July 5th Lament

My Letter to the Editor:

Cannons to the front of us, Cannons to the rear of us,
And overhead we saw the rockets red [and green and white and blue] glares
It was a war zone pure and simple.

But today, by dawn’s early light, we saw the aftermath
Which rained down on our roof and lawn like falling leaves all over the place
Why don’t these celebrants go around the neighborhood they’ve littered and offer to sweep up?
There’s a couple of older women on our street who would appreciate the help.
How long before our homes become blazes of glory?

We need to designate safe places where the fireworks may be lighted off.



Lois Kullberg
Salmon Creek

FAITH, FAMILY, FREEDOM

I attended a 100th Anniversary celebration of a little country community church.  They put on a party like you would not believe such a small group could do.  First, we saw the above words plus a few more,  placed Burma Shave style along the road leading to Venersborg.  When we arrived we saw about a dozen white-uniformed Sea Scouts directing traffic.  They had contacted the county road department to let people use half of a 2-way road for parking and provided a shuttle bus for people who needed to park further away.  Inside the little church people signed in, received a paper plate [not a wimpy one] and utensils prewrapped in their own napkins.  We went through a line where several food handlers placed [free] picnic style food on the plates, then outdoors for hot, grilled sausages [not the cheap ones] or hamburgers, and soft drinks.  We ate at red, white and blue decorated tables while a 4-piece string band played tunes from the old days.   In the stained glass sanctuary we read newspaper clippings, saw photos of early settlers and were treated to a 20-minute video history.  On the adjacent community building grounds was a display of antique autos and farming equipment.  There were kitchen antiques to see and children's crafts.  They had games and contests after we left, and of course, buried a time capsule for the next 100-year celebration. It was an amazing event for just a few people to put together.  They deserve a standing applause for their efforts.  We were proud to be Americans, no matter what our personal differences were.