Posted: Monday, December 1, 2008 10:00 pm
OK, one more
Can you stand one more opinion on the library?
As a newcomer who loves the historic flavor of the city, I was disappointed to see that the new library was not in constructed with that in mind. In fact, it seems to have no architectural beauty whatsoever. But what is done is done. The most cost efficient way to resolve it now would be to paint the trim a blue just a little lighter than the roof and it would look at least respectable.
Margaret Dyck, Albany
Well, and another
This is a response to those who say there is no shade of green in our valley agriculture that matches library green. In fact there is. It is called Roundup 13, and it occurs exactly thirteen days after a grass-seed field is sprayed with Roundup to kill unwanted weeds and grasses.
Thereafter the field turns a brown that doesn't match library brown - sorry. (Looking out my window at a field of library green.)
George Kurtz, Albany
Look at the big picture
During the past month, the D-H has run an article and and numerous letters about the color scheme of the new library, almost as if it were intentionally wanting to make an issue. Your editorial from the 26th (referring to economic statistics -ed.) then reads, "But it's worth remembering that no matter the actual conditions in the real world, most of the public reporting on the subject makes things seem worse than they are."
That is just classic! Yes, all the hoopla about the color is overblown, and entirely overlooks the fact that the city of Albany is getting a library that will have more books, more services, and more room without an increase in tax burden (although more donations are still needed to make it topnotch).
That is an absolute phenomenon and the fact that the project as a whole has received so much less attention than the color of the building makes me wonder if people really understand how lucky we are?
Your article also reminds us that we should all be thankful to be able to read. A public library is instrumental in a community's commitment to literacy; we are pooling together to form a wide-ranging collection of books with an expert staff who can both help and encourage us in our reading.
When you really think about it, a public library is a dramatic case of democracy in action and a radical example of America's right to free speech - much more radical and dramatic than any color scheme imaginable. Let's keep the big picture in mind, and not worry so much about looking this gift horse in the mouth.
Scott Givens, Albany
Does this rate a 10?
We have a few problems in the world. A large portion of the world's people do not have enough to eat. National Geographic states, along with a graphic picture, "As a substitute for unaffordable imported food, some desperate Haitians turn to cakes made of clay, salt and shortening - a traditional dietary supplement for pregnant women," and their suffering is just a drop in the bucket of the number that are hungry.
We do have a medical crisis in our country with a large number not able to afford medical insurance. But in most of the world there is very little sanitation or health care available at all, with malaria, AIDS, cholera, etc. as everyday events, with hospitals that are a joke, and few, if any, poorly educated doctors and nurses.
We have some problems with education and how to finance it so that all children receive the kind of education we would like to give them, but for a large portion of the world there is no chance of a child receiving any education. Many who have managed to piece together some sort of a school have no books or supplies. The students use little sticks for pencils and write on the ground.
A very large portion of the world is at war, with horrible atrocities committed every day to helpless citizens, many fleeing for their lives with nowhere to go. This Thanksgiving Day, many of our young men and women are on foreign soil serving our country with their lives.
It seems our country is on the verge of a major depression. We do have a housing problem with many losing their homes they hoped by some miracle to be able to pay for, but much of the world has no housing at all, or maybe they have a mud hut with cow dung patted on the outside for insulation. And we could go on and on.
But Albany does have its horrible problem, causing its citizens much suffering - the atrocious color of the "ugly" (not my description) new library which someone has so graciously donated $8 million for. But this paint job is rated right up there with the rest of the world's problems. And now we are looking for many thousands of dollars to repaint it to alleviate the misery it is causing our citizens.
Maybe President Obama will see it as a worthwhile economical dilemma and send us some bailout money. On a scale of one to 10, does it really rate a 10?
Lilly Harper, Albany
Just enjoy the inside
"You can't tell a book by it's cover" - or a building. What a lot of hoopla about the color of a building. One whose color matches the colors of our beautiful Willamette Valley.
We should look at a building, the same as a person. It's not the color on the outside that is important, but what is inside. In this case, adventure, information of all kinds and relaxation in books of many colors. It's a beautiful thing! So stop grumbling and enjoy the inside.
Gail and Ruthee Bates, Scio
Only 1,460 days ...
Knowing the editor's wry sense of humor, I can see how he would let the Nov. 27 "Moderately Confused" be run in the D-H just to check out the reaction. Well, here is mine: "And we give thanks that we have only 1,460 days (or less) for the individual that will be ruining (not a misspelling) our country."
Jack Penrod, Lebanon
What He might say
When it comes to abortion, here is what Jesus would probably say.
If my Mother Mary had an abortion, I would have not been born. Consequently I would not have healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out demons, performed any miracles, nor would have I been crucified, buried or raised from the dead. That would result in mankind being eternally damned in all of their sins.
When it comes to same-sex marriage, here is what Jesus would probably say.
God the Father created Man in his image and in his likeness. Then from Man he created Woman. A man shall leave his parents and cleave to his wife and the two shall be one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one, just as I stated in Mark 10: 6-9 and Matthew 19: 5-6. Two men or two women cannot become one flesh, because God took woman out of man. Do you not know that this is where the word woman derives from? She is the wife of man or wifman, just as it shows in the dictionary.
John Vandehey, Lebanon