Viewpoints

To the Editor:

I’m sure that Waukon is full of individual stories about RAGBRAI weekend. Here’s one more:

Because this weekend also included the Waukon Men’s Golf Tournament starting early Saturday morning and we had six participants staying at our house, we had not volunteered to work at RAGBRAI. A lady knocked at our door early Friday afternoon. She was driving the route as her husband, age 72 and participating in his 23rd ride, was scheduled to stay in the library with 45 others. She asked if she could pay us to let him have a shower.

We were happy to take them both in and provide air mattresses for them on our porch. They were a delightful couple from Clinton and joined our group for dinner and breakfast. They left us with a thank you note and $40.

It seems that a 62-year-old cousin, whom I had never met, was also biking across the state. She is a lawyer in international relations, living in Washington D.C. She also joined us for dinner.

To the Editor:

Friday, July 28 most of us were fortunate to experience the phenomenon of RAGBRAI. Some were part of the core group that took a leadership role on a planning committee, some hosted folks in their yards or homes, and close to 500 of you stepped forward to volunteer in some capacity Thursday, Friday and/or Saturday of RAGBRAI Waukon.

Add on to that all the good citizens of Allamakee County who helped their church or non-profit with dinners large enough to feed the RAGBRAI masses and we have nothing short of a total community effort to welcome and house these bicycle enthusiasts. I don’t think any of us thought that many people could ride into our lives and back out in just 24 hours.

To the Editor:

What is it about owls? The animal has suddenly become one of the hardest working marketing images in the U.S.  Owl images on TV sell eyeglasses, cold medicine and are now trip advisors.

Don’t get me wrong. I get the wise old owl thing of big eyes and the rotating heads. I especially enjoy seeing those rare white owls we are fortunate enough to see occasionally in this area. It was awesome to have seen a snowy owl a couple years ago near Effigy Mounds.

However, here’s the owl’s real claim to fame: they can fly virtually silently and eat about 80 pounds of mice per year! As a cat fan, I have thought about that as my feline friends thunder through our house pretending to see a mouse, which is usually a figment of their own imagination.

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that Mother Nature really smiled on Allamakee County as Ragbrai ended over the weekend.

Temperatures were moderate and there was no rain. In late July, heavy thunderstorms and readings in the 90s are always a possibility. As a result of the excellent conditions, the sponsoring Des Moines Register declared this the most beautiful ride of them all. Newspapers and TV, for example, showed the light fog turned early Saturday morning’s landscape into a sort of a French impressionist painting effect. And the shots of the Mississippi River near the power plant in Lansing were fantastic!

All of which proves again that we who live here sometimes seem to take it for granted.

I avoided the activities as much as I could, feeling I would only be in the way at my age.

To the Editor:

Waukon and Allamakee County, I couldn’t be prouder to call this place home!

Early on in the process of RAGBRAI preparations, I heard someone say that “if a town could ruin RAGBRAI, it would be Waukon,” and I’m happy to say that nothing could have been further from the truth. For those 48 hours we worked as a community of kind, caring and compassionate people who fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, sheltered the homeless, welcomed the traveler and showed the state and each other what we are capable of.

Friends from outside the area repeatedly told me how great the community did and they found our warmth, hospitality and organizational skills to be unmatched. Those who came to our medical tent were grateful for the care they received and for the treats we fed them while we patched up their wounds or as we gave them IV fluids.

To the Editor:

My appreciation goes out to all the organizers, volunteers, hosts, churches, businesses, bands, police officers and others who helped to make Waukon a place of hospitality for the riders on RAGBRAI®. At the edge of town, riders were greeted by a crowd of residents and an artistic archway. To satisfy our hunger, there were local churches and restaurants who served an amazing variety of food for affordable prices.

From one end of town to the other, people allowed their lawns to be transformed into campgrounds. Throughout town, there were benches, signs and bicycle-themed art that created a festive atmosphere. In the evening, a local band played fun music for a massive crowd in the middle of downtown.

To the Editor:

Everyone who worked so hard to make RAGBRAI happen, please give yourselves a huge pat on the back and put a big smile on your face. It was a fantastic event and one of the most exciting small town Iowa events I have experienced.

Many thousands of people from all over the country and even outside of the U.S. got to experience Allamakee County and had a great time doing it. Well done, indeed!

Ben Ross
Waukon
 

To the Editor:

A recent writer referred to God as the “Originator of liberty and justice.” I must disagree, as those cherished ideals are also common to many secular cultures.

I am not a religious person, but I am delighted to treat others fairly, and to ensure that their rights and liberties are respected. I do that not because some God or holy book is telling me to, but simply because everyone deserves to be treated that way.

And I might also correct the writer that the Declaration of Independence essentially does “call on a religion” in the fight for independence.  Check out the last paragraph, especially the very eloquent closing sentence.

Mark Brandt
Minneapolis, MN
 

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that a situation in Minneapolis recently seems to be a perfect example of what can go wrong when leadership decides to make diversity a goal rather than a naturally occurring event.

I had heard and read about the incident in which a rookie cop in the passenger seat of a police car shot across in front of the officer who was driving, and hit and killed an Australian woman who had approached the squad car in her pajamas. She came to greet the officers because she was the one who had called in a neighborhood disturbance.

I did not give it much thought until a TV show I was watching cut to a news conference being conducted by the female mayor of Minneapolis. She barely got started before being interrupted by the audience.

To the Editor:

I find myself writing again not to convince Mr. Quandahl to change his beliefs or voting habits; rather, I wish to ensure any impressionable readers are not swayed by his alternate facts. I have many thoughts so please excuse me if I transition from topic to topic sporadically.

Firstly, I write as a progressive member of the Green Party, but seeing as my only choice to resist the current administration is to join corporatist Democrats I suppose I’ll defend progressives as a whole. Progressives are not takers. I want other people to have access to the things to which I have access. I want other people to have access to healthcare. I want other people to have access to education, to housing, to food.