Letters to the Editor, Jan. 17

To the Editor:

I read in the Times-Gazette a few days ago about a worker at a local grocery store finding a wallet and getting it back to the owner. I, too, had this happen to me on Christmas Eve.

Rushing around and trying to get back home for Christmas Eve, I hurriedly pushed my buggy into the cart area and left my billfold laying in the seat of the cart. I had not even missed it yet and my daughter called my cell phone saying a lady had my billfold in the parking lot of Kroger and was waiting on me to come back. She had called my house phone probably by getting the number off my checks that were in my wallet. Not only were my checks there, but also, debit card, drivers license, S.S. card -- everything anyone would need to destroy my identity.

Thankfully, we do still have good, honest people in ths world.

The lady's name is Deloris Peacock. I have never met her in my life and she didn't know me from Adam, but she cared enough to protect my belongings until I could get back there and get it from her.

I didn't have much money in there at all, but tried to give it to her for her kindness and she would not take a penny. All she said was, "I would hope someone would go it for me."

Ms. Peacock, thank you from the bottom of my heart. My Christmas would have been devastating if not for you. I tried to find your address so I could thank you properly, but didn't find it. God bless you. You are such an inspiration.

Capri Batten

Shelbyville

Kiffen soap opera simply amazing

To the Editor:

I have followed with amusement the ongoing soap opera of departing coach Lane Kiffin for Southern Cal. It amazes me that Vol fans, along with other major college sports fans, haven't yet picked up on the fact that the nostalgic olden days of "Joe college" and his pals gathering on the gridiron on a warm fall Saturday afternoon and playing another group of "Joe colleges" in a football contest are gone forever. Student athletes? Absolutely. And, believe it or not, most of the players graduated with degrees and I don't recall any of them involved in armed robberies, gun possession, drugs, etc.

Well, sports fans, welcome to the real world of big bucks and college football. And in that the coaches make mega bucks in salaries, certainly they will leave on a second's notice for bigger bucks with another college. And, for all the indignant fans here's an absolute given; these football coaches could care less about the morals or academics of the students; or more aptly, crooks and thugs whom they recruit to play the game.

So, suck it up Vol fans. There's always a light at the end of the tunnel leading to the dressing room. Who knows. Maybe Phil can be enticed to return and lose more games and recruit more thugs.

Charles David Sliger

Shelbyville

Obama doesn't have magic wand

To the Editor:

A year ago, if we had read in the paper that employers were hiring again, that health care legislation was proceeding without a bump, that Afghanistan suddenly became a nice place to take your kids, we would've known we were being lied to. Back then, we recognized that the problems Obama inherited as President wouldn't go away overnight.

During his campaign, Obama clearly said that an economy that took eight years to break couldn't be fixed in a year, that Afghanistan was a graveyard of empires, and would not be an easy venture for us. Candidate Obama didn't feed us happy-talk, which is why we elected him. He never said America could solve our health care, economic and security problems without raising the deficit. Instead, he talked of hard choices, of government taking painful and contentious first steps towards fixing problems that can't be left for another day.

Right after Obama's election, we seemed to grasp this. We understood that companies would be happy to squeeze more work out of frightened employees, and would be slow to hire more. We understood that the banks that had extorted us out of billions of dollars, were lying when they said they would share their recovery. We understood that a national consensus on health care would not come easily. Candidate Obama never claimed that his proposed solutions would work flawlessly right out of the box, and we respected him for that.

But today, the President is being attacked as if he were a salesman who promised us that our problems would wash off in the morning. He never made such a promise. It's time for Americans to realize that governing is hard work, and that a President can't just wave a magic wand and fix everything.

Ellie Light

Tullahoma

Elderly still have lessons to teach

To the Editor:

Over the Thanksgiving and Christmas season, I noticed something that I feel needs to be addressed about the elderly and greeting cards. And also flowers and gifts of food.Such as cookies and cakes.I know a lot of elderly people. Some live alone, while others live with famlies, or in a nursing home. Some share a mailing address,yet not the same house. There is where there problem comes in.

I know two elderly ladies, who while they share the same address, do not live in the same house. At Christmas, they are often sent a very large and beautiful pot of poinsettias to share. I know for a fact that the sender could afford another or even two smaller ones. This is an unfair thing to do to these women. They have to share the plant. So one usually ends up without one. Another problem is greeting cards. Often people will send one card for two to share. If they are trying to save money on stamps, may I suggest that the put two cards into one envelope.

I realize that when people do this they mean no harm, but they cause unintentional harm. These elderly people have feeling too. They were raised in a day when they were taught to respect their elders and obey their parents. They believe if someone does something nice for you, that you call and say thank you or send a thank you card. They were taught manners.

We would all do well to listen to the older generations. They still have plenty of lessons to teach. But we should also remember that they are all their own person and giving two sisters or brothers a gift to share is utterly ridiculous. It's like giving two 5 year olds one bar of candy and saying split it in half. We can learn a lot from our elderly. And one of the most important things we can learn, is respect.

Gail Mills-Claxton

Shelbyville

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