Three Letters to the Editor, SF CHRONICLE, 3 February 2008

Self back from teaching. She finds this class very veeeery quiet. But they’re thoughtful, too, as evinced by the sharp questions they flung at the people giving oral presentations today. AND, cute Filipina Larissa A brought banana fritters (aka turon) she had made herself, to go along with her talk on why she wanted to be a professional chef! They were so yummy, the fritters had strips of nangka in them, and the class gobbled them right up. Self was secretly hoping there’d be some left after everyone had taken their share, and as luck would have it, there were two. Self sat in the parking lot and gobbled them down before she started the car. This meant she had to drive home with greasy fingers on the steering wheel. Never mind: they were delicious! Larissa gets an “A” for oral presentation and verve!

Home again, self turns the TV to “Monk” (Self likes watching re-runs of “Monk,” “Law and Order SVU,” or “Law and Order: Criminal Intent.” Hubby, in contrast, likes watching re-runs of “CSI: Miami” or CSI: New York”). She unfolds her latest copy of the Chronicle (3 February 2008) and reads the Letters to the Editor in the Opinion section. She always hones in on the ones from “her” area. Here’s one from a reader in Menlo Park, and self gets all the way to the end before she reads the name: Joan Baez! Joan Baez lives in Menlo Park! Barely a stone’s throw from self’s own home!

The other letter is from a woman in Palo Alto, which self also considers “her” neck of the woods. Sandwiched in between these two is a letter from a woman in San Francisco. Oh, what the heck, self will just go ahead and quote all three.

Self will start with the one from Joan Baez:

Editor — I have attempted throughout my life to give a voice to the voiceless, hope to the hopeless, encouragement to the discouraged, and options to the cynical and complacent. From Northern Ireland to Sarajevo to Latin America, I have sung and marched, engaged in civil disobedience, visited war zones, and broken bread with those who had little bread to break.

Through all those years, I chose not to engage in party politics. Though I was asked many times to endorse candidates at every level, I was never comfortable doing so. At this time, however, changing that posture feels like the responsible thing to do. If anyone can navigate the contaminated waters of Washington, lift up the poor, and appeal to the rich to share their wealth, it is Sen. Barack Obama. If anyone can bring light to the darkened corners of this nation and restore our positive influence in world affairs, it is Barack Obama.

And now to the letter from the woman from San Francisco, which is not actually in self’s neck of the woods, but has some curious things to say about Hillary:

Editor — This is one last plea to the democratic voters in California, especially to women: Sen. Hillary Clinton is a true conservative; she voted for the war, she has supported Bush in his saber-rattling against Iran, and her past record shows a generally conservative voting record. And as for the “attack dog,” Bill Clinton, does anyone really believe that he has said those things without the express direction of Hillary?

With Hillary as candidate, I am afraid that is just what will happen. If she is the candidate, I will, of course, vote for her, but with a heavy heart.

And finally the letter from the woman from Palo Alto:

Editor — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s budget proposes to close 48 state parks — to make unavailable to Californians some of the state’s most beautiful places and historic sites. Yes, we need to balance the budget, but the theorized savings — 9 million dollars, less than .1 percent of the state budget — do not take into account the losses involved in making nature inaccessible to many thousands of Californians.

It has been demonstrated that even a short walk in nature can relieve stress, reduce violent tendencies and increase creativity. Keep parks open and foster a healthy California.

And now, self must be off to return “Rescue Dawn” (an excellently acted, but somewhat odd movie) to Blockbuster. Stay tuned, dear blog readers, stay tuned.