Opinion > Letters to the Editor

Posted on Sat, Nov. 07, 2009

e-mail	print	RSS	reprint
AIM	Digg it	del.icio.us	Facebook

Letter to the editor on tea party, Shriners, lung cancer, organ donation, film festival, postal workers, kind strangers

We can't take back what we don't own

I am getting tired of all the "tea party" people saying they want their country back. I have news for them: President Obama did not take their country.

As to who took "their country": It is and always will be rich white men. Obama may be president, but this country is owned by rich white people. If you do not have any money in this country, you don't own or run anything.

You can just go on believing that this is your country and you want it back. I know who owns it, and it is not us.

ALEX RAY Jr.

Wichita

Shriners help kids

Regarding a Nov. 5 Opinion Line comment about Shriners and the Wichita Toy Run: Yes, we are "attention-getters." The reason is for children, to try to help them have a better life. If the person who made this comment would open his heart to help just one child, he would feel much better about himself and would enjoy life a lot more. Yes, I am a Shriner and very proud of the work we do to help children in need, and we don't plan to stop.

HOWARD A. MALONE

Wichita

Fight lung cancer

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. In honor of my best friend's mother, who died of this disease, I want to bring up some important points.

Did you know that lung cancer causes more deaths each year than breast, colorectal and prostate cancer combined? Tragically, lung cancer receives the least amount of funding for research. More than 50 percent of those diagnosed with lung cancer are nonsmokers or former smokers. Women are at increasing risk — more are diagnosed with lung cancer than with breast cancer.

This horrible disease needs more attention and increased funding for research. Check out the LUNGevity Foundation's Web site, www.lungevity.org, for more information.

JODIE BREWER

Wichita

Donate organs

Each day people die because they haven't received a needed organ, and each day many more die without sharing organs or tissues they no longer need. Deciding to be an organ donor is a decision each of us should make for ourselves. Not making the decision or not letting our family members know of our decision to donate organs puts an extra burden on them at a highly emotional time. No matter what your age, you should decide to be an organ donor and let the doctors decide if there is part of you that would be usable by another.

National Donor Sabbath is Nov. 13-15. Think about giving the gift of life. Educate yourself by visiting the Midwest Transplant Network Web site at www.mwtn.org.

GLENDA REYNOLDS

Whitewater

Great festival

At this year's Tallgrass Film Festival, I learned about 1960s civil rights activist William Kunstler, the plight of the Niger Delta natives, the history of the four brothers who started Warner Brothers, how belly dancing helps women express their beauty, volunteer troop greeters, solar power, and two of University of Kansas professor Kevin Willmott's latest sagas depicting little-known Kansas history.

I laughed at the challenges of parenthood, marriage, work and life itself. I met many fascinating and dedicated filmmakers, documentarians and actors. Thank you for making me think.

The venues were welcoming and convenient. The audience was grateful and receptive. The volunteers were plentiful and helpful. Thank you to all those who have worked these past seven years on bringing such a plethora of entertainment and education to all of us in Wichita.

JULIE SHEPPARD

Wichita

Good postal work

In these days when we are always finding fault with our Postal Service, this story needs to be told.

I recently wrote checks for household bills. As treasurer of our local Nokomis Club, I wrote a check to one of our members and put it in an envelope with just the member's name on it. I sent the envelopes with the household bills in the mail, not realizing that the extra envelope went, too. Though all the envelopes went to Wichita, the extra letter found its way back to Towanda. By the grace of some thinking people, the person got the check.

To our postal workers, I say: Thank you and keep up the good work.

HELEN TERRELL

Towanda

Kind strangers

Our dog, Buster, escaped our yard and was hit by a car last month on Maize Road near 21st Street. Two compassionate women stopped traffic, captured the injured animal, called our vet, and kept Buster calm until we arrived on the scene. We took Buster to a nearby vet clinic; one woman even stopped by later to check on the dog and our family.

We don't know the women's names, so we cannot thank them personally. We hope they read this and understand how grateful we were for their kindness.

We are sad that Buster did not survive the trauma, but we have warm memories of two very kind strangers.

DAVE and KRIS WHEATLEY

Wichita