Letters to the Editor for July 30

For my return home, I chose to wear a Trump-Pence t-shirt. Naturally, after being gone for a week, I needed a few groceries, so I stopped by Trader Joe’s (you can guess where this going). I was yelled at by two customers, shadowed by a TJ employee, and neither the checker nor the bagger were up for any small talk or even a smile. What a great way to get a dose of reality after a week on adrenaline.

While at the RNC, the media wanted to know if I “hated Hillary.” No, I don’t know Hillary. I dislike her policies and disagree with her progressive vision of our country, but I don’t “hate” her. Needless to say, I was not a media magnet at the convention.

I love a good political discussion, an exchange of differences of opinion with a healthy dose of respect to serve as a referee. My favorite exchange of ideas is when someone tells me why they like their own candidate, not why they hate mine. During this toxic election cycle, we are being handed an opportunity to set an example and tone for our children. Please remember that you are an ambassador for your candidate, whether you are wearing the shirt (or bumper sticker, etc.) or responding to it.

Lisa Evans

White Salmon

Ready for ‘mime time’

Did you know the hard of hearing really appreciate the vibrant visualizational verve offered to them by mimes? While in San Francisco, my brother and I observed a crowd of seniors forming a circle around a quiet threesome called “The Silent Knights,” so we joined in the merriment and as we watched, another senior told us why he preferred “mime time” more than any other form of entertainment. “With ‘mime time,” he said, “we don’t have to keep saying, ‘What?’ or “How’s that again?’”

So next time you’re in San Francisco helping to form a circle around some mimes, you’ll no doubt notice about 70 percent of the onlookers are of the gray and white-haired variety.

Bill Davis

Hood River

Need crosswalk

I’m worried. Tonight, as I drove on Cascade Avenue by Safeway, I stopped my car so a woman who was laden with shopping bags could cross the street. Cars behind me stopped, but in the other lane no one stopped for quite a while. She stood in the center of the road waiting.

This happens a lot, especially in summer, when there are more guests staying at the Sunset Motel (which just expanded). We have a crosswalk at 18th and at 22nd. Why can’t we have one put in somewhere between 22nd and Rand Road?

Lynn Lewis

Hood River