Editor, the News-Herald:

I like reading the personal comments by people in our communities, state and country. I concur many times with their points of view concerning the mismanagement of federal, state, and local tax monies.

Many of us have never earned as much as $25,000.00 per year, even though we worked five (5) days a week, 52 weeks a year. Many people just beginning a job in this modern time earn as much as $14.00 per hour.

All of this is admirable, and must be worthy of the companies to pay these amounts to their employees.

Many people are still earning no more than $6 or $7 per hour and some of them have been working for years for these wages. I was one of those employees who was very grateful for an opportunity to work in a job that I truly enjoyed. I wasn’t thinking that other persons were being paid a greater salary than me, even in the same working place and/or semi-professional or professional status.

I guess if there had been a Union in place at some of these work places, that some of us would have been paid a greater salary. Somehow I survived, and paid my bills in a timely manner. Surely, I too had to borrow money to purchase the larger needs i.e. a car, some rather large medical bills, etc. However, I had to do without a lot of things I would liked to have owned, but I did not ever go without the medical care, food, clothing and other miscellaneous needs, because I had good job ethics. I counted it a blessing to have a job I appreciated.

After my husband died in 1982, at the age of 49 years of age, I managed to enroll and attend a nursing school. Even though a severe accident curtailed my schooling, I had managed to become a medical assistant in a private practice.

I held various positions prior to becoming a medical assistant, however, no other positions were as rewarding.

My point that I wish to make is that we are never too old to learn to do something with our time and talents that we are all blessed with.

The only difference is that some of us were taught at a very young age to be honest, trustworthy, responsible, willing to help others, giving of our monies to help those less fortunate.

I am sorry to say that I have become very upset with the waste in our community in resources, due to the fact that children are not taught responsibility and many of the other virtues which help them to become good citizens.

There are some legal/illegal persons coming into this county for the purpose of earning wages to help support their families in the countries of their birth. I have seen the results of some of their labors and their reliability in appearing at the place of their jobs under very poor weather conditions. Weather does not appear to affect the quality of their work.

I must say that I admire ANY worker who is really working to earn their salary. I believe that if they continue to work, they will be very successful in this country.

Too bad some of our fellow citizens feel that the world owes them a living, and they are always complaining about having to work to receive some assistance. I’m sorry, but I do not subscribe to that belief. Many of us would like to sit back and let the world take care of us but only in the way we want.

So at the age of 70, I entered into another endeavor with a husband to operate a hobby shop. Yes, it keeps us healthier and happier, because, a mind is too wonderful to waste in sitting around complaining.

Mary Grace Garner-Atkins

Suffolk