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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide for Pecos Country
of West Texas
Opinion
Tuesday, July 17, 2001
Squarely Pegged
By Peggy McCracken
Love is your greatest
source of happiness
Bruce Dury over at the Christian Home told me he had found some interesting
web sites dealing with matchmaking, and he thought I might want to write
about it. Having suffered this week with my great-granddaughter because her
parents split the blankets and she is torn between them, I am wondering why
anyone who is single would want a mate.
But lots of people do, so I logged onto one of the 57 "Matchmaking Services"
listed on Yahoo. Well, not logged on exactly. I clicked on the link for "Find
My Soul Mate" and read their home page. I didn't register, because I don't
want my name or email address on such a web site.
Here is what the site offers, though, if you are searching for "a very
special person." If you are looking for a serious long-term relationship,
you have to find the right partner, the come-on suggests. "The philosophical
and psychological profiles of two people contemplating a relationship must
match."
Love is your greatest source of happiness, and finding it is easier if
you weed out the incompatible prospects up front, the message proclaims.
Well, that may be. One of the books I am reading on the subject of marriage
and how to keep it together in spite of a partner's straying suggests that
being "in love" is different from "love." Being "in love" is more a chemical
attraction that lasts about six months, the authors claim, while "love" is
an action verb. Anyone can choose to love another person. But it takes a
special chemistry to create that "in love" feeling that gets so many couples
in trouble.
I suspect that the quoted divorce rate of 67 percent for first marriages
_ and greater for second marriages _ can be attributed mainly to that fleeting
"in love" feeling. When the chemistry no longer creates a spark and the honeymoon
is over, one or both partners often look around for another "soul mate" with
that special glow.
In the meantime, precious little children created by all that chemistry
find themselves torn between a Mama and a Daddy who still love them, but
put their own wants and needs first.
Do I sound like a holier-than-thou gray-haired grandma who doesn't understand
the younger generation? Well, I was young once, too. And I felt that same
chemistry and looked around for the new thrill when the old one wore off.
I was sure divorce was the only answer.
My mother had told me when I asked her permission to get married at 16:
"There will be no divorces in this family," because God forbids divorce.
I studied my Bible to try and find a loophole, but sure enough, there isn't
one. "Whatsover God hath joined together, let not man put asunder," the old
King James version reads.
Many, many years and many, many tears later, I learned that the real problem
was inside myself; not beside me in the bed. If we can't be happy within
ourselves, no mate can make us happy. And we will create misery for everyone
around.
"The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one
tears hers down." Proverbs 14:1, NIV
EDITOR'S NOTE: Peggy McCracken is the Enterprise business manager
and webmaster. Her email address is peg2@pecos.net
Our View
Handing serviceman over to Japanese was gutless
According to the Associated Press, President Bush is "deeply grieved"
by the incident on the island of Okinawa where a United States Air Force
Staff Sergeant has been accused of rape by Japanese authorities.
After a few days of haggling, Bush's administration handed Staff Sgt.
Timothy Woodland over to Japanese authorities for justice to be administered
according to Japanese law.
If President Bush is deeply grieved over this situation, think how thousands
of United States servicemen must feel to learn that if they are accused of
a crime overseas they will not face prosecution either by a United States
court or a military court.
Instead they get the potluck justice surprise, depending on the country
they are stationed in.
Every serviceman understands that when you take the oath, you also subject
yourself to the Universal Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), a set of laws
and procedural guarantees far different than those provided for civilians
under the United States Constitution. That goes with the job.
Most probably did not think that they could be handed over to a foreign
nation after being accused of a crime.
While the UCMJ does not provide the mantle of procedural protection that
the Constitution does, it does provide a strict set of procedural guidelines
for criminal prosecutions — guidelines that servicemen trust to provide
them with a fair trial.
Instead of facing a military courts martial this man will be tried by
a civil system that provides almost no guarantees of fairness and by people
who dislike Americans in general, and servicemen in particular.
Handing this man over was a gutless response to the Japanese demands.
The right response is, "We do not trust the Japanese system of justice
and do not think this man will get a fair trial in Japan. We will try him
ourselves and let you know the outcome. If you keep whining we will simply
withdraw our forces from the area and let the Chinese turn Japan into its
newest province."
Bush did not have the guts to do the right thing.
Instead, he handed an American over to the Japanese for a dose of whatever
passes for justice in Japan.
If Woodland is found innocent it will be a miracle. If he is his found
guilty, we will never know if he was really guilty or the victim of the anti-American
sentiment that has been brewing on Okinawa for 50 years.
Either way, justice is not served, morale will dip a few more points,
and the military has once again been compromised for the sake of political
expedience.
Your Views
Local athletic trainer upset with negative attack
Dear Editor:
This letter is in response to statements and allegations made at the
June 28th School Board Meeting that I attended.
At this time of year there always seems to be some kind of controversy,
which disrupts the everyday working environment of our School District For
five years I have attended School Board meetings to either make a presentation
or to simply observe the proceedings. I have never wanted to respond to comments
made at these meetings, but I feel that I should do so at this time.
Two individuals, who were not in attendance at the meeting, who I have
known for several years, were verbally attacked.
The first individual is a former student of mine whom I have known for
over seven years. He is a young man who has recently completed his degree
in Education and has chosen Pecos to start his professional career. He was
hoping to start a career in a place that would welcome him and make him feel
at home. But instead, his name was front-page news in the Pecos Enterprise
along with the implication that he was less than adequate academically and
not welcome in Pecos. As a former non-certified teacher, it is ridiculous
to imply that non-certified teachers are inadequate to educate our students.
With the current shortage of teachers growing every year in this state, we
cannot afford to pass over someone who is one exam away from becoming certified.
The second individual is a current employee of the School District. She
is a colleague within the Athletic Department, and an extremely hard-working
faculty member of Austin Elementary. It was her intention to transfer to
Pecos High School to get back into the academic classroom, which is English.
She also felt that it would be of great benefit to be closer to her studentfathietes,
which she has been entrusted with the responsibility of mentoring within
the girls'Athietic Program. The implications raised by a select few- of inadequacy,
incompetence and the inability to teach in the academic classroom have forced
her to re-evaluate her decision. Why would she want to work along side other
professionals who already have a negative attitude towards her? Therefore,
she will be remaining at Austin Elementary where she is wanted, respected,
and treated with dignity and professionalism.
I write this letter to do two things. One, support two friends who have
done nothing to deserve this negative attention that has been directed upon
them. And two bring public attention to the things that are happening in
our schools. As a current member of the High School Campus Improvement Committee,
I have taken the opportunity to become more involved in the inner workings
of the School System. It has been invaluable as I work towards my Masters
in Educational Administration. I think that to have a properly functioning
School District, we should be working together to solve the problems we have,
not striving to create new ones. However, it always seems that while we take
one positive step forward, we inevitably take three steps back.
It seems that an old saying keeps coming to mind, "too many chiefs and
not enough Indians."
Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
JOEL BIRCH
Athletic Trainer
Pecos-Barstow-Toyah I.S.D.
Look, listen for train before crossing railroad tracks
Dear Editor:
Look, listen, hear and feel.
Yes, I am saddened by the death of Mr. Flores.
I worked with his brother Julion and Lucio when I was on the Barstow VFD.
And, by golly, they were very helpful. They went out of their way. I say
thanks for that. This accident is one more reminder of how dangerous railroad
crossings are no matter how careful you are.
Get your head away from the cell phone, radio or picking at your meal
while driving. This is disaster. I know maybe I have raised a few eyebrows,
but those are the facts. I have one more question:Iif they had the money
to close it then why didn't they? You have water leak in your house, you
fix it, don't you? It's simple as that. Wait till a friend or family member
gets hurt or dies. But you people have to wake up and smell the roses. The
railroad is there. I know that as a railroad fan. Just please maybe society
has just gone to hell in a handbasket. I hope yall print this. Pecos/Barstow
has been having too many accidents. Watch those trains. Look, listen, hear
and pay attention. And don't try to beat it. I hope this serves as some kind
of safety reminder.
Sincerely,
CRAIG CHAPPELL
San Angelo, Tx
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Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, Publisher
Division of Buckner News Alliance, Inc.
324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 915-445-5475, FAX 915-445-4321
e-mail news@pecos.net
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