Rumors. He said she said…

Question: Is what you are telling me right now going to be edifying to my soul? Am I a part of the problem or solution of which you speak? Are you asking for my advice which you plan to completely ignore? Are you talking about my neighbor or the guy down the street? Did someone ask you to keep this information to yourself? Will telling me this damage someone’s reputation even though you did not hear it straight from the original persons mouth? Would you stand up in court and swear this is the truth if going to jail would be your result if it wasn’t?
Then shuddup yer face and go do something positive for the community!

Sorry, just had to get that off my chest.

A library without books?? Much as I love my computer, no matter my incessant curiosity and ‘need to know’ at the click of a mouse, it never has replaced the written word for me…nor will it. My love of books was engendered by my father who took me to the city adult library at the age of three, setting me down with an encyclopedia while he perused his selections for the week. No…I don’t claim to be reading at that age but the illustrations at every turn of a page kept me interested enough to return with him every week. And once in school, couldn’t wait until old enough to get my own library card. By the time I was thirteen I had cards for two public libraries plus the one in school. Wasn’t but a very few years later, once I joined the work force, I bought my books to supplement those I borrowed. Granted, I haven’t had a library card for many, many years…preferring to buy and keep my reading material but a library without books?

I’m trying to imagine grabbing a book as one flies out the door of a morning…stuffing it into a pocket or bag…in the hope that there will be a few minutes during the day when few more pages can be turned…a novel, bio, general information to be read or gleaned during a lunch-break, sitting on a bus or train, waiting for the oil-change. Turn on the computer and…where’s the scent of wood pulp, highlighters are useless, no notes in the margins possible. Pick up a book and there is no need to plan ahead for batteries, plug-ins, nobody peering over your shoulder at a monitor. Power outage? No problem…you can read a book by flashlight (cigarette lighter if desperate!). You can read a book while still lounging on the couch, fall asleep with your open pages shielding your eyes from the light…24/7/365 if you like. No time limit!

Oh, sure…you can argue that a PC, laptop, notebook, blackberry are more convenient, more efficient. Maybe they are…but there is nothing quite like seeing shelves upon shelves of the written word, holding a book in anticipation of what you will find between the covers and letting your imagination run riot with the visuals created only by words. Oh, sure, this is a colllege library…sorry, media-center, but no books in a library can no books at all be far behind?

Shift happens, right enough.

I watched young David Walter (NCCo. Teen) win the Jeopardy Teen Tournament this evening, rooting for him all the way. He didn’t win last night’s game but came through, magnificently, tonight, to take $75,000 home with him.

While I was watching it was difficult not to reflect upon the news of earlier today where the Cape and Central game last night caused such a disgusting ruckus. Causing a pregnant woman to be taken to hospital and police called out from all over. Maybe worse is the result of the poll results on this home page. Why in the name of all that’s holy are so many calling for additional police to be on duty and a children’s sporting event?? For some reason I suppose I hoped the majority would choose the last option…”Get rid of all HS sporting events” but only 16% of the voters did. Meanwhile, a shocking 32% called for “allowing the fans to watch but bring in more cops”. Have we, as a society, gone mad?? How many times has some disturbance…or worse…been reported as happening in or around our schools and their events? How many times has violence been the end result of such disruptions followed by ensuing arguments “this…or that…didn’t happen”. Strikes me that with the increasing frequency of such reports it’s as the old adage says…no smoke without fire. And it makes little difference that the four who were arrested were obviously not HS students. (At least I hope they weren’t, given their ages…!)

I’d like to know what is hoped to be accomplished by increasing police presence at something as inconsequential as a kid’s sporting event. And wouldn’t it be much more effective to ban sports events, at least for a year? In the grand scheme of things, how important does anyone deem sports to be, anyway? Yes, it’s healthy…but not when spectators or pregnant women get hurt or leave in fear. It’s not educational. It may be seen as a means by which some kid gets scouted for better but what about that if he/she doesn’t have the academic ability to graduate college with a real education and purpose for life instead of, at a minimum, a few years of pseudo-fame as the best player on a team and, at best, go on to play pro-sports…few and far between.

A referendum has just been approved to bring a middle-school campus and a new elementary school to the Milford district at an increase to the tax-payer. No…it’s not huge increase but as a tax-payer I’m absolutely fed-up hearing we need new schools, bigger and better, more modern buildings in order for kids to get a better education. Since when has an edifice dictated the quality of education? We need improvement, yes…in the quality of our educators, better compensation for excellence in that area; for parents to stop making excuses for their ill-behaved children and/or suing school boards when they take a stance against an unruly child. Perhaps we are more in need of schools where the unruly and undisciplined may be sent so that children who want to learn may do so. Maybe then we would have more kids like David Walters, who can be admired and emulated by his peers for his academic ability rather than by how well he plays or how good he looks in on the field. Where the investment his family made in his upbringing and education will benefit him throughout his life and not only for a few bragging rights at the Friday night post-games.

Congratulations, David!! On a day when there is some disgust at a few of your generation for their behavior, you did make some of us very proud for the manner in which you conducted yourself throughout…even though you had not won.

While politics is business as usual, the “war” in Iraq continues unabated and problems with Iran loom on the horizon, other discussion points of the day.

Anna Nicole Smith. A young woman, who seemed to have been a lost soul most of her life, should be let go to rest in peace. The media blitz on her passing, her past, her looks needs to be put to bed. Instead, press and tv are crawling maggot-like over her body and every detail of her life when the only matter of importance is the welfare of her five-months old baby girl. Even then, do we need to intrude on this? I guess so, nobody seems to mind the media excess.

The astronaut. Hah! In a jealous state of mind she allegedly sets out to torment, torture, if not murder another woman. Supposed incriminating evidence is found in her possession, she is charged with attempted murder and…gets to go home to Texas? Not only…but also…throws the first ball at a baseball game and the media fetes her for this? I suppose…haven’t heard anyone complain.

But the Dixie Chicks. Boycotted, cursed, accused of treasonous behavior yet, because they are lauded at the Grammy’s, folk are outraged? They didn’t break the law, no scandal (other than that perceived a few years ago) behind their names, stand behind their belief and, well…might as well put them to the stocks and batter with stones. What is it about what they said…and believed…and stand by…makes them worse than ghoulish behavior toward a young woman, dead before her time. Or a revered astronaut out to hurt, maim or kill some other woman over a guy, living free for the moment in some demented celebrity.

The Dixie Chicks were honest then, remain honest now. You may not like what they said…and it doesn’t really matter that where they said it makes the difference. Why would it? The country in which Natalie Mains made her statement was also dragged into and through the hypocrisy she had no desire with which to be associated. Doesn’t matter that they are entertainers…they are also human, entitled to speak freely and believe how they believe. You can enjoy their music, their harmonies…or not. They are entitled to their political beliefs which, at a guess, I’d say they espouse both privately and publicly…pretty much as any of us do here or as any caller to our local morning or afternoon programming. And the difference is…..???

Here we go again! A couple of weeks ago we had thousands on the Mall protesting a woman’s right to abortion…the bottom line of which is choice, letting people…specifically women…choose for themselves what they do with their bodies, and when. Now, several States…and the number is growing by the day…want to mandate a vaccination for, not women but little girls from the age of nine, for HPV, because they run the risk of cervical cancer later in their lives. The State of Va. wants to require that children who don’t have this vaccination not be admitted to school. This equates to removal of choice yet again. And, again, pertaining only to women.

Listen, those who are opposed and have no wish to have this vaccination foisted and forced on their daughters, may feel this way for many reasons and don’t they have every right to that choice ? How dare govt., the medical fraternity or anyone else require that our female children, from a very young age, be vaccinated in this manner and for the reason given? For one thing, this vaccination hasn’t been around nearly long enough for anyone to know what, if any, long term effects are. Like most vaccinations for a variety of health situations, it’s not a lifetime guarantee of eliminating the threat of cervical cancer. And why do most of the voices I heard this morning…in favor of said vaccine for our little girls, belong to men?

What about preventative treatment in our little boys? It’s long been said that circumcision of males appears to reduce the chances of cervical cancer in women, as seems to be evidenced in Jewish society. Why haven’t we mandated circumcision in every male birth? Heaven forfend!! And no, I certainly am not a proponent of this, either. It’s just incongruous to me that we, as a society, feel we can and should mandate perceived health concerns on our females. And just a thought…over the last few years we have discussed, debated, argued and chosen as our ‘defense’, the bringing of human rights for Muslim women with the threat that, if we don’t fight it now we all will be subject to Sharia Law, women relegated to second class citizenry ad infinitum. Just what do you think laws such as the Texas and VA proposal are offering?

Were I to be raising a daughter, now, you can be sure I would refuse this on her behalf.

It is, isn’t it?? Guess I slept through February and March only to awaken this morning with little but farce in the news. A candy bar is banned from the airwaves and now Prince is being accused of questionable behavior during his half-time SB show. LOLOL! Please!

Hands up those who thought his ’symbol’ guitar was suspiciously transformed into a phallic symbol? Okay…look in the mirror. See your arm? Better put it down…now. It is…was…a guitar and the most interesting thing about it is the unique design. Looked more like a banjo with pony-tails, I thought…and how easy was this to play, anyway? How about the marching band…with fluorescent piping outlining their bodies? Anybody think they magically were not wearing any clothes?

The only flaw in his/their performance or attire was his doo-rag-doo-rag-doo-rag-do, which was more of a “don’t”. Otherwise, his performance was brilliant, the marching band (and their uniforms) terrific…geez, it didn’t even look as though the rain touched any of them. The only reason I even watched the SB and well worth the wait.

But…if there is anyone who sees the guitar in a like-manner as the clothing/equipment police maybe you’d best check your own and if it does look like that guitar run…do not walk…to your nearest emergency room.

How ridiculous! I cannot believe the Snickers commercial has been pulled from the airwaves. Among a pretty poor show of commercials during the SuperBowl, this was one of funniest…and the least violent!

More, I’m appalled that ’certain groups’ voiced their complaints of homophobia…just know, people, those groups do not speak for all of us. Certainly not for my partner, myself or our company. You know, it’s one thing to get one’s knickers in a twist over an obvious and real slur but this? The two guys with their heads under the hood, one starts to eat the candy bar…anyone with a lick of sense saw what was coming and should’ve…or could’ve started laughing then.

You know, there are times when it IS appropriate to be outraged and do something constructive about it but let’s not forget humor. Not sure which faction is worse…those who complained in indignation or the company which took fright and flight.

Seems to me, before the city of Rehoboth Beach increases their parking rates it might be a good idea to reconsider the system we have. Yes, the meters…at least on the Avenue…are new so why didn’t they at least install the same type used up at the Convention Center instead of those which eat up change every three hours? Last year, there were a number of problems with meters not functioning at all or malfunctioning. At varying times throughout the season several meters would not take change feed. Calls were made and it took some time to rectify the situation…one call I made, myself, and was told to look out for a meter man/woman, report it to him/her. Apart from the fact that there didn’t seem too many visible, if one is an employee there is little opportunity to hang out on the median, waiting for someone to appear during a normal round. Leave a note on the windshield? How many beach-goers have access to paper and pen in their swim trunks/bikini?

There are the change machines. Quirky at best when they arbitrarily refuse to accept a $5 or $1 bill. Businesses have enough problems with people asking to buy quarters which, believe it or not, isn’t too practical for most simply because of the probability needing to then find quarters for themselves should they accommodate parkers needs. There is no sign indicating change machines on the median side of the machine booth…that’s evidenced by the number of people who, when apologetically refused quarters in a store they then ask where they are supposed to find them, then.

Then again, while it would ’disfigure’ the curbs on the sidewalks, why weren’t the parking spaces numbered there instead of on the roadside, behind parked vehicles? Take a day of just standing watching people feed their meters…can’t tell you how often most of us have been asked, “But how do I know what my number is…or which meter I’m supposed to park at?” Fortunately, most businesses have employees willing to go “show and tell” but this has caused more confusion than the powers that be would seem to think. Couldn’t tell you how often I’ve gone out to plug my meter at the appointed time, only to find some poor soul has already done so…no doubt believing they were plugging their own. And there is nothing I can do to amend this, myself.

Raise the fees if you must…even though the majority will not be happy with it…but maybe spend some of the projected increase on fine-tuning the system to make it more visitor friendly?

     When the police give the media descriptions of wanted criminals like murderers, armed robbers and the like, the News Journal newspaper likes to conceal the identity of the wanted individuals by censoring the complete description.  The recent murder in the Rehoboth Beach area is a perfect example of this misguided newspaper policy. 

 The police told the public to be on the lookout for two killers, one in his 20’s, one in his 40’s.  We were told of the height, and the approximate weight, we were told about the type of footwear, the color and type of clothing, the hair color, and even about a distinguishing tattoo.  We were also told the alleged killers were white.  The News Journal doesn’t want it’s readers to know the perpetrators are “white” and edit out that part of the description.  Even more baffling is that fellow Gannett publications, The Salisbury Daily Times, and the Delaware Coast Press have no problem telling the public these were white males, only the News Journal edits out this crucial information.

     Roger Hillis a Gannett reporter for the Coast Press wrote a great article following up on the murder and it appeared in the Coast Press and the News Journal on the same day with one very telling difference; Rogers paragraph about the race of the suspects:

One intruder was described to police as a white male, 20 to 25 years old, unshaven, 5-foot-7, weighing about 165 pounds, wearing a wool hat, a hooded jacket and white gloves. The other suspect was described as a white male with a small tattoo under his left eye or on his left cheek, approximately 40 years old, about 5-foot-6, 200 pounds, wearing black overalls, brown construction boots and dark gloves. Papili refused to elaborate on the type of tattoo. Papili said that the race of the suspects was released by police the day of the crime, yet some media chose to censor that information.

That excerpt came from the Coast Press.  Here is the way the News Journal ran the story from the same reporter:

One intruder was described to police as 20- to-25-years-old, unshaven, 5-foot-7, weighing about 165 pounds, wearing a wool hat, a hooded jacket and white gloves.The other suspect had a small tattoo under his left eye or on his left cheek, is approximately 40 years old, about 5-foot-6-inches tall, 200 pounds, wearing black overalls, brown construction boots and dark gloves.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) TIP-3333.

No white males, and no word from the police about the media (News Journal) censoring descriptions.

Roger Hillis complete Coast Press story here. (uncensored)

Roger Hillis complete News Journal story here.  (censored)

I’m trying to make my way through a really interesting book with what little time I have to indulge this favorite pastime. The other day, needed an oil-change/lube so, book in one hand, latte in the other, I happily anticipated a few minutes…maybe even half-an-hour…kick-back time. I’d no sooner sat down, opened the book when a cell phone rings and is answered. Apparently this encouraged other customers-in-waiting; two others decided they needed to make their calls.

Okay…forget the read. Had a visit to the dentist’s office pending…I can catch up then. That was today. Well, there’s a tv on, in one corner. Now that’s not so bad…it’s only looped promotional information on the services offered and the volume is low. Two people already in the middle of their phone conversations, one…phone in hand, about to be. Another comes back out to sit in the waiting room and immediately rummages for her cell phone while someone else’s is ringing, demanding immediate attention. Not one says, “Let me call you back, later” or “This isn’t a good time…give me an hour”, nor does anyone shut off their phone.

What IS this need to be available or ensure someone else is? I’ve watched folk dial multiple numbers until they finally reach a “live” body on the other end. Frankly, most certainly appear not to be business people but folk who can’t seem to be alone, wait something out in peace and quiet or are reluctant to make conversation with the person in the next seat if conversing is a must. On the one hand, it would seem…in recent years…we, as a society…are distancing ourselves from human, face-to-face, one-on-one interaction while, on the other, need invisible umbilical cords across towns, counties, States for contact of any sort in order not to sit awhile with just their own thoughts. Used to be when bosses, managers, left the office it was with instructions…”Take a message. I won’t be available for the next (?) hour(s).” Anything requiring his/her attention, no matter how pressing, waited for his/her return. Mothers used to relish a day out shopping, having lunch, keeping their appointments either on their own or with a friend and not having to deal with every little thing that arose. Grandparents loved getting a little time away from the entire network of family, enjoying whatever they chose without someone needing to know where they were or what they were doing, when they would be home and “Can you pick this up for me?”

It’s nuts! And it’s not sour grapes for I’ve had cell phones for fifteen years. Three people have that number and of those three I call one from it, as only that person calls me…as and when necessary. Now it’s not even enough that we have a means of reaching someone in an emergency or vice-versa but boredom. To the point that we even see more and more folk walking down streets, round stores, completely alone but talking a blue-streak on a blue-tooth and not all are youngsters. Take a moment, take a newspaper, a magazine, a book…your own mind. Sit, wait, be still, enjoy lunch…just ’be’ and leave your cells in the car. I’m home now…peace and quiet reigns for the moment. Page 34 here I come.