Crosswalks and opportunities

I walk the roundabout crosswalk at 15th Street and Reed Market Road.

I give drivers an opportunity to be kind, polite, respectful, neighborly and compassionate (have I left out some?).

It occurred to me, we all have the right of way.

We all have a chance to connect, to make eye contact during this experience. When a driver drives by, and they do, too often, I will raise my hand and point to the sign indicating, “Hey, I am here, looking for your compassion.” I am here like an angel helping you to be kind and all of the above.

When they do stop, and most do, then their hand raises above their steering wheel, I take my cap off. We make so much nonverbal communication, it is heavenly.

So, read this and weep, when you know you just drove by, and saw me, waiting to communicate with you.

Tom Filcich

Bend

Trump will survive, prosper

The first weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency have gone precisely as expected: he has done exactly what he said he would do. Those who support him think he’s done well; those who don’t, disagree.

His warts are obvious, but objective observers, even skeptics like Brit Hume on Fox News for instance, see substantially more positive than negative so far.

And those of us Hillary once called deplorable can gloat in that it’s proving that the truly deplorable ones are current Trump detractors who appear to have few limits as to what they will say or do. Even toward his family.

Many people have not liked President Trump’s comment that the media is “an enemy of the people.” Well, you and I are captive audiences and if the media’s reporting is not accurate, where does that leave us? The word enemy quite frankly seems reasonably and appropriately accurate.

Obstructionism is slowing President Trump’s cabinet confirmations. But objective observers concede that his picks are highly qualified. Neil Gorsuch for Supreme Court perhaps tops the list, but James Mattis, Jeff Sessions, Rex Tillerson, Ben Carson, to name a few, are bright lights on the team the president wants.

Both Presidents Bush and Obama have said that the job was bigger than what they had imagined. President Trump admitted the same recently. And like his predecessors, he will survive and prosper in spite of those who don’t want him to. Many changes are yet to come; and for the better I submit.

Al Phillips

Prineville

Walden should visit Bend

As reported on the front page of The Bulletin on Feb. 22, a spokesperson for Greg Walden indicated that our congressman has held six town hall meetings already this year, where he apparently showed up (meetings by telephone don’t count). Incidentally, four of the six towns have populations ranging from 141 to 647. He also stated that Walden last held a town hall meeting in Bend in January 2013, but “is committed to holding another in Bend sometime this year.” I advise against holding your breath.

According to the 2010 census, our congressional district has a population of roughly 770,000. Figures from 2015 indicate the population of Deschutes County to be 175,268. Walden should take note of the fact that over 20 percent of his constituency live in Deschutes County, with about half of that in Bend. Town hall meetings in smaller communities need to be held and Walden is to be commended for spending time with the citizens of Mitchell (pop. 141) and other small communities. However, to better serve all of his constituents and hear their concerns, he needs to devote 20 percent of his town hall meeting time to the citizens that constitute 20 percent of his constituency. To hold a meeting in Bend only every four-plus years is thumbing his nose at us.

We should remember that in 2018.

Elizabeth Hamlin

Bend