Letters to the Editor: Nov. 23, 2003

Letter of the Day — More work to do

Editor, Naples Daily News:

Good news/bad news about our ovarian cancer postage stamp effort.

The good news is that our petition drive this year for the ovarian cancer awareness postage stamp got the attention of the Postal Service, and we made it onto their October agenda for consideration. (They meet quarterly, and we can only make our request once each year.)

The bad news is that they did not recommend an ovarian cancer awareness postage stamp this year.

This means we get to do it all over again!

I'm told by the Postal Service that it sometimes takes 10 or more years to get a postage stamp, so don't get "down" over this.

We'll just keep working harder and harder every year until they ultimately grant our request. We have a new petition online (http://www.PetitionOnline.com/ ovca2004/petition.html) and it's ready for you to sign. Of course, we'd also like you to send e-mail notes to all on your e-mail address book and ask them to sign the petition too (and ask them to ask their friends to sign, and so on).

I will also be preparing a new "hard copy" petition form for those who wish to gather signatures at events, supermarkets, hospitals, etc., by August 2004.

My e-mail address is CBenivegna@swfla.rr.com ; my regular mail address is 5835 Cloudstone Court, Naples, 34119-4606.

This year we sent the Postal Service over 30,000 petition signatures. Let's set 40,000 as our 2004 goal. We can do it!

Help save lives.

Fish story

Editor, Naples Daily News:

Only children are the designated recipients of their parents' love, care, and -- at the end -- worldly goods and chattels. And when two only children marry, they receive a double load of worldly goods and chattels.

And when their fathers and mothers, as the children themselves, are ardent trout fisherfolk, and when everyone reaches a time of life when trout streams are no longer wadeable, that adds up to a very large heap of rods, reels, baskets and landing nets.

And that is how Lynn and I -- after a brief episode convinced us that we were not merchants -- decided to give the gear away.

The whole nine yards.

The Naples Daily News, it developed, offers free want ads for gift giving. We drafted one and the next day at 8 a.m. sharp our telephone rang and a caller, after making sure that there was no hook hidden in the deal, happily agreed to take the load off our hands.

Of course the phone continued to ring that day and, although we notified the want ad people that we had run out of merchandise, the following day. And the day after that. Friday arrived and it turned out to be a great business day; the phone really rang.

The next day the ad disappeared, we thanked the Daily News, and that was the end of the episode. Nearly. The day after the cancellation the phone sounded again, for the small, quavering voice of an obviously very experienced fisherman who had just heard about the free tackle.

For the first time in many months we wished that we had a fishing rod.

There is a limit

Editor, Naples Daily News:

First off: as a veteran (Army), the son of a veteran (Army), father of a veteran (Army), brother of a veteran (Air Force), and nephew of a veteran (Navy), all of whom would serve their Country again in a heartbeat, I have nothing but contempt and disdain for those who fight their wars using other people's children.

A quick check of all three branches of our federal government shows that very few of our leaders, especially the highest ranking ones, instilled a sense of duty, honor, and country into their own children and now rely on the children of others to die for our country.

The casualty rate in Iraq is rising. I opposed the war before it started, but kept quiet. Many months before the invasion, it was obvious that the pro-war propaganda machine was going to have its way.

Now we're committed. If we pull out now while the rate is rising, it'll look like we're running with our tails between our legs, so we'll keep sending troops in. We'll be told that we have to support the government in order to support the troops. Bull! Since we're fighting this war using other people's children, we should ask the parents how high a casualty rate they're willing to absorb.

I love and support the U.S. military -- especially the grunts. God bless 'em all. But you have to understand that I do not support those in Washington who lied to get us into this.

High enough?

Editor, Naples Daily News:

Re: letter by William Wolf.

So you don't think the pharmacies are selling at a high profit margin?

A certain popular medication that cost the consumer $1.89 each tablet at Rite-Aid, Walgreens, CVS, etc., cost just $ .25 at Costco.

Enough said?