Thumbs

Lessons for everyone. A workshop in Conway focused on the essential topics of health care and financial issues for senior citizens. Yes indeed, these are essentials for our growing number of older folks. Much of the information dispensed can also apply to any person. Be wary, be cautious of anyone offering a free lunch in the form of something that sounds like the greatest thing since sliced bread. The old adage, of course, is that it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Welcomed moisture. July is running out and glory be, we’ve had rain. Drive down the road, and things are green. Sure, August and two or three weeks of September are still ahead, but summer 2009 is coming along nicely for the most part. When we had that massive amount of rain in early May, our fear was the rest of the year’s supply was being used it. Guess not.

 Things we don’t need. Just think. This summer has brought us mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers and Tony Alamo. We can do little about those first three pests, but can’t we just make Tony Alamo go away? Maybe the federal court is helping us on that point. The thing is, we thought we had gotten rid of him a couple of decades ago.

 Barking up a tree. It’s the American way to give someone a second chance after a mess up. OK, football quarterback Michael Vick apparently has a green light to play professional football again after serving time for an odious dog fighting conviction. There is a catch, though. He has to find a team willing to take him on. If a team does sign him, it will have to weigh the effect of public opinion and also that this talented player has been out of the game for two seasons.

Move on ahead. Officials and student leaders at the University of Central Arkansas are expressing concern that the campus library needs a booster shot. They pointed out UCA’s library has 436,000 volumes, compared with Arkansas State University’s 613,000 and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s 503,000. Yes, buying books costs money. As does operating the library 24 hours a day (which the university should do). Fortunately, we also have the Hendrix College library available in our community.

 Hidden from view. Reading the Police Report in the Log Cabin Democrat leads to the conclusion that thieves will steal anything and everything. They are quick to smash into a vehicle, grab items and run. The first rule of defense is to keep things out of sight in your car or truck. If a thief can’t see something, the chances of it not being swiped are greatly improved.

Beyond the playing field. Cliff Garrison Scholarships have been awarded to Chase Jones of Greenbrier High School, Kayce Moore of Conway High School, Katelyn Zimmerman of Conway High School, Katie Varner of Vilonia and Matt Raney of Mayflower. All were sports participants at their schools, but they also made impacts in church and community activities. These are five youing people who, likely, will not make sports their life work but who have a leg up on careers as useful citizens.

“As soon as you have something that brings some emotion, in this case fear, the scammers are there to take advantage. People are afraid of losing their homes. There are criminals willing to take advantage of that fear.” —James DePriest of the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office, talking on the current economic situation.