Alas, poor Yorick, ye cannot smoke here, but…
By R. Shindo
…if you walk catty-corner across the street from us, or just to the south, less than a two-minute walk away, you can! And Yorick, you can play Keno and grab a bite to eat too! Is this really fair? Is business down where I work? You bet your Keno ticket it is!
Bars and restaurants are already heavily regulated. Does the city of Omaha really need to be adding more regulations to an already struggling industry? I do not mean the franchises that have large backing from a corporation. I mean the family businesses, like the one where I work. It has been in business since 1970, at the same location, serving both smokers and non-smokers. And it has always done its best to accommodate non-smokers even before there were any laws at all restricting smoking, which by the way, is a legal activity.
I have worked here since 1976, (yes I smoke), my wife, (yes she smokes), owns the business along with her mother, (who does not smoke). We have had entire families come in (all non-smokers), bringing their parents, who first brought them in, and who now are bringing their children, and even their children’s children. They knew smoking was allowed, but they came in anyway. Why? Because they chose to smoke, just as non-smokers can choose not to smoke. A law was passed to have all restaurants provide a smoke free area, to be more precise, a designated smoking section. My wife followed the new law and did so willingly. Isn’t that enough?
Now there is another law, an unfair law. A law that allows some businesses to permit smoking, while others businesses can’t. Under this law, my wife can’t even smoke in the business she owns! The bar attached to this business is not free standing, (as defined in the law), but it is below the restaurant, has a fire door closing it off from the upstairs portion, and it has its very own ventilation system, including a smoke eater and dust fan. She could have applied to the city of Omaha to be a Keno sales outlet before the law took effect, and smoking may or may not have been permitted, depending on if her business was accepted. If she had wanted Keno, she would have had it already, but she didn’t want it, and still doesn’t! Doesn’t this sound as if the city of Omaha is saying to business owners, “if you scratch our backs, we’ll scratch yours?” Is this fair? Is it right for a city to operate in this questionable type of behavior?
Don’t get me wrong, yes; there are places that a smoking ban makes perfect sense. Hospitals, government offices, and other places where you have no other choices or options. But a bar? A restaurant? What does drinking or serving food have to do with smoking? (Other than the fact, many enjoy having a cigarette with their drink, or perhaps one after their meal with coffee or tea, or even an after dinner drink.) This is supposedly a public safety issue, but I don’t see any connection between the two? And by the way, I feel so much safer knowing that you can carry a gun into a bar or restaurant, (unless otherwise posted), but you can’t smoke in one! Don’t you? Look around you the next time you’re in your favorite establishment, which would you rather have that odd person reaching for, a cigarette, or a gun?
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And you thought the
Grinch stole Christmas
Amendment I – Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of
grievances.
Christmas has become outdated when it comes to being politically
correct. Schools, government agencies and businesses are so
outraged when you hear those two little words “Merry Christmas”; it
is almost as if you said a curse word. What was it that our
ancestor’s came to this country for? I think I heard something
about the right to worship, although I was not around then and I
could be wrong. I do remember growing up in the fifties and going
to school back East, when Christmas rolled around all the students,
including myself, would make Christmas cards for our parents, sing
Christmas carols, and decorate the Christmas tree. I certainly do
not remember making “holiday” cards, or singing “holiday” songs, or
decorating the “holiday” tree. I do know that Christmas had the
word Christ in it, so I am sure it had something to do with Jesus
Christ. Being Catholic, He was a big part of my life and still is
today. I was taught that we celebrated His birth and that was a
good thing. So why do I have to surrender my beliefs to the small
number of Americans who think that it offends some people?
Remember, President Grant signed a law in 1870 making Christmas a
federal holiday. So let us not be offended when someone says “Merry
Christmas”, after all, you have a day off and usually it is with
pay.
I am not offended when a Jewish person says to me “Happy Chanukah”
which is celebrated over a week. This is their country too, and
they should celebrate. I do know that Chanukah is the “Festival of
Lights” and that they have the menorah and give presents to each
other. Although they, unlike those who celebrate Christmas, give
presents that are usually not toys or extravagant things, but more
practical gifts.
Let us not forget Kwanzaa (December 26-January 1). Although I
thought it was a Black Christmas, I, like most white people did not
realize it was not a substitution for Christmas. Kwanzaa was
established in 1966 as a reaffirmation of African family values,
community responsibility, commerce and self-improvement. Kwanzaa
actually means “First fruit of the harvest.”
The Liberty Council has been defending Christmas and the right to
use the words “Merry Christmas” since it has become politically
incorrect. A few of the issues that they have been involved in
include…
…Washington: a pupil was not allowed to sing the word “Christmas”
and had to substitute the word “winter.”
…Ohio: a local school district had changed Christmas holiday to
Winter holiday, and changed their school programs to reflect that
change.
…Westminister, Maryland: a student club could not put an
announcement on the PA system in school that contained the word
Christmas. The club is helping with the Christmas Child
Project.
…What is next?
What about all those movies that have been made. Do we dare watch
them without changing the names on the film? Let us think about
this, remember “A Holiday Carol” or “White Winter.” What would Bob,
Phil and Betty think? Probably cold weather and snow. Could you
just imagine singing the “Twelve Days of Winter” or “It’s Beginning
to Look a Lot Like Winter?”
Surely, there are more important things in life then yelling “Merry
Christmas” across the street to your neighbor, or cards that use
the word, Christmas. There is that thing called the war in Iraq and
there are those starving children around the globe. So let us not
lose too much sleep over an issue such as this. Let’s just say
“Merry Christmas”, “Happy Chanukah”, “Happy Kwanzaa”, “Feliz
Navidad”, “and Joyous Noel” or whatever it is, we are celebrating
and tell those people who are offended to look at the First
Amendment and remind them that they live in a country where we have
the freedom to celebrate our beliefs and that they can do the
same.
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Ross Milam, skills on mat translate to real life
By Matt Volkman
Ross Milam, 20, is one of many new editions to the Dana Vikings Wrestling team, recently featured in Wrestling USA Magazine as having the top recruiting class in the country for non-NCAA Division I schools.
Milam began college at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He was 184 pounds and had worked with free-style, Greco Roman and Jujitsu martial arts. He was given wrestler of the year, a feat never previously accomplished by a freshman. In his first year, Milam, was a conference champion and made Academic All-American.
“In my first year of college, I was a team leader and I had a good relationship with my coach who saw potential was there. I was his chance at winning,” Milam said. “Winning conference was a high. I beat a nationally ranked senior. My goal was to get into finals next year.”
Skills learned on the mat translate to real life use. Milam was taught determination, stamina and the value of your will over your opponent’s as he left Rose-Hulman to transfer to the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Milam then trained younger wrestlers and competed in the university’s athletic wrestling tournaments. At UNO he coached a high school student who became an All-American athlete, placed in the top 200 and recruited by Cornell University.
Now, in 2006, he has joined Dana College which recruited 12 Viking wrestlers that finished the seasons as National Associations of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) All-Americans. This brings a total of 31 All-Americans since 2000, according to a Dana Athletic Department press release.
“I am just starting here. The team is good in all its divisions. This team is bad ass, last year we ranked in every class,” said Milam.
Currently, the team is coming off their most successful season and plans on sustaining their success with great recruits like Milam. The Vikings plan on maintaining their demanding schedule that propelled them to the top of the NAIA National Tournament last year. The college will compete in the NAIA and contend with many of the top NCAA Division I and II, according to Dana’s official Web site.
“In comparison I am still developing I am a D3 (Division III), wrestling along side D1 and D2,” said Milam.
The 32-member class includes 26 high school state champions, 18 All-Americans, nine junior college All-Americans, six National Champions, seven nationally ranked wrestlers and two high school All-Americans, according to a recent Dana wrestling press release.
Dana’s wins are even more considerable taking into account the NAIA school was competing in a category with junior colleges and NCAA Division II and III teams. The Vikings were ranked above much larger schools in Division II Universities. According to Dana’s official Web site, Vikings have pulled ahead of Lindenwood University and Montana State University-Northern.
“I spend 18 to 20 a week hours practicing, 25 hours including tournaments,” Milam said, “I hope to be an All American, 174 pounds.”
Not only is Milam practicing he is also a full time student and an assistant manager for a local Omaha bar.
“My life is crazy, but I love small classes and it is still a great honor to wrestle for the Vikings, who are coming off a top five finish at the NAIA National Championships last spring,” said Milam, adding jokingly, “plus, I must contribute to my favorite class here immunology.” |
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