Something confusing
Some of the public confusion about gender reassignment has disappeared, thanks to people like Christine Jorgenson, who acknowledged that she had had a sex change. Christine made her historical announcement back in 1953. Then, in 1976, Dr. Renee Richards, who had gender reassignment surgery in 1975, was outed when she sued the USTA to play tennis as a woman. And so, Caitlyn Jenner’s revelations about her desire to undergo gender reassignment was only confusing in that she had achieved so much as a man, winning an Olympic gold medal in the decathlon, becoming a millionaire through self-promotion, and starring in a reality show.
The really puzzling idea in Jenner’s change is that she is a heterosexual! Even though Caitlyn is going to be a woman, she is only sexually attracted to women! Thus, Caitlyn will be considered a lesbian when all is sexually said and reconstructed.
I can accept that some people through physiological accidents find themselves in the wrong body sexually, and after surgery, conduct themselves consistent with their new role, i.e., a woman will marry a man or a man will marry a woman, and if not married, will still be attracted to someone of the opposite sex. But Caitlyn does not “feel” that sexually she is in the wrong body. She liked and still likes women. This point is what is confusing and makes one wonder if the problem is really psychological, deeply psychological!
Charles Moton, Lucerne
Community in action
Your recent article on the Coyote Valley Elementary Garden shows the result of community spirit and the generous support of area businesses. When we were getting started on our garden renovation in early winter, Hardester’s Markets supported us with a generous discount on lumber and irrigation materials for our garden beds. Managers Duane Harper and Gail Wright helped us maximize our grant funds for the benefit of the students. Guy and the Hardester’s Lumber team cut the heavy boards and rebar to size and delivered the materials to the school garden free of charge.
Parent volunteers and their children built raised beds and filled them with organic soil. Steve Ellis of Ellis Ranch supported us with a free delivery and reduced price. His soil proved to be a wonderfully fertile medium for growing the winter crops.
Star Gardens Nursery and Lovie’s Garden Emporium provided moisture retentive soil amendments at a significant discount. Tanya Striedieck of Star Gardens provided expert advice and specific soil amendment recommendations which were necessary details for a successful grant proposal. Chanele and Margaret at Lovie’s donated bags of compost.
Parents and students maintain the garden pathways with wood chips donated by Quackenbush Recycling, Hidden Valley Lake, and Coyote Valley PTO. Bennett & Sons Painting refurbished the tool shed. Curtis Edwards Construction supplied customized foundational carpentry for the new beds. Key families and scores of helpful supporters supply the volunteer labor that has been essential for the growth of our school garden.
The Coyote Valley Elementary students receive their gardening education through the efforts of Lisa Rogers, Farm to School Aide. Cindy Leonard of Cobb School Garden raised enough funds from our community to start our Farm to School program. She included Coyote Valley and Minnie Cannon schools in the expenditure. As a result, classes of children have the opportunity to visit the school garden each month and learn with a fabulous science teacher, Mrs. Rogers. Our students, teachers, and parents appreciate this community and love their school garden!
Elsie Mackesy, CVE Teacher
A step toward a solution
Fracking uses hundreds of millions of gallons of our shrinking supply of water and Corporations like Nestle illegally take water from public lands for bottling. We are in the midst of a drought of serious proportions and the strain on our supply of this precious resource only increases as our population grows. Now we are being asked to “conserve water” again. The only credible solution is to limit population growth and take meaningful measures to make better use of all our scarce resources. We could start by requiring all new construction projects to add “gray water” plumbing for garden and landscape use. The next logical step would be to encourage more ecological friendly sources of energy like wind and solar.
Edgar Gillham, Hidden Valley Lake
