Auntie Charo's Soapbox

It was a weary day and so I thought I'd get some comic relief by watching the clowns at the public hearing. What a bunch of them we have and they were actually serious when they sat before these lawmakers that know good and well that there's not a damn dime in the register for a postage stamp let alone a state of the art museum for Judi Gutherz' father's Samurai sword that he found in some cave in Agana.
Sure, Podunk Town in the U.S. of A. might sport a museum and there's even one in New Caledonia.....but there ain't any ice cream in hell and for the next eight to ten years, there ain't gonna be no state of the art museum, Sylvia Flores or friend, Tony Palomo or who ever it is that wants one built.
Oh, don't get me wrong, I'd love to have had one built after the days of the old Mrs. Thelma Glenn, when the island still had some of the neat stuff in that little 'mamposteria' building at the Plaza in Agana, but if we can't pay our bills and can't figure out how to educate our children without crashing the government, a museum is a luxury this island can ill afford. How many of us remember the days when Mrs. Rita Teehan brought the plight of the stuff that was at the Agana Library to the t.v. cameras and we all shed crocodile tears...boy, for weeks we wailed and screamed. We were going to save those precious papers and artifacts. Betcha they're either lost or stolen.......then, we weren't as desparate as we are today, then, we might have been able to have housed the artifacts at the old Legislative building across the street from the Agana Cathedral....
We're a dumb bunch of people that come before the elected few, using the biggest words we know, especially since there are cameras that show us on cable t.v.....and we ask for this museum, for our kids, our culture, tradition....but we can't even manage the libraries.
I remember when my daughter was about twelve and she visited the Agana Library for the first time. She felt to important as she filled out that library card application. Her hopes were dashed...she never got the card and we borrowed the books using my name...you see, I didn't ever get a card but was allowed to borrow anyway. I thought then that they could have charged money for the card and actually use the money for new books or whatever it was that the library was always in need of.
Likewise, the museum, would it charge an entry fee to recover expenses for maintenance, etc? Who knows. These days, we only know how to hire and hire and borrow and borrow to get ourselves out of debt instead of thinking how we can actually have our cake and eat it too!
So, dear lawmakers, don't be intimidated by those who make you feel like you're the reason that we won't have a museum if you don't pass whatever bill is out there.....we don't have the money for a dump....right now, dear hearts, that's more important than a place to hang Magellan's picture....or whatever it is that Sylvia thinks will draw awe and attention to the room!
Oh....and to put another $3.00 a day on those poor tourist's hotel bill during these lean times? That may just be the straw that breaks the camel's back....hmmmm, should that be a carabao, instead?
Hmmmmm.....is the Navy still culling the carabao at Fena? Just thought I'd ask.