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Van Horn Advocate
I realize that some restaurants have special menus for kids as well as colors and coloring sheets.
And some have special sections of the regular menus meant just for kids, which is also great.
However, we need to remember that kids are people too. That's a slogan for somebody, I forget just who.
Ignoring kids seems to extend to every area of life. I've been in lines at various public functions and a youngster will be in front of me. Those behind the counter invariably ignore the kid and ask for my order. I realize that some of the kids might not be seen from behind the counter but some are standing there waving their money.
Of course, the younger set seems to be ignored on a national level as television programming in the early evening hours on most channels is just for older teenagers and young adults.
Those are the people who advertisers want to target because they have the money to spend and will spend it unlike the little kids who don't have money or older people who don't have a tendency to spend as much nor do they have the need for many consumer goods.
However, some advertisers seem to forget that the really young kids can influence buying in the family by lobbying their parents for certain items, not just toys but food items as well. It also seems they pay more attention to television commercials and even advertisements in newspapers and magazines than do people older than them.
I realize that some people don't want to see children in restaurants as they occassionally make noise and some make messes. However, that goes with the territory of running a business and people should try to make accomodations for the little folks.
It needs to be remembered that the youngsters will one day grow up and be the main customers for any and all kinds of businesses and they have long memories on they got treated as little kids.
I'm also amazed that people don't take the time to speak to kids they meet on the street or in public places. I've noticed that kids like to be recognized and spoken to. I get a lot of strange reactions as most are not used to an adult speaking to them as in "Hi" or "good morning".
As you can tell, I like kids and always have. They are sometimes painfully honest but you know their honesty comes from the heart, not a mean streak.
And isn't a child's smile delightful? There are few more precious moments in life than to see a grin spread across the face of a youngster.
Editor's Note: Mac McKinnon is the Pecos Enterprise editor and publisher and his column appears each Friday. He can be reached by e-mail: bigmac@bitstreet.com
It is with the end of her own journey that we must mark the path where her trek through life has left her last footprint upon it. At this juncture we will find that ignorance and greed played its role in the tragic outcome that would forever distinguish the beacon that beckoned the world to travel the more narrow route of kindness, selflessness, and forgiveness.
I can only imagine the loss to all those in this world that have or would have benefited from her charitable work and her dedication to better the life for those less fortunate. Recovery for these people will be hard at best, but not impossible, for her memory will now be the anthem that will harden the weak to look at themselves for their own salvation.
The footprints of the many thousands she helped will now take the place of her own and the road less traveled will swell from the multitude who have found the way she herself lit for them. For her family my condolences, for the rest of the world, I hope we can bear the weight of the torch she carried for all to see.
Rest in Peace Diana - The Princess of Wales.
Have you no shame!!
We refer to your headline story on August 27, 1997 regarding the autopsy report on the death of Floyd Estrada. Floyd's family has suffered enough grief through the loss of husband, son and father. They certainly do not need the added problems of sensationalism under the guise of journalism.
The article written and headlined by your paper was uncalled for and provocative. Your story did nothing to further the interests of this community, and did everything possible to hurt the very people that Floyd sought to serve and protect. Your staff writers (who obviously did not want their names associated with the story) only brought added sorrow to a family and a community struggling to cope with tragedy.
You can not possibly undo the damage done by the article, and can only apologize for your actions. We sincerely pray that you apologize and that Deputy Estrada's family and friends can find it in their hearts to forgive you for the unkind, unnecessary and throughtless aritcle.
C.W. TOWLER
VIRGIL RAY GAGE, JR.
BEVERLY GAGE
PATTY TOWLER
LOUISE PATRICK
AMY McINTIRE
RONALD HOBBS
Pecos Enterprise
Mac McKinnon, Publisher
Division of Buckner News Alliance, Inc.
324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 915-445-5475, FAX 915-445-4321
e-mail: news@pecos.net
Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Neither these AP Materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing.
Copyright 1997 by Pecos Enterprise
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