This is a letter to the young man who had the car accident on Missouri 169 in the afternoon on Dec. 30.
I know you didn’t understand or realize this at the time, but you received a second chance. Honey, make the most of it!
Rhoda J. Powers
Parkville
This week, friends don’t let friends drive drowsy: Nov. 10-16 is the National Sleep Foundation’s Drowsy Driving Prevention Week. The National Sleep Foundation reports that drowsy driving is as dangerous as drunken driving because “like alcohol, sleepiness slows reaction time, decreases awareness, impairs judgment and increases your risk of crashing.”
But even though sleep deprivation impairs a driver as much as being legally drunk (0.08 blood alcohol concentration), three out of every five adult drivers have driven while drowsy, according to a 2005 poll. More than a third reported actually falling asleep at the wheel.
Thanks to widespread public education campaigns and law enforcement efforts over the last 20 years, the rate of drunken driving fatalities has dropped off. But we need renewed focus on the many other dangerous driving behaviors that should also be avoided while driving, especially speeding, talking on a cell phone and driving drowsy.
Readers can visit www.negligentdriving.com to learn about these increasingly dangerous behaviors.
Sarah Longwell
Managing director, American Beverage Institute
Washington
Do not call your fellow Americans unpatriotic, socialistic or ungodly just to win an election.
Chloe Dykstra
Butler, Mo.
I’m all for hiring the younger generation for fast-food businesses, but the employers need to take a closer look at the kids they are hiring.
Recently, at a local fast-food restaurant, I gave a young girl a $20 bill and was given back the change for $10. I held out my hand to the window with the change given, expecting the remainder. She looked at me and said, “You did give me a ten, didn’t you?” Supposedly, after a till count of less than two minutes, I was told the bank was not off.
This is the first time I have been shorted money, but I’ve also been shorted on food in the past. Who wants to spend the gas to return for an order that should have been right the first time?
I’d be willing to bet I am not the only victim of drive-through omissions.
Linda Wiese
Grandview
I feel compelled to comment on a photo in The Star of a mother mowing the lawn with her baby daughter in a carrier on her back (9/17, Local).
Each year Children’s Mercy Hospital treats a number of patients injured by lawnmowers. Many of these injuries occur as the result of a well-meaning parent or grandparent “involving” their child in mowing the lawn. Unfortunately many of these accidents result in permanent disability of the child. I cannot count the number of times that I have been told by a distraught family member that the injury occurred before it could have been prevented or before they could react.
The most effective way to prevent a life-altering injury is to never expose your child to the blade of a lawn mower. Children should never be in the yard when the mower is in operation. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that no child under 16 be allowed to operate a riding mower and no child under 12 be allowed to operate a walk-behind mower.
The nurses, physicians and surgeons at Children’s Mercy would love nothing more than to experience a spring and summer without another child being inadvertently maimed by a mower.
Kevin Latz
Prairie Village
I’ve been a resident of the Brookside area in Kansas City now for nine years, and while we love the neighborhood and the people, I’ve never been able to understand the need for people here to walk in the street. But what’s worse than walking in the street is walking with a baby stroller in the street, which I see quite often. Why would you create an opportunity for something awful to happen? Sometimes I have to drive on the opposite side of the street to avoid a platoon of people walking in a row. We have such great sidewalks here. What is the aversion to using them?
Marsha Hornbostel
Kansas City
The 55 mph idea is a good one, but there is another one to go along with it. Remember, every time your brake light comes on, you are wasting gasoline. Fast starts and stops also waste gallons of gasoline.
Years ago, a test was conducted in New York City on a predetermined 50-mile route. One driver drove as fast as they could legally, passing recklessly, running yellow lights and weaving in and out of traffic. The other driver drove by the book, breaking no laws and taking no unnecessary chances.
The reckless driver finished somewhat less than five minutes faster than the careful driver. The reckless driver was fatigued and stressed out, whereas the careful driver enjoyed the ride.
Wilbur C. Watts
Appleton City, Mo.
This letter is addressed to the two ladies who were walking on 59th Street just east of Brookside on Thursday morning. You were walking in the street, with your backs to traffic, with a baby in the stroller.
Yes, I’m the one who stopped and called you both idiots because I knew of no other term to describe you. There are perfectly acceptable sidewalks on both sides of the street. You have three options: Walk on the sidewalk, walk in the street facing traffic or walk in the street with your back to traffic. You chose the absolute worst option. If you insist on walking in this busy street for some reason, why don’t you walk facing traffic?
Perhaps you, or others I see doing this exact thing, can explain your thought process for choosing to walk on a busy street, with your backs to traffic and with a young child in a stroller. I am willing to listen to and consider any argument you, or anyone else, can give me for what I consider such a brain-dead action.
Ken Herdrick
Kansas City
Beware the open mike, the open mouth and the closed mind.
Maggie Caron
Kansas City
This has to go down as something pretty dumb. My wife asked for some of my old clothes for her friend’s garage sale. I found a few of my old western shirts that didn’t fit and gladly handed them over, knowing they were to be donated if not sold.
Here is the dumb part: I had been saving some cash for a 10th anniversary gift for my wife, and I forgot to check the pockets. I did not realize the money was missing for three weeks.
I found out what charity the old clothes went to and made a mad dash to the local thrift store. When I got there I was informed that bags of clothes that are dropped off at their place are put right on a truck to New Mexico. A manager sent an e-mail to the New Mexico branch and said she would contact me if she heard anything.
I hope a needy family finds the $700, because I obviously am not needy. Otherwise it wouldn’t have taken me three weeks to find out it was missing.
Lesson: Don’t hide your cash in the pocket of a shirt you never wear.
Andy Streeter
Parkville
Words of an eminent jurist from the previous century: "We can have a democracy or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of the few. We cannot have both." - Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis.
E. Henning
Kansas City
The man who asked the woman who was being treated for cancer to remove her hat in a restaurant (4/5, Letters) was not only being intrusive and rude, he was also displaying his ignorance of etiquette. A man’s hat is considered outerwear and as such is inappropriate indoors. A woman’s hat is considered part of her outfit and is not to be removed indoors unless she chooses.
My mother used to say, “You just take care of yourself and that will be a big enough job.” Too bad he didn’t have my mom’s wise counsel.
Lisa Nelson
Overland Park
My daughter is a server at one of the Plaza’s upscale restaurants. I continue to be amazed at the lack of knowledge so many patrons have about tipping.
Servers make less than the minimum wage. Tips are the server’s salary. Furthermore, people who camp out at a table for three or four hours should triple the amount of the tip and consider it rent for the space.
Servers also have to tip out, meaning a portion of their tips goes to busboys and bar staff.
We all know a server can make or break a nice evening out.
A restaurant patron should expect and receive good, if not outstanding, service. The tip should reflect this, with a minimum of 15 percent.
Barbara Rose
Leawood
Our son Kip died Jan. 10 due to lung cancer. He never smoked and was not exposed to dangerous chemicals. The only symptoms he had was a slight cough.
By the time he was diagnosed with lung cancer at the end of October, it was already at stage IV. It had spread to his brain and bones.
He had his home tested for radon. It was at 19. Safe is under 4. He had lived in this house for six years and had his office in the finished walk-out basement.
We don’t know if radon was the cause of his cancer, but I have learned that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer next to smoking.
Why isn’t this information circulated more? Why aren’t builders required to put in radon extraction systems in all new homes? It would not be that expensive.
Sandra Walker
Lee’s Summit
Your Monday Moms page recently included some dos and don’ts for parents with young children in restaurants.
In the last week, we experienced some unpleasant disruptions by children who were out of parental control.
Here are some suggestions to parents who feel they must go out to dinner with their offspring:
Make sure your children are well rested, healthy, and old enough to handle the wait at a restaurant.
Bring enough activities for the children to be occupied, distracted, quiet, and out of the way of servers and other customers.
Make sure that you can give your children your attention so they do not seek it elsewhere.
If these are not possible, go to a restaurant more suitable for your children’s needs, or hire a sitter and have an adult evening out.
Ralph Seligman
Kansas City
Pam Christianson’s experience with a leaking furnace (1/18, Letters) should bring to light something that we all need to understand: That wonderful contraption in the home that keeps us warm could also kill us. A faulty exhaust system may not vent the invisible, odorless and poisonous carbon monoxide gas that is produced by the furnace burning natural gas. Install a carbon monoxide detector today if your home is without one.
Bill Peterkort
Lee’s Summit
To all of those who complain about people warming up their car in the morning. Obviously you have never gone out and got in a car that was covered with a heavy layer of frost or ice. You don’t just jump in and go. When frost happens, the first things you do are:
Depending on how thick the frost is you may take five to ten minutes to do this. Oh, if there is snow on top of this it might take several minutes more to brush off the snow first.
Meanwhile, the car is running and hopefully has warmed up enough for the defroster to start working. Then you can get up and go.
Sorry, folks. I will not drive a car when I cannot see out of the windshield.
David Napoli
Kansas City
To Frank Mayfield (1/16, Letters): Who made Tom and Ray Magliozzi the authority on automobiles? Opinions regarding warming up your car range from mechanic to mechanic.
We know the oil in the crankcase is thicker in cold weather and takes a little longer to properly lubricate all moving parts.
You stated in your letter, “Go gently because you will be warming it up the first few minutes of your drive.” Why the need to go gently, Frank?
Some don’t have a garage, so they might need to defrost ice or snow. Others may have infants or elders they don’t want to put into an “ice box.”
Maybe some just want to climb into a warm car.
Regardless, it’s none of your or anybody else’s business.
We need fewer pompous, self-righteous people and less government in our lives telling what we should or shouldn’t do.
If you want to help the planet, Frank, sell your car (and lawn mower).
Tom Farrar
Kansas City, Kan.
We read about it all the time in the paper, but does anyone take heed to checking out their furnaces to see if their families are safe?
As a widow, every year I have my furnace checked and cleaned faithfully. This year on Dec. 2, I did so again. And yet recently my neighbor was shoveling snow from my walkway and smelled the strong odor of gas while I was sleeping away. She called me, I called the gas company and, lo and behold, my house had the highest levels the gas man said he had ever seen. He wanted to send me off to the hospital.
The end result is this. I had a service contract, the furnace had been checked under warranty and the guy was in and out of my house in five minutes. My exhaust system had a crack in it. I was lucky. I had good neighbors and a service contract. I got a new furnace a week later. But what about all you folks in Kansas City who don’t realize you can have this happen. Because you don’t smell gas -- you just go to sleep and never wake up. It’s the silent killer.
Check your furnace every year.
Wake up, Kansas City.
Pam Christianson
Kansas City
“To educate in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society!” — Teddy Roosevelt.
“Associate yourself with men (people) of good quality if you esteem your own reputation, for ’tis better to be alone than to be in bad company!” — George Washington
Does this bring perspective to the present situations?
For more words of wisdom, go to wordstoliveby.com.
Paul Meyn
Overland Park
The New Year’s resolution list by Lisa Gutierrez for 2007 is wonderful (1/1, FYI, “New year’s revolution; Here are some ways to live better that you haven’t already heard a hundred times”).
I have made copies for all my grandchildren.
The list should be posted where it can be seen all year long because it is a guide to live more useful, happier and productive lives.
These resolutions, if followed, will make better persons of all of us.
Thank you, Lisa.
Lou Heilman
Leawood
My purpose in writing is to enlighten and possibly save others the trauma, expense and personal stress I am presently experiencing.
My sister was recently killed in an automobile accident. Despite her many admirable qualities, she unfortunately did not record and document necessary information enabling me, as her surviving brother, access to bank accounts, safe-deposit boxes, etc. I am now deeply involved in the lengthy, costly process of court action and processes necessary for access to her several personal records and accounts.
My message is plain and in the process relatively simple. Please ensure that you and your loved ones take the necessary and immediate steps to record and document for easy clarification. Please believe me when I say it will save you countless hours and endless grief by making a few simple records. One never knows when a tragedy will occur.
Roscoe G. Bernard
Kansas City
After reading “The Watchdog” on June 14 (“Neighbor can file alarm complaint”), it appears the Watchdog has no teeth.
If you recall, midtown resident Karen Mell had to listen to a building alarm go off for three days.
Police responded but indicated that there was nothing that they could do.
This attitude may be related to the police spokesman’s statement that “it could be very annoying if someone’s alarm was going off for three days.”
“Could be”?
Here’s a suggestion. Depending on the height of the external alarm, a ladder and baseball bat — or shotgun — would solve the immediate problem of the noise. (Similar solutions might also apply to other situations where the police can do nothing.)
The Watchdog’s advice — “The Watchdog says don’t annoy neighbors or wake sleeping dogs. Keep your alarm system in good working order!” — is, I think, as toothless as my advice to everyone out there not to rob convenience stores or hijack cars.
Yet there may be hope for the Watchdog. At least he didn’t suggest a prayer vigil as a possible solution to the problem.
Paul Vesce
Overland Park
Reading every day in The Star about people’s opinions about homosexuals and homosexual marriage has led me to one clear solution. If you don’t agree with homosexuality or homosexual marriages, a good piece of advice for you is to not be gay. Otherwise live by your set of morals and leave everyone else alone. Problem solved.
Craig Ross
Manhattan, Kan.
Let’s go back to the 55 miles per hour speed limit nationwide. That would not only save millions of gallons of gasoline but countless lives as well.
Bill Smith
Raytown
I only occasionally read Billy Graham's column, but I did read with interest a letter (4/6) about it.
The writer was disappointed in advice Dr. Graham gave one person, saying she would have been better off consulting a lawyer to protect her rights, rather than praying for her husband and their relationship.
In a practical sense, I also have disagreed with Graham's advice. It occurs to me, however, that he gives advice based on what works in God's Kingdom, rather than what might make sense in the less-than-godly world where we find ourselves.
In other words, we may be too concerned for material life. Dr. Graham gives advice out of concern for our relationship with God, both here and hereafter.
It seems to have worked well for him.
Bruce Freeman
Overland Park
Concerning hard-to-open heavy plastic packaging (3/1, FYI): As the wife of a retired sheet metal worker, may I suggest that every household tool box include a pair of tin snips. Be sure to wear gloves.
Dolores Palmer
North Kansas City
