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“Trees Are Our Roots” 8099 Bavaria Rd * Victoria * 952-443-2990 |
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Parking spaces in downtown Victoria fill up fast on the popular Classic Car Nights, but Allan and I were fortunate to find a space Wednesday evening, June 14th, in back of the Post Office. It was early, only 5 o'clock, and that helped, although we had driven through the grocery store parking lot and it was already full. Floyd's outdoor patio beckoned to us first and so we stopped by for a margarita and chips and salsa. One of the patrons on the patio, a resident of Victoria, invaded our pleasant evening and berated me for not printing all the letters to the editor that I receive. I told him it's like owning a grocery store. The owner gets to choose what to put on his shelves. I don't choose poison. I could have mentioned to him various publications, each with their own personality and persuasion. Content in the New York Times is unlike content in The Washington Times. Content in Country is unlike content in Touchstone. Content in The New Yorker is unlike content in The Weekly Standard. Each publication has its own flavor, its own agenda, its own biases, though many don't admit it. I am biased in favor of that which is right and reasonable. I will not give time and space to accusations, misinformation, or misrepresentations simply because it comes from a mouth or a pen. I've written before that I don't like to print letters to the editor that deceive or denounce. I could add, in the interest of further alliteration, that I won't be a party to propaganda, persecution, or prevarication. I won't -- I can't -- print that which upsets my sense of right and wrong, most certainly not without an editor's note. So this guy on the patio then leaned into our table and loudly asked me if the Gazette was a newspaper or junk mail. I replied that it could be considered junk mail. He knows as I do that Third Class is often used by "junk mailers" as well as by those who are trying to save a buck. Still, my bill for mailing the Gazette is over $1,000 every month. The patio guy continued in a big voice in a public place and threatening manner to say that he's here to stay, not going away, and that it won't end. I simply looked at him and said, "Okay." He pointed his finger at me and made the statement three times. I said "Okay" three times. I didn't have to ask what he meant because his history speaks for itself. That history includes a voice mail of hate speech to me and the Gazette. I've got recorded copies of it, also transcribed. Very ugly things must be inside a person to have that venom spew out of him. I don't have time to dwell on such words, except momentarily. It's a wonderful life, full to the brim with work and friends and family. After making the rounds that evening among classic cars and hundreds of people, we chose the Victoria House this time for dinner. Around 9 p.m. we said goodbye to our friends and headed to our respective vehicles. When we got to ours behind the Post Office, Allan immediately saw that someone had ripped off the windshield wiper on the driver side of our new car. We were glad it wasn't raining. Patio guy is filled with rage because I will not be intimidated. I will not be used to further his hate-filled agenda. I will not support or encourage wrong or unreasonable characterizations -- whether they be pronouncements from district judges, city mayors, or anyone else. I defend truth and honesty and people of good will here in Victoria and everywhere. I try to be kind, even to my enemies -- and that doesn't mean catering to people whose mission is to demean, destruct, and destroy, who refuse to live and let live. I received an email last year from this patio guy who said he would be contacting businesses to keep them from advertising in the Gazette. I've also received nasty emails from his friends. Birds of a feather. We were careful to properly handle the windshield wiper so fingerprints would remain intact. It cost us $130 for a new wiper and apparatus to be ordered and installed. It wasn't a simple breakage. It was a vicious attack. It was a crime. Why am I telling you all this? Because that's what I do. I write about what happens in my life and in the life of Victoria -- with honesty, clarity, and transparency. Hate crimes are happening around the world more so than ever before -- to unsuspecting bystanders at airports, malls, churches and in the streets, to children in schools and young people at concerts, to law enforcement officers, to life and liberty. Who would have thought we'd be a witness to such days as these, and also a victim. Haters dare to crawl out of the woodwork in greater numbers today because they have allies prowling around in greater numbers today, seeking our ruin. I pray for their conversion of heart but I've got the sinking feeling it's to no avail. |
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From the Editor |
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Dedicated to the sunshine of truth, the moonshine of meeting deadlines, and the starshine of Victoria. |
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The Victoria GAZETTE |
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Sue’s Album A symphony of photos and fewer than a thousand words at www.VictoriaGazette.com |
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July 2017 |
