Monday, July 30, 2007
Acts of kindness, not money, ease the pain
Letters to the Editor
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- Pick of the day: Home-schoolers reject public schools
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From the RoundTable blog
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Acts of kindness, not money, ease the pain
We agree with your straight-thinking July 22 editorial "No price tag on Tech shootings."
Our daughter, Austin Michelle Cloyd, died on Virginia Tech's campus on April 16. Her physical departure from our lives has caused us tremendous grief, leaving a hole in our hearts that will never mend.
No amount of money can replace her. Healing from the loss of our daughter will only come from the love of God, family and community.
There are many ways to lose a child -- all of them painful. Because of the outpouring of support from so many people, our pain was eased.
Since April 16, we have been overwhelmed by acts of kindness too numerous to count. The thousands of people who have reached out to us did not owe us anything. They simply wanted us to know that they share our pain.
Each act of kindness is a priceless gift from a gentle heart, for which we are very grateful. What more could we ask for? Absolutely nothing.
If Virginians are asked to pay for anything, it should be implementing the recommendations from the Virginia Tech Review Panel and the Virginia Supreme Court's Commission on Mental Health Reform.
FairTax is a simple tax to grasp
Most readers who have been writing letters to the editor against the FairTax bill obviously would rather watch for negative comment to verify their opinions than to read the document.
Some (deliberately?) inaccurate analyses have appeared recently in The Roanoke Times.
Perhaps The Times and its readers should read the bill. It really isn't that complex.
God can speak and act for himself
Albert Einstein declared that "God would not play dice." Niels Bohr, postulating on the randomness of the cosmos, countered, "Einstein, stop telling God what to do!"
Whenever I read commentaries or letters to the editor in The Roanoke Times petitioning people to do one thing or act one way because God commands so, I'm reminded of Bohr's admonition, "... stop telling God what to do."
I would suggest that the temerity of those who chastise and judge others because they feel compelled to speak for God borders on sacrilege. And more audacious are the Eric Rudolph (the abortion doctor killer) types; those acting as if they are God.
If one has a gripe with abortion, the war or gay marriage, it seems to me that God has his own means of handling the situation: He doesn't require audience participation.
President Bush, accordingly received his inspiration from God who, ostensibly, told him to invade Iraq. Need more be said?
A weighty matter
After living in several different cities during my lifetime, I retired to Roanoke four years ago. In none of those places have I seen so many overweight people as in Roanoke. It seems to be an epidemic. Even the poor people are fat.
What causes this problem? Will the health care system eventually be strained by this?
There is, however, one good aspect to this problem. A person can make tons of new friends in Roanoke.
The litany of offenses grows longer
A few facts for those who cannot face the truth:
n President Bush defied Congress when he did not follow the guidelines set forth in the authorization bill. I challenge you to actually read it.
n He has made Iraq a safe haven and terrorist training ground.
n Bush refuses to end his war for the same reason President Johnson would not end Vietnam -- he did not want to assume responsibility for his war being lost because of his incompetence.
On Scooter Libby:
n Libby was convicted on obstruction of justice, covering the underlying crime of exposing a covert CIA officer.
n Valerie Plame was covert, as testified by CIA Director George Tenet and backed up in the prosecutor's brief that Libby and his associates kept the ones who leaked her name from being charged by their lies.
n On Bush saying his sentence was too harsh for the crime, serving 30 months fell well within the sentencing guidelines.
n On President Clinton's pardon of Marc Rich, it is kind of ironic his lawyer was Libby.
On impeachment:
n Bush violated the Constitution by his warrantless wire tapping program he has now admitted doing. Read the Fourth Amendment.
n He won't be impeached, and that is shameful to our country.
Library should lend a Christian book
My beloved Roanoke Public Library is operating poorly.
I donated an important book to the library last year and received a very gracious thank-you letter. However, I never found the book in circulation.
The library says it wasn't circulated because it came from a small publishing company, and it did not have a local author.
I am flummoxed. The book has risen to become No. 11 in Christian book sales worldwide, according to the author.
The ministry that wrote and published the book regularly hears from people who are healed just by reading it. I was healed of an incurable disability because of that small ministry, and my life was turned around.
Silly me; I used to think there was a conspiracy against us. These days, there's no doubt.
If there are many requests for the book, the library tells me they will consider circulating it.
I want every Christian in the Roanoke Valley to ask the library to circulate this book. The title is "A More Excellent Way."
Restoration is a work in progress
In response to Elizabeth J. Pence's July 20 letter to the editor "An eyesore spoils the city's beauty":
The building that Pence mentioned is the Virginian Railway Station and Depot that served our fair city from 1909. It was given to the Roanoke Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society by Norfolk Southern.
The society is now raising funds to restore this station and depot to become a part of Roanoke's railway history to remember our city's other railway.
Pence pointed out that it is prominent, but so is the large sign positioned at the corner of Jefferson Street and Williamson Road indicating our intentions.
There is a committee now working on raising funds for the restoration of this historic landmark. We have a business plan and our goal is to have her restored by her 100th anniversary in 2009.
Member Station Restoration Committee and Roanoke Chapter National Railway Historical Society
