This, that and meth

What a difference the past two weeks have made in Southwestern Nebraska. The soybean fields have mostly matured, dropped their leaves and many have a combine in harvesting. The corn stalks are still standing green with brown shucks marking matured ears pointing down. That combination signals that each stalk has produced its maximum potential and yields should be good, indeed. Also note that many trees are starting to show color even without a freeze to date. It all portends that fall is in the air and winter, dreaded winter, is not far behind.

Somehow this "maturing" (old) columnist is no longer enchanted with the cold of winter. Grannie Annie recently suggested that perhaps we might consider migrating with the snow birds to some fine spot near the Mexican border. On second thought the current news about the flood of illegal immigrants crossing the border plus the activity of Mexican drug lords tends to make that a poor choice.

Actually, we did live as newlyweds down in the Rio Grande Valley, north of Mission, Texas for most of a year while I attended pilot training 1959-1960. That, however was a different time in a wholly different political environment. Thank you no. McCook winter weather is looking better all the time.

I am wondering how the committee planning McCook's Heritage Days Celebration did it? Friday was a wild and wooly windy day not unusual in our part of the world. Then Saturday the day of the big and wonderful parade was perfect weather, light breezes and just right temperature with blue sky all day. Next day Sunday again a tad on the windy side. Gee this old pilot wishes that I too could command perfect weather conditions when I have a flight planned. Just a great weekend.

A wonderful part of this year's Heritage celebration was Grannie Annie's 60-year reunion of her MHS class of '56. As always it is fun to gather and reminisce memories of teachers, events and classmates antics during grade school, junior and senior high school. Mostly good memories as time tends to erase the unpleasant. Her class had the distinction of being the first to graduate from the "new" building which at the time was nearly on the west edge of the city. Don Wolf, now retired after 42 years as a high school shop teacher in California, was wondering if the present McCook High shop still had the same machinery in place where he drilled the holes in the floor to anchor then new saws, planing mills etc. when they moved into the new building in the fall of 1955. First time back for Don as September is not a good month to be away for a school teacher. Sixty years. Gee that sounds like a long time ago but for we who experienced it seems like yesterday.

Now to a darker subject apropos to today's society. Recently a lady, manager of a large, local entity and of whom I have great respect, made a suggestion for subject matter of this column. "Why don't you write of how our county attorney and courts have been releasing druggies on parole rather than putting them in jail where they belong?

Plea bargaining, parole, then nothing happens and they reoffend. There is no rehabilitation like they would get in jail."

Hmm. It is a subject this old guy has chosen to ignore. Recreational drug use is definitely not a part of my way of life. However, not long ago a local friend lost their adult daughter to a meth overdose. No I didn't see a coroner's report but the meth cause of death was affirmed by a recently retired teacher who knows the subject well.

Methamphetamine, meth for short, according to Wikipedia, is a strong central nervous system stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity.

There is more information couched in unfamiliar, to me, clinical language. Then further down in the explanation the dictionary explains that for recreational use it acts as an aphrodisiac and euphoriant. It has been reported to lift mood and increase sexual desire to such an extent that users are able to engage in sexual activity continuously for several days. It is also highly addictive and really tough to withdraw from plus it rots ones teeth. Meth mouth.

Continuous sexual activity for several days. I'm reminded of the boars we used to service our herd of sows. Those gnarly stinky animals were no standard for young men to aspire to but they sure could do sex day after day and their partners had no choice in the matter. Surely no self-respecting young lady would willingly take meth for such purposes.

We as a society have a problem, a behavior problem. My dental hygienist emphatically says yes they do see those people, rotting teeth from meth mouth, right here in southwestern Nebraska. Possibly our court system is not doing what is best for our future. Maybe it is time to question whether parole and lack of rehab is the best answer for our drug problem.

I can't think that the idea is to let the druggies take enough of their stuff to overdose and die. Not the Christian way to solve a growing problem.

That is the way I saw it.

Dick Trail