Good Samaritan, family thanked for help
A little over five weeks ago, I was leaving Walmart in Fort Oglethorpe when I hit a curb while trying to turn for the exit lane (I had been carelessly eating a juicy pear with one hand and didn’t have good control). I was chewing myself out when a young man in a pickup truck stopped me as I drove by and told me I had busted my tire. He told me not to worry, that he would change it for me.
It was a sweltering day, and as I started to help him, another woman showed up who was a relative and who was friendly to me. Then I saw that his mother and another relative were also waiting nearby. They had all pulled over, in three vehicles to wait for the young man. They seemed to think nothing of it as it apparently was nothing out of the ordinary for him to stop and help someone.
I am so grateful to this young man and his patient family for their kindness. He didn’t want to take any money, but I told him to take the few dollars I had for his church; he then accepted it.
It restores your faith in the goodness of people, and I hope to pass the favor on to someone else when I can.
Linda O’Brien
Sad: Chattanooga hasn’t changed
Not so different from the Opaque South I remember, Franklin McCallie of the Accountability for Taxpayer Money (re: “Public prods council on PILOTS, sale of city buildings,” TFP Aug. 8, page B8).
Since my return to the South, I note obstructed public right-of-ways for the benefit of development; sidewalks worse or as poorly maintained as streets; price inflation on necessities in the most inner part of Chattanooga; administrative self-interest and corruption; sputtering citizen educational attainment; stodgy social life for young and old; weak Democrat mayor and strong conservative, neoliberal Republican controls; shrinking public sector and public sector rights with increasing pricing structures that satisfy only market competition hard players versus soft players; debauched legal system that favors market hard players; and institutions that inculcate/construct consent for more of the same, creating an elite social class, another social class suffering from severe impecunity.
No, nothing has changed in the South. All that remains of Chattanooga, that humans haven’t yet destroyed, is a little natural geography that is “scenic,” and compared to real cities, Chattanooga hasn’t yet attracted overdensification, although the “powers-that-be” are progressing, unheeded to make this happen as soon as possible.
A. Wayne Ramsey
Crossing the street shouldn’t kill you
As a college student in Chattanooga, I am practically a professional pedestrian. After reading Rosana Hughes’ “Pedestrian fatalities on the rise,” I am reminded of fears that the streets are unsafe. Six pedestrian deaths, in Chattanooga this year, reconfirms these fears.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there is one crash-related pedestrian death every 1.6 hours. What if we were one of those numbers?
Crossing the street without crosswalks is extremely dangerous and should be avoided.
Dangers also arise from distractions on hand. Whether it be smartphones or intoxicated driving, both are known to endanger pedestrians. Hughes points out that either the driver or the pedestrian can be distracted. Pedestrians can be intoxicated or on their phone and not see the oncoming traffic or a driver can be in a similar situation and not see the pedestrians.
Together, let’s pay attention. Together, let’s put down the phone. Together, let’s look twice and save a life. Together, let’s have confidence in our safety once again.
Sarah Kilroy
Collegedale
The point is to find the point of it all
As NASA launched the Parker Solar Probe this past Sunday, giant steps in human history were made. One hundred and forty-two years ago, the telephone made its debut. Ninety-three years later, a man stood on the moon, a feat forever ingrained in history.
Fast forward to today. NASA just launched a solar probe to orbit and study the sun. It is incredible to see the accomplishments that some decades ago “lived solely in the realm of science fiction” (Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator, NASA).
As a pre-medical freshman at Southern Adventist University, I grew up fascinated by science. Although I had this fascination, I never grasped “why” the need to advance in science. Now my perspective is no longer “why” but “why not?”
The essence of human nature is the curiosity to move forward and unravel the world’s most puzzling mysteries. Humans seek to push the boundaries of our understanding and knowledge, but why?
Hannah Rae Kerner, a student at the School of Earth and Space Exploration, once wrote: “The point of it all is that humans are seeking the point of it all.” Let us strive to know what we do not know. Why not?
Brayan Lopez
Declaration: Equal rights, not abilities
The most beautiful doctrine documented in the U.S. Declaration of Independence is “that all men are created equal.” The men who signed were white and owned black slaves. They ignored being black, white or brown. For them, being red, white and blue was more important.
They believed everyone, no matter what a person’s religion, creed or caste, whatever the color of their skin, those who lived under the flag of the United States of America, were equal citizens.
It is a sad fact some citizens ignore the vision of the Declaration writers. In 1964, Congress had to remind the American citizens again that all men are created equal. The Civil Rights Act was passed prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. It prohibits unequal application of voter registration, national segregation in schools, employment and public accommodations.
For some Americans, “equal” means all men are born, breathe, live and die. According to the Declaration, all Americans are created free and equal under the flag. No one is created with equal abilities, but with rights to equal opportunities. In American democracy, all men are created equal, but some are more equal than others!
Amos Taj
Ooltewah
We’re alone in the universe? Hardly
The “Faith and Family” section (Aug. 11) cites a new paper from Oxford which casts “serious” doubt on the odds of alien life in the universe: a 40 percent chance that we’re the only intelligent life in the known universe.
Of course, that article would come in the religion section, where evangelicals might be shaken to their core if intelligent life were discovered in outer space. But let’s consider some counter odds:
There are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on all the beaches on planet Earth – by a factor of millions.
Scientists estimate there is an average of 1.6 planets orbiting each of those stars. Also realize the four most abundant elements in the universe are hydrogen, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen, the basic elements to form water and build organic structures, i.e., plants and animals.
Ever notice how life just springs up in every puddle of water? We’re now talking about a water-sea on Mars – imagine how many puddles there are on distant planets. It smacks of arrogance to believe we’re the only intelligent life in this universe, 90 percent of which is dark energy we don’t even understand.
Roger Davis
Signal Mountain