Our View

In a message dated 12/30/99 10:34:41 PM Eastern Standard Time, emily@snip.net writes:

Our View

Years ago The New Egypt Press featured some comic strips in each issue of the paper. Those strips did not include perhaps the most famous comic strip series of all time, "Peanuts". While the fact that veteran cartoonist Charles Schultz who is retiring the strip due to his battle with colon cancer, is not a local news item. It is certainly worthy of repeating here. Good old Charlie Brown, the lead character of the strip was a reflection of Schultz's mood and experiences. He was also representative of the "every man" or "every person". Things never quite went Charlie's way be it his attention to that little red headed girl, Lucy's pulling the football from under him EVERYTIME or even his dealing with his pet beagle Snoopy. While the strip will cease, newspapers around the country will continue to print the strip, reprinting material starting from 1974. We are all sorry to see "Peanuts" go, it conquired not only newspapers but TV with holiday specials which are still a staple each year, and even the stage with various productions of the strip written as a play and of course the music world as well. We wish Mr. Schultz the very best. His health prevented a recent holiday visit to the White House. We hope the knowledge that many of his fans are pulling for him is of some help as faces this crisis with a great deal of courage!

Our View

When it comes to driving in New Jersey, this state is a disaster! The new emissions test recently caused one of our nearest inspection stations (in Toms River) to become an appointment only facility (with it only being able to take 5 cars per hour). Then we also have the new "Drive Friendly" campaign. It has all the style of the "Just Say No" campaign which was designed to stop illegal drug use. Sure aggressive driving and driver's rage is a problem, but will signs across the state featuring two cars shaking hands really do any good? In reality the roads feature a scene more like this...you have a car like Herbie the Love Bug being cursed at and chased by Tommy the Terror Truck (use of a Volkswagen and an 18 wheeler for this description were only for the purposes of an example). Come on Governor Whitman, the state is fed up with paying high car insurance rates, paying for plastic flowers to beautify toll booths that should have been removed years ago, and tired of talk of turnpike and parkway toll increases. This latest waste of our taxpayer money just adds more insult to injury. We really doubt that this new campaign is going to do anything but inspire more road rage. Drivers are seeing red in the cost they are paying and the waste they see spent by the state. That is where the true road rage is coming from!