Mother’s Day and your time

You may have lost your mother early in life or never really knew your mother. My two sons were only 17 and 20 when their mother passed at the age of 49 from multiple sclerosis.

Mother’s Day is a tough day for them and many others around the world. This day may be very di cult for you. My mother has also passed on but I remember her as one of the hardest working people I’ve ever known. On Sunday and often during the week she loved getting dressed up and going to church. One of the greatest enjoyments of her life was singing in a gospel quartet with my dad and another lovely couple.

Eula Hinkle Mollette was just the best mom ever. Yes, I’m prejudiced of course.

Mom helped me with my homework. She washed and ironed my clothes. She put breakfast on the table for me every morning. She had something for me to eat every day when I came home from school. She read to me when I was a child and took care of me when I was sick. During the summer we would carry water from our nearby creek to wash clothes. Typically, we caught rain water in large tubs to wash our clothes but summer months often brought dry weather. We had lunch together every day during the summer break. Usually, it was a homemade sandwich and sometimes a candy bar from Grandpa Hinkle’s grocery store. I once wanted root beer and she said, “You won’t like it.” I debated that I would but I didn’t. I was stuck with the root beer.

She never hesitated to set me straight with a peach tree limb across my back side.

If she were alive today, I would try to make up for all the things I didn’t do or didn’t consider doing. I always had good intentions for all the things I might try to do for Mom and Dad but they slipped from this life before I had the opportunity.

Missed opportunities happen often to most of us. We have good intentions but often we don’t have the ability to act on those intentions. I’m envious of those who are able to do a lot for their moms and dads and wish that I could have done more.

However, so often what we can do are the simplest things that mean so much. Today, I don’t want my family to do anything for me but call me or visit me occasionally. A hug and some shared times are the most meaningful to me. Some good quality time is actually the best gift we can give to mom, dad or anyone.

Our time is fleeting for us all. To be generous with a visit, conversation and sharing of life is probably the most precious gift we can give.

Mother’s Day is coming. Set aside your best gift — your time.

Dr. Glenn Mollette is a national columnist and the author of 13 books.

Letters to the Editor

Solving California’s trash problem

EDITOR:

Iam writing to propose a solution to the problem of littering and trash in El Dorado County. As anyone living here can tell, trash along our highways and waterways is a serious problem that a ects wildlife, our environment and our quality of life.

If there is one particular group that would be the best for being involved in cleaning up the community it would be young people. I’m proposing an initiative to involve youth groups, high school community service groups and other willing organizations to start a Saturday county clean up.

Trash in our county creates problems in a couple of di erent ways. Caltrans’ reports demonstrate how big of an issue it is: “During fiscal year (FY) 2018-19, Caltrans workers alone collected more than 186,000 cubic yards of litter on and along state highway areas.”

This is a ridiculous amount of trash that gets thrown along our highways. The problem goes beyond the amount of trash.

According to Caltrans’ reports, “Litter’s total financial toll on Caltrans has risen steadily, from $65 million in 2016-17 (when more than 329,930 cubic yards of garbage were collected) to $89.7 million in 2017-18 (364,917 cubic yards) to more than $102 million in 2018-19 (359,154 cubic yards). That represents a 21.9% cost increase over those three years.”

This costs us a lot of money in terms of tax dollars. Not only does it cost citizens money, but you’ve got to think about other things that money can help with instead. The data shows this problem is only getting worse.

Caltrans workers should be building and fixing roads, not cleaning up trash. The following quote shows the amount of hours: “Caltrans workers logged about 368,000 hours collecting and disposing of roadside garbage.” If common citizens spent more time cleaning, it would not have to be this way.

My solution is to start a volunteer group that organizes and collaborates with youth associations in the county to start cleaning up trash. This would be a small group of community members who plan locations for cleanup and schedule dates and send out communication to youth organizations.

The volunteer group would start with contacting church youth groups, after-school programs, and high school counselors who oversee community service. As the organization grows, maybe there could be an educational element.

Costs involved: workers/transportation on a volunteer basis and roughly $825 for gloves, buckets, trash bags and tools (this counts for the entire group).

This program could be very beneficial to not only our community, but our economy as a whole. We can have volunteers who have nothing better to do go out and help clean up the community — maybe for tax writeo s or maybe for some extra credit in school.

CHRIS HARTWIG Placerville

A legitimacy crisis

EDITOR:

The U.S. Supreme Court is run amok and it’s time to get it under control.

For the last year, we have witnessed scandal after scandal come out of the Supreme Court. From learning that Samuel Alito may have leaked a decision about reproductive health to conservative anti-abortion activists, to discovering Clarence Thomas has been secretly accepting luxury vacations from a GOP mega-donor for 20 years, the actions of these justices on the highest court in the land are unconscionable.

Thankfully, this bad behavior can be addressed. Congress has the ability — and responsibility — to act as a check on the Supreme Court and restore faith in our judicial system. It’s time they take the first step and pass a code of ethics for the Supreme Court.

No one is above accountability and that includes our justices on the Supreme Court.

SUSAN CONFORTI El Dorado Hills

The GOP and the debt ceiling

EDITOR:

Raising the debt ceiling became an issue twice under Clinton and once under Obama. Republicans were blamed each time and will be again this time. The GOP tactic is clear: do the same thing over and over and expect di erent outcomes — the very definition of insanity.

It is ba ing Republicans never raise the debt ceiling issue during GOP administrations: is it poor memory or hypocrisy? Bush II’s and Trump’s combined $11 trillion tax cuts and spending sprees were financed with borrowed money made available by raising the debt ceiling — three times during Trump’s term, each time with the help of House and Senate Democrats.

Some day voters will stop looking at the label behind a candidate’s name and scrutinize a party’s

■ See LETTERS, page A5