Viewpoints

John 15:5 - I am the vine, you are the branches.

This is an “oldie,” but one of my favorites!

Did you know that the old phrase “cool as a cucumber’’ is actually true! It has been proven that the interior temperature of a cucumber is usually 10 degrees cooler than the outside temperature. Even if the cucumber is in direct sunlight on a hot, dry day in the middle of summer - the interior still remains much cooler than the exterior temperature. But the cucumber remains cool and moist only as long as that cucumber remains attached to the vine. If you dis-attach the cucumber it will become as hot as the outside temperature and soon begin to spoil and rot.

The meaning to this parable is two fold:

To the Editor:

In May I expressed concern about the state paying bills on time next spring. Today, I reiterate that concern. With the news that May revenue has come in significantly less than expected, it is time to consider a cash-flow borrowing in 2018. This would ensure we make payments on time, including school aid and tax refunds. Iowans should not be concerned about the need to issue a cash-flow borrowing. It is the right thing to do when you have unpredictable cash-flows.

People should be concerned about the fact that the State has consistently been unable to project revenue in a time when Iowa unemployment is at a low of 3.1%, the stock market is at record highs and we are not facing a national economic crisis. Nobody can give a clear explanation of why we are short, but tax cuts with unpredictable results appear to be catching up with the budget.

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that there were two more proofs in the dailies recently that large print media no longer are content to cover the news, but rather would make the news.

One daily ran a story about a march favoring socialized medicine which took place in Cedar Rapids. Under a “top stories” headline. The paper devoted about 25 inches of copy, one large four-column picture and a three column picture to the story.

The story?

A dozen, 12, people participated. A dozen. Out of what, a quarter of a million “corridor” citizens?

There was rain. The fair weather protesters probably didn’t want to risk getting wet.

Conversely, a story about a nationwide rally of Trump supporters was relegated to an inside farther back page, with no “top story” head.

by Hugh E. Conway

School Games II

The school children in the Wexford area also enjoyed a number of circle games involving forming a circle to play the game. One of the favorites was Farmer in the dell which started with children joining hands and dancing around the farmer, who stands in the center of the circle as they sing. Each verse is sung twice.
 
The farmer in the dell
The farmer in the dell
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The farmer in the dell

The farmer takes a wife
The farmer takes a wife
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The farmer takes a wife
At the end of the this verse, the farmer chooses his wife, who joins him inside the circle as the circle dance continues.

To the Editor:

I thank Lowell L. Engle of Harpers Ferry for his letter to the editor May 10, 2017. The Lincoln Gettysburg Address was part of the founding Memorial Day services. The Address does not parse well in English, rather to be heard with the heart.

Memorial Day is not a “three-day weekend celebration” as so many know now. Do you know when Memorial Day really is?

Memorial Day is a single day for the task “... that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain,” as is stated in the Gettysburg Address. It is a time to honor those, wherever they are buried, who fought for our nation in the Civil War, Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, Korean War and all others since.

In my hometown in Kansas, May 30 (yes, the real Memorial Day) we did such not for the convenience of the day. Was it convenient for those brave men the day they fell in battle?

To the Editor:

Several years ago I wrote a paper titled “Angst and Apathy in Adolescence” based on a two-year study. Now I wonder about the angst and apathy in adults, only I don’t want to study it. I have had enough.

How many times can anyone stand to hear the phrases “at the end of the day,” “fake news” and “alternative facts?” Of course, there is also the other question of where the line is between adolescence and being an adult?

Not to sound like Anne Murray’s song “A Little Good News,” but wouldn’t it be wonderful not to wake up in the morning, or even in the middle of the night, feeling compelled to check the TV or internet to find out what’s been going on (or tweeted) while we have been trying to sleep?

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that I read with considerable interest the series of articles in The Des Moines Register about the education efforts regarding the ever-increasing number of foreign born students in Iowa schools.

My interest stems in part from the fact that Postville is essentially tied for third among all school districts in the state in numbers of such students. And partly because of a chance encounter with what was then a Japanese foreign exchange student in Waukon whom I interviewed many years ago for the newspaper. She was back visiting the hostess of her exchange, and has been back several times since her school days. She speaks essentially unaccented English these days.

I am certain English has to be among the more difficult languages to learn. Cattily I might observe that lots of citizens born here do not manage it well.

One of the best ways to measure a society is by how the members of that society treat those who are on the fringes of society. I was recently invited to consider the question, “Is your church community HAVING needs? Or is your church community MEETING needs?”

I suppose the short answer is “yes” to both questions. And when I consider the wider community of Waukon and the surrounding area, there are several examples of people meeting needs.  Our parish community has the St. Patrick Thrift Store.  Not only are people able to get good quality used clothing, but there is a network of volunteers who do a lot for people who are in need. For the past several years, Marilyn Clark, the store’s director, and many of our parishioners have reached out.

To the Editor:

Just yesterday, I had a Waukon RAGBRAI Housing Request Form come across my desk and as I looked it over I was so intrigued. Jack and his wife, Lucille, will be riding this year’s RAGBRAI ride and it will be their 25th year of riding. They are not part of a biking group but ride alone.

This is not a unique request, except for the fact that Lucille is 90 and Jack is 89! Now, that had my attention and I was and am compelled to help them out. What a good chance for anyone to have the opportunity to visit with these fine people and to learn from them. Think of the stories they can tell.

Our RAGBRAI Housing Committee needs to find host homes to house special people just like Jack and Lucille.  We are asking our residents to show their hospitality by opening up a bed(s), floor space or backyard.

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that the single cell cartoon called “Pluggers” in the daily paper is a favorite of mine because I can relate to the same things the elderly man in the cartoon favors.

Some examples:

There was a list in USA Today of 25 television series shows, asking which viewers wanted to keep on the air. I saw one of them once. Otherwise, none at all.