- Mendo Saved My Life
- White House Disfigured
- Just Say No
- Trump’s ‘Disgusting’ Video
- Prop 50 Is Wrong
- Hegseth, Trump — Not The Military Leaders We Need
- Golden Rule, Rules
- Party Trivia
- Geezer At DMV
- Read Project 2025
- America’s Palace Of Versailles?
MENDO SAVED MY LIFE
Editor,
This happened a little less than a month ago, around 8-9 p.m., a bit outside of Laytonville. I was on my way up to Whitethorn from the Bay Area for a birthday trip when I suddenly hydroplaned and spun out off the road, crashing 50 feet down into a steep ravine (the site is named “Steep Gulch”) off the side of U.S. Highway 101.
My car barreled through some trees, and I lost consciousness after the car slammed into an old oak. According to the guy who towed the car out, I’m very, very lucky. Not only was the car totaled with extreme damage to the driver’s side, but it was held up by only a few trees before a steep drop into the riverbed.
I don’t remember this well but apparently I woke up, got myself out of the wreck, and climbed back up to the highway where some Good Samaritans stopped to coordinate help and called for emergency response.
The California Highway Patrol, the fire department, and EMTs showed up. They took me away to Adventist Health Howard Memorial in Willits, and I was taken care of by the nurses there. The CHP officer who came to follow up was surprised at how unscathed I was. He told the doctors about the drop and the significant damage to the car and suggested more scans.
I was discharged in a couple of hours after they confirmed that I had nothing but a cut and some bruises.
This whole incident feels like a miracle. There were so many things that could have gone wrong, but they didn’t. A big part of that was because of all the kind strangers that I encountered through the emergency and in the aftermath.
I’m beyond grateful to:
The woman who caught me after I climbed up to the highway, kept me calm, put hand warmer packets in my socks, and let me wait in her car.
The man who couldn’t speak English or understand anything we were saying but kept me warm with his jacket and held me when I started coming down from the shock and started freaking out.
The people who drove ahead to call for help because the accident happened in a stretch of road without cell service.
When I was discharged from the hospital, it was well past midnight. I was over a hundred miles from home, no car and didn’t know a single person. I didn’t even have clothes because they were cut off in the ambulance.
I’m grateful to the nurses in the Willits ER who found something in the hospital that fit me.
The nurses coordinated during their breaks, and one gave me a ride to a nearby motel and waited until I was checked in.
The next day, the hospital called me to come back ASAP because they saw something potentially serious.
I had no way to get there, but the host at the front desk of the motel tried to coordinate a ride for me.
The motel owner ended up coming out just to drive me back to the hospital.
Then my partner came up from Oakland to bring me home. We went to the scrapyard where the wreck was towed, and I got to see the extent of the damage.
The man who towed the car out of the gulch and stored it took care to keep everything as dry as possible under a tarp. He was incredibly kind when we came to collect what we could from the car. He cracked jokes and gave me lots of advice about my bruised ribs.
I made it back home to Oakland the next day and I’ve just been recovering and processing it all. The thing that sticks with me is how every person that I encountered was wonderful.
Everyone told me that it was the first rain of the season. Apparently all the dust and oil gets picked up and flows downhill. The people at the hospital said there are a lot of accidents during the rainy season.
I had new tires and I was driving normally, at the speed limit with the other cars, and I just happened to be the one who hit a patch of water. I won’t be driving anytime soon, but if I get another car, I’ll definitely be slowing down a lot more when it’s wet.
Thank you, Mendocino County.
Steph (Yin) Zhao
Oakland
WHITE HOUSE DISFIGURED
Editor,
It just turns my stomach to see the White House being so quickly designed and violently remodeled. As an architect, I know that it will not be done with the appropriate sensitivity with less than 60 days of design time.
What a telling metaphor, seeing the backhoe, the exposed wall cut open like a wounded soldier in war and Old Glory flying in the background, trying so hard to be proud and undeterred in the afternoon golden hour light as this onslaught takes place. Just unbelievable.
We will now have to live with a Mar-a-Lago aesthetic at the White House from now until someone with equal bravado does it the right way. I only hope its lifespan is about the same as a Holiday Inn in the suburbs, which is the decor it seeks to replicate.
Kurt Worthington
Berkeley
JUST SAY NO
Editor,
Regarding “Six infections, three heart surgeries, more than $1 million in health care — and still he can’t escape his drug addiction” (Opioid Epidemic, SFChronicle.com, Oct. 16): The story was thought-provoking and depressing. I worked with many drug addicts early in my career as a doctor. It quickly became clear that no one could help them but themselves.
Why are we spending so much precious public money on hospitalizations, medications and operations for addicts who repeatedly harm themselves and slowly commit suicide?
Sadly, those making poor decisions need to accept the consequences and not expect others to save them.
Karla Werning
Hayward
TRUMP’S ‘DISGUSTING’ VIDEO
Editor:
When someone posted to me the disgusting AI reel of Donald Trump as king in the airplane cockpit, I thought, “No, this couldn’t possibly be actually coming from the president of the United States.” I thought even Trump wouldn’t stoop so low as to do something so egregious as that post. And then I opened up the Oct. 20 paper and read the article by Jenny Gross of the New York Times (“Trump posts fake video of self in ‘King Trump’ jet, soiling protesters below”). As a democratic country, we deserve better than this in our president.
Diane Keegan
Santa Rosa
PROP 50 IS WRONG
Editor,
I live in a congressional district that would be drastically redrawn by Proposition 50. Democrats in the state government are usurping some of my rights for their own end.
The reasons given by the proponents boil down to the idea that others are doing this, so we must do it to keep things fair. One group is doing something that is wrong, so we must also.
Proponents also say Prop 50 is temporary, but what is stopping them from doing this in the future?
Prop 50 is partisan gerrymandering. While apparently legal, it is, more importantly, unethical. The governor and a majority of the Legislature have acted unethically in creating this proposition. A yes vote is unethical because it moves this action forward.
Also, look back in history at other actions that took rights away from citizens for the greater good, in the U.S. and other countries. Did those actions turn out well?
You may be as unhappy as I am about what other states are doing. Those actions are just as bad as Prop. 50. California should not follow down that path.
Fighting fire with fire just creates a larger fire. Vote no on Prop. 50.
James Bourey
Chico
HEGSETH, TRUMP — NOT THE MILITARY LEADERS WE NEED
Editor,
On Sept. 30, President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered addresses to approximately 800 senior U.S. generals and admirals at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. It boggled my mind to hear what I considered an incredible amount of clueless audacity in their seemingly ludicrous speeches. Last week, Hegseth doubled down by ordering every service member to watch or read the printout of his lecture.
Many years ago, I was a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy. Many consider that rank the Navy’s equivalent to Hegseth’s rank of major in the Army. I always spoke to my superiors with the utmost respect, acknowledging their many years of experience and training. They were honored and respected for their wisdom and courage, not critiqued for their appearance, as Hegseth appeared to do in that speech.
Hegseth and Trump have checkered pasts filled with accusations about questionable behavior. Both should have looked in the mirror before making what I consider to be juvenile bullying tirades. Their rantings seem to be all about aggressiveness and threats. That is not the history of our military posture to the world, which I think former President Theodore Roosevelt encapsulated with his “speak softly and carry a big stick” policy.
But the single most important component of leadership is character. It appears to me that character has been completely ignored by both men. They seem to be unaware of the existence of the concept.
Indeed, the lack of character has been the hallmark of their program so far.
The complete lack of empathy and their adoption of cruelty and intimidation as their day-to-day demeanor makes me despair for the future of this great country.
Joe Walsh
Lagunitas
GOLDEN RULE, RULES
To the Editor:
I’ve been writing and speaking on ethics for 30 years. I believe that our thinking can change when we learn to respect others as we wish to be respected — the Golden Rule, not easily practiced in today’s cultural and political climate. It takes conscious effort to look and listen with an open mind, and to decide through people’s actions whether they’re locked in black-and-white thinking to the extent that we’re viewed as enemy or friend.
Regardless of opinion or background, most people simply want to be accepted for who they are. And most of us know from experience that there are situations that transcend disagreement. I live in an area vulnerable to floods and fires, and two friends with views that differ greatly from mine once told me that if disaster struck, they would be there — without hesitation. Despite our differences, we’ve built close and lasting friendships.
The challenge we face today is that too many of us use our platforms to spread division instead of unity. It’s hard to ignore a voice amplified daily. We should resist the urge to preach, step back from the outrage and keep our minds open.
Jim Lichtman
Santa Barbara
PARTY TRIVIA
Editor,
The Iranian Embassy in Washington DC was known for its opulent parties and banquets. In 1975 ‘New York’ Magazine reported that:
a. They would be serving alcohol despite the muslim prohibition.
b. An important contract had been signed saving an American from bankruptcy.
c. Most guests thought the food was too spicy.
d. The kitchen was infested with cockroaches.
e. An eastern senator and a midwestern congressman were copulating with prostitutes in full view of other guests.
J. Mills
Ben Lomond
Party trivia answer: e
GEEZER AT DMV
Editor:
The headline “Confronting ageism, combating isolation, planning for future” reminded me of my own infuriating confrontation with ageism 10 years ago when I was 77.
Thanks to a cataracts condition clouding my vision, I had been unable to pass the Department of Motor Vehicles test. My driver’s license was suspended for the three months it took to get surgical repair.
After I recovered, I went to the DMV office in Corte Madera for the written and road tests. As has nearly always been the case, I got 100% in both. Nevertheless, the examiner had a surprise in store for me.
After returning from the road test, he said we were to go out and drive around the neighborhood. He directed a series of left and right turns through streets where I had never been and then we stopped. He ordered that I return the way we came. Of course I was unable to comply. Despite failing that portion of the test, I did get my license reinstated, but only because I had scored the standard tests perfectly.
It appeared to me that someone decided that the standard tests were not adequate to determine the mental acuity of a 77-year-old who had cataract surgery. As far as I know, no such challenge exists for younger folks. I considered it to be ageism.
Since then, I have worked as a research scientist at the Buck Institute and am now doing substitute teaching at several high schools up to three days per week.
If I am ever again required to take a DMV road test, I will carefully explore the neighborhood beforehand. I will now always expect state officials to arbitrarily exercise their power.
Chet Seligman
Point Reyes Station
READ PROJECT 2025
Editor,
Everyone should be required to read Project 2025. It lays out the platform of the current Republican Party and illustrates the type of country they want.
No one should be surprised by the reduction of government, tax cuts for the wealthy, deportation of non-Europeans, curtailment of voting rights, media censorship, reduction of education, elimination of regulations and cessation of Social Security and Medicare.
Republicans laud Charlie Kirk as a “patriot” and someone who clearly articulated their message. All should listen to his podcasts to get a sense of Republican attitudes toward women, minorities, non-Christians, the disabled and LGBTQ persons.
Trump is a master showman, creating a lot of noise but steadily enforcing Project 2025. It becomes easier to understand if you merely replace Trump’s name with “The Republican Party.”
The new Republicans reject all who do not subscribe to their values. Any dissension is dismissed.
Woke means respect and consideration for others and other points of view. The writers of the Constitution were clearly the first “woke” politicians as they crafted a document that respected the rights of all.
Bill Franzwa
Alamo
AMERICA’S PALACE OF VERSAILLES?
Editor,
What President Donald Trump has done to the White House is a perfect metaphor for what he is doing to democracy.
The demolition of the graceful East Wing to build an opulent ballroom is as difficult to swallow as his assault on our freedoms.
It feels like a violation, like he is ripping away the history we hold dear, turning our historic White House into a tawdry version of the Palace of Versailles.
It is a testament to Trump’s feelings of grandiosity. He needs to read what occurred after the Palace of Versailles was completed, that the people of France decided they’d had enough and revolted, leading to the ugly ending of King Louis XVI’s monarchy in 1792.
What future generations will say about this desecration of our beloved White House is unknown. But I hope it will be remembered that so many Americans felt nothing but mortification, and that it figured in the downfall of a wannabe king.
Teri Shikany
Danville
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