Posted: Friday, December 16, 2005 12:00 am
ROSE (roz) n. One of the most beautiful of all flowers, a symbol of fragrance and loveliness. Often given as a sign of appreciation.
RASPBERRY (raz'ber'e) n. A sharp, scornful comment, criticism or rebuke; a derisive, splatting noise, often called the Bronx cheer.
We hereby deliver:
• ROSES to all of the people whose combination of Christmas spirit and creativity has resulted in some truly amazing displays of light and pageantry on lawns, trees - and even the crane near the Renaissance on the River condo project, which is all decked out in lights.
In the ongoing silly and increasingly churlish war of words over how we should greet each other at this time of year, it's worth noting that the most important thing in this dark and cold month is that we do greet one another with tidings of comfort, joy - and light.
• RASPBERRIES to the silliness involving release of the search warrant documents authorizing police to search former Rep. Kelley Wirth's vehicle. This document resulted in police reportedly finding a small amount of methamphetamine in Wirth's car, which led to her resignation last month. She has pleaded innocent to a possession charge.
Marion County Circuit Judge Joseph Guimond had no trouble concluding that public interest in the case warranted the search warrant's release.
However, less clear is how a judicial assistant for the judge thought the public would accept the lame excuse for delaying release: the copy of the warrant had been "contaminated" by the arson fire started last month by a man who rammed his pickup through the front doors of the Marion County Courthouse. It could take a month or more to "sanitize" court records, and that would delay the release, the assistant said.
Fortunately it appears that cooler heads will prevail. Marion County District Attorney Stephen Dingle said it is likely that he will release a copy of the search warrant from his records and short-cut what sounds like a pointless effort to delay disclosure of what led police to search Wirth's car in the first place.
• ROSES to 7-year-old Shelby Buskirk of Albany, an enterprising second-grader at Jefferson Elementary School, whose warm-hearted gifts will enable needy people to ward off the chill this winter.
With her allowance and the deposits from soda cans and bottles, Shelby spent about $80 on pile fabric from which she made 20 snuggly fringed blankets. She spent another $50 on gloves and $60 on 100 coats that she begged or bought second-hand.
Before she took her gifts to the Albany Helping Hands homeless shelter for distribution, she placed a hand-decorated, hand-printed tag on each, bearing Shelby's message: "Someone always cares."
• RASPBERRIES to the trio of jackasses whose idea of fun may have involved placing three hoax distress calls to the U.S. Coast Guard office in Brookings since October, each at a cost to taxpayers of $50,000. The first call prompted a five-hour search involving a helicopter and two lifeboats.
An anonymous tip to Crimestoppers led to the teens, whose fate still is being debated but which could result in felony charges, involving jail time and hefty fines. Too bad they can't be sentenced to a whole lot of scrubbing out of the bilge hold on Coast Guard craft.
• ROSES to the crab fisherman and the divers responsible for what may be the first successful human rescue of an entangled humpback whale.
The 45-foot mammal had become trapped by crab pot lines off San Francisco. When divers from the Marine Mammal Rescue Center saw her, their hearts sank. The air-breathing whale was tightly wrapped and weighed down by the crab lines and crab pots. She was exhausted from her struggle to keep her blow hole above the surface. One of the lines was cutting into her mouth.
To the divers' surprise, the whale remained calm during the hour that they sliced feverishly at the lines to free her.
That's when the magic began, diver James Moskito told the San Francisco Chronicle: "When I was cutting the line going through the mouth, its eye was there winking at me, watching me," Moskito said. Once freed, the huge whale swam in circles around the divers, stopping to nuzzle each in turn.
"It seemed kind of affectionate, like a dog that's happy to see you," Moskito said. "I never felt threatened. It was an amazing, wonderful experience."
This ending would be truly happy if more humans befriended this highly intelligent endangered species and that led to the meaningful action needed to ensure the humpback's continued survival.
• ROSES to William Proxmire, a former U.S. senator who deserved the almost-forgotten title of "statesman."
The six-term Democrat from Wisconsin died Thursday at the age of 90.
Proxmire will be remembered as a straight-shooting leader who in 1958 filled the office vacated by disgraced red-baiting black-lister Joseph McCarthy. He was elected to office in 1964, 1970, 1976 and 1982.
The founder of the well-known "Golden Fleece" awards, which focused public scrutiny on egregious government expenditures, Proxmire was a frugal leader who sold ideas instead of buying votes with extravagant campaigns. His strategy worked, too. Although he spent only $145.10 on his 1982 campaign, he garnered 64 percent of the vote.
Straight-ticket Republicans were glad to call him their senator, and generations of Wisconsin residents recall shaking his hand outside Green Bay Packers games and other public places where he went, just to say hello and keep in touch. It's a pity his brand of populism, bipartisanship and prudence doesn't catch on with more of the elected leaders who inhabit Capitol Hill.