The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 4 of 11)

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Joel, Chapter 2: 1 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all who dwell in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming;

2 Yes, it is near, a day of darkness and of gloom, a day of clouds and somberness! Like dawn spreading over the mountains, a people numerous and mighty! Their like has not been from of old, nor will it be after them, even to the years of distant generations.

3 Before them a fire devours, and after them a flame enkindles; Like the garden of Eden is the land before them, and after them a desert waste; from them there is no escape.

4 Their appearance is that of horses; like steeds they run.

5 As with the rumble of chariots they leap on the mountaintops; As with the crackling of a fiery flame devouring stubble; Like a mighty people arrayed for battle.

6 Before them peoples are in torment, every face blanches.

7 Like warriors they run, like soldiers they scale the wall; They advance, each in his own lane, without swerving from their paths.

8 No one crowds another, each advances in his own track; Though they fall into the ditches, they are not checked.

9 They assault the city, they run upon the wall, they climb into the houses; In at the windows they come like thieves.

10 Before them the earth trembles, the heavens shake; The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withhold their brightness.

11 The LORD raises his voice at the head of his army; For immense indeed is his camp, yes, mighty, and it does his bidding. For great is the day of the LORD, and exceedingly terrible; who can bear it?

br> Either these are the Last Days, or the Church has gone stark, staring mad. In any event, I'm finished with the Anglican Church. br> -- Kate Shaw br> Toronto, Ontario p> DELIVERY STRATEGIES br> Re: Paul Chesser's Working the Wrong Side of the Road : /p>

Back in a more innocent time, 1980, as a 13-year-old I delivered the Richmond Times-Dispatch. I still can't believe I did it or that it was acceptable back then for children to do so. Consider: the only people out and about at 5 a.m. in a city are a few joggers, a few police, paperboys (we still called them that back in that innocent time), winos, weirdoes, and criminals.

It was not without incident. Several times I had my Sunday editions stolen for sale at impromptu downtown newsstands. Once while collecting money I ran into neighborhood ruffians who harassed me more for sport than money. Another time I was bitten by a dog. However, the most memorable day was when I arrived at the drop-off spot to find, instead of the newspapers to be delivered, a smoldering ash heap along with the smell of gasoline. Apparently deranged nuts of some sort had decided, for whatever reason, to light a bonfire. And this was in a "good" neighborhood!

p>Also, let it not go without mentioning that while the postal carrier glamour boys get to claim that neither snow, nor rain, nor blah, blah, blah keep them from their appointed rounds, the paper carriers really mean it. Nothing stops their delivery, not even weekends or federal holidays. Which, of course, is yet another example of the private sector outperforming the public sector -- even if they have to wait for their employees, excuse me, independent contractors, to turn twelve before awarding them the work.

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