Letters to the Editor for Saturday, July 19, 2008

Published: July 18, 2008

Qualifications? We don’t care about that
Did you ever go into a fast food restaurant only to be frustrated that the person behind the counter had so little training that they put a new meaning to fast food?

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Have you ever taken your car to the garage because you were having problems with the automatic transmission only to be told the regular mechanic is on vacation but, “I have a guy I hired this morning so I will let him experiment on your transmission?”

You break a tooth. You call your dentist and make an appointment for an emergency procedure. When you arrive at the dentist office you discover he has been called away to a family emergency but they have a dental intern that is in the second semester of dental school and you need a root canal.

At a family outing you begin to experience severe chest pains. You are rushed to the hospital. In route, the EMTs contact your cardiologist he meets you at the Emergency Room. Preliminary tests show three blocked arteries. They schedule you for emergency by-pass surgery. The surgeon on call is contacted and on the way to the hospital someone runs a red light and he is hospitalized. You are in the operating room waiting for surgery and a young man approaches your gurney, he tells you the heart surgeon has two broken fingers and therefore will not be able to operate and you need attention immediately. He says, “I have never performed bypass surgery but have taken two semesters of anatomy and watched a lot of heart operations on TV.”

In industry, we normally look at a work year as 2,080 hours on the job. The Democratic candidate for president has 143 days of actual experience in Congress. That is 1,144 hours, slightly more than half a year of real work. Is that enough to lead this great nation?

In his book, “The Audacity of Hope” he is quoted as saying, “I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.”

If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck — it is usually a duck.

Is this what we want as a leader?
ROBERT E. DeLONG
Forest

Militia training
Now that the Supreme Court has determined that our Founding Fathers apparently foresaw a need for militias armed with handguns, I hope we’ll soon see some progress on the “well-regulated” front.

Perhaps the militias could train by shooting deer. There’s an ample supply in my neighborhood 24/7.
NANCY SCHNEIDER
Lynchburg

Good Samaritan
Recently, I was in Kroger on Linkhorne Road shopping for several grocery items, which were needed. The clerk checked my items and gave me the amount; however, I looked in my pocketbook and there was no billfold, therefore, no money, credit cards or checkbook. So I went over to the pharmacy and asked the staff if I could borrow a small amount of money to pay for groceries and promised that I would bring the money back the next day.

While the staff was asking the pharmacist, a nice lady stood there and stated, “How much do you need?” and she said, “I will let you have the money.” I insisted that she not do this. However, at this time, she put nine dollars on the counter. I asked for her name to thank her but she would not give it to me. She said “no” and left like a streak of lightning. Yes, I thought when I got home that there are still lots of good people left in the world. I hope that lady read this.

A big thank you and may God bless you.
MARGARET WEEKS
Lynchburg