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Show liEn&3E TIMES ouumu u vuesr tdltorUH Ooinion at our nff; ed at 538 South siQ? Orem. Deadline-; " v Dinion Monday 10:00 a.m. k All submissions are subject to editinn i onH The nrpm-flcinowo Timn. y uu . ,u ,,,ra leservesih,., publish or not to publish a submission A2 Thursday, March 20, 2003 L COMMENTARY & Q Letter to the Editor: Foster parents deserve thanks Note: Miss Orem contestant Marie Claire asked the Orem-Geneva Times to run the following letter as part of her service project for the pageant. Dear Parent of Foster Children, I want to say thank you for the hard work that you do every day for others. The work that you are doing is great, and it could not be accomplished without with-out your support. I have been in the foster care program since I was very young. I did not always agree with my foster mothers or the state. In fact, I wanted to move out of the foster care system and go back home. I realize now that going home would have been very discouraging and that foster care was the best thing for me. I have been able to learn many things about myself even though the pain and loss were hard. But you know what? I have become stronger because I have overcome over-come the pain. The deteitnination I had to do what was right came from a desire for a better future. My first step was to be willing to change. I did it! I succeeded and found happiness. The second step was to realize my self worth. My past did not make up who I am, but instead, suc cess was accomplished by believing in myself. I did it for myself and my Father in Heaven, not for those who doubted me. I finished high school with passing grades, and I am going to college. I would like to be a model. I enjoy acting, act-ing, dancing, singing and, most of all, writing scripts. Over the years, I have written several movie scripts. I have also considered being a flight attendant. atten-dant. I am not saying it was easy in the DCFS system. There were many times when I wanted to give up and did not care anymore. With the help of my foster family members, foster care caseworkers, the treatment team, my WIA counselor and my therapist, I was able to become a successful person per-son in life. I am now 19, going on 20, and running for Miss Orem. I want to help other kids in foster care. To foster kids, I say, I know that you can overcome your pain as well. It is hard, but I believe in you and know that you are already strong. I have come to learn that everyone has hardships, hard-ships, in one way or another. It is how you cope with them that counts in the end. You can choose to be strong or weak. It is all up to you. Just think, since you came into your new home, have you been growing and wanting to do better? Regardless of what others might say, if you are trying hard each day, then you are already on your way to becoming a better person. You are making it day to day, even when it seems like you are not. It may take you a long time before you find out that it is worth it. But it is worth it, and you will understand when you begin to feel good. When you are willing will-ing to change and go the extra mile for yourself, you will realize you are worth it! I know that you kids are tough. Keep up the hard work. To all the foster moms, you are doing a good job. I could not have made it without the love, discipline, and the fact that you never gave up on me. There is a lot of pain and fighting in raising foster children. Through all of it, you have been there for us. You pick up the glass and broken pieces of our lives. You give us a better opportu-: nity. I adore all of you moms for your strength and the service you have given and continue to give to foster children. Thank you! Love, Marie Claire Oivc de duett MemwaeA What Side of the Siwuti aw IJxui? The Utah Valley Elder Quest of the Center for Lifelong Learning at Utah Valley State College is comprised of some 200 local senior citizens, many of whom recall and write down their memories and life experiences, experi-ences, such as the one presented here. JOAN HAHN I am not sure why left-and left-and right-brained people always marry each other, but that seems to be the case. As you know, right-brained right-brained people are the cre ative ones that often major in dance, drama, art, communication. com-munication. These are the people you pay money to see in plays, movies, opera, ballet, bal-let, and spend hours looking at their work in art muse- The Orem-Geneva Times 538 South State Street Orem, UT 84058 published by The Daily Herald, A Pulitzer Newspaper Subscriptions & Delivery Service 375-5103 News & Advertising 225-1340 Fax 225-1341 Email oremtimesnetworld.com USPS 411-700. Published Thursdays by Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc., 538 South State Street, Orem, Utah 84058. Periodicals postage paid at Orem, Utah 84059. Postmaster: Send address changes to P.O. Box 65, Orem, UT 84059. Member: Audit Bureau of Circulations NEWSSTAND PRICE $0.50 SUBSCRIPTION RATE 1 year - $26 (in county) (Sunday & Thursday plus Holiday deliveries) Holiday deliveries include delivery the week of Easter, Memorial, Independence, Pioneer, Labor, Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year's. 1 year - $35 (out of county) NEWS We welcome news tips. Call 225-1340 to report a news tip or if you have a comment or a question. We welcome letters to the editor. edi-tor. All letters must include the author's name (printed AND signed) and a telephone number. We reserve the right to edit letters let-ters for clarity, punctuation, taste and length. Letters are welcome wel-come on any topic. Times Publishing Staff Publisher Managing Editor News Editor Sports Editor Contributing Writers Pagination & Graphics Office Manager Office Printing Relations Advertising Sales Production & Press Brent Sumner bsumnerheraldextra.com Reva Bowen Scarlett Barger Martin Harris Clyde E. Weeks Jr. Robert King Sydney Sumner Scott Sumner Sydney Sumner Sydney Sumner Brent Sumner Phil Patten Brent Sumner Steve Goodwin Josh Romero Robert Kint urns, reading their books, novels, mysteries and love stories, and wonder how they think all of that up. Left-brained people are our scientists, mathematicians, music majors, dentists and doctors, because they are no-nonsense people. They become CEOs of major corporations. cor-porations. Both left-brained and right-brained people are capable of making lots of money. Left-brained people manage their own; right-brained right-brained generally spend theirs unless they find a great left-brained person to manage it for them. Most of us have some of both qualities, but one or the other side usually dominates. domi-nates. Left-brained people are precise. Right-brained people go with the flow. Left-brained people are always on time; right-brained right-brained people eventually get there. Right-brained people are more willing to put up with left-brained individuals, but right-brained right-brained individuals drive those left-brainers nuts. So why do they seem to pair up? Left-brained people are attracted to the outgoing-ness, outgoing-ness, the fun, the spur of the moment, the creativity of those, RB people. Right-brainers Right-brainers like the organization organiza-tion that left-brained people bring to their lives. LBs are organized, methodical, very secure financially, helpful, and always make sure that cars, houses, yards, and everything else in their lives are running smoothly, so, naturally, right-brained people marry those people so they can handle all the details and they can go on creating. LBs meet an RB and say, "Man is this person fun. They will add so much to my life." RBs meet an LBer and say, "At last, I have found someone who will give me stability." I am right brained, but I have a lot of left brain in me as well. I am very creative, I have always marched to my own drummer, I vote as an independent. I couldn't stand to be called a Republican or a Democrat. That is way too confining for me. I love to lead tours and take people to new, strange and exotic places. I decorate in colors that please me. I call them "happy colors." My left brain allows me to run a successful travel office and to handle detail very well. My planning is very exact, and I leave nothing to chance. I am always on time! When I married my second sec-ond husband, his whole house was brown. I walked in and said to myself, "Whoa, has this got to change." The whole house was paneled in brown wood. His wing-backed chairs were upholstered in a brown, tan fabric with ducks flying all over them. His end tables and coffee tables were cherry wood with brown inlaid leather. His drapes were fight tan. The dining room had a huge round rag run done in shades of brown. His three bedroom rugs were brown. Even the kitchen was paneled pan-eled in brown, with brown appliances. His floors were tan clay tile. Only the hall and living room were not carpeted in brown. They were celery green. This house would have depressed me out of my mind. My husband hus-band loved it. Brown was his favorite color. It was a gorgeous home. It just needed need-ed some color other than brown and celery green in it. My home was a deep contrast con-trast to his. The living room and dining room were done in apple green, apricot and white. My bedroom was a riot of color in blue, purple and mauve. The kitchen and main bath were done in shades of aqua. My upstairs guest room was various shades of blue and orchid. Keep in mind, these two people married each other. Charlie alphabetized gelatin gela-tin and soups. I had a roomful room-ful of essential props for the stage, such as witches' pots, a papier-mache turkey glued onto a large tray and other things, all of which Charlie believed belonged in the trash. He actually tried to throw them out and had to be physically restrained. Knowing what side of the brain you -are dealing with when you work, marry, raise children or have friends makes life so much easier. Actually marrying a right-brained right-brained person would drive me nuts. They aren't organized organ-ized enough for me. I don't even date them more than once. f Column Century offiostQh Jieroes in Urem Orem history depicted on postal mural CLYDE E. WEEKS, JR. Times Correspondent Part 11 Forty-two years after this community's first post office, the Sharon Post Office, closed its doors, the Orem Post Office was opened in the south wing of the Orem City Hall. Opening with the postmaster postmas-ter as the single employee, the Orem Post Office grew rapidly, becoming a First-Class First-Class Post Office in just 16 years. During that period, Orem's rural mail delivery service became supplanted by city delivery to the entire community. Outgrowing both its first and second buildings, the Orem Post Office moved to a modern new 6,500-square-foot facility facil-ity at 96 Center Street in 1960. The spacious lobby of that new building featured a large clock, hung in the center of a wall next to the service counter. Recognizing the historical significance of the United States Post Office Department's presence pres-ence in this community for more than 70 years, I sought to memorialize Orem's postal history with a colorful mural on that wall. I enlisted the imagina tion and artistic skill; Nicki Harding, art tea, at Lincoln Junior f School, and encourawd to enlist her art student; painting tne mural of f Past, Present and Futurt that wall of the OremP Office. Assigning groups of'-: ninth grade art student; paint tne aitterent ments of the mural designed, they beautjj portrayed the covosm.: most significant characi buildings and scenery oil past century. v tanked by jy Timpanogos, the panor4 of Utah Lake, the Get Resort, fruit orcha: Lincoln High School, : Salt Lake and U Railroad car and 0:: Depot, Orem's first m post office building, SCIj Theater, Geneva Steel, i Orem City Hall were ct fully painted. At the center of : mural, a horse-mom: mail rider from the 1; century is seen passe letter to a present-day: carrier. Below the clod seen a 7-cent post; stamp, showcasing an (fc peach, under the wo: Past-Present-Future. This historical murall Orem was displayed in lobby of the Orem Fl Office from 1970-1979. Christmastime recalled at Orem Post Office CLYDE E. WEEKS, JR. Times Correspondent On Dec. 22, 1977, the Orem-Geneva Times published pub-lished an article, describing a typical Christmas at the Orem Post Office: 50 Orem Postal Workers Move Yule Mails Christmastime at the Orem Post Office has been here for several weeks, according to the Orem postmaster. post-master. "Postal customers have been doing their Christmas mailings since early October," he said, "with parcels destined for countries coun-tries all over the world and around the block." "Handling the acceptance accept-ance and delivery of mail at the Orem Post Office are 50 dedicated postal employees, each of whom gives an extra measure of effort and serv- ice at Christmastime, postmaster said. At the Orem Post 03 each letter carrier deft mail to postal customer;! his route on five days n week. On the sixth deli iW day, his route is deliv; by a carrier technic Each carrier-techniciaBf a set of five routes, serves each week on regular carriers' rota davs off. V. Doral Graff is the ior carrier-technician 25 vears of service a Orem Post Office. Grafl reared in Orem and aw ed Orem schools. He se: in no Merchant Ma-r during World War D latpr sprved an LD sinn in eastern Canada and his wife operate farm. Next week: Von"1 are heroes too w i We ffi)o) HIT! LTfetteueir your Po'DrjuiiarjTit? oaeeds -DDecCirjDttiia us. Caul: -f sa :Ro: roke 0 :;ta or ;i as ' arc :cer dp' jus' j an JUS jppec S |