Celebrate the Fourth
Please let kids of all ages know that they are invited to the
annual July 4 Kiddie Parade beginning at 10 a.m.
It will start at the County Express parking lot at Veterans
Memorial Park, at the corner of Memorial Drive and Hillcrest Road,
proceed north on Memorial Drive, left at Meridian , finishing with
a welcome at Marguerite Maze School parking lot followed by punch
and cookies.
All children will be given an American flag and are invited to
decorate their scooters, bikes, trikes, baby buggies, wagons and to
wear red, white and blue if they wish. Parents should walk with
their children and everyone is invited to cheer them on and take
photos.
No registration is required; just show up.
There will be a free community fireworks display at Marguerite
Maze beginning at dusk.
All the above events are made possible by the Fourth of July
Celebration Committee, San Benito County Chamber of Commerce, the
city of Hollister and the 12 non-profit organizations with
fireworks stands.
For further details, contact Geri Johnson at 636-4304 or Ruth
Erickson at 637-0987.
Ruth Erickson
Hollister
Celebrate the Fourth
Please let kids of all ages know that they are invited to the annual July 4 Kiddie Parade beginning at 10 a.m.
It will start at the County Express parking lot at Veterans Memorial Park, at the corner of Memorial Drive and Hillcrest Road, proceed north on Memorial Drive, left at Meridian , finishing with a welcome at Marguerite Maze School parking lot followed by punch and cookies.
All children will be given an American flag and are invited to decorate their scooters, bikes, trikes, baby buggies, wagons and to wear red, white and blue if they wish. Parents should walk with their children and everyone is invited to cheer them on and take photos.
No registration is required; just show up.
There will be a free community fireworks display at Marguerite Maze beginning at dusk.
All the above events are made possible by the Fourth of July Celebration Committee, San Benito County Chamber of Commerce, the city of Hollister and the 12 non-profit organizations with fireworks stands.
For further details, contact Geri Johnson at 636-4304 or Ruth Erickson at 637-0987.
Ruth Erickson
Hollister
War opens soldiers’ eyes
What do cowboys and military veterans have in common? The ones I have in mind all come from San Benito County. Some of us enjoyed the cowboys at the rodeo. Others enjoyed the veterans as they presented their experiences at St. Benedict’s Hall to the community, sponsored by Hollister People for Peace.
The three veterans displayed exquisite flowering of young manhood. San Benito High teachers will be proud of their former students as the young men were articulate and thoughtful as well as muscular, good looking and clean cut; one with wounds meriting a purple heart, and all three wrestling with inner wounds.
George Sanchez told how Kevlar in the floor and sides of his Humvee saved his life while orders were given to his convoy to drive through streets known to be in the crosshairs of Iraqi defenders. Mateo Rebecchi described how the Coast Guard was dedicated to defending our coast even though the coast morphed into the Persian Gulf coast. Jeff Patterson trained as a nuclear technician in Gulf War I was commanded to arm nuclear warheads. That’s when he discovered his real self. He couldn’t perform those tasks and became a conscientious objector. Jeff emphasized that the good part unfolded, as he was able to become his own real person.
A common wrap packaged their stories: as patriotic teenagers they wanted to serve their country and find meaning. They also shared a like-mindedness concerning re-enlistment … absolutely not the thing to do! They giggled when saying they used the recruiter’s offer of lunch as a “free lunch” or food without commitment. They felt betrayed because they committed their bodies to the military but the military did not commit to them.
The three find purpose now in unmasking the military to the young and re-emphasizing to listeners that if California were invaded we, like the Iraqis, would fight back.
Mary Zanger
Hollister
The killing continues
What’s with all the talk of killing? What’s with all the excuses to kill? Oh that’s right, the IWC (International Whaling Commission) is meeting again in Santiago, Chile. Norway and especially Greenland want to increase the number of whales they kill each year to include the great humpback whale. Indigenous people of Greenland are the reason. Has anyone told them about this? And, let’s not forget the great Southern Ocean Japanese Scientific Study Group. Their motto seems to be “The only good whale is a dead whale.” Why hasn’t someone closed that IWC loophole yet? Japan, Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Greenland see these hunts as a time-honored tradition. Not for the whales its not!
The request to add 10 additional humpback whales to the menu was voted down by the IWC. The Japanese delegation is sharing the pain of Greenland’s indigenous people.
Chile’s President, Michelle Bachelet, has pushed to permanently ban whaling along its 3,100-mile coastline and create a sanctuary where no whales or other marine mammals can ever be hunted. This is a landmark decision that will go very far in protecting the Blue Whale (remember the biggest creature on the planet Earth). Up until the 1960’s the Japanese hunted the Blue Whale almost to extinction. Guess what, they want to start up again. You do not need to be an Oracle of Delphi to know what the future holds if this happens.
I am a member of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. If this group is a little too piratey for you please check out the World Wildlife Fund or the Humane Society and help save our future. Together we can make the oceans safe. It doesn’t take a village; it takes a planet.
Linda Nolan
Hollister
Big oil’s mission accomplished
No bid contracts in Iraq for Exxon, Mobil, BP and Shell, like those that have brought excellent profits to Blackwater and Halliburton for six years, signal that the Bush, Cheney Mission in Iraq has been accomplished. The contracts also give insight into Blair’s support of the Bush Iraq program. Bush and McCain urge that the U.S. occupation of Iraq continue, so we can ensure the profits to be gained by these oil companies.
Frank Crosby
Morgan Hill
