Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 262, Ed. 1 Tuesday, September 20, 2011 Page: 4 of 10
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Viewpoints
Page 4 ■ Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Sweetwater Reporter
DEDICATED TO PROUDLY DELIVERING LOCAL NEWS SINCE 1881
1—x Sweetwater 1
Reporter
■ tWIENIBER
| m A 2010
P.O. Box 750/112 W. Third
I
TEXAS PRESS
Sweetwater, Texas 79556
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EDITORIAL POLICY
The editorial section of the newspaper is a forum for
expression of a variety of viewpoints. All articles except
those labeled "Editorials" reflect the opinions of the writ-
ers and not those of the Sweetwater Reporter.
Bruce
Kreitier
THE GREEN TEAM
hoosing the right tree
Since a large percentage of the tree business involves
pruning trees for people, as you can imagine, I exten-
sively study and learn about tree biology, mechanics,
and proper pruning methods.
One thing I've come to realize over the years is that not
only is everybody individualistic, and
a little different from person to person
in what they want done to their trees,
but every tree is a also different from
plant to plant. More importantly, they
really vary from species to species. A
customer may prefer to have all of their
trees raised up into an "umbrella like"
canopy, but it may be that doing that to
the species of trees that they have will
damage their health or have some other
undesirable long term effect.
Balancing out the difference between
what the customer would like to have
and what's actually the best for the
overall health of their trees can be quite
a challenge. But challenge or not, doing
proper tree work involves leaving healthy trees and
meeting the customers desires. After all it's called tree
service, not "the tree you'll take what we give you and
like it business".
Fortunately, almost everybody that we work for is
receptive to good information about what is or isn't the
best way to handle their trees. This is one place where all
the time spent studying and learning about trees comes
in handy. Being able to provide good information to
clients about the best way to keep their long term invest-
ments (also known as trees) in good condition usually
results in the client modifying what they want done to
suit what best fits the individual trees and tree species
that they have.
Since the general reaction from the people that I deal
with is to listen to good information about their plants
and then use it to make informed decisions about how
they would like work done, I really wonder what hap-
pened when I see a tree or trees that have been seriously
abused (we aren't supposed to say "butchered" anymore,
butchers are actually well trained professionals). Did
the customer just insist on something that was going
to damage their trees? Or did they suggest something
and the person doing the work either didn't know bet-
ter or didn't care and just went along with it? Or even
worse, did the person hired to take care of the trees
actually propose something inappropriate (like topping)
and convince the customer that it was the way to go?
All of those questions and a few more things go through
my mind when I see trees that have been harmed by
improper work.
Learning about trees isn't just something I enjoy,
as far as I'm concerned, knowing as much as possible
about the work you do is an absolute necessity. I can't
quite grasp the concept of being in any kind of business,
and selling a service without at least learning the basics
of that business. After all, when you take your car to a
mechanic, isn't it reasonable to expect that mechanic
to have an interest in automobiles and additionally to
know a lot more about cars than you do? You probably
wouldn't go to mechanics that asked you to let them
know what parts to replace and how to go about it.
As much as I believe in learning about trees and plants,
I've also found that it is at least as important to know
how to listen to the tree owners and figure out what their
goals are as far as the trees on their property go.
So here's the really interesting thing about talking to
tree owners about their trees, I've learned a lot, not just
about people, but also about trees from just plain old
everyday people that are familiar with the trees on their
property. While I enjoy the interaction with the people
that I meet, just because most of them are friendly and
interesting (I wonder if that would hold true in say, New
York), you would be amazed at how well some people
know their trees and what a treasure trove of informa-
tion people can be about an individual tree. I have stacks
and stacks of books and other literature that deals with
trees in general, and sometimes even specific species,
but the only way to get good knowledgeable information
about one individual tree, is to talk to the person that
planted it and knows everything that ever happened to
it for its entire life.
As much as I enjoy learning about trees and the tree
business, I've found that dealing with tree owners is at
least as informative as studying professional and scien-
tific literature, and here's, the best part, a lot more fun. I
guess the best lesson I've learned from all of my study is
that not everything I need to learn about trees is bound
in a book somewhere, and the best (and most pleasant)
way to learn what I really need to know, is to listen to
the people that care for and enjoy their trees, or as some
people refer to them, our customers.
If you have any landscaping, landscape maintenance,
or tree questions you would like answered in this col-
umn, submit them care of editor @sweetwaterreporter.
com or info@BrokenWillow.com.
UNKNOWN SOLDIERS
Lindsy met her best friend
on the beach when she was
a teenager who didn't know
the true meaning of love. His
name was Tony.
The fun-loving pair was
inseparable during their high
school years in Michigan,
until a major change in one
of their lives forced a candid
re-evaluation of their rela-
tionship.
"Looking back, it was more
than a best friendship, but
we didn't realize it until we
graduated and he was going
to go away," Lindsy told The
Unknown Soldiers. "He was
headed to boot camp."
Lindsy married her best
friend, Sgt. Tony Matteoni,
on July 19,2008, with almost
no money and absolutely no
furniture. Their first apart-
ment was filled with lawn
chairs, boxes of Ramen noo-
dles, and the air mattress
they spent their entire mar-
riage sleeping on.
"I couldn't do things like
that with anyone but Tony,"
Lindsy said. "(It's) one of the
fondest memories of my life:
spending time with him and
not being distracted."
When Sgt. Matteoni was
ordered to report to North
Carolina's Camp Lejeune,
it was understood that his
first combat deployment
was almost certainly on the
horizon.
"I was scared — naturally, I
think," Lindsy recalled. "But
the good thing about having
been best friends for such a
long time is that we knew it
was going to work."
The day before Tony
deployed to Afghanistan
with 2nd Battalion, 6th
Marine Regiment, Lindsy,
incredibly, found out she
was expecting the couple's
first child.
Best Friends
While at war, the Marine
received ultrasound pictures
and a DVD containing an
audio track of their child's
heartbeat. When he called
home, Tony wanted only to
discuss Lindsy and the bun-
dle of joy they were expect-
ing.
"He implied that he wasn't
having a very good time (in
Afghanistan), but he didn't
want to dwell on it," Lindsy
said, while also emphasizing
that even while experienc-
ing war, her husband never
lost his sense of humor.
"He'd call and want to joke
around."
During a sleepless night in
Afghanistan, Tony knew that
half a world away, Lindsy
was finding out if their baby
was a boy or girl. After some
coaxing from his fellow
Marines, Tony woke up his
first sergeant and asked to
phone home.
"He was able to call for 90
seconds," she said. "He said
'Linds, what's the verdict?"'
It was a girl. Tony was
floored.
"He said he'd be a good
dad and she'd be daddy's
girl," Lindsy said. "We said
our 'I love yous' and I told
him to be safe. He said
'Linds, you be safe.'"
It was Lindsy and Tony's
last conversation. After won-
dering why she hadn't heard
from her husband the next
day for a more lengthy chat
about their big news, mili-
tary messengers arrived on
Lindsy's doorstep.
"I saw the shadows of the
Marines and their shapes,"
she painfully recounted. "I
knew by the time I answered
the door."
Sgt. Tony Matteoni, 22,
was killed Oct. 1, 2010, in
an accident that occurred
kft,,
while the Marine was sup-
porting combat operations
in Afghanistan's volatile
Helmand Province.
"I remember thinking to
myself, 'What do I do?"' she
said. "I had been so happy."
As Michigan came
together to honor the fall-
en Marine during solemn
ceremonies in Union City,
Kalamazoo, and Augusta,
Lindsy thought about an
emotional conversation she
had with Tony before he left
for Afghanistan.
"He picked me up and put
me on his lap," she recalled.
"He said 'Linds, don't worry
if I die. Because if I die, I'll
take your hand and we'll go
to heaven together."
Inside a Michigan hos-
pital at 2:04 a.m. on Feb.
24, Lindsy Matteoni, now a
22-year-old widow, met her
new best friend. Her name
Photo courtesy Janet McBarnes
is Avery Danielle.
Now six months old, dad-
dy's little girl is the light of
her mother's life.
"She is amazing, just like
Tony," she said. "I wish
he was here to see her. He
would be so tickled that she
looks just like him."
Sent down to Earth by
her loving father, Avery is
a permanent reminder of a
Marine's ultimate sacrifice.
When Lindsy and Tony
meet again on the beaches
of heaven, they will contin-
ue watching over a life they
created during the pain of
America's longest war.
To find out more about
Tom Sileo or to read fea-
tures by other Creators
Syndicate writers and car-
toonists, visit the Creators
Syndicate website at www.
creators.com.
A tnusfcte.
Dejr-g
< Vr,
GUEST COLUMN
The challenge of Constitution Day
Declaring your indepen-
dence is risky, but it's rela-
tively simple. Figuring out
how to function as an actual
nation is more complex.
Which is why
some of the bright-
est American
minds came to
Philadelphia in
1787 to write the
Constitution of
the United States.
Thomas Jefferson
called their meet-
ing "an assembly
of demigods," and
who can disagree?
The ensuing
debate produced
the remarkable
document that still
guides our nation
224 years later.
It was signed on September
17, now celebrated as
"Constitution Day." Imitated
in numerous countries
around the globe ever since,
this unique charter estab-
lished a republic seen as the
veiy model of how "a more
perfect Union" can preserve
freedom from generation to
generation — and yet remain
strong.
It's something every
American should read. Yet
tew of us do. Why? It isn't
long or complicated. The
original document (not
counting the Bill of Rights,
which came later) is only
about 4,500 words. The
text is straightforward and
readable — no Cliffs Notes
are needed to decipher it.
Considering its importance,
why would anyone approach
a voting booth without hav-
ing it read it at least once, if
not multiple times?
Perhaps it's because we
tend to forget how lucky we
are. Yes, even amid the many
Edwin
Fenlner
problems that surround us,
we forget that many people
have it worse, and sometimes
far worse. Even now, long
after the end of the Cold War,
there are countries
where people are
thrown in jail,
starved and beaten
for speaking their
minds — where the
idea of electing a
president, or get-
ting a fair trial, or
having almost any
rights at all, is a
pipe dream.
"Liberty's too
precious a thing
to be buried in
books," Jimmy
Stewart says in
Mr. Smith Goes to
Washington. "Men should
hold it up in front of them
every single day of their lives
and say: 'I'm free to think
and to speak. My ancestors
couldn't. I can, and my chil-
dren will'." That's the case
for reading the Constitution
— and re-reading it — in a
nutshell.
We all know what happens
to an uncultivated garden.
Weeds grow, flowers die,
and disorder takes root. It's
the same with freedom. We
can't guard against govern-
ment's tendency to encroach
on our liberties unless we
know the limits of what gov-
ernment can do. In fact, we
start to forget that govern-
ment even has limits, and
some big ones at that. That
fact alone makes the United
States stand out among
other nations. As President
Reagan once noted:
"Why is the Constitution
of the United States so
exceptional? Well, the differ-
ence is so small that it almost
escapes you, but it's so great
it tells you the whole story
in just three words: 'We the
people. 'In those other consti-
tutions, the Government tells
the people of those countries
what they're allowed to do.
In our Constitution, we the
people tell the Government
what it can do, and it can do
only those things listed in
that document and no oth-
ers."
Reminding our elected
leaders of those limits is
the perpetual obligation of
every American. Consider
what former House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi said when
asked if a mandate requiring
the purchase of health care
was constitutional: "Are you
serious?" Rep. Pete Stark,
D-Calif., was also asked about
Obamacare and if there were
any limits on Congress. His
reply: "The federal govern-
ment, yes, can do most any-
thing in this country."
No, it can't. Not even
close. What the federal gov-
ernment can and can't do
is found in the Constitution.
And the 10th Amendment
adds: "The powers not del-
egated to the United States
by the Constitution, nor pro-
hibited by it to the States, are
reserved to the States respec-
tively, or to the people." But
only someone who's read the
Constitution would be aware
of that.
"The Constitution is
the guide which I never
will abandon," George
Washington said. Let's hope
all Americans wholeheart-
edly make the same com-
mitment.
Ed Feulner is president of
The Heritage Foundation
(heritage.org).
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Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 262, Ed. 1 Tuesday, September 20, 2011, newspaper, September 20, 2011; Sweetwater, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth229568/m1/4/: accessed May 11, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sweetwater/Nolan County City-County Library.