Letters to the Editor 06-23-2003
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
- The Front Porch - Loving Indiana - Military Retirees
The Front Porch
Editor, Times-Union:Summertime is nearly at hand and summer and warm weather always remind me of the front porch. Whenever I amble down the street, I notice that many houses lack a front porch. A front porch brings back many pleasant memories of yesteryear. A front porch used to be considered almost sacred, a place where you did a lot of sitting, and thinking, and where you entertained your friends.
What are front porches good for now? Today, a front porch is mainly a target for the paperboy when he tosses the morning tabloid, or a refuge for a delivery man or a solicitor to stand under while he's making his spiel when it rains. I remember when front porches were comfortable and pleasant to sit on during warm summer evenings. And that dear old squeaky porch swing - the porch swing in which you could recline and undulate gently back and forth while you spent time gazing at the view before you. If the neighbor's residence was close enough you could bandy words back and forth, or you and your neighbor could exchange visits on the front porch. On the other hand, the host or hostess might get out the corn popper and they and their guests could enjoy a sprightly chitchat over a bowl of hot buttered popcorn. Also, on a balmy summer evening while one frequented the front porch, folks who were out for their evening stroll might pause for a moment and smile and say hello, and perhaps make a friendly comment or two before venturing on. Then, there was the band concert being held up on Main Street on Saturday night. If one lived close to the business district, he could relax in his porch swing and listen to the rhythmic, patriotic strains of John Philip Sousa's "The Stars and Stripes Forever" or sit tapping his toes to the beat of that zippy, fast-paced old folk ditty, "Turkey in the Straw." I recall that back in the '20s when I was a child, I visited my aunt and uncle in Cincinnati, and one evening their next-door neighbor threw a big party on his front porch. I can still hear the music and see the guests going wild dancing and kicking up their heels to the tune of "The Charleston" and "The Black Bottom."
Yes, the use of the front porch and the frequent conversations conducted there now seem to be a thing of the past, but we elderly shall always have delightful memories of all of those wonderful, pleasurable hours that we once spent occupying that dear old gathering place, the front porch.
Don Kaiser
Warsaw
Loving Indiana
Editor, Times-Union:We have now been in Indiana for more than two weeks but it seems like a month at least! Because I hate it? Oh, no I don't and my husband is elated. Where we "migrated" from was Lake Placid, Fla. (home of the Caladiums and murals on many of the buildings downtown). But Joe, my husband, had what our doctor described as "close to a sun stroke" ... well he is much better up here in what my father used to describe as "God's Country"!
As we are all aware the weather has just gone crazy, one of the few things human nature cannot change or control. In Lake Placid last summer the "old timers" declared it was the hottest summer they'd ever experienced and it certainly was for us! To the point, after living down there since 1983 (coming back to Indiana most summers) I loved living where the weather was so nice - used to be! The weather was not as it was when we first moved down there.
We made the move in one trip due to having a cat. I enlisted my daughter to investigate a rental, which she told me was $1,800, was too small for our furniture, and why not just have the realtor send them (her and son-in-law Bob) a book of homes for sale?
The result of all this was Bob and Lee choosing a home for us. We had stipulated that we wanted in the country, near a small town. We purchased the home first showed them, since it was in exactly the location we wanted and because my daughter informed me it was just as beautiful as the home we were in in Florida and we got it at a very reasonable price.
To our dismay we discovered our furniture would not be delivered for one week and one day. So, we prepared to "camp out" in our new home until the furniture arrived. Since they had located the home, Bob and Lee told us they would be awaiting our arrival and they did that and more!
They had the kitchen stocked with groceries (plenty of ready-to-eat food) and had even had a cake baked and decorated stating "Welcome Home, Joe and Mother," but the best part of all was the air mattress they had purchased for us.
We found new friends in the seller of the property. This lady and her fiance have been and are still being wonderful. They arrived the day before the closing (yes, they had allowed us to move in ahead of time) and Larry, the fiance, mowed the lawn so it would be nice to the very end and then on the day of the closing here they came with a TV with "rabbit ears" which they had kept in their basement for when the cable was out and along with it a card table and we have a nice clear picture of several stations. Our TV man is to arrive today to reconnect us to the entire world of TV ... but hey, it can't compare to the kindness of our children and the seller of our new home.
Donna Butche and husband Joe
North Webster
Military Retirees
Editor, Times-Union:The nation's public is under the impression that our government takes care of its career warriors. Many of these warriors feel like they are being treated as second class citizens. Second class citizens may seem like a cliche, but consider the following inequalities imposed on these warriors, their widows and family. The government has admitted in court that it made the promise of lifetime medical care to career warriors, their spouses and widows of the WW2 and Korea eras.
It was promised for over 40 years as part of delayed and earned pay for those who would serve 20 or more years in the military. The promise was made by all levels of the military hierarchy, condoned by Secretaries of Defense with such noted names as James V. Forestal and George C. Marshall, was printed in numerous government documents, all with the full knowledge of Congress.
Now, all three branches of the government refuse to honor this promise. To this day, the government continues to promise active duty military personnel excellent retirement health care benefits after 20 or more years of service. The truth is that what is being promised, and now also applies to military retirees under 65 years old, has been called by one senator "the worst health care program in the country." It is difficult and in many cases impossible for the military retirees and their families in this group to find a doctor who will accept the plan. Its lengthy shortcomings have been well documented by a military retiree group with experience with the program. Last year copies of this over-200-page documentation, paid for by the military retiree group, were hand delivered to every member of Congress and the Department of Defense. The Department of Defense disagrees with the documentation but cannot specifically refute its contents. And Congress will not enact the recommended legislation to allow the military retiree family an option to participate in the excellent health care plan offered to all other retired government employees, including themselves.
Tim Heath
Warsaw
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- The Front Porch - Loving Indiana - Military Retirees
The Front Porch
Editor, Times-Union:Summertime is nearly at hand and summer and warm weather always remind me of the front porch. Whenever I amble down the street, I notice that many houses lack a front porch. A front porch brings back many pleasant memories of yesteryear. A front porch used to be considered almost sacred, a place where you did a lot of sitting, and thinking, and where you entertained your friends.
What are front porches good for now? Today, a front porch is mainly a target for the paperboy when he tosses the morning tabloid, or a refuge for a delivery man or a solicitor to stand under while he's making his spiel when it rains. I remember when front porches were comfortable and pleasant to sit on during warm summer evenings. And that dear old squeaky porch swing - the porch swing in which you could recline and undulate gently back and forth while you spent time gazing at the view before you. If the neighbor's residence was close enough you could bandy words back and forth, or you and your neighbor could exchange visits on the front porch. On the other hand, the host or hostess might get out the corn popper and they and their guests could enjoy a sprightly chitchat over a bowl of hot buttered popcorn. Also, on a balmy summer evening while one frequented the front porch, folks who were out for their evening stroll might pause for a moment and smile and say hello, and perhaps make a friendly comment or two before venturing on. Then, there was the band concert being held up on Main Street on Saturday night. If one lived close to the business district, he could relax in his porch swing and listen to the rhythmic, patriotic strains of John Philip Sousa's "The Stars and Stripes Forever" or sit tapping his toes to the beat of that zippy, fast-paced old folk ditty, "Turkey in the Straw." I recall that back in the '20s when I was a child, I visited my aunt and uncle in Cincinnati, and one evening their next-door neighbor threw a big party on his front porch. I can still hear the music and see the guests going wild dancing and kicking up their heels to the tune of "The Charleston" and "The Black Bottom."
Yes, the use of the front porch and the frequent conversations conducted there now seem to be a thing of the past, but we elderly shall always have delightful memories of all of those wonderful, pleasurable hours that we once spent occupying that dear old gathering place, the front porch.
Don Kaiser
Warsaw
Loving Indiana
Editor, Times-Union:We have now been in Indiana for more than two weeks but it seems like a month at least! Because I hate it? Oh, no I don't and my husband is elated. Where we "migrated" from was Lake Placid, Fla. (home of the Caladiums and murals on many of the buildings downtown). But Joe, my husband, had what our doctor described as "close to a sun stroke" ... well he is much better up here in what my father used to describe as "God's Country"!
As we are all aware the weather has just gone crazy, one of the few things human nature cannot change or control. In Lake Placid last summer the "old timers" declared it was the hottest summer they'd ever experienced and it certainly was for us! To the point, after living down there since 1983 (coming back to Indiana most summers) I loved living where the weather was so nice - used to be! The weather was not as it was when we first moved down there.
We made the move in one trip due to having a cat. I enlisted my daughter to investigate a rental, which she told me was $1,800, was too small for our furniture, and why not just have the realtor send them (her and son-in-law Bob) a book of homes for sale?
The result of all this was Bob and Lee choosing a home for us. We had stipulated that we wanted in the country, near a small town. We purchased the home first showed them, since it was in exactly the location we wanted and because my daughter informed me it was just as beautiful as the home we were in in Florida and we got it at a very reasonable price.
To our dismay we discovered our furniture would not be delivered for one week and one day. So, we prepared to "camp out" in our new home until the furniture arrived. Since they had located the home, Bob and Lee told us they would be awaiting our arrival and they did that and more!
They had the kitchen stocked with groceries (plenty of ready-to-eat food) and had even had a cake baked and decorated stating "Welcome Home, Joe and Mother," but the best part of all was the air mattress they had purchased for us.
We found new friends in the seller of the property. This lady and her fiance have been and are still being wonderful. They arrived the day before the closing (yes, they had allowed us to move in ahead of time) and Larry, the fiance, mowed the lawn so it would be nice to the very end and then on the day of the closing here they came with a TV with "rabbit ears" which they had kept in their basement for when the cable was out and along with it a card table and we have a nice clear picture of several stations. Our TV man is to arrive today to reconnect us to the entire world of TV ... but hey, it can't compare to the kindness of our children and the seller of our new home.
Donna Butche and husband Joe
North Webster
Military Retirees
Editor, Times-Union:The nation's public is under the impression that our government takes care of its career warriors. Many of these warriors feel like they are being treated as second class citizens. Second class citizens may seem like a cliche, but consider the following inequalities imposed on these warriors, their widows and family. The government has admitted in court that it made the promise of lifetime medical care to career warriors, their spouses and widows of the WW2 and Korea eras.
It was promised for over 40 years as part of delayed and earned pay for those who would serve 20 or more years in the military. The promise was made by all levels of the military hierarchy, condoned by Secretaries of Defense with such noted names as James V. Forestal and George C. Marshall, was printed in numerous government documents, all with the full knowledge of Congress.
Now, all three branches of the government refuse to honor this promise. To this day, the government continues to promise active duty military personnel excellent retirement health care benefits after 20 or more years of service. The truth is that what is being promised, and now also applies to military retirees under 65 years old, has been called by one senator "the worst health care program in the country." It is difficult and in many cases impossible for the military retirees and their families in this group to find a doctor who will accept the plan. Its lengthy shortcomings have been well documented by a military retiree group with experience with the program. Last year copies of this over-200-page documentation, paid for by the military retiree group, were hand delivered to every member of Congress and the Department of Defense. The Department of Defense disagrees with the documentation but cannot specifically refute its contents. And Congress will not enact the recommended legislation to allow the military retiree family an option to participate in the excellent health care plan offered to all other retired government employees, including themselves.
Tim Heath
Warsaw
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