Alva Review-Courier -

It is such an important time in our religious lives it is worth enjoying the blessed time thoughts one more time. I do hope you had a great Easter. The weather held off for the kids to hunt Easter eggs after church. Thanks to everyone that had egg hunts Saturday and Sunday for the young people. I didn't hear/read about the Methodists feeding people at noon the week before Easter until too late. You had to listen to a bit of preaching for the free meal but I probably could have used both. I talked to a couple of guys that really enjoyed it, so thanks for doing this service and hope to see you next year. I got to watch the young people at the Town and Country Christian Church on Easter evening. Thanks to the young people and adults that worked hard to entertain and educate us.

There is a small list of people that had untimely deaths in my lifetime that could have changed the path of the world. We celebrated the 50th anniversary of one of these men this last week. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated when I was a young man. I didn't pay much attention to politics, racial tensions and other worldly matters back then, but with what little I had listened to him, I knew one of the good guys was gone. His wisdom was bringing the races closer together with a non-violence policy. Sadly, he was replaced by individuals who believe bigotry and violence will work. Please God, send us another MLK to heal the wounds.

The teachers are probably still at it today. There have been lots of stupid outbursts on both sides of this debate. One of my concerns about this “strike” is the professional troublemakers don't cause it to turn into a tragedy like they did at Ferguson, Missouri. Different circumstances, you say? A couple shots, rocks thrown, timely slurs aimed at the law enforcement, and it could begin. Second, someone with a major hate for teachers in a building with several automatic weapons firing into the crowd. I know I shouldn't be a worry wart pessimist, but I want it all to turn out okay. Legislators showed me they still have no clue on the funding policies. They raised the gasoline tax a couple of cents less than the diesel tax. First, why did they not raise the gas tax 10 cents? Gas goes up and down so much nobody would notice and they would have gotten real funding money. Next, why put the most burden on diesel fuel? Again, the legislators proved Oklahoma is not a business friendly state. Truckers, farmers and the oilfield rely on diesel to support their industries. I know people use their cars in business but lots more are used for recreational activities.