Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/703173
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, 728Main St., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FACEBOOK.COM/ RBDAILYNEWS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @REDBLUFFNEWS Ifyouareatalllikeme,whichatbest would likely be disappointing for you, you wonder why and how the concept of time really works. Ihavebeenthinkingabout time and how it works for a very long time now — at least a couple of min- utes — and it seems to me that the passage of time and how long it takes to pass actually fall into two dis- tinct and sepa- rate categories. There is children's time, and there is adult time. I like to refer to my thought process regarding the passing of time as the "Cornelius The- orem on the Passage of Time." While I am guessing that my conclusions on this impor- tant subject technically do not meet the standards required for an official designation as a theorem, I do not have the time to look up the definition of theorem — so theorem it is. Children's time primarily occurs from age three or four through ages 35 or 40. Chil- dren's time mostly involves a feeling that time passes much too slowly. While children's time is based on anticipation, adult time is largely based on dread. Most every child finds it dif- ficult to wait for the passage of time. Children have a diffi- cult time waiting for Santa or the Tooth Fairy to arrive. They can't wait for summer to ar- rive, and it is sheer agony to wait till they are able to ob- tain a driver's license. Perhaps the best example of children's time is the classic case of pil- ing the munchkins in the fam- ily car for the annual trip to visit grandma, or worse yet, a place like Disneyland. Some- where around Corning you are guaranteed to hear the first of thirty-seven "Are we there yet" questions from little Betty Boob in the back seat. Young adults mostly op- erate on children's time, as well. They can hardly wait till the workday is over. They can hardly wait till the weekend comes, and it seems like for- ever until they will be able to retire. And then it happens. They transition into adult time. The beginning of adult time usually occurs around age 40. The kids are gone or soon will be. You no longer do the things you once did, because your body aches. Your skills diminish, along with your con- fidence in being able to keep up with the requirements at- tached to daily life. At age 40 you tell yourself it's okay, be- cause you still have half your life to live. And then you wake up one morning, and you are 60. You lapse temporarily into children's time as you en- joy the trappings that come with retirement. And then you wake up from your daily nap one day, and you realize you are now 71 and that you have been writing this silly little column for eighteen months. You ask yourself, "Where in the hell did the time go?" Don't know about you, but I prefer children's time. •••• Speaking of time, now is a good time to recognize our 2016-17 State Theatre Perfor- mance Series sponsors. Our current Performance Series began on July 1 and will end on June 30, 2017. It is only with support of our great com- munity sponsors that we are able to increase the quantity and quality of programming at the historic State Theatre. Our 2016-17 Performance Series sponsors are as follows. Silver Sponsors: Cornerstone Community Bank; Physical Therapy and Wellness Center; Kenneth Miller, Attorney at Law; The Prescott Ballroom; PJ Helicopters and Tedon Spe- cialties. Gold Sponsor: John Wheeler Logging. Platinum Sponsors: Haleakala Walnuts; Mill Creek Ranch; Tehama An- gus; Dignity Health and Roll- ing Hills Casino. If interested in becoming a 2016-17 Performance Series sponsor, please call 527-3485 for additional information. •••• Now also is a good time to highlight our 2016-2017 Perfor- mance Series calendar. While we will be adding additional programming throughout the coming months, we are off to a great start with the follow- ing confirmed programming: July 15, Will Durst, "Elect to Laugh." July 22, Craig Mor- gan, country music star. July 29, Ana Popovic, blues, jazz & funk — Mumblefinger is open- ing. August 24, Glenn Miller Orchestra. October 1, North State Symphony, string trio and pianist. October 14, John Sebastian. October 23, Kings- ton Trio. October 29, Trick Pony. November 18, Emerson Drive. January 24, 2017, Roots and Boots — Sammy Kershaw, Collin Raye and Pam Tillis. March 13, Four Freshmen. •••• As you are likely aware, the State Theatre for the Arts is a non-profit operation that is largely staffed by volunteers from the community. Every event requires as many as a dozen volunteers who serve as concession workers, ticket tak- ers, bartenders and ushers. As the number of State Theatre events continues to grow, so does our need for additional volunteers. If you would like to like to become a member of the State Theatre volunteer program, call 529-2787 for ad- ditional information. •••• Now also is a good time to highlight two upcoming con- certs at the historic State The- atre. Whether you are mak- ing your neighbor build a wall around your property or are busy deleting every inappro- priate e-mail you have posted on your office computer, you will not want to miss the July 15 concert featuring the hu- mor and political satire of Will Durst. With a Presidential race like no other, Friday night at the State Theatre is the place to be, and tickets are only $20. •••• If you are a country music fan, you will surely want to at- tend the Craig Morgan concert on July 22 at 7:30 p.m. One of country music's best loved art- ists, Craig Morgan will enter- tain with such signature hits as "Bonfire," "Almost Home," "Redneck Yacht Club," Inter- national Harvester," "That's What I Love About You" and his long-running #1 hit, "That's What I Love About Sunday." Tickets are selling fast, but good seats remain for $45-$55. Call 529-2787 for more infor- mation. 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 Ponderingthe concept of time Cartoonist's take Here's something I miss more each summer: the drive-in movie theater. It's a uniquely American cre- ation, after all. According to Kerry Segrave, au- thor of "Drive-in Theaters: A His- tory from Their Inception in 1933," only two other countries, Canada and Australia, were able to come close to Amer- ica's "intense love affair with drive-ins." In order for drive-ins to spring up over America during the post- World War II boom, a unique blend of conditions had to exist. First, there had to be an abun- dance of relatively inexpensive land, as drive-ins take up a lot of real estate — and America had lots of affordable farmland near our newly formed suburbs. Second, there had to be wealth. Families needed to not only be able to afford comfort- able automobiles but to also "en- joy an emotional relationship" with them. "A country whose inhabitants regarded automobiles as sim- ply a mode of convenience to get from A to B would never develop a drive-in industry of any ex- tent," writes Segal. The next ingredient necessary to the success of the drive-in the- ater was large baby boom fam- ilies. Whereas taking the kids to an indoor theater in the city was a costly hassle, the drive-in was convenient and affordable. Par- ents could load all of the kids into the car, enjoy their family theater event, then return home with minimal hassle. At a time when mom and dad wore formal wear to the of- fice every day, the last thing they wanted to do on the weekends was dress up — and the younger kids could be dressed in paja- mas, allowing mom and dad to put them directly to bed as soon as they returned home. The first large-scale drive-in movie theater was built in Cam- den, N.J. in 1933, the brainchild of a young entrepreneur, Richard Hollingshead. His idea wouldn't catch on in big numbers until after World War II — in part because of Hollywood moguls who only screened their A features in the movie theaters they owned. Drive-in theaters were limited to B features until 1949 when the courts broke up Hollywood's mo- nopoly system. Another change happened in 1949. Hollingshead lost his pat- ent on the drive-in movie con- cept and outdoor theaters be- gan popping up everywhere. The '50s and '60s became the golden era of the drive-in theater with nearly 5,000 in operation across America. Some argue that federal laws mandating an extended Daylight Saving Time in the early '70s — which made the shows start an hour later — is what began to kill the drive-in phenomenon. But there are lots of other rea- sons for its decline. As the suburbs continued expanding, real estate costs soared. Increasing lawsuits eliminated the drive-in play- ground and insurance costs soared. The family unit began to change in the late '70s into the '80s — families had fewer children and lots more divorce. Increasing fuel costs caused cars to get smaller —— making them less suitable to a comfort- able drive-in experience. One of my last great drive-in memories dates to 1969, when my parents took my five sisters and I to see "Herbie the Love Bug." My father tested several parking spots before finding a speaker that worked. Soon, the blue sky fell dark and the film projector began rattling behind the concession stand. Black and white numbers — "5, 4, 3, 2, 1..." — flashed onto the screen. Yellowed 1950's foot- age advertised hot dogs, popcorn and other concession items. And then the feature film would be- gin and our eventful family out- ing kicked into high gear. So I am nostalgic for the golden era of the American drive-in, a historic slice of Amer- icana that I long for this time ev- ery year. Tom Purcell, author of "Misadventures of a 1970s Childhood" and "Wicked Is the Whiskey," a Sean McClanahan mystery novel, both available at Amazon.com, is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humor columnist. Send comments to Tom@TomPurcell.com. Tom Purcell Nostalgic for the drive-in theater At age 40 you tell yourself it's okay, because you still have half your life to live. And then you wake up one morning, and you are 60. Tom Purcell Bill Cornelius Ron Paul The longest war in U.S. his- tory just got even longer. As NATO wrapped up its 2016 War- saw Summit, the organization agreed to continue funding Af- ghan security forces through the year 2020. Of course with all that funding comes U.S. and NATO troops, and thousands of contractors, trainers, and more. President Obama said last week that the U.S. must keep 3,000 more troops than planned in Afghanistan. The real reason is obvious: the mission has failed and Washington cannot bear to admit it. But Obama didn't put it that way. He said: "It is in our national secu- rity interest, especially after all the blood and treasure we've in- vested over the years, that we give our partners in Afghanistan the best chance to succeed." This is how irrational Wash- ington's logic is. Where else but in government would you see it argued that you cannot stop spending on a project because you have already spent so much to no avail? In the real world, people who invest their own hard-earned money in a failed scheme do something called "cut your losses." Government never does that. Isn't 15 years of U.S. "blood and treasure" enough of a "best chance" to succeed? NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced at the summit that thanks to an addi- tional billion dollars in NATO member-country donations, the organization had come up with close to the $5 billion per year that it has pledged to the Af- ghan government. Of that $5 billion you can guess who is paying the lion's share. That's right, we are. We send $3.45 bil- lion every year to, according to Transparency International, the third most corrupt country on earth — while Americans strug- gle with unemployment, stag- nant wages, and inflation. That is why I always say that foreign aid is money stolen from poor people in the United States and sent to rich people overseas. NATO head Stoltenberg said, "Our message is clear: Afghan- istan doesn't stand alone. We're committed for the long haul." How nice of the Norwegian poli- tician to commit Americans to fi- nancing the war in Afghanistan for "the long haul." When I suggested in a recent interview that the only sensi- ble U.S. policy in Afghanistan would be to bring all the troops home, the host asked whether I was worried the Taliban would rush in to fill the vacuum. That's what has already hap- pened, I said. The Taliban are stronger than ever in Afghan- istan. They control more terri- tory than at any time since the original U.S. invasion in 2001. Despite 15 years of U.S. inter- ventionism, nearly 2,500 dead U.S. soldiers, and well over a trillion dollars, Afghanistan is no closer to being a model de- mocracy than it was before 9/11. It's a failed policy. It's a purposeless war. It is a failed program. The neocons argue that Iraq, Libya, and other U.S. inter- ventions fell apart because the U.S. did not stay long enough. As usual they are wrong. They failed and they will continue to fail because they cannot succeed. You cannot invade a country, overthrow its government, and build a new country from the ground up. It is a fool's errand and Washington has turned most Americans into fools. It's time to end this game and get back to the wise foreign policy of the founders: non-intervention in the affairs of others. Ron Paul The longest war in US history just got longer OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, July 13, 2016 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4