Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/523416
GregStevens,Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EDITORIALBOARD How to have your say: Letters must be signed and provide the writer's home street address and home phone number. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and no more than two double-spaced pages or 500words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section will be published. Email: editor@ redbluffdailynews.com Fax: 530-527-9251 Mail to: P.O. Box 220, 545 Diamond Ave., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FACEBOOK.COM/ RBDAILYNEWS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @REDBLUFFNEWS Inthepast few weekswe've learnedthatJosh Duggerwas achildmolester,formerSpeaker of the House DennisHastertwasachildmolester and theMethodist Churchin theUKhas apolo- gized for2,000casesofabusedatingbackto1950. Childmolesterscanbefound in the highest reaches of poli- tics. Molesters can be television celebrities. And molesters can ply their abuse under the cover of the church. With abusers that pervasive it makes sense to learn more about the perpe- trators. Thanks to an excellent arti- cle in The Jewish Woman we can. The really bad news in the report titled "Things You Need to Know About Child Molest- ers" is that child abuse is an in- finite chain. "The vast majority of child molesters are male, and most sexual abusers were sexu- ally abused as children." And although in retrospect we consider them monsters, child molesters are successful because they "usually try to be very charming and friendly." They are also patient. After gaining the trust and approval of parents and organizations dealing with youth they are of- ten given positions of author- ity that the molester abuses along with the children. One of the danger signals for parents is someone that shows an excessive interest in children, showering them with "attention, affection and gifts." Probably the most insidious byproduct of child molestation is the victim feels guilty and that somehow the abuse was their fault. The article has solid, sensible advice for parents: Teach your children about personal safety and boundaries from age three on, making sure you do so in a way that's appro- priate for the child's age. Pay attention if your child is uncomfortable around a pop- ular adult or teen. Calmly at- tempt to discover the cause through a patient discussion. Be wary of adults or teens that lavish gifts or special favors on your child. Be very suspicious if any adult or teacher wants to meet with your child behind closed doors for any reason. Ask your child about the incident, again in a calm reassuring fashion, and inform the adult it won't be happening again. If your child says he's been abused never blame the child for what they did and how long it took to tell you. Victims need support, not criticism. If any child reports abuse call 911, don't rely on anyone else to take action. Don't take the word of an abuser at face value, they are expert liars. Let the experts do the investiga- tion. MichaelReaganisthesonof President Ronald Reagan, a political consultant, and the author of "The New Reagan Revolution" (St. Martin's Press). Michael Reagan Whatyouneed to know about child molesters Cartoonist's take Do you consider yourself re- silient to change or to adver- sity? If so, and you are still standing, then perhaps you are indeed resilient. TIME devoted considerable space to the sub- ject and offers 10 tips for develop- ing same: 1) Develop a core set of beliefs that nothing can shake. 2) Try to find mean- ing in whatever stressful or traumatic thing has happened. 3) Try to maintain a positive at- titude. 4) Take clues from some- one who is especially resil- ient. 5) Don't run from things that scare you. Face them. 6) Be quick to reach out for sup- port when things go haywire. 7) Learn new things as often as you can. 8) Find an exercise regimen you'll stick to. 9) Don't beat yourself up or dwell in the past. And 10) recognize what makes you uniquely strong and own it. That said, it is easier said than done and I suspect that few who consider them- selves resilient will be aware they have consciously gone through the 10 steps. ••• Columnist Jean Barton wrote last Saturday of her visit to Bur- ney Falls. I have an old photo of the falls given to me by my grandmother Essie Alford. She kept it as a remembrance of the time, many years ago, when her husband, Robert Alford, al- legedly jumped to the center island of the falls, plucked a handful of flowers for her and then leaped back to safety. Not much of an anecdote but enduring and endearing in that I never knew grandfa- ther Alford. He died a year be- fore my birth. Perhaps this mo- ment in time shall serve as his legacy. While on the subject, what will be your legacy? Ever give it much thought? Probably be a few lines in your obituary i.e. "had a good sense of humor," "loved his family," "enjoyed playing golf, fishing and morn- ing coffee with his cronies." Not much of a legacy, right? Per- haps yours should be something like that found in Leigh Hunt's poem "Abou Ben Adhem" in which Abou said, "Write me as one that loves his fellow men." At least this would be cheer for the homeless. ••• The S.F. Giants baseball team, 2015 edition, after a poor start, now shows promise of be- ing able to beat any other team but also show the ability to beat themselves from time to time. Take last Sunday's game 4 of a series with the Atlanta Braves. We were leading and could have taken the series except for an error by our all star shortstop, Brandon Crawford. In the 9th he muffed a ground ball that could have resulted in a double play and a win by the Giants. Instead he uncharacteristically muffed the play and the Braves went on to win and split the se- ries. Not the end of the world, of course, but B. Crawford did not sleep well that night, nor did his loyal fans. It was a tsk, tsk moment. Although the mis- sus and I replayed the error in our minds several times and ra- tionalized that it was, after all, just a game. Still… ••• Sightem: A fancy new Red Bluff Police car with a license plate holder reading "Folsom Ford." Although we want the city to purchase wisely and to get a good deal, aren't we al- ways mounting campaigns to buy locally? Perhaps our City Manager or the City Coun- cil will explain how such pur- chases are handled. ••• Our favorite Pope states he has not watched television since July 15, 1990. What could he have seen that caused him to turn off his telly? I hope he at least keeps up to speed on the Internet. I agree there is precious little of value via tele- vision other than S.F. Giants baseball, Masterpiece Theatre and reruns of NYPD Blue, but still… ••• Cousin Wild Bill Kelsey sends in clips from his local paper from time to time. Here are a few germane to the tone of this column: "Mr. and Mrs. A.P.Hageman are rejoicing over the arrival of a mfwypsmfwyp emfwypy comfpwpp doing nicely." From the Hartford Courant: "Torrington Police Search For Jesus" with the tag, "We sug- gest they start in Jerusalem." From the Grand Rapids Press, "The U.S. Drug Enforce- ment Administration tracked the marijuana shipment which had a street value of $12.00" with the added comment, "Hardly worth the track…" Sign in new store opening, "Welcome to 99 Cent Plaza, ev- erything 99 cents or less & up." And under the heading "Not So Classic Movie Lines," from Florida state representative Brad Drake, "In the words of Humphrey Bogart, 'Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.'" ••• The only cow in a small town in Northern Italy stopped giv- ing milk. The town folk found they could buy a cow in Sicily quite cheaply. It was absolutely wonderful. It produced lots of milk every day and everyone was happy. Then they bought a bull to mate with the cow to get more cows so they'd never have to worry about their milk sup- ply again. They put the bull in the pas- ture with the cow but whenever the bull tried to approach the cow, the cow would move away. No matter how the bull tried, the cow would move away from the bull, and he was never able to do what he was purchased to do. The people were very upset and decided to go to the vet, who was very wise, to tell him what was happening and ask his advice. A spokesman said, "Whenever the bull tries to ser- vice our cow, she moves away. Regardless how persistent he is, she moves away. She will not allow him to show his af- fection." The vet rubbed his chin thoughtfully and pondered this before asking, "Did you buy this cow in Sicily?" The people were dumbfounded, since no one had ever mentioned that they had brought the cow over from Sic- ily. "You are truly a wise vet," they said. "How did you know we got the cow from Sicily? The vet replied with a dis- tant look in his eye: "My wife is from Sicily." Robert Minch is a lifelong resident of Red Bluff, former columnist for the Corning Daily Observer and Meat Industry magazine and author of the "The Knocking Pen." He can be reached at rminchandmurray@hotmail. com. I say Are you the resilient sort? Sounding off A look at what readers are saying in comments on our website and on social media. Won't happen but at least 50% should be non-politicians and people that actually own and maintain wells. Linda Hayes: On the proposed creation of a Groundwater Sustainability Agency What a bunch of great seniors this class has. Congratulations to this graduating class of 2015. Jennifer Meeder: On Red Bluff High students involved in Senior Make a Difference Day Robert Minch Population scientists de- scribe the Baby Boom gen- eration as anybody born be- tween the years 1946 and 1964. Which means the youngest of the Baby Boom- ers turned 50 last year, and the old- est will turn 70 next year, which is just so wrong. We Boomers are the architects of the youth culture. We in- vented young people for crum's sakes. We're the Pepsi Gener- ation... that had a minor fling with Coke. But fear not. As we evidenced throughout the entirety of our flower-powered history, this au- tumn of our lives will be charged into with unwavering optimism, a firm commitment to affect positive change and pockets full of drugs. The first item of business that needs to be put in order is the nomenclature. Is it really neces- sary to refer to us as elderly se- niors winding down our golden years? We're vintage. Classic. Enduring. Seasoned. Steadfast. Resilient. Ripe. And accumulat- ing ripagosity every day. But all you kids out there shouldn't think that growing old is all gloom and doom. No. No. No. There's an equal amount of marvelous traveling hand in hand with the gruesome. Com- pare for yourself, the 10 major ad- vantages and disadvantages of being an aging baby boomer. The 10 Major Disadvan- tages to Being an Aging Baby Boomer. 1. Exorbitant cost of replace- ment parts. 2. Sex and drugs and rock and roll and now naps. 3. When acid flashbacks meet dementia. On Prozac. 4. Turns out that old ad- age was right: the good do die young. Which explains why we're still here. 5. Your children are no lon- ger reliable sources when it comes to tech support and all the grandchildren have lost the ability to pick up a phone. 6. Grandma's field of but- terflies tattoo is now a flock of pterodactyls. 7. Looking at Harold & Maude from Ruth Gordon's point of view — not Bud Cort's. 8. Rumors abound that de- spite the name, sexagenarians, alas, don't really engage in a lot of sex. 9. If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different out- come, getting old means doing the same things you always did, with constantly varying results. 10. No jet packs. The 10 Major Advantages to Being an Aging Baby Boomer. 1. Fewer peers means less peer pressure and it diminishes every day. 2. The phrase: "lifetime sup- ply" becomes a much more imaginable concept. 3. Always one ear hair so long and thick you can cut cheese with it. 4. No longer have to worry about being the fresh young thing in prison. Sweet. 5. Knees are better at predict- ing the weather than that guy on TV. 6. Just saying "irritable bowel syndrome" creeps young people out so much they go away. 7. Can always tell people the battery in your hearing aid is shorting out, even when you're not wearing a hearing aid. 8. Totally lack the energy and often forget to keep lifelong grudges active. 9. The Rolling Stones can be heard in elevators. 10. Going to the bathroom 3 times a night turns out to be a highly effective means of home security. Will Durst is an award- winning political comic. He will be performing June 19 in Chico and June 20 in Manton. Will Durst Life of an aging Baby Boomer Will Durst OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, June 5, 2015 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4