Content of character
Have you noticed it's always the losers taking the lives of the bright, productive people in society?
If they hate their own lives so badly, why do they always have to take other people with them? Some people just can't cope in the real world. Every little pebble is a mountain to them, so they turn to drugs or alcohol for a crutch.
If you want to get ahead, make people like you, not hate you. It's the content of your character that makes you successful.
No one had a harder row to hoe than Dr. Martin Luther King, but he kept on trucking. He didn't feel sorry for himself and blame the world for his people's obstacles. He won people over with his tenacity. That's why he was so admired.
If you want to get ahead, be a person you can admire, not a killer of such.
VIC JOHNSON
Mount Ida
Blessings, prosperity
As I sat on my front porch in this cool, fall-like weather, watching God's feathered creatures flit about, I was reminded of God's faithfulness to his promises, for the seasons come and go on schedule as he designed them to.
The world is in chaos and trouble and we worry and fret over situations we have no control over, for we have made our nest through not seeking God's ultimate wisdom from the top on down to we the people.
We have forsaken our roots and have run after the faulty gods of greed, pleasure and anything that satisfies our fallen nature, and as a nation we are drowning in immoral slough of our own making.
According to the news media, our president seeks a man-made legacy by signing an agreement with a rogue nation whose only goal is to destroy nations who disagree with them. I believe this is going to result in the very thing we are trying to prevent.
The old saying is be careful what you pray for, you just might get it, although I suspect not many prayers were sent up to the wisdom beyond man's for this unholy alliance.
Thankfully, I believe God has a plan for all nations that supersedes anything man plans, and nothing will prevent it from coming to pass. The god who created America with blessings and prosperity is still sovereign over it. God help this nation. He is the only one who can.
WILLA ROMINE
Bryant
Make him an example
The NFL needs to make an example of Tom Brady; his four-game suspension should be upheld. Just because he married a supermodel does not make him king of the NFL.
He is not stupid. If you put a football in each of his hands, in two seconds he probably could tell you which one weighed more.
But if he did nothing wrong, why did he get rid of his cell phone so fast? And if the Patriots did nothing wrong, why were two employees fired?
You tell me.
MARY GUSEWELLE
Little Rock
Oh, what memories!
All traditions begin benignly. Otherwise, they are often labeled crimes. Think back to prankster equestrians, festively costumed in sheets and devilish pillow-case hats, galloping about the countryside, playfully setting afire eye-catching, flammable timber arrangements. Oh, how enchanting!
Remember the delight in tossing dead cats into a neighbor's well, or planting a burning bag of, uhhh, early stage compost on those porches prior to hiding to watch the delighted homeowners as they stomped the resultant squishy symbol of neighborly salutations.
How fondly we traditionalists enjoy the decorations bestowed on our homes by organized bevies of sparkling-eyed students, embarking on a noble voyage of education and happy, fun-filled nocturnal salutes. Picture those tricky North Little Rock seniors as they fulfill the eager expectations of thrilled juniors. Dozens of rolls of TP festooned waayyyy up in the treetops. Imagine the closeness as families pore over picture albums of the yard-billowing streamers as symbols of affection and regard.
Oh, what fun ... what frolic ... just think of the memories.
Back in the dim mists I recall the thrills and excitement of pegging the speedometer or zipping around a tight curve on two wheels. Now, not so much. Visions of deer in the road, wheels or tires becoming unattached, 3-year-old toddlers wandering into my trajectory ... why, those things never entered my teenaged, fun-loving brain.
I wonder if any of the happy, bubbly teens who were harmlessly altering houses and trees can imagine a reveler being shot ... or being the recipient of displeasure from a big, hairy, enraged non-traditionalist.
Oh, what the hell, let's go key a Mercedes ... or smear poop on door handles. What could possibly go wrong?
DICK PRICE
Little Rock
When pulled over ...
Re the group wanting "In God we trust" taken off police cars: I am totally fine with that.
What we really need is the motto: "When pulled over--don't run." When you run, you look guilty, whether you are or not. Get the message to the offender breaking the law, if you run, you are considered guilty--that of fleeing the scene of the crime.
If obeyed, this message would real-ly benefit all involved; it would save the driver from being arrested (almost all fleeing are caught) and the police much unnecessary labor.
The problem is that many who are pulled over have outstanding warrants, delinquent child-support payments, domestic-battery charges, or probation violations. Many also may be driving a stolen vehicle, or have drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine, or narcotics, and drug paraphernalia in their cars.
This is the reason the police are not their friends.
Yes, the police do have a tough job. But you will be much better off if you just don't run, and then get hit with a police stick, handcuffed and placed (usually bloody and in pain) in the back of a police vehicle.
Your choice!
TOM KNIGHT
Little Rock
Editorial on 09/01/2015