Opinions

Humans often see the color of winter as only white. Yet, so many greys and shadows play across that white snow that the scenes can be breathtaking. Plus, perhaps there is a bright blue sled racing down the hill with children clad in bright clothing, shrieking in pure joy.

In winter, I see ice skates, and skaters gliding, or falling, as may be the case. Perhaps a mountain with skiers flying down the slope, or a fishing shack on the frozen water, and a fisherman with a tip-up and a dream.

In winter, there are deer in the silent woods, and turkeys feeding along the roadway. As I drive the side roads, I catch a glimpse of a majestic eagle soaring through the air, looking for its next meal. The other day, I saw geese on the pond, walking on the not-yet-thawed ice.

A friend of mine from Clintonville told me she had been asked to give a talk about humility. She said prior to writing and delivering her presentation, she washed the feet of some of the older residents where she works. She said it was an amazing and humbling experience.

When we are humble, we are not absorbed in our own self-importance. We can see our own faults and the strengths of others. Pride is concerned with who is right. Humility is concerned with what is right.

I enjoy this short example of humility: An elderly woman and her little grandson, whose face was sprinkled with bright freckles, spent the day at the zoo. Lots of children were waiting in line to get their cheeks painted by a local artist, who was decorating them with tiger paws.

“You’ve got so many freckles, there’s no place to paint!” a girl in the line said to the little boy.

To the editor:

I’m thinking how to say this. I see little children and the older ones, too. They always stop before crossing the street. We have taught them to stop, look and listen, and then cross.

Cars usually stop for children, and that is great. Most cars and trucks stop for them, and I always watch the stop signs. Most of them stop before they continue, but I notice that the city cabs just slow up at some them, and then they slide through them and don’t come to a dead stop, and that scares me. I don’t call them for that reason, and I wonder how many more people feel like I do.

It’s time these drivers need to take a test, written and driving over if they haven’t

Sally Raddant,

Shawano

To the editor:

Our family has lived next door to Ed Whealon for 36 years, and we could not ask for a better neighbor. Ed has always been kind, friendly and willing to help at any time with anything that comes up. He’s the kind of the person you can trust, and the kind of person who cares about his community.

You get to know a lot about somebody living next to them for 36 years. What we’ve learned about Ed makes us sure he’d be every bit as a great a mayor as he has been a neighbor. He knows city government better than almost anyone, and we know he’ll work hard for us, and that he’ll show the same compassion and kindness we’ve come to expect from him.

Our family has been lucky to call Ed a neighbor and a friend, and I know the city of Shawano would be very fortunate to have Ed Whealon as mayor.

Jerry and Eva Buhrandt,

Shawano

To the editor:

I guess I need to clarify my position written in the guest column “Guns are not a prerequisite for violence.” The point was to show people, in planning to incur mass casualties in crowded settings, will use whatever means they can to carry out their twisted plans. Vehicles were one example, as I well documented, that have been misused as other things have, to create mass casualties. The difference being that, whenever a firearm is used in one of these incidents, the firearm and/or firearm manufacturer take the brunt of the blame, not the shooter himself. To the best of my knowledge, whenever a vehicle, knife, or homemade bomb has been used as a weapon in a massacre, no one has ever called their legislator to outlaw vans, trucks, cutlery or pressure cookers.

If you scan through the 20 or so customer reviews on the website for Superior Sauna & Steam, a company near the northern Wisconsin city of Ashland, you’ll notice something right away: Few of the people who thanked the firm for its products and service are from Wisconsin.

That’s because Superior Sauna & Steam, founded in 2004 as a business that once seemed destined to be confined to northwest Wisconsin, has found customers all over the United States and the world through its robust broadband connections to the internet.

“You can do business anywhere in the world if you have the right connections,” said Chuck Porter, owner and managing partner of the firm, which makes and ships sauna heaters, doors, do-it-yourself kits, tubs and more from its plant in the Bayfield County Business Park.

I loved listening to Eddie Fisher sing:

Oh! my papa, to me he was so wonderful

Oh, my papa, to me he was so good

No one could be, so gentle and so lovable

Oh, my pa-pa, he always understood.

Gone are the days when he could take me on his knee

And with a smile he’d change my tears to laughter

Oh, my pa-pa, so funny, so adorable

Always the clown so funny in his way

Oh, my pa-pa, to me he was so wonderful

Deep in my heart I miss him so today.

That song touches my heart and I found myself singing it earlier this week. If my dad was living today, he would have celebrated his 100th birthday on March 5. His life was short; he died at age 55. Although his life was short-lived, the memories of him will last my life time.

Dad was old school. He was strict. He was the head of the household. He believed it was his responsibility to provide for his family, so Mom was a stay-at-home mother.

To the editor:

I have had the pleasure of serving with Leah Vukmir in the state Legislature for the last 11 years. She’s someone who is committed and dedicated to making Wisconsin an even better place to live, work and retire.

As someone who grew up on and lives on a dairy farm, I understand and value sticking with your roots. Leah has stuck with her roots. Her support for not only her constituency but all the people in Wisconsin has been unwavering. Even though her current district does not include a dairy farm, she has never forgotten that all industries, including agriculture, make our state stronger. She knows a smaller, more responsible government is the only way to create an environment where business can thrive.

Our area has some wonderful stores and shops. Do we wish we had more? Absolutely, but we need to support and appreciate those businesses we do have. I decided to go to social media to ask what positive things customers had to say about area businesses. I know many of you don’t use social media, so I will share a few comments.

Happy customers wasted no time in responding. This column is not long enough to share with you all the wonderful comments, but here are just a few:

Barb Heidke: “I have always had wonderful service from Shawano Auto Sales. Those kids are making their dad proud.”

Tom Mehlberg: “Gresham Hardware store. Service and prices are always the best.”

Marjorie Hagen: “We always receive excellent service and great food from Farm Inn … great service from Hein’s Appliance and also American Car Care. Love Shawano.”

Jenny Specht Snyder: “Doc’s Harley-Davidson staff rock; the customer service is amazing.”

In response to the guest column “Guns are not a prerequisite for violence,” I will simply restate the main gist of the column using a different societal problem.

Car crashes are caused by things other than drunk driving. In fact, throughout history many many car crashes have other, completely different, causes. Therefore, trying to outlaw a specific individual behavior, such as drunk driving, will solve nothing. We’re merely chasing our tails with that approach.

Thus, simply restating his premise in a different way makes it clearly evident how meaningless his argument on the problem of mass shootings really is.

David R. Block,

Shawano