Viewpoints

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that Scottish poet Robert Burns once correctly observed that “the best laid schemes o’mice and men gang oft a-glee.”

That’s how I felt Sunday.

The final round of the FedEx pro golf qualifying tournament was scheduled to start on TV at 11 a.m. That’s about the time I get home after 10 a.m. mass.

My Sunday noon meal is pretty much the same every week, a steak or ground steak patty, a small handful of oven heated French fries, a lettuce salad, a cup of fruit and a glass of milk. Humble as it is, it still takes some time to prepare. Plus, the Cubs were slated to start at 12:30 p.m.

I can watch golf on TV and listen to the Cubs on radio. The radio description is 15 or more seconds ahead of the TV picture of the Cubs games, so if radio alerts me to some significant action, I can quickly switch to TV and watch.

On Wednesday, September 5th, John Derryberry, a social worker from Iowa City, returned to Waukon. This past April, John had come to Waukon to give a presentation at St. Patrick Church, offering ways to help those suffering from depression and the anger and frustration that can come with it. John told his own story, and the bitterness he felt in his teen years after he was brought low by the deaths of his father and his best friend. Over 300 people attended his talk in April, and our parish staff wanted to invite him back. Mandy O’Neill, our Youth Minister at St. Patrick Parish, arranged a partnership with Allamakee Community Schools. John spoke to all the students in the Middle and High Schools, including our 6th graders from St. Patrick School. He told stories of five students, all of whom had a profound and positive effect on his life today. He said that these kids were labeled “at-risk”, and most had a lot of trouble in their school settings.

To the Editor:

In one of Dick Schilling’s recent columns, he offered some advice gleaned from Mollie Tibbetts’ murder: “Please, girls and women, get a buddy to go with you.” This is excellent advice, and I would like to add to it.

Please, boys and men, stop harassing, stalking and killing women who reject you.

Cate St. Clair
Waukon
 

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that this is being written on Labor Day.

And once again, skies are dark and rain is threatening, and actually falling a few miles south this-morning. The day comes after a week during which there might have been one rainless day, and starts a week when forecasters say there may only be a day or two without rain.

It isn’t forty days and forty nights yet, but we suspect Noah has the boat plans handy.

And I also suspect the weather people are doing handstands, since dire forecasts are their raison d’etre; their reason for existing.

For example, a new tropical storm has earned a name, in the Florida and Gulf Coast area, so we can expect to see television personalities standing out in heavy rain and strong winds, to prove the storm is there, as if we would not believe it if they stayed inside and pointed cameras outside.

To the Editor:

What a wonderful sight! While driving through rural Allamakee County, just north of Waukon, my wife and I spotted a beautifully constructed Christian display. To our knowledge, it wasn’t put there by an organization, political group or even a church.

Evidently, a sincere private individual and his family took it upon themselves to “advertise” for Christ. If I’ve tweaked your interest, take a short drive north of town on Hwy. 76 and take the “crossover” to Hwy. 9 and see for yourself.

No offense to our churches, but has anyone noticed how many church marquees mention Jesus or God on them... or, rather, don’t? Just a thought.

Poor Christians, but Christians none-the-less,
Gene and Sherry Averhoff
Dorchester
 

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that as a child, I was introduced to the fairy tale character’s admonition that if I could not say something nice about somebody, I should say nothing at all.

Sen. John McCain, Navy war hero, died of brain cancer. The senator received his commission as a naval officer a year later than I received mine. His was from the Naval Academy, so he was a “ring knocker” and had both father and grandfather who were admirals in the Navy. My commission was after officers’ candidate school, and my father was too old for the WWII draft, so never served.

McCain’s Navy background assured he would be a career officer. My stint ended when my six-year reserve commitment ended.

I had a black onyx Iowa U. ring that, in the dim light of an officers’ club bar, was mistaken a couple times for the academy ring.

So much for comparisons.

To the Editor:

Honest, courageous and insightful aren’t words typically used to describe drug addicts. But if given a chance, many addicts end up developing these qualities and contributing to society in a way they never imagined possible. These successes occur in spite of major obstacles, from the ever-present threat of relapse to the pervasive stereotypes addicts encounter along the way. Even with decades of research, some of the most damaging beliefs about addiction remain:

1. Addicts are bad people who deserve to be punished.
Man or woman, rich or poor, young or old, if a person develops an addiction, there’s a widespread assumption that they are bad, weak-willed or immoral.
It is true that many addicts do reprehensible things. Driven by changes in the brain brought on by prolonged drug use, they lie, cheat and steal to maintain their habit. But good people do bad things, and sick people need treatment - not punishment - to get better.

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that the late Des Moines Register columnist Donald Kaul, when confronted by an action by a government or other public body with which he did not agree, was fond of quoting his father. When similarly affronted, Kaul said his father would always say it was expected because “they are all in it together!”

That sprung to mind when I read about the “coordinated response” by hundreds of daily papers (estimates range from 200 to 350) which followed the lead of the Boston Globe and ran an “it’s not our fault” type editorial on the same day.

Gist of the editorials was that the dailies are as pure as the driven snow and don’t deserve presidential criticism.

Our nation’s flag has been the source of considerable controversy in the National Football league, and one of the figures who’s feeling the heat in center of the firestorm is NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. I’ve been thinking about sending Mr. Goodell a letter and offering him a few suggestions about how he and the NFL might handle things. My letter is still a work in progress, but here’s what I’ve written so far:

Hello, Mr. Goodell!

About the time I start thinking that being a pastor is the hardest job anyone could have, I read another news story about people being upset that some of your players are taking a knee during the national anthem, and I’m glad that I don’t have your job.

As I understand the who’s who and what’s what of all this, you’ve got some players who believe that the values and ideals for which the flag stands are being disrespected, and they’re taking a knee during the national anthem to call attention to that injustice.
I get that.

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that the nuns at St. Patrick’s prepared me well enough in high school that I did not have to suffer the indignity of taking “communications skills” as a university freshman, so I could take an American literature course instead.

It was there that I met author/poet T. S. Eliot (in print, not in person) and became acquainted with some of his works. He was still very much alive in the middle 1950s, and I admired the gall of someone who could write such works as “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” and the epic “The Wasteland.”

So when I saw a quick reference to the name of the judge presiding at the Manafort trial, I mistakenly thought that was the judge’s name. Turns out, it is T. S. Ellis. Judge Ellis has become known for his impatience with Mueller’s minions, accusing them of taking too much time developing insignificant things.