The following letter has appeared on the internet and was vieved by many readers! I thought I would share it.

The other day, someone at a store in town read that a Methamphetamine lab had been found in an old farmhouse just outside of town and he asked me a rhetorical question, "Why didn't we have a drug problem when you and I were growing up?"

I replied, I had a drug problem when I was young: I was drug to church on Sunday morning. I was drug to church for weddings and funerals. I was drug to family reunions and community socials no matter the weather.

I was drug by my ears when I was disrespectful to adults. I was also drug to the woodshed when I disobeyed my parents, told a lie, brought home a bad report card, did not speak with respect, spoke ill of the teacher or the preacher, or if I didn't put forth my best effort in everything that was asked of me.

I was drug to the kitchen sink to have my mouth washed out with soap if I uttered a profanity. I was drug out to pull weeds in mom's garden and flower beds and cockleburs out of dad's field's. I was drug to the homes of family, friends and neighbors to help out some poor soul who had no one to mow the yard, repair the clothesline, or chop some firewood, and, if my mother had ever known that I took a single dime as a tip for this kindness, she would have drug me back to the woodshed.

Those drugs are still in my veins and they affect my behaviour in everthing I do, say, or think. They are stronger than cocaine, crack cocaine, or heroin; and, if today's children had this kind of drug problem, our country would be a better place.

God bless the parents who drugged us.

Have a great weekend everyone,

taxinapothole

Where is all this global warming and climate change we are paying tax for?

Re: qwaszxter

Your son is a lucky young man. Congrats to him for securing a job. I would recommend that you contact our local Welcome Wagon (250 562-3115) for him. I've heard they are great at assisting newly grounded residents.

As you may have already heard, Prince George has some apparent gangs in this city. I really haven't seen much of them though I know they are here. This is what I've done to ensure my own saftey.

I don't go to the bars anymore because I know they hang out there. Bars, gangs, and booze are not a favourite mix of mine.

I've been cut-off at times and when I finally catch up to the car and look at the driver (at the next light) they have the "typical" shaved head, tattoos, rough look, etc. Now... my description of them DOES NOT mean they are a member of one of the gangs in town here (I have a few GREAT friends who look like this and they are excellent law abiding citizens). The problem is I can't tell the good ones from the bad. So I make sure not to make eye contact with the crazy driver, not to "finger" them (which I never do anyways), and I definately do NOT roll my window down and start cursing at them. I JUST MIND MY OWN BUSINESS. Keep in mind that I do this in ANY city, not just PG.

In the end it doesn't matter if the driver was a good person or a bad one, I've got no problem and I'd rather keep it that way.

I make sure that I mind my own business. Ensure your son does the same.

After a few months he'll be telling you that it isn't as bad as he's heard. And it's not. This really is a great city.

Have a GREAT DAY!

NTG

taxinapothole, that is a great post. I am going to share it.
Good advice NTG.
It brightens up my day to read constructive posts.

There is currently a country song out that uses those lyrics exactly but I don't recall who the singer is.

yes wonderful post taxinapothole!

Potholes, potholes...grr...
Griping has helped to some degree but my poor new car is taking a beating :(

Ah well, the snow will fly soon and all the holes will be filled :D

Damned if they do..Damned if they don't. Corporations that make big profits seem to be damned for being greedy. Corporations that lose money and are forced to close operations and lay people off, or get subsidies are damned for being poor corporate citizens that don't care about employee's. Which is it folks? Do we want our corporations(oil co.) making money, or do we want them break even or losing money. Too many posters seem to think big profit is a bad thing, I think corporations losing money is much worse.

Amen to taxinapothole!! Im still living with that "drug" problem.

Zoom, First of all corporations dont loose money. They just dont earn money for their share holders. If they lost money they would not be in business in the first place. For example, if you think a sawmill is in the lumber business you are wrong. They are in it for the real estate value the plant is sitting on. The plant pays for the real estate. This is why the mills in pg have not taken a substantial hit compared to the mills in the smaller towns with less real estate value. Watch the stock of a company that is about to lay off people..

4th and Queensway traffic light.

Changes to the operation of this light is a prime example of how this city could do its small part to decrease global warming. The lights go through 3 sequences rather than the typical 2 for a normal intersection since there is a one way street intersecting with 4 lane Queensway and 4th ave turning into a 2 way street across Queensway.
If the light was green for queensway and on demand for 4th ave there would be less time wasted waiting for the extra light change, speed up traffic flow, and spew less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
The very least is change the operation of the light between 8:00 pm and 6:00am when there is negligable traffic on 4th ave.

Surprise! No complaints! I just do not have the energy today. I really like that post about being drugged.
Quax: there are good and bad people all over, as you know. The vla area of PG has a higher percentage perhaps of drug related problems, but let's put things into perspective; I would bet serious money that there are far more normal, decent, honest taxpayers in that area than there are filthy scumbag lowlife pushers.
I too would stay away from the bars, but as with anything, it is up to an individuals' judgement and common sense to avoid trouble. Your concerns are justified, as you are a parent.
Have a sunny week end, all.
metalman. :)

Northman, you are kidding right? Have you looked at some financial statements for companies recently eg.Bear Stearns,Merrill Lynch,Freddie Mac,Fannie Mae etc., are you telling me they have not lost money the last few quarters. Please enlighten as to why their financials have red everywhere, and have not lost money

"I was drug to the homes of family, friends and neighbors to help out some poor soul who had no one to mow the yard, repair the clothesline, or chop some firewood, and, if my mother had ever known that I took a single dime as a tip for this kindness, she would have drug me back to the woodshed."
There are so many seniors in PG who can't get out of their driveways in the winter. I was just thinking how great it would be if there were "druggies" in PG like taxinapothole's who could give them a hand?

Ah the woodshed. What a lovely image that conjures up.

Believe or not, there are still random acts of kindness in this city, you just hear more about the bad stuff going on than you did in 'the good old days'.

I agree with NewTech. (good post) just lock your door and mind your own business when out. A smile would help too.
The problem is at 18 you really have no fear so hopefully he'll get with the right crowd when he turns 19. Congrats to him on job!

:)

A great post indeed taxinapothole!
I too remember the woodshed well, along with "wait until your father gets home!"
Having been raised in a hardcore Catholic family enviroment,I understand what you are saying.
While I no longer follow the faith,many of the basic lessons learned have stuck with me through out my life, and I can't help but think we have lost something very valuable in our society.
Not so much for the religious aspect,but the values that are lost forever.
It was a time when mothers stayed home to raise their kids,fathers were the authority,and even grandparents and the neighbours were like another set of parents.
Families,the church,and respect for each other were everything, and rightly so.
Our children's children now know so little about what it was like for many of us back in the day,and that is a damn shame.
Thank's for the memory jog taxinapothole!

Northman,

Please explain. You are saying that the money in say Northwood Pulp is actually the land value, not the mill itself? That is a pretty big expenditure just to pay for a relatively small amount of land wouldn't you say?

Here is an idea for all the posters that bitch about how this town is run by the current council.
Throw your hat into the municipal election ring.
This is you opportunity to show how it should be done.

Zoom,

I agree, companies shouldn't be punished for production, it is what makes the world go round. It is trickle effect, if there is no money in oil than there is no reason to distribute it, so the trucker doesn't have a job, he doens't buy a truck, now the guy building or selling the truck doesn't have a job, they don't go buy a new car etc etc. We need to reward production not punish it.

Problem is it sucks paying for expensive gas, I have complained about it as much as anyone. Having said that, there isn't one person reading this who wouldn't sell their product for the maximum they could if given the opportunity, oil companies are doing just that.

taxinapothole!

Nice change for once. It is a sad time in our society that people have forgotten to reflect inwardly and improve oneself rather then try to change the world to their way of thought.

Cheers

Travism,
I also do not like the high price of gas, however that is a result of government greed rather than a retailer/ oil company making money. Corporate money goes to emplo many people all the way down the food chain, however the taxes on fuel seem to go into a blackhole

I could not agree more Zoom!

News: " 6:42pm UK, Friday August 22, 2008
US-led coalition forces have killed 76 Afghan civilians in western Afghanistan, most of them women and children, the Afghan Interior Ministry has said."

Collateral damage, in military slang.

Women and children...are the atrocities ever going to stop?

Only if people reflect inwardly to improve themselves.

Travisim.. The land is an asset which gains value over time. The machinery, forest tenure and mill itself is(was)a liability.. They walked away from that one smelling like roses because they re-invested the insurance money back into other operations of higher value. They would have made the decision to re build if the plant was an asset to them.

Northman,

You are applying one instance to an entire economy. In that case it was not viable to rebuild and I think ( I could be wrong) that the land was leased to begin with, so Canfor would have no increase in value. Yes machinery decreases in value and cost to maintain, however, in the case of NCP, do you think that every machine there paid for its purchase and up keep? I think it did. Currently, it is not justified and that has more factors than just the cost of the mill, you have to take into account appropriate fiber supply, labour costs and market conditions. Don't just blame it on the cost of the mill.

If we look at Corporations as a group, are you trying to proclaim that they only make money as the land values increase? IMO that is a ridiculous statement. Zoom, was saying that you have to have profitable corportations in order to have, well, any sort of economy. He is right.

Anyone else notice that all the Telus Pay & Talk cell phones (most anyways) did not work for the past few days. 90% of the people on Pay & Talk that I talked to had the same issue.

After calling in from a land line I was advised there was "System issues" and that they had to manually reset my phone (which they did). Shockingly enough they then proceeded to try and sell me a "better" plan.

I find it hard to beleive the introduction of the new 15 cent text messaging to Pay & Talk and this event aren't related. Telus has realized they could be making way more money by screwing over the Pay & Talk folks and are now actively finding ways to push them towards contracts.

What a scam......and also for anyone who's still using Telus for their land line long distance calls you are getting ROYALLY screwed. High per minutes rates and that "Administration fee" are a joke. Switch now.....I've been using Yak for two years now and couldn't be happier. Direct dial, 3.5 cents a minute anytime, anywhere in NA and excellent international rates. There are other companies too...look for yourself.
The best part is when Telus calls after you switch and try to get you back. They can never match the deals..never. At the very least that "Administration fee" pushes their "deal" to cost way more. I told them to call me back when they could match or beat...haven't heard from them since.

I don't know a lot about farming, but I often wonder why do farmers always complain? I think they must make pretty good money. How much does a steak cost? Maybe 3.00 per pound. A cow looks like it must weigh a ton. At $3.00 per pound that cow would be worth $6,000.00! Most farmers field looks like they have about 20 or 30 cows- at $6,000.00 each that makes them a lot of money. There seems to be extra room in most pastures so why not put a 100 cows in each pasture. That way when the farmer sells them he could make over a half million bucks. hmmmmm maybe they don't want to pay tax...

red2b, how much food does the cow eat? How much fuel to operate equipment? Farmers do not get anywhere near$3.00/pound and not all of the cow is steak. "profit" /cow is marginal at best. I do agree with you that farmers do complain a lot, not any more than nurses, teachers, lawyers or 250 posters.

diplomat ..You7 stated," If only people reflect inwardly to improve themselves" Are you talking about us or them? I went to the Telus booth at Pine Centre and had my Pay & Talk text messaging program deleted. (Free) I don't text and the only texts I get are from Telus trying to sell me something I don't want. red2b says steak makes the farmer a lot of dough. What about salmon (non farmed)? 8 or 10 bucks a pound? How much does the fisherman get? Meatcutters at the big supermarkets make big bucks. How many people handle cut wrap that fish, cow before you reach into the cooler to get it. It is called overhead and profit. That my pal, make life worth living and keeps the world going around

red2b

Farms operate on razor thin margins. Most of that $3 goes to the processors and the market. They are very vocal complainers though.

Some of the comments by some of the anti-corps are hilarious. That is leased BCRail land btw. And if corporations make so much money then why not buy the stock. I tell you why, because when you actually have to put money in you realize there is significant risk involved with any business!

Harbinger: 'diplomat ..You7 stated,' If only people reflect inwardly to improve themselves' Are you talking about us or them?"

I am talking about us and them, everybody!

BTW, what have the women and children done to us?

Does any political conflict justify killing women and children? What would you say if someone came here to kill OUR women and children?

It's sickening.

Anyone notice how many cops are handing out tickets these days.
I know where they could hand out tickets.
On the corner of 5Th and Ospika.
Any time between 4 pm to 5 pm.Thats when all those vehicles are leaving the new police station and turn left to go down 5th and are crossing a double line.

Hey doneright. How about starting a petition for a left turn access onto 5th? Might be as successful as the Carmel Highway 97 petition. I say that with doubt, because I know they ain't gonna get a left turn lane there. Someones mind has been made up fer a long time. Betcha.

You are allowed to turn across a double yellow or white line. You just are not supposed to pass on a double. You are setting yourself up for a real fine, if you pass on a double line, where there is a sign that says no passing.