Letters to the editor

Not all seniors are bad drivers

You can't lump all old people into one bag ("Seniors' competency behind the wheel a judgment call," View, Jan. 17). Just because one old person or even a hundred old people throughout the country causes an accident doesn't mean all old people are unsafe drivers. The Department of Transportation needs to put out statistics of who causes the most accidents. Is it old folks? Is it teenagers? Is it young adults?

I am 73 years old. I started driving when I was 15. I have never had an accident. I have owned 10 different cars. When I was in the Army, I drove four different vehicles. I have driven on 18 wheels.

Right now, I own a 1978 Cadillac Eldorado. I do all the maintenance on it.

When I am driving, I am watching everything around me. I look at the tail lights of the car in front of me. I look at the cars on both sides of me. I look in the rearview mirror. This is constant. I look at cars parked on the street. I don't want someone not paying attention opening a door or pulling into traffic.

I don't want anything happening to my car. It is my baby, my pet, and I don't want anything happening to me.

I have never been sick in my life. I am not sick now, and I am not going to get sick because I know how to live, just like I know how to drive. I am relaxed when I drive. I don't have a death grip on the steering wheel like you might think an old person does.

I am like thousands of other old people. We don't need to be lumped into a whole group of bad drivers.

Paul Hazelwood

Las Vegas

Dog owners need to clean up after their pets

I recently relocated to Las Vegas from Queens, N.Y. I have fallen in love with this beautiful city but am very distressed by the amount of dog feces on sidewalks and next to the sidewalks. This was something that was rarely seen in New York as the pooper scooper laws were strictly enforced. The residents of this beautiful city should care more about their city and the unsanitary and unsightly conditions they are creating.

Maria Young

Las Vegas

Reader shares act of kindness

I had an experience yesterday that seemed so unique. ... It was lunch time, and I was out running errands and decided to stop in at a little place called The Cracked Egg, located on Cheyenne Avenue, west of Tenaya Way.

As I enjoyed my food in this very crowded place, I noticed an elderly lady who could barely walk make her way to the counter to pay her check. Then I heard the young woman who took care of the cash register inquire, "Would you like me to help you out to your car?" "Oh, that would be so kind," replied the woman, who then waited a few minutes until the younger woman was free. Then I watched as the young woman offered her arm and a waitress opened the door for the pair to make their way across the parking lot.

Later, when I paid my bill, I mentioned what I had seen and heard and how impressed I was at the kindness. The young woman said, "Oh, we have so many regulars who come in. ... They seem like family." Perhaps this is not unusual, but I certainly have never seen it before, and as you know, we are a huge city here. In a day and age when there is so few kindnesses and personal touches, it seemed remarkable and worth mentioning.

Raynette Eitel

Summerlin