Roses & raspberries

By: North County Times Opinion staff | Sunday, November 11, 2007 7:43 PM PST ∞

The 'Job Well Done' award

A rose to all of those who have served in our nation's armed services. Some of you spent a few years in the military; others devoted much of your adult lives to defending our nation. In either case, you made a contribution that ensured not only the liberty of your countrymen and women but freedom-seeking people the world over. In the midst of two wars, the demands on our service members ---- and their families ---- are greater than ever. Let's honor those who have served while remembering that those serving now need our support as well.

The 'Insult to Injury' award

A raspberry to the thieves who looted a San Marcos residence during the fire evacuations and then returned earlier this month to take what was left.

The first time, the burglars got jewelry and other small items, including a spare set of keys, from a house on the 800 block of Orion Way. Police believe that those same thieves came back a second time and made off with nearly everything of value, including a washing machine, a couch, lawn chairs, a mattress and a baby crib.

This should be a reminder to all that robberies should be reported immediately. It's also a sad reminder of the depravity that lives side-by-side with honor in North County. After all, who steals a baby crib?

The 'Sign of Our Appreciation' award

A rose to the owners of the Signarama stores in Encinitas, Escondido, Poway and San Marcos for offering free "Welcome Home" signs to the families and friends of service members returning from overseas. The signs can be ordered by phone or e-mail and will be ready for pick-up in 48 hours. The vinyl banners bear the name and rank of the service member, a custom greeting and the insignia of their branch of service set against an American flag. Although intended to coincide with Veterans Day, the free offer will continue indefinitely.

We hope and pray for a day when the signs won't be needed, or certainly so many, because our service men and women will be home for good.

The 'Photographic Memory' award

A rose to the local photographers who are volunteering their services to take new portraits of families who lost their photos and photo albums in the fires. The effort, led by San Diego-based photographer Melissa Schwartz, has been dubbed Project Heirloom and now includes 25 professional shutterbugs. Participating families will receive an 11-by-14-inch photo.

Eventually, Schwartz said she would like to see the pictures put into a book that could be sold to raise money for the families affected by the fires. To get more information on the offer, fire victims should visit www.projectheirloom.com.

The memories gathered over a lifetime and lost to a fire can never be replaced, but Project Heirloom will help fire victims build memories anew.

The 'Public Noosence' award

A raspberry to the person who last month hung a noose on the inside of a boy's bathroom stall at Poway High School. Until the person is caught, it will be impossible to discern exactly what provoked this act, but it can only be ill will of one sort or another.

If it was just a prank, the offender should be familiarized with the long history of racism and violence that made the noose a black man's worse fear. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, public lynchings were common practice throughout the United States, but particularly in the South. The victims were often black men targeted by white mobs for phony offenses. The practice had far more to do with intimidating African Americans than the administration of justice.

We'll probably never know who did it, but this might be a good opportunity for teachers in Poway to educate their students about the long, ugly history behind this symbol.