The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1333807
"I'm on social media too much," I told my husband. "The news is making me paranoid." I needed a break for my mental health. I needed a break for a better relationship with my kids. I didn't want them to think of me as someone always with a phone in her hand. They deserve better than that. I deserve better than that. "So what will you do to help yourself? " my husband asked. "Color," I said. My husband checked my temperature. In my three and a half decades on this planet, the only thing I've ever learned how to draw is a dog. And even then, most people think it's a cow. "Coloring books," I clarified. Unwind- ing by coloring in the lines rather than scrolling through my feed seemed like the perfect solution. And better yet, it was an activity I could Zen out to with my children. Over the winter holidays, I received colored pencils and multiple coloring books as gifts. My kids were given cray- ons and coloring books. The result was instantly satisfying. The anxiety and paranoia from being on my phone all day began swiftly dissipating. My 8 -year-old and I laughed as we col- ored a two-page scene in a Hidden Pic- tures book of a clothed dinosaur family in horror while surrounded by dinosaur bones inside a natural history museum. We found every hidden object and col- ored the whole picture in vibrant colors. I began getting a little more daring with my coloring book pages — even col- oring outside the lines and mixing col- ors! I know, pretty wild stuff. Then we discovered the Bob Ross Channel. All happy little trees, all the time. My son took out the sketch pad he'd been given, and together we fol- lowed along as Bob paint- ed mountains and lakes and evergreens. We showed our masterpieces to my hus- band, who was beyond im- pressed. (His dog drawings aren't even good enough to be mistaken for cows.) Oh, how the serene days slipped by in this fashion, as idyllic as a Bob Ross painting. Then... "It's gone," my son said. "What's gone? " I asked. "Our picture," my son said. "It was col- ored, and now it's not." He held up the Hidden Pictures dino- saur coloring book, but I was watching the storming of the Capitol and barely registered what he was saying. "I'm sure it's there," I said dismissively. Surely, the book, which boasts over 200 coloring pages, had an accidental dupli- cate, or my son was simply remembering the wrong picture. For days, my son said the picture had disappeared, and for days, as the poli- tics unfolding made me look to my phone more and more often, I dismissed it. "Maybe you changed it with a magic trick," I said today, referring to the mag- ic kit he also got as a gift. "It's not a magic trick," my son said. "It's gone! " I finally looked away from my screen to the picture of the dinosaur family look- ing in horror at the evidence of their de- mise. The picture had made us laugh as we colored in the page, but now my jaw dropped as I stared at only the black-and- white outlines. "It's empty! " I said. My son rolled his eyes as if to say, Duh. I quickly flipped through the book to find the duplicate page, the one we must've drawn earlier. It wasn't there. I checked again. Nada. Then I counted every single page to ensure the page we had col- ored had not been ripped out. No page was missing. I turned to my husband. "There's a glitch in the ma- trix! " "There's what? " he asked. "This is like how the Berenstein Bears are now the Berenstain Bears and how Sinbad was supposedly never in a movie called 'Shazaam.'" "I don't think that's it." "Are we in a simulation? Or is it aliens? Maybe the Greek gods were real! " "Go color," my husband said. "It's sup- posed to calm you." "How could it calm me when it's the cause of my alarm?! " I yelled, but I grabbed a coloring book from the draw- er anyway. I looked at the cover; it looked familiar. I looked over to the Hidden Pictures dinosaur book on the couch. They had the same title. Oh. I flipped through the coloring book in my hand, and there, on Page 29, was the page my son and I had colored in. Oops. So, maybe no matrix. "Time to lay off the phone again, huh? " my husband said. "More happy little trees." Yes, please. Follow Katiedid Langrock on Insta- gram, at instagram.com/writeinthewild. Katiedid Versus By Katiedid Langrock Dino paranoia B-6 Wednesday, Januar y 27, 2021 The Press-Dispatch Court Report CIVIL Pike County Circuit Court Crescent Bank and Trust sues Jason Bottoms and Trisha Bottoms on com- plaint. OneMain Financial Group, LLC sues Cody Russell on complaint. Ramona Seifert sues Dean P. Seifert for dissolution of marriage. Richard A. Brewster sues Deleea D. Brewster for dissolution of marriage. Crystal G. Corn sues Christopher T. Corn for dissolution of marriage. FELONY Pike County Circuit Court Sara E. Deffendall charged with count I neglect of a dependent resulting in bodi- ly injury, a level 5 felony, count II posses- sion of methamphetamine, a level 5 felo- ny, count III battery against a public safe- ty official, a level 6 felony, count IV main- taining a common nuisance - controlled substances, a level 6 felony, and count V resisting law enforcement. Brian K. Attebery charged with count I possession of methamphetamine, a level 6 felony, count II neglect of a dependent, a level 6 felony, and count III maintain- ing a common nuisance - controlled sub- stances, a level 6 felony. Erica Dove charged with count I ne- glect of a dependent, a level 6 felony, count II possession of marijuana and count III maintaining a common nui- sance - controlled substances, a level 6 felony. Christopher H. Isaacs charged with count I possession of methamphetamine, a level 6 felony and count II unlawful pos- session of a syringe, a level 6 felony. Ezequiel R. Garcia charged with two counts of assisting a criminal, a level 6 felony. Kevin C. Willis charged with posses- sion of methamphetamine, a level 6 felony. TRAFFIC AND MISDEMEANORS Pike County Circuit Court Kenneth R. Mann charged with count I operating a vehicle with an ACE of .15 or more and count II operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Jacob T. Newberg charged with count I possession of marijuana and count II pos- session of paraphernalia. Ottis L. Early charged with count I pos- session of marijuana and count II posses- sion of paraphernalia. Chayann Aragon-Guzman charged with count I possession of marijuana and count II reckless driving. Cody R. Slater charged with operat- ing a vehicle with a schedule I or II con- trolled substance or its metabolite in per- son's body. Oren J. Martin charged with leaving the scene of an accident. Maria D. Ramires-Macias charged with operating a vehicle with an ACE of at least .08 but less than .15. Jason M. Keller charged with posses- sion of a device or substance used to in- terfere with drug or alcohol screening. SMALL CLAIMS Pike County Circuit Court Hoosier Accounts Service sues Joseph A. Morning on complaint. INFRACTIONS Pike County Circuit Court Willard J. Wagler charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. James B. Noble III charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Joshua R. Johnson charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Trevor D. Anders charged with seat- belt violation. Austin W. Woodall charged with speed- ing, exceeding 55 mph. Joseph S. Benson III charged with driving while suspended. Phillip R. Zimmerman charged with seatbelt violation. Jaylee F. Yoder charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Roger D. Myers charged with speed- ing, exceeding 55 mph. Debra J. Conley charged with speed- ing, exceeding 55 mph. Charles E. Saffold charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Martin C. Welp charged with speed- ing, exceeding 55 mph. Jazmine L. Shular charged with speed- ing, exceeding 55 mph. VICTORY Continued from page 5 Sowell concludes that gov- ernment programs that are supposed to help minorities do more harm than good. A ffirmative Action, for ex- ample. In 1965, he took a teaching position at Cornell. The col- lege, he said, had lowered ad- mission standards to diversi- fy the student body, and most students admitted under af- firmative action did not do well. "Half of the black students were on academic proba- tion," he wrote, later adding, "Something like 1/4th of all the Black students going to MIT do not graduate. (There is) a pool of people whom you are artificially turning in- to failures by mismatching them with the school." Saying such things makes Sowell an outcast in aca- demia, and now most every- where. Sowell writes, "If you have always believed that every- one should play by the same rules... that would have got- ten you labeled a radical 50 years ago, a liberal 25 years ago, and a racist today." Starting next week, you can watch a new documen- tary on Sowell's life, "Thom- as Sowell: Common Sense in a Senseless World," online at FreeToChooseNetwork.org. John Stossel is author of "Give Me a Break: How I Ex- posed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media." MOB Continued from page 5 ly pertain to government ac- tion, not private companies. But technology has enabled a concentration of private pow- er not previously imagined. The Communications De- cency Act could be amend- ed such that speech on tech- nology platforms receives the same protections as all speech protected by the First Amendment. Another possibility would be to amend the Civil Rights Act to include those with re- ligious conviction based on teachings of Judaism and Christianity as a protected class. Conservatives must push for new law and new plat- forms. Star Parker is president of the Center for Urban Renew- al and Education and host of the new weekly news talk show "Cure America with Star Parker." SPEECH Continued from page 5 quire you to be on the news in order to entice people to pa- tronize the lottery program. I guess if there are no publici- ty stunts about people shown on T V screaming and jump- ing as they are handed the fat check, people can become skeptical. 2. Do not suddenly quit your job, but maintain in- volvement in something you love to do, and gradually phase out. 3. Immediately choose a trusted lawyer and financial adviser to protect you and your newly found fortune. 4. I find this surprising but it makes sense- - - get a good health checkup, because peo- ple can be victims of emotion- al and physical stress that can break a person if they suddenly have a ton of wealth they are not used to. 5. Change your phone number(s) and, if possible, your residence. 6. Lay low for a while, even up to a year, because you will be the subject of newly found relatives, friends and strang- ers who will constantly con- tact you. And in this current technology world in which we live, tons of scammers and telemarketers will find you. 7. Do not suddenly splurge in buying big this, new this, exotic this, weird this, etc. because the world around you will notice. And pretty soon, you will have a target on your back. 8. Yes, you will likely be charitable because you probably promised the Guy upstairs that if you win, you will give to charity and to the needy. That is so magnani- mous to do, but make sure you have a tightly guarded system for slowly dispensing your wealth. I guarantee you, your kindness will be noticed by a wide net of charities, as far as Timbuktu. 9. It is OK to splurge wise- ly now and then, but this is where you need to really be very prudent. 10. Remember, careful planning is a must because statistics show out of 100 winners of big bucks, 30 will do well, and 70 end up miser- able and bankrupt. Remember, keep the above rules and you'll likely be fine if lady luck smiles on you. • • • Wisdom of the week: The happiest people are those who feel they have enough, have a good circle of fami- ly and trusted friends, who have a deep and rewarding relationship with the Divine, and who realize every day is a day to share gratitude, love and kindness. Humor of the week: I saw a guy on America's Funni- est Videos who was given a scratch lottery ticket which when he scraped the paint cover, showed a million dol- lar winning set of numbers. He was jumping and screaming and crying , and for some reason his friends who gave him the ticket were not too excited. They just kept saying 'wow' in a not- too-enthused manner. He then asked his friends how he could claim the big pot. One of the friends said, "Look, there's something here on the ticket that says "For Play Only. Not redeem- able." It happened on April 1 and I think there is a name for that day. Have a lucky week! JACKPOT Continued from page 5 The world did not end when Clinton was elected, or Obama, or Truman, or Nix- on, or Reagan; and it did not end with Biden. Will changes come? Absolutely. What the changes will be is unknown. Keep the faith! Jesus made a declaration when he was confronted by secular power in the hands of Pilate; "You could have no power at all against Me un- less it had been given you from above." Understand- ing who controls the levers of power is difficult among Christians who believe they can bring about the Kingdom of God on this earth as it is. The Church has the victo- ry because it desires a coun- try and government that is immune to sin and evil. Re- member the words of Jesus, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight…" These words are not meant for Christians to lay down and surren- der-these are words of victo- ry. Think about it. ing loans and allows Grupo Cobra to become sole owners of the project. The total pub- lic and private investor losses could approach half a billion dollars when all is said and done. Meanwhile, a foreign company is going to walk away with sole ownership of a U.S. solar plant. Grupo Co- bra is getting rewarded for its incompetence. Will the Biden administra- tion learn from bankruptcies such as Crescent Dunes? Don't bet on it. It wouldn't be surprising if Biden's "green energy" crusaders, flush with taxpayer money, toss millions of more dollars into Crescent Dunes. Renewable energy scams such as Crescent Dunes re- mind us that these "pub- lic-private" projects rarely produce much electric pow- er, and they don't save the planet from climate change. But they do make million- aires out of lobbyists and fraudsters. My friends at the Heritage Foundation have counted 25 separate green energy projects, each with multimillion-dollar taxpay- er losses like those from the Obama era. My advice to the Biden team is the old saying: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. SCAMS Continued from page 5 Heritage Viewpoint By By Kay C. James Congress' commitment to the Constitution tested While "unprecedented" seemed to be an apt word to describe much of 2020, the beginning of 2021 seems to be continu- ing the trend by being precedent-break- ing in its own right. In the first weeks of 2021, America wit- nessed Congress face a series of monu- mental tests of their commitment to the U.S. Constitution, with the outcome of any one of those tests having the poten- tial to dramatically alter the trajectory of our nation. The first test was when Vice President Mike Pence was asked to reject the votes of certain states during Congress' certi- fication of Electoral College votes. The second test was when the House of Repre- sentatives asked the vice president to in- voke the 25th Amendment against Presi- dent Trump to force him from office. And the third test was when the House took up an unprecedented second impeach- ment effort against the president. Any one of these events occurring on its own would be earthshaking. Yet all three happened within the course of just seven days. In the first, Pence followed the consti- tutionally correct course of action and re- fused to send "disputed" electoral votes back to the states. Although there were legitimate questions raised about uncon- stitutional changes to state election laws, as well as potential instances of election fraud, our Constitution does not vest the power in one person to declare those election results invalid. Only Congress has the authority to count votes of the Electoral College. And while some complained about Re- publican House members and senators raising objections on the floor about the validity of those votes, those members were working within the system, trying to shine a light of transparency on an electoral process that left many doubting the accuracy of the results. They were at- tempting to create one last check before the votes were certified to help the Amer- ican people feel that they had election results they could trust. In the second event, the House passed a resolution calling on the vice pres- ident to invoke the 25th Amendment to forcibly remove President Trump from office. Our Founders designed an electoral process that empowers the American people to choose their leaders through elections. Removing a president outside of that process should be seen only as a last resort. The House resolution didn't come close to meeting the constitutional standard for the 25th Amendment, which requires that he be "unable" to carry out his duties. That generally means a phys- ical or mental incapacity, which was not the case. While some members of Congress felt convinced that the president should go, the end did not justify the means. The Constitution is not to be used as an emo- tional outlet or as a tool of political retri- bution. Again, Vice President Pence was right to reject the pressure that was put on him to go down this road. A man of faith, principle, and character, he took an oath to protect and defend the Con- stitution, and that's precisely what he did. The third test of Congress' commit- ment to the Constitution came in the im- peachment of the president. The violence and chaos that took place at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 won't soon be forgotten. But the Democratic majority in the House faced a choice: follow through on their promise to unify the country and focus on the future, or pursue impeach- ment in an attempt to establish a historical precedent and ap- pease their base. Our nation needs time to heal from an ugly election, di- vision among our people and an appalling Capitol riot where lives were lost. That healing not only requires a peaceful transition of power, but efforts by all Americans to reject the rancor in our politics and in- stead strive to work together for a better future. The House could have chosen coun- try over party and unity over divisive pol- itics, but it didn't. While exercising its im- peachment powers may be constitution- al, the House's vote to impeach a presi- dent with less than a week left in office seemed to be more about using the Con- stitution as a tool for revenge than using it as the Founders had intended. In each of these three critical consti- tutional tests, the decision should nev- er have been about taking one side or the other to support those we favor or to maintain power for a preferred candidate or party. It should have always been— and should always be—first and foremost about siding with the Constitution and, secondly, with the public's best interest. Unfortunately, too often during these tests, too many of our leaders failed, and that should weigh heavily on the heart of every American. As tests usually do, they confirmed who in our government we can trust to follow the Constitution and who needs to brush up on the very document they took an oath to uphold. Kay C. James, President of The Heritage Foundation, is a leader in government, ac- ademia and the conservative movement. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Signed letters must be received by noon on Monday