Editor, What kind of world are we living in? What kind of world did you grow up in? I remember an old preacher once told me that God gave us 10 commandments and we have extracted 25,000,000 laws and ordinances from those 10 commandments.
There have been several other lemonade stand incidences this year, all of which garnered very unfavorable national attention. I’ll bet this summer there are 100,000s of lemonade stands across our fair country. One even down the street run by neighbor kids you’ve known all their lives.
The unwelcome publicity this does to beautiful Midway will stick in people’s craws for a long, long time.
It has oft been quoted, “Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life.” Community is about life. Methinks a little more wisdom is called for.
But back to this public scourge. Think about it. No one complained they were being poisoned. Restaurants didn’t claim these girls had an unfair advantage. Neighbors were not up in arms about some violation of a zoning ordinance.
I’m glad to hear the crime rate in beautiful Midway is so low that this is what takes up the officers’ time and sucks up the taxpayers’ dollars. But frankly, Sheriff Andy Taylor never would have even thought about spoiling a kids’ trip to the water park.
In retrospect, I’ll bet you’re feeling it now in the midst of your own little PR disaster. The officers should have risked their own lives by purchasing several cups of lemonade (save your receipts) and consumed them. They could have saved countless lives. Wow, what a way to take a bullet for the community.
And yes, in “The Andy Griffith Show” — “The Merchant of Mayberry” — even little Opie opens a lemonade stand for 2 cents a cup on Crowley’s vacant lot. Geez, Opie, trespassing, selling without the proper permits, no inspection by the USDA and FDA, a non-approved or permitted structure. No food handlers permits, violation of the signage laws? Opie is in for a mess of trouble. I wouldn’t take any chances, best to Tase him and drop him like a wounded water buffalo before cuffing him. Bail should appropriately be set at $100,000 as well as to paying restitution to the officers (those receipts) and court costs after he is found guilty on all charges. Best to nip this in the bud! Lemonade stands are considered gateways into drugs, gambling and prostitution. Yes my friends, trouble with a capital “T” that rhymes with “P” and that stands for — lemonade?

Stu Her
Sisters, Ore.