The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Letters

A tribute to Jerry Weiss

Jerry Weiss was twice elected president of the Tuesday Club in Sunnyvale and served his terms with honor and dignity. He was very conscientious, very caring, very diplomatic and helpful to those in need. He was always trying to think of ways to improve the club with new ideas. His ambition knew no bounds; he was a friend to all, and he loved the people, he loved the Tuesday Club and most of all, he loved his wife, Chris.

With his busy schedule, he still found time to stop and pick up several senior club members who had no way of getting to the club--another example of Jerry's caring ways. On the day he informed the members of his health condition, it was May 5, 1998. He spoke slowly and told us he had amiotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease. There was not a dry eye in the house. People were saddened and crying.

Here was a man whose days were numbered and still had the courage to smile and say, "If I can smile, so can you."

He left a legacy of courage, humor, good will and love. Our hearts will forever remember him. Goodbye, Jerry, from all of the people at the Tuesday Club.

Ruth Heard
Sunnyvale

Through maturity, population will reach a normal level

This debate on population and the environment is fascinating. I sometimes wonder if the so-called optimists are pro-life or need to be fruitful and multiply? The philosophies are fine but not absolute. Do they believe we are the best thing that ever happened to the planet? Do they like concrete and congestion that much? Or are they merely distracted by the present?

Researching the issue, I have found legitimate arguments on both sides. The United Nations, in its 1996 Revision, has predicted a "replacement birthrate of 2.1 children per woman by the year 2050, and a total of 9.4 billion humans." Still, I am glad to be gay, my gift to the Earth. Eventually our numbers will be normalized, hopefully by our God-given maturity rather than nature's more severe measures. I hope we take the easier, honorable route. In 1998, "more" may not always be merrier.

Berry West
Sunnyvale

Incident highlights lack of concern

Recently I went shopping at Starbucks and Noah's Bagels on the corner of Stevens Creek and De Anza boulevards. There is a disabled parking place convenient to both stores (I am disabled) where I usually park. This morning the lot was very full, and there was a delivery truck in the disabled parking slot. It was necessary for me to drive around for a few minutes until a parking place opened up.

After I parked, I spoke with the driver, explaining that he should not park there. He did not respond verbally, but he did turn his back on me. I intend to write a brief note to the delivery man's company and was writing down the pertinent information in order to do so. I was asked by a patron at one of the tables if I had nothing better to do than hassle a "poor delivery driver." I commented that perhaps the party did not understand the problem.

The response was, "If it's such a big problem, then stay home." It is truly sad that there are still people who remain unconcerned and/or hostile to the plight of the disabled. I hope that this letter will lead just one or two people to pause before they park "for just a few minutes" in a designated parking place.

C. W. Crannell
Cupertino

Make the choice not to procreate

Mr. Bowlby and Mr. Lowd use fancy metaphors and phrases in a vain attempt to justify as nondestructive the homo sapiens' parasitic domination of the planet. Perhaps these gentlemen have a fear of laws and government policy that could limit their freedom to continue to excessively consume and devastate natural resources and ecosystems throughout their lifetimes. This is an assumption of their lifestyle, but a realistic one, as most proponents of negative population growth embrace lifestyles that are simplistic and reductionist, and obviously these men are not of the same school of thought. Do not fret so, gentlemen, and concern yourselves with writing letters to the newspaper, because the problem will not hurt you. Your carefree lives will have passed decades before the global population crashes and burns.

Mr. Bowlby, to assume that those of us who oppose continued population growth are concerned only with the issue of loss of physical space shows that the only thoughts which are wrapped in a cocoon of ignorance are your own. There will always be plenty of room on our planet, and that space will be well utilized to absorb the tears of those who will be without in coming decades. Perhaps you do not have the foresight to envision those who will starve and those who will die of epidemic sickness.

Mr. Lowd calls for the drastic measure of suicide as a means to make a statement to the world that one hopes to lessen the human population. Unfortunately, what he does not realize is that those of us who promote negative population growth do so because we cherish the beauty of our lives and hope to maintain a planet supportive of the beauty of life for future generations. Perhaps instead of encouraging us to take our own lives, he can join us in embracing simpler lifestyles, such as leaving one's car at home and biking or walking, eating vegetarian or, most importantly, choosing not to procreate.

Melissa Bernardin
Campbell

[ Back to Contents Page | Sunnyvale Sun Home Page | Archives ]

The Sun Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Letters

The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper