I am not one to write letters to the editor but a couple of events have led me to speak out. The winter of 2002, I gave my father a red aluminum gazing ball for Christmas. This was very special to both of us as we knew it would be his last Christmas with us as he was very ill with cancer. We set it in his front yard and two weeks later, it was gone. I thought of writing a letter then but passed it off as "life isn’t always fair."My father lost his battle with cancer last July. This past Memorial Day we placed the Veteran’s Star on his grave site and three days later, it was gone. My father was proud he had the honor to serve in World War II. He talked to his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, not only about war but about duty, honor and the importance of being honest and hardworking. My father earned that Veteran’s Star, unlike the person who took it. It upsets me that a person would steal something for which someone worked so hard for. I have seen people lose personal belongings, have property damaged, even reputations ruined by theft, gossip and repeating privileged information and all because someone feels that since they want it or don’t want you to have it, they are entitled to take it from you. Are these people jealous over someone’s fortune or angry over their own misfortune? My father’s Veteran’s Star will be replaced but some things are not easily replaced or can never be mended. So before you take or damage something that doesn’t belong to you, I would like to share a poem that my mother has hanging near a mirror in her home."The Man In The Mirror"When you get what you want in your struggle for self and the world makes you king for a day Just go to the mirror and look at yourself and see what that man has to sayFor it isn’t your father or mother or wife whose judgment upon you must passThe fellow whose verdict counts most in your life is the one staring back from the glassSome people may think you’re a straight shootin’ chum and call you a wonderful guyBut the man in the glass says you’re only a bum if you can’t look him straight in the eyeYou can fool the whole world down the pathways of life and get pats on your back as you passBut your final reward will be heartaches and tears if you’ve cheated the man in the glassHe’s the fellow to please, never mind the rest for he’s with you clear to the endAnd you’ve passed your most dangerous, difficult test if the man in the glass is your friendCelebrate and respect your freedoms this 4th of July.Jan KlosterbuerLuverne
