From readers

ADOPTING A HIGHWAY

Rave: A reader writes: “It was about 3 in the afternoon on Saturday, June 21. My two sons and I were on our way to the Savage Cub Foods to pick up a few items. While waiting for a red light at the intersection of 27 and 42, I noticed several small real estate magazines blowing all over on the side of the road.  I am a person who doesn’t like to see even a small amount of garbage on our roadsides, sidewalks, parks, etc. So seeing that was disturbing. With a plan in mind, I quickly made my visit to Cub, grabbing a few extra bags before I left the store. Sure enough, the 100 or more magazines were still there when I drove back to the intersection. After pulling over to the side of the road and turning on my hazards, I got out and got to work. I was there for less than two minutes when a kind lady pulled over to see if there was a problem. After a slight concern about the traffic, she soon saw what my mission was and helped me pick up all that we could safely get. With Monica’s help, we accomplished our goal in less than 10 minutes. Thanks again, Monica, for your help. Minnesota is absolutely a beautiful state. That’s why I do my part to help keep it that way.”

From staff

PLASTIC À LA MODE

Rant: Is plastic a new food pyramid requirement? In the last two weeks, I’ve found plastic in a pound of ground beef and a bag of dog food. Two weeks ago, I bought some beef, cooked it up and noticed bits of black plastic. It was as though someone shredded a garbage bag and then ground it up with the beef. Tasty! This week, I found several pieces of sharp, blue plastic in the rather expensive bag of dog food I purchased. At least in that case, the company took my complaint seriously and actually is going to investigate where the foreign objects came from. I realize mistakes happen, but is it really too much to ask to not have to sift through my (or the dog’s) food before consuming it? – Lori Carlson

LET’S GO CRAZY

Rave: I’m not an advocate for using violence to solve problems, but I couldn’t help but giggle at the vision of Matthew McConaughey’s surfer friends ganging up on the paparazzi recently. I’m not a McConaughey fan (he can keep his shirt on, thanks), but I think the paparazzi often goes too far. Even the zen-like Chris Martin of Coldplay busted out some karate moves on a member of the “stalkerazzi” not so long ago. If I were being stalked by people with cameras 24 hours a day, I couldn’t promise that I wouldn’t grab an umbrella a la Britney and go nuts, too. – Lori Carlson

DON’T LOOK UP

Rant: Oh, poop! I washed my car only to have it rain an hour later, and then a bird dropped a big one on it right after the rain let up. Talk about bad karma. I even checked the weather report first before heading to the wash. So, I apologize to everyone for summoning the rain (and birds) again by washing my car. – Joanna Miller

GIDDYUP

Rave: Dollar night at Canterbury Park offers fun entertainment at a great price on Thursdays during the summer. The dollar night admission is a steal, the dollar hotdogs were actually pretty high quality compared to some I’ve had at the Metrodome, tap beer was $2.50 and race bets don’t have to be high (I think there’s a $2 minimum). All in all, I spent about $15 for a night at the races after a “big” win on one of three bets I placed (a $5 bet on a horse to show). – Joanna Miller

SIMPLY GREAT

Rave: Here’s to the Fresno State Bulldogs, the lowest seed to ever reach the NCAA World Series, let alone win the tournament. I started watching the NCAA World Series last week after Fresno State beat the University of North Carolina in two back-to-back games. This week, the Bulldogs faced and beat the University of Georgia Bulldogs in the championship round. This team simply got hot at the right time. After blowing a three-run lead in the first of a three-game series in the ninth inning, the Bulldogs came back to score 19 runs in game two and close the series out with a 6-1 win in game three of the championship. I think college baseball has it right when it comes down to the way the tournament is run. I love the double-elimination format with a three-game series to decide the champion. This was simply great baseball. – Shawn Hogendorf

HE’S WATCHING US

Rant: This is a case where I don’t know which of two things to rant about. Here’s the story: a Nevada woman was arrested after cameras on a Phoenix freeway captured images of the woman speeding 22 times in 45 days starting in May. The top speed the woman was caught driving was 92 mph. OK, so there’s no question this woman should slow down, but I can’t resist ranting about Big Brother in this situation, either. I have never been a fan of the idea of cameras that can result in speeding tickets. I believe this goes against the idea of innocent until proven guilty, but that’s just my opinion. If I am going to be tagged for speeding, I would prefer the brief interaction with law enforcement to the “eye” of technology. – Shawn Hogendorf 

Do you have a rant or a rave? Send us your musings:

E-mail: rantsandraves@swpub.com

Address: Prior Lake American, Attn: Rants and Raves, P.O. Box 538, Prior Lake, MN, 55372

Guidelines: Reader rants and raves must be no more than 100 words. The deadline is noon each Wednesday.

Rants and raves that are potentially libelous will not be printed or will be edited.

Submissions will not be refused because staff disagrees with their content. Anonymous submissions are acceptable; however, including a contact name and/or phone number is helpful for staff, who may have questions about the submission.

Rants and raves may be edited as space requires. All publication decisions will be made by the editor.