Page 4 - Mid Valley Times 11-21-19 E-edition

Thursday, November 21, 2019 | A4 | Mid Valley TiMes Editorial & Opinions
Serving the Readers of the Reedley Exponent, Dimuba Sentinel and Sanger Herald.
A Mid Valley Publishing Newspaper
Founded March 26, 1891, in a two-story building on the corner of 11th and F streets, by A.S. Jones
Fred Hall — Publisher
In my OPINION HSR, homelessness and
other mounting problems
Perhaps the best way to establish a foundational basis for most of every- thing which will follow in this column is a simple statement of indisputable fact.
The one percent in sports
Rick Curiel — Sanger Editor Jon Earnest — Reedley Editor Dick Sheppard — Editor Emeritus
QUOTE
“The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite insane.”
— Nikola Tesla (1857-1943) Modern Mechanics and Inventions. July 1934
Fred Hall
Growing up as a Fresno State football fan, I learned to cheer for the underdog. There is something remark- able about a team winning against the odds, so long as that victory does not come at the expense of your favorite team, of course.
Over the weekend, while taking in my prescribed dose of college and NFL football, I stumbled upon a Minnesota Vikings game in which the Vi- kings mounted a come-from- behind victory after trailing at halftime by 20 points.
Now, the 20-point deficit may not seem so insurmount- able in today’s style of foot- ball. I’m sure many teams have come back from that kind of deficit over the past years, be it college or NFL.
But what made this par- ticular game so intriguing was the Viking statistic in regards to such a deficit. As the Vikings were preparing to take the lead late in the fourth quarter over the Den- ver Broncos, the announcer made sure to mention that the Vikings were 0-99 when trailing by 20 or more points at the half.
Seeing as though there was still time on the clock and the Broncos still had an opportu-
nity to recapture the lead, I watched intently after under- standing what was at stake.
Now, I’m not a Vikings or Broncos fan. In fact, being a Chicago Bears fan, I should have been rooting for the Broncos. But I couldn’t help but cheer for the Vikings in this case, even though they came into the game as the fa- vored team.
What captivated me was the opportunity of seeing something in sports that not many get to witness. This was the 100th game in which the Vikings were down by 20 or more points at the break, and every time prior resulted in a loss.
Every time except this.
The Vikings pulling off the come-from-behind victory over the Broncos marked the one time out of one hundred that they were able to pull off such a feat. The victory rep- resented the one percent.
So many times in the world of sports, we get to see what the human spirit is capable of doing under seemingly in- surmountable odds. Players, teams and coaches dig deep and find something that can propel them to victory.
Regardless of which sport it is, it has been proven time
and time gain that the im- probable is possible, given the right cir- cumstances.
Even
the Cleve-
land Browns
showed that last Thursday. Against the odds, the Browns beat the Steelers 21-7, some- thing the team hasn’t done in the past five years. Unfortu- nately, the victory was tainted by a horrible act of violence in the last minute of the game. That too, I like to imagine, only represents a one-percent anomaly.
But these anomalies (often times more good than bad) represent one of the strongest reasons for sports enthusi- asts, like me, to keep watch- ing. It’s why we continue to play the game and why we continue to watch.
It’s why teams practice. It’s why players train. It is the drive that can be the dif- ference between a winning culture and one that passive.
Because in sports, much like in life, despite the odds and all that may seem against us... anything can happen.
Rick Curiel is Mid Valley Times' Sanger editor.
Rick Curiel
When California was a red state
(Republican voting), it had the stron-
gest middle class in the world. Now
that the state is blue (Democrat vot-
ing), the middle class is destroyed and
it has the highest homelessness and
poverty rates in the country! That's pretty much what is today called a “no-brainer.”
It also proves to be something of a natural segue into one of the dumbest undertakings ever contemplated by California politicians. The California High Speed Rail Authority has proved to have the half-life of atomic waste or the common cockroach. In any event, it abso- lutely refuses to die and go away!
This boondoggle was fallaciously presented to Cali- fornia voters as the end-all, be-all for solving a yet-to- be proven issue of climate change. This wonderful new train would eliminate the pollution created by millions of car miles each year. Best of all? Consultants had been hired by the smartest people in the state to convince those of us among the great unwashed that enough rid- er traffic was virtually assured to guarantee the entire project would be a winning issue for the future. It was now the 21st century and California would arrive with glowing promise.
Now that hardly anything can be be recognized from the original project because we're years behind and bil- lions of dollars over budget, we are being told that rid- ership won't even come close to paying for its upkeep. Smart people should recognize the time has come to cut our losses. According to the singer, Kenny Rogers, you gotta know when to hold them and when to fold them!
Homelessness is especially rampant in California's larger cities, but one knows when one is trouble now because it is cropping up with a vengeance right here in our own backyard. California is becoming infamous for the reappearance of diseases which everyone thought had been wiped out during the middle ages. Excrement, rats and used drug needles line the streets of certain areas of Los Angeles and San Francisco. It's hard to look around and appreciate the natural beauty of the state when one is up their ankles in poo-poo. I would image it's difficult even for liberals to be that understanding.
The winter rains are coming and much of that filth and nastiness is going to wind up on the beaches of one of our greatest assets, the Pacific Ocean.
Exorbitant rates for housing, utilities, fuel, and taxa- tion as well as crushing regulations and restrictions on all business is resulting in an exodus or productive citi- zens that far outweigh current illegal immigration num- bers sneaking into the country. As government officials continue to up the ante on what freebies are available for all those “undocumented” it is becoming crystal clear that the economic outflow will soon become dire.
This is, and has always been, a state whose citizens are in love with their automobiles. We simply need that mobility. Try as they may to blame oil companies and re- fineries, it's patently obvious that the greatest opponent to the efficient utilization of petroleum based products comes directly from Sacramento. The formulation of our “gasoline” is so convoluted that it's actually a cocktail of chemicals. Ask a Democrat why California gas is $1.50 per gallon more expensive than other states.
With pressure provided by the state of California, Pa- cific Gas and Electric Co. is operating damned near like a criminal enterprise, given the utility rate we pay for our power. However, one needs to look at the politically- driven sourcing from power sources forced on PG&E for part of the answer.
There's much more to say, but consider this a short primer on how one goes from the penthouse to the out- house. Sacramento, are you listening?
Coming together in a crisis
Last week's drama involv- ing 69-year-old Orosi-Cutler woman Presentacion Quinday is any family's worst night- mare. A missing person, be it a baby, adult or senior citizen, is an emotionally-wrenching experience for loved ones to have to go through. Often- times, such an ordeal can re- sult in a tragic conclusion.
Thankfully, that didn't hap- pen this time. After more than three days of efforts by fam- ily members, hundreds of vol- unteers and law enforcement agencies including the Tulare and Fresno county sheriff's offices, Quinday was found alive and safe near Shaver Lake. She was extremely for- tunate, having been found in
an area that law enforcement described as rough terrain. Tulare County Sheriff's offi- cials said that Quinday was very dehydrated when she was found, but was flown to a local hospital and later was able to return home with fam- ily members.
I'd like to point out the determined work of Times reporter and features editor Juanita Adame, who helped quickly share the news on Quinday's disappearance over the Times' and Reedley Exponent's Facebook pages. Adame also went the extra step by accompanying family members during their search efforts. Many volunteers al- so are to be commended for
helping search and spread the word.
This story
has a happy
ending. Quin-
day, who origi-
nally went
missing after a trip to the De- partment of Motor Vehicles office in Reedley before being found in the mountains nearly 50 miles away, is safely back home and ready to soon cel- ebrate her 70th birthday. It's good to see the human spirit step up and band together for a common goal.
Jon Earnest is Mid Valley Times' Reedley editor.
Jon Earnest
But, as always, that's only one man's opinion.
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