Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/608286
I was born on the last Thursday of November in 1939; that was the same year the President declared the fourth Thursday, instead of the last Thursday of November, be set aside for Thanks- giving, I always felt that I had been slighted. Noonehaseverseemedto be very thankful about my birthday, but as I get older I am very thank- ful for each birthday. I do share a birthday with several other wordy peo- ple: Mark Twain, Winston Churchill, Jona- than Swift, and Bill Walsh; al- though the last person was not wordy, I threw him in so I would be in good company. Thanksgiving Day is a uniquely American holiday; it reminds us of our many bless- ings and our good fortune, but it was not a celebration origi- nally undertaken by those who had much affluence. As H.U. Westennayer said, we should remember "The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving." Giving thanks, of course, has little to do with national holidays. We all have things for which we can be thankful. fWhen stationed at Fort Bel- voir in Virginia, I often at- tended church at New York Av- enue Presbyterian in Wash- ington, D.C. Dr. George M. Dougherty, a transplanted Scotsman, was the head of staff, and one Thanksgiv- ing Sunday he told the story of a Scottish minister where he was raised. That minister was always giving thanks, al- most to the point of irritat- ing the less grateful. He al- ways saw the glass as half full. On this particular Sunday, the rain and wind exceeded even Scottish standards. The roads were impassable for travel, be- ing awash in thick mud; visi- bility was poor, and even the slowly moving horses were hesitant from step to step as they trudged along. Lightning was followed almost instanta- neously by thunder that rat- tled the church windows. One parishioner turned to his neighbor in the pews and in a stage whisper said, "Lets see what old happy eyes has to be thankful for today." His companion chuckled. As the minister reached the pulpit and opened the service with prayer, he said, "Lord, our Father, we give thanks that every day is not like to- day." It was 18 years ago that Vic- tor Frankl died. Dr. Frankl was a prisoner in a German concentration camp for three years; during that time he en- dured unbelievable hard- ships and lost all of his fam- ily except a sister. In his clas- sic retelling of his life in a Nazi prison during World War II, Man's Search for Mean- ing. Frankl. stated: "The last of one's freedoms is to choose one's altitude in any given cir- cumstance." That is one of the most powerful assertions I have ever heard, and I think of it almost daily. When I was a school prin- cipal, students would often make the excuse, "I couldn't help myself; I lost my tem- per." I would try to talk to them about who was in charge of their temper; emphasizing that they had chosen to be an- gry; they had made a choice to be mad. Nike used to advertise that attitude is everything. The subtle truth in that adver- tisement is that we really can chose our attitude; we can decide if we are going to let things affect us. Attitudes per- vade institutions and orga- nizations as well as individ- uals; we all recognize imme- diately when the staff of a retail establishment makes us feel welcome. There are plenty of stores in our commu- nity where a customer is wel- comed; we are very fortunate. Public service agencies can also reflect a positive attitude; our local Post Office is a par- ticularly friendly place to visit, for example. Thankfulness, gratitude, ap- preciation, a feeling of indebt- edness, or whatever you want to call it is an attitude; it re- flects our inner perspective on life, and because it comes from inside of us, those around us can sense it by our actions as well as our words. Attitudes are contagious. We remember the old story, retold in Fiddler on the Roof, of the beggar who was given a much smaller handout one day from one of his "steady customers." "Why so little" the beggar asks. "I'm hav- ing a rough day," the giver re- plies. The beggar exclaims: "So if you" re having a bad day why should I have to suf- fer? Most of us remember how we felt when the boss came to work grumpy and seemed to take out his dis- tress on us. Our religious tradition treats life as a gift; it stems from the statement in Gen- esis when God declares that what he had created was "good." Christians believe that God provided an even greater gift 2,000 years ago. I think this season is a good time to make a list of what we have to be thankful for. I suggest that you don't focus on material things, al- though food and shelter are important. Think about liv- ing in Red Bluff; the bless- ing of living in a democratic country; our ancestors who have made it possible for us to live so well; our friends and neighbors; our families; those who work behind the scenes to keep things run- ning smoothly; those who are willing to sacrifice for us; those who protect us; those who inspire us. Carry that list with you for several days and use it as a reminder whenever you feel the pressures of this busy season closing in on you or when you are having trou- ble adjusting your attitude. Don't forget to thank the clerk in the store, the wait- person, the bus driver, the teacher, the mail person, the receptionist, and any oth- ers who normally go with- out a thank you. It is surpris- ing how quickly this becomes a habit, and how much peo- ple will look forward to see- ing you. Sam Rayburn, former Speaker of the House, once said, "Any jackass can kick down a shed, but it takes a carpenter to build one." Prac- tice being a carpenter; you might find it is habit forming. I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving. JoeHarropisaretired educator with more than 30 years of service to the North State. He can be reached at DrJoeHarrop@sbcglobal.net. JoeHarrop Being thankful starts with a good attitude Cartoonist's take RegardingtheRV, trailer ordinance 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 restric- tion of temporary living in your RV or trailer on your own prop- erty. 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 possi- bly living on Social Security or SSI will be displaced by this or- dinance; 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 residents 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 4 gentlemen voting for this or- dinance 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 matter 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 Reader's take on county ordinances Editor: I attended Candy Carlson's Town Hall Meeting (recently) and there was a great turnout. Thank you Candy for taking the time out of your busy work schedule to hold these meetings for your districts residents. That shows us you really are work- ing for your district and you ac- tually care about our issues and concerns. One of the topics was the new RV ordnance. This is my take on this issue and my inter- pretation of the laws I definitely would use if this affected me. Penal Code chapter 39 Abuse of Office section 39.03 Official Oppression; (a) A public servant acting under color of his office or employment commits an of- fense if he: (1) intentionally sub- jects another to mistreatment or to arrest, detention, search, seizure, dispossession, assess- ment, or lien that he knows is unlawful; (2) intentionally de- nies or impedes another in the exercise or enjoyment of any right, privilege, power, or im- munity, knowing his conduct is unlawful. If I had a parent living on my property in a 5th wheel or trailer so I could take care of them and the county claimed they could only stay there 90 days a year or I paid $1,400, I would claim elder abuse. Being my way of thinking the County 9 would be forcing them out of their home and forcing them to go somewhere else where I would not be able to take care of them, by way of feeding, bath- ing, making sure they're taking their meds, dressing right for the weather and so on, as nurs- ing and assisted living homes are expensive. I would also in- clude all other family mem- bers, relatives or anyone else go- ing through a rough time that I could help. I would not pay as that would take money away from me that I could spend on helping others. If the county is that desperate for money, don't build that 3,000 square-foot, $1 million office building for three employees. Another issue was the lot re- alignment. There are laws es- tablishing ownership of prop- erty called Adverse Possession. Adverse Possession is accom- plished when a party acquires ownership to another's real property, without compensa- tion, by holding the property for a specified period of time, California is five years, in a its manner that conflicts with the true owner's right. AB 1684 is the amended California Code of Civil Procedure by adhering to the standards of sec.321-326 and Civil Code 1007 which was changed Jan. 1-2011. This is not a dated legal theory. Adverse possession is most commonly asserted in property line dis- putes, where Neighbor A claims ownership of the land of Neigh- bor B because it is on Neigh- bor A's side of the fence and has been for over the required 5 years and neighbor A has been paying the taxes on this prop- erty in good faith believing the fence was the property line. Even if the surveyor's lines are different the fenced property is now the legal property of neigh- bor A. Also if you are living on prop- erty and have been for over 5 years and a neighbor claims the property was surveyed years ago or whenever that neighbor has no legal right to that prop- erty. If that neighbor goes ahead and builds a new fence on the property and you believed that he must be right but that new fence has only been there un- der the 5 years the law is on your side. That property belongs to you and you can write the neighbor stating that you want the fence taken down within a time frame and they don't do it you can take the fence down yourself. The Board of Supervi- sors has no legal right to change property lines back to the origi- nal survey lines if the now prop- erty owners have lived there the 5 years and has paid their prop- erty taxes. Also if a family has owned, let's say 15 acres, and the family built fences around five acre lots and allowed three different family members to live on a five acre lot but never le- gally split the 15 acres into these five acre lots but all three fam- ily member paid their share of property taxes on them for at least five years the five acres are legally theirs. That's squatter's rights. — Kathy Nelson, Red Bluff Undeniable facts Editor: I think it's time we face some undeniable facts. If the Republican party nom- inates another Bush for pres- ident, it will be the end of the Republican Party. Israel will be destroyed after the United States is destroyed. You can't fight a conventional war against an enemy that wears civilian clothes. Social Security is here to stay. Federally funded health care is here to stay. — Fred Boest, Red Bluff Letters Sam Rayburn, former Speaker of the House, once said, 'Any jackass can kick down a shed, but it takes a carpenter to build one.' Practice being a carpenter; you might find it is habit forming. GregStevens,Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EDITORIAL BOARD 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 Joe Harrop State and National Assemblyman James Gallagher, 2060Talbert Drive, Ste. 110, Chico 95928, 530895-4217, http://ad03.asmrc.org/ Senator Jim Nielsen, 2634Forest Ave., Ste. 110, Chico 95928, 530 879-7424, senator.nielsen@sen- ate.ca.gov Governor Jerry Brown, State Capital Building, Sacramento 95814, 916445-2841, fax 916 558-3160, governor@governor. ca.gov U.S. Representative Doug La- Malfa, 507Cannon House Office Building, Washington D.C. 20515, 202225-3076 U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, One Post St., Ste. 2450, San Francisco 94104, 415393-0707, fax 415393-0710 U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, 1700 Montgomery St., San Francisco 94111, 510286-8537, fax 202 224-0454 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 Your officials OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, November 28, 2015 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6