Opinion : Letter to the Editor: Maybe...It's not so bad!

Dear Editor,

When I was teaching school in Kansas, I got up at 5:15, so I could get to school by 6:15 and get ready for all my classes. No one was there that early except for the cooks. After I retired, it was hard to remove the clock from my brain. I solved it by working the night shift as a correctional officer for the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office for 8 months before returning to Vinton. After a few years passed and I lost my coffee buddy across the street, I helped out his family by turning on and off the lights at his house. So I got into the early routine once again getting up by 5:45. The house is sold, but I'm still getting up at 5:45. What do I do? I feed and water the cats...mine indoors and the strays outdoors, take my antacid pill [a real necessity these days], and fix toast and coffee. Then I am ready for the first hour of Good Morning America.

It annoys me to some extent that Michael, Robin, and George are always shown in the GMA ads to be the hosts of the show. Most mornings...This is not the case. But hey, I can deal with it.
This morning, after the first hour, I started thinking. It's only Tuesday, so I haven't reached Sunday afternoon's stupor from a week's worth of GMA, ABC Nightly News with David Muir, the National Desk, Face the Nation, and Meet the Press. I made a mental list of what's going on now that's making everyone so stressed, argumentative, and rude to the "MAX."
POLITICS: Who in this entire country is genuinely happy with the presidential choices we appear to have in 2024? [Don't jump on me until after you read my entire commentary!] I'm seeing such a different Biden every day. At least 71% of Americans believe he's too old to retain the White House. Then he's supposed to be the honest one? His "stellar" press secretary said yesterday, "The President was not involved in his son's business dealings." Wait a minute, Biden said he didn't know anything about Hunter's business deals. NOT the same thing! We were supposed to miss that. Clever? No, stupid! Now before Biden goes anywhere, the Secret Service scouts out the place to see where the fewest steps are for him to climb and fewest doors to walk through. Steep staircases and those pesky door jams are tough. And sandbags? Heaven forbid! Joe and Harris appear to be the best the Democrats have to offer. [Is Michelle O hiding somewhere in the wind...waiting?] Then there's the Trump Show. I'd like to report that it's just an hour-long and then can be turned off, but I can't. The comb-over...the smirk...the raised fist. I want to scream!! Then there are his "cult" followers. Raised signs waving everywhere...glassed over eyes...screaming...the works. Just like out of the mouths of Jim Jones's and David Koresh's followers, "He's wonderful!!" Trump is playing the game, Truth or Consequences. What is the truth? Does he genuinely care about this country, or does his all-consuming ego need to be satisfied because of 2020? [Remember, he's no spring chicken.]Then there are the swallows. Some return again and again to run, joined by other hopefuls. Sadly, none of them will win. [One recent poll showed that most Americans think Ron DeSantis is basically honest and forthright, but they would still vote for Trump.] Crazy??!! I can tell you right here and now, that I will not vote in the 2024 election. I have to believe and trust the person I vote for.
WORLD CONCERNS: The war between Russia and the Ukraine concerns many Americans. I don't believe that the money we sent to the Ukraine early in the war was a huge concern to most of us. But now when we hear money is so tight in our government, where are all these millions coming from? And how are they being spent? Shouldn't we have the right to know?Then there is China. Have they ever been happy with the United States? They try to find out personal information on our citizens; they try to purchase land here in the US; and they pose as tourists in states like Montana and Alaska where they seek out government/military information. President Biden told Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan that we have their backs should China act on their threats. More troops and weapons have been sent by America to Taiwan. How China will view and react to this move remains to be seen,Next, there is the crazy and unpredictable Kim Jong Un of North Korea who continually reminds us that he has nuclear missiles that can reach the United States. Could his jealousy of Putin and his war push him to take some dangerous action toward some other country?
US PROBLEMS: Gas prices are rising again. Farmers in the Midwest and elsewhere are facing drought conditions which will affect them feeding their animals hay earlier and affecting their corn, beans, and wheat production. Sooner rather than later, this will cause effects on such products as bread and cereals, but also affect the farmers ability to keep their machinery working and keeping their farms going to the following season. Many states are being humbled by the number of illegal immigrants they must contend with. The Democrat governors of Arizona, New York, and Massachusetts are NOT pleased with the President's Open Border Policy. Massachusetts governor Maura Healey said recently that 28 of their largest cities are housing illegal immigrants in hotels at taxpayers expense. She spared no criticism of Biden's border policy. Their state is responsible for housing, feeding, educating, and healthcare for these people. New York's governor and Arizona's have been as vocal. [On Biden's first day in office, he rolled back the border security policies.] With his Welcome Wagon...Open-Arms Policy, we now have an estimated 6-11 million illegal immigrants in our country. Taxpayers, don't bury your heads in the sand! You will be paying to keep them for years and years and years. One government official stated, Basically for the rest of their lives. Funny...Joe never mentions them. I prefer to call it, Biden's Biggest Blunder. [You may quote me!]How about the weather? I recall...when I was small...someone telling my grandfather, "Everyone talks about the weather, but no one ever does anything about it." [That was about 70 years ago. Yikes!!] What can we do? Ask 10 different people, and you'll find out. Depends on if they are in the shade with a glass of iced tea, or if they just mowed the yard with a push mower. So...We perspire, or we add on another sweatshirt. [Penn State if you please.] I noticed when some oldies like me were interviewed that they cut down on food, so they could run their AC. Kind of sad! I use ceiling fans and Vorado fans here. Worse than than the heat are the deadly tornadoes that now occur all-year long...everywhere in our country.. They take people's lives and everything they own.FOOD...GAS...ELECTRIC & GAS BILLS...HEALTHCARE COSTS...BACK-TO-SCHOOL COSTS...CAR REPAIR...HOME INSURANCE...What have I missed? PETS...Between vet costs and feeding them, the shelters are bursting at the seams. Sadly, for many families, their pets became a luxury they couldn't afford!! Guess I forgot BAD ROADS AND BRIDGES, huh?
I saved this part for last. BEFORE JULY ENDED, THERE HAVE BEEN OVER 900 MASS SHOOTINGS IN THIS COUNTRY!!! Four this past weekend. Yesterday, in Tennessee, a man with a gun tried to enter a Jewish school. An alert school plan was able to stop a massacre. What is the answer? It is not gun control. It is not due to the lack of police. IT IS HATE!! Our leaders from the top on down need to address this problem and SOON!!!!! God did not create us to hate each other. We have all met people we don't care for. So, you just go on with your life without that person around you. But why do White people hate BLACKS or HISPANICS or JEWS? And visa versa. HATE can destroy!! And that's what is going on in our great country today. What can each one of us do to help change it? Why can't the homeowner just wave at a car who turns around in their driveway? Why can't a homeowner pick up the basketball that rolled into their yard and throw it back to the person it belongs to? Why can't the homeowner say to the Black kid, Sorry, you've got the wrong address, son? Rather than fire a weapon. Maybe you aren't a religious person. Then try to believe basically in your fellow man. Remember before you judge that there are good and bad in all people. Take a good look within and at yourself!!
We are only here for a little while. If we can make someone else's life better, ours is ultimately better. Start in the morning in your own home with your own family. If you live alone, smile in the mirror when you brush your teeth. Then even when you watch the news later, you might think, "Maybe it's not so bad!"
Peggy Kelley