Letters to the Editor

Don’t be afraid to tell Dad how you feel on his big holiday

Editor:

Holidays are always a time for being sentimental. Men tend to shy away from the whole “express your feelings” area, seeing it as a feminine characteristic.

However, Father’s Day is soon approaching. Unlike Mother’s Day, where flowers, candy and jewelry are blanket gift ideas, Father’s Day is always a little tougher. What do I get Dad this year? (Hint: men have feelings, too.)

Write your dad a little letter this year. Tell him all the reasons why you appreciate him. Stick it in a card with a gift certificate to one of our local Mexican restaurants and you will make dad happy.

If Dad lives far away, give him a call. Don’t forget to say, “I love you, Dad.”

If you are a survivor of harsh life circumstances and are at odds with your father, try this: Whatever has transpired in the past between father and child, let it go. You’ve slept since then! Write it on a piece of paper, and then crumple it up, throw it away, put it through the shredder or burn it. You will feel so much better. I do. Now, I can actually tell my dad “I love you,” and mean it. That truly is a great Father’s Day gift.

If you have no one you can call Dad, then choose a person who is a father figure. Maybe it’s the old guy who lives down the street who paid you to chop his weeds every summer. Maybe it’s your priest, rabbi, pastor or bishop who helped teach you how to pray. Maybe it’s your grandpa, uncle, or cousin who kept you from harm or always took you fishing.

Whoever the father figure in your life is, share your feelings with him this year. He really will appreciate it.

Finally, don’t forget the most important father of all: the Father of your spirit. I bet He would like to hear from you, too.

Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers.

Nonnie Niner

Belen

Use another funding plan

Editor:

I support girls’ athletics. As a former female athlete myself, I know firsthand what an important role sports can play in the development of intelligent, well-rounded women.

But I was shocked and appalled to see the Tiger Girls Volleyball Team standing in the intersection of the old Valencia Y, collecting change from passing cars today.

The two girls perched on the median in the south side of the intersection seemed to believe they were “safe” as long as they stayed on the median proper. Perhaps they were unaware that, in a high-impact car collision, the cars themselves (not to mention car parts) can fly in all directions.

Pedestrians stranded on the median have no defense against flying shrapnel or airborne vehicles. Furthermore, merely standing on the median does not protect an individual from inattentive drivers who inadvertently cut the corner.

In addition to endangering themselves, the girls put motorists in danger as well. The young lady who jogged through the western “crosswalk” (against the light) to approach my car caused a left-turning vehicle in the middle of the intersection to brake, setting the stage for a possible collision.

Given that innocent pedestrians have been killed in the Valencia Y intersection, I find it incredible that anyone would propose having young girls dodge cars to solicit spare change to fund their program. I told the young woman who solicited me that I would have been happy to contribute under other circumstances, but I could not in good conscience support a “fund-raising” activity that puts young lives at risk.

As a public relations expert, I would be more than happy to sit down with the sponsors and members of any girls’ athletic organization in the county to discuss more productive (and more lucrative) approaches to fund-raising.

Interested groups can call me at 907-1839.

Elizabeth Hanes

Los Lunas

Hey, farmers, cooperate!

Editor:

Isn’t it about time we farmers pulled together and cooperated with our ditch riders to allow fair use of this limited resource we call water?

Probably most of us are, but there are those few who see water in the ditch as night falls, and figure, “now is the time to get mine,” forgetting there is one of their “brothers” below them who has been granted the right to use that water by the ditch rider. That unfortunate person spends the rest of the night trying to spread that “trickle” left to him, over his acreage. The land, when watered efficiently, takes about six and one-half hours. Using the “trickle down” volume, it takes almost 15 hours! What a waste of time and water.

And beside causing a big problem for his neighbor, think of what this thoughtless act did to the poor ditch rider’s plan to efficiently deliver water to all his constituents. It is shot down in flames!

If everyone would just relax and take their turn, we would get through this “water crisis” a lot easier than it will be if anarchy takes over.

What do you say we at least give this option a try!

Dale A. Jones

Belen

What a day in the park!

Editor:

Adventures at Daniel Fernandez Park in Los Lunas: There were just a few people. There were two people in a car in the parking lot. There was a man with his two small kids. I heard the dogs barking from the dog pound, so I decided to go and look at the cute puppies. I had not done that for a while.

The nice lady let me go in. The place looked clean. The stacked food bowls almost made me hungry, they were so shiny and clean.

I let the puppies sniff my fingers and lick them. I always — well, my eyes got moist.

I thanked the lady and said “I wish I could take all the dogs home with me.”

I went back to the park, then saw kids and two coaches playing soccer. They let me join in. The weather is really nice for that now, not too hot and not too cold. I quit after awhile. I am no spring chicken.

There was a couple sitting at a table — and a man with a little girl.

Then I came home. I practiced escape tactics on my bicycle and went fast up my hill. I am starting to make demands on my bicycle. It broke down immediately. I had to literally carry the bicycle home. Good thing I was close.

I hope I did not bend anything. It seemed one side of the axle was out of place. I fixed it right away. Good thing I did not land on my face.

Martin Frank Kirtley

Los Lunas