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Programs work
Kudos to the Citizens on Patrol couple who helped in the search for the young toddler that wandered away from her home in Madera.
This couple should be commended for their help. As a block captain with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Neighborhood Watch program, I cannot stress how much these programs can work, but people have to get involved. We need the helicopters and the horses for search and rescue. Do not take them away.
Linda R. Vonk
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Things on TV that make us scream
Halloween is nearly here, so let's talk ghosts. Annoying TV ghosts. They seem to be everywhere.
On their respective CBS dramas, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Patricia Arquette possess the freakish ability to chat with ghosts. On "Lost," Hurley often sees ghosts. And on "Desperate Housewives," a ghostly narrator has nothing better to do than haunt Wisteria Lane and spew hackneyed observations.
But what bugs us the most are TV ghosts like the supernatural dad in "Dexter" - judgmental apparitions who constantly offer advice and criticism and take up space.
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Protect teenage girls
Teenagers are often very stubborn. They can also make mistakes. If a girl believes her parents must not know she is pregnant, no law in the world will change her mind. Even though she might be completely wrong, she will do anything to keep her parents from finding out, simply because she is a headstrong teenager.
If Proposition 85 passes, a girl who feels this way has very few options. She can run away (perhaps trusting her life to the older man who got her pregnant that Proposition 85 supporters keep mentioning). If she does not run, she can seek an illegal abortion, killing not only her unborn fetus but very possibly losing her ability to have future children, if not her life. Or she can consider suicide. These could be her only remaining options.
Proposition 85 puts our teenage daughters in needless danger by taking away the least horrible option they may have. Whatever one's beliefs regarding abortion and parental rights, please protect our most vulnerable girls by voting "no" on Proposition 85
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Relationships strive to survive in 'Ordinary Days'
Single folks in New York are often the stuff of American musical theater.
From "On the Town" to "Wonderful Town" to "Company" to "Rent" to "Avenue Q," young - and sometimes not so young - people grappling with life in the big city have been ready fodder for song.
And they are the driving force behind the modestly titled "Ordinary Days," the first musical to play the Roundabout Theater Company's tiny Black Box space as part of its Underground series.
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Living with children
Q: My 13-year-old daughter seems obsessed with boys, any boy. She will talk to a boy on the phone one time and then tell me that he's her new boyfriend. We've had conversations about getting to know boys as simply friends, self-respect, boundary-setting with boys, and so on, but my words seem to be falling on deaf ears. Her father and I are divorced and he is rarely a part of her life. What can I do to help her?
A: Unfortunately, the studies indicate that what you're describing is exactly and precisely what girls without active fathers in their lives do when they become teens. To wit, they become obsessed with getting attention from males, and they will do just about anything to get the attention and the false, manipulative approval that comes with it.
I'm truly sorry to have to tell you that this is a potentially grievous situation, with long-term negative ramifications for your daughter. Will her father open his heart to his daughter if you tell him what's going on? If he won't step up to the plate
"Away We Go" is like a perfect glass of lemonade on a hot summer day: It’s sweet enough to satisfy and just tart enough to enjoy.
This light romantic comedy is the best work by director Sam Mendes since his “American Beauty.”
John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph play thirtysomething couple Burt and Verona who are three months away from parenthood. The pregnancy creates concerns they’re not ready for the big change in their life so they go on a cross-country trip to find the perfect place to live.
They visit family and friends the couple think have perfect lives, leading them to Phoenix, Tucson, Madison, Miami and Montreal.
Krasinski, who had to suffer through another couples crisis movie with “License to Wed,” and Rudolph come across as a real couple, especially in their conversations. They don’t use perfect quips to deal with fears. They reluctantly embrace honest truths about how life can’t be planned.
A few more characters like this and Krasinski can lay claim to the everyman role Tom Hanks has played so well. The big surprise is Rudolph, who makes a very clear statement she can handle drama.
Mendes shows great skill in getting his characters to their final realization. He takes Burt and Verona from one couple (Allison Janney and Jim Gaffigan) who are a crisis away from a complete mental breakdown to the brutally painfully realities of another (Chris Messina and Melanie Lynskey).
Each couple offers a look at life that ranges from scary to heart-touching. Under a less competent hand, the sharp contrasts could’ve been self-destructive. Mendes knows just when to use humor to either accent or downplay a moment.
Aliens, robots and wizards are designed to bring heat to theaters this summer. If you prefer a sweet treat, then “Away We Go” is the answer.
@Nyx.CommentBody@