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 THE SANDBOX Archive ~ 2000 (Part 5 of 5)
NOV, 2000 ~ #102, #103, #104, #105, #106, #107,
            #108, #109, #110, #111, #112, #113,
            #114, #115, #116
DEC, 2000 ~ #117, #118
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THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #102 ~ November 1, 2000

        "Every noble work is at first impossible."
                              - Carlyle

Contents:
       Growing Up In The Fifties
       Bob (Mike Clowes) Carlson '54

       Looking At Issue 100 and Dare
       Anna Durbin '69

       Our Sex Lives
       Jenny (Smart) Page `87

       Myth: Homosexuals Are born That Way
       Jimmie A. Shipman Class of "51" 

       Will Al Gore Ruin our energy supplies?
       Marc Franco  (66)

-------------------------------------------------------

Subj:    Growing Up In The Fifties
From:   Bob (Mike Clowes) Carlson '54
bobsown1@hotmail.com

    Tedd Cadd (66), writing in Sandbox Issue #99,
wondered if it is OK to write about the bad things
encountered while growing up in the fifties.  This is
as opposed to all the "feel good" memories one finds in
the Alumni Sandstorm.  I don't know, Tedd.  Yes, I'm
sure there were things going on in your life that are
not pleasant memories.  You graduated in 1966, which
meant you were born in 1948 or '49, and by the time you
got to school "THE BOMB" was the big bogey man of the
day, not to mention "The Red Menace."  And would we go
to war with the Russians?

    To be confronted which such horrendous thoughts at
an impressionable age no doubt had some effect.  To say
nothing of what television did to one's mind.

    When I started to school, Pearl Harbor had been
bombed, and things looked very bleak throughout the
world.  Would we have to learn Japanese or German?
(Depended on which coast you lived near.)  We couldn't
get all the toys we wanted because the materials to
make them were going to the "War Effort."  And the
Great Depression still lingered in the minds of many.
This was during my grade school years.

    By the time I got to high school, we wondered how
long the mess in Korea was going to last, and would we
have to go there.  My class didn't, but preceding ones
did.  Your class got in on the beginning of Vietnam,
and all that that entailed. My class missed out on the
"Sexual Revolution"; yours was in the midst of it.

    This certainly affected our separate life choices,
both immediately and future.  To be honest with you, I
don't know how many of my class served in or during the
Vietnam War.  We would have been senior noncommissioned
officers or middle grade officers.  Your class would
have been "grunts" and "shavetails' or "Hershey bar
lieutenants."  An entirely different perspective.  At
least neither of us were among the mindless s.o.b.'s
who "fought" that war from the Pentagon basement or the
"West Wing."

    Did I feel safe growing up in Richland?  Yes. Did I
feel deprived?  Not necessarily.  Did I have any idea
what the rest of the world was like?  No way.  The
first African-American to graduate started high school
in 1956, two years after I graduated.  And is Richland
still "lily-white"? Yeah, pretty much so.

    Are these pages a forum for discussing such things?
Certainly.  But, Tedd, I would draw the line at
personal things about your life or even mine. There are
still things best left unsaid.

    That's my opinion and I'm entitled to it.

           - Bob (Mike Clowes) Carlson '54

                                ~~~

Subj:    Looking At Issue 100 and Dare
From:   Anna Durbin '69
golddurb@libertynet.org

Dear Editor Al:  

I think you made a good choice about allowing the long
quotations.  I am glad to see where in the Bible people
come up with this, and I thought the Vermont piece said
a lot that needed to be said. And me too, Mike Franco.
I am trying to get hold of any studies about the
efficacy of the DARE programs in schools.  My kids have
found it a colossal waste of time, and some of the
teaching methods of the police with their guns on them
leave a lot to be desired.

Anybody want to talk about DARE? Keep up the good work.

                     - Anna Durbin '69

                               ~~~

Subj:   Our Sex Lives
From:   Jenny Smart Page `87
West Richland, WA
jpage@3-cities.com

I think the problem that many people have with the
topic of a homosexual lifestyle comes from the minority
portion of that population who find it necessary to
flaunt their sexuality and "throw" it in the public
face.  The homosexuals that I have known were all
living a very "normal" life; meaning they didn't dance
around in the street during parades wearing flamboyant
outfits, carrying "bedroom toys" and acting out sex
acts.  Its this small percentage of the alternative
lifestyle crowd that is giving them all a bad name.  I
think the vast majority of the remainder of the
population would be more tolerant of a person's chosen
lifestyle if it wasn't associated with these few
outlandish people.

Perhaps if everyone just kept their personal behavior
personal, then it wouldn't be a problem.  I won't tell
you what I do in my bedroom....you don't tell me what
you do.  And if you're a kind, honest, trustworthy,
friendly person, I'll accept and like and respect you
just like anyone else.

  Jenny Smart Page (87) ~ West Richland, WA

                                 ~~~

Subj:  Myth: Homosexuals Are born That Way
From:   Jimmie A. Shipman Class of  "51" 
Richland, WA
JAS_RDAS@email.msn.com

Where to start?

Lets try this:

As a Christian I take a stand against the sin of
homosexuality as stated in the Bible period. Not the
person.  I don't believe in the bashing of the people
practicing homosexual acts, but I do believe
heterosexual people have the right to voice their
opinions about the homosexual acts they indulge in. God
will deal with the homosexual in his way. I have very
deep feelings for the parents of homosexuals that have
spoken out here and elsewhere, regarding their
children's sexual preference.  It will be worth your
time to ponder these words.

ARE HOMOSEXUALS BORN THAT WAY?

A popular MYTH believed by many in society and the
church today is that HOMOSEXUALS ARE BORN THAT WAY. Gay
advocates have done a remarkably effective job of
promoting this myth in an age where any assertion
backed by an appeal to science is received uncritically
as truth.

The truth is that there is NO scientific evidence that
there is a "gay gene" or that anyone is born gay. The
National Association for Research and Therapy of
Homosexuality in a recent fact sheet states, "there is
no evidence that shows that homosexuality is genetic.
And none of the research claims there is. Only the
press and certain researchers do when speaking in sound
bites to the public."

At the same time, a number of interesting studies in
the past decade have attempted to demonstrate that,
while there is no evidence of a gay gene, there might
be some type of genetic influence toward homosexuality
in some people. This would not mean they are born
homosexual, but that it would be easier for them to
become homosexual in orientation IF certain
environmental factors are present. However, none of
these studies with the more modest claims has survived
the scrutiny of other researchers or been replicated by
another group of scientists, as is necessary if a study
is to be credible.

It is important that research continue. Since we live
in a fallen world, genetic brokenness is part of our
lot, as has been demonstrated in certain physical
disorders. If there were a direct genetic component in
the homosexual inclination, it would be interesting to
know it. However, even if there were a genetic element
in some people that tilted them toward homosexuality,
1) it would not result in a homosexual orientation
without certain environmental factors being present, 2)
it would not change God's mind about the sinfulness of
acting on that disorientation, and 3) it would not
change the fact that CHANGE IS POSSIBLE!

In Conclusion We feel a river analogy best illustrates
what really happens. We believe God designed human
sexuality to flow between two well-defined banks called
heterosexuality. However, by dropping many rocks into
the river, a dam can form which will divert the flow in
another direction.  Homosexuality is one direction the
water may flow. The rocks can be named family
dysfunction, sexual abuse, rejection, sibling rivalry,
peer pressure, personal traits, poor modeling of
masculinity and femininity, etc. It would not be
correct to try to extract only one rock and make it
solely responsible. In fact, in our opinion, that would
be another grave oversimplification.

http://www.ewm.org/essay_bible.htm 

God Bless
Now go have a good day.

Regards:
Jimmie A. Shipman

                                ~~~

Subj:   Will Al Gore Ruin our energy supplies?
From:   Marc Franco   (66)
mfranco@uswest.net

Mary Ray Henslee had quite a diatribe about the
 possibility of Al Gore possibly causing our cars to
 no longer drive, because we have used up our
 rations, our economy will crash and we will have
 no jobs (seemingly Mary Ray is ignoring that the
 Democrats have just presided over 8 years of
 brilliant economy- no matter, apparently, Gore will
 apparently ruin what Clinton could not- or maybe I
 am misunderstanding), our trucks will be unable to
 roll to get food to grocery stores, our fighter
 planes will have no fuel, and we will no longer be a
 world power because we have  not developed our
 energy sources.

    WOW! This is frightening stuff. Actually, I think
 somebody is a little hysterical. For one thing, I am
 unaware of what the administrations of Reagan
 and Bush did to advance our development of new
 energy sources.  Perhaps Mary Ray Henslee could
 enlighten us.

    Second, it is indeed ironic that she is criticizing
 Gore so heavily, and meanwhile her own
 candidate- Bush- and indeed his father as well did
 the same- is still refusing to believe that human
 economic activity is magnifying the greenhouse
 effect. Nine years of the past decade were
 successively the warmest on record, the Arctic ice
 pack is 40 % thinner than it was in the 1950's, the
 ozone layer is showing holes all over the place,
 estimates are that worldwide temperatures will rise
 6- 10 degrees over the next century- a
 PHENOMENAL occurrence. I wonder what that
 will do the coastlines around the world as the ice
 pack melts further. We are already seeing vicious
 storms and floods occurring with increasing
 regularity. The heating has already begun. What
 does Bush say about this- well, it needs more
 study- the same thing his father said ten years ago
 when there was a chance to sign an environmental
 treaty to limit some of the pollutants that lead to
 the greenhouse effect. Bush Sr. did not want to
 limit economic activity, and therefore said it needs
 more study. Bush the Younger is saying exactly
 the same thing.

  I suggest that Mary Ray Henslee try to limit her
 hysteria about Gore (fighter planes running out of
 fuel- indeed)! and start worrying about problems
 that are already here and which her candidate is
 seemingly unaware of.

   Also, she made a little dig at environmentalists
 and called them extremists. No doubt that some of
 them are- the ones who put spikes in trees to
 sabotage loggers, etc.- yes, those are extremists.
 The fact is that Republicans are not very good at
 environmental affairs. Even everybody's favorite
 Conservative on this board has admitted to me in a
 private conversation that the Republicans do not
 do well with environmental affairs.  For Mary Ray
 Henslee do dismiss environmentalists as extremists
 is once again an example of hysteria. Yes, there are
 some extremists is the group, but that is true in
 almost all groups. Most environmentalists are
 pretty normal people. Perhaps Mary Ray could
 make a list of environmental bills that Republicans
 have sponsored that she finds adequate.

                   - Marc Franco   (66)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That concludes this issue of THE SANDBOX folks. Please
include your class year and maiden name, (if applicable),
in all correspondence and subscription requests.  You may
also include your current locale if you wish.  It's easy
to join us in the ongoing conversations here.  Just send
your comments to: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com!  We are the 
Alumni of Richland High School, Richland Washington,
AKA Columbia High School, representing classes from 1942
through 2000. Visit the THE SANDBOX website.

Al Parker (53)
Shippenville, PA
Your SANDBOX Host
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                             - 102 -
***************************************
***************************************

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THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #103 ~ November 3, 2000

  "Learning without thought is labor lost; thought
      without learning is perilous" --Confucius

Contents:

       Speaking of Diatribes
       Andee (Creighton) Mansfield (67)

       Gore "misstatements"
       Tedd Cadd (66)

       Defending The Energy Issue
       Mary Ray Henslee (61)

       Homosexuality can be Corrected
       Vern Blanchette (64)

__________________________________________

Subj:   Speaking of Diatribes
From:   Andee (Creighton) Mansfield (67)
andeelm@yahoo.com

RE: Mike Franco's Missive

Oh, brother! Speaking of diatribes! It seems that, once
again, liberals must use name-calling when faced with
an opposing view. Obviously we who are conservative are
naive, lacking in intelligence, misguided, and/or
hysterical. It makes me tired.

         Andee (Creighton) Mansfield (67)

                              ~~~

Subj:   Gore "mis-statements"
From:   Tedd Cadd (66)  tedd.cadd@pnl.gov

One very well documented source for various statements
Gore has termed "mis-statements" or "Got the details
wrong" is with the widely respected National Review page.

For example, the true quote behind the misquote that
Gore claimed to have discovered the Love Canal thing
was that he claimed to have held the first hearings on
it.  He did hold hearings on it, but only after the
president had declared it a disaster area.

                       - Tedd Cadd (66)

The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life.                          
  Proverbs 15:4

                                 ~~~

Subj:  Defending The Energy Issue
From:  Mary Ray Henslee (61)  Mah@satx.net

To:  Marc Franco (66), Issue 102

I think that you read a lot into what I wrote that
wasn't really there.  Maybe I just didn't express
myself clearly.  Obviously party affiliation is
important to you.  I personally do not lean toward one
party or the other.  I vote for the person and current
issues.  I voted for Clinton in the last two elections.
Would I do it again knowing what I do today? Probably
not.  The covering up continues to this day.  If Gore
gets elected we will have to live through the
investigation of his secret pact with Russia allowing
them to sell arms to Iran because that will not be
completed until after the election due to cover-ups.
We will have to live through the investigation of his
campaign funding, which is going on right now.  We will
possibly have to live through the mole issue, which is
still under investigation.  It is time for a change in
my opinion.

I don't really know what Reagan or Bush Sr.'s policies
were and I don't feel like that is an issue since they
are in the distant past and not a part of this
election.  The difference between Gore and Bush is what
is at stake in this election.  Bush wants to develop an
energy plan of our own so that we are not dependent on
foreign sources.  If we had our own adequate supply of
oil and natural gas we would have control over supply
and demand.  We would also have control over the threat
to our environment, which we don't have when the
exploring and refining is done in foreign countries.
Like I pointed out in my last entry, the pollutants are
all going into the same atmosphere whether we are
operating in our own backyard or someone else's.  As
turbulent as things are in the Middle East it is not
far-fetched to think that we could be short-circuited
by adversaries, which would be detrimental to our
national security and economy.

The fact that Clinton just went into our strategic
reserve and then had to send the oil off to a foreign
country to be refined should be a wake up call.  Do you
wait until it rains to fix your roof?  Exploring for
oil and building refineries is not something that can
be done overnight.  If you will take note, Gore has not
stressed the environment in this campaign very much
except to criticize Texas cities.  I am sure that he
does not want to be questioned on his lack of an energy
policy.  It might be noted that the weather plays a big
role in determining the pollution level on any given
day in any given place. At times weather conditions
cause pollutants to build up over an area instead of
clearing it away. For this reason it is ludicrous for
Gore to compare cities pollution levels.  Take readings
on ozone days in any city and they can be deemed the
worst polluted city.  Houston has a climate that is
conducive to pollution.

Developing our own energy resources is an issue that
must be handled delicately by the candidates because of
environmentalist's outcries.  It is a damned if you do
and damned if you don't situation.  The scenarios that
I mentioned are not hysteria, but real possibilities if
we should be faced with a catastrophic shortage.  Bush
has not been afraid to take a stand and say that he
plans to begin exploration in Alaska.  I really don't
think that exploring for oil and gas in Alaska is going
to be a problem except to those who want to make it a
problem.  You can't please all of the people all of the
time.  Sometimes environmentalists with good intentions
have tunnel vision, which can be counter-productive.
There must be a line drawn in the sand somewhere if we
are to remain a strong country.

A very good example is the water shortage in San
Antonio that I mentioned in my last entry.  When the
water level in our aquifer got low enough to endanger
the salamanders, the city dictated that there would be
no more watering of lawns and warned that there would
be armed water patrols looking for water wasters.  The
people of San Antonio decided that maybe it was better
to sacrifice a few salamanders than their lawns and
their foundations.  Sometimes there is no equitable
compromise when it comes to our needs and the
environment.  Gore is not blasting Bush for wanting to
drill for oil in Alaska because of the pollution, but
rather because of upsetting nature.

You sound as hysterical about global warming, as you
are accusing me of being over the prospect of a major
oil shortage.  It is evident that both problems have
serious future consequences if not addressed
immediately.  Your concern about one and not the other
doesn't make sense to me.  The fact that Gore is
concerned about one and not the other doesn't make
sense to me either.  Bush will address both problems,
while we already know that Gore will only address one
problem even though we have energy resources that can
easily be tapped.  Exactly what do you think should be
done about global warming that Bush will not do?  Do
you want the government to mandate how many children we
should have, how many cars we are allowed per family, a
halt to new businesses that poise any threat to the
environment, no more gas lawn mowers, no more outside
barbecues, no more airlines in the sky, etc.  The EPA
is already implementing so many restrictions that it
won't be long before we cannot afford to buy anything
that requires the EPA's stamp of approval.  Just how
much more can be done?  Do scientists really know what
is causing global warming?  Why aren't they more vocal
on the issue?  How long has there been a hole in the
ozone layer?  What types of pollutants contribute to
global warming?  Weather patterns have been changing
all throughout history so this is nothing new.  Just
maybe we don't know all that there is to know.  If Gore
and Clinton have done such a good job of cleaning up
our environment then why is the problem with the ozone
layer and global warming getting worse instead of
better as you say?  Have Gore and Clinton limited human
economic activity for the sake of the environment as
you say Reagan and Bush Sr. refused to do and now
George W. Bush following in their footsteps will refuse
to do (I am really not sure exactly what you mean by
human economic activity, but maybe others do)?  Did
Clinton and Gore sign an environmental treaty to limit
some of the pollutants that you say Bush Sr. would not
sign and if so what countries are involved?  Just
asking because I really think that something this
critical should be bipartisan. 
My plea is just that we have our own energy sources.
Obviously our strategic reserve was put into place for
a reason, but it will only serve as a temporary fix if
needed and maybe not even that if it can't be refined.
Let's not become our own worst enemy by not having the
foresight to do what is necessary to maintain our
economy and national security.  We can make sacrifices
in other areas that are less crucial to our lives. 
We are all environmentalists in that we all want clean
air and we all want to preserve our countryside and the
animals that inhabit it for future generations.  The
problem comes when some people want to stand in the way
of our basic needs in the name of the environment.
Some are just blindsided by their own good intentions
and some are extremists who will always be looking for
a cause whether it is the environment or some other
popular cause.

I don't think Gore is responsible for our economy over
the last 8 years.  To the contrary he is threatening
our economy by refusing to address the energy issue and
by waging attacks on the fortune 500.  He is a leader
who wants to engulf the people, not stand with the
people. 

If you are opposed to drilling for oil in this country,
then Gore is your man because I don't think that he
will take the initiative to do so until forced to do so
when it may be too late.  

                  - Mary Ray Henslee (61)

                                ~~~

Subj:  Homosexuality can be Corrected
From:  Vern Blanchette  (68)  vernon@digital.net

I have followed the Sandbox exchanges about homosexuals
and would like to add what I know. Like Patricia Keeney
we have a son who has declared himself "gay."  Because
of our love for our son we have made a study of this
issue, doing much reading and attending both "Love Won
Out" conferences and PFLAG meetings.  So here are my
comments, especially for Patricia Keeney, and each of
you can decide if what I say sounds like truth.

One of the things that happens when a person undergoes
a tragedy in their life is a tendency to get locked
into one of the phases of recovery from the hurt and
pain.  For some it is anger, for some depression, for
some it is denial.  I have found that for many parents
of children who practice homosexual acts denial is
Novocain for the heart. It is used to numb one's mind
to the gut wrenching horror of the idea that our loved
one could deviate so far from normal, healthy behavior.
Key to this denial is the choice by the parent to
believe that the acts their kids are now doing are
"normal" and that they have "no control" over who they
are.

I have seen this often in parents of kids gone astray.
They "find" reasons to explain away the behavior, to
justify it.  In the case of kids who practice
homosexuality, this has evolved into an entire
subculture of deception and politically correct myth.
After a myth is repeated often enough it is believed as
reality.  And after a myth is accepted as being "truth"
then other problems arise.  They always do arise when
one has not gotten to the root of the pain (in this
case the fact that our kid's behavior really is
horribly dysfunctional).  One of the most common of
these "other problems" is a tendency for the parent-in-
denial to rail against people with moral standards.
You see, if I can convince myself that my kid's mind
and behavior are okay, and that the real problem is
people who read and believe the Bible, not only does my
pain go away but now I feel righteous!  "I must fight
these evil bigots that say my child is screwed up!"
That is why we find parents of kids who do homosexual
acts living out a fierce anger against practicing
Christians.  That is why Patricia can write "My
firstborn son started suffering at the hands of the
moral little thugs from your moral, upright families
from the time he was in the first grade." That is hurt
and anger coming out, but it is misdirected.  Sure
those kids were wrong, but the energy of anger should
be directed at finding and correcting the dysfunction
in one's own offspring. Helping a child out of
homosexuality is real love, tough and difficult yes,
but real love.

Amazingly, there actually is a psychological
explanation of and a reparative therapy for the
dysfunction "homosexuality."  The cure is difficult and
few work at it precisely because it is a painful,
sometimes long process to go through (but then, so is
AIDS a long, painful process).  It is painful for the
homosexual because they must first admit that the acts
they are doing really are dysfunctional and do not lead
to the lasting, loving relationships they seek.  They
must see that the "gay" lifestyle really is unhealthy.
Like a recovering alcoholic, or a recovering substance
abuser, the homosexual desiring to exit this sexual
addiction lifestyle will have to be willing to battle
the dysfunctional urges every day.  My wife and I know
this to be true because we have talked to several
people who are working through exactly this process.
And they are succeeding!  In fact, the literature I
have read says that the percentage of homosexuals who
undergo reparative therapy and stay out of the "gay"
lifestyle is higher than that for recovering
alcoholics.  And please understand, a homosexual coming
out of that lifestyle does not just stop doing
homosexual acts.  The reparative therapy allows them to
develop fulfilling, heterosexual, long term
relationships, including building a family.  Those who
get there never want to go back.  In fact, it is those
individuals who can most clearly articulate the evils
of the lifestyle. They no longer have any reason to
hide the dark side and pretend that their acts are
"normal."

Homosexuality is basically a sexual addiction born out
of what the psychologists call "Gender Identity
Crisis."  This "Gender Identity Crisis" usually results
from the child-parent relationship (or lack of it).
The environment the child is raised in also plays a
part.  Incipient homosexuality can be corrected easily
if caught at an early age.  There is not enough Sandbox
to explain the psychology and pathologies of it all.
However, if you are open to learning something new
which you can then decide is or is not truth, then I
recommend you expand your reading beyond the books you
will find at a PFLAG meeting (Parents and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays).  (My wife and I found those
meetings to be lead and run by gays who limit the
information flow to their own beliefs.)  Read books
written by ex-gays, such as "A Strong Delusion" by Joe
Dallas, or "Coming Out of Homosexuality" by Bob Davies
and Lori Rentzel. Read books about the dark side of the
lifestyle such as "The Unhappy Gays" by Tim LaHaye.  Or
more scientific works such as "My Genes Made Me Do it!"
by Neil and Briar Whitehead.  (All these available
through Amazon.com).  Find and attend a "Love Won Out"
conference sponsored by "Focus on the Family."  Only
then will you be able to form an intelligent, educated
decision about this subject.

As for my wife and I and our family, we are Christians
who do our best to follow the teachings of Jesus.  We
have not, do not, will not mistreat, or allow our
children to mistreat, persons who choose to do
homosexual acts.  Our Lord would not allow that.
However, Jesus would speak the truth as He did to the
woman at the well. (Remember He said to her, "Go, and
sin no more.")  If we love our son can we do any less?
We would not be loving parents if we did not continue
to love him, welcome him in our home, and yet continue
to try to help him see what has really happened and
bring him out of his dysfunction.  This can be done in
a loving, gentle manner.  Our loving hope is, with
God's help, to someday bounce our son's kids, our
grandchildren, on our knees, and to see the love of his
children in our son's eyes!  The alternative, the
lifestyle he has so far chosen, will only lead to a
lonely, empty, unfulfilled man with a history of
hundreds of failed, lust driven relationships, rejected
by his peers because he is no longer desirable.  Why
would any loving parent abandon their child to that
living hell?
                  - Vern Blanchette  (68)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That concludes this issue of THE SANDBOX folks. Please
include your class year and maiden name, (if applicable),
in all correspondence and subscription requests.  You may
also include your current locale if you wish.  It's easy
to join us in the ongoing conversations here.  Just send
your comments to: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com!  We are the 
Alumni of Richland High School, Richland Washington,
AKA Columbia High School, representing classes from 1942
through 2000. Visit the THE SANDBOX website.

Al Parker (53)
Shippenville, PA
Your SANDBOX Host
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                             - 103-
***************************************
***************************************

********************************************
THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #104 ~ November 4, 2000

"I know a wise man who had for a byword, when he saw men
hasten to a conclusion, "stay a little that we may come
to the end sooner." --Bacon

Contents:

      No Disrespect Intended
      Gene Trosper (84 wb)

      On The Lighter Side
      Mary Ray Henslee (61)

      Putting Beliefs Aside, A Town Called
      Hades, and the Salmon Are Spawning Again.
      Bob Mattson 64

      Public Schools, Morality, and School Vouchers
      Robert W. Epler (80WB)

      You Go, Girl!
      Kathy Hodgson Lucas (76)

-------------------------------------------------------

No Disrespect Intended
From:   Gene Trosper (84 wb)
gtrosper@ez2.net

No disrespect intended, but this whole argument over
homosexuality is really ridiculous. On one side, you
have the upright citizens denigrating gay men and women,
arguing their lifestyle can be changed and on the other,
you have homosexuals and their supporters making some
(at times) flimsy scientific statements which
"legitimizes" their lifestyle.

Both sides are wrong and ought to knock it off.

To those who oppose homosexuality: If you don't want
homosexuals trying to "convert" you, then quit trying to
"convert" them to heterosexuality. Have some respect for
your fellow human beings. Not only that, it's a losing
battle. G-d created man, who is essentially a sinful
creature. Sin is inherent in all mankind since Adam and
Eve were banished from the garden. You must let humans
be as they are. You may pray for them and attempt to
witness, but do not force your chosen lifestyle upon
other who do not want to accept it. The Bible states
that the road to heaven is narrow while the road to hell
is wide. Don't obsess over trying to mold people into
your own likeness. G-d already did that with mankind. I
happen to believe that the majority of homosexuality is
a chosen lifestyle, but so what? There are many other
sins in this world, some which G-d has deemed much more
serious in nature.

What would Jesus do? He would tell the homosexuals to
"go and sin no more," just as he had instructed Mary
Magdaline, the prostitute. Oh yes, he also espoused the
following:

 "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none
other commandment greater than these."

To homosexuals and their supporters: So what if
homosexuality is a chosen lifestyle or not? So long as
you lead your life peacefully, you should demand others
simply leave you alone. If someone thinks you are living
a sinful life, accept that and move on. Remember, some
of the loudest yelling Christians have some pretty
sinful skeletons in their closet!

Jenny Smart Page, who appears to be a very devout and
sincere Christian, wrote a fantastic reply to the
homosexual topic which more Christians ought to adopt:
Respect. It would be nice if the fringes of
homosexuality would do the same thing and respect others
also.

My two and a half cents.

                   --Gene Trosper (84 wb)
                                ~~~

Subj:  On The Lighter Side
From:  Mary Ray Henslee (61)
Mah@satx.net

Virtually anyone can be a Democrat.  Just simply quit
thinking and vote that way.  But if you want to be a
GOOD Democrat, there are some prerequisites you must
have first.  Compare the list below and see how to rate
well.

1.  You have to believe that the same teacher who can't
teach fourth graders how to read is somehow qualified to
teach those same kids about sex.

2.  You have to believe that guns, in the hands of law-
abiding Americans, are more of a threat than U.S.
nuclear weapons technology, in the hands of Chinese
Communists.

3.  You have to believe that global temperatures are
less affected by cyclical, documented changes in the
earth's climate, and more affected by yuppies driving
SUV's.

4.  You have to be against capital punishment, but
support abortion on demand.

5.  You have to believe that businesses create
oppression and governments create prosperity.

6.  You have to believe that hunters don't care about
nature, but loony activists from Seattle do.

7.  You have to believe that self-esteem is more
important than actually doing something to earn it.

8.  You have to believe that the military, not corrupt
politicians, start wars.

9.  You have to believe that the NRA is bad, because it
supports certain parts of the Constitution, while the
ACLU is good, because it supports certain parts of the
Constitution.

10.  You have to believe that taxes are too low, but ATM
fees are too high.

11.  You have to believe that Margaret Sanger and Gloria
Steinmen are more important to American history than
Thomas Jefferson, Gen. Robert E. Lee or Thomas Edison.  

12.  You have to believe that standardized tests are
racist, but racial quotas and set-asides aren't.

13.  You have to believe that Hillary Clinton is really
a lady.

14.  You have to believe that the only reason socialism
hasn't worked anywhere that it has been tried, is
because the right people haven't been in charge.

15.  You have to believe that Republicans telling the
truth belong in jail, but a liar and sex offender
belongs in the White House.

16.  You have to believe that illegal Democratic Party
funding by the Chinese is somehow in the best interest
of the United States.

                    Mary Ray Henslee (61)
                                  ~~~

Subj:   Putting Beliefs Aside, A Town Calle Hades,
     and the Salmon Are Spawning Again.
From:   Bob Mattson 64
Rmat683939@aol.com

Well, I'm not a Christian, thank God, although I was
raised a Catholic during my life in Richland. But
there's something in that it was Adam and Eve, not Adam
and Steve, if you believe that story. Anyway, a police
chief in Portland is on the hot seat because of his
Christian beliefs about homosexuality. But he says he
can put that aside and not let it influence him while
with the force. He stated that Aids is a result of
decaying moral standards and that millions of HIV people
will die because we are becoming a lawless, valueless
society, so much that we move toward that day
alternative lifestyles used for certain forms of
perversion will become the norm. With his head on the
block, he stated that he has learned that respect for
all people and their views and is essential to public
life. He asks for tolerance for his faith and beliefs.
Just like the others ask for, hummmmmm. As for me, I
find it comfortable treating each person as one in hopes
they will respect me as well, too simple? I don't know
any other way to break it down. Not real sure about
Heaven, but being able to take an afternoon nap is right
up there.

I found out that Hades was a small town outside Rome where the garbage was hauled and burned. And when the kids of that day would misbehave their parents would threaten them with a ride to the Hades dump and burn. Another urban myth down in flames. 

Dozens of native salmon have arrived and are spawning in the creek beds out front of the cabin, just as nature has intended, it's all so simple.

It's all about love and respect, 

                       - Bob Mattson 64
                                 ~~~

Subj:   Public Schools, Morality, and School Vouchers   
From: Robert W. Epler (80WB) ~ Bend, Oregon
ERosebud5@aol.com

Should public schools be involved with teaching
morality?  In the SANDBOX issue 100, Mike Franco wrote,
"Let's not burden our teachers with any more of the
policing, feeding, child raising, morals promoting that
we currently bury them under.  Many of my closest pals
are teachers and the last thing they desire is to get
into the morals business."

Regardless of how one feels about this question,
teaching morality is absolutely unavoidable if one is to
effectively teach any subject.  "Morality" is defined in
Webster's Dictionary as "of, pertaining to, or concerned
with right conduct or the distinction between right and
wrong."  So in essence, the last thing teachers desire
is to have to teach their students the distinction
between right and wrong.  I'm sure this is true.  After
all, we can't even totally agree on what IS right and
wrong any-more.  How can a teacher teach any morals
without alienating or enraging those with a different
set of morals?  The answer: teach no morals at all.  Of
course, that is ludicrous at best. To teach effectively,
one must have order and discipline in the classroom.
Therefore, teaching the distinction between right and
wrong becomes imperative.  But how can we do this when
so few seem to agree on what those morals should be? For
those of us who believe traditional, time-tested values
should be taught, school vouchers might be the answer.
Clearly, public schools are not.

In the "Good-Old-Days," most Americans agreed on what
was right and wrong; the schools reinforced this too.
But as Mr. Franco put it, "The good old days are just
that...old and in the past." The culture has changed and
the schools have changed with it.  Those of us who stick
by traditional values find we now have to protect our
children FROM the culture.  Do not doubt there is a
culture war in America.  The battle is no more apparent
than in the public schools.  Instead of discouraging
immoral behavior in our young, they now reward it.  I
know.  Many of you are probably asking, "When do schools
ever reward immoral behavior?"  One example is our local
high school which now has a daycare center within its
halls. Within the last 4 years at this high school, over
one hundred teen girls have had babies out of wedlock.
When I went to high school in the late 70's, I can't
think of even one girl getting pregnant.  I'm not
suggesting that it never happened, but I am suggesting
that it was a rare occurrence.  Though, I'm sure there
are some who feel a daycare in our schools is a great
thing; I think quite the opposite. While we, as a
society, have tried to lessen the consequences of the
immorality of our children, it encourages more of it to
take place.  We seem to be shortsighted in this regard.
The long term consequences of tolerating sexual
immorality is seen in unwanted pregnancies, sexual
diseases, AIDS, abortion, stressed-out lives, and
destroyed dreams.

Pam Jewett-Bullock asked a very good question in SANDBOX
issue 95.  She asked, "If we HAD BEEN more effective in
our teaching tolerance and acceptance, would we still
face the realities of such tragedies as the one at
Columbine High School in Colorado last year?"

I contend that we have been far too tolerant in our
public schools.  And it is the toleration of bad
behavior that has led to the increase of amoral youths.
Case in point, the Columbine murderers were strolling
the school hallways calling, "Hiel Hitler" (complete
with a nazi salute), long before their twisted
philosophy saw its destructive and horrifying fruition.
Those kids exhibited all kinds of antisocial behavior
before they murdered.  And it was all tolerated.  People
didn't like it much, but they tolerated it.  If we
tolerate the little things, you can bet the big things
will be right around the corner.  Where do we set the
limits in tolerating antisocial behavior?  Our modern,
diverse culture can no longer agree. 

Once again, I think the best solution out there
concerning our schools, is the voucher program. Many
believe that it would hurt our public schools. I think
competition can only improve them.  We should be
concerned with giving our kids the best education.  If a
school teaches, "Jesus is Lord" and is far surpassing
the public schools in test scores and SAT's, why is that
a problem?  It will only make the public schools want to
fight to improve their students scores so they can
compete for federal tax money.  And parents would be
able to send their kids to a school that would reinforce
the morals taught at home.  If a parent wanted to send
their kids to a school that promoted humanism, relative
morals, and so on, they can send their kids to that
school.  But I don't think such a school could compete
for long.  Children thrive on order. Order is necessary
for teaching effectively.  Morals create order.  School
vouchers would give parents the freedom to use tax
dollars to send their kids where traditional morals are
taught.  There is only one of the presidential
candidates who is in favor of school choice.  We have an
opportunity to make a difference on Nov. 7th for our
culture.  George W. is the ticket for change.

                  Robert W. Epler (80WB)
                                 ~~~

Subj:   You Go, Girl!
From:  Kathy Hodgson Lucas (76) ~ Richland, WA
KATHLUC@aol.com

To Mary Ray Henslee (61)
Re: your Sandbox #103 entry

I sure don't know why I felt the need to add my two
cents in response to Marc Franco's (66) entry reacting
to yours.  You did an eloquent job yourself and didn't
call anyone any names.  You go, girl!

                 Kathy Hodgson Lucas (76)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That concludes this issue of THE SANDBOX folks. Please
include your class year and maiden name, (if applicable),
in all correspondence and subscription requests.  You may
also include your current locale if you wish.  It's easy
to join us in the ongoing conversations here.  Just send
your comments to: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com!  We are the 
Alumni of Richland High School, Richland Washington,
AKA Columbia High School, representing classes from 1942
through 2000. Visit the THE SANDBOX website.

Al Parker (53)
Shippenville, PA
Your SANDBOX Host
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                             - 104 -
***************************************
***************************************

********************************************
THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #105 ~ November 5, 2000

"I don't like to talk much with people who always
 agree with me.  It is amusing to coquette with an
 echo for a little while, but one soon tires of it. 
                             --Carlyle

Contents:

       Environmental Scare Tactics
       Kathy Hodgson Lucas (76)

       DARE & What Teachers Face Every Day
       Peggy (Roesch) Wallan '71

       Larry Flynt Offers Judge Starr a Job With                  
       Hustler Magazine.

       Heartfelt But Flawed
       Anna Durbin '69

-------------------------------------------------------

Subj:   Environmental Scare Tactics
From:   Kathy Hodgson Lucas (76)
Richland, WA
KATHLUC@aol.com

In response to Marc Franco's (66) diatribe against Mary
Ray Henslee's opinions of Gore and the extremist
environmentalists.  

First, we do face the very real possibility of losing
our fuel supply, gasoline, jet fuel, heating oil, and a
host of other petroleum products due to our over-
dependency on the volatile, unstable and anti-American
Middle East.  We are at their whim, as evidenced by the
present price increases and the effects they are having
on our supplies, on our way of life.  The extremist
environmentalists would have you believe that this
dependency and any subsequent crises would in no way
mitigate possible environmental effects of tapping our
own geological reserves.  Despite what Gore and his
cronies spout, our military is lacking in crucial
training exercises today, due to the cost of fuel, so
your label of hysterical in regard to this concern is
unwarranted and offensive.  Talk to the military
enlistees themselves, not Clinton/Gore's "politically
correct" spokespeople.

Second, the so-called greenhouse effect has not been
proven to be man-made.  Period.  The extremist
environmentalists have been playing Chicken Little for
over twenty years now and we still do not have a
consensus of credible science that indicates that the
warming trend we see is not a natural phenomenon caused
by colossal cosmic forces beyond human control.
Evidence exists of carbon dioxide increases occurring in
the geological past, without the help of human industry.
By taking measures of Carbon-14 in trees up to 5000
years old, twelve prolonged periods of either unusually
cold or unusually mild winters have been identified.
According to this theory, the mid-twentieth century was
an unusually warm period and the earth may be soon
entering a slow return to cooler temperatures.  The so-
called "hole" in the ozone is another confusion ridden
subject as the hole itself undergoes 15% natural
fluctuations both seasonally and latitudinally and
sometimes only persists for a few weeks.  World
production of CFC peaked at 1.1 million tons per year,
equivalent to 750,000 tons of chlorine, and 300 million
tons reach the atmosphere each year through evaporation
of sea water alone. Mount Erebus has been erupting
constantly for the last 100 years ejecting more than
1000 tons of chlorine per day.  In other words, how much
of today's environmental concerns are natural or man-
made?  Perhaps further study is better than acting on
insufficient evidence.  Nine years of the last decade of
being warmest on record is hardly sufficient evidence.

As far as hysteria is concerned, look to the
environmental extremists who give all environmentalists
a bad name.  Actually, all of us are environmentalists
of a sort.  All of us want clean air and water and a
safe future for the earth. But some of us aren't moved
to premature knee-jerk reactions in the name of
political correctness.

If Gore wasn't such a bad joke, I'd feel the need to
defend Bush and Bush Sr, but Gore's record of abandoning
principle, misrepresenting facts, exaggerating his
opposition, in fact, downright lying his head off,
speaks for itself.

              Kathy Hodgson Lucas (76)
                             ~~~

Subj:   DARE & What Teachers Face Every Day
From:   Peggy (Roesch) Wallan '71
plroesch@earthlink.net

In my little podunk school district of Eatonville (2/3
of which is Mt Rainier National Park), we have Ranger
Nina do our DARE lessons.  (She is a ranger at MRNP; it
is not required that an armed cop teach DARE.)  Ranger
Nina is a very nice young woman, who does not wear a
gun, but she does wear hiking boots.  She establishes a
rapport with our fifth graders, which is great ... but I
can't help thinking: the efficacy or lack thereof of
programs like DARE aside, I sure wish some of the
parents of those kids worked as hard as Ranger Nina does
at establishing a good role model for their kids.  Too
many of these kids just run wild - on their own while
both parents working to make ends meet or because it's
their way to personal fulfillment or it's a one parent
home or whatever, or -- too often -- the parents are
doing drugs themselves and really don't give a !#$%^&*
about their children showing up at school in clean,
appropriate clothes, respectful of authority and elders,
shored up with nutritious meals and minimal TV time and
solid family time etc etc etc

*sigh*  I wish for the day when the families take back
their rights and duties to RAISE THEIR KIDS, and let us
teachers get back to teaching.  

And for all you parents who jump in here and say, "Oh,
but we do...": My dears, for every one of you that does,
there is at least one who doesn't. That's the kind of
classroom your children are in, that's what we teachers
face every day.  And as long as people keep jumping ship
into private schools or home school, the ratio gets more
grim.  

Which is why I think about retirement EVERY day. Or just
quitting.  
               Peggy (Roesch) Wallan '71
                            ~~~

Subj: Larry Flynt Offers Judge Starr a Job With Hustler Magazine.
From:    Andrew Eckert (54)
ECKERT1108@aol.com

[Moderator's Note: We are unable to quote the entire
letter from Flynt to Starr in the space available here,
but Eckert sites the following website as the source for
the letter in it's entirety.]
http://www.hustler.com/preview/starrjob.html 

[First Excerpt:

September 22, l998
The Honorable Judge Kenneth Starr
Office of Independent Counsel
1001 Pennsylvania Ave N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20004

Dear Judge Starr:

Let me take this opportunity to thank you on behalf of
all the employees at Hustler magazine and LFP, Inc. for
your tireless work in producing the Starr Report. I have
been impressed by the salacious and voyeuristic
materials in your work. The quality and quantity of
material you have assembled in your report contains more
pornographic references than those provided by Hustler
Online services this month. I have included a chart in
this letter that confirms this fact.

2d excerpt:

Please let me know when you or any of your
representatives can sit down with me and discuss if you
are interested in making a valuable contribution to
promoting the First Amendment through Hustler magazine.
As far as compensation and relocation issues are
concerned, please do not be concerned. You are a
valuable asset who needs to be well compensated.

Respectfully yours,
Larry Flynt

End of excerpts]

I was very disgusted with Starr's forcing every man,
woman, and child to hear and see this material, nobody
was given a choice. The right wing tried to destroy the
man whom we elected, Twice.  These people have not and
will never get the point ... If you want the White House
then find and put up a credible candidate. Don't just
attempt to destroy the other candidate to get his job.
I'm appalled that the polls show these two men so close
when there are worlds between there abilities and
experience, God help us if we elect Bush.  What about
his drug use, what about his brother Neil and the S&Ls,
I guess we will be hearing all of those stories after
Nov. 7th.
               Do vote your conscience.
                  Andrew Eckert (54)
                            ~~~

Subj:   Heartfelt But Flawed
From:  Anna Durbin '69  golddurb@libertynet.org

Vern Blanchette:

I am sorry that what sounds to me like propaganda has
taken you in.  I know many gays and lesbians with
lifelong monogamous relationships who have beautiful
families.  And many have given their parents
grandchildren, either by adoption or artificial
insemination. Others are the treasured childless aunts
and uncles who provide loving havens and family care to
nieces and nephews.  

And I know that you know many heterosexuals who have
gone through endless divorces and messed up their lives,
even though they are the majority (what you seem to
designate as "normal" because it is majority) culture.  

I do not recall Jesus ever condemning homosexuals. If he
did, I would appreciate it if you could point out where
to me.  I saw a lot of references to Paul condemning
homosexuals, but Paul had a lot of problems with women,
too.  I have to say, I don't give Paul a lot of credit
as speaking directly for God.  I think he was a flawed
vessel in many ways, despite his energy.  The primary
messages in both the old and new testament are about
love of God and love of your fellow human.  This is
obscured by a lot of struggles and hatred that Jesus
tried to move people away from.  But I suppose we will
not change each other's theology or prejudices.  I just
remember a time when fundamentalist religions said it
was ordained by God that whites and blacks should be
kept separate and that blacks were inferior.  God did
not ordain that and it was wrong.  I think the religions
that teach that homosexuals are an abomination are wrong
about what God ordains on that subject.  God ordains the
two great commandments.  Men have added a lot of their
prejudices to that over time.  

Anyway, I believe you presented your viewpoint in a
heartfelt and thoughtful way. However, I think the
people who pass out this kind of therapy are frauds who
cause a lot of harm and pain.  They remind me of the
people who did "cult deprogramming" that went way over
the line, albeit beginning with good intentions.  But
any therapy that has a belief in "normal" that does not
recognize individual differences is seriously flawed.

Do I want my children to be lesbian or gay?  Well, it
would not be my first choice, mostly because of all the
hatred they would have to face.  But if they are, I will
love them for who they are.  They have been a special
gift, entrusted to me for a short time to help them
spread their wings and fly and offer their gifts to the
world. I cannot make them be me, because they are
separate human beings.

Just my viewpoint based on my experiences and reading. 
                            
                         Anna Durbin '69

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That concludes this issue of THE SANDBOX folks. Please
include your class year and maiden name, (if applicable),
in all correspondence and subscription requests.  You may
also include your current locale if you wish.  It's easy
to join us in the ongoing conversations here.  Just send
your comments to: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com!  We are the 
Alumni of Richland High School, Richland Washington,
AKA Columbia High School, representing classes from 1942
through 2000. Visit the THE SANDBOX website.

Al Parker (53)
Shippenville, PA
Your SANDBOX Host
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                             - 105 -
***************************************
***************************************

********************************************
THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #106 ~ November 5, 2000

  "Conversation opens our views, and gives our faculties
a more vigorous play. It puts us upon turning our
notions on every side, and holds them up to a light that
discovers those latent flaws which would probably have
lain concealed in the gloom of unagitated abstraction."
--Melmouth

Contents:

       Public Schools, Morality, & School Vouchers
       Peggy (Roesch) Wallan '71

       Re: DARE & What Teachers Face Every Day
       Gary Behymer (64)

       Alternatives To The Internal Combustion
       Engine:  Closer Than You Think
       Ron Richards  '63

       It Just Got Worse
       Mary Ray Henslee (61)

---------------------------------------

Subj: Public Schools, Morality, & School Vouchers
From: Peggy (Roesch) Wallan '71
Spanaway, WA

I don't know of one teacher with whom I work who
wouldn't be absolutely DELIGHTED to teach morality in
the context of our lessons.  However, it is not up to
us!!  The PARENTS and SCHOOL BOARD and ADMINISTRATORS
and LAWYERS have determined what we are allowed to
teach, and how to teach.  TEACHERS simply have to obey
(a moral principle!  obey those in authority over you!
oooh!) or risk our livelihoods. You people who want
morality, moral standards, whatever, taught to your
children at school had best SPEAK UP.  The P, SB, A and
L certainly aren't listening to the teachers.  

Are you concerned about the lack of morality in the
textbooks your kids are using?  Well, write to the
California or Texas state school boards.  Those groups
drive the textbook publishers.  The rest of us little
districts have to buy textbooks those states have
approved ... The publishers "can't afford" to print
shorter runs of textbooks tailored to smaller state and
district curriculums.  

While I'm griping about it ... I am so tired of being
told by administrators that we can't discipline this
child or that (things like time out, no recess time,
demerits, etc.) because of special ed laws (is morality
suspended just because a child has a learning
disability? THE ANSWER IS YES) or parents who have, in
writing, demanded that their children not be held
accountable for poor behavior -- and this included on
the special behavior plans for these kids (I've seen a
few of those).  Now, don't get me wrong -- there are
some children for whom the usual disciplinary tactics
just don't make sense (I'm thinking of an autistic
student I have); but there are too many kids and parents
manipulating the system, and making the classrooms a
tough place for everyone.  

I recall a bright student I had who had to be watched
constantly because of her "sticky fingers" ... many
little items would up in her possession without the
permission of their owners (students and teachers).
Were we, the teachers, allowed to discipline her for her
thievery?  No, because she has an "attachment disorder"
and therefore the "education laws" protect her.  

I run musical rehearsals with 150 kids at a time (and
I'm the only adult in the room with them) ... but am I
allowed to kick out a disruptive kid who is ruining
rehearsal time for the rest of us?  Want to guess the
answer?  I tried once, and the mother showed up at the
next rehearsal and reamed me out in front of the 150
kids and 3 teachers who happened to be there to pick up
their students. The principal, in private, tried to
console me, but reminded me THAT WE TEACHERS HAVE NO
RIGHTS when it comes to discipline.  

It's probably obvious that I really get toasted when
people complain about teachers not teaching morality.  I
get toasted whenever I see good teachers being lumped
together with a few bad ones and blamed for the
"failure" of our schools. People, when will you
understand: TEACHERS DON'T RUN THE SCHOOLS!  Maybe you
think the teachers' unions are so big and powerful ...
hah!  Sure, they can snarl things up with negotiations
for this and that (NB: I do NOT belong to the union!),
but the unions don't choose curriculum!  They don't make
the special ed laws! They don't set the hiring
practices!  They don't design the schoolwide "classroom
management" programs!  (Ahem, the word "discipline" even
seems to be outlawed by the administration!).  

Arrgh.  I'm getting a stomach ache from this and I know
I'm just spouting off in a rambling sort of way.  But as
I said a couple days ago ... I think every day about
retiring or quitting.  I would love to be in a job where
I was trusted and respected and supported by my
clientele and by my employers?  I wonder what it would
be like??????

      Peggy Roesch Wallan '71 ~ Spanaway, WA
                                ~~~

Subj: Re: DARE & What Teachers Face Every Day
From: Gary Behymer (64) ~ Colfax, Washington
bjangary@colfax.com

[See article by Peggy Roesch Wallan '71, in Sandbox
Issue 105]

Read *The Sandstorm and find this to be oh so true in
downtown Colfax, Washington....If so in small-town
'Merica...how about in the large cities?

                   Gary Behymer (64)

 *The Alumni Sandstorm, is, as is THE SANDBOX, an online
publication and newsletter written by the Alumni of RHS.

                                   ~~~

Subj:   Alternatives To The Internal Combustion 
Engine:  Closer Than You Think
From:  Ron Richards  '63 ~ Centennial, Colorado
G1A1S1@aol.com

To: Mary Ray Henslee

Al Gore is not daydreaming 25 years down the road when
he advocates alternatives to the internal combustion
engine.  Ballard Power Systems, Inc., and its partners,
Ford Motor Company and DaimlerChrysler, have operated
fuel cell powered transit buses in rate paying service
in Chicago, Illinois, and Vancouver, British Columbia,
for several years.  They, together with Honda, Hyundai,
Nissan, Volkswagen, GM, and Toyota, have now begun
putting 50 fuel cell test cars and 20 fuel cell test
buses to use in California. Commercial introduction of
the buses is scheduled for 2002 and commercial
introduction of cars is scheduled for 2003.  Two to
three years, Mary, not 25 years.  That's a lot sooner
than Bush could start shipping oil out of the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge.

Furthermore, Mary, contrary to some of your other
claims, Gore's emphasis on alternative energy sources
will help alleviate global warming and energy shortages.
Fuel cells are much more efficient than the internal
combustion engine.  They run on hydrogen produced in a
reforming process from natural gas, propane, or
methanol, or on hydrogen produced by electrolysis.  This
increased efficiency, and the use of these alternative
fuels to provide the power for the fuel cells, will both
result in less carbon dioxide being produced per unit of
power.  Less carbon dioxide means less global warming.
The more natural gas, propane, and methanol used in the
place of oil, the less an energy shortage there will be.
The CEO of Shell Oil Company recently said high energy
prices were harming the oil industry because alternative
energy was becoming competitive.  You can bet your
bottom dollar that the Bush/Cheney ticket, if elected,
and their oil industry allies, would do everything they
can to prolong the day that alternative energy does
become competitive.

An administration can have an impact on how fast these
technologies are integrated into our society. By making
more lenient the emission standards for automobiles, an
administration could lengthen the time we are reliant on
the internal combustion engine.  By not offering tax
breaks for alternative energy vehicles, the time until
the efficiencies of mass production make the vehicles
more affordable would be increased.  By only emphasizing
more oil production, and ignoring conservation efforts
and increased efficiencies, as a means to solve our
energy problems, an administration can further delay the
day when we achieve energy independence.  If you want
delay, George Bush is the man.  If you don't want delay,
Al Gore is the man.

You are dreaming, Mary, when you talk of meeting our oil
needs with domestic production under a Bush
administration.  Without alternative energy sources, the
oil isn't here.  Your man, George Bush, and his oil
industry allies, would not want us to meet our oil needs
with domestic production. Harken Energy, George Bush's
old oil company, and the Haliburton Company, Dick
Cheney's old oil company, are very much international
players. Those companies, and the other major oil
companies, to whose beat Bush and Cheney would dance,
have trillions of dollars at stake in foreign oil
producing properties.  It is not in their interest to
have America self sufficient in oil production.

If you want energy independence, Mary, your best chances
lie with Al Gore.  As the CEO of Shell Oil Company
fears, the day alternative energy sources are
competitive is close at hand.  But just how close
depends in large part upon who is elected President this
Tuesday.  

       Ron Richards  '63 ~ Centennial, Colorado)
                                 ~~~

Subj:  It Just Got Worse
From:  Mary Ray Henslee (61)
Mah@satx.net

I am extremely mad and upset as I write this, so all of
you staunch Democrats may want to scroll down to the
next entry.  

Some of you may not know about the following and really
should before you pull that lever.  For those of you who
know what Gore is capable of and really don't care, I
suggest you go to the next entry because you will
probably find the following ho hum.

Rap-A-Lot records was founded by Houston Rap singer
James A. Prince who is not just a recording
entrepreneur.  He is part of a Mafia style drug ring
that spans over many states.  The record label has
released songs that taunt the Drug Enforcement
Administration and talk of killing agency informants.
One of the Rap associates, Brad "Scarface" Jordan,
bragged of the "Rap-A-Lot Mafia's ability to derail an
investigation and drug agents' careers after he was
arrested.  "Can't be stopped, not even by a badge," one
song declares, going on to curse two DEA agents by name.
"There ain't enough (expletive) in the states to come
stop this Rap-A-Lot Mafia. 

This is a group that uses Mafia tactics to scare jurors
and murder to get revenge.  This is a group that none of
us would want living next door to us. This is a group
that we certainly wouldn't want influencing our
children.  Yet we are about to possibly elect a man to
be our President, who in 1999 visited a black church in
Houston that is funded with millions of dollars by
Rapper Prince. He denies any contact with Prince, but
Prince was there the day he went to the church.  I
wonder what they discussed that day.

A few days after Gore's visit to the church, the Houston
police department and DEA agency that had been
investigating the drug ring extensively for years with
over 20 convictions on charges ranging from drug
trafficking to police corruption was sidetracked.  In
September 1999, the Houston DEA was forced to suspend
what had been a highly successful criminal
investigation.  

"What a slap in the face to dedicated, professional
officers who know this case, who know the bad guys and
the informants and have devoted years of work, only to
see politicians ruin it," said Michael J. Hinton, a
Houston lawyer representing the DEA agent who led the
case, Jack Schumacher.  Jack Schumacher who had been an
investigator for 27 years was transferred to a desk job. 

"It looks like the DEA and the Justice Department in
Washington turned their backs on a good agent and a good
investigation," said Joe Harris, a retired Harris County
narcotics investigator who worked on the case. "It
appears the object was to get them to stop their
investigation, and it appears that worked." 

"It will take forever for a new team to catch up;
meanwhile, anyone committing crimes will know they have
a free pass, courtesy of politicians in Washington,"
said Mr. Hinton, former chief of the Harris County
district attorney's organized crime division. "This
stinks of cover-up." 

I had read an article about the Rapper group and
possible donations to Gore some weeks ago and wondered
why it had not gotten more coverage.  I guess it was
because the administration was covering up and denying
an investigation.

It came to light today, November 3, in the Dallas
Morning News and I'm sure other selected newspapers that
caving into pressure by the Houston DEA, the Justice
Department has asked its Inspector General to
investigate "disturbing" allegations that the DEA's case
against James A Prince and Rap-A-Lot records was
"politicized." Still not a lot of coverage.  It did not
appear in my newspaper and maybe not some of yours.  I
would recommend reading today's article in the Dallas
Morning News site on the web plus click on "other
related articles" from prior months.  You will probably
have to find it archived by the time that you read this
or access a Dallas newspaper somewhere.  

It might be noted that U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-
Calif., was instrumental in getting Janet Reno to order
the investigation of Prince stopped a few days after
Gore's visit.  Her husband is from Prince's old
neighborhood in Houston and there are obviously ties to
the group at work here both politically and personally.
She claimed that Prince was in fear of his life from DEA
agents and that he was being picked on because he was
rich and black.  Voila now they are allowed to operate,
so that they can sell drugs to our children.  Now we
know why our Drug Enforcement Program is not working.

If I was a part of this administration, I think the
first thing that I would want to do upon getting home
each night is take a shower.

I tried to do as brief a synopsis of the situation as
possible from all of the articles on the subject, but
would recommend reading them for more details.

On another front.  Soon after Clinton took office in
1993, he turned over virtual control of U.S/Russian
relations to Al Gore.  Out of that arrangement, Gore
developed a personal relationship with Chernomyrdin, who
later fell from power in disgrace, accused of dealings
with various corrupt Russian business entities.  On
January 30, 1995 Gore signed a secret agreement with the
Russian leader allowing him to sell arms to Iran until
December 31, 1999 without any sanctions being imposed.  

This is in violation of the Nuclear-Non-proliferation
Act, which requires the Clinton-Gore administration to
keep congressional oversight committees fully informed
of all issues related to nuclear weapons proliferation.

A bipartisan group of 11 leading national security
officials and former secretaries of defense and state
have issued a scathing report denouncing the agreement
Gore made in secret with Chernomyrdin to keep Russia's
arming of Iran from being revealed to Congress and the
American public.  

This investigation is being stonewalled by the
administration as well.  It is curious that Gore would
do this without a motive.  One can only speculate.
Maybe some of our funding to Russia came back to Gore.

Neither of these situations will be fully investigated
until after the election so one has to draw their own
conclusions.  They may be just the tip of the iceberg.
Of course we all know about Gore's illegal fund raising
that is being investigated right now, which is not easy
because of conveniently missing e-mails.

Gore claims that he only smoked dope a few times. If you
believe that, you, probably believe in Santa Claus.  A
number of his friends, including friends who admit to
supplying him, say he was a heavy smoker for years.  He
was heavily into pot when he got 5 F's out of 8 classes
and dropped out of Divinity School.  Two friends say
that they supplied him up until 1992 when he entered the
White House.  These friends have not gained anything
financially from the Enquirer or other sources and have
maintained a low profile except for a few interviews.  I
tend to believe them.  If you go to Newsmax.com you will
find a number of articles on the subject archived over a
period of time.  

When Gore's tells us that we have not seen anything yet,
he is not kidding.  If he gets elected, I think that we
will be in for quite a ride.  As I observed the feeding
frenzy today on every TV station, radio station, and in
every newspaper regarding Bush's .10 DUI 24 years ago, I
became physically sick.  It is all about sensationalism
and keeping a story going until all of the life is taken
out of it.  If Gore gets into office, all of these
really serious situations involving him will then become
sensational and then they will be removed from the
backburner to the forefront.  What a very very sad
society we have become.  How pathetic we must seem to
foreign countries.  How can we expect our children to
grow up to be mature and healthy with the example that
adults are setting today?  Does the media think that
somehow they will be immune from the consequences of
getting someone really corrupt into office?  How do they
sleep nights?  By the end of the day, I just wanted to
grab and hold my grandchildren for dear life.  You won't
be hearing from me anymore before the election, which
some of you may be glad to hear.  I am not planning to
watch TV or read the newspaper until after the election.
It has become too disgusting. On Election Day, I plan to
vote and than go pray a lot.  

                  Mary Ray Henslee (61)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That concludes this issue of THE SANDBOX folks. Please
include your class year and maiden name, (if applicable),
in all correspondence and subscription requests.  You may
also include your current locale if you wish.  It's easy
to join us in the ongoing conversations here.  Just send
your comments to: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com!  We are the 
Alumni of Richland High School, Richland Washington,
AKA Columbia High School, representing classes from 1942
through 2000. Visit the THE SANDBOX website.

Al Parker (53)
Shippenville, PA
Your SANDBOX Host
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                             - 106 -
***************************************
***************************************

********************************************
THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #107 ~ November 6, 2000

"Time will discover everything to posterity; it is a
 babbler, and speaks even when no question is put."
                         --Euripedies


Issue 107 Contents:

       Election Date Changes Announced (;-)
       From Gary Behymer (64)

       Perceptions
       Bob (Mike Clowes) Carlson '54

       What Are George Bush's Other Mistakes?
       Ron Richards '63

       America Be informed when you vote.
       Patty Stordahl (72)

       Floating Around
       Dave Doran (72)

       Just One More Point 
       Mary Ray Henslee (61)

----------------------------------------------

                             ~~~

Election:  Polling Date Changes Announced! (;-)
From:    From Gary Behymer (64)
bjangary@colfax.com
Living in downtown Colfax, Washington

Due to an anticipated voter turnout much larger than
originally expected, the polling facilities may not be
able to handle the load all at once. Therefore,
Republicans are requested to vote on Tuesday, November 7,
with Democrats voting on Wednesday, November 8.

Please pass this message along and help us make sure
nobody gets left out.

                    Gary Behymer (64)

                              ~~~

Subj:    Perceptions
From:   Bob (Mike Clowes) Carlson '54
Albany, Oregon
bobsown1@hotmail.com

    I find it interesting, that after serious debate over
the "good and evil" of Henry Potter and/or Barbie, that
Jenny Smart Page would come down on the side of tolerance
for all.  Seems as though your "Bomber" education did
take after all, Jenny.

    I also find it interesting that those in opposition
to anything homosexual usually revert to the Bible as the
source for condemnation.  But, by the same token, those
in favor tend to ridicule Biblical quotations, especially
those in Leviticus, and often cite other verses
condemning wearing clothes made of two different cloths,
etc.

    And leave us not forget the "scientific" evidence
that homosexuality is either genetic or not, depending on
which study you read.  Seems to me the last one I read
didn't say it was genetic, but perhaps a synapse in the
brain gone a different way.

    Let's look at some real ancient history for a change
as to find out why homosexuality is a "sin." Seems back
before man learned to write, he figured out how babies
were conceived.  He also figured out that two people of
the same sex, having intimate relations, were
contraproductive to the "tribe's" increase.  The solution
is elegantly simple: If we, as a tribe, want more
members, then it is not permitted to have lasting sexual
relations with persons of the same gender.  No pair
bonding between boys, and no pair bonding between girls.
I will refrain from any mention of experimentation, as
that is not to the point.

    I'm not certain if the anit-gays would accept this
nor not, but there have been observed cases of same sex
bonding in other animal species than man.  That is in
those species that have more than one sex.  But then, I
doubt if the anti's would accept the fact that man is
also a member of the animal kingdom.

I do agree with you, Jenny, we need a whole lot more
tolerance than has been exhibited to date. And, perhaps,
it is time to let go of the Old Testament, and remember
about "first stones."

    On another subject, whilst watching "Politically
Incorrect" on Wednesday, the 31st, inst.; I see that our
esteemed colleagues of the Republican persuasion don't
want to let go of the incident that took place in the
White House.  A representative of that group loudly and
persistently decried the fact that William Jefferson
Clinton posed for a picture with his legs spread, and
that He allowed (or was it ordered) this picture to grace
the cover of Esquire magazine.  As if, as it was pointed
out several times, that the choice of the picture was
more in the perview of the editor and publisher of the
magazine.

    To this lady, the "scandal was revisited" again by
the pose.  And no amount of logic or reason would sway
her from this opinion.  I, personally, saw the pose as
perhaps foolish on Mr. Clinton's part; or perhaps more of
an "up yours" attitude.  But, I don't think it brought
back any memories of what transpired.

    I still think there is a vendetta amongst the more
conservative Republicans over what happened to "Saint"
Richard.  To my way of thinking it's too bad he chickened
out and resigned.  At least the issue would have had a
better resolution.  Certainly a pardon from an appointed
President didn't really fill the bill.  In a way, justice
was served to a certain degree in Clinton's impeachment.
But the Senate, as happened with Andrew Johnson, thought
better of it and declined to find either of them guilty.

    Perhaps the quaint Scottish verdict of "not proven"
should be in our legal system.  It sends a message to
both parties.  To the defendant:  "We know you are guilty
as sin, but the other side did not prove their case."
And to the prosecution: "You blew it."

   Oh well, that's my opinion and I'm welcome to it.

    Bob (Mike Clowes) Carlson '54 - Albany, OR

                                 ~~~

Subj:   What Are George Bush's Other Mistakes?
From:   Ron Richards '63
Centennial, Colorado
G1A1S1@aol.com

Two nights ago a reporter asked George Bush why he had
not previously made his DUI arrest known. George Bush
responded by saying "I have told the American people I
have made mistakes in the past, and this [DUI incident]
was ONE OF THEM." Doesn't that make some of you ardent
Bush supporters a little bit interested in knowing what
his other mistakes were?  Doesn't that make some of you
ardent Bush supporters wonder what else your man is
concealing?  How can any of you so frantically attack Al
Gore's character, when George Bush is hiding his past
from the American people?

                     Ron Richards '63

                            ~~~~

Subj:   America Be informed when you vote.
From:   Patty Stordahl (72)
DZIGNRITE@aol.com

I have a reality check for everyone out there If fair
media was a reality in America we would hear an equal
amount of information regarding the other presidential
candidates.  Get away from the standard media of fear and
offer Americans the real truth.  I challenge you to email
every friend and every person of voting age in this still
great country a web site of proven information that can
not be disputed.   www.votenader.org  If you truly are an
American and for America and not  afraid of the big
lobbyist machine that is selling the American families
and our environment so incredibly short, you will extend
this opportunity to each and every American you know to
look into Gore's and Bush's true pasts for themselves,
see how they  really voted against families environmental
issues, and small business,  how they are trying
desperately to keep down minority education and college
programs because these issues  do not satisfy the
interests of  lobbyists. Gore is in bed with the Tobacco
companies, Nafta, WTO, you name it, he is there.  He
stands against America and for GORE.  Please do this one
fair honest thing today.  Let us hear the truth and read
the candidates true voting record and get rid of fear in
this country.  It is time for all Americans to take their
country and communities back and get the big government /
business out of our families.  

The two party system is not a true reality.  If it's just
between those two puppets, it won't matter who gets in
the highest office of our great country. Both are already
indebted to the Whoremonger of destruction.  Both are
bent on selling us down the proverbial road for the
almighty $$$.

We are controlled by a very real evil money making
machine that takes from the people of this great country
and keeps the country gripped in fear of voting their
heart.  Let us not vote for the lesser of two evils. Lets
not vote for any evil's.  Let us vote from our heart.
Vote for our children and grand children's prosperities.

I challenge Every one who reads this to just get your
head out of the sand and go to this web
site.www.votenader.org Just do it read for your self.
Take the time, Do your grand children the service of a
truly informed vote this Nov 7th and may God have mercy
on us all if we do not. America: For the people and by
the people with justice for all.  Not just the 2%
wealthy- no, filthy rich off of our hard working sweat.
We need small farmers, We need small businesses to
thrive.  We need affordable college for all races.

Help me vote for America and for ourselves. I cannot tell
your heart who to vote for I can just say read this web
site and then vote in good conscience for your future
families to come.

May your God bless you for not heaping to yourself men
who just tickle the ears and do not fulfill any promises.

                   Respectfully, Patty (72)
- a true American and loyalist to the American
 Dream
                                 ~~~

Subj: Floating Around
From:   Dave Doran (72)
Salt4385@aol.com

  The Piece 'by' Mary Ray Henslee (61) from the Sandbox
#104 has been floating around for a long time and has
been widely distributed on the Internet for at least two
years. As you might imagine there is a Response to it
also floating about. Now I think it is fine to make up
your own generalities and foist them on others even in a
humorous way, and that piece is funny if only for it's
extreme ignorance. But, with all due respect, if you
submit something that you didn't make up and are only
parroting then I think that 'Author Unknown' or
'Anonymous' or some such tag should probably be applied.
Huh? 

  I too think that Biblical quoting should be discouraged
because a person can always find a conveniently numbered
passage to support any of their arguments and we might
all agree now to say it's a draw Biblically and require
some original thoughts. But I do love that 'God Created
Homosexuals and They Are Sinners but So All Are Of Us'
attitude expressed also in Issue #104. I think it is time
to make a private judgment to yourself and move on to
something else. Hey it works better than the 'God Hates
Fags' approach of some Baptist congregations. But the
only problem I see to an Official stance such as this is
when a group like the Boy Scouts (one that accepts tax-
exempt public donations) decides to bar homosexual men
from the ranks of their troop leaders based upon the
unclean-before-God principal, or worse, that they are
every one a potential raging pedophile bent upon the
Indoctrination of Innocent heterosexual boys. How is a
person supposed to defend against that accusation? And
why is it that a virile 30 year-old heterosexual man can
be entrusted with coaching a team of budding adolescent
girls as in swimming or gymnastics or track? Where is the
fear of this man's sexuality overcoming his manners,
intellect, respect and morality and turning him into a
sexual predator? Well, maybe for one thing this coach is
not a Sinner Despised by God and, unlike the homosexual
who is not like us, we can relate to the coaches sense of
discipline because we exercise it too. A delightful
double standard if you're on the right end.  

  I'm also amazed at some of the deep concern and careful
thought given to refute the latest science studying being
homosexual. Full of lovely metaphors and symbolic
similes, it is nonetheless conjecture. My grandpa used to
say that prevarications need hundreds of words to prop
them up but truth will stand on it's own. Wasted, I fear,
are all the words crafted by us to explain away millions
of fellow humans and their 'problems' while science will
and has found some simple organic connections to explain
human sexual differences.

  Let's just agree to accept that the fear of the unknown
and misunderstood has and will drive humankind for ever
and leave the religious posturing out of social policy. 

                     Dave Doran (72)   

                             ~~~

Subj:  Just One More Point 
Mary Ray Henslee (61)
Mah@satx.net

I know that I said that you would not be hearing from me
anymore, but I just wanted to make one more point before
I go take an Excedrin and crash. There has been a lot of
spin on Bush's DUI by self-righteous people coming out
with that notorious line.....Well, if he had only told us
then it would be okay.  But he was thirty years old and
should have known better some will say.  Wouldn't it be
great if we all stopped making mistakes at thirty years
old.  I find that self-righteous people usually have the
darkest secrets in their closet.  I would like to point
out that his DUI has been public record for 24 years for
anyone to find.  He was not stonewalling any
investigation into this matter.  It was there for the
taking.  A laundry list was not necessary if the
information was out there for the taking by those who
thought that it was important to his Presidency.
Obviously many did not.  According to reports in the NY
Post and elsewhere because others have told me that MADD
knew about his DUI five years ago.  If MADD does not feel
like it is an issue, then nobody should because we all
know how aggressive they are on this issue.  One of the
Portland newspapers has reported that they were sent the
information in July, but chose not to report it because
they didn't think that it was relevant since it was so
long ago.  I suspect this was not a recent revelation to
those who chose to make it news in the last few days.
Timing was their motivating factor.  Right before the
election so people would have it on their minds.  You
know how quickly we forget.  Right before the election so
reporters would find it more newsworthy since this is a
close election.  The Media has the opportunity to
sensationalize how it will affect the race and make us
watch them and the polls they disseminate even more.
Great for ratings.  

If we want a total Saint for President, then we should go
to the Vatican to recruit our candidates. Even there we
might not find a total Saint.  

Bush not disclosing his DUI in no way compares with what
Gore and the Justice Department are hiding.

                  Vote your conscience!
                  Mary Ray Henslee (61)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That concludes this issue of THE SANDBOX folks. Please
include your class year and maiden name, (if applicable),
in all correspondence and subscription requests.  You may
also include your current locale if you wish.  It's easy
to join us in the ongoing conversations here.  Just send
your comments to: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com!  We are the 
Alumni of Richland High School, Richland Washington,
AKA Columbia High School, representing classes from 1942
through 2000. Visit the THE SANDBOX website.

Al Parker (53)
Shippenville, PA
Your SANDBOX Host
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                             - 107 -
***************************************
***************************************

********************************************
THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #108 ~ November 6, 2000

  "He serves his party best who serves the country
             best." - Rutherford B. Hayes

Sandbox Trivia:

Our Next President and Vice President
Could be from different Political Parties

Did you know that Election 2000 could lead to the
President and Vice President being selected from two
different political parties?  Remember, this is
considered to be a very close election.  Should there be
a tie in electoral votes, here's how it goes:

The House, where each state will have one vote, will
select the President.  The Senate will select the Vice
President.

Three times in our nation's history, the election has
been lost by candidates who had the most popular votes
because the opposition had more electoral votes.  The
last time was in 1888

Source: (The Associated Press)

                                   ~~~

Issue 108 Contents:

       Alternative Fuel Sources:  Still A Long Way To Go
       Kathy Hodgson Lucas (76)

       Fuel Cells    
       Jenny Smart Page  '87

       Complimentary Reply
       Marc Franco (66)

       Global Warming: Nature Plus Us
       Marc Franco (66)

       Attribution, Please!
       Jerry Lewis '73

-----------------------------------------------------

Subj: Alternative Fuel Sources: Still A Long Way To Go
From: Kathy Hodgson Lucas (76) ~ Richland, WA
KATHLUC@aol.com

Re: Ron Richards (63), Alternative fuel sources.

I notice that the companies you mention foremost in
researching alternative fuel sources, cells, are private
companies.  Which political party heralds and encourages
private companies, and which restricts and vilifies them?
Which party thinks that the private sector is much more
efficient and has accomplished than the federal
government at research, development and production?  Then
what is your basis for accusing Bush and Cheney of
prolonging our dependence on the internal combustion
engine?  Because they both have experience in the oil
industry you assume they still have such strong ties to
it that that will be their overriding concern when fuel
cells should become more available.  Then certainly Al
Gore's ties to the tobacco industry that he took such
active part in (cough) must color his judgment.  Get
real.  

First of all, it may be 2003 when commercial introduction
of fuel cell cars is scheduled, but it will be many more
years before the general populace accepts them and is
willing the pay the cost.  And many more years more
before that translates into a significant reduction of
internal combustion engines.  In the meantime, we still
have a 62% dependency on foreign oil from potentially
hostile and extremely anti-American countries.  At a
consumption rate of 20 million barrels a day, it wouldn't
take much of an interruption in flow to cause a major
crisis here, and the glorious economy we are experiencing
that Clinton/Gore like to take undue credit for, will be
toast.  If that happens, do you want Gore the
Environmentalist or Bush the Executive at the helm?  As
you say, it may take a few years to be able to tap our
own resources.  However, having access to our own fields
sooner rather than later in order to decrease foreign
dependency, or at least as insurance against it, does not
preclude alternative source research.  What evidence do
you have that Bush or Cheney have shown any
disinclination toward alternative fuels and that they
would dance to any oil company's beat?  They have severed
ties with their old companies, which is more than you can
say for Gore and Occidental Petroleum.

It is beyond me how you (liberals, Democrats, Gore-ites,
whatever) assume you know what Gore will do in office
when Gore himself doesn't.  He doesn't even know who in
the world he is, let alone what he stands for.  But you
all know.  No, all you know is the fear-mongering hate-
filled rhetoric that the liberal mainstream media spouts
with absolutely no facts to back it up.  

Did you know that Haliburton has received awards from the
EPA, including one from Gore's own National Partnership
for Re-inventing Government, and an Environmental
Champion Award for outstanding performance, was named an
EPA Green Lights Corporate Partner, and Gore himself
awarded Cheney and Haliburton for service well done in
the area of the environment?  You won't hear that from
Dan Rather.

Did you know that we are currently importing 400,000 more
barrels of oil than we were in June, 1999?  Exactly where
is Clinton/Gore's energy policy?  Failed.

Did you know we presently import oil from Iraq? Opening
only 8% of the Arctic Natural Wildlife Refuge to
exploration will eliminate that.

Some of Bush's energy proposals:
-Propose legislation requiring electric utilities to
reduce harmful emissions; in contrast, Vice President
Gore has advocated only a voluntary program.

-Create the "Royalties Conservation Fund" by earmarking
potentially billions in royalties from new oil and gas
exploration in ANWR to fund conservation efforts.

-Earmark an estimated $1.2 billion of bid bonuses from
opening up ANWR for funding research into alternative
energy resources.  (Does that include fuel cells?)

-Support tax credits for electricity produced from
renewable and alternative fuels at a cost of $1.4 billion
over ten years.  (I'll bet that includes fuel cells!)

Now tell us again how Gore is our only choice for energy
independence.

                Kathy Hodgson Lucas (76)

                               ~~~

Subj:    Fuel Cells  
From:   Jenny Smart Page  '87  ~ West Richland, WA
jpage@3-cities.com

Hmmmm....fuel cells...fuel cells...ah, yes...a fancy name
for "batteries." Let me think here, if I remember my
physics class correctly with Mr. Thrasher a few years
back, I recall that batteries aren't "naturally" filled
with power.  Meaning, the energy (power) that a
battery/"fuel cell" is charged with has to come from
somewhere else! A battery is just the "storage unit."
Now, let me think here....where are we gonna be getting
the energy to "fill" these fuel cells?  I know, we'll get
it from the coal burning power plants in the Midwest.
Oops.  Can't do that.  Burning coal pollutes the air;
plus ya gotta dig up those shiny black nuggets somewhere
and we all know that Gore won't let us do any more
digging -- we might disrupt a "special weed" or scare a
cricket.  Okay, how 'bout one of those nifty natural gas
burning power plants?  Oops.  Forgot again...Al doesn't
want to do any more exploration for natural gas, either.
Might step on a beetle or something. Okay, I
know...nuclear power plants, that'll do it!! OH MY!! did
I really suggest the "N" word??? How could I suggest
something like that??  Okay, here's the winner:
Hydroelectric power!!  Oh rats! We can't do that either -
- remember the poor salmon? Al's already 95% committed to
ripping out our dams to save our fishy friends. Let's
see, we're running out of environmentally friendly
options here...how 'bout wind powered turbine do-hickeys?
Oops, can't do that either...a bird may fly into those
big ol' props; plus, you know, they're kinda ugly, and we
certainly wouldn't want to mar the view of any
mountainside.  Let see...that about leaves us with solar
power...That might work.  Too bad I remember reading
somewhere that it would take just about FOREVER to charge
a "fuel cell" with enough power for a very brief amount
of operating time.

So, gosh...just how are we supposed to charge up those
nifty new fuel cells that our friend Al wants us so
desperately to be using?  Better shine up those bicycles,
folks....oh, and don't worry if you're too out of shape
to be riding a bike --- Al will have socialized medicine
ready to take care of you when you have your heart
attack.  How's that for a comforting thought??

     Jenny (Smart) Page, West Richland, WA '87

                                 ~~~

Subj:    Complimentary Reply
From:   Marc Franco (66)
mfranco@uswest.net

I would like to compliment Mary Ray Henslee on her letter
in Sandbox 103, in reply to a criticism on my part in an
earlier Sandbox. I had basically felt she was accusing
Gore of bringing on the Apocalypse if he were to be
elected and exhibiting some hysteria. Her latest letter-
in #103, was far different, lots of facts and well-
reasoned opinions. I didn't agree with all of it, but, of
course, that's not really necessary. I'd been publicly
critical before, so I felt that I had to publicly be
complimentary now. It was a good letter.

Incidentally, Mary Ray had said that I seemed to be as
hysterical about global warming as I was accusing her of
being about oil. Actually, that's not far wrong.
Information continues to pile up about the effects of
global warming, and the Republican party as a whole, and
Bush in particular, continue to say that it needs more
study. I did not mean to imply that one is more serious
than the other, however- oil vs. global warming. Mary Ray
had only spoken of energy problems, so I spoke only of a
problem that was being ignored. In fact, both need to be
dealt with at the same time.

 Also, I must defend myself in one respect. Mary Ray had
said that party affiliation seems to be important to me.
Actually not- I'm pretty much a centrist who is aware of
problems on both sides of the aisle, so who sees no need
to vote ONLY Republican or ONLY Democrat. Both sides have
good people, and both sides have jerks. The criticisms
that Mary Ray wrote about Gore-campaign financing
problems, etc., are well-founded and are not to be
ignored. My only concern, in replying to her earlier
letter, is that I just plain felt it came on too strong-
"too hysterical," to quote my earlier word. Again, I
compliment her on her later reply to my letter and thank
her for it.

                        Marc Franco (66)

                                 ~~~

Subj: Global Warming: Nature Plus Us
From: Marc Franco (66)
mfranco@sttl.uswest.net

Kathy Lucas had a couple of comments in issue 105 that I
would like to reply to. First, she said there is a real
danger of energy disruptions, etc. because of our
dependency on Mideast oil. Absolutely correct! Nobody
disputes that. We need to develop new sources of energy,
which so far is not being done. The oil companies have
not encouraged that, either. I think I did not express
myself clearly in my earlier letter, because two people
have now reacted in a similar fashion to that letter. Oil
problems are real, and need to be dealt with, now and in
the future. I never intended to imply otherwise. And yes-
there are certainly environmental extremists who would
not mind if we all gave up cars and TV's and went back to
the stone age.

That certainly does not mean that all environmentalists
are so extreme, and I'm sure that nobody really thinks
so. That's all that I was trying to say in my earlier
letter.

Second, Kathy says there really DOES need to be more
study about the greenhouse effect.. Well, you can always
find scientists who will dispute anything- there are
still scientists out there who do not believe in
evolution, either- but there is overwhelming evidence
that the greenhouse effect is real. Yes, I have read some
of the contradicting evidence. There's a lot more of the
supporting evidence- LOTS more. And yes- I am certainly
aware that there are natural cycles in the life of the
earth that will cause warming periods without any input
from humans. This is all understood. But is anybody
really trying to claim that a rise in the earth's
temperature from 6- 10 degrees in one century (the
current estimate) is normal in any respect at all?
Things simply don't change that fast by themselves. IT is
now documented that the polar ice pack is 40 % thinner
than it was 50 years ago- only half a century ago. Again,
things simply do not change that fast when left to their
own devices. Everybody is aware of the natural ebb and
flow of the earthly cycle. What we are seeing now is not
the natural ebb and flow. The proper term (my opinion
only, of course), for the constant call for more study of
a phenomenon that is pretty well documented already- is
fiddling while Rome burns.

Throwing out a "what- if" question- let's just say that
the Greenhouse effect is real. When DO we start reacting
to it? The earlier Republican administrations under
Reagan, and particularly Bush, did nothing about it,
always saying that more study was needed. In fairness,
Clinton did not exactly distinguish himself in this area
either. If the Greenhouse effect is real, and all we do
is study, study, study- it's going to be too late down
the road, isn't it? Actually, I think it is already too
late. We've wasted too much time. Extreme weather will
continue- more droughts, severe hurricanes, etc. Geez-
now _I_ sound hysterical, don't I? I don't mean to. The
severe weather conditions that I have just mentioned have
already begun, so I am not predicting anything that is
not already here.

My only point here is that- yes, the earth has its
natural cycles of warming and cooling- and yes, we have
made the natural cycle a lot worse, and are now refusing
to do anything about it.

                     Marc Franco (66)
                              ~~~

Subj:   Attribution, Please!
From:   Jerry Lewis '73
jlewis@owt.com

How about some attribution for Mary Henslee's extended
charges about the DEA investigation in Houston? [Issue
106 - Subj: It Just Got Worse] Anyone can spew whatever
they want to 'support' their cause, but without
verification, don't ask me to believe it.

I did find a mention of it here

Regarding Bush's DUI: I think it's irrelevant to this
campaign (as apparently do the majority of the public).
That said, his rationale that he didn't reveal it 'to
protect his (children)" strikes me as about as truthful
as many of Gore's statements (ha, ha)

                      --- Jerry Lewis '73
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That concludes this issue of THE SANDBOX folks. Please
include your class year and maiden name, (if applicable),
in all correspondence and subscription requests.  You may
also include your current locale if you wish.  It's easy
to join us in the ongoing conversations here.  Just send
your comments to: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com!  We are the 
Alumni of Richland High School, Richland Washington,
AKA Columbia High School, representing classes from 1942
through 2000. Visit the THE SANDBOX website.

Al Parker (53)
Shippenville, PA
Your SANDBOX Host
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                            - 108 -
***************************************
***************************************

********************************************
THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #109 ~ November 7, 2000

   "There is no more independence in politics than 
                 there is in jail." --Will Rogers

Contents:

       Bush's Sins  
       Robert W. Epler (80WB)

       The Classroom: A Tough Place To Teach
       Lynn-Marie Hatcher (68)

       Just My Opinions
       Bill Didway (66)

       Not a Lone Voice Any More
       Jerry Lewis (73)

       Don't Slip Off The Edge
       Vince Bartram (62)

       Fuel Cells Are Not Batteries
       From: Chuck Monasmith (65)

       Tolerance and Respect
       Jenny Smart (87)

       New Name For Late Year Gift Giving
       Verla Farrens (61)

---------------------------------------------------------

Subj: Bush's Sins   
From:   Robert W. Epler (80WB)  
ERosebud5@aol.com

In SANDBOX issue 107, Ron Richards asked a question of
immanent importance.  After referring to Bush's comment
about making mistakes in the past, Richards asked,
"Doesn't that make some of you ardent Bush supporters
wonder what else your man is concealing?"  To that, I
say, "Right on, Man!"  We, the American People must
demand that George W. Bush give us a detailed and
itemized list of every sin he has committed since he was
conceived in his mother's womb.  We have the right to
know!  What dirty little secrets has he been hiding from
us?  Has he ever hit someone in a fist fight?  Did he
ever go to bed angry?  Has he ever looked at a girl with
lust in his heart?  Why has the media been so easy on
this guy?  I'll bet he even lied to his mother once or
twice.  If he ever cheated on a school exam, we have the
right to know!  Not only do we have the right to know,
his children have the right to know!  He wanted to
"protect" his children in deceiving them about the DUI
incident?  Reeeeeeally? The vast Right Wing and their
evil conspirators are tying to throw a blanket over the
gullible American Public.  If George W. had even an ounce
of integrity, he would submit a full confession of all
wrongdoing to the media AND his children before election
day. God help us if this man gets elected!  George W.
Bush is a SINNER!  We don't need sinners in the highest
office of the land.  Vote for Saint Al Gore. For he is
the true picture of honesty and perfection. 
                 Robert W. Epler (80WB)

                               ~~~

Subj:   The Classroom: A Tough Place To Teach
From:  Lynn-Marie Hatcher ('68)
footay@3-cities.com (Lynn-Marie Foote, RN)

Re:  Peggy Roesch Wallan '71 -- Sandbox 105 & 106

Peggy, you have my absolute empathy.

My sister (with whom I am very close) teaches first
grade.  She has taught everything from K-12 since 1964.
She loves to teach, & is a great, great teacher.  She is
9 years older than I, and did most of the my "raising."
I have always looked up to her as a fearless leader.  She
is sparkly and spunky. But for the past 5 years or so,
practically every conversation we have about her kids,
her classroom, etc. contains at least one statement from
her approximately as follows:  "Oh, I can't do that. I
could be sued."  Now we are not talking about beating
children here, folks.  We are talking about simple
measures to keep the classroom in control and moving
forward toward learning.  (Gee, what a concept --
learning being the #1 issue with which a teacher should
concern herself or himself.)

I am a psych nurse.  I know what happens to physically
and emotionally abused kids.  I am not in favor of going
back to "hacks" like the principal used to deliver in the
boys' patrol room when I went to Lewis and Clark.  I am
not in favor of public humiliation such as some teachers
practiced when I was in grade school.  But, geez-Louise,
it would be nice if good teachers didn't have to be
looking over their shoulders constantly for fear of a
lawsuit because they sent a kid to sit in the corner or
something!

                 Lynn-Marie Hatcher ('68)

                               ~~~

Subj:   Just My Opinions
Bill Didway (66) ~ Sedro Woolley, WA
From:   didwaybj@fidalgo.net

    I have been reading the Sandbox for a while trying to
catch up on the background of all the issues. It has been
most interesting reading. Having gone K thru 12 and
graduating in 1966, four years in the Navy, and working
one union job for 26 years before taking an early
retirement in April of 1999, I have had my share of
experiences that have shaped my life and opinions. From
graduation till now most of my ideas have changed as I
have aged.

    It interesting to see people accused of being
ignorant of an issue.  Others accused of being in favor
of censorship. Others basically accused of being
homophobic. The "tolerant" being intolerant of the
"intolerant." 

    Very interesting this Sandbox Forum.

                    Bill Didway (66)

                              ~~~

Subj: Not a Lone Voice Any More
From: Jerry Lewis '73
jlewis@owt.com
 
I was beginning to feel like a lone voice in the
wilderness, hoarsely crying 'substantiate, attribute,
verify.' So I was happy to see Dave Doran (72) suggest
that attribution of quotes or 'facts' would be
appropriate.  (I extrapolate a bit from what he said.)
It would probably be too much to ask to actually try to
verify the veracity of the info, but that would be nice,
too.  At least with attribution, the readers can go
evaluate the source and make their own decisions. 

Jerry  Lewis
http://www.owt.com/users/jlewis/
           
                                ~~~

Subj: Don't Slip Off The Edge
Re: It Just Got Worse
From:   Vince Bartram (62)
vlewisb@email.msn.com (Vince Bartram)

Getta Grip Mary Ray, don't want y'all to slip off the
back edge.  You are the only one I know of who has the
inside scoop on these stories about Gore. Just out of
curiosity, I haven't seen anything about this in papers,
TV or Internet, could you provide your sources so
inquiring minds can check it out?  I mean secret deals
with commies and all, and dope smoking too.  Great stuff.
And to think I was almost fooled.

                       Thanks now,
                       Vince Bartram

                             ~~~

Subj:   Fuel Cells Are Not Batteries
From: Chuck Monasmith '65
Richland WA
msmith@owt.com

Jenny Smart Page, I encourage you to visit
www.e-sources.com/fuelcell/fcexpln.html 

The site explains how fuel cells and batteries are
different.  I hope you'll let your kids read about them.
After all there's no magic in fuel cells!

                     Chuck Monasmith
[Ref: Issue 108]

                                ~~~

Subj:  Tolerance and Respect
From: Jenny (Smart) Page, '87 ~ West Richland, WA
Reply-to: jpage@gocougs.wsu.edu

To: Bob (Mike Clowes) Carlson '54

Its not that "interesting" that I would "come down on the
side of tolerance" on the homosexual issue after such a
debate as the Harry Potter thing (and now Barbie).  And
here's why: From the very beginning, my stance of Harry
Potter had been drastically over-interpreted by others in
this forum. I have always been very tolerant of others
reading the book -- its just not appropriate for MY kids.
So, why wouldn't I be tolerant of others living an
alternate lifestyle?  There are many things in this world
of ours that I do not like, but tolerate.  Do I like what
others are doing in the world?  No.  But I'm not going
out and buying every copy of the book (or doll) and
burning them in some sort of weird demonstration in the
middle of the cul-de-sac either.  Just like I'm not out
publicly ridiculing homosexuals. People may do as they
wish, as long as they are ready to pay the consequences
when the time comes (whatever those consequences may be). 

To: Dave Doran (72)
As for the Boy Scout issue, I believe many have
misunderstood the basis of the problem.  I don't think it
really has anything to do with the fact that the Boy
Scouts are scared of letting a homosexual be the
chaperone at the Troop Meetings. A homosexual is no more
apt to be a child molester than a heterosexual.  The
basis of the problem is that it is in direct violation of
one of their founding ideals -- that being homosexual is
not "morally straight."  Perhaps others have a different
definition of what "morally straight" is, but those
definitions are not the ones that count in this
situation.  The only one that counts is the one of the
Boy Scouts.  

As for expressing concern over having a male coach (or
whatever) with a girls swim team (or whatever): I would
express the same level of "parenting" in that situation,
as I would with a homosexual Scout Master.  Simply put, I
wouldn't trust the fellow any farther than I could throw
him, until he proved himself trustworthy. 

Perhaps the answer to both of these situations is this:
Parents just need to be more involved in what their kids
are doing, instead of dropping the kid off outside the
door and letting them run in to whatever the group it is.
If there were more parent volunteers at things like
soccer practice, Boy Scout meetings & camping trips,
etc., etc., then the weirdos (both hetero- & homosexual)
of our society wouldn't have the opportunity to prey on
our kids.

(And please don't misinterpret this as me saying that I
don't trust anyone in society. Trust is something that is
earned -- its not a baseline standard.  And those who
have earned my trust, also have my respect) 

                      Jenny Smart Page


                                ~~~

Subj: New Name For Late Year Gift Giving
From:   Verla Farrens Gardner '61 
Oregon City, OR
verlag@bctonline.com

Thanks to Jenny Smart for the: "You read it here first
folks..."Winter Gift Exchange Opportunity Day"... that is
just great!!!

                Verla Farrens Gardner (61)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That concludes this issue of THE SANDBOX folks. Please
include your class year and maiden name, (if applicable),
in all correspondence and subscription requests.  You may
also include your current locale if you wish.  It's easy
to join us in the ongoing conversations here.  Just send
your comments to: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com!  We are the 
Alumni of Richland High School, Richland Washington,
AKA Columbia High School, representing classes from 1942
through 2000. Visit the THE SANDBOX website.

Al Parker (53)
Shippenville, PA
Your SANDBOX Host
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                            - 109 -
***************************************
***************************************

********************************************
THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #110 ~ November 9, 2000

  "Do not look back in anger, or forward in fear,
   but around in awareness." -- James Thurber 

Contents:

  Schools: Promoting A Safe Environment For Learning
  Phil Jones '69

  Slant Drilling Called For
  From: Bill Didway (66)

  What Can We Do About Telephone Solicitors?
  Chuck Monasmith '65

  Real Discourse
  Kathy Hodgson Lucas (76)

  Many Mea Culpi
  Bob (Mike Clowes) Carlson '54

  Thank God for Tree Huggers
  Linda McKnight (65)

----------------------------------------------

Subj:  Schools: Promoting A Safe Environment For Learning
From:  Phil Jones '69

This is my first contribution to the Sandbox. I just
recently discovered the site and have sort of jumped in
the middle of some heated e-mail conversations. The
debate on homosexuality vs heterosexuality is great
reading. And I'm not going there!! I do want, however, to
thank my old friend, Mike Franco, for his support of
schools in his contribution to Sandbox #100, "Give Our
Schools a Break." As a high school counselor, I can
report with confidence that public schools are not
promoting homosexuality.

There has been a push in recent years to promote the
elimination of sexual harassment in school. But don't
make the mistake of confusing the effort to discourage
harassment (and the use of terms like fag or queer) with
promoting homosexuality. The effort to eliminate sexual
harassment has not only included staff training to
eliminate the obvious kinds of harassment between
employees, but has included messages to the kids that
it's not okay to harass other students

This includes behavior and name-calling that was routine
in my school years. We certainly didn't shy away from
expressing our contempt for anything that didn't conform
to our nicely packaged views incubated in sheltered
small-town America in the 50's and 60's. You bet we were
homophobic, and commie-phobic, and nuke-bomb-phobic to
boot. Our treatment of other students would be grounds
for expulsion today.

Today we are attempting to insure, perhaps naively, the
right of each student to be educated in a safe
environment free of harassment and name calling. Is it
working? Who knows. I don't assume we can change the
minds of all kids with a few posters, an assembly and a
stern reprimand but we can try to make a point whenever
we hear or witness an incident. Being aware that it is
not okay and encouraging the staff to be active and not
ignore this behavior, is a start.

Schools today face the impossible challenge of meeting
the needs of every student, from the most dysfunctional
to the future Rhodes Scholar and everybody in between. In
Washington State, we are in the middle of some
revolutionary (and controversial) education reform. When
the two presidential candidates talk about accountability
and higher standards for schools they could use
Washington Sate as a model. We are way ahead of the norm
in this effort with alignment of curriculum with
essential student learning, WASL testing, Initial
Certificates of Mastery, Advanced Mastery and Culminating
Experiences (Senior Projects) are all law designed to
increase student learning and to make schools accountable
for your kid getting an education. (That even includes
the kids who don't seem to not want to exercise their
rights to an education.)

There is conversation about schools providing "character
building" as part of school reform which is a very
sensitive area to get into. If that means respecting the
rights and freedom of others and assistance in
understanding what you are all about, than I'm for that.
If that means encouraging kids to be honest hard working
members of society, than I'm for that too. But I'm like
Mike Franco in my reluctance for schools to get into the
business of teaching morals. We have enough to do
already.

Phil Jones 69
                                ~~~

From: Bill Didway (66)
didwaybj@fidalgo.net
Slant Drilling Called For

My solution to the oil shortage and the Arab control over
it was suggested many years ago by a very smart comedian.
Near Florida we drill down and then over to and under
Saudi Arabia an all dem other oil producing countries.
After all they just happen to be sitting on top of the
oil.....
                    Bill Didway (66)
                    Sedro Woolley, WA

                              ~~~

Subj: What Can We Do About Telephone Solicitors?
From:   Chuck Monasmith '65    msmith@owt.com

A new topic:

Let's talk about telephone solicitors... I don't want to
hear any sassy comebacks like "Can I call you at home at
dinner time?"  "I work for the company you are selling
and I don't like what you said."

What I am talking about is a grass roots effort to ban
the damn people who bother us at dinnertime and other
inopportune moments.

Should we just force them to have caller ID? Should we
ban them completely?  Should we just remove the soft
fleshy parts of their bodies?  What should we do with
those damnable telephone solicitors?

      Chuck Monasmith '65  
      Still in the great backwater of Richland WA

                                ~~~ 

Subj:   Real Discourse
From:   Kathy Hodgson Lucas (76)  ~  KATHLUC@aol.com

To Marc Franco (66)

Thank you for your reply and clarification of intent.
Your tone was much calmer and more conducive to
informational discourse than your previous entry that I
responded to in which you called Mary Ray Henslee's fuel
shortage concerns hysterical.  I felt you were the
hysterical party.  I still disagree with your foregone
conclusion that the changes we have recorded in the ice
pack thickness, or in global temperatures cannot be
naturally caused, even in such seemingly drastic
increments.  We do not have that long a history of
records, and especially accurately calibrated records to
assume that such changes are beyond the scope of nature.
A very recent news story had two atolls in the Solomon
Islands, previously told they were going to be flooded
soon, due to melting ice pack, actually experiencing
lower tides than ever.

But let's assume some action should be taken. Shall we
take a suggestion from the extremist environmentalist
crowd as in removing billions of dollars worth of dams,
irrigation, electricity production, barge transportation,
and private industry on the chance that salmon population
will return up river despite ocean fishing, gill net
fishing, terns, sea lions, etc.?  We have replaced CFC's,
despite some dispute over the efficacy of it. We are
developing revolutionary fuel cells.  Bush is proposing
stricter emission controls on electric power plants and
tax credits for alternative fuel sources.  Before we go
any further, how do we address the global part of the
problem?  The three worst offending countries wouldn't
sign the Kyoto Treaty, and most of the rest wouldn't
ratify it.  A friend just returned from Beijing, China,
appalled at the horrendous air pollution belched
continuously from countless coal plants.  I'll have a
hard time justifying trading my Ford van for an electric
car while conditions in the rest of the world contribute
so much more intensely to any possible global warming
theory.  Given facts instead of unfounded fears, most
problems, even global in scope, can be eased or resolved
if we don't go off message with emotion and alarm.  We
aren't refusing to act, we are just acting in prudent
steps while we search for more definitive information.
Perhaps you're right, it may be too late.  Or perhaps
you're wrong, and we overestimate our global impact.  Or
perhaps we're both a little right.  At least we're having
civil discourse without name calling or hysteria.  That's
the only way to resolve world problems.

                  Kathy Hodgson Lucas (76)

                                ~~~~

Subj: Many Mea Culpi
From: Bob (Mike Clowes) Carlson '54
bobsown1@hotmail.com

By way of apology-

For Jenny Smart Page;

    Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. 

 Perhaps I have an unfair and biased opinion of you. And
that is so very wrong. You are, without doubt, doing an
excellent job of raising your children and teaching them
good values. Too bad other parents don't do this, but
leave the job instead to the schools; and then blame the
system for the children's failure. And to think you are
doing all this in the culturally deprived area of West
Richland (just kidding).

 Now, the donnybrook over gay Boy Scout leaders is
becoming tiresome and tedious. In some ways the Scouts
are correct in their stance. These "people" are not
"morally straight" and therefore do not deserve to lead
our youth.

 But, are caring and nurturing persons of the "gay
persuasion" any worse than thirty-year old teachers who
become pregnant via their twelve and thirteen year old
charges? Or pedophilc priest "preying" on altar boys?

 Maybe we should let gay men become coaches of girls swim
or gymnastic teams and gay women become priests and
teachers of young boys. Would that help the Boy Scouts?
Probably not, but it certainly might change someone's
thinking.

 And, finally, who cares if Gush got a DUI or Bore didn't
really give Tipper "full tongue" on national television.
I've said it more than once in these pages. Don't worry
about either of them lying, they are both "Politicians"
and we all know that politicians lie.

 By the by, Al. In the beginning the vice president was
the guy who came in second. But that made for some
interesting legislation.

 Anyway, that's my opinion and I'm welcome to it.

             Bob (Mike Clowes) Carlson '54
             Albany, Oregon

                                 ~~~

Subj:   Thank God for the Tree Huggers
From:   Linda McKnight (65)  -  Portland, Oregon
Lmckn211422aol.com

Okay, I am proud to be a Bomber, and to have grown up in
a wonderful, safe spot of the world, even with the threat
of nuclear war upon our heads. We survived. But, my
allegiance to Richland, Washington ends after the
reunions are over, after the Thanksgiving decorations are
put away and all the other family things that bring me
home to Richland. I am and will probably always be to the
end of my days, an Oregonian and proud of it.

I really am dismayed with Jenny Smart and her comments
regarding the environment. Jenny, you sit there in your
house in West Richland and dare to find fault with people
who want to save the rivers and streams from pollution.
My God, girl, what about Hanford and the biggest nuclear
waste dump in the world. Are you truly proud of the fact
that the core of the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant was
brought up river to you? 

Most Portland people are leery of swimming in the
Willamette River these days. When Gov. Tom McCall cleaned
up the river back in the 70s it was because businesses
were throwing chicken parts in the river because all
chicken factories and processing plants were next to the
river. Now, we have horrible chemicals being dumped in
river which have caused the fish and frogs to grow extra
parts. Somebody has to take care of the environment for
your children, Jenny. You have protected them from all
sorts of mythical evils. When are you going to start
protecting them so they can continue to breath clean air?
On Election night, I thank God for all the tree huggers
and environmentalists who wish to save the salmon and our
trees. Clean water should be available to everyone, not
those who can afford filters for their Brittas. 

      Linda McKnight (65) Milwaukie, Oregon, 
      a suburb of Portland, Oregon

                                  ~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That concludes this issue of THE SANDBOX folks. Please
include your class year and maiden name, (if applicable),
in all correspondence and subscription requests.  You may
also include your current locale if you wish.  It's easy
to join us in the ongoing conversations here.  Just send
your comments to: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com!  We are the 
Alumni of Richland High School, Richland Washington,
AKA Columbia High School, representing classes from 1942
through 2000. Visit the THE SANDBOX website.

Al Parker (53)
Shippenville, PA
Your SANDBOX Host
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                            - 110 -
***************************************
***************************************

********************************************
THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #111 ~ November 11, 2000

 "The man who promises everything is sure to fulfill 
 nothing, and everyone who promises too much is in 
 danger of using evil means in order to carry out his 
 promises, and is already on the road to perdition."

                          ~ Carl Jung ~


Contents:

          "My comment should have read..."
           Linda McKnight (65)

          My trip to San Diego to Hear Fun Stuff
          About Hybrid Cars, Fuel Cells, etc.
          Bob Rector `62

          The Election and Alternative fuels
           Peggy Hartnett (72)

          Republican Enviros; & Morality
          John Browne Jr. '61)

          Telephone Solicitation, Tree Hugging and
           Possible Election Results
           Bob (Mike Clowes) Carlson '54

------------------------------------------------

Subj:  "My comment should have read..."
From:  Linda McKnight (65)  ~ Milwaukie, Oregon
Lmckn21142

Regarding my comments in the last issue.  My comment
should have read that clean and safe water should be
available to everyone, not just those who can afford
filters for their Brittas.

                               ~~~

Subj: My trip to San Diego to Hear Fun Stuff About
      Hybrid Cars, Fuel Cells, etc.
From: Bob Rector '62 ~ Richland, WA
b_rector@owt.com
Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2000 8:04 PM

[Includes comments on an address given by Dr. William F.
Jandeska Jr., GM Powertrain Group. Presented to 107 Parts
Manufacturers, From the MPIF (Metal Powders Industries
Federation) which was attended by Rector,]

I often skip long submissions...so will condense. Call
this "Prattle and Rumors from Detroit," submission number
1 of ? (introduction and overview).

The Report by Jandeska given on Oct. l6, 2000, was
entitled "GM's Progress in Hybrid, Elec. and Fuel Cell
Vehicles" 

Some know that we make over 10,000 automobile parts per
week, right here in Bomberland. Western Sintering is
across from old Hanford Bus Lots. You may visit any week
day, 6:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. I am a "card carrying" member
of the Society of Automobile Engineers....doesn't mean
much except I get the poop sheet for every Friday's
luncheon mtg. in Portland. 
Fun information came from Bill Jandeska (a 16 patents,
etc., genius) who, when confronted with the menu at the
Richland Dairy Queen, could not decide what to have. His
wife, Jean, rolled her eyes and said, "He is always like
this." He finally ordered a dilly bar....Jean and I
ordered peanut buster parfaits. When we got our parfaits,
Bill pointed at them and said, "What is that?" "Peanut
Buster Parfait," replied his wife. "I'll have one of
those" he said, and handed the dilly bar back. *oh gees,
I thought, and this guy is designing cars I have to
drive! Note: Bill is currently driving GM's full size V8
Hybrid Pickup Truck, (Hybrid being both gas and electric)
and no, I did not know that one of these even existed
until two weeks ago.

Bill came to Richland to see our automated sintering
system and to check out Yakima Valley wine. We spent 4
hours in the Barrels, vats, and bottles of Kiona
Vineyards (yea, we drank too much) He and his wife are
"sold" on our wine. 

 I will send him a case of Kiona, Late Harvest White
Riesling for Christmas. (his favorite)

[Now, back to Jandeska's report:] 
First fun stuff in his report was that, "Yes, automobile
emissions are very very political." GM must respond to
the EPA and the EPA is being driven by Democrats. 80 mpg
is the EPA mandate. So, GM did it, reported Bill. He put
a picture of the car on the screen and explained all the
things they had to do because some guy, (nice word for
well-intended idiot) told the EPA that there was indeed
enough energy in a gallon of gas to theoretically get a
car 80 miles down the road.

The car has no exterior rear view mirrors.....the last
thing they had to remove to make the 80 mpg! 
Overview: Electric Cars will increase in usage, but will
be commuter cars, with low payload, low speed, and low
distances between charges. There is just not enough
energy in a battery....any kind of battery we know of.
*and yes...the electricity must still be generated with
fossil fuel. Result will be cleaner air in cities, but
not much net reduction in fossil consumption.

Several designs of Hybrid Cars will become "common."
There are 4 basic types.

Fuel Cells still have several hurdles, even when
proponents announce great forward strides....and are
"probably about 10 years out." (certainly can change)
*not sure how the EPA proposes to label fuel cell cars
for consumer protection...."Warning, this car contains
one hydrogen tank"? **EPA does not list Hydrogen as an
explosive... only a flammable. But hydrogen flame is
colorless ....so firemen approach hydrogen fires holding
a broom in front of them to detect flame.

**GM will get Hydrogen for their fuel cells by
decomposing gasoline. You will still go to a gas pump to
"fill up." 
Maybe more details later. Think I'll get a horse...but
then there's the methane.

                         Got Gas?
                         Bob Rector '62                         

                                ~~~

Subj:  The election and Alternative fuels
From: Peggy Hartnett (72)
highdesert@theriver.com
 (A modern hotel in a timeless town)

Well, I just got back from voting and sort of envy you
who live in "swing" states. Arizona is a state that is
traditionally Republican and nobody expects it to be
otherwise in the foreseeable future, which actually
allows some folks who are traditionally Democrats to vote
for 3rd parties if they choose without fear that they may
be inadvertently voting for George W. Bush. In this case
it is just about getting enough votes for some of the
other parties to get recognized. I for one was not at all
impressed with either candidate or campaign and I think
it is great that other parties are forming if these are
the best choices the two parties had to offer (don't you
Republicans think Jeb is a whole lot smarter than
George)? and if the Democrats are going to take the heat
for being the party of Hollywood, they should have gotten
Al some stage training! For me this was an election made
interesting for local issues and offices and there I
voted across the board in terms of party affiliation but
I was very clear in my initiative voting--I voted for the
environment and education.

Those two topics bring me to my reaction to the pieces in
SANDBOX Extra #108 by Jenny Smart Page (87) and Kathy
Hodgson Lucas (76)--Wow you two are sarcastic! I always
wonder why people feel they have to speak in extremes and
ridicule to make a point. From what you have said I can
bet we won't agree on many things concerning energy
conservation and consumption but the facts are before us
and have been for many years. We, the citizens of the US
are energy gluttons, we equate essential personal freedom
with having it be alright to have one person per SUV
rather than carpool or use public transportation. I felt
very fortunate to live in a part of this country where
there was public transportation, I did not own a car for
almost 10 years. When I needed one, I rented one. Of
course when I did buy one I was penalized by the
insurance companies for not having been insured for that
time-but no, there are no corporate conspiracies here.
Yes, batteries have to be recharged, part of my life is
solar and certainly you all in the Tri-Cities could be
too. There will have to be sources developed and
resources used, you bet- and some hard choices will have
to be made. However, having the attitude that this is
what we like because it works and something other might
make us change our lifestyle is not a view that will help
us meet those challenges. I believe that it is also okay
to admit that some of the technologies we have created
could be better, safer, less damaging to other aspects of
life. I for one am not pointing any fingers and placing
blame, I believe people try to build the best mousetrap
but they don't always work as planned. I think self-
satisfied attitudes as well as sarcasm and smugness lead
people to dig their heals in deeper and drive us away
from useful conversations and solutions. I realize that
my views are the minority view, that we are a nation that
has the only military and economic clout to insure that
we can maintain this orgy for a while. So I don't expect
you to jump on your bikes real soon (though it may save
your life), by all means crank up the volume, the AC, get
everyone their own TV, computer and phone if you think
that is the best thing you can do but lose the sarcasm,
it is soooooooo unbecoming.

 Peggy Hartnett (72)

                                ~~~

Subj:   Republican Enviros; & Morality
From:   John Browne Jr. (61)  ~  b4juddcreek@webtv.net
Vashon Island, WA

Seems like everyone has heard that old saying, "Democrats
eat their young." It's true, too, I guess... but they're
not the only ones to do so. Republicans will also eat
their young- but not until they've eaten everyone else's.
That's what you call 'conservative.' You conserve what
you've got for as long as possible; and try to be as
creative as you can to maintain the status quo- in this
case, a full stomach. (2Kings, 6:24)

There's Dan Evans, who was the Gov here, awhile back, a
man very fond of wild places; & old John Sawhill, the
Republican who wanted to slap a 50ç tax on every gallon
of gas, to make some $$$ off people who didn't worry how
much they burned. He also started the Nature Conservancy,
which is kind of a multicultural, multisocioeconomic
capitalist scheme to buy up lots of uniquely beautiful
Natural places & leave 'em alone, basically... assuming
that, as nicer parts of the world that g-d created, maybe
it would be instructive to future people to see it the
way it was without anyone making a buck off of it first-
g-d loves Her fools... Morality, though, isn't one of
Them. Morality is actually "revenue-neutral" in the
economics of community sociobiology; it's the Rule that
prevents the Community from being the Victim of its
biggest, baddest bad-boys. That way, the Community
thrives, and everybody has Nice Things to say about the
well-behaved baddest boys, who learn the Rewards of Self-
discipline (after it has been explained to Them by some
crumbly old fart who has gone to the trouble of Living a
Long Time, & so must be endowed with Magick of some kind
or other). Morality IS relative- or 'relatives,' which is
how big the circle is that Morality describes. Usually,
it starts with basic Social Units- a family, a tribe, a
parish, etc. but can also be extended around some
artificial gatherings, too- like 'all the redheads,' or
'all the left-handed Arabic-speaking white guys on this
side of the River,' or 'all the humans within a line
drawn on the surface of the earth that corresponds to a
mathematical representation of an arbitrary division of
an oblate spheroid that's used to stand in for the Actual
Earth and is called the 49th Latitude as it crosses a
wide, dry spot in the artificially designated
representation known as the Western Part of the Northern
Hemisphere of the Actual Earth, south to, say, roughly,
the wettest, lowest part of this valley that starts up in
the Rocky Mountains somewhere & goes South, but not until
it starts going Southeast; & then, if you drew a line
West from That spot over to the big ocean, kind of more-
or-less straight," etc. So, more & more, Morality seems
like a kind of social counterbalance to the "Might makes
Right" approach to Better Living; which probably means
that, based upon the Community invoked, Morality can "Be
Whatever the Community Wants." So, if the Community
circle is drawn rather narrowly, then Morality may
justify shooting doctors who defy the production of
future cannon-fodder by performing abortions, while also
justifying the nuclear vaporization of infants 11 time
zones away because of the economic proclivities of their
greedy parents, who may be intending to keep all of the
oil within Their Moral Circle from those antiabortionists
who have come to depend upon it in order to bring home
milk & butter from the local dairy in crinkly plastic
bags, while safely ensconced in 3000 lbs of iron, rubber
& glass, as is their wont.

If the Circle of Morality were to include, say, All the
Hominids, or (more broadly) All the Mammals, or even
(gasp!) All of the Planetary Life-forms, then the
judgment of 'What's Right?' will likely be radically
altered from the Present Considerations-not because
Morality is Good or Bad, but because Morality is simply a
Protective Device. And Any Device may be Used Unwisely...
although, sometimes it requires exceedingly creative
manipulations to do so. ^..^

-JHBrowne, Jr. ~ Vashon Island, `61

                                 ~~~

Subj:  Telephone Solicitation, Tree Hugging and
       Possible Election Results
From: Bob (Mike Clowes) Carlson '54  ~  Albany, Oregon
bobsown1@hotmail.com

To Chuck Monasmith '65:

 Even the little dots in the telephone directory that are
supposed to indicated you do not take solicitations don't
seem to work. What does seem to work is to inform the
caller that you do not accept such calls, you have
indicated this choice to the telephone company, and if
called again by the same person and/or firm it will be
reported to the proper authorities and this party will
then be persecuted (or is it prosecuted?) to the full
extent of the law.

 At least that's how it is supposed to work. And it
sometimes does. Also giving the caller a good, loud
"raspberry" seems to work too.

To Linda McKnight '65:

 Yes, Tom McCall did try to clean up the Willamette, and
for the most part it is. Unfortunately, you live in the
cesspool of the state, and we all know it flows downhill.
And before you even think of it, yes, Albany is sometimes
considered the armpit of Oregon, but the river's fairly
clean as it flows past the town.

 But it will get even worse, as the grass seed farmers
start using more and more chemicals because of the ban on
field burning. For which we must give praise to the
transplanted Californians in Eugene. It is becoming
somewhat apparent the citizens what the state to become
industry free; sort of like Salem. I can remember when
the major business of Salem as in the canneries, but no
more as most of them have moved out or shut down. The
only industry left is the paper mill, so it becomes
obvious that soon the "government drones" will force out
all the worker bees.

 I can't and won't claim to be a native Oregonian, so I
can look at the mess the state is in and snicker up my
sleeve. Here sits this nice piece of property situated
between California and Washington, and for some strange
reason getting the worst of both in all respects, from
gay bashing Chiefs of Police to incompetent and out of
touch legislators (even with term limits).

 One of the best ideas "Uncle" Tom had was to ask people
to visit the state, but don't stay. After he uttered that
remark, a group known as the "James Blaine Society"
proposed setting up toll booths, particularly on the
California border. Visitors from that state would be
required to put up a $500.00 bond, which was refundable
only if they left Oregon within the next thirty seconds.
Sounded like a great revenue producer, especially when
the booths were more than thirty seconds from the border,
and police were standing by. Too bad it didn't happen.

Now, this just in:

 Sometime back I reported on some of the ballot measures
we Oregonians faced during the recent election. They were
a bit more exciting that Bore or Gush. At any rate most
of Bill Sizemore's tax scam measures were failing
miserably. The idea that the legislature must fund their
mandated programs for schools is passing. Utility
companies cannot raise their rates to compensate for
closed facilities (they tried it once before). Prison
term limits will stay in effect, at least until the next
election. And the OCA's antigay measure is going down in
defeat.

 From the armpit of Oregon, that's my opinion and I'm
welcome to it.

Bob (Mike Clowes) Carlson '54
                                 ~~~
                        Stay tuned - ap
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That concludes this issue of THE SANDBOX folks. Please
include your class year and maiden name, (if applicable),
in all correspondence and subscription requests.  You may
also include your current locale if you wish.  It's easy
to join us in the ongoing conversations here.  Just send
your comments to: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com!  We are the 
Alumni of Richland High School, Richland Washington,
AKA Columbia High School, representing classes from 1942
through 2000. Visit the THE SANDBOX website.

Al Parker (53)
Shippenville, PA
Your SANDBOX Host
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                              - 111 -
***************************************
***************************************

********************************************
THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #112 ~ November 12, 2000

       "A person usually has two reasons for doing 
      something: a good reason and the real reason."
                      ~ Thomas Carlyle ~

Contents:

       Life On Planet Earth, and Having to Share It
        With 6 Billion Others
       Jenny (Smart) Page `87

       Don't Use Florida Court Rooms to
       Amend The Constitution
       Dennis Robertson Beatty (Class of 60)

       Sandbox Reform
       Mary Ray Henslee (61)

       Telephone Solicitation Remedies
        Peggy (Roesch) Wallan '71

       The Presidential Election: Was There One?
       Robert Shipp  (64)

------------------------------------------------------

Subj:    Life On Planet Earth, and Having to Share
 It With 6 Billion Others
From: Jenny (Smart) Page `87
West Richland, WA
jpage@3-cities.com

In response to Linda McKnight (65), issue #110

The environment is something that is of concern, I think,
to just about everyone, including me.  We all want clean
air to breath, clean water to drink, unpolluted soils,
etc., etc.

The problem is that as with so many hot topics today, the
opposing viewpoints have become so polarized that it is
an "all or nothing" type situation now.  "ALL electric
cars -- no internal combustion engines!"  "No dams in the
river AT ALL!" "Concrete over ALL those nuclear plants"
"No drilling for ANY oil ANYWHERE" yada yada yada.....

For things to be resolved, people need to learn to
compromise.  That means maybe banning all commercial and
recreational fishing of salmon (as an example) by both
Native Americans and un-native Americans alike for, say,
a period of 20 years.  Maybe it means responsibly
exploring for domestic oil sources in this region but not
that area over there.  Maybe it means increasing the
number of nuclear power plants so that there aren't so
many coal or gas burning plants. I'm not saying I have
the answers, but I'm willing to think about other
alternatives.  Decisions need to be made based on more
than emotion, and shouldn't be knee-jerk reactions to the
problem-du-jour.

Am I thrilled with the fact that Hanford is so "messed"
up?  No, not really.  But, just like your river in
Oregon, things are being done to help it out.  And just
like cleaning up rivers and streams, air, and soil, it's
not going to happen overnight. And it can't be handed
down as a mandate by the government.

So...(if you believe the earth and all life on it came
from God, read this next sentence; if you believe you
evolved from swamp water, read the line after...)

--God gave us brains, we need to use them. 
--We're advanced biological organisms with a complex
central nervous system, let's respond intelligently to
the stimuli.

(And for those who are humor-impaired, you're supposed to
read those in a light-hearted manner)

          Jenny (Smart) Page ~87
          --from the thriving metropolis, and yet still
            traffic light-less, West Richland, WA

                                    ~~~

Subj:   Don't Use Florida Court Rooms to 
    Amend The Constitution
From:   Dennis Robertson Beatty (Class of 60)
Salt Lake City, UT
knd_beatty@email.msn.com

I have just returned from a driving trip of Western
Washington while looking for a place to retire.  On
returning, by election day, I have just caught up on
reading the last month's worth of Sandbox articles and
was quite amazed by the discourse provided on a group of
topics.  I would like to briefly add my three pennies
worth.

On the homosexual issue.  In Utah there is a very large
underground of Gays and Lesbians.  The reason it is
underground is because of all the discrimination
practiced by the state with the support of the governing
church authorities.  Utah is a Theocracy.  Mary Henslee
said it best.  We must all learn to get along with each
other and provide them the same respect we request they
provide us.  We should quit trying to change people. You
cannot change someone by force, only by intimidation.
The program mentioned in a later edition talked about a
program to get these people to change.  They haven't,
they only act that way to get everyone off their backs
and to get out of the "spotlight."

On what it takes to be a Democrat: You left out one big
one that has become increasing obvious over the last
couple of days.  You must not be able to read a simple
ballot and live in West Palm Beach at the same time.
There is no mention of the 95+% of the people who filled
it out right, only the less than 5% who screwed it up.
Al Gore caters to people who need and want help from the
government and this is just an example of what he was
hoping for.  Followers.  Never mind they can't follow
simple directions or ask for help when they are confused.
Of course a lot of this could be because he has William
Daley as his chairman. Anyone remember Richard Daley of
Chicago? Dirty Politics?  Dead People voting?  Think back
to 1960.

On the election.......Thought there would be more writing
on this, so was amazed it has been quiet, but then, maybe
I am too early.  There is a simple solution.  Finish the
recount and fix the system for the next session.  Anyone
thinking a re-vote is a solution has just denied 100
million people the right to participate unless we have a
totally new election with only the two front-runners
going for the office.  Kind of a run-off like they do in
Europe and other countries with multiple candidates.

On Albert Gore......It appears you have the majority vote
but then once again you are trying to change the rules
after the game is over.  When you entered this fracas you
knew, or should have, that it was the electoral college
that counted (right or wrong) and that is the law.  Quit
your whining and go by the vote.  If you don't like it
move to New York, run for congress, and try to change the
constitution from inside the system not from inside some
courtroom in Florida.  This only proves that with all the
blustering that the real Albert Gore came out.  It is
amazing that Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon had more class
than Mr. Clean, the Clinton-Clone.

Well, this should get the juices flowing for a while.
Bomber Cheers to All and Best Wishes for the Coming
Holidays.

       Dennis Robertson Beatty (Class of 60)
       Salt Lake City, UT
                                 ~~~

Subj:  Sandbox Reform
From:  Mary Ray Henslee (61)
Mah@satx.net

I would like to share my thoughts about some of the
entries that I have read and this forum in general. 

To:  Peggy Lewis Johnson (62)  

I thought your entry in Issue 97 was very heartwarming
and full of wise parental advice.  It is a must read for
all parents because it applies to all situations with
children of any age.  Your daughter is very lucky and I
have a feeling she knows it.  

To:  Kathy Hodgson Lucas (76) 

Thank you for sharing some great information on global
warming in Issues 105, 107, and 110.  You obviously did
your homework and shared a lot of worthwhile information
that most of us would never have known.  It pays to be
informed. 

To:  Marc Franco (66)

Thank you for your two entries in Issue 107.  I
appreciated your kind reference to my entry in Issue 103
that was in response to your entry in Issue 102 that was
in response to my entry in Issue 101.  It is nice that
you accept my point of view even though you don't totally
agree.  At least there was some healthy exchange of views
and I am sure that we can both take something away from
each others views.

I also think that you shared a lot of worthwhile
information on global warming.  Hopefully, we will all
have the foresight to become part of the solution and not
part of the problem.  Hopefully, our elected officials
will have the foresight to deal with our energy needs and
the environment before they become a crisis.

There have been many other great entries since the
inception of this forum too numerous to mention.

To:  Dave Doran (72)

Your entry in Issue 107 really took me aback.  I know
that my entry in Issue 104 making light of Democrat views
has been floating around, which is how I got it three
times.  I just decided to share it with those that may
not have seen it, as I always enjoy jokes, parodies,
etc., that others send in from time to time.  They
lighten our day a tad and are fun to pass on.  It never
occurred to me to identify its source because I thought
that it was pretty obvious that it wasn't something that
I authored.  I am flattered that you think that I possess
such wit and talent as a writer that someone might be
fooled if it were not for your input.  

To:  Vance Bartram (62)

This is in response to your entry in Issue 107.  I think
if you go back and read my entry in Issue 106 a little
more carefully, you will find that I did mention sources
to reference.  In my haste to get the entry out before
the election, I did fail to give a reference for the
Russian-Iran articles.  Right now you can go into
http://www.newsmax.com and read a number of articles  The
easiest way to get to the information is to type Gore
Kept Russia-Iran Deal Secret in the Search Block.  When I
first found the articles they were accessible by just
typing in a few key words, but the site has changed
things around since then.  This happens sometimes when we
make reference to information because sites are
constantly changing things around and updating their
sites.  Before jumping to negative conclusions, this fact
of life should be considered. I am sure a simple polite
request for guidance in finding information if there is
confusion would get a response by the Sandbox contributor
in a timely manner.

There have been a few other extremely negative entries
that I could address, but I don't think it would serve
any purpose.

We are all so fortunate to have our lives enriched by
this healthy exchange of ideas and experiences. Thanks,
Al, and to all of you who take the time to share.  I am
for not getting too picky and critical of each others
entries because we don't want to discourage anyone from
sharing.  We might end up missing out on something good.
It would get pretty dull in here if we all agreed, but I
think that we should agree to disagree with consideration
and respect for the other person's views.  I know we all
try our best to convey our thoughts in a cogent way, but
sometimes in our haste we may not always be as concise as
we need to be to get our point across.  Sometimes in our
haste we may misread or misinterpret each other's
entries.  These things should be taken into consideration
before becoming angry and making hasty responses that
will be regretted. 

In my opinion http://www.newsmax.com is one of the best
sites on the web.  If you want to keep up with the
present election situation, you will get the most in-
depth coverage and get it first in Newsmax.com

My thoughts for today for what they are worth.

                ~ Mary Ray Henslee (61) ~

                                   ~~~

Subj:   Telephone Solicitation Remedies
From:  Peggy (Roesch) Wallan '71
Spanaway, WA
plroesch@earthlink.net

After years of answering the phone, only to find a
telemarketer at the other end of the line -- and it
getting to the point that I had a minimum of 3 such calls
an evening (I kept track) -- I finally bought in to the
telephone company's No Solicitation service.  

Yeah, I had answered every telemarketer with "Take my
name and number off your list and never call this number
again, that's the law."  It didn't work because every
caller represented a different company, so big deal.  

And, yeah, the NS service costs a bundle (about
$7/month), but ya know what?  MY PHONE STOPPED RINGING.
My husband and I can enjoy a peaceful evening without
interruption, knowing that if the phone rings it is
someone we want to talk to!  

(For you who don't know what the service is, any caller
to our line is greeted with a message that this number
does not accept calls from solicitors, so they should
just hang up NOW, but real callers can press 1 or stay on
the line, then the phone rings. We also can program
numbers into the system that can bypass the message.)  

This also blocks calls from stupid people who don't
really LISTEN to the message and think our line is
blocked somehow, so they hang up ... like delivery
people, the builder, the post office ... and then they
tell us they couldn't get through.  But *stupid people*
is another topic, and I'm too tired to address that topic
today.


                   Peggy (Roesch) Wallan '71

                                   ~~~

Subj:   The Presidential Election: Was There One?
From:   Robert Shipp  (64)
rshipp@gateway.net

Do I have this right?  There was a Presidential election.
The candidate generally viewed as the incumbent, a man
who had spent most of his adult life doing whatever was
necessary to obtain and hold onto political power,
appeared to lose. Unwilling to accept defeat, he claimed
that he had really won, then insisted on holding a new
vote. Whatever happened to that Milosevic fellow anyway? 

                        Robert Shipp  (64)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That concludes this issue of THE SANDBOX folks. Please
include your class year and maiden name, (if applicable),
in all correspondence and subscription requests.  You may
also include your current locale if you wish.  It's easy
to join us in the ongoing conversations here.  Just send
your comments to: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com!  We are the 
Alumni of Richland High School, Richland Washington,
AKA Columbia High School, representing classes from 1942
through 2000. Visit the THE SANDBOX website.

Al Parker (53)
Shippenville, PA
Your SANDBOX Host
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                            - 112 -
***************************************
***************************************

********************************************
THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #113 ~ November 13, 2000

  "Even if you are on the right track, you'll still
   get run over if you just sit there." --Will Rogers

Contents:

From France: U.S. Election 2000: 
What Do You Think About What Happened?
Monique Mangold Beaucour (80 - Foreign Exchange Student)

Raising Kids on "Luck?"
Glynn Gregg (RHS spouse)

Like a Light In the Fog
Mike Pearson (74)

Election 2000: 
The Eye-Hand-Brain Coordination Factor.
Vernon BRUCE Brunelle (62)

There Oughta be a Law
Chuck Monasmith (65)

Comments on Comments
Patty de la Bretonne '65

Election 2000: Response and Overview  
Jerry Lewis `73

    -----------------------------------------------

Subj: From France: U.S. Election 2000: 
What Do You Think About What Happened?
Monique Mangold Beaucour (80)
beaucour@infonie.fr

About the presidential elections, I asked some
 people here in August for who they would vote...
 now I would like to know what you think about
 what happened. Don't worry, it's just an American
 modern history subject for me.

             Monique Mangold Beaucour (80)

[Monique was an exchange student at RHS]

                                 ~~~

Subj:    Raising Kids on "Luck?"
From:   Glynn Gregg (RHS spouse) - Pasco, WA
mmgregg@3-cities.com

Glynn Gregg here, (husband of Millie Finch Gregg (54).
Just a note to the person who said the mother raised her
kids on luck, I thought it was hard work. I consider
"luck" an insult.  thanks for letting me sound off.

      ~ Glynn Gregg, Pasco (misplaced Texan.) ~

                                  ~~~

Subj: Like a Light In the Fog
From: Mike Pearson (74)
Ellensburg, WA
mikewpearson@mail.com

Like a light in a fog, our minds vaguely comprehend the
secrets of the universe.  Do we care about pathways and
habits whereby our minds process information, both
chemical and conceptual? These would require actual
thought to plumb, but how can we not?  Food and ideas
will both greatly affect the year's passage through life.
Each religion has a different way of explaining how to do
your best with those.  But why do we not think much more
about this?  And not only think, but intuit much more
too.

                      ~ Mike Pearson ~

                                  ~~~

Subj: Election 2000: 
The Eye-Hand-Brain Coordination Factor.
Vernon B. Brunelle (62)
Las Vegas, NV.
vbrunelle@juno.com

I am so sorry to see that 19,000 people in one county in
Florida have lost eye-hand-brain coordination and were
unable to vote using a ballot of the type that have been
used in that same county for over a decade. It may be a
good idea to disregard the votes of the people that were
not able to figure out the ballot.  

Whoops, seems that is what happened. Gee now I have
nothing to complain about or any solution to propose.

I liked the statement from a third grader in Appalachia,
"This is so simple that my little brother could do it."

I to have little brothers.  I hope that all of them could
still "...do it."

                 ~ Vernon B. Brunelle ~

[No wonder some people don't want their water "Floridated."]

                                 ~~~

Subj:   There Oughta be a Law
From:   Chuck Monasmith RHS (65)
msmith@owt.com

Peggy Wallen, I appreciated your frustration that led to
blocking your telephone from solicitors. Anyone remember
those cartoons in the Sunday TCH "There Oughta Be A Law"?
I did not like that cartoon because so many of the
cartoons were of people wanting laws that were
unnecessary if the offenders would only show
consideration or intelligence or self control or some
other character trait that makes good citizens.  However,
in the case of telephone solicitors... Why should I pay
for a service that inconveniences my friends and business
associates just to avoid unwanted solicitors?  

Why isn't there a law that say all telephone solicitors
in the state must pay a tax that covers the cost of
everyone who wants that blocking service? Why can't we
have the service block their phones from calling us so
our friends are not inconvenienced?  Better yet, Why
don't we just cut out their tongues?

BTW I received a number of Veterans Day cards from
friends who knew I had served.  It really felt good to be
given a thank you for serving our country.

Chuck Monasmith RHS (65) Still in Richland, The Richland
with traffic lights and good water!

                                  ~~~

Subj:   Comments on Comments
From:   Patty de la Bretonne '65
Seattle
Pia5847@aol.com

To: Peggy Hartnett in Sandbox 111
 You go girl! Thanks for your comments.

To Linda McKnight, in Sandbox 111
 I really appreciate your thoughtful and timely remarks
here. Thanks. If you're ever up this way, call me.

           ~ Patty de la Bretonne '65 Seattle ~

                                  ~~~

Subj: Election 2000: Responses and Overview  
From: Jerry Lewis `73
jlewis@owt.com

Responding to Dennis Robertson Beatty

 "...but then, maybe I am too early.  There is a simple
solution.  Finish the recount and fix the system for the
next session.  Anyone thinking a re-vote is a solution
has just denied 100 million people the..."

I agree with that. It's too bad the ballot was confusing
(and probably illegal), but it happened and it probably
wouldn't be right to re-vote now that everyone knows what
the stakes are.

   "On Albert Gore......It appears you have the majority
vote but then once again you are trying to change the
rules after the game is over.  When you entered this
fracas you knew, or should have, that it was the
electoral college that counted (right or wrong) and that
is the law.  Quit your whining and go by the vote.  If
you don't like it move to New York..."

The problem is that if the manual recount does turn up
enough votes to unseat Bush, then what? Everyone is
peering over the vote counters shoulders so it's likely
there won't be fraud.  I'm sure the Republican
representatives are challenging any questionable counts
for Gore.  Then should Bush's camp stop whining and go by
the vote? Manual recounts are not totally unusual in
close elections, and a New York Times says today:

"Florida law permits a manual recount when a candidate
believes there were errors in an election, and Democrats
point out that Governor Bush signed a similar law in
Texas."
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/12/politics/12CND-ELECT.html

   "...came out.  It is amazing that Gerald Ford and
Richard Nixon had more class than Mr. Clean, the Clinton-
Clone.  I was buying that one about Nixon too, but Slate
reports something different: 

"Far from "accepting the verdict," close Nixon aides Bob
Finch and Len Hall dispatched operatives to investigate
voter fraud in several states, as David Greenberg wrote
in Slate last month. Within three days of the election,
the GOP chairman had called for investigations and
recounts in 11 states. Recounts were mounted, grand
juries were impaneled, and the FBI was called in. The
press also investigated the charges. "
http://slate.msn.com/code/PressBox/PressBox.asp?Show=11/9/2000&idMessage=6459

Slate has another interesting article dressed up as a
proposed letter from Gore to Bush.  It'll never happen,
but it's kind of amusing:
http://slate.msn.com/Readme/00-11-10/Readme.asp

I think it's not a bad idea.  Gore should realize that if
he manages to pull it off, the next four years are going
to be pretty gruesome. I doubt they will be much better
for Bush either if he finally prevails. Going by the
pattern of the last quarter century, this presidency is
likely to be a one-termer followed by a strong candidate
from the opposite party who hangs around for a while.  I
was proposing this scenario since before the election,
and believe more strongly in it given the closeness of
this contest. I am not alone - hearing good supporting
arguments from as diverse places as NPR and newsmax.com
(see below).

Quoting Mary Ray Henslee:
 "...you can go into http://www.newsmax.com and..."

I'm happy to have your source so I can go evaluate it
myself.  I went there and found it to be an interesting
site.  The slant is obviously and in many ways,
unrelentingly conservative and Republican leaning. So I
would take much of what it says with a scoop of salt. I
mean, with several big links about how Clinton/Gore
'undermined American Democracy' and similar, it's hard to
miss the slant. Nonetheless, there's some interesting
commentary including something that confirmed my
suggestion in the previous paragraph:
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2000/11/10/71415.shtml
and another about how Bush should pull it out of the fire
to save 'his presidency'
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2000/11/12/22914.shtml
 something that the recount may recast as 'Gore's
presidency'.  In that article, Christopher Ruddy suggests
that Bush listen less to his advisers and go by his gut
feelings. As an aside, my wife asked me today which of
Bush's expert and knowledgeable advisers is he going to
listen to, meaning he may have the 'best' team around -
but the buck stops with him.

And in between all the conservative reports, there are
actually articles by Hillary Clinton, who we all know,
and Alexander Cockburn, who as I recall, was the Wall
Street Journal's token liberal.  I didn't check all of
the commentators out, so there might be a few more
liberals there.  Maybe it's a way for the conservatives
to keep an eye on the enemy.

They also appeared to be one of the first to report the
results of the preliminary hand recount - and their total
appears to have been right - the NY Times was reporting a
different figure.

Anyway, all for now - dinner is waiting.  Glad to be
writing about something other than source attribution,
though after all that complaining, I felt obliged to
document everything, which does slow down the process. Oh
well.

         ~Jerry  Lewis  *  jlewis@owt.com  * ~                      
         ~  http://www.owt.com/users/jlewis/ ~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That concludes this issue of THE SANDBOX folks. Please
include your class year and maiden name, (if applicable),
in all correspondence and subscription requests.  You may
also include your current locale if you wish.  It's easy
to join us in the ongoing conversations here.  Just send
your comments to: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com!  We are the 
Alumni of Richland High School, Richland Washington,
AKA Columbia High School, representing classes from 1942
through 2000. Visit the THE SANDBOX website.

Al Parker (53)
Shippenville, PA
Your SANDBOX Host
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                            - 113 -
***************************************
***************************************

********************************************
THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #114 ~ November 26, 2000

 "Democracy is a charming form of government, full of
 variety and disorder, and dispensing a sort of equality
 to equals and unequal alike."
                                ~ Plato ~

Contents:

     Thanksgiving again, Where did this year go?
     Andrew Eckert (54)

     The Election
     Jim Vache Class of '64

     One of My Favorite Will Roger's Sayings
     From:  Lynn Noble Padden '74

     Chill A Little
     Dave Doran (72)

     Sarcasm
     Kathy Hodgson Lucas (76)

     Telephone Solicitors
     Dore Tyler (53)

     The Electoral College:  Checks and Balances
     From: A Bomber Friend via Chuck Holtz (55)

-----------

Subj:  Thanksgiving again, Where did this year go?
Date:   11/20/2000  
From:   Andrew Eckert (54)  ~  ECKERT1108@aol.com

We call things that frighten us "news" and have an
insatiable appetite for it, while the things that should
make us Grateful, Happy, Relaxed and Loving should be
referred to as Life, We rarely even talk about these
things!  That's amazing!  The "news" is not real; Hugs
are real! Love is what its all about.

This Thanksgiving, focus on the world you have right at
your fingertips.  The "real" world is made up of friends
and work, your cats and your hobbies.  The "real" world
is full of books, the crabgrass in the yard, and those
darn dogs!  The time you spend with your children and
especially the grand children.  Enjoy it, and take a
moment to be thankful!

Andrew Eckert (54)

~~~~

Subj:  The Election
From: Jim Vache (64)  ~  jvache@willamette.edu

I just can't resist. The confusion between politics and
law is understandable, but problematic. Both candidates
have now switched positions so many times that one cannot
isolate the problem. For those who take the position that
the "democrats" or hated "liberals"- the latter of which
would include F. Roosevelt, H. Truman Magnuson and
Jackson, who are the human beings other than Einstein,
Hitler and the Emperor of Japan most responsible for
there being Bombers after about 1948-hold the monopoly on
using the courts to advance a political agenda, think
again. One need only examine the opinions of Justices
Scalia and Thomas on the big court, or Judge Posner in
the 7th circuit to see judicial activists who happen to
be conservatives at work. Then go back two generations to
examine the work of the court in the 1930's, trumping the
"people's will" by crabbed examination of the commerce
clause and the due process class to defeat The New Deal.
Then go back another generation to the era of substantive
due process where the court routinely struck down any
form of legislation that balanced the playing field
between workers and employees, trashing states rights
along the way (the era of judicial supremecy). And so on.
I could name and verify dozens of points in the legal
process and history where activism ran in a different
direction. Here is a test: Should the Court reverse Roe
v. Wade AND prohibit the states from enacting "liberal"
abortion laws? or another test: should the first Chief
Justice Marshall's opinion in Marbury v. Madison (for a
unanimous court) that first established the notion of
judicial review of legislative acts be disestablished in
the canon?

The point? I am not sure there is one, except to say that
the use and misuse of the judicial process is a tactic
that both "sides" use, and it is simply not very
compelling to argue that one side is "worse" than the
other on this matter. The problem is probably much
deeper: we have to resort to law because our normative
agreements that form our republic are fading. This
comment from a lawyer, no less :).

Jim Vache (64)
Visiting Professor
Willamette University College of Law
Salem, Oregon

~~~~

Subj:   One of My Favorite Will Roger's Sayings
From:  Lynn Noble Padden 74)  ~  BandLPaden@aol.com

That's one of my favorite Will Rogers' sayings. I use it
in management classes.

[Referring to Quote in issue #113 repeated as follows:

  "Even if you are on the right track, you'll still get
run over if you just sit there." --Will Rogers   ]

-- Lynn

~~~~

Subj:    Chill A Little
From:   Dave Doran (72)  ~  Salt4385@aol.com

OK, I never meant to suggest footnotes and bibliographies
and I only meant that, if you didn't originate an entire
piece and yet wanted to sign your name to it, you should
reflect that you are 'borrowing' someone else's thoughts
not entirely your own. We know that you probably didn't
pen the Gettysburg Address either but when you sign your
name to it, it looks silly and might give readers the
wrong impression. 

And why has The Sandbox become so personally snitty
anyway? Sheesh! Chill a little. If you have to feel
defensive about your opinion re: others then maybe you
will want to rethink a bit.

Dave Doran (72)

~~~~

Subj:   Sarcasm
From:  Kathy Hodgson Lucas (76)  ~  KATHLUC@aol.com

I find it curious that Peggy Hartnett (72), Issue 111,
thinks my comments are sarcastic.  Apparently you either
didn't read the letters to which I was replying, or your
bias is showing.

Kathy Hodgson Lucas (76)

~~~~

Your moderater asks:

You've heard a lot about Harry Potter lately.  How many
of you remember Beatrix Potter?

~~~~

Subj:   Telephone Solicitors
From:   Dore Tyler (53)  ~ dee_tee@msn.com 
Tacoma, WA (in the book)
 
Re: telephone solicitors

My sister, Janet (61) forwarded an Email describing an
interesting process to discourage the louts.

It was a long discourse relating inane and repetitive
questions geared toward keeping the (commission paid)
caller on the line for as long as (you or) (s)he will
tolerate the UNPRODUCTIVE time spent.

Hopefully the louts keep lists of unproductive phone
numbers and in (as short) time the number of calls will
dwindle considerably.

I think that a government (attempt at a) solution would
open a can of worms that could make an unpleasant meal,
given The Gov-mints recent record of producing seemingly
needed regulation of peoples behavior that have produced
seemingly (?) unintended negative consequences for our
dwindling personal freedoms.

As my old friend and fellow army inlistee Bob/Mike would
say, "that's my opinion, and I'm entitled to it (for now,
anyway)

Dore Tyler (53) ~ Tacoma, WA (in the book)

~~~~

Subj:  The Electoral College:  Checks and Balances
From: A Bomber Friend via Chuck Holtz ~ chuck2820@hotmail.com

One of the things that dismays me about this close
election is how many folks think we live in a Democracy -
not a Republic.

Widespread negative comments about the Electoral College
show the public is unaware or unappreciative that the
Electoral College is part of our "checks and balances"  -
--   just like the way we apportion the U.S. Senate.

~~~~

Lots of good things in the hopper already, waiting for
issue #115!  See you then!    -ap

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That concludes this issue of THE SANDBOX folks. Please
include your class year and maiden name, (if applicable),
in all correspondence and subscription requests.  You may
also include your current locale if you wish.  It's easy
to join us in the ongoing conversations here.  Just send
your comments to: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com!  We are the 
Alumni of Richland High School, Richland Washington,
AKA Columbia High School, representing classes from 1942
through 2000. Visit the THE SANDBOX website.

Al Parker (53)
Shippenville, PA
Your SANDBOX Host
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                            - 114 -
***************************************
***************************************

********************************************
THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #115 ~ November 27, 2000

 "Judicial judgment must take deep account of the day
before yesterday in order that yesterday may not paralyze
today."
                      ~ Felix Frankfurter ~
                     Supreme Court Justice

Contents:

          Co-Presidents
          Gary Behymer (64)

          When Will The Fat Lady Sing?
          Bob (Mike Clowes) Carlson '54

          The Big Potty
          Bob Mattson 64

          Our Effect On The Greenhouse Effect
          Marc Franco (66)

          Energy: Sources, Costs and Policy
          Bill Didway (66)

          A Moment of Peace; Bringing The Election
          To a Close; Now Let's See Some Leadership
          Steve Carson (58)

------------------------------------------------------

[Note: The following item was actually sent to us a few
weeks ago, but kind of got lost in the melee along with a
ballot box or two.  Finally though, it did resurface,
along with the voting machine that guy was carrying
around in the trunk of his car. Hmm... would this idea
bring an end to the contesting of the contest or only add
more to the contention of it all?]

Subj: Co-Presidents
From: Gary Behymer (64) ~ bjangary@colfax.com

I put this on my business web site [the other] morning.
'Bombers' can participate also (;-)

Vote Now!

New 'pulse poll'.....
http://users.colfax.com/almota/

"George W. Bush & Al Gore should serve as Co-Presidents
for the next four years (;-) "

Vote Now!

"This election's like a box of chocolates. You never know
what you're gonna get."

                   ~ Gary Behymer (64) ~

[Further editorial note: Don't know if Gary still has
that poll on his site, but after all, it's the thought
that counts.  Don't you agree?

~~~~

[The following entry, as you can see was written a couple
of weeks ago, but seems just as timely today as it did
when freshly penned as the contesting of the contest
continues on... and on ... and on.]

Subj:    When Will The Fat Lady Sing?
From:   Bob (Mike Clowes) Carlson '54 ~ Albany, Oregon
bobsown1@hotmail.com

    Well, here it is, the 14th day of November, and the
nation has still not selected a president.  But then, I
remembered what some wag once said:  "It ain't over until
the fat lady sings."  Does this mean a dearth of singing
ladies in Florida?

    If I didn't "know better," I would hazard a guess as
to possible voter fraud in Florida.  Voter fraud in the
Grapefruit State?  Who ever heard of such a thing?  New
York, yes.  Chicago, definitely.  But, Florida, no way!

    Hey, wait a minute.  Isn't Gush's brother governor of
that state?  Makes one wonder.  And we thought the
Kennedy's were nepotic (don't know if there is such a
word, but how else would you describe those who practice
nepotism)?

    No matter the outcome, this election will ensure
employment for TV's talking heads for months to come.
Even after Leno, Letterman and the rest have given up on
the jokes; these other jokes will still be telling us
what did or did not happen ad nauseum.

    And for our foreign exchange student who wondered
what this is all about...politics as usual. Who would
have thought that the two most boring candidates in
recent memory would have had such an exciting election
result.

    Will this mean the end of the electoral college? In
some ways, I think it will.  In an age where TV networks
can "call" an election before any ballots are counted,
why not?  When the college was first conceived, it was
perhaps necessary.  You see, not every one could vote
back in the "good olde days." One had to be a property
owner, or some other equal status.  And the voter could
not be female or a "person of color."  It was definitely
white guys only back then.  But we have evolved to the
point were any citizen in good standing can vote, if they
want to.

    Now, I trust that those of you who have been decrying
and/or proclaiming the merits(?) of the various
candidates did in fact vote.  I certainly hope the
talking heads did.

    No matter who the eventual winner may be, this will
certainly be grist for several mills.  And it is probably
long past time to do some basic election reform.  Like
shorten the campaign period. Changing the election date
may not be a good idea, the time between the actual
electoral college vote and the inauguration is needed for
a cool down period for all concerned.  And is the
electoral college really needed?  Who do they play?
What's their record?  What conference are they in?  Who's
the coach? Who cares?

Well, that's my opinion, and I'm entitled to it.
Bob (Mike Clowes) Carlson '54 - Albany, OR

~~~~

Subj:   The Big Potty
From:   Bob Mattson 64  ~  Rmat683939@aol.com

Well, when we would drive south on I- 5 on our way to
Fresno, we all wiggle in our seats at the first scent of
the pulp mills just north of Albany Oregon. It always
ended up DAD!! A good laugh at no one's expense. I'm not
too sure of how pristine the Willamette is as it flows
through the countryside, but my ears do perk up as I hear
on the radio and read in the papers that the big potty,
as it flows through stumptown, is once again unsuitable
for man and beast. On a heavy flow day the sewers over
load the plants that treat the by products of Mickey D's
and Natures market and are released untreated into the
lovely Willamette. On at least four accusations this last
summer, people were warned to steer clear of the waters,
for several days at a time. Live reporters would appear
on TV sets to inform and protect the public. For what
ever reason, perhaps the surface area in the region has
diminished because of pavement, population, housing
projects, rain water travels the same route as tide and
tidbits, to the sewage treatment plants. They can't do
what's necessary to safeguard what's determined to be a
safe level of treated water into the river. So what. In
today's Oregonian there's this piece on the 30 million
dollar East Bank Esplanade. Plagues embedded in the trail
and floating walkway mark every tenth of a mile to the
mouth of the Willamette River. Wait, there's more!
Unusual lighted towers indicate where streets used to
reach the river, and, if that weren't enough, there will
be historic information displayed on them. Don't worry,
the latest techniques in the river banks use willow and
special grasses can be seen from outlooks and plazas with
several pieces of sculptures and restrooms. Lighted for
24 hour use by golly! I guess the draw back is that
there's a two hour parking limit in the five acre parking
lot located beneath interstate 5. Sadly other
improvements have been sunk by the lack of money and the
absence of any private-public partnerships. I'll be the
first to admit this is a local issue, but, what can they
be thinking? I live 35 miles south of Portland, I vote
every election, and do my best to choose the most likely
candidate. The big potty flows, and flushes into the
Mighty Columbia, to the sea, don't forget to jiggle the
handle.
                      ~ Bob Mattson 64 ~    

~~~~

Subj:    Our Effect On The Greenhouse Effect
From:   Marc Franco (66)
mfranco@uswest.net

To Kathy Hodgson Lucas Issue #105 - greenhouse effect

Kathy had accused me of showing hysteria in my comments
about the greenhouse effect in issue #105. She had said
that there is no consensus that the green house effect is
being caused by humans "period." Well, you're not quite
accurate. Easily 80%- 85% of the world scientists are now
convinced of this. As I had commented in my "hysteria,"
there is certainly evidence out there that might refute
the idea of who's causing this phenomenon, but there is a
LOT more evidence that confirms it. In the mid- '80's,
some scientists refuted the idea that global warming was
even going to occur at all. In the mid- '90's, these same
scientists admitted that- well, yes, there is global
warming, but it's not our fault. Now, more and more
people are admitting that- yes, even though the earth
certainly has warm and cold cycles all by itself, we are
adding to it. We certainly have affected the environment
in many other ways. Why is it hard to believe that we are
affecting the greenhouse effect as well?

     Kathy- I have no problem that you accuse me of
hysteria. I don;t mind this, because everything I
mentioned in my previous article is coming from current
scientific thought on the matter. So I understand that
when you call me hysterical, you are actually calling the
majority of the world scientists who have studied the
matter to be hysterical. The fact that you choose to go
along with the minority on this is fine. Certainly the
minority has been correct before, and the majority wrong-
that's why we still have science.  But I think that you
should understand that the majority of science thought
does confirm this. There is LOTS of evidence. As I
commented in my previous letter, there are still people
who do not believe in evolution. So it is certainly not a
surprise that not everybody accepts the human causes of
the greenhouse effect, especially when it would slow down
economic activity to have to deal with it.

                   ~  Marc Franco (66) ~

~~~~~

Subj:    Energy: Sources, Costs and Policy
From:   Bill Didway (66) ~ didwaybj@fidalgo.net

Tonight I watched the "60 Minutes" episode on the four
Snake River dams and how the environmentalist want them
removed. I also read an article on Northwest Cable News
web page about the need to increase energy production,
meaning electricity, to get the Northwest out of
impending power shortage. The Skagit Valley Herald had an
article in it about rolling brownouts and blackouts in
California this summer and how there may be more of them
as winter starts dropping the temperatures lower this
winter. The Walla Walla-Union Bulletin had another
article about coming energy shortages. I think people
better wake up and do some hard thinking about what is
happening to our energy sources. Until more pipelines are
laid we are facing natural gas shortages in the
Northwest. Until more power plants are built, two in
eastern Washington, we are facing electrical shortages.
The proposed power plants use natural gas to make
electricity. The Walla Walla article was about wind
powered generators. Hydroelectric dams produce at ½ cent
per kilowatt hour. Natural gas powered turbines produce
electricity at about 3 cents a kilo-hour. The wind
machines produce electricity at about 5-6 cents per kilo-
hour. In the future if electricity is bought from out of
state it can cost up to 15-20 cents per kilo hour. Of
course we are dependent on big power lines coming across
three states to bring this power in. They have gone down
a couple of times in the past five years causing
blackouts in California, Oregon, Arizona and Nevada.
Where does all this power go? All the western states have
big home and business building surges going on for many
years. And look at all the size of the average single
family home with all its powered appliances and luxury
items. Is there a solution to the problem? Yes, but it is
many many years down the road. Gee, it would have been
nice to have had an energy policy in place these last
eight years.
                      ~ Bill Didway (66) ~

~~~~

Subj: A Moment of Peace; Bringing The Election To a 
Close; Now Let's See Some Leadership
From:   Steve Carson (58) - Chicago ~ SteveNitro@aol.com

For Andrew Eckert, Thanks for a moment of peace in your
comments about Thanksgiving.  You are right and a hug
from one of my children or grandchildren is truly a joy
to savor.

I have "dropped out" for the last month leading up to the
election to reduce my stress level.  Now that we have a
new President Elect I will find the comments interesting.
Personally I believe that the democrat position of count
until we get what we want, changing the rules,
disregarding the Florida law, the absurd personal attacks
on the Florida Secretary of State make all involved look
like idiots.  Typical of the Clinton-Gore administration,
parse and dissemble every point, attack the weakest
element and then try to make that single element
overreach the entire point.  

To Mr. Gore, you lost, handle it.

To President Elect Bush.  You don't have a mandate and
now show us that you can in fact work across the aisles
and bring this country some leadership.

            ~ Steve Carson (58) - Chicago ~

                                 ~~~

Tune in next time for more,  including responses from
those who remember Beatrix Potter and the things that
went on in a certain farmer's garden patch.  -ap
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That concludes this issue of THE SANDBOX folks. Please
include your class year and maiden name, (if applicable),
in all correspondence and subscription requests.  You may
also include your current locale if you wish.  It's easy
to join us in the ongoing conversations here.  Just send
your comments to: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com!  We are the 
Alumni of Richland High School, Richland Washington,
AKA Columbia High School, representing classes from 1942
through 2000. Visit the THE SANDBOX website.

Al Parker (53)
Shippenville, PA
Your SANDBOX Host
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                            - 115 -
***************************************
***************************************

********************************************
THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #116 ~ November 28, 2000
                         
 "The only way to make sure people you agree with can
speak is to support the rights of people you don't agree
with."
                ~ Eleanor Holmes Norton ~

Contents:

      U.S. Fails To Elect A President
      Queen Renounces American Independence               
      Bob (Mike Clowes) Carlson - '54

      Yes, I Remember Beatrix Potter!
       Pam Jewett-Bullock (nee Pyle '69) 

       I Remember Beatrix, Too!
       Bob Rector '62

       INSULTING COMPARISON
       John Allen (Class of '66)

       Two Questions
       Ray Wells (54)

       Three Opinions For the Price of One
       Bob (Mike Clowes) Carlson '54

-------------------------------------------------

        U.S. Fails To Elect A President
        Queen Renounces American Independence
        Bob (Mike Clowes) Carlson - '54
        bobsown1@hotmail.com

    In light of the most recent and current events in
Florida, the following is reproduced.  It comes from
Margret M. Sheehan, a member of a national story telling
group.  I do not know if it originated from her or if it
is something that has been circulating on the web.  Only
the spelling has been changed to more readily identify
the guilty.

    "To the citizens of the United States of America.
    "In the light of your failure to elect a president,
and to thus gouvern yourselves, we hereby give notice of
the revocation of your independence, effective
immediately.
    "Her Britanic Majesty, Elizabeth RII, will resume
monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths and
other territories (except Utah, which we do not fancy).
    "In this accord, His Royal Highness, Charles, Prince
of Wales, is dutifully designated as Gouvenor General of
the American Colonies, and will dispence with any further
chaotic elections. The body known as the Congress of the
United States is hereby disbanded, and will disperse
immediately.
    "To aid in the transition to status as a Crown
Colony, the following regulations are introduced with
immediate effect:

        "1.  All citizens will look up "revocation" in
the Oxford English Dictionary.  Citizens will also check
the pronunciation of the word "aluminium." You have been
most neglegent in pronunciation of this and several other
words, and we find American vocabulary most unacceptable.
        "2.  There is no such thing as "US English."
Microsoft will be duly informed on your behalf.
        "3.  You should endeavour to distinguish English
and Australian accents.  There is a world of difference.
        "4.  Hollywood will be required to cast English
actors as the "good guys" in future cinematic efforts.
        "5.  Americans will relearn the original anthem
"God Save The Queen," but only after fully completing
Task 1, above.  We do not wish you to become confused and
give up half-way through.
        "6.  The term "American Football" will be
eliminated from the vocabulary.  The game will be
permitted under the name "American Rules Rugby."  We
would prefer a complete transition to rugby in future, as
it is less time consumming, and more economical.
        "7.  To show our good graces, we will allow the
continuance of the game of baseball, and will gently
train our players in the more simple game. Cricket is too
convoluted for most American minds.
        "8.  You will immediately join our declaration of
war against Quebec and France, and are permitted the use
of nuclear weapons should the other parties give you any
"merde."
        "9.  July fourth will no longer be celebrated as
a holiday.  However, to continue the American penchant
for blowing things up, we will allow you to adopt "Guy
Fawkes" Day, which is celebrated on 5th November.
         "p.s.  Please tell us who killed JFK.  It is
driving MI-5 bonkers."
    See what happens when you can't make up your mind.

~~~~

             Yes, I Remember Beatrix Potter!
             Pam Jewett-Bullock (nee Pyle '69)
           Topjjb@aol.colm

Reply to Our Moderator:

REMEMBER Beatrix Potter?  Did she GO someplace?  Tales of
Peter Rabbit graces the miniature book collection shelf
in our powder room; the rest of the collection is
upstairs in my office.  The Beatrix Potter collection is
still widely available in bookstores everywhere; and, by
all accounts, it's still a big seller, especially at the
holidays.  Some things never change...

~~~~

                 I Remember Beatrix, Too!
                 Bob Rector '62
                 b_rector@owt.com

Yes, Yes, Beatrice Potter.  (Maybe Harry Potter's great
great grandmother?)  She began about 1902 to write the
stories of Peter Rabbit.  The most famous line.... I can
never get correct.... but something like..."and don't go
near Mr. McGreagor's Vegetable garden!" hummm: wisdom
beyond the ages.

Note: For folks from Bomberland- Believe it or not, look
at the hunting regulations and you will see that
Jackrabbits are now protected.  You may not shoot them
anymore.

[Peter Rabbit should be glad to hear that, Bob.  By the
way, how many of you have read the book, WATERSHIP DOWNS?
-ap]

~~~~

              INSULTING COMPARISON
              John Allen (Class of '66)
              miles2go@cheerful.com

I continue to be amused by those liberal Sandbox
contributors who enjoy linking the past with the present
by suggesting that certain of this country's former
Democrat heroes like FDR, Harry Truman, JFK, Scoop
Jackson, and Warren Magnuson would have anything whatever
to do with the Democrat Party as it exists today.  Any
one of these men would more likely be inclined to take
the Party out back to the woodshed and give it the
spanking it so richly deserves for being such an
incredibly spoiled child run amok.  The only thing those
men had in common with Dems of today, was the congenital
predilection and innate ability of some for rigging
elections.  The clearest evidence for this claim is the
son of Richard J. Daley of the infamous Chicago
"machine," picking up in the year 2000 for his dearly
departed father. This is a rare but excellent example of
the sins of the father being vested upon (or at least
implanted in) the son.  In general however, it is an
incomparable insult to Democrat Party heritage to mention
AlGore in the same breath with names like Roosevelt,
Truman, Kennedy, and Jackson.

Perhaps it is instructive that the attempted cross-
generational political comparison mentioned above, was
offered by a lawyer.  Here we find another group of
individuals (I would say "professionals"
but........really, so few are) who have, during the last
3-4 decades, largely managed to bastardize their
industry.  In that time, the law has become significantly
less a means toward justice and much more a mental
obstacle course used by its practitioners (much in the
way women use clothes, make-up and hairdos) for the sole
purpose of impressing fellow competitors in the ever
evolving legal pecking order.  Most recently, they have
left us to ponder the great questions of life such as
what the meaning of "is" is; and we can only wonder how,
over 400 years ago, the bard William Shakespeare could
have been SO prescient.

~~~~

                   Two Questions
                     Ray Wells (54)
                     ray@transcribing.com

After reading the articles (Sandbox Issue 115) on the
Willamette River, and the NW power shortage, I have to
ask two questions:

1. Do you suppose that when all that crap from the
Willamette River ends up in the Columbia River it might
just affect the salmon runs?

2. Is not the Governor of OR a bit out of line to endorse
ripping out the snake river dams to "save the salmon"
when he has failed to clean up the Willamette River that
contributes lethal pollution to the salmon's environment?

~~~~

          Three Opinions For the Price of One
          Bob (Mike Clowes) Carlson '54
          bobsown1@hotmail.com
          Albany, Oregon

    Fellow alum and fellow Oregonian, Bob Mattson (64)
writes about the grandiose plans to beautify the
Willamette as it flows through "stumptown." Hate to tell
you this, Bob, but nothing will do short of paving over
downtown and making it a parking lot for Vancouver, USA.
Think I mentioned in a previous diatribe, about the way
the Willamette flows, and what Albany/Millersburg is
called.  It is an unfortunate thing that so many people
decided to live in the metropolitan area, and thus cause
radical changes in the way water courses through.

    And let us not forget the annual gathering of
babbling TV reporters every time Johnson Creek floods.
And the poor people who get flooded out each and every
year.  What is wrong with this picture?  Guess they are
kin to those whose homes used to make the annual trek
from Cairo, Illinois, to New Orleans as "Old Muddy" rose
and inundated the land.  Some people where just naturally
born "flat-landers," just gotta live in an annual flood
plain.

    Not to be outdone, Marc Franco (66) defends his
position on global warming with great panace, and just a
mild bit of panic Marc, I thought it had been
"scientifically" proven that the current temperature and
warming trends were attributted to an overabundance of
flatulent cows.  What's the solution?  Simple, eat more
beef.  But let's not get started down that trail.

    To all you nay sayers and anti Chicken Littlers,
sorry gang, but things they are a changing.  Not to
worry, as the worst of if won't happen until long after
we've left this mortal coil.  It may affect our great-
great grandchildren, and therein lies the rub. Do we try
to fix things for them?  Or do we let our children handle
it?  So, why don't we clean up the mess?

    Bill Didway (66) reminds us that all is not well in
the "power pool."  First mistake BPA made was in selling
power to California.  Now they want us to take down the
dams!  Well, if we do, so much for the big siphon hose to
provide water to LA. We just may have to live without
"native" salmon, and that is another can of worms as all
hatchery salmon are vile, nasty and evil creatures bent
on taking over the river.  Thought the original idea
there was to create a bigger gene pool, thereby insuring
the longevity of the species (salmon, I mean).

    However, in this era of politically correctness, we
must always make amends to the loosing side. No, I don't
dispute the repatriations to the improperly interned
Japanese Americans during WWII.  Especially the way it
was done, and some of the unspoken underlying rational
for it.  Again, that is another story.

    Back to the dams, and cheap hydroelectric power.  It
(cheap electricity) is the main reason for the population
boom in both Oregon and Washington.  It may also prove
the downfall if the revisionists have their way.  There
are some rivers just meant to be used in more ways than
one, as there are some meant to run wild.  The trick is
in identifying which is which.  It may not be agreed
upon, but so far the Tennessee, Ohio, Missouri,
Mississippi, Colorado and Columbia/Snake have shown
themselves not to be the ones that run wild.

    The next thing you know, "they'll" want to dam the
Amazon, but only after "they" have depleted the rain
forest.  And don't get me going on that.

 Anyway, that's my opinion and I'm entitled to it.
   Bob (Mike Clowes) Carlson '54 - Albany, OR
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That concludes this issue of THE SANDBOX folks. Please
include your class year and maiden name, (if applicable),
in all correspondence and subscription requests.  You may
also include your current locale if you wish.  It's easy
to join us in the ongoing conversations here.  Just send
your comments to: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com!  We are the 
Alumni of Richland High School, Richland Washington,
AKA Columbia High School, representing classes from 1942
through 2000. Visit the THE SANDBOX website.

Al Parker (53)
Shippenville, PA
Your SANDBOX Host
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                            - 116 -
***************************************
***************************************

********************************************
THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #117 ~ December 10, 2000

"The margin is narrow, but the responsibility is clear."
                     ~ John F. Kennedy ~

"A new poll showed that if the election was held today,
people would be confused because it is normally held in
November."
                ~ Kevin Nealon ~

         A Reply re: Lawyers and Democrats
         Jim Vache '64

         If They Want Gore So Bad
         Bob Mattson (64)

         Electrical Supplies:
         Bill Didway (66)

         Science: The Reality of Fact
         Bill Didway (66)

         Watership Downs
         Linda Reining Pitchford (64)

         Irregularities in the Y2K Presidential Election
         Dick Epler (52

         ---------------------------------------------

Subj:    A Reply re Lawyers and Democrats
From:    Jim Vache '64
jvache@willamette.edu

Ah, where shall I start regarding "An Insulting
Comparison"? I have read the author's fulminations before
and wondered what it would be like to be on the receiving
end. Now I know. Not pleasant.  I shall try to avoid ad
hominem attacks, which seem to be the major thrust of the
author's wit. I find such attacks distasteful and
illogical. It is interesting, however, that the email
address is a cite to Robert Frost's famous poem, an
essentially optimistic, humanistic paean by the poet who
composed another famous poem in honor of that famous
liberal JFK. And the  email suffix address is "cheerful".
hmmm

I will start with the reference to the Bard. I assume that
he is referring to Jack Cady's line in Henry VI, part II,
Act III, scene 2 line 86: "The first thing we'll do, lets
kill all the lawyers."  Apparently that sentiment is
shared by the author, I will assume in a hyperbolic sense.

Now, what is interesting is the context. Jack Cady is the
leader of a mob bent on destroying the kingdom and
creating anarchy. So, those who really agree with this
sentiment in the sense that Shakespeare meant it might
want to reflect on the irony. The Bard is saying that if
you want to destroy the rule of law, start with the
lawyers. (Which, of course is precisely what all
revolutionaries do.) Prescient indeed: Shakespeare told us
something that John Locke proved in his Second Treatise on
Government, "Where law ends, tyranny begins."

I would like to think that the author of "Insulting
Comparison" had caught the meaning of my contribution from
another part of the Bard's work: "A plague on both your
houses," Romeo and Juliet Act II. Scene 5, line 96, but I
suppose that would require the author to recognize that my
point was that both sides are playing unwholesome games
with the law.  But since the democrats/liberals are the
only bad people in our current situation, that would not
do.

The whole question of the role of lawyers in our culture
is an important one. It doesn't seem to me that it helps
much to propose killing them all. I suspect that the
author will be ready next time to trot out the "The
Japanese have many fewer lawyers" and "we are suffering
from a litigation explosion" and "the trial lawyers have
ruined this country" myths. I hope so. I like to debate
those issues. My only condition would be that the author
be prepared to support his opinions with facts.

Like: "the law has become significantly less a means
toward justice and much more a mental obstacle course."
That, my Bomber friends is an empirical claim. Where is
the data? For example, the author might want to examine
the decline in the numbers of lawyers serving in state
legislatures over the last generation. They (we) aren't
writing the laws any more. The author might want to
examine the growth in "popular" law making in the last 15
years, a process that completely bypasses the "legal"
system or at least reduces the role of lawyers in law
making significantly. and so on. Now, about the author's
actual response to my comments? My point was that to
suggest that the democrats/liberals are the ones who are
abusing the legal process and who always do that, as
opposed to the noble motives and actions of the
Republicans, is just wrong historically. Our author
responds to that by objecting to my linkage of the
Democratic Party with its past. (Well, that is not exactly
what he did. He objects to my supposed linking of Al Gore
to the past, which, of course I did not do!) What pray
tell, does that have to do with my suggestion? Exactly
nothing. It is like saying that the Republicans are bound
to perdition because Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew were
Republicans. BTW, is it ok for me to mention Spiro in the
same breath as Eisenhower, Taft, TR, Cal Coolidge,
Lincoln, etc.? Or has he been drummed out of the GOP?  Oh,
darn it, I forgot about the first Sen McCarthy, too. So,
as near as I can tell, that is the response of the author
to my comments about the misreading of legal history that
is so common among the Rs today. I wonder if the author
would care to actually comment on what I wrote? If so, I
would request that he establish that I am a " liberal
Sandbox contributor". Does he have a way to tell that a
person is a liberal? How does he know that I am not a
Trotskyite, or a Progressive or Luddite, or a moderate or
a Daoist, or a Maoist or a...well, you get the idea.

The last response is this: To suggest that it is lawyers
who are soley or primarily responsible for the careful
parsing of language is again fallacious. I have no respect
for the performance of President Clinton during that sorry
episode in our history. But, if I remember right, and I am
sure that I do, Col. North, a Marine, and President Reagan
both anaged to abuse and misuse the language in a similar
manner. And, should we forget that while RMN was a lawyer,
many of minions who lied o the courts and to Congress were
not? Come to think of it LBJ was not a lawyer either, and
he had more than his share of problems with truth telling.
Respect for the Constitution and the Rule of Law? The
greatest Republican of them all suspended the writ of
habeus corpus.   I end with yet another literature quote.
At the heart of the attack in he Sandbox is a claim that
the lawyers/democrats/liberals have ruined this country.
Robert Bolt speaks to this issue in his immortal play, A
Man for All Seasons: (the story of the death of Thomas
More): "More: ...The law, Roper, the law. I know what's
legal, not what's right. And I'll stick to what's legal.
Roper: Then you set man's law above God's!  More: No, far
below; but let me draw your attention to a fact -I'm not
God. The currents and eddies of right and wrong, which you
find such plain sailing, I can't navigate. I'm no voyager.
But in the thickets of the law, oh, there I'm a forester.

Roper: ...You'd give the Devil the benefit of law?
More: Yes. What would you do? Cut a great road through the
law to get after the Devil?
Roper: I'd cut down every law in England to do that!
More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil
turned round on you - where would you hide, Roper, the
laws all being flat? The country's planted thick with laws
from coast to coast -man's laws, not God's - and if you
cut them down -and you're just the man to do it - d'you
really think you could stand upright in the winds that
would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law,
for my own safety's sake.

              -- regards, Jim Vache '64

~~~~

Subj:   Electrical Supplies:
From:   Bill Didway (66)
didwaybj@fidalgo.net

It amazes me that California has such a shortage of
electricity now. Before deregulating the people were told
that electrical prices would go down. Last thing I read
prices have doubled in just the last few months. Energy
use is up power production down. To make deregulation work
there needs to be an abundance of producers and
electricity. A couple of reasons there is a problem is
that now is the time to bring down facilities for repair
and maintenance. Just between the warm weather and the
cold weather but it is colder sooner, power transmission
lines have failed for unknown reason, power plants have
had unexpected problems, companies shut down at a time
when revenues would be less and they would not loose as
much money. Usage has gone steadly up as more companies
open up, more homes are built, and California wants to put
people in electric cars. At least when the utilities were
regulated they knew when each would be bringing their
units down and work together to rotate the shutdowns to
keep the power available.

Now in Washington there is the push to deregulate, maybe
we already have. In Bellingham a paper/pulp mill is
shutting down as electric prices have doubled and they are
losing money. It's closing down is causing a company in
Burlington to worry that it may have to shutdown for a
while also. The domino effect and it could start
spreading.

Gee I am glad the Clinton/Gore administration had a energy
plan in place. Just think what would have happened to us
if the hadn't.

~~~~

Subj:   If They Want Gore So Bad
From:   Bob Mattson (64)  ~  Rmat683939@aol.com

If they want Gore so bad, why didn't they impeach Clinton?
How is this election going to play out next time, will we
still be able to vote?

~~~~

Subj:   Science: The Reality of Fact
From:   Bill Didway (66)  ~  didwaybj@fidalgo.net

As I recall being told science is based on fact. If you
live long enough you sometimes can see scientific fact
changed by new discoveries, thus making the previous fact
non-fact. In fact, fact becomes factless. In the '70's we
were headed to another ice age. In the '90's we are headed
to another greenhouse.

Sure makes one comtemplate the facts.

~~~~

Subj:   Watership Downs
Linda Reining Pitchford (64)  ~  Bakersfield, CA
Wabbithabit@aol.com

Yes, I have read the book and I also saw the "cartoon"
that was made of the  book.  I think the movie came out in
the late 80's, early 90's.  I read the book in the 80's
and    I think I still have it. what did you think of the
book?  it got my "blood" boiling and made me cry in quite
a few places. don't think the "cartoon" did the book
justice; am not sure how well it did in the theaters, as I
saw it on "cable".

~~~~~~~~

Subj:  Irregularities in the Y2K Presidential  Election
From:   Dick Epler (52)  ~ Mt. Vernon, Oregon
depler@ortelco.net
December 6, 2000

Most agree that this election is very different from any
in modern times. It seems we're treated to a strange new
phenomenon every few days. The first anomaly widely
reported was the bad call the networks made in calling
Florida for Gore even before the polls had closed. Even
though I abhor the practice, it's hard for me to fault the
networks, given that their prediction techniques had
previously worked so well. After all, most of the major
polls also got it wrong. Even before that happened,
however, a few polls indicated a large and unexplained
shift to Gore in the final weekend prior to the election.
Couple this with the readiness of the Gore camp to begin
challenging the Florida election the very day of the
election, and we have to suspect something interesting
going on behind the scenes. A month after the election,
here's what many believe happened. You can decide if any
of this sounds reasonable.

Several months ago, the Democrats recognized that, in
spite of unprecedented National peace and prosperity, they
were in danger of losing the White House. Here's the
problem: 1) the nation is still fairly conservative; 2)
their candidate, Al Gore, wasn't particularly inspiring
and was prone to making dumb mistakes; and 3) their
internal polls told them that many in the Democrat base
just couldn't bring themselves to vote for Gore. The only
good thing was that the polls also indicated such voters
wouldn't be voting for Bush either (their choice would be
"none of the above"). Most of this was widely reported at
the time.

At that point they decided to convert the old "Clinton War
Room" from defusing bimbo eruptions (basically character
assassinations) to the development of strategies for
"winning" the election. Computers were used to analyze
voter demographics and to perform statistical and
probability analyses on the data to indicate where the
election would be close enough to influence. Based on the
results, a number of pre/post-election strategies were
developed to utilize the extensive Clinton spin machinery
(basically aggressive lying) for use by the media. Of
course, support of the media was assumed. The cornerstone
of all spin was to proclaim early and often the need to
adhere to "the will of the people" AKA "every vote should
count." 
Two comments: First, NO politician anywhere in history
ever really wants to see "the will of the people" decide
anything, especially elections. It's the same with polls.
No politician, or media person, would pay a nickel to find
out what people really think. There are many reasons for
taking a poll but that isn't one of them. Most of the time
people hire a pollster to see how well people are buying
their message and/or to find out what they still need to
work on. Nevertheless, "the will of the people" is a nice
phrase that many still believe is unique to America and of
course, it resonates so well with the media. In truth,
however, the framers of our Constitution knew all too well
the nature of politicians and so wrote the Constitution to
encourage "fairness" in all competitive endeavors. And so,
"fairness" is the BEST we can hope for in any election. At
least that's what we counsel the third-world nations. 
Second, deliberate election fraud has been made much
easier in modern times since federal voting laws have be
changed to make it so easy for people to register, while
doing nothing to simplify the purging of the registration
lists of those who have moved or expired. This is a big
advantage in the big cities. For example, Philadelphia, in
the current election, had a population a little less than
1.3 million, where one million were registered as voters.
The actual Philly turnout was 70%, mostly because several
black precincts had 100% turnout with 99% voting for Gore!
Interesting. And then in California and much of the
Southwest (think New Mexico), there were many illegal
aliens from Mexico who voted overwhelmingly for Gore.
Rather than Gore winning the popular vote by 300,000, many
believe he actually LOST by over 200,000 to Bush, as the
estimate of fictitious votes across the country is
estimated to be in the range of 500,000 to 1,000,000. 
Deliberate fraud, however, was not part of the early
strategy sessions.  Initially, the Democrat's strategy was
simply to make the election as close as possible with
legitimate voters. Essentially, that involved a message
that ignored the traditional Democratic base (the
intelligencia) to focus on three demographic groups, the
young, the old, and the great mass of the "don't know and
don't care" crowd produced by our public education system
(Bomberville excepted). Generally speaking, most of these
people, especially in urban areas, are dependent on
government support through welfare and social services,
i.e., they're made-to-order Democrat victims. Their
distinguishing characteristic, however, is their inability
to discern the difference between lies and the truth,
especially when the lies are fairly aggressive (think
Clinton wagging his finger at the camera while saying "I
did not have sex with that woman"). As such, they are very
susceptible to emotion-based political spin. On the down
side they really don't like voting that much. So another
key strategy was to target them with strong emotional
reasons to vote *against* Bush, and then to make it as
easy as possible for them to "correctly" mark their
ballots.

Even so, as Election Day approached, it looked like Bush
was still going to win. And so the word went down to all
democratically controlled precincts to get a little
creative. Actually, manufacturing additional votes in most
black and Hispanic precincts isn't that hard as there are
so few Republicans that even if mischief is detected it
won't be reported. 
This explains a number of election day anomalies: it
explains why most of the polls were wrong; it explains the
large, previously unexplained weekend shift to Gore; it
explains Gore getting the popular vote; it explains the
large number of intelligent Democrats refusing to make ANY
presidential choice; and finally, it explains why
Republicans won the Electoral College, which, like the
House of Representatives, is a "Constitutional check and
balance" device that occasionally helps rural (Republican)
voters. 
Much of this was anticipated by the Gore team and was
therefore factored into a post-election strategy.
Basically that involved the development of a series of
"vote mining" techniques to be used as needed. The first
technique was based on the statistical probability that
manual recounts will be more productive in high democrat
populations (precincts and counties) than in low democrat
populations. In Florida, for example, the counties of
Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and Broward are highly democratic
where Gore won by substantial margins. Normally that would
make them ineligible for recount. That is, the recognized
purpose of recounts is to contest close votes. So a
different basis for the recount had to be manufactured.
Anticipating this, on Election Day, the Democrats hired a
Texas telemarketing firm to call Democratic voters to
suggest they may have voted for Pat Buchanan because of a
poorly designed ballot. Then an army of Democrat lawyers,
political operatives and union members were sent to
Florida to aid the demands for a recount. It worked. 
Here's how that particular vote mining technique worked:
suppose the known error rate of the machines 4% and that
the county is 70% Democratic. If the population of the
county is 200,000, then a manual recount should result in
a 3200 vote differential for Gore. Of course, if the
county were evenly split, it would be a wash, as both
candidates would get an equal number of votes thereby
offsetting each other. Generally speaking, voter
demographics suggest that manual recounts should produce
additional Democrat votes in any county with large urban
populations. Rural populations generally favor the
Republicans. 
Three comments: First, all counting methods are
susceptible to error, of which there are two kinds: random
and systematic (biased). The key difference is that random
errors tend to add to zero; errors of bias produce
differences one way or the other. Manual vote counting
produces errors of bias according to the prejudices of the
counters, but in Florida, the more important effect was to
distort the result of the larger population (state or
county) by selectively choosing a smaller population
(precinct). Machine counting, on the other hand, produces
random errors with no net gain for either party (the
errors cancel). Obviously, when mining for votes, manual
vote counting of selective precincts is a requirement. 
Second, to ensure deadlines can be met if the machines
break, most states have a provision for manual recounts.
And finally, the purpose of vote certification deadlines
is to minimize the potential for mischief. Given enough
time most political operatives will be able to achieve a
desired result, if only for a brief time. 
Unfortunately for the Democrats the initial manual vote
count in Florida wasn't producing anywhere close to the
number of votes expected. Worse, absentee ballots heavily
favored Bush. Enter the strategy of mining for votes in
the large stack of "undervote" and "overvote" ballots that
were rejected by the machines and by most manual recount
procedures as well. From the beginning, this was
recognized to be a stretch. As Judge Burton, from Palm
Beach, said: "It's impossible to discern voter intent from
these ballots." In spite of that, Democrats decided to
invent a case for divining the intent of these voters
based on dimpled and/or pregnant chads. But again, they
didn't want to discern the intent of ALL the voters. The
scheme is dependent on counting only those in heavily
Democratic precincts. And then of course, some way must be
found to neutralize the large absentee military vote. 
It's important to point out that the overvote stack, where
voters voted for two or more presidential candidates is
small (essentially a collection of voter mistakes). On the
other hand, the undervote stack, where the voter's choice
was "none of the above," was huge. Obviously the ONLY
place the required votes could come from was this large
undervote stack. But they needed more time, which they got
from the Florida Supreme Court who essentially usurped the
authority of the legislature to change existing law by
extending the vote certification deadline and by requiring
that the Democrat's vote-mining efforts be included in the
final count. That decision has been vacated by the Federal
Supreme Court at this writing. 
Interestingly, only Broward County initially agreed to
discern voter intent of the undervote stack by correlating
the selection of local candidates with a "divined" choice
for President (the God dimple)! And that produced the
largest percentage net gain for Gore (470 votes). Yes,
this method has promise. So the Gore legal team went to
court in an attempt to force other counties to count the
undervote using methods adopted by Broward County. But
they lost in Judge Saul's circuit court. Enter the
Democrat's third vote-mining strategy to throw out ALL (or
at least Bush's large absentee vote) from Seminole and
Martin counties on a minor technicality. This from the
party that that says it wants to "count all the votes." 
What have we learned here? If Clinton paved the way by
showing Democrats how to get away with aggressive lying,
Gore has shown how an election can be made close enough to
manipulate after the election on several levels.
Interestingly enough, neither of these methods are open to
Republicans. That's because both are heavily dependent on
emotionally based class distinctions aimed at women,
blacks, and Hispanics, all artificially created victims of
a prosperous society.

One of our fellow Bombers, Jim Vache (64), a
Constitutional Law Professor at Willamette University
College of Law, recently wrote the SandBOX to disparage
the confusion between the political and legal arguments
currently being fostered on the nation's courts. I
couldn't agree more. I submit that this sad state of
affairs has accelerated in the last few years and is
primarily a product of Clinton's legacy. However, with all
due respect to a fellow Bomber, Jim's conclusion that "…
we have to resort to law (courts???) because our normative
agreements that form our republic are fading," is wrong. I
would respectively suggest that the "deeper problem" is
that many of our courts have become so politicized that
law no longer matters. The Florida Supreme Court decision
was based ONLY on political arguments, as there was NO
case law, and NO record (complaints and irregularities)
for a law interpretation. This is certainly NOT what
Justice Marshall (Marbury v. Madison) intended in
establishing the doctrine of judicial review. The Federal
Supreme Court agreed. And then, of course, we have David
Boies lying before the court about dimpled ballots being
counted in Illinois (NOT!). Clinton would be proud!

                     -- Dick Epler (52)
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That concludes this issue of THE SANDBOX folks. Please
include your class year and maiden name, (if applicable),
in all correspondence and subscription requests.  You may
also include your current locale if you wish.  It's easy
to join us in the ongoing conversations here.  Just send
your comments to: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com!  We are the 
Alumni of Richland High School, Richland Washington,
AKA Columbia High School, representing classes from 1942
through 2000. Visit the THE SANDBOX website.

Al Parker (53)
Shippenville, PA
Your SANDBOX Host
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                 - 117 -
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THE SANDBOX ~ Issue 118 ~ December 25, 2000

Subj: Only 365 Shopping Days Left, unless...
From: Sandra Genoway (Jeneaue-Spruksts) ('62)
fashdes@prodigy.net
Edmonds, WA

Hey!  There's only 365 shopping days left until
Christmas; that is, unless you happen to be an "Old
Calendar" Eastern Orthodox Christian.  They go by the
Julian Calendar for all of their Holy Feast Days, so
Christmas 2000 on the Julian Calendar (Dec. 25) is
January 7, 2001 on the Gregorian (modern) Calendar,
created by the Roman Pope Gregory in the 1500's.  Since
the Eastern Orthodox Church was a separate entity from
the Roman Catholic Church by then, they decided not to
follow this new calendar, but to stick to the calendar
(Julian) that was in use at the time of Christ.  Some
more modernist EOC's have, however, changed to following
the modern calendar.  January 7 is the true Russian
Christmas, which was not allowed to be openly celebrated
in the Soviet Union during the communist regime, for some
70 years.  It was, however, celebrated in secret by those
devout Christians in underground churches.  The Moscow
Patriarchate State Russian Orthodox Church was allowed to
have Christmas (for show) on January 7, and other than
that, the Soviets or Red Party members only celebrated
New Years on January 1 (Gregorian-modern calendar).  Now,
have I thoroughly confused you?  Julian Calendar
Christmas is still observed in parts of England and the
U.S. Appalachia as "Old Christmas."

If you have never had occasion to have a Russian
Christmas and share this delightful Holiday with Russians
(Russian-Americans, new Russian immigrants), you do not
know what you are missing!  First, you go to Church on
Christmas Eve (January 6) Vigil in the evening, starting
at about 6:00 p.m., which is the traditional Russian all-
night vigil service, and nowadays lasts about two hours.
The church is all decorated and aglow with cathedral
chandelier dimmed and large and small candles glowing;
there are natural, undecorated Christmas trees (yes, more
than one), and evergreen boughs and flowers decorate the
walls, door archways, and pertinent Holy Day Icons.  The
priests and bishop have on their "finest" white, red or
gold brocade robes, trimmed in Europa embroidery and
braid; their miters twinkling with "jewels."  Of course,
the parishioners are wearing their finest clothing.  The
women are in furs, if they have any; the men in their
best suits and coats.  Of course, there are the younger-
styled and also the less "fancy" dressers there, too, and
all are welcomed!  If you are a lover of fine music, this
is where you will hear some; Russian choirs have been
renowned throughout history for their beautiful singing
and style of music.  Even Tchaikovsky wrote liturgical
music; Rimsky-Korsakov used parts of the Pascha liturgy
in his "Russian Easter," including bells.  We are not
talking "liturgical chants" here; this is full-scale
notes, similar to Western sacred music, but with
different sounds, rhythm and tones that cannot be
described by me. On Christmas Day, you go back to church
for the Christmas-Day Liturgy ("mass"), after which you
get together with loved ones and friends in the church
hall for the break-Nativity Fast dinner feast, after six
weeks of eating only vegetables, fruits, bread and a
little wine and oil (only on Sundays and Feast Days), as
a period of preparation to greet the Newborn Holy Christ
Child.  It is also a very good health benefit, as the
body and soul are purged during this time of prayer and
fasting in spiritual contemplation of Christ's Nativity,
and looking forward to His Return.

At home, the Christmas tree is set up and decorated on
Christmas Eve day (January 6).  After going to church on
Christmas Eve, the family comes home and eats "kutya,"
the traditional meal made of cooked cereal with raisins,
honey and cinnamon. The table is spread with straw
(representation, from the manger) and an Icon of the
Nativity scene is placed in the center of the table.
According to tradition, wild beasts harm no one on this
night, in honor of the Christ Child's Birth.

Russians love to party!  A Russian Christmas lasts twelve
(12) days, during which time people go from home to home
in celebration of the season, with their own family on
the first day, and starting with the second day, going to
their friends' houses to parties and get-togethers.  Each
day of the twelve, gifts are exchanged with family and
friends, starting with the humblest gift on the first day
and ending with the most extravagant gift on the twelfth
day.  Children go from house to house carrying a huge
star and singing Christmas carols (Russian carols, called
kolyadki, are always spiritual in commemoration of
Christ's Birth).

At the parties, the vodka flows like water, as well as
other "spirits", too, and Russians always serve foods
like beluga or salmon caviar, roast goose, duckling,
turkey, pheasant, ham, beef, venison, pike and sturgeon
fish, and pirogi, which are large pies made with beef or
chicken, potatoes, onions, celery, cabbage, rice,
sauerkraut, mushrooms, carrots, peas (several or more of
any of these ingredients) made in a three-sided baking
pan, with one "door" side to get the pie out.  Other
foods included are Russian pastries (similar to French
pastries), torte cakes, honey cakes, rum babas (cakes
soaked in rum syrup), krendel cakes, khvorost, or "birch
bark" (a deep-fried cookie strip that is twisted and
after frying, is dipped in confectioner's sugar), Russian
tea cookies, baklava, Russian cream (like ice cream, or
like a "charlotte"), and of course, kisel, which is
similar to our "smoothies", made with fruit and milk or
cream.  If you are on a diet, better stay away, because
you will be sorely tempted to break it! \ During this
time of celebration, no fasting is allowed, except for on
the Eve of Theophany, the twelfth night.

During the twelve days of celebrations, the clergy come
around to the parishioners' homes to bless them with Holy
Water, and to join in the festivities. It is the Russian
Orthodox Christian tradition that you cannot turn anyone
away from your home, especially during these Holy Days,
since you may be entertaining Angels, Saints, or even
Christ, Himself, unawares.  The twelve days of Christmas
culminate in the Feast of Theophany; or, Epiphany in the
Western world.

The eve of Theophany ("Twelfth Night") is a strict fast
day when you eat nothing until the first star appears in
the heavens that night (pray for a clear night).  In
Russia, and in Russian communities elsewhere in the
world, on the Feast Day, itself, after the Liturgy, the
clergy and parishioners proceed to rivers and lakes for
the "blessing of the waters".  In this procession,
banners with icons are carried and censors leave clouds
of incense smoke billowing to the heavens.  Cannons roar
and bells peal as a huge cross is lowered into the holes
cut in the ice of the frozen rivers and lakes.  After the
water is blessed, this Holy Water is then bottled and
kept throughout the year until the following Feast Day
and is partaken of on an empty stomach, as needed, for
spiritual and medicinal purposes. During this blessings
of the waters ritual, for spiritual purposes, some people
jump into the icy water; in a thousand years' time in
Russia there has never been a case of someone getting ill
or dying at that time, since the water is infused with
the Power of the Holy Spirit and is, itself, Holy.  These
blessed rivers and lakes are called "Jordans" on that
day. The processions are going to the "Jordan", and they
commemorate the baptism of Christ Jesus when He went down
to the Jordan River and was baptized by St. John, the
Baptist, at which time the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy
Spirit) was Manifested, which is why the Feast is called
Theophany; that is, the Manifestation of God.  It is also
a commemoration of the visit of the Magi and the
slaughter of the 14,000 infants by Herod's soldiers.  It
is the culmination of the Christmas season, and in the
very early church, was Christmas Day, before a separate
Christmas Day was created.  The day after Theophany
(January 20), the Christmas tree is taken down. So, now,
maybe that explains why, on some houses, you see
Christmas lights and decorations for many more days after
the traditional American Christmas/New Years' Day
celebration is over. You may have seen a different kind
of "Santa Claus" decoration, too.

In addition to the traditional, spiritual Christmas, the
Russians also have "Grandfather Frost" who is a white-
bearded old man dressed in a long velvet-type robe and
coat trimmed in fur and wearing a fur hat.  He is
accompanied by the "Snow Maiden" who is a beautiful
teenage girl lavishly dressed in a decorated and trimmed
brocade robe and with a kokoshnik (or huge tiara) on her
head, with silver, gold, pearls and jewels embedded in
its design.  Together, they go about, bringing presents
for good little boys and girls, and switches for naughty
ones.  This Russian Christmas myth is not to be confused
with "Father Christmas" of Western European lore, nor
with St. Nicholas, who really did exist and became the
Patron Saint of many Eastern and Western Christians, and
who also is remembered in Holland as "Sinter Klaas" who
brings good children presents and naughty children lumps
of coal in their shoes on December 6.  St. Nicholas was
later commercialized into "Santa Claus", after the
popularity of the Christmas poem, "T'was The Night Before
Christmas", became a holiday tradition.

Now you have learned something more of what some other
people in America (and in Old Russia, a place in the
heart) observe as their Christmas Holiday, and what
traditions are celebrated and remembered from year to
year.

Merry Christmas ("M I P", and Joyeaux Noel)
from Sandra Genoway and George Spruksts in Edmonds.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That concludes this issue of THE SANDBOX folks. Please
include your class year and maiden name, (if applicable),
in all correspondence and subscription requests.  You may
also include your current locale if you wish.  It's easy
to join us in the ongoing conversations here.  Just send
your comments to: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com!  We are the 
Alumni of Richland High School, Richland Washington,
AKA Columbia High School, representing classes from 1942
through 2000. Visit the THE SANDBOX website.

Al Parker (53)
Shippenville, PA
Your SANDBOX Host
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                  ~118~
ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
           That's it for 2000
ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø

   OCT, 2000