I accidentally left my wallet on my car. I discovered there are good people in Lenexa | Opinion
The good people
“There are more good people than bad people” is a quote from author Tucker Elliot. I experienced evidence of that one morning last week, when I set my coffee cup on the trunk of my car to get my jacket out of the back seat. I then picked up my coffee cup and drove to the gym.
Arriving at the gym, I realized I was missing my wallet. I assumed I had left it at home but was troubled to not find it upon returning there. Had I possibly laid it on the trunk with my coffee cup earlier and not picked it up again? Upon sharing my concern with my wife, she told me she’d heard an incessant ringing of the doorbell and knocking at the door shortly after I had left the house. She got to the door only to see someone driving away. Could that someone have found my wallet on the street and was attempting to return it?
Hoping against hope, I checked the mailbox and found the wallet placed way in the back — with its contents intact. A huge thank-you to the anonymous “good person” who changed my feelings of despair into gratitude.
- Rev. Thomas Harries, Lenexa
Take it easier
When Missouri Medicine, the medical journal I edit, published the first studies showing that excess endurance-type exercise was harmful to heart health, especially after age 40, we got a lot of pushback from physicians and their hyper-exercising patients. Renowned cardiologist Aaron Baggish was among them, according to personal communication I received from him in 2014.
Dr. Baggish is now a believer. As he stated in the Jan. 30 Star story “The best thing I’ve done for my health is run less, research backs this up,” (11B) time and other studies have confirmed our research. When it comes to exercise, especially long distance running, too much is too much.
- John C. Hagan III, Kansas City
Colorado’s right
Many have opined that the people should not be denied the opportunity to select who will be president. The people already decided that Donald Trump is not qualified when they chose to abide by the Constitution.
If a minority faction liked a 34-year-old candidate or someone who is not a natural-born U.S. citizen, should that person be allowed to run for president? Again and again, Trump has been allowed to skirt responsibility for his actions: violating the emoluments clause, threatening secretaries of states and other election officials, and many more. Kudos to Colorado for standing by and upholding the very basis for our entire system of government. Nobody else seems to have the will to enforce the rule of law.
What does the right usually say about states’ rights? Is that not pertinent in this case because it trends against their position on this issue? The will of the people does not grant them the right to insist that an unqualified person be allowed to run for office.
Trump clearly is not just a bad choice — he is unqualified. There are proper and appropriate means to make changes to our leadership. Disqualifying Trump does not thwart the will of the people. Read the Constitution.
- Walter Klammer, Kansas City
Details, details
Donald Trump famously said that if he shot someone on 5th Avenue, he would not lose any voters. What if that case were tried in the Supreme Court?
Based on the line of questioning from the justices about his remaining on the ballot after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, their only concern might be whether Trump held the gun in his right hand or his left hand.
- Jim Kilen, Kansas City
Trash questions
Kansas City’s new trash carts leave many questions unanswered. (Feb. 5, 2A, “Kansas City will upgrade garbage collection with trash carts”) Were residents asked about how these might work for them? Did the test areas have less trash scattered around than the average neighborhood? What difficulties might people incur handling and storing these large, bulky containers, such as with steep inclines or no garage or yard space? Did the city research how other urban areas have attacked their trash problems?
We live in a trashy city, as many letters published in this newspaper have described. The items I see dumped in Swope Park and city streets include mattresses, couches, tires — which won’t fit into the new carts.
The city once had a regular schedule for pickup of bulky items. Residents knew when to expect this service and set out items. Frequently, these were picked up by others who could use them, so it served as a way to reuse and recycle as well.
These new containers might be an inconvenience and a hazard for many, and do little to solve our problems.
- Sarah Frederick, Kansas City
Inflation facts
The Star published a story from The Washington Post on Feb. 5 that added to the public’s confusion about inflation. (8A, “Inflation’s fallen, so why are groceries still so expensive?”)
First, not all items increase the same during inflation for a variety of reasons. The inflation rate refers to the percentage prices are increasing over a broad spectrum of products and services. When that rate comes down, it does not mean all prices fall. It merely means that the pace of price increases has lessened. Many prices will never return to their pre-inflation levels unless we have a period of deflation.
So, while a decrease in the rate of inflation is good, it is not a return to the lower prices you enjoyed — and this fact is often used by our politicians to confuse the public.
- Jerry Kaplan, Prairie Village