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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 LittleLeaguebaseballcame to Red Bluff in 1955; I was 10 years old. A few days prior to tryouts, I was playing base- ball in the street with some bud- dies and my older brother Don. Somehow older brother Don, who never ever played team sports, managed to swing a bat so that it made contact with my head. Even though older brother Don was not an athlete in the traditional sense, or for that matter any sense at all, he swung hard enough so that when the bat made contact with my head, it fractured my skull. I remember being devas- tated that I would be unable to try out for Little League. I somehow survived this signif- icant blow to my head and my ego. I went on to be a pretty mediocre baseball player for the minor league Seals and for the major league Cardinals. I remember as an 85-pound emaciated little pitcher, being passed over for All Stars, in fa- vor of 160-pound Bill Swaner. Bill at age 12 was the same size as he was when he graduated high school. While admittedly devastated at not being se- lected as an All Star, I got over it, as being passed over for im- portant stuff has since become a regular part of my life. I remember how important Little League became to this community in 1974, when the Red Bluff All-Star team won game after game to advance to the championship game of the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Like many of you, I faithfully listened to each game on the radio as All Stars Adams, Baer, Gilbert, Benefield, Cox, Deihl, Dietz, Gleason, Hatfield, Hed- den, Keluche, Ponciano and Shoff advanced through the Sectional, State, Regional and National championship rounds only to lose to a superior Tai- wan team in the World Series finale. It is hard to believe that those boys of summer are now 53 years old. And what a mem- orable summer it was. In 1978, my own son reached the age of eight, so I signed on, along with my best friend Larry Jantzen, to coach our sons' Little League teams for the next four years. My son pitched and played first base, while Larry's son caught and played shortstop. I am sure they must have batted third and fourth in our lineup. As I look back almost 40 years later, I must admit that as with any parent worth their salt, Larry and I were probably looking at our children through rose-col- ored glasses. It is likely that neither son was nearly as good as we believed. While I apolo- gize to all those other kids and their parents for playing them out of position or far too lit- tle, the only solution I can offer to those of you who feel your child or grandchild is getting a raw deal is that you sign up to coach the team yourself. Then you can play him wherever the heck you want. I sort of took a break from Little League in the '90s and the first decade of the 21st century, but when my grand- sons turned five years of age a few years ago it was back to the ballpark for grandpa and grandma. Personally, I think Little League should maybe start and stop with T-ball. I think we can all agree that there is nothing better than watch- ing a 5-year-old grandson or granddaughter dribble a ball off the tee and then run the wrong direction, down the third base line. Seldom if ever do you see a parent scream at his 5-year-old daughter for failing to get the bunt down on a suicide squeeze, or at the umpire for allowing a kid to overrun third base. Farm league baseball, though a bit more competitive, mostly re- tains its purpose as a place to teach baseball skills and sportsmanship. It is with Little League baseball, ages eight to 12 that things seem to change the most. Prior to throwing out the first pitch every season, it is an absolute must that every player shows up for picture day, with competing photog- raphers offering the $99 tri- ple-play package where pho- tos include a shot of your lit- tle Buster Posey with a bat in hand, another sliding in to second base, and finally, a cou- pon for a future photo session prior to his junior prom. One look inside a typical gear bag will reveal how Lit- tle League baseball has be- come the big business it is to- day. Inside said bag, in addi- tion to your $300 28-ounce aluminum/titanium composite bat, you will likely find a $200 Wilson A2000 fielder's glove along with another ultra ex- pensive first baseman's glove in case he should play there, too. You also will find a slab of Big League Chew (gum), a pair of flip-down sunglasses, as- sorted elbow and shin guards, color-coordinated wristbands, a magnetic necklace (makes you stronger), a tube of eye black (makes you look way cool), color-coordinated base- ball shoes, a 32-ounce bottle of orange flavored Gatorade and a three-pound bag of barbe- cue sunflower seeds. Imagine how proud you will feel when the kid waddles up to the plate looking like a gladiator getting ready to battle the lions, and takes three called strikes right down the middle. If you truly want your child to compete on a level playing field, you might consider send- ing him or her to one of 43 dif- ferent baseball camps spread over the entire calendar year. You might also make sure he has his own batting cage and a personal $40 per hour base- ball coach, especially if you ex- pect the little guy to make the roster of a big-deal travel team that plays all year long. Oh, and one more thing, you might make sure it is he who truly has a passion for base- ball, and not just his parents or grandparents. Comingattractions At State Theatre: July 9-10 Big Hero film, sponsored by SERRF; July 11, American Idol finalist Kaylynne Michelle Schoelen. BillCorneliusisalifelong resident of Red Bluff, a retired Chief Probation Officer, a champion of the State Theatre and an exceptional athlete. He can be reached at bill. cornelius@sbcglobal.net. William tells When Little League came to Red Bluff Cartoonist's take It's a fashion trend that I don't think I'll ever get used to: More American women are let- ting their armpit hair grow. According to The Associated Press, "Women are proudly show- ing off their growth on Ins- tagram and You- Tube, and it's not just Miley Cyrus anymore." Hairy-armpit celebrities may be attempting to make a femi- nist statement, but the truth is that armpit shaving is a rela- tively recent concept. According to MentalFloss. com, shaving didn't begin to catch on until about 1828, with the invention of the safety ra- zor. The invention of the dispos- able safety razor in 1895 made shaving all the rage, though most shaving involved men re- moving facial hair. MentalFloss explains that American women didn't be- gin shaving their armpits until about 1915, with the advent of the sleeveless dress. They didn't begin shaving their legs until the 1940s, with the introduction of "shorter skirts, sheerer stock- ings, and the rise of leggy pin- ups such as Betty Grable." Still, though hairy armpits were once the norm for Amer- ican women — and though women shouldn't be pressured by advertisers to use hair-re- moval products — it's a fashion choice I don't think I can get used to. Because while more women are embracing traditional char- acteristics of masculinity, more men are embracing traditional characteristics of femininity — men are shaving off their body hair. Whereas older, tough-guy generations proudly sported their chest hair — Sean Con- nery displayed a bear pelt on his chest when he appeared in James Bond films in the 1960s — millennials are paying a for- tune to have every body hair plucked. They are motivated by Hol- lywood actors and famous ath- letes who have had all their body hair zapped — and the ac- tors and athletes are motivated by, well, who the heck knows? It's true that fashions come and go — the white patent leather shoes and plaid pants my uncle wears to church will eventually make their way back again — and it's true I'm no ex- pert on such trends. But am I alone in notic- ing that the recent trends re- veal a larger picture: that the differences between men and women — between masculin- ity and femininity — are being erased? Call me an outmoded fuddy- duddy, but I have always been a sucker for a lady who is not afraid to be feminine — a lady who carries herself with grace and style, an air of mystery, a dignity and quiet confidence that demand respect. And don't most women pre- fer to spend time with men who know how to be men? Men who are confident, witty and self-as- sured? Men who don't spend hours putting goop in their hair and having their body hair zapped at the salon? I like distinctions between men and women — distinctions in fashion and behavior that celebrate our differences. Isn't that the idea? That our differ- ences complement each other and make us something more enjoyable together than we are alone? Look, ladies, of course you have rights equal to those of any man — but men and women are not equal. Women are superior to us in every way — common sense, morality, kindness, compassion ... . Why would you want to be like us when we don't even want to be like us? Speaking of women carry- ing on like slothful men: Hey, Lena Dunham, author, direc- tor and star of the HBO series "Girls" — and the latest female celebrity to don armpit hair — would you please put your clothes on! It's no wonder there is so lit- tle romance in the world these days. It is only when two truly opposite forces called man and woman come together that ro- mance may occur — but how can opposites attract when there are so few opposites? That's why it's probably best that women shave their armpit hair and men allow their hair to grow. Tom Purcell, author of "Misadventures of a 1970s Childhood" and "Comical Tom Purcell, author of "Misadventures of a 1970s Childhood" and "Comical Sense: A Lone Humorist Takes on a World Gone Nutty!" is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humor columnist. Send comments to Tom at Tom@ TomPurcell.com. To m P ur ce ll Hairy women and hairless men While admittedly devastated at not being selected as an All Star, I got over it, as being passed over for important stuff has since become a regular part of my life. Bill Cornelius Tom Purcell President Barack Obama: The White House 1600Pennsylvania Ave. Washington, D.C. 20500 Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 Fax: 202-456-2461 president@whitehouse.gov U.S. Senate Dianne Feinstein: Hart Senate Office Building Room 331 Washington, D.C. 20510 Phone: 202-224-3841 Fax: 202-228-3954 One Post St., Suite 2450 San Francisco, CA 94104 415-393-0707 Fax: 415-393-0710 Website: feinstein.senate.gov Barbara Boxer: Hart Senate Office Building Room 112 Washington, D.C. 20510 Phone: 202-224-3553 Fax: 202-228-3865 501I St., Suite 7-600 Sacramento, CA 95814 916-448-2787 Website: boxer.senate.gov U.S. Representative Jared Huffman: 1630Longworth House Office Building Washington D.C. 20515 Phone: 202-225-5161 Fax: 202-225-5163 Website: huffman.house.gov Governor Jerry Brown: State Capitol Building, Suite 1173 Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone: 916-445-2841 Fax: 916-558-3160 State Senate Mike McGuire: 130310th Street Sacramento, CA 95814Phone: 916-651-4002 Fax: 916-651-4902 To email, visit http://sd02.senate. ca.gov/contact/email State Assembly Jim Wood: P.O. Box 942849 Sacramento, CA 94249-0002 Phone: 916-319-2002 Fax: 916-319-2102 To email, visit http://asmdc.org/ members/a02/ Local Tehama County Supervisors, 527-4655 District 1 Steve Chamblin, Ext. 3015 District 2 Candy Carlson, Ext. 3014 District 3 Dennis Garton, Ext. 3017 District 4 Bob Williams, Ext. 3018 District 5 Burt Bundy, Ext. 3016 Red Bluff City Manager, Richard Crabtree, 527-2605, Ext. 3061 Corning City Manager, John Brewer, 824-7033 Let them know How to contact public officials from Washington, D.C. and local representatives. OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, June 24, 2015 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6