One of the most amusing things I do in a given week is to read The Vent in this newspaper. If you want a feel for how your neighbors are feeling on a given subject, spend a few minutes in this most informative section of the paper.
According to contributors of the vent the city’s purchase of a merry-go-round was a waste of city money and was good for the city to invest in. Bicyclists are lawbreakers and motorists don’t give bicyclists a break. The speed limits of some roads are too low, and yet on those same roads they should be lower.
There are too many motorists who run red lights, don’t use their turn signals and talk too much on the phone while driving. Police are pulling over law abiding motorists when they should be out catching criminals.
The powers that be need to fix the roads, yet there are too many roads under construction. We need slow down the growth Washington County and we need to improve the infrastructure so the community can grow.
Yep, if you want to put your finger on the pulse of what’s important in Washington County just read The Vent. I particularly like the comments that start out with, “To the guy who…” or “to the driver of the…” I presume that if we were required to put our names on our comments there would be fewer people ranting about what displeases them the most.
The Vent gives a good sampling of some of the negative emotions that run deep in our community. For every page of complaints we will find two or three “Kind Thoughts.”
I recently finished reading my new favorite book, Deadly Emotions by Don Colbert, M.D. By using his own patients as examples, Dr. Colbert makes a good argument for the need to “understand the mind-body-spirit connection that can heal or destroy” us, as his subtitle suggests.
He makes a good case for how anger and hostility can be closely related to hypertension and coronary artery disease; resentment and bitterness can bring about autoimmune disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and multiple sclerosis; or how anxiety can produce panic attacks and heart palpitations. Repressed anger could cause migraines, TMJ, Fibromyalgia and other chronic pain.
As I and others in a book discussion group dissected this book it became very obvious that negative emotions could prove to be at the very least physically debilitating.
Anonymously writing to the paper when we get bent out of shape could mean that there’s an anger issue that needs to be addressed.
Prolonged stress and the inability to relax is another topic addressed by Dr. Colbert. As a society we need to learn to relax.
I will continue to be amused by The Vent each week. But I would enjoy seeing a whole page of “Kind Thoughts” and fewer negative comments.
Now, to the guys riding their bikes on Red Hills Parkway: There’s no bike lane during construction. Are you trying to get yourselves run over?
Rhonda Tommer is a member of The Spectrum and Daily News writers group and a resident of Santa Clara. She can be reached at r.tommer.writersgroup@gmail.com
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