ANNIVERSARIES, THE FARIS BOYS,
PARKING VIOLATIONS?

A very proud father of two sons with several tours of duty in Iraq told me a story about his sons who were not together in Iraq and had not seen each other in four years but both arrived in Kuwait within days of one another on the return trip home from Iraq.

This is something you might see in a movie scene or TV commercial. Dad tells me that his sons were walking toward each other with full uniform, etc. when they realized that both were wearing a shirt with their last name.

Dad says there were a lot of hugs…… and yes, some tears.

I know both of these soldiers. God Bless these young men for sacrificing time away from their wives and children fighting a war in another land so my grandchildren are safe in our country.

Both Erik Faris and his brother Seth Faris are graduates of Laconia High School – and played some pretty good football too! My friends, George and Eva Faris, are the proud parents. How can we ever thank all of our military and their loved ones enough?

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Anniversaries: My first column for this great weekly was Dec. 8, 1993 and as the calendar shows this year my first column for the 13th year was Dec. 8, 2005.

This Saturday, Jan. 28, will be the first program of my 10th year for the radio Advocates.

For many years Ken Merrifield and Tony Giunta have joined me on this occasion, and with them this year will be two more members of “The Round Counter” (coined by Ken Merrifield) Ken Gorrell and Skip Murphy as we begin another year at WEZS 1350AM and streamed via the internet www.wezs.com/advocates from 8:05-11 each Saturday.

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Betty and I had not been to south Nashua in many years. Recently, while traveling to watch grandson Owen Niel play in a hockey tournament at the Conway Arena we took a few minutes to visit Pheasant Lane Mall.

I made the mistake of staying on the D W Highway rather than go down to Exit 1 (Everett Turnpike). We moved at a very slow pace, but it gave us a chance to count the number of vehicles with Massachusetts plates – four out of five, as I recall. My bet is that not all these folks live in Tyngsboro just over the state line. In the summer, usually just before the start of a new school year, the parking lots at Exit 20 (I-93) are filled, and many with Massachusetts registration plates. I suspect that it may have something to do with one part of the “NH Advantage,” NO SALES TAX!

Jeff Jacoby of The Boston Globe and Townhall.com has another theory of why they were in NH, and other New England states.

With two Round Counter members moving to NH from that state we will make this story one of our topics this Saturday.

Another topic will be the John Stossel ABC Special “Stupid In America: How We Cheat Our Kids.”

To help you get fired up for this discussion here are some excerpts from Chuck Muth: “I won’t go into the details and content of Stossel’s actual report here. Rather, I’m suggesting that education patriots who have long supported a break from the public school monopoly may now have a modern-day version of Common Sense with which to finally turn around the majority of public opinion. Stupid in America needs to be distributed far and wide. Every elected legislator in the country ought to watch it, as should every concerned parent and taxpayer. The case for complete and total education independence will no longer be arguable after watching this report by anyone but blind loyalists of the current system.

“It’s time to choose sides. To spit or get off the pot. No more fence-sitting. You’re either with us or against us. You’re either for total freedom, choice and independence from the government school monopoly or you’re an education “Loyalist,” deserving of disdain and derision. And that especially goes for our modern - day Lobsterbacks, the teachers union.

“These militant foot soldiers of the status quo, as exposed in Stossel’s report, will stoop to any level in defending their monopoly control over our kids’ lackluster education - and they are 100% committed to crushing anyone who dares threaten their power. It’s time to strip away the Suzy Sunshine face they portray in public and expose them for what they and their agenda really and truly are: Anti-education. Or at least, anti-education excellence. These people are Masters of Mediocrity. At best.”

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It was Wednesday Jan. 18 and I was called to deliver a package to the Secretary of State Corporate Division office in the Annex on the corner of Capitol and State Street in Concord.

As luck would have it, the NH House and Senate are back in session, and this was the day the governor would give his “state of the state” message.

Parking on Capitol was not to be found; so, here he next to last parking space at the end of School Street, almost on Main.

On the parking meter there is a message that instructs one not to use the space all day by way of refilling with the appropriate coins. This is understandable; lots of commerce going on in downtown Concord, the state capitol.

So, I insert quarter and take the long walk to the third floor of the Annex.

It was necessary to see two people to complete the transaction which took longer than I expected, because the folks helping can only estimate how much longer one will have to wait.

Okay, let’s get to the point!

If NINE state legislators had not parked illegally on Capitol Street there may have been a spot to park closer to the building making it possible to run out to insert another coin in the meter.

During my first term in the NH House (’75-76) the new parking garage for members of the House was built.

On “session days” there are parking meters covered by a yellow slip-on which is for those who are physically unable to walk from the parking garage about 150 yards away from the state house. This is understandable.

What is not understandable is that some lawmakers think it’s okay to occupy parking spaces that do not have the yellow cover, not put money in the meter, and remain in that space for – in this case – EIGHT HOURS!

How do I know this? In the courier business we may visit a location more than once during a day.

My second trip to Concord (4:30 pm) was to a Capitol Street location, and all NINE of the same legislators were still parking illegally, for free, and no parking ticket!

Now, this story is not over. While checking my little book, “Rosters of the 2005-2006 House of Representatives and Senate,” I found the plate numbers and names and political party of each of the NINE.

The offenders who will not be paying a parking fine – as I am – are made up of 3 Republicans and 6 Democrats.

Those NINE who felt they were entitled to take those parking spaces away from “Joe Citizen” and other good folks who also have important business in Concord should be revealed to their constituents, because one of those constituents may have had the need to park on Capitol Street that day.

Haven’t decided yet if the names of those NINE will be part of my next column; however, I will be announcing them during my radio program this Saturday between 8:05 and 11am at 1350AM and streamed to “western NH,” Nashua, Manchester, as well as the world at www.wezs.com/advocates.

BTW, with the plate numbers written down from my 11:45 experience, my wife Betty was with me the second time through – so I have a witness.

To be fair, the one from Manchester left just before 4:30.