Love Letters/ Hate Mail

Wrongful Treatment

Dear Editor:

I am writing this to you to tell about our experience at this year's Sand Springs Herb Festival.

My husband and I look forward to the festival every year. We always make a date to spend the day there. We were even really excited to see a neat looking Italian restaurant when we were walking around and planned to go back to it.

As usual, we spent lots and lots of money and had to make three trips back to the car with plants.

The last plant I bought was so heavy I asked my husband to get my car and bring it to the corner, so we could load it together.

He went to get the car, and I headed back to get the plant.

When I got to the booth where they were holding my plant for me, I found the plant had been stolen.

I had to talk to the nursery owners about what to do. They could not believe it had happened. So, it took me a little longer to get back to the car.

My husband had pulled up and was getting out of the car to open the back of it when he was told by a policeman to not get out of the car and to move up away from the corner.

He got into the car and started to move at which point the policeman put on his lights and told him to pull over. He was given a ticket for not wearing his seatbelt! Also, my husband did not know where I kept the insurance card, so was given a ticket for not having insurance as well.

I went to Sand Springs, four days after the festival, with my insurance to show the insurance card to them, and pay the seatbelt fine, even though I felt it was not justified.

When I got there, I was told I should have come within 48 hours of the ticket to show my insurance. (The policemen never said anything about the 48 hour time frame to my husband.)

I was going to have to pay an additional $30 for that as well, for a total of $50!

I have decided this is just not right, so I am going to go to court to fight this.

If Sand Springs wants people to come out to their big yearly fundraiser, I think they should really think about ways to make the festival a little user-friendly. How else was I supposed to move a 40-plus pound plant to my car without the car pulling over to get it? Let alone the fact that the plant was stolen.

Because of this incident, my husband and I will never ever come back to the Sand Springs Herb Festival, nor ever go to that nice-looking Italian restaurant.

The more people I have talked to, the more I am learning about the bad experiences they have had at the festival as well.

We feel we were treated very badly and do not wish to ever go back to Sand Springs again.

It is a very sad thing.

-Virginia Harrison

What is Socialism?

(In response to "Are You Pissed Off?" on www.urbantulsa.com)

Dear Editor:

You ask if I am pissed off? Of course I am! It's hard these days to go to any website with any type of comment section without reading something political or someone bitching about how President Obama is a socialist and is trying to turn this country into a communist state.

First off, socialism. Does anyone realize all the "socalized" things we have in this country? Our schools, police, firemen and libraries. All socialized, meaning they are provided for by the government so all of the citizens of this country can benefit from them. So you're against it? Will you be so against it when a maniac breaks into your house, robs you, kills your dog and burns your house down? Because if it wasn't for "socialism" there wouldn't be a person around to do anything about it.

I for one think some dudes on a big red truck with a load of water pressure who will come to your house for free and put out the fire that could potentially ruin all my oh-so-expensive and yet highly unnecessary shit is a good thing. Anyone ever seen Gangs of New York?

If you have, you would remember the scene where the competing fire engines showed up to the burning buildings in the five points and fought over who got to put out the fire, and thus pillage the house for payment. That sound good to anyone? I didn't think so. And then there was the murder of your dog. Or worse, a member of your family.

It's nice to have someone give a shit who is capable of finding who did it and bring them to justice, huh. No one would want a person who murdered their mother, father, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, grandpa, grandma, etc. to be running free to ruin someone else's family.

Oh and speaking of family, we may not have the best education system, but at least our kids can have the chance to go to a building, FOR FREE, and be given the chance to learn about this, "the greatest country in the world." The only reason more people aren't in a successful career or go to college is because they stopped giving a shit a long time ago, I know that's what I did. I don't blame anyone but myself. And libraries, I know I'm not the only one who grew up loving to read because I could walk down the street and discover a new world, or learn about a new culture, or discover a new way to make a paper airplane, FOR FREE!

So what is it we don't enjoy about socialism? Is it medicine? Is it the feeling that we're not in control of something? Look around people, we're not in control of a thing. And we haven't been for a long time! Someone once told me that you're not a true American citizen unless you question your government. That we as citizens should not be afraid of them, but them afraid of us. If what you're scared of is some type of dictatorship, then you should just kill yourself now, because in case you didn't notice, our say so in this government went out the window when George Sr. took office. Good Night.

-Guy with Eyes

Editor's Note: While not everyone has such a cheery outlook on life, we do care for our services and the people who uphold them.