Letters to the editor

How do we say goodbye?

How does one say thanks and I love you to so many people?

As our friends and neighbors, you’ve helped us achieve our dreams by participating in over two decades of fellowship here in Ramona. You’ve read our books and columns, come to Ramona’s Evening of Prayer, enjoyed our family theater including the “Sound of Music” and “Enoch the Elephant,” seen us on Fox and ABC News for parent coaching, trusted us to cultivate young writers at the library and the older writers through the Ramona Christian Critique Group in our homes.

One of my greatest joys was that you allowed me to coach the mighty mighty Bulldog wrestling team, winning many championships with God’s help. You shared with us over 1,000 years of marital wisdom through San Vicente Community Church and A Touch From Above and the members of the Kiwanis Club. How do we say thanks to a wonderful Kiwanis Club who helped build a Trade School for Orphans in Romania?

How can we thank you and say goodbye to all of you before we leave for Bahrain in October? How about joining my wife and I, my son Terance and daughter Adrielle on Sept. 8 at 6 p.m. in Ramona Oaks Park so that we can pray for the youth of Ramona and our nation in bringing heaven to earth in Ramona’s 3rd Annual Evening of Prayer?

Again my many thanks to all in Ramona, the wonderful town that has done so much for me and my family.

Pete Zindler, Ramona

Can we get serious?

Thanks to Jim Tapscott for exposing the threat that public service unions present as a result of their “incestuous” relationship with politicians who really don’t care as America goes broke, and how we could do something about it by attending the Tea Party meeting where Republican politicians could be listened to, who aren’t in an incestuous relationship with anyone.At least that’s how I read Tapscott’s commentary, “Economic impact of public employee unions,” Ramona Sentinel, Aug. 22. Good timing by Jim as there was another piece in the same issue of the Sentinel that showed a firefighter growing his own food at a Ramona station.This is apparently what the Tea Party folks want the firefighters and teachers to do in lieu of representation by a public service union. The firefighters have a lot of free time, so they should be growing their own food! If the teachers were good, they wouldn’t need a union! Stand on your own two feet and take your poverty like a man!This is indicative of the lunacy that erupts in the Tea Party events that I have attended. And conveniently, they never talk about how our Congressional Rep. Duncan Hunter supports using public money in the billions to fill the pockets of private interests that eat up 57 percent of our federal discretionary spending. Apparently that’s OK.My experience at the Tea Party events is sitting in a room full of people who are retired, likely on government service pensions of some sort as well as Social Security and Medicare, complaining about the public service unions and people on government pensions, Social Security and Medicare. They apparently think that the other people don’t deserve pensions and health care, and anyway we can’t afford it. And the Republican politicians are presented as the fix for a system that is terribly broken.That kind of Tea Party partisan madness just doesn’t seem constructive to me in these times of fiscal disaster and wars with no end. Here’s a link for those of us who are really interested in our future. Here we can read about military spending and what our current batch of politicians of both parties are doing to us: www.sdvfp.org/us-military-spending.

Dave Patterson, Ramona

Gardening firefighters

I was glad to see that these $30 an hour firemen have something to do while they are sitting around the fire station waiting for a call.I do not know of another job where you can do your gardening and shopping on the clock.I suppose when they get the new fire fees they can plant some corn and potatoes also.I expect to see the firemen stopping traffic down at 10th and Main, with their boots in hand, taking donations for a farm tractor. This is another example of waste of the taxpayers money.

Bill Samson, Ramona