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IT’S ONLY MY OPINION – Wearing trouble on your back bumper

Even with the price of fuel rising to record levels, my roommate and I are still on America’s highways quite a bit. Sometimes we pass the time by reading bumper stickers. We get a chuckle from some of the funny ones. We have no problem with the “MY KID IS AN HONOR STUDENT AT ….” and we salute the patriotic “GOD BLESS AMERICA” stickers, but some are put there by folks who are just inviting trouble. This morning I was driving in the center lane of 95 behind a white pick-up truck that was plastered with several HILLARY signs. A man driving a new Camry pulled up in the right lane, honked his horn several times to get that driver’s attention and then gave him the middle-finger salute. Not wanting to be part of a road rage brawl, I wisely pulled into the left lane and took off.

I’m not just talking about biased political signs. According to Mapquest, Nashua, N.H. is only about 45 miles from Boston, so naturally most of the baseball fans there root for their beloved Red Sox. Last month a group of them taunted a woman who had a Yankees sticker on her car. Ivonne Hernandez had just left a bar with a few drinks in her. She disliked being heckled and decided to even the score. She revved up her motor and at maximum speed raced into the pack. Ms. Hernandez was taken to jail, some members of the crowd were taken to the hospital and one went to the morgue.

Okay, gang. You’re the judge. What would your sentence be?

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Speaking of the Yankees, did you know that with an estimated market value of 1.3 Billion dollars — that’s Billion with a capital — the team is baseball’s most valuable franchise. With a market value of only $256 million, the Florida Marlins are the least valuable MLB franchise. As of this writing, the Marlins are in first place of their division while the Yanks are in last.

Tell me again how the Yankees always buy a pennant.

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The next time you watch a White Sox game on television, take a good look at the uniforms. The socks are black.

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“Will Work For Food.” Yeah. Right. Even though we know that so many of them are phonies, it still saddens me to see those “homeless” out there begging. And nothing – absolutely nothing — is more heartbreaking than seeing a child begging for a parent.

My roommate is holding a letter from a daughter asking me to send money to help her mother get a job – not just any job but a particular job that her mother really wants. She says that she is blessed to have her as a mom and any amount I send will help.

Hey, hang on Sloopy. Lemme see that letter. It’s from someone named …..Chelsea. CHELSEA??? THAT CHELSEA??? Sure. I’ll send her money. Give me your checkbook.

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Some time ago I wrote about Locks Of Love, the good people who accept donations of hair and provide wigs for balding youngsters who have lost their hair due to treatment for their illness. Pantene Beautiful Lengths, sponsored by Procter and Gamble, is a similar wonderful organization that also accepts long hair for the same reason. I salute all of the young ladies from Girl Scouts to cheerleaders to models who grow their hair long and have it cut off just to help someone. I especially want to tell nine-year-old Bailey Kaiserman how proud I am of her. She emailed to say that ten inches was cut and donated so that “a little girl with cancer doesn’t have to go around bald.”

Bailey and I Email each other regularly. I start with “Dear Little Sweetheart.” She writes to StanGershbein@Bellsouth.net and opens her letter with “Dear Grandpa.”

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