Opinion

May 28, 2013 — Public lands belong to the public, and the effort by the Lassen County Board of Supervisors and others to guarantee public access to the roads and woods in the Lassen National Forest should continue.

The board’s fight with the national forest over public access began in earnest more than four years ago — in January 2009 — when the board declared the proposed Travel Management Plan “unacceptable” because of what it characterized as many errors and inconsistencies, a lack of local input and a failure to respond to the concerns of local agencies and residents.

May 28, 2013 — In Taoist households, an offering of food is left for the hungry ghost on the family altar. If the family doesn’t leave a large enough offering, the hungry ghost might return to the world of the living where it can take whatever it needs. In China, the seventh lunar month, usually late summer or early fall, is devoted to the hungry ghost in a festival that continues all month.

A similar character shows up in the Buddhist/Hindu traditions as well, and the hungry ghost we have today is a blending of Southern and Central Asia, incorporating aspects of both the Taoist and Buddhist religions.

May 28, 2013 — Oh, we all hear what the Lassen County haters and the wing nuts have to say about our community, but we don’t have to listen to their shrill cries of outrage and wails of woe today. Nah, today is a great day for us to celebrate and rejoice our collective goodness for a job well done.

I actually played a very small role, getting my head shaved for charity, as part of a cool happening that occurred at the St. Baldrick’s event Saturday, May 18 at the Diamond Mountain Casino’s Diamond Willow Room.

May 21, 2013 — I will always have the deepest respect for the men and women who serve in the United States military sacrificing time away from their families, missing life's momentous occasions, serving in dangerous areas and sometimes paying the ultimate price with their lives.

I will be the first to admit, I take the freedom and life we enjoy for granted, forgetting that men and women have died for our safety and liberty.  A recent stop at the Pearl Harbor Memorial reminded me of the sacrifices made by those who enlist in the military and the impact of that visit still sits in my soul. 

In April, I traveled to Hawaii to visit a long-time friend who lives on the island of Oahu. As soon as I knew I was going, Pearl Harbor was immediately added to the top of my list of things to see. When people ask what the best part of the trip was, the memorial immediately comes to mind. It is one thing to read about Japan's attack on Dec. 7, 1941 — "A date that will live in infamy" — in the books,  but entirely another to see it.