Page 16 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • April 30, 2014 Civility is a fine thing Some time ago, a buddy of mine who is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran slipped into a seat at a library to check his e-mail and noticed a cluster of something gray off to one side of the keyboard. He examined the strange pile of gem-like objects, and then jolted back in horror. The objects were someone’s fingernail trimmings. They had presumably come from a female, considering the length and traces of nail polish -- unless Fu Manchu slipped into northwest Bergen County and left his calling card. “That’s disgusting!” my friend gagged. I, too, jolted back. I was U.S. Army Airborne -- train- ing injury, no combat -- but I used to ride with two differ- ent motorcycle “clubs” as an observer. I once survived a good-natured live scalping attempt by a real Indian, and I have covered about a dozen homicides while the blood, in some cases, was still fresh on the sidewalk or in the mud. I never once fainted. I kept the scalp. I still have some it. Having said this, let me point out that I completely agree that library computers are not an appropriate drop-off point for nail clippings, with or without the latest fashions in nail polish. You do not need to be a sissy to resent trip- ping over evidence of somebody else’s personal hygiene in a public place. You simply need to have experienced a reasonable degree of personal hygiene and, above all, civility. I was recently recovering from a drastic relapse of some sort of flu that does not succumb to much besides constant rest. When I forced myself to get back on my metaphorical news horse and check out some ledes (that’s how old-time journalists spell it, so as not to confuse information with the type-casting metal used in the linotype machines), I found that half the people I needed to talk with were sick and either hiding out at home or desperate to get there. The other half were so leery of infection that they did not want to talk to me unless I stayed about 10 feet away and avoided sneezing or coughing. I kindly complied. Here are a couple of ideas. We should respectfully retire the custom of shaking hands from public life for the remainder of the flu reason, and maybe forever. Hand shaking was a great warm-hearted way to greet people or seal a deal before people knew about germs. Today, hand-shaking is an anachronism on the level of swords, six-guns, hoop skirts, and parasols -- with or without con- cealed blades. Nobody knows who has what anymore. We should absolutely turn away when sneezing or coughing. Better yet, we should leave the room when ready to cough or sneeze. Best of all, we should have stayed home in the first place. If official business can survive school break, it can survive sick break. The next challenge is those people who do not aspire to be ladies or gentlemen. A lady or a gentleman is not simply a member of the appropriate gender. A lady or a gentleman is a person who does not give offense to others except in self-defense. A friend recently found a crumpled tissue, obviously recently used, at a computer station. He is a lawyer. He is also a gentleman. He told the librarian on duty that if another such anomaly transpired, he would file a writ- ten complaint. He was right to threaten so. Those who use public spaces are enjoined from provocative costume, loud conversations, racy photos, and long or obscene tele- phone calls touched off by loud claxons and jangles. This is entirely fair and just. The rest of us have a right not to be disturbed. We also have a right not to be infected. People who drop off crumpled tissues -- or fingernail clippings -- need to be confronted. Should they persist, they need to be asked if they are local taxpayers. If they are not, they need to be told to use their own hometown libraries as disease incubators. Helping somebody through a bout of poverty or unemployment is a nice thing to do. The librarians are good about this. I have no problem with people who do not pay the rather exorbitant taxes in north- west Bergen County if they responsibly come here to try to find work. I have big problems with having them pass their germs around. Keep them home. People can get sick from things other than germs. We have long since terminated all smoking in public indoor spaces, and we waited far too long to do so. Several decades of lies by the cigarette companies that “the word is still out” and “there’s no real evidence that smoking causes lung cancer” killed far more Americans than all our foreign wars during the same period. Nobody, to my knowledge, ever had to climb 13 steps and wait to pay the consequences for these particular murders, but I suppose slow suicide is a sort of civil right until you get caught. The ban took a long time, but when it got here it was a great idea and should continue to expand to cover all public places and all private places not owned by smokers. Raise the sights a little. Cigarette butts may, to some people, symbolize nonchalance and liberation. I can tell you from experience that the people who feel that way very seldom maintain that opinion when they start to cough up pieces of their lungs and they can’t blow out a match from two feet away. While we wait, as if were, for the catastrophic wisdom to set in, we should crank up enforcement of littering with discarded cigarette butts to the tune of $100 a butt on public property or any private property not owned by the smoker. The same ban should extend to people who drink and leave their beverage bottles on the curbs – and not for recycling. I do not need to hear that this would not work. Last time my wife and I visited my daughter in Cali- fornia, I saw one discarded cigarette butt and one person smoking in an alley behind some industrial buildings. We can do this. We should do this. Smoking is still cool? Stay cool indoors. Do not make the rest of us watch when you find out why it is no longer cool. Ever had someone try to get you to kill yourself with- out the use of cigarettes? A couple of times a month, it seems, somebody drives up behind me when I am doing the speed limit in a residential area, tailgates me, and then honks after I have already turned. Adults who cannot run their lives to the point where they usually have no need to speed obviously have issues, but the fact that they take precautions against pursuit for their rudeness adds a telltale glimmer of paranoia to their compromised profile. Police need to promulgate the three-digit call on aggressive drivers and haul them over on observation. I might add that the apparent reluctance to ticket speeders in residential neighborhoods can be seen to run hand-in-hand with the number of serious collisions and occasional injuries. Blindsiding somebody because people ignore stop signs or speed limits may happen all the time, but that does not make anyone feel better at the emergency room or the body shop. Start writing those tickets. Make them huge revenue items even if they are somewhat more arduous than soak- ing kids and minorities $40 a pop because they couldn’t find their insurance card in time when pulled over on sus- picion. Nobody ever died because the accident-free driver had misplaced an insurance card. It is sad that it would come to this -- but it has. People who will not stay home or take reasonable precautions when they are sick, people who leave germ-ridden tissues in public places, people who insist on speeding when a chimp or a macaque would know it was dangerous, people who litter the roads and sidewalks with bottles or stubbed- out cigarettes have fallen below civility. They represent a problem not only for civil people, but, in many cases, for the police. In their angry self-assurance, they represent a challenge to society. Let them pay for it, one incivility at a time. Letters to the Editor National Day of Prayer is May 1 Dear Editor: We want to urge everyone to participate in this year’s observance of the 63 nd Annual National Day of Prayer on Thursday, May 1. Since 1952, when Congress established an annual day of prayer, millions of Americans have gath- ered each year in churches, synagogues, schools, parks, and other venues to intercede for our nation. In 2 Chronicles 7:14, the Lord proclaims, “If my people, who call on My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, I will forgive their sins, and I will heal their land.” The theme for this year’s observance is: “One Voice, United in Prayer” based on Romans 15:6, “So that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Neither political nor partisan, the National Day of Prayer is a solemn occasion to seek the favor of Almighty God on behalf of the United States of America. It is important to remember the real purpose and meaning of the First Amendment: to prohibit the government from establishing an official religious denomination, while at the same time permitting elected leaders to promote the religious wel- fare of the people for the purpose of civil government. The combination of the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause of the Constitution was intended to create a govern- ment attitude of “benevolent neutrality” toward religion. History has recorded a wealth of evidence that our founding fathers intended the United States to be a haven for those dedicated to biblical truth. Daniel Webster said, “To preserve the government we must also preserve morals. Morality rests on religion: If you destroy the foundation, the superstructure must fall. When the public mind becomes vitiated and corrupt, laws are a nullity and constitutions are waste paper.” Patrick Henry articulated a similar caution, saying, “The great pillars of all government and of social life are virtue, morality, and religion. This is armor…and this alone, that renders us invincible.” Between noon and 1 p.m. on May 1, people across the country will gather to pray for America in the following areas of influence: church, education, family, government, media, military, and business. There are many ways you can participate in the NDP. Check your local newspaper or the website www.national- dayofprayer.org for specific events and times in your area. Phyllis and Ken Johnson Midland Park Ambulance corps (continued from page 14) The WVAC’s Ambulance Driving Course consists of 100 miles of non-emergency riding, components and tests on knowing the inside and outside of every ambulance, a defensive driving course, a road course, knowing the street names, what side of town they are on, best route to the area hospitals, and several other components. And most importantly, the member must have a clean driving record. “This has proved to be a success for us, now being able to have a duty crew every night. Daytime crews and most weekends are covered. This saves residents from being charged when another service has to come into our town to take our calls, which happened when we were unavail- able,” Moses said. “The youth is our future; it is nice to see so many young people wanting to volunteer their time and make a differ- ence,” said Moses. “It takes a special type of individual to do what we do. The best thing ever is when you see that person you took care of a few weeks later in the super- market, and they are doing okay. That is what it’s all about - you helped them. The greatest reward ever,” added the Corps captain. The Corps is always looking for new members and is now in the middle of a membership drive. Anyone inter- ested in joining is asked to visit the Corps’ website at waldwickems.com or stop by at its first open house to be held on Monday, May 19 at 7:30 p.m.