OK ‘to call a spade a spade’

Mike Heimbuch’s recent POV got me thinking. It’s true that everyone in my circle of friends agrees on a lot of things. For example, every single one of us believes that hate is hate and violence is deplorable whether it comes from the left or the right. Not one of us would justify an unprovoked attack on anyone, not even a white supremacist neo-Nazi.

On the other hand, not one of us confuses the magnitude of blameworthiness of the neo-Nazi demonstrators in Charlottesville with that of the counter-demonstrators. Not one of us equates bear spray in the face of someone wearing sunglasses with vehicular homicide. Not one of us would gleefully announce that our lord was going to take quick, decisive action to smite someone who read aloud at a city council meeting a list of quotes from prominent, well-respected Americans decrying the rise of neo-Nazism in America and the associated murder of an innocent young woman. I’m still trying to figure out how the picture that paints of God jibes with what I was taught in Sunday school. God approves of Nazis now?

So Mr. Heimbuch is right that there are two well-established factions in Homer, that they see things very differently, and that it would behoove all of us to be aware of that fact. We want to be able to live peaceably with our neighbors, but we also want to be able to call a spade a spade, to speak out in defense of those that some wish to target, and to denounce actions that threaten the very foundation on which our nation is built. My friends and I consider that our duty as patriotic American citizens.

Ann Keffer

Pass, Set, Hit

I would like to thank the Homer Foundation for its support this year as I was fortunate to be the 2017 recipient of the Alice Witte Memorial Volleyball Scholarship Fund. This award allowed me to attend the Brent Crouch volleyball camp in Portland, Ore., where I absolutely developed a deeper understanding of volleyball and improved upon the fundamental skills of serving, passing, setting, attacking, blocking and floor defense. I believe this opportunity was extremely invaluable and it greatly enhanced my ability to be a leader on the court so I could do the Homer High School volleyball program justice.

Thank you.

Raisa Basargin

Once Upon a Dark Fantasy

Well, it may not be the Lido De Paris at the Stardust or the Follies Bergere at the Tropicanna in Las Vegas, but it is the Midsummer’s Eve in Homer, Alaska, at the Down East Saloon, and it’s definitely a sweet eye popping production. Tails and Tassels does it again, and this time you will find them in a wooded forest setting with nymphs, caterpillars, unicorns, the faerie king and queen, Pan, Mars and Venus, The Lady of the Lake, and much, much, more. It was a most fun evening last Saturday night, and if you haven’t seen it yet, I believe you still have a chance this weekend.

It was so much fun. Check it out ­— you won’t be sorry. I wasn’t.

Maka Fairman