Motorists ignore driver in distress
On Aug. 24, around 5:30 a.m., I was heading to work on Bear Poplar Road. Cars were going the opposite direction, so my lights were on dim. Then it happened — a large horse ran into the path of my vehicle, and we collided head on at 55 mph. After the hit I could see cars still going by me. I said to myself, why won’t someone stop to help me? I tried opening my driver’s side door and it wouldn’t open. My chest was pounding with pain, my hands bleeding from cuts. I had to get out of my car.
I unbuckled my seatbelt and managed to get out the back door. Cars were still passing by. I managed to find my cell phone and call 911 … cars STILL passed me by! The horse was lying in the road behind my car — cars still passed by!
Finally, two young men came by, slowed down and heard me calling 911. They stopped to help me. When the Cleveland Fire Department arrived, one person came up and asked how I was. I told him of my injuries … blood was running down my hands onto my clothes. He told me that the ambulance was on the way and then walked to the other side of the road. When the ambulance arrived there were many spectators along with the police and FD standing on the side of the road. The two young men — one’s name was Josh — helped me more than the FD did.
I want to thank these two guys for their help and commend them for it. I want to ask the others who passed by before the FD and the police arrived, why didn’t you stop to help me? We all ask what is happening to society — take a look deep inside.
May God bless you as he has blessed me.
— Penny Hall
Cleveland
Who’s to blame?
Regarding Victor Farrah’s “My Turn” column:
I wonder who you are blaming for all our troubles. I am 62 and have watched this country go from a great country in 1960 to being worse than most third-world countries in 2008. Yes, there are reasons for this, and most of them deal with the sin of pride. We have people in this country who are so taken with self pride that they believe they must have it all. That is the 1 percent of the population who make 50 percent of the income. These are the ones Reagan gave tax breaks to as “trickle down” economics. That was a disaster in the 1980s. Bush came in as president, tried the same failed stunt and nearly destroyed this country. Then in July, the Republicans almost caused this country to be taken over by our largest creditor, communist China. I fought them in Vietnam and I don’t want to become a member of a communist state.
Back in 2000, we had a $176 billion surplus. Then the Republicans gave a tax break to the rich, who screwed the working people of this country by moving manufactoring and technical service jobs overseas so they wouldn’t have to pay American wages. The oil companies have exploited the Middle East since the 1970s, so Osama bin Lauden created al-Qaeda to get back at the United States. We lost the World Trade Center, and Bush put us in a war with Afganistan. Then he went into Iraq under the guise of WMD so those oil companies could control Iraq’s oil.
The Republicans allowed the mortgage industry to take advantage of Americans through adjustable-rate mortgages. In 2007 we start having a foreclosure crisis. So Bush approved spending trillions to bail out big mortgage companies. Then Obama is elected and the Republicans fight his every move to save this country and blame him for the mistakes of the Bush administration.
— Julian A. Torrey
Spencer