Alva Review-Courier -

I was disappointed! There is an old saying "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." Nothing happened there that I couldn't talk about here. Probably the most exciting thing was my trip to the house of ill repute. I told the madam, "I want a woman!"

"What did you say, old man, and how old are you anyhow?" she asked.

"I'm 75, and I want a woman, why?"

She said, "You are too old for the slowest girl we have; you're finished old man, finished, I tell you!"

"I am, what do I owe you?"

More Vegas another time. I have something really serious that needs to be taken care of. Edmond schools are at odds with the state board of education about two books it won't ban. The two books, “The Kite Runner” and “The Glass Castle,” are said to contain pornography.

A while back there was a list of books the state banned because of no other reason than they could. I looked at the list, and most of them I never have read or heard of. There were a few very good classics they banned. Some of them were said to be promoting the gay way of life, some had racism, and some did not "conform" to what our young people should read. This is a dangerous thing when a few are allowed to control our thoughts and ideas. What is racism or pornography to me may seem like art or a different slant on things to you.

I don't remember when I thought about my choice of sexuality, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't at eight years old. While I agree that some books don't need to be read by eight-year-olds, they should not be banned for an older age group. It is better to get informed about your life choices, about anything, than learn about it with your cousin. Parents with an ounce of sense usually know what is okay for their young people to read and will monitor them.

If the powers that be are really worried about what kids see, they should ban the internet for all under 15 years old, because there is a lot more information there than in any book. Thinking back to my youth, the most popular kid in the neighborhood was the one that had the Playboy magazine hid under his mattress. Sorry, I wandered off a bit.

Any form of government-sponsored censorship, or removing of a freedom, is really scary. Even young people can already see losses of freedoms in the name of protecting us. It is getting time to stand up and tell the government and school superintendents that we won't stand for any more censorship. If loss of freedoms, book control and censorship doesn't bother you, read about a man named Adolph Hitler, if you can find an uncensored book about him! Let's stop letting other people control our thinking.

Happy belated birthday to my son Jerry and my granddaughter Jennifer!

Be safe out there, and God bless.