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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, 728Main St., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FACEBOOK.COM/ RBDAILYNEWS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @REDBLUFFNEWS MyDailyNewsfriends,pleasetellmeif you think divorce a good thing or a bad thing. I can tell you this much. It is, at the very least, a sad situation. A er all the time, money, domestic squabbles and emotions expended while one is married, some of to- day's generation simply "hook up" with the next babe or dude that they find appealing. Our culture's traditionof marriage has taken a down- ward trend in statistics for several decades. The bottom line is that the radical decision to get a divorce is by all stan- dards very try- ing on everyone involved. With Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie it is probably even worse. Are they suffering more than regular people? A headline I saw about them just before Christmas screamed "Brad Gets No Kids." Tragically, I myself may be learning even more about divorce this year than I did with my first marriage to a woman named Geri. Now my second wife Roleeda is thinking about di- vorce and has even sent me an e-mail titled "Division of Debts." I am trying to talk her out of what I think is a terrible decision. I am old enough, almost 78, and know I have a decent amount of skin in this very personal and negative game. I don't believe I will be able to find another lady that I will love nearly as much as I do Roleeda. And, divorce goes beyond just the desires that my present wife and I have. If divorce happens to us again, our friends will no doubt will have to take sides. Divorce becomes a negative contest for many people. I have long since fallen in "like and love" with two of the four children Roleeda al- ready gave birth to before I proposed and married her. Her son Steve and daugh- ter Jessica are easily my chil- dren. That is how I feel and think of them all the time. The two others are still OK, but continue to get in their own way by making some im- proper decisions. I have taught myself to re- fer to all four of her offspring as adults. I also feel certain Roleeda will always call them her kids. The problem for me is that they are not kids any- more. They are now in their 30s. It is time to grow up. I am relatively certain that the millions of people enjoy- ing lust and love, a thin line, eventually will get a big wake up call after a few years of being together despite their promise to "love, honor and obey." What the hell is wrong with our species anyway? In talking with my first wife I once called all makeup "war paint." She, like all women, was not pleased with my humor. I received no re- ward that day for my at- tempt at being funny. Then, more recently in conversa- tion with my second wife, when she asked "Do you love me?" I looked at her and re- plied; "Yes, of course dar- ling." She continued with a second question; "But, are you in love with me?" I re- member answering some- thing along the lines "Dar- ling, maybe it's because I'm a man, but I'm not certain that I really know the difference." Roleeda ended with "Well, why don't you think about that for awhile." All you men out there read- ing this column please give me your candid opinions. Mytakeonthemovies Actors Bryan Cranston and James Franco easily make "Why him?" worth seeing. This film will make your 2017 start just right. I recommend it. 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. Stan Statham My take on divorce I am relatively certain that the millions of people enjoying lust and love, a thin line, eventually will get a big wake up call after a few years of being together despite their promise to "love, honor and obey." Community should rally to save store Editor, I heard Monday that Red Bluff's Staples will be closing February 4th. I am very disappointed and I do not want to see them leave. I want more store options in our community, not less. I want to shop locally and not have to drive to Redding or Chico for another Staples store. I also do not want to see another empty store build- ing in our great community. I hope the landlord and the store can work out a deal. How many of you feel the same way? Write a letter to the editor and let us show the land- lord and store how this commu- nity feels about Staples leaving. Then we will need to support the store also. We make that choice ourselves. I have also called Staples Public Relations Department, at 1-508-942-2266, and am waiting to hear back from them. — Gail Locke, Red Bluff Sergeant is making a difference Editor: Once upon a time there was a wise man who use to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself and thought of some- one who would dance to the day, and so he walked faster to catch up. As he got closer he no- ticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore picking up ob- jects and throwing them into the ocean. He came closer still and called out, "Good morning, may I ask what is that you are doing?" The young man paused, looked up and replied, "Throw- ing starfish into the ocean." "I must ask then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" Asked the wise man. To this the young man re- plied, " The sun is up and the tied is going out, if I don't throw them in they'll die." Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach, and there are starfish along every mile? You can't pos- sibly make a difference." At this time the young man bent down, picked up yet an- other starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As the starfish met the water, he said, "To that one it made a difference." I would just like to say that all labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and is important. Thank you Sergeant Colleen Lewis Of Tehama County Sher- iff's Department for her empa- thy, dedication and motivation to help so many people in our community. She is an amazing woman, an inspiration and is loved and respected by many. — Maureeen Cahalan, Red Bluff Feaster settlement disturbing on many levels Editor: The Town of Paradise just reached a $3.1 million settlement, likely $2 million after attorney fees, for Paradise police officer Patrick Feaster's Nov. 26, 2015 shooting and killing of 26-year- old Andrew Thomas. Also, for the associated death of his estranged wife, 23-year-old Darien Ehorn. From this, $300,000, likely $200,000 after attorney fees, was designated to go to Ehorn's 3-year-old son. If spent responsibly, this money could help the child grow into a happy, well-adjusted adult de- spite losing his mom and step- dad at such an early age. The balance of the settlement will be awarded to Thomas' parents, five sisters and grand- mother. That is, presumably for the substantial pain Thomas' memory, death and absence will likely cause them to suffer for the rest of their lives. Feaster's shooting of Thomas was disturbing on many lev- els. First, he literally got away with murder. Since shooting a Glock .45 requires first releasing its spring-loaded safety, Feast- er's shooting was clearly purpose- ful — not an accident as Butte County DA Mike Ramsey alleged. Second, Thomas' and Ehorn's attorneys likely received a mil- lion dollars of the settlement — a third of it — for what was likely just a few months' work. Third, taxpayers and con- sumers will ultimately pick up the tab for the entire settlement through sales taxes and insur- ance premiums. Meanwhile, Feaster will likely only serve three of his six-month jail sen- tence and pay a $10,000 fine. Since psychological stud- ies show punishment gener- ally only effects rebellion be- yond age three, the brevity of Feaster's jail sentence doesn't bother me. However, for equity I believe he — not taxpayers and policy holders — should have reimbursed all parties for the damage he caused. Accordingly, Feaster should have had his wages garnished until all attorney fees, court costs, Thomas' hospital bill and the $3.1 million ordered restitution was repaid. If he couldn't maintain employ- ment in the private sector, he should have been awarded a government job. If he still couldn't maintain his repay- ment plan, he should have been assigned the same fate he dealt Thomas. I'm starting a non-profit for investigating and devising solu- tions to such insensibilities. To learn more, write me at nespla- nade@igsr.us. — Nathan Esplanade, Rancho Tehama Your opinions Cartoonist's take I remember that for years, the first section I would always read in the Sunday paper would be the funny papers. That's what we called them. The comics on Sun- day were not just longer, but also in color. I would sit at the table and occasionally belt out a laugh as I read. Have you noticed that most people either love comic strips or have no feelings about them at all? Those critics often bestow moronic stares when we laugh, since in their opinion, comics are juvenile. They think they're only for kids — not serious adults. But the comic lovers among us know better. Comics are written for adults, and we hope and pray that we will never be too serious not to appreciate or laugh at a well-written, humorous strip. Laughing at a comic strip means that we're able to laugh at ourselves. They sometimes fo- cus on provocative human is- sues, and if we didn't laugh, we would cry. Comic strips of- ten are poignant vignettes that help us by making fun of life. It is well-known that humor, even during the most tragic events, is a catharsis necessary to survive the human condition. In my thirties, I discovered Calvin and Hobbes. It spoke to me as no other strip did. It ran in syndication from 1985 through 1995 and was created by Bill Watterson. It was about the daily adventures of a very active and imaginative six-year-old boy and his buddy, a stuffed tiger who was alive only in his imag- ination. We've all heard the say- ing "out of the mouths of babes." Children have no preconceptions or inhibitions about what they say, and often go straight to the truth when they speak. That was the enchantment of Calvin. The strip ended when Wat- terson decided that Calvin had nothing new to say. He could have kept it going for the money, but he had too much artistic in- tegrity for that. Jerry Seinfeld did the same. His show wasn't cancelled. "Seinfeld" went out at the height of its popularity. Jerry just had nothing more to say. In 2005 my wife bought me one of my best Christmas pres- ents, The Complete Calvin and Hobbes. At three volumes and over 1400 pages, it contained a lot of strips. Whenever I was at loose ends, I would pull it out and go to the last book- marked page. It must have taken me two or three years to finish. The booklovers will un- derstand the poignant moment when I finally turned the last page. Life's big questions are sometimes not easy to see, and often difficult, if not impossi- ble to answer. But I had help whenever I read those pages. This past summer I stum- bled upon Exploring Calvin and Hobbes. This is a cata- log of an exhibition of Water- son's work at the cartoon mu- seum at Ohio State University. It includes an extensive inter- view with the reclusive Watter- son and gives the fans a peek inside his mind. I savored this book, reading a bit at a time. It was a nostalgic reacquain- tance with Calvin and Hobbes. I hadn't realized how much I had missed those two. I love sharing my more pro- found personal discoveries with my children. I often try and impart life's lessons by re- counting Seinfeld episodes or various comic strips. But it usually doesn't quite work out. I have realized that little Cal- vin speaks to me because his is- sues and situations were my is- sues, as Watterson is a man in his sixties who also grew up in the Midwest. And unfortu- nately, those ideas and experi- ences just don't translate well to the population of Generation Y. Corky Pickering and his wife relocated from the Bay Area to Cottonwood in 2014. He retired in 2016 from the federal government as an attorney advising law enforcement. He has been a rock and roll bass player and a Marine JAG. He can be reached at thecork6@gmail.com. Corky Pickering The funny papers; Hope that I never outgrow them Corky Pickering Stan Statham I have realized that little Calvin speaks to me because his issues and situations were my issues, as Watterson is a man in his sixties who also grew up in the Midwest. And unfortunately, those ideas and experiences just don't translate well to the population of Generation Y. OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, January 5, 2017 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4