A Christmas firetruck
I was a wee lad, having just turned 3 in November 1947. We lived in Ederington Apartments, a large old house that had been repurposed to house several families. It was on West Central Street in Warren, half a block off Main Street. It was directly behind the J.T. Ederington House, which faced Main Street.
I wanted a toy firetruck for Christmas. We went to bed Christmas Eve but were so excited about Christmas that it was hard to fall asleep. We did, of course. We were awakened during the night by the sound of a fire siren. Yay! Santa was bringing my firetruck. Now I was really excited. I knew I had to wait until morning to find out what Santa had brought, but ... my firetruck!
Imagine my surprise on Christmas morning when there was no firetruck under the Christmas tree. What had happened to it? Did it get lost? Surely it was around here somewhere. I was devastated. It had to be here; I heard it during the night. Alas, the fire siren I heard was a real fire truck responding to a fire in the J.T. Ederington House's garage. Garages were typically free-standing in those days, so the fire in their garage did not affect their house.
How does one explain that situation to a 3-year-old? Santa had not brought me my firetruck. Why? I can only speculate. Probably I had secretly told Santa I wanted a firetruck, but I failed to let Mother and Daddy know. Maybe if I did tell them, it was too late. Perhaps they had already bought Christmas stuff by the time I told them. Money did not grow on trees in those days. Sigh.
JOE JEFFERS
Arkadelphia
Giving at holidays
To all the churches and civic groups who donate Christmas items to their nearby nursing homes: Before deciding unilaterally what to buy, kindly call and inquire what is needed, and most useful. Some homes have no need for lap robes which, by the way, usually shrink terribly in the very hot water mandated for use. Some homes have a high census of people with no family around, thus no clothing shoppers or visitors. And please keep in mind the very small closets in most homes. And if you bring clothes, please bring plastic hangers as the metal ones are no longer allowed by state regulations. And there are no spaces for large plants, some of which are not patient-friendly. Thank you for the years of giving.
CYNTHIA B. SKINNER
Jacksonville
Question of support
Who do Democrats support?
According to an article in this paper the new farm bill raises food assistance to 84 percent of the measure's total budget. Food assistance programs fund SNAP, WIC, and school lunches. The rest goes for salaries, agricultural programs and food safety.
As inflation and the cost of food continue to rise, I noticed something. I wasn't sure so I started paying attention and asked other people I meet if they noticed the same thing. They did. While taxpayers cut back and struggle to make ends meet, it seems many people with overflowing carts of groceries are using government-issued SNAP or WIC cards to pay. As the cost of feeding a family takes a larger chunk out of family budgets, the only people that seem to be able to afford food are those government debit-card holders. Considering our borders and millions of illegal aliens crossing it, it would seem a huge pile of that farm bill budget is spent on illegal aliens. Who do Democrats really support?
JEFF COOK
Springdale
Watching tide come in
Two extremely attractive women, one a Republican and the other a Democrat, were walking along the beach when they came upon a man staring out over the ocean. They asked the man what he was doing. He said, "I am from the government, and I am monitoring sea levels."
At that moment they all noticed the tide coming in. The Republican woman turned and moved to higher ground. The Democrat woman screamed, "the sea levels are rising" and asked the government man what to do. The government man said give me all of your money and I will show you what to do. She gave him all of her money. The government man took the money, smiled, turned and moved to higher ground.
MITCHELL ROBICHAUD
Conway
Make it make sense
Why? Could someone please tell me what possible good could come of making it easier for convicted felons to obtain guns?
LAWRENCE ECKHART
Benton
No real information
The title of Thursday's Voices guest column, "Providing hope/Help coming for dementia caregivers," made me excited because of some family experience with Alzheimer's disease. The author was obviously well-trained and knowledgeable about the issues, but, as usual in most pieces touting upcoming progress in this or that, it seemed there was no real information of any substance offered. As usual, there were group discussions, committees formed, the same cookie-cutter lingo as that offered by almost every bureaucrat.
Hope? Very little. Help? None.
I would love to hear someone use active verbs to replace some of those nebulous phrases like "exploiting infrastructure." Tell us what, when, where, and how to even access the unnamed "infrastructure," please!
JUDY SIPES SMITH
Jacksonville