(Op-ed by Peter Children)
When I write an opinion I first put on hip boots because I know I am going to have to get down and roll around with human excrement. And in addition I should get my vaccinations upgraded.
Life is a lot like a horse race, you bet on who you think will win, and I will concede to you out there in cyber space that your choice, Alex Kuhn did come in first by a wide margin; he did win…..but the citizens who live here in this small farming community….. lost. I think losing in the political arena in this town has become commonplace; Bookmeyer was a horrible error in judgement as was Turnquist…and Solberg…Hickey has only proved that a big man can be lead by the nose to do whatever Bookmeyer tells him to do. Pay attention, watch and you will see just what this freak show is capable of.
I don’t blame Tom Meyer for getting out. After handcrafting those rulings to fit Bookmeyer’s needs, he could have lost his license to practice law. Plus he had more problems than would fit in the back of a pick up truck. I personally think that the reason Meyer has not yet been replaced is because Bookmeyer is looking for some lawyer who graduated near the bottom of their class and is practically unemployable, in addition they should be in deep debt so they really can’t afford to quit.
On February 14th, 1963 I quit smoking. At that time I was operating the Red Llama and was smoking about three packs of Old Gold’s a day along with three or four cigars which I would smoke late in the evening. Needless to say, I developed a persistent cough, one that wouldn’t go away, so I went to the doctor. He told me to stop smoking for a few days and the cough would stop. He was right it did stop, but when I started smoking again the cough returned.
This then got my attention; I stopped immediately, I had 7 full packs in a carton, I did not finish the carton, I threw away the remaining cigarettes in the open pack and from that day forward, I have never smoked. There was no gum, no pills and no patches to turn to, I just quit. It proved to be unbelievably hard, I shook all over, I would wake up in the middle of the night sweating, it was sheer hell….but I did it and it took five years before the urge totally went away. Bookmeyer and Kuhn could stop boozing the same way; just find a backbone somewhere and insert it into your back. Drink water or juice, try non-alcoholic beer, for Christ’s sake get some dignity about yourself. You might be invisible in the Globe Gazette but as you found out, that privilege does not exist here.
I read the story in today’s Sunday paper which was no more than a weak attempt to clean up after the mayor. If you want the truth, Bookmeyer is a joke, stumbling drunk at the Country Club bumping into tables and slurring his words, my God fella you have a family and young children who do not deserve this sort of behavior coming from you. And Kuhn is headed down the same path. He too has a family that deserves much better, far better than he has displayed. This latest incident is going to prove to be only the first of many…all triggered by an addiction to demon. rum. Addictions are nothing to be ashamed of, but ….if not taken seriously, you could end up sleeping under the bridge along side other who chose to get in bed with the bottle.
Today’s society is much different than it was when I was young. Today we live in a electronic age with personal video recorders that both film and record….and fit in your pocket. We saw some of that when someone turned over a audio recording of Kuhn’s verbal rampage against three patrons in a local lounge.
With that in mind, I would like to ask all of you who are in possession of these devices to both film and record these incidents whenever possible and then contact NIT. I doubt the Globe Gazette would show any interest. This could be considered a “citizens task force” of sorts that might help in deterring this sort of behavior. Should there be more public displays fueled by alcohol, I think there are laws on the books that could be turned to. That failing then city wide call for resignation should be implemented.
That said, we must realize that alcohol has been in our lives for thousands of years. Some can deal with it responsibly, some cannot. There is help available to those with problems. The Globe Gazette had no problem referring to what they thought to be unruly behavior attributed to Max Weaver, but have turned a blind eye to the frequent public displays of intoxication by our Mayor. The fluff article in today’s paper is not going to sober up the Mayor…..or Alex Kuhn.
Peter Children
