Category: People in my Neighborhood

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.

©Copyright 2022 by Charles Kensinger

“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.

©Copyright 2022 by Charles Kensinger

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

©Copyright 2021 by Charles Kensinger