Former Warrior's column is way cool

I've enjoyed reading the "Life in the NFL" column in the Star-Bulletin Sports section, written by Ashley Lelie, former University of Hawaii wide receiver and now Denver Broncos starter. Ashley provides a fresh, simple account of life in the NFL from the viewpoint of an eager-to-learn newcomer.

Lelie doesn't paint deep, descriptive word pictures. He doesn't use hyperbole or make metaphorical comparisons. Oh, yeah, and he uses the word "cool" a lot.

Some might criticize this style as being uneducated or simplistic. I find it refreshing. I am sure Ashley is perfectly capable of writing a flowery article that stimulates the brainy uppercrust. Instead, he chooses to tell us a quick snippet of his observations from the bench and his first impressions of those observations. He probably realizes that those brainy uppercrust folks aren't reading the Sports section, anyway.

As for his frequent use of the word "cool", I admit I find it just a bit annoying. Although my generation practically invented the word, I now feel too mature (read "old fogey") to use it in conversation. Ashley, on the other hand, is not old and worn out like me, so he is perfectly entitled to use the word freely.

So what's the bottom line on Ashley's column? It's cool.

Bradford P. Morriseau
Mililani

Blame Republicans for Social Security mess

Apparently, when it comes to the Republicans' undermining of the federal budget and the solvency of the Social Security trust fund, local Republicans agree with their national counterparts that the best defense is a good offense. Knowing that they're exposed to criticism, the local Republican Party has joined in the Republican National Committee's effort to attack Democrats' commitment to the Social Security program.

The current Social Security crisis is attributable to Republicans who turned on its head the goal articulated by former President Clinton that the Social Security fund's solvency must be prioritized before spending the nation's budget surplus.

It was President Bush who promised that even if the economy softened, his tax cuts for the wealthy would not return the country to deficit spending or jeopardize Social Security. It was the Republicans' tax cuts that took the federal government back to deficit spending and required that monies earmarked for the trust fund be spent on other expenses.

Don't believe their hype.

Helen Nielsen
Wailuku, Maui

Simple solution would ease stadium parking

I can empathize with the person writing to Kokua Line about stadium parking (Star-Bulletin, Sept. 15). A simple solution to this problem would be a procedure, directed by stadium personnel, that would fill each lot by starting at the front and working back slot by slot. When filled, the lot would be closed.

This would create a safer situation, stem frustration and alleviate confrontations between late-comers and tailgaters. If tailgaters want to party together, let them enter the stadium together or use cellular telephones to find each other.

I presented this idea to the Stadium Authority last year, but so far things have not improved. It would have been nice to have had some feedback on whether or not the authority found merit in my solution.

Maybe those in charge don't care because, after all, they have their own designated stadium parking spaces.

Bob Ching
Mililani

Baptist academy felt pain of Sept. 11

Many of us here at Hawaii Baptist Academy appreciate the article, with the accompanying photograph, on the front page of the Star-Bulletin ("Hawaii Baptist students make Sept. 11 mural," Sept. 4). As a school, we were connected to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

>> The husband of one of our graduates was working in the Pentagon when it was hit by the aircraft.

>> One of our security guards has a niece whose boyfriend and his family died when one of the towers collapsed on them while they were providing refreshments to rescue personnel.

Our director of Christian activities coordinated a time of remembrance during lunch on Sept. 11 so that those who wanted to could spend time reflecting on what happened, read bios of the World Trade Center victims, watch a video and light candles in memory of those who perished.

Michael F. Tanigawa
Registrar
Hawaii Baptist Academy

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