the good agriculture land was owned by big corporations.

To the Editor:

Here we go again. At 90 years of age it gets harder all the time. I appreciate all editorials, even though I highly disagree with some. It takes time and effort to put your thoughts together.

I like what Trump has done so far and hate the Republicans who throw logs in his way. These Rinos have to go, make sure of that the next chance we get - election day.

Trump won big, and the big help came from Christians and Evangelics - 82% for and 18% against. I really wonder what kind of Christians the 18% are. Are they for killing babies, throwing the Bible and Ten Commandments out, no mention of Christ in schools, ministers forbidden to be involved in politics? All of the above, and there could be more, are inspired by the devil. The 82% of supporters of Trump flock to his meetings, nearly 30,000 in Florida, where he spoke for 117 minutes. By the way, Hillary called them deplorable.

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that the older one gets, the more things there are that remind us of events long past. And sometimes those memories are a bit hazy.

Whenever President Trump appears in front of a crowd with reporters and cameramen present, the noise of camera shutters clicking is very loud and intrusive. I suspect that was true of past presidents as well, but I probably notice it more since President Trump makes himself available for many more such appearances than did, for example, his predecessor.

That reminds me of my first experience with cameras in the courtroom. It was probably in the 1970s when the state legislature gave its approval, despite objections from the judiciary. Judges were afraid trial pailicipants, and attorneys in particular, would play to the cameras.

To the Editor:

The Luster Heights facility is now closed just two weeks after State House Representative Kristi Hager and State Senator Michael Breitbach cast their votes for a budget which cut $5.5 million from the Department of Corrections. Their votes have had negative ramifications for Allamakee County, those employed at Luster Heights, the inmates, and the taxpayers.

The many ways the Luster Heights inmates benefited the county were underscored at a recent Board of Supervisors meeting. Since the 1990s, Luster Heights inmates worked 200 days a year on secondary road maintenance for a nominal fee of $5 per day. This saved the taxpayer a great deal of money. The work the inmates did at the Waukon City Park was described as the benefits far outweighing the costs.