Unfettered Letters

By the books …

Perhaps if the outliers practice seven highly effective habits, they could figure out who moved my cheese.

Patti Ingraham
Lenexa

Wise words from long ago

Our forefathers were blessed with wisdom that is lacking today. A case in point in the quotation from Patrick Henry so many years ago:

“The Constitution is not an instrument for government to restrain the people. It is an instrument for the people to restrain the government — lest it come to dominate our lives and interest.”

Wisdom of the long ago, but very apropos today. Certain truths last forever.

Don Airington
Kansas City

Sick of silly women

This letter has been brought on by “The Bachelor,” the reunification of Chris Brown and Rihanna and the show “Tool Academy,” among many countless other examples. I don’t know about you, but I am sick of silly women! A few silly women make us all look bad.

From one single woman to others, please consider this advice:

Have some respect for yourself.

Believe that you are worth pursuing and waiting for.

There’s nothing wrong with being a little reserved. It adds to the mystery.

Choose to love a man who loves you.

Believe that there are nice men out there. If you believe this is true, you are less likely to pine away for garbage.

I am an unmarried woman in what is said to be one of the worst cities in America in which to be single. It can be difficult and frustrating, but please, ladies, let’s all grow up and quit being a bunch of whiny clowns.

When we demand more, men will take all of us more seriously.

Shannon French
Kansas City

Quick weight-loss tips

Americans are too fat. At least once a week a new survey comes to view about our obesity and what needs to be done by the populace to escape from this terrible quagmire.

It is my belief that most of the problem stems not from our eating habits, but from our inability to properly weigh our bodies. I take a page from the late, great, comic performer Totie Fields, who endeavored to teach us how to properly approach the scales. Among her admonishments were the following.

Get a haircut.

Cut toenails and fingernails.

Visit the bathroom.

Remove all clothing.

Remove all jewelry, including wristwatch.

Take a shower. Dirt is heavy. Just look at those big bulldozers.

Remove lint from navel.

Exhale all air from lungs.

Adjust scales to absolute zero.

Now, and only now, are you ready to weigh yourself in the privacy of your own home. See the improvement? Bon appetit.

Bob Hemenway
Kansas City

Business advice

Based on my personal experience over the last few months, I have a simple suggestion for businesses wanting to maintain and increase sales in this uncertain economy where people are seen as cutting back:

Put resources into offering what people want to buy and not what businesses want to sell.

William Johnston
Overland Park

Overcoming obstacles

The letter from Grace Bridges of Mission Valley Middle School (1/18) about her assignment to find six words to use in an inauguration speech resulted in the best quote for our times that I have seen: “Obstacles are meant to be overcome.”

Grace, thank you. I am a 74-year-old man in financial difficulty with a limited amount of time to cure my problems. Your quote has inspired me to press on. I am going to share this with family members and friends who have lost jobs, lost savings and lost hope.

I think you will become famous for these six words. May you reach the full potential of your life that your wisdom has generated at this early stage. I will always ascribe the quote to you.

David G. McIntyre
Leawood

A second chance ...

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

Don’t drive if you’re drowsy

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

Lesson from 2008 campaign ...

Do not call your fellow Americans unpatriotic, socialistic or ungodly just to win an election.

Chloe Dykstra
Butler, Mo.

Check your fast-food orders

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