Westside Story

Did you read the recent article in the News Tribune and The Suburban Times where political candidate, Ben Gonter, promotes the idea that having a four year college degree should be mandatory for a political candidate to be properly qualified to serve in pubic office?

We hear it all the time. “Read with your child.” “Become a volunteer reader at your school to help children learn to read.” “Stamp out illiteracy, by helping adults learn to read.”

I found an interesting warning sign at BROWSEBOUT BOOKS, a bookstore in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, which helps reinforce my point. I have depicted the sign in Photo 1 below.

I always watch for rock solid, money making, innovative product ideas. Because you are my loyal readers, I am going to give you some insider information before the general public has time to catch on. Keep an open mind and remember, I am not a professional engineer.

Computers can be helpful and computers can be less than helpful. How about that auto correct? I find auto correct especially challenging while texting. I have had auto correct not only try to correct my writing, but argue with me causing me to change a word back to what I wanted more than six times.

Being smart, like my wife, who was in the Top Ten of every class she attended: grade school, high school and college, is thought to be most desirable.

Let me hasten to tell you; it is also desirable to possess a low level of intellect. Take me, for example. One of the fun things a low-level intellect guy does for the amusement of smart people is to mess up words like too, to and two; isle and aisle; then and than; youth and “yute"; merry, marry and Mary. I use close, but wrong words all the time. I don’t mean to. It just happens. It would drive me crazy if it were not for the fact that I realize guys like me are needed to make the intelligence comparison possible. Smart people could not look intelligent without low intellects paving the way.

My title is the name of a song, When I Am Gone. Well, I am not gone yet, but I am getting older. One of the fun things about getting older — yes, there are some fun things — is having long term friendships.

In 1975, my daughter, Paige Evers, met a little girl in Judy Drysdale’s Oakbrook Children’s Center pre-school, named Jenny Hammond. They were only 3 years old.

Lakewood City Council, please be careful. An article appeared in the Suburban Times titled, Cottage Housing Code (click the link to see the earlier story).

While I did not feel like I had time to deal with yet another challenge to our community, my 40 plus years experience working around small size, low cost housing as a Real Estate Broker, investor, landlord and property management company owner along with 23 years in law enforcement compelled me to share my thoughts on the cottage zoning issue being voted on by Lakewood City Council on Monday, October 5, 2015.