This is Viewpoints for Sunday, Oct. 4, 2015
Dream or disaster?
Is the extra asphalt really worth it on Forest Hill Road? Think of all the homes that are going to be empty or valueless after the extra lane and sidewalks are put in. Are there going to be any people to walk the sidewalks? Yards cut in half and some people are going to have to watch for cars stepping out their front doors. All for what? A few more feet of asphalt and some cement?
If the tax value of the homes go down doesn’t that mean less tax money for the city/county? Could that money have been used to upgrade neighborhood water, sewage and drainage so the current homes would retain and hold their values? Who does all this brainstorming for our city/county? See where it’s gotten us so far. Just look at your recent tax bills. Are we getting what we are paying for?
— Steve Huff
Macon
Another trauma
I was elated when Betty Cantrell won Miss America, and I was rooting for her until the very end. However, I hope she was just flustered and did not mean it when she said, “If there is any question, then he is guilty,” when asked whether New England quarterback Tom Brady deflated footballs. I know she is young and sheltered, as a well-brought-up young woman should be. Nevertheless, there are people in this world who falsely accuse others.
Once, I was falsely accused by a cop in a courtroom. This same cop stalked and harassed me for several years. I complained numerous times to the police chief (not Chief Brett Evans), but it continued every day for a long time.
That situation was the greatest trauma of my life and I think about it every day. I have never done anything like that to anyone, and in fact, have forgiven some real crimes done to me. I certainly would never lie about someone in a courtroom, as was done to me. If I knew someone judged me guilty simply because there was a question, it would be one more trauma.
— Susan Ganus
Warner Robins
Southern pride
As a 45-year resident of Middle Georgia communities, through all I’ve been through, I can only say that I’m proud to call Middle Georgia home. There’s a whole lot of history here from American history to state history. There’s sports history and music history. There’s beauty and tradition.
Much as I hate to admit, there are those who blemish our image. Our law enforcement officials deal with that, and we commend them. With this, I’ll close and say if you love Middle Georgia like I do, show your gold.
— Chester L. Albert
Macon
Puzzled puzzlers
Since 1973 my husband and I have been subscribers to The Telegraph. Since retiring, he reads the paper from front to back (paying particular attention to the obits to see how others his age are faring or not) with his morning coffee and the financial news on TV. I pick up the paper at night after dinner with the end objective of getting to the puzzle page to work the word Jumble, the crossword and the Sudoku.
Sitting down with Monday’s paper was a shock to my system, as the whole page had been rearranged and changed. Gone was the Cryptoquote and the Jumble. Sudoku had both been changed and moved from the right side to the left side, upsetting my comfortable right-handed approach to leisurely working the puzzles. Not only that, the crossword sucks up all the space and is way out of proportion to the rest and the horoscope formerly on the left has moved to the right with much more text and a larger font.
Indeed, font changes have become the bane of my existence. Why do Internet browsers, newspapers and the Weather Channel decide to change up things in an apparent bid to win over a much coveted and younger readership? Most of the Gen Xers I know don’t subscribe to a newspaper, so where’s the plus in choosing to discomfit long-time reliable subscribers and readers of the paper? Please tell me this change was a mistake and you’re giving me back what existed before Monday.
— Donna Williams
Macon
English teacher grudge
The recent arrest and handcuffing of a 14-year-old boy at the behest of his English teacher, even though the science teacher had already seen the boy’s home project clock, only confirms my long-held opinion that most English teachers are self-aggrandizing, mini-despots who think the world revolves around them. They know nothing of, and couldn’t care less about, the world outside of their own over-heated, stuffy classrooms.
My 10th grade English teacher had me thrown out of the honors program because she said her class didn’t seem to interest me. No discussion. No rebuttal. No consultation with parents. The English teacher has commanded it. So let it be written, so let it be done. She also refused to give me credit for a book report on the life of Thomas Edison, because it was a paperback book and it had too many pictures. Toleration of technology was not one of her high points. I wonder how many potential scientific and engineering careers she sabotaged.
This was the same English teacher that illustrated a grievous apostrophe error she had seen in a drugstore window by writing on the board in perfect, rounded handwriting “Rubber’s for Sale” while the class tittered.
Another high school English teacher assigned a lengthy research paper on the day before Christmas vacation, due the first day of class in January. Few papers were submitted on time in January. She ranted and raved and said that since we didn’t want to be students, she wasn’t going to teach. For a week, we just sat in her class and did nothing until the principal found out about it. Everyone should know that English themes outrank Christmas holidays, right?
Those who have dared to read any literature outside that sanctioned by the English Department may be aware that Mark Twain wrote far more than novels. One of my favorites was a list of persons to be rescued in event of a fire.
As I recall, the list started with the rescuer’s beloved, sisters, maiden aunts and so forth, ending with Sunday School teachers and the furniture. I would add English teachers after the furniture.
— Leonard Thomas
Warner Robins
This story was originally published October 3, 2015 at 4:50 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Sunday, Oct. 4, 2015 ."