A worrying experience at the local post office

Editor: I had quite an experience at the local post office.

The line was long and while waiting I was having a pleasant chat with a nice young man when two young women came in with a toddler. This child was yelling so loudly that we could no longer hear each other. Not crying, just running around yelling.

This went on for some time with the mother making no attempt to control the child and finally I put my finger to my lips and with a smile on my face quietly said “shhhhh” to this child. Well, that mother was having none of it. She very loudly, (now we know where the child gets it) demanded that I not shush her child. I suggested that perhaps she could keep the child a little quieter as people were trying to conduct business.

Now her friend took up the call moving to within inches of me and yelling even louder, (didn’t think that was possible, but she showed me), again saying I was not his parent and I was not to shush him. I suggested she keep her voice down or someone might call the police on her and she replied she didn’t care, she would take me outside and settle this now.

Well, I’m pretty scrappy for 60 years old, but I was pretty sure I couldn’t take her, so I just said Merry Christmas and turned away. She was so aggressive I thought for a moment, “am I my being punked?” Is Jerry Springer hiding in the wings? No?

Then, thank goodness that’s over. But, no, it wasn’t over. Another customer informed me as I was leaving that I should be careful, these women were waiting for me outside. Sure enough, there they were, waiting on the sidewalk. I guess they planned to take turns holding the baby while the other one beat down the old lady.

So I had to call the police anyway to be able to safely walk to my car. Next time I go the post office I’m taking my bodyguard. KAREN DILLARD Lodi

Selective memory of Donald Trump

Editor: More than one critic has made barbed comments about Donald Trump. Now Trump himself wonders whether he is “all there.”

A Dec. 10 article published by Business Insider quoted the New York billionaire commenting on a slip of memory: “President-elect Donald Trump made headlines last week for admitting that he forgot a campaign promise. While giving a speech in Indiana, Trump said he forgot he'd promised to save jobs at a United Technologies owned Carrier gas furnace factory. He said he found out about the promise when he saw a Carrier employee speaking about it on TV.”

Turns out that Trump may be afflicted with a condition scientists commonly term “unethical amnesia.”

It is a subconscious effect by which the mind seeks to protect itself from troubling memories. Trump’s unethical behavior has concerned many. His comments about women, attacks on immigrants, general xenophobia, and impulsive behavior are why numerous sources say he is unfit for the nation’s top elected office. Having a scientific explanation for his actions does not precisely make many more comfortable with Trump holding authority over the nation’s nuclear arsenal. If anything, his potential ability to destroy the planet is even more frightening.

While the ultra-wealthy party in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20 after Trump’s inauguration, military commanders should be busy hiding the nuclear launch codes and keys. The horrifying film, “Dr. Strangelove,” about an unstable President who waged war against Russia, might be a case of art becoming reality. LANGE WINCKLER Lodi