The fondest of memories for 'the Ned'

2/28/2006

I was pleased to hear that the Roy Hobbs baseball league is giving a new lease on life to Ned Skeldon Stadium. I spent way too much time there over the years, but I'm glad I did.

In the early 1960s, I rode my bicycle from Eastgate Road to Key Street and watched Maumee Downs converted from a race track to a baseball park. Boy, we lived way out in the country then, complete with horses and cows and goats all over the landscape.

Jump forward to 2001. I took my three adult children to the last game played there.

Every time I come to Toledo, I see a game at Fifth Third Field. Or maybe two or three. And every time I get back to Toledo, I go to Skeldon at the Lucas County Recreation Center and walk around the outfield. I just soak up the memories. Part of my heart is there in that ballpark.

There are so many memories of my times shared with my mom, dad, and children in that old place.

Charlie Senger, Gene Cook, Ned Skeldon. The Yankees, the Indians, the Phillies, the Tigers. Rich Rowland, Dave Engle, and the rest of them.

My mom sneaking in popcorn under her coat to give the grandkids.

Long live the Ned.

Rick Cochran

Pfafftown, N.C.

Here's a disturbing fact about civilian war casualties. At the beginning of the 20th century 10 percent to 15 percent of war casualties were civilians. In World War II 50 percent were civilians. That total has climbed to more than 75 percent in the 21st century.

The saddest fact of all is that in modern warfare most of the victims are children. As noted historian Howard Zinn said, "War in our time is always a war against children and if the children of other countries are to be granted an equal right to life with our children, then we must use extraordinary human ingenuity to find nonmilitary solutions for world problems."

It's time to put the empire building rantings of President Bush and his neo-con advisers and friends, the fanatical ravings of the Christian Right, and the chicken hawk screeching of the Democrats aside and resort to humanitarian means.

What the United States is doing worldwide in the name of democracy, capitalism, and religious or morally superior ideals is deplorable. We are sowing the seeds of terrorism that will come back to haunt us for many years.

Dennis Kemm

Mapleway Drive

Once again our snarling but loyal vice president has been unleashed to defend his boss in yet another top-level debacle - the warrantless spying program that even has Republicans rolling their eyes.

Months after even the President admitted they'd all been wrong in claiming that Saddam had WMDs and was involved in the 9/11 attacks there was Mr. Cheney, still pounding the table and insisting these things are true.

Then, more recently, he's out there doggedly asserting, against all the evidence, that the Iraqi insurgents are on their last legs (don't we wish). And now this disingenuous man is claiming that hundreds of thousands of American lives have been saved because of the President's spying program - so stop your complaining.

Well maybe they have, maybe they haven't. My point is why in heaven's name would anyone, regardless of political persuasion, ever fall for anything this master of mendacity claims is true?

Of course, to be fair, the alternative explanation for his deceitful behavior could be that Mr. Cheney has completely lost touch with reality. But then what?

Frank Ward

Goddard Road

I was dismayed to see you give such extensive coverage on Feb. 11 to a purported exorcism. This medieval mumbo-jumbo has no place in any newspaper.

The ministers behind this act are in the same group of nutbars as Pat Robertson, who sends bad weather to people he doesn't like, Oral Roberts, who coaxed money from his believers under threat of his own death, and Ernest Angley, who claims to remove tumors on TV.

I don't know who is worse, these deluded people or con men like Jesse Jackson. They all hurt people in the name of religion. I believe in God. I just don't believe in men who claim to speak for Him.

Ken R. Deutsch

Westcastle Drive

A recent Business Section article stated that Delphi may pay up to $38 million in bonuses to encourage Delphi executives to stay on during the bankruptcy. This article should have been placed in the Peach Section as a cartoon by Herman.

I bet these executives were jumping up and down with joy and patting each other on the back after the bankruptcy judge authorized Delphi to make payments to these captains of a sinking ship.

I personally believe that the high-profile colleges should pull the business, masters, and PhD degrees from these so-called executives instead of Delphi and other bankrupt companies paying them large bonuses to stay on.

Engineers in other fields have had their credentials pulled for engineering catastrophes. Why not treat everyone the same? Maybe what they need is some refresher courses - they could practice what they learned by selling apples on the street corner (maybe not a good idea, they would probably steal or eat the apples). Maybe the judge should have put liens on their mansions and holdings instead of rewarding them with bonuses.

Watch out, Dana workers, your retirement benefits could be taken away, your medical insurance gone, and your upper management rewarded with large bonuses.

Only in America. No wonder we are in such bad shape. We reward business executives for failure.

PHILIP A. SANFORD

Perrysburg

Maggie Thurber's action toward her party was understandable. I saw no party backing of Maggie during her difficult time; rather people in her party were rushing to run against her in the primary.

What a joke this political process is in either party!

Maggie has been very helpful to Jerusalem Township. When the health department was harassing our citizens, even though we were installing a multimillion-dollar sewer system, Maggie arranged a meeting with the department officials that gave the matter a large dose of common sense!

She has, along with other elected officials, been most supportive of efforts to establish a senior center in our township.

Ray CedoZ

Retired Trustee

Jerusalem Township

Curtice

The Muslims are deeply offended by cartoons depicting Mohammed in a less than reverent manner.

I was deeply offended by the slaughter of innocent people on Sept, 11, 2001.

The Muslims are destroying property and killing yet more innocent people.

I have yet to burn anything or kill anyone over 9/11.

If these are the differences between the western mind and the Muslim mind, then I don't really want to understand their mentality.

There is no comparison between these two events. They need to get over it. There is no justification for their actions now just as there was no justification for 9/11.

Enough said.

Sandy Klocinski

Fawn Crest

How I read, with interest, the news concerning the dental troubles of prisoners with former drug habits. This taxpayer would like all inmates with self-inflicted dental woes to be given a nice smoothie and a couple of Tylenols instead of extensive, tax-supported dental work!

Amy Adler

Brock Drive