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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 This week's column is fun and easy to write. Several months ago my wife Roleeda and I enjoyed another short vacation to America's 50th state, beautiful Hawaii. My first visit was back in the late 1970s. At that time I expected to see lots of pineapples, hula girls, sun and surf. I actually got that and much more. MywifeandIare now "Kama Aines," an expression commonly used by citizens there to describe people who travel to Hawaii often enough that they are welcomed by the native Hawaiians. The reverse expression is "Haole" (pronounced How Lee), which can actually be inter- preted as that really bad "N" word, if used improperly. Many people there tell me that haole simply means a foreigner. Hawaiians are very loving and rightly proud of their heritage. Hawaii is also the most ethni- cally diverse state in our country. I have learned that Hawaiians as a people are a bit more laid back. And, I love it. Many Ha- waiian citizens can even be oc- casionally heard saying; "That's no big ting, "Bra-Der." Or, maybe you might occasionally hear someone say; "Hang loose." Whereas, citizens from what Hawaiians always call the mainland could be heard say- ing something like; "Lemme have that damn hammer. We've got to get this job done. I'll git 'er done. You're fired." Yet, we are all Americans and hopefully have the same good and bad traits Eventually, ev- erything does get done. In that first visit to Hawaii I discovered Kalakaua Ave- nue which runs beside Waikiki beach itself. Just a block or so away is Kuhio Boulevard, not nearly as nice. But now it has been spiffied up. Like anyone from any- where, you will truly enjoy the first time you go swimming in Waikiki. Please don't worry about your hair, because you will lose that battle. The tides coming in and out even knocked my wife down and politely back in to the shore. Those tides are like me. They did not want to lose Roleeda Marie Sta- tham. They turned my beauti- ful wife every way but loose. I almost got jealous. One of my dear friends there was a state senator for a few years in the Hawaiian legislature. Ann Kobayashi served between 1981 and 1994, while I was simultaneously serving in California's legisla- ture. Today she sits as a mem- ber of the Honolulu City Coun- cil and is still contributing to the improvement and well be- ing of all of Hawaii. I had previously learned of one of President Obama's favor- ite restaurants in Honolulu. My wife and I actually saw Presi- dent Obama depart after having dinner there one night in 2014. Ann met me recently at an Alan Wong restaurant that is located inside Macy's department store at the Ala Moana shopping mall. Then she told me of yet another Alan Wong restaurant on King street. So, my wife and I went there and ordered what they call the "menu taster." It is a taste of almost every dish they serve. All the dishes were superb. Ann also told me that Alan Wong was a school mate of Mr. Obama's from way back. I look forward to seeing Ann again. Mytakeonthemovies This week's movie is "Ever- est." It is an amazingly real look at those people who put their lives at risk by climbing this unforgiving mountain. If you have some anxiety to spare, this is your movie. It is also something of a docudrama, based on a real life climb. I have now concluded that "Everest" will always beat mere humans. StanStathamserved1976-1994 in the California Assembly and was a television news anchor at KHSL-TV in Chico 1965-1975. He is past president of the California Broadcasters Association and can be reached at StanStatham@ gmail.com. My take A trip to our fi ieth state The tides coming in and out even knocked my wife down and politely back in to the shore. Those tides are like me. They did not want to lose Roleeda Marie Statham. RV, trailer ordnance discriminates against poor Editor: I have listened online and also gone to the weekly Te- hama County Board of Supervi- sors meeting and the newest of many ordinances the board is passing is difficult to fathom. The most recent is the re- striction of temporary living in your RV or trailer on your own property. Per this ordinance they have now restricted viable tempo- rary living arrangements, un- less you pay the county 1,400 for a permit to live on your own property for a maximum or 90 days per year. Not all year, just 3 months. I would like to know if study sessions were done evaluating how many unemployed, poor, mentally ill, disabled, veter- ans and retired citizens pos- sibly living on Social Security or SSI will be displaced by this ordnance; and how many peo- ple will this add to our current homeless situation. I don't believe this was ever fully explored with the commu- nity or discussed in the Tuesday board meetings. My main concern is for the displaced people with nowhere else to go. My secondary con- cern is for the citizens of Te- hama County dealing with ad- ditional people looking for an empty car, building, house or garage to sleep in. What possible excuse do the four gentlemen voting for this ordnance have to say for them- selves. Have our property rights been cavalierly discarded at their whim? Is it a simple fact that they just don't care. This is just another example of them funding their bloated budget to build up their depart- ments on the backs of the citi- zens without any consideration for the people that are in the position of having to live in a trailer for RV. Or, for that mat- ter, telling citizens who choose to live in one that they cannot. Aren't there federal laws that prohibit discriminating against the poor? — Sharon Young, Red Bluff Courthouse will increase traffic congestion Editor: As the new county court- house project on Walnut Street nears completion, nothing has been done to address the traf- fic congestion that will un- doubtedly increase as more cars travel to and from the new fa- cility. Residents of subdivisions and apartment complexes currently have difficulty crossing Walnut Street when Bidwell School is in session. Drivers park along Wal- nut when dropping off or pick- ing up children, limiting visibil- ity for drivers coming off of ad- jacent streets. The expected increase in traffic caused by the new court- house will certainly add to the current congestion. Busi- nesses and residents along Wal- nut Street and adjacent streets were not advised of meetings pertaining to traffic control be- fore final decisions regarding the construction of the County Courthouse. Our input was not solicited, despite the fact we are the ones who will be di- rectly impacted by the increase in traffic. The concept that the resulting traffic will have a zero impact on the environment and commu- nity is puzzling, to say the least. Traffic congestion is already a problem; more traffic will obvi- ously add to the problem. Because the courthouse is a county building in the city lim- its, it is reasonable to believe the two entities will squabble over which pays for an inevita- ble traffic study and eventually puts in traffic control measure- ments. As it stands now, nei- ther the city nor the county has given any thought to the resi- dents who live here. — Henriette Lindeman, Red Bluff Response to recent God Talk column Editor: I am responding to Dal- las Dubke's article "That bibli- cal account — it's not that far- fetched" in the God Talk sec- tion of the Oct. 24 paper. Pastor Dubke's argument that the scientific explanation of the origin of the universe is no less "absurd" than the creation story leaves out one very important ingredient: ev- idence. The Bible, Koran or any other religious text does not supply any verifiable proof of how the universe was formed. In stark contrast, the scien- tific explanation is based on evidence gathered through ob- servation and testing hypothe- ses. Hypotheses will change as new evidence is gathered. This is a strength of science, not a failure. The failure of religion is that religious doctrine speaks in absolutes. Many of these ab- solutes have been proven false over the last 500 years by sci- entific study. One of the most notable is that the Earth is the center of the universe and all heavenly bodies revolve around the Earth. Coperni- cus and Galileo demonstrated in the 15th and 16th centuries, respectively, that the earth is not even the center of our so- lar system, let alone the uni- verse. The Big Bang theory is not an absolute. It will continue to change as more evidence is gathered. This is the way of science. If Pastor Dubke and other religious persons are "embar- rassed" by this process they are certainly within their rights to embrace creationism as the truth. Unfortunately, they have nothing to back up their belief except blind faith. I choose a system with ver- ifiable proof. No proof, not truth. — Kirk Vail, Red Bluff Your opinions Cartoonist's take "Baby, you're the greatest." That sentiment, expressed by Ralph Kramden of TV's clas- sic "The Honeymooners" (after half an hour of scheming, argu- ing and offering one-way trips to the moon), just may be the key to a happy and lasting mar- riage. Researchers from the Uni- versity of Georgia interviewed 468 married individuals about relationship satisfaction. In a study published in the journal "Personal Relationships," the researchers revealed that the most consistent significant pre- dictor of a happy marriage is whether the spouse expresses gratitude. Yes, sincere doses of "Thank you" can boost self-esteem, strengthen commitment and of- fer a light at the end of the tun- nel when times are tough. In case you're wondering, other significant indicators in- clude: a sense of humor, gen- erosity, compassion and "not spilling all our secrets to some nosey interviewer who will splash them all over the journal 'Personal Relationships.'" Many couples start a lifetime habit of appreciation from Day One. In other cases, once the wedding ring is on the finger, couples gradually start taking one another for granted. ("Oh, there's no need to verbalize a lot of mushy stuff. My sweetie pie knows how I feel. We can even finish each other's...finish each other's ...Darn! Anybody going to the Hallmark store?") To be fair, an unapprecia- tive nature can begin long be- fore courtship and marriage. We live in a "me-centered" so- ciety. You are probably all too aware of the guttural sounds that pass for thanks from To- morrow's Husbands and Wives. ("I've cooked your favorite five- course meal, honey." "Grunt." "My boss pulled some strings and got you a full scholar- ship." "Grunt." "Your aunt is giving you one of her kidneys." "Grunt.") Why do we keep these people around? I guess we think one day the little geniuses will dis- cover fire or the wheel. Our public and private ex- pressions of gratitude need to be better aligned. If you're like a lot of spouses, you'll say "Thank you" to a clerk who fi- nally gives you a cold burger and the right change, but then ignore the spouse who just cleaned out the septic tank while battling a high fever. ("Um, in my favor, my spouse didn't bother to ask me if I wanted fries with that.") Is it going to kill you to say "Thanks?" (Okay, maybe if the sentence is "Thanks for not ask- ing why the new pool boy hur- riedly left his last six assign- ments"...) Of course in some toxic rela- tionships, there's not a lot to say "Thank you" for. Just be cre- ative and come up with some- thing to utter between gritted teeth. Possibilities include: 1. "Thank you for being so pa- triotic and letting the 101st Air- borne use your muumuu for ma- neuvers." 2. "Thank you for stopping short of being an exact clone of your mother." 3. "Thank you for cooking my bacon into such an unrecogniz- able state that it doesn't make me worry about colorectal can- cer." I must admit that this column has been difficult to write. I sim- ply have a hard time wrapping my mind around the concept of being ungrateful. Every day I work extra hard at letting wife Melissa know that she is special and appreciated. She is the light of my life. Okay, technically, the light of my life is those little stars I see when she crowns me with a cast iron skillet if I ever do forget to say "Thank you," but... Danny Tyree welcomes email responses at tyreetyrades@aol. com and visits to his Facebook fan page Tyree's Tyrades. Danny Tyree Is this the secret to a happy marriage? Stan Statham OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, October 29, 2015 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6