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Show Pleasant Grove Review - Thursday, December 16, 2004 - Page 2 Opinion m m si u! Improving one person As we approach the year's end and observe holy seasons celebrated by the world's major faiths, it's a good time to reflect on the state of society and what we can do about it. There have been countless examples in history of how much evil one person can do. When you add ambition and power, there seems to be no limit to the damage he or she can cause. Adolph Hitler and Saddam Hussein come immediately to mind, but they have plenty of company. com-pany. Of course, there were a few who benefited from these regimes as part of the inner circle, but they were vastly outnumbered by those who were made to suffer to serve their aims. Despite living in different time periods, such individuals have a number of things in common. Perhaps Per-haps the most obvious are that they will stop at nothing to achieve their ends, and that human life is very cheap to them -so long as it isn't theirs. By contrast, examples of overwhelming over-whelming goodness in history books are pretty scarce. One modern mod-ern exception is Mother Teresa, but we probably wouldn't have known much about her if. it weren't for the pervasiveness of the media in our time. Where can we find It was a crisp, clear December morning. The final remnants of last week's blustery snowfall lay scattered in icy patches here and there, crunching when you stepped on them, and melting oh, so slowly when you didn't. Christmas . decorations, from the tacky- to the sublime, were everywhere, and Christmas music (Anita, my wife, calls it "spending music") gently hummed from every speaker in every store and office building. It was "that" time of year again. So . . . why wasn't I feeling "that" way? For some reason, the streets and malls seem a little less crowded crowd-ed this year. My Christmas shopping shop-ping is almost done. And it's been fun to watch our granddaughters - now a year older, and a year wiser to the ways of Christmas -respond to the lights and the excitement. ' But there's a bittersweet feeling feel-ing to the holiday season. My country is at war, and every other day seems to be proclaimed "the bloodiest" since the last bloody day. And that changes everything. Suddenly, Longfellow's words are . packed with meaning: "And in despair I bowed my head: 'There is no peace on earth,' I said, 'For hate is strong and mocks the song Of peace on earth, good will to men.' " Then I talked to Greg, a work associate and longtime member of the U.S. Army Reserve. Greg's unit has been called up, which means he'll be leaving for Iraq a week before Christmas. If anyone has a right to "Bah! Humbug!" this year, it's Greg. But he refuses to. "The Army has been good to me for 21 years, and I really haven't had to do much in return," he told me. "I'm not going to start whining and complaining now that I'm being asked to do the very thing I've been trained to do. "It's my turn to go. It's my duty. I consider it an honor to serve. I really do." the world, at a time After all, she did not seek the limelight, and her mission was simple: to bless the lives of those on whom the world had turned its back, one person at a time. Research has shown it takes, on average, six instances of praise or positive feedback to overcome just one criticism or negative remark. We can't depend on public sources to balance out the negative nega-tive in our society, because by their nature, our societal institutions institu-tions are designed to deal with conflict and controversy. , It is then up to each of us to improve the world in the same way Mother Teresa did, by being a positive influence among those who are around us. Here are a few suggestions. Be more patient with your spouse, your children, your parents, par-ents, and overworked store clerks. Give people the benefit of the doubt just a little bit longer. Be kinder, especially to those who make demands on you, whether they should or not. Above all, be more tolerant of the faults of others, of your own faults, and of the differences among the people in our society. It is possible to care for others without embracing behavior we may find unacceptable. The world would be a better place if we would all learn to do that. peace on Earth? Which is not to say that Greg isn't feeling some anxiety over his departure. "Sure, I'm nervous for me and for my family," he said. "But you know what? I'm also pretty calm. But it seems to me that if you're living your life the best that you can and you're doing what you think is right you can deal with pretty much anything. any-thing. "Besides," he added, "it's Christmas! Christ-mas! How can anybody be uptight at Christmas?" Hold it. Was I missing something? some-thing? I assumed the season would deepen his hurt and frustration frus-tration at the prospect of going off to war. But "even though Greg didn't did-n't relish the idea of being away from his family for the holiday, he found comfort and peace in the decorations, the lights and the music of the season. That's when it occurred to me that maybe the concept of "peace on earth, good will toward men" is more of an attitude than a compilation compi-lation of .current events and circumstances. cir-cumstances. Perhaps real peace comes from within, and has more to do with how we decide to approach the challenges that life thrusts upon us than the reality of those challenge's chal-lenge's themselves. With the right attitude, a bitter winter blizzard becomes water for the garden next spring. Higher gas prices present an opportunity to get more exercise and save the environment by doing less driving. A tour of duty in Iraq becomes a chance to pay off a 21-year debt. And Christmas begins to feel Christmassy again. "Till ringing, singing on its way, The world revolved from night to day, A voice, a chime, a chant sub-, lime, Of peace on earth, good will to men!" Thank a commissioner for your city With growth exploding at an unprecedented level in north Utah County and with more exponential growth expected in the near future, there is a select group of people who deserve accolades municipal planning commissioners. commission-ers. Often paid minimum wage for an evening of work or nothing at all, the position is a service they give to their community. The token salary may cover their expenses, but it certainly doesn't cover their time spent for the city. These volunteers work full-time full-time jobs, have families and other volunteer positions as well as their city position as commissioner. commis-sioner. . This service generally involves two Planning Commission meetings meet-ings a month and a work session, not to mention the hours spent studying requests and time used before the meeting visiting sites up for review. Sometimes the commissioners find themselves caught between Why do teens There comes a point in most children's lives, usually as they hit about 12 or 13, when they change from bright-eyed bright-eyed early birds up at the crack of dawn into nocturnal creatures who stay up late at night and are difficult to roust anytime before noon. I don't know what it is about night that is so appealing to teens. It may be that late nights are one of childhood's forbidden fruits. There is a certain "deli-' ciousness" to staying up late even for adults who enjoy more night life on weekends than during dur-ing the week. There's also the lure of television, radio and even books. Most homes become quieter as the night wears on, although I think peace and quiet is much ' Alpine Here comes Santa Claus. Mr. and Mrs. Claus will be at the Peppermint Pep-permint Place on Dec. 17, 18 and 20 from 5 to 8 p.m. There will be free hot chocolate and doughnuts for everyone along with a nativity with real camels and a choir. American Fork American Fork High School has announced its Sterling Scholar Schol-ar candidates for the 2004-05 school year. Ben Bartholomew was chosen in business and marketing, mar-keting, Annie Garlick in dance, Jennifer Bunker in family and consumer sciences, Matt Lyon in mathematics, Adrienne Tedjamu-lia Tedjamu-lia in music, Dean LeBaron in science, sci-ence, Michelle Gifford in speech and drama, Chris Iloggan in trade and technical education, Gabriela Zambrano in social sciences, sci-ences, Dan Mangelson in English, Alice Seiter in foreign language, Greg Harper in visual arts and Sean Whetten in computer technology. tech-nology. American Fork American Fork High School has more than 800 poinsettias for sale in a sea of "Freedom Red," "Freedom White" and "Enduring Pink" poinsettias. Anyone interested inter-ested in placing an order may do so through any floral student or by going to the greenhouse on any "B" day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. or any day after school. Cost of the poinsettias is $7 wrapped with a bow, or $6 unwrapped without a bow. Foil colors include red, gold, silver, holiday green, pink or purple. pur-ple. Bow colors include red, gold, .... .. i' "'mmmmmmmmmmmmm what the public wants, what is legal, what is right for the greater good of the community and what the City Council and mayor would like to see happen. Occasionally, the Public Commission Com-mission meetings can extend past midnight and often, these public servants are ridiculed and yelled at by the very people they are trying to serve. It is not an enviable task, but it is an important one. A commissioner commis-sioner is appointed by the council to his or her office and the term may last from one to four years. Planning commissioners prepare pre-pare requested annexations, zoning zon-ing and developments for review and approval by the City Council. Coun-cil. The commission's recommendations recommen-dations weigh in heavily on council coun-cil members' decisions when really come alive at night? more pleasing to parents than it is to their pubescent progeny w ho enjoy doing noisy things late at night. And then there are those "late night talks." That taciturn teen who, throughout daylight hours responds with only monosyllables monosylla-bles and grunts, can suddenly become quite conversational late at night. You can often sense it coming. The son, whom you haven't "tucked in" to bed for years wants you at his bedside. Or your daughter requests, "Can I talk to you for a minute?" Those minutes silver or dark green. A limited number of poinsettias are also available each day for purchase in the main office. Payment can be made at the finance office, open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., except from 11 a.m. to noon and 1 to 1:45 p.m. Large orders can be placed or questions can be answered by calling Jake Anderson Ander-son at 756-8547 ext. 153. American Fork Despite pleas from local arts representatives, American Fork City intends to purchase the Apollo Hall instead of the old Harrington School as a performing perform-ing hall for local arts groups. Mayor Ted Barratt met with the group after Thanksgiving and explained he expected the City Council to purchase the Apollo Hall because the price is right. "The council has determined they are not willing to throw over $4 million into the Harrington unless the public decides," Barratt Bar-ratt told the Citizen. He said he estimated the city could purchase the Apbllo for around a half-million dollars. "It is a lot less money, and we could use it just the way it is," he said. Cedar Fort The annual Cedar Fort Christmas Christ-mas Eve program will be presented pre-sented on Friday, Dec. 24 at 6 p.m. at the old LDS church, 28 E. Center St. in Cedar Fort. The theme for this year's program is Winter Wonderland." According to pageant director, Machelle Clogg, the program will feature the town's children and youth The Cedar Fort Ward Young '.'her s 3odel those requested items by commissioners , ' TWV ana de ft the city. Some of the Y 1 of sion s decisions are fin , SV j Tt don'tgoanyfurtC e mg the developer to pro0creefOWl5. A commissioner's attention detail and a tendency to to city codes and standard I ' '- e v preserve the integrity of aSstc future Plans for its reside Without these public served h dedication, at the very developers would 3-tjllh unchecked when it came to needs and desires of the cAver a residents. At best, the City Coth cil would be weighed downtrlar unnecessary reviews and arJ'ver t Vr om are manv ntW i There work for the benefit of our cornet," munities - police, firefighters 'me planners, inspectors, office staff '; this! crossing guards, street cleaned she and more- ;cipal As we wind down for the holi-t , mer days, I'd like to thank those oftend, ' unheralded heroes of our cities -ftat especially our commissioners. As a whole, they do an awesome job. j elect!- can easily turn into hours, buy dep they're hours well spent. cor I'm not sure why teens ope-d Je " up at night. Perhaps it's because-. Schoo the late hour causes them to lek com their guard down and for a few - for q moments the parent is no longer p0n( the "enemy," but a confidant, h , late-night conspirator. ; t0 It's a "safe" time, too. There' plenty of privacy, with no inter-, ':brar ruptions and few distractions. No doorbells, no telephones. Na-..jra whining or eavesdropping frojj younger siblings. j Just the two of us, alone, anc together, in a sea of darkness. was It's far better to lose somt.. sleep while talking with our..saw teens than by worrying andwonv dering where they are. It may not a, be easy or convenient, but it worth it. i;T0te( ::isp V JlSS Women and their dads, and Young Men and their moms will perform the traditional Csh Yev mas Waltz. The children canlook forward to a visit from Santa. Claus at the conclusion of thef show. fou. j schoo Cedar Hills WaiE i; is Cedar Hills residents mil con- tinue its tradition of lighting luminaires on Christmas Eve, joining residents of Alpine, Hign land, and American Fork. Forres ; idents who need more tion or would like to purchase Mm luminaire kits, they are availabtfj through Christmas Eve j-. .,;,.Qo in fprt.-ir Hills, at UiUJfO i" - . rvniL. w.r nf Alpine. UbJl or ugm uie - , at 492-3575. The kits cow l Zl vveainer-resit-utu long-burning candles. Eagle Mountain 15 Fourth-grade students i I class at PoC rvevin icquc v. o,.i,nol."-- F.vnrpsa Elementary - - - - .. l0 mi attende uesday, Dec. 7, t last Tuc the F-4'5e approval for naming between The Ranches a" d ; City Center. With the com j nf ihe now road conneLtint - ( two areas of the city, . . :i t,i name n ked the council ... onl ElPrtss vioc mm t ie cri'ffc ,td, V" s from the crest ot tne Swcrtwatcr Road that to the City Center, unj A W kin""1; ,1 "Unity," written by uh jl name change i and Mayor Kelvin Ha"1 , , i... .-,i,-UH1 ' i H i?i .r,i ii7.il I .1 IH' Mi Uniiv Pass. Class menu upr .11.1 11 1. I IV. L KnAo Mounts- U,t 1 1 1 vi 1 1 1 j in |