Just Sayin': A memory puts things in perspective

A fond memory puts things in perspective

New 2023 calendars prompted me to contemplate how, for nearly three years, many of us have donned masks, maintained six feet of distance and learned to cope. We have seen family and friends contract COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) or the flu. Some died; others experience long-term effects.

Several years ago, driving home from Indiana, we pulled into a rest stop. A red pickup truck parked alongside us. The driver, a young man, opened the door and lowered his prosthetic legs. Seeing the Purple Heart license plate, my husband asked where he’d served. He matter-of-factly answered that he’d lost his legs in Iraq and had been in rehabilitation. He was driving from Texas to Virginia, where a Pentagon job awaited him.

When we thanked him for his service and expressed our admiration for his courage, his response was simple: “It beats pushing up daisies.”

His attitude has remained an inspiration, especially through these surreal times. We overcome difficulties impeding our daily lives, don masks, pull up our sleeves for vaccinations and follow self-imposed restrictions. Why? Because “it beats pushing up daisies.”

— Angela de Caprariis-Salerno, Garden City

Make all red-light camera signs visible

The controversy surrounding red-light cameras is nothing new, but what about the upkeep of the signs? I have seen signs in multiple locations covered completely by overgrown bushes and vines, or in locations not easily seen by drivers in either direction.

These signs should be easily seen and hung where the traffic light is, similar to where “No U-turn” and “No Turn on Red” signs are. I am not alone in believing that red-light cameras are another way for the government to get additional revenue without making a positive change. This lack of upkeep and proper notice to drivers supports this theory. It might even be considered entrapment.

— John Scharf, Ronkonkoma

Nothing wrong with ‘Happy holidays’

We made it through another holiday season. However, I am fed up with the holiday greeting question. We need to get past this fabricated issue, which was never a problem throughout most of my life.

I’m Jewish, and I have never been offended when somebody says “Merry Christmas” to me. I find it to be a most pleasant greeting. I don’t expect somebody to know that it’s not my holiday, but I respect their issuing the greeting and the way it’s intended.

Saying “Happy holidays” is not a left-wing conspiracy to end Christmas. It’s not a government mandate to strip Christians of their right to celebrate their holiday. It is people being respectful of others by not assuming we all celebrate the same holiday.

I have never heard people strike back when wished “Merry Christmas” because it’s not their holiday. We are not trying to remove religion from our schools because it has never been a part of the curriculum, and it shouldn’t be.

If you aren’t Christian and somebody wishes you a Merry Christmas, take it in the spirit is was given, then move on.

— Robert Broder, Stony Brook