People in my Neighborhood – Page 2 – Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

Are you more important than anyone else?

October 3, 2024

Driving through Springfield streets it can often be noticed that certain people do not obey traffic laws, signs, and stop lights. As a Christian you may wonder who these people are or, hopefully not, you may find yourself participating in these unlawful and unsafe practices. The only explanation for this is that those who ignore common sense or instruction and posted ordinances think they are better than everyone else and laws do not apply to them.

Some examples of this observed behavior are those who do not attempt to stop when the traffic light turns yellow. When the Springfield Police cars and Greene County Sheriff cruisers do this, it is common knowledge that they do not have to obey the laws they are paid to enforce. Why should they set the example by stopping just because the light has turned yellow? Those who drive through red lights must just be off-duty officers who know they won’t get any tickets. How many people are killed in accidents when the instruction of a light is ignored? No more than two hundred or so each year. Who cares about that small a number?

Bicyclists can go anywhere they want to because they are cutting down on pollution by riding. Sidewalks are alright and just because there is a marked lane showing the cyclists to follow the flow of other vehicles doesn’t mean you can’t travel on the wrong side of the road and cuss the drivers that aren’t paying attention to you being where you aren’t supposed to be. If you are hit and killed by a motorist, they will be blamed and must live with it, not you.

Do you like roundabouts? Is that why you do not yield to traffic that is going around the circle? Some of you drive your trucks over the center destroying the expensive landscaping that we all had to pay for. What is even better is the medians that are placed between the lanes on small two-lane roads for no good reason other than for idiots to drive in the wrong lanes.

I won’t even talk about the motorcyclists that we are all reminded to keep safe by watching for them as they speed between lanes of traffic to get in front of cars. It is especially enjoyable to watch them pop their wheelies as they race down the road. The last thing I want is to drive over them when they wipe out on a grease spot.

The two biggest problems are inattentiveness and impairment. Missouri finally has decided to make texting and the use of handheld phones while driving illegal. Road rage is rampant. Someone shot at a car recently. Hopefully, that person will be caught. The prosecutor and judges will slap their hands and put them back out.

I had to deal with drivers for one company where I was the office manager. My boss did not want to deal with it. I was the one that the company delivery truck was issued to by the leasing company. When the driver violated the law and a call was made, it was to me. I also got to send young men home when they came to work drunk.

I’m glad to be off the roads most of the time now. I also am glad I am retired, and it is someone else’s problem to deal with employees who believe lying to their bosses is a good idea. I know that generations younger than I are not any worse than we boomers. It is a fact they are no smarter.

HAILEY WAS KILLED TEN YEARS AGO

February 19, 2024

The following article was published ten years ago. The man who killed Hailey was tried and convicted. During the search for the missing girl and when notification of her death was made by the Police our pastor was there with the family because a former SPD officer from our church called him because the family needed someone and he made himself available.

Ten years ago

I have to step out of my reporter persona and talk as I would to friends. This will not be an impartial story, but one of personal anguish and grief. The Amber Alert went out last night and when I first heard of it, I did not realize who Hailey Owens was. The reports of her kidnapping came across the television and as with most child abductions I hear about, I stopped and prayed for the safe return of this little girl.

6 years ago

As the evening went on it became apparent that I should know who this girl was. She had attended our church on Wednesday nights for a weekly children’s program. The children would come in for our fellowship dinner and if their parents were not there, we adults would have them sit with our families.

Daughter Michelle is a teacher at the local school and is familiar with most of the children that attend the school. Hailey was a quiet, timid child who often found a place at the table with my wife and I and our daughter’s family. Because she was such a well-behaved and quiet girl she did not stand out in my memory.

10 years ago.

The picture with this article is the one that I saw this morning after I heard the report that her body had been found near where she was allegedly taken. My heart broke when I saw these pictures. I remembered her and regretted not getting to know her more.

Life in this world is short, but these tragedies remind us that our sinful state can reduce that time even more. We grieve with Hailey’s family and hope they will understand how much we love this shy, sweet girl. Our lives are better for knowing her and less for this tragedy.

She did not write murder

October 15, 2022

I was surprised when I saw that one of Angela Lansbury’s credits was for Blue Hawaii. It has been years since I viewed this Elvis movie, and I did not remember that she played the mother of Elvis’ character. We were used to Ms. Lansbury portraying Jessica Fletcher in the series “Murder She Wrote.”

The role of Sarah Lee Gates was no challenge for one of the best character actresses in movies at the time. She played a wealthy southern wife of a businessman who had a son that came back from two years in the army. She was a vapid woman that thought only of herself and wanted Chad, played by Elvis, to follow in his father’s footsteps.

She began her acting career in 1944 as Nancy, the maid, in “Gaslight” and received a supporting actress Academy Awards nomination. She was also in “National Velvet” and “The Picture of Dorian Gray” in the forties.

Television called her in the 1950s with appearances in “Robert Montgomery Present,” “Lux Video Theatre,” “General Electric Theatre,” “Four Star Playhouse,” “The Star and the Story,” “Studio 57,” “Climax,” and “Playhouse 90.” Times were changing in the sixties and Angela was changing with the times.

“The Manchurian Candidate” brought attention to her with another nomination for an Academy Award for supporting actress. She was in “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” “Harlow,” and “The Man From Uncle.” 1971’s “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” was one of my favorite Lansbury movies.

Her portrayal of Miss Marple in “The Mirror Crack’d” and the 1984 TV movie “A Talent for Murder” set the stage for the beginning of her most renowned portrayal of Jessica Fletcher in “Murder She Wrote” which would occupy her until 1996 when the series ended. That wasn’t the last we would see of the character.

Jessica guest starred in “Magnum, P.I.” in 1986. Four “Murder She Wrote” movies brought her to the small screen in the nineties. She was also Mrs. Santa Claus in the title role of the television movie in 1996.

She made appearances as herself in the series “Newhart,” and the movie “About Schmidt” starring Jack Nicholson where she is not credited and is a voice that he hears. Two cameo rolls in shorts called “Mickey’s Audition” and “Your Studio and You” were also made in the nineties.

Voice acting was another area where she excelled. My favorite example of this is the character of Mrs. Potts in “The Beauty and the Beast.” Beginning in 1962 she was on “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,” “The First Christmas”, “The Last Unicorn,” and “Anastasia” among others.

I recently read “The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax” by Dorothy Gillman. In 1999 Angela starred in a TV movie by the same name. Mrs. Pollifax is advised by her doctor to find something like a hobby to help with her boredom after the death of her husband. The premise of these 1960’s novels is excellent. There was no better actress to play this heroine.

One of her last films was “Buttons, A New Musical Film.” It was released in 2018 and she played a guardian angel for two girls. Dick Van Dyke played another angel that was helping her. Buttons were played by Alivia Clark and Abigail Spencer. Kate Winslet and Robert Redford narrate the story.

I have summarized the career of this marvelous talent and know that I may have missed your favorite memory of her. Comment below with what is your favorite performance. Many of you may have seen her in stage performances. If that is one of your favorite remembrances, I want to hear about it. Let us all share our favorite Angela Lansbury role that will keep her memory alive.

Why are you under that car?

August 30, 2022

For years thieves have been taking the catalytic converters from vehicles by crawling under them and using battery-operated saws to cut them off. The money that these crooks receive from the sale of what they take is substantially less than the cost to the victims. It is bad enough when our news media reports these incidents and teaches hundreds of people another way to become criminals.

To add insult to injury they are now teaching us how to steal gasoline from vehicles with locking gas caps or fuel cap covers. They tell us that they are warning us to park our cars and trucks in our garages. As the young people used to say, “Duh.” Is that really needed?

If you had a garage that was clean enough to park in, why would you not already be keeping your wheels there? The best thing that the news could tell us is that if you see someone crawling in or out from under a vehicle, pull out your phone. Take a picture of the car. If you can, photograph the person without putting yourself in danger. Call the police and report it.

Whether it is in your neighborhood, a parking lot, or something your security camera caught, you should report it. The next one who is victimized by these scumbags might be you. I know that you are thinking this is a misdemeanor and little will be done to them, but our legislatures should be changing laws.

The value of a stolen item should not be the criteria to measure the impact of the crime. Any action that disables a vehicle or home or prevents someone from earning a living should be viewed from the point of view of the victims. This means that the actual value of repair is the cost of the crime.

If you drill a hole in my fuel tank and steal five gallons from me, you may cost me a day of work. If I drop a lit cigarette outside my car and it starts a fire, you should be held responsible for my injury or death or the destruction of my home. You did not intend to do this. What did you think the result of spreading gasoline on concrete, asphalt, or a gravel drive would be?

The only way to prevent these criminals from continuing to victimize others is to increase the punishment for their actions. Congressmen and Senators do not punish for the crime. Make the punishment fit the crime. If a potential catastrophe could be prevented by stopping the crime, then make the fine, imprisonment, or punishment as severe as if the worst that could happen, did happen.

Lawmakers, pull your heads out of the sand or wherever you keep them. Make the laws that your constituents need to protect them and their property. You will never solve the problem of violent crimes until you stop petty thefts. That may mean passing a law to put your own families in jail for your family businesses.

Let me elaborate on that last line. Business owners who purchase stolen goods need to be prosecuted more severely. They make money from items they purchase from thieves and should know that someone that returns every ten days with a new supply of the same type of goods is not completely honest.

“What a country.”

March 24, 2022

On Saturday, March 19th the Second Baptist Church in Springfield, MO was the site for a fundraiser to benefit Convoy of Hope and its efforts to aid the citizens of Ukraine. This is not one of those internet campaigns to encourage you to support an organization you have never heard of before. At least, I hope you know what Convoy of Hope is.

They were founded here in Springfield and have had an impact all over the world. Saturday, at least two representatives were at Second Baptist. Sara and Ethan Forhetz National Spokespeople and former KY3 anchors finished the event with information about Convoy’s work in Ukraine. They were not the featured Master and Mistress of ceremonies.

Yakov and Olivia Smirnoff were our hosts for the afternoon. If you do not know the Branson entertainer, comedian, Doctor of Psychology, and former Ukrainian citizen you must have lived under a rock for the last forty years. Yakov came to New York City in the ’70s and became famous as a Russian comedian.

His English was learned after he came here and his most famous line is, “What a country.” If you have driven by his Branson theater, you have seen that on the sign. This was displayed along with the line, “You’ll laugh your Yak off.” After the pandemic hit, it was changed to “You’ll laugh your mask off.”

Smirnoff was a stage name he selected to go along with one of his jokes. He says that when he and his parents got off the plane in New York City he saw a sign that said, “America loves Smirnoff” and he knew he came to the right place.

The audience at the concert Saturday enjoyed these stories and much of what Dr. Smirnoff does now in seminars around the world. He uses his sense of humor to help us understand how we can continue our relationships through laughter and a better understanding of who we and our spouses are.

After the presentation of the Star-Spangled Banner, Olivia rendered the Ukrainian National Anthem beautifully. I had never heard of this song before and did not understand what Olivia and Yakov called it. Apparently, it means “Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished.” This seems to be a most poignant sentiment for these times.

Stories of the family and friends that are in their country and the fact that Mrs. Smirnoff’s parents have arrived safely in Poland were shared with us. Olivia told us that she is not a professional singer and does not appear on stage often. She related how Ukrainian mothers are having difficulty feeding their babies because the stress of the attack makes many women unable to produce breast milk.

Before listening to what was said on Saturday, I already was praying daily for this tragedy to end. My prayers have intensified and I am doing what we were asked to do. We were requested to pray for Putin and the Russian people as well.

In an especially tender moment, Yakov read a letter from a captured Russian pilot. He had written it to his mother to assure her that he was safe. He told of how after bombing the people of Ukraine and going down in his plane he was tended by a Ukrainian doctor and was being treated humanely.

We need to continue our prayers that this war will end and that the Russians will be able to return home as well as the Ukrainian refugees. If you wish to contribute to the relief efforts of Convoy of Hope, you can go to their website at convoyofhope.org. We were told that 93% of the money donated will be used for the Ukrainian relief efforts.

Thirty-Nine and not counting.

August 6, 2021

The Ozark Empire Fair is winding down for the year. For our family, the fair was important for many years. It is kind of a Springfield thing. Thirty-nine years ago, my wife worked a booth at the fairgrounds with a friend of ours from church. That is not unusual. People did that and still do it all the time. The difference for Cindy was that she was pregnant.

She wasn’t in her first, second or even third trimester. She was two weeks past her due date. The following day she had a scheduled appointment at the hospital to have the birth induced. Her thinking was that if working the fair sent her into labor that night, she would not have to go to the trouble of being induced to go into labor.

It did not work. That experience working the fair began a family tradition of working at the fair for over twenty years. The sixth of August is also an important date because of that child that was born the next day. Our daughter Michelle came into the world the way most children do. Discomfort, crying, and anticipation were the order of the day with the birth of a child being the incredible culmination for all of us.

Sixteen years later, the fair was still an important part of Michelle’s life. Her birthday was spent working in concessions at the fairgrounds. Two years earlier she started working there in the summers and Cindy and I wanted to be sure her special day was celebrated. A birthday apron was made. She was pointed out to everyone as the birthday girl in that manner. A cake was decorated and taken to her at work to share with her friends.

She now has children of her own and as a schoolteacher, this is close to the end of their summer vacation. I wanted to be sure that she knows how special she is to her mother and I and felt that calling to our memories the special times we had with her as she grew up was the best way.

Happy birthday, Michelle. Blow out the candles.

Love Mom & Dad

Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

Walk With a Servant

Category: People in my Neighborhood