ICY RECEPTIONS.

This past week, Kansas got hit with one of the worst ice storms in its history. It didn't, of course, even begin to compare to the tsunami that struck southeast Asia or the flooding that inundated Europe. But still, it was a deadly weather phenomenon, knocking out power for over 50,000 Wichitans---my folks included. My husband, John; son, Shane; and I were lucky---we lost our own power for only a couple of hours. But my folks lost theirs for a couple of days and were compelled to come to our own house for warmth. As a result, I wondered how other elderly people (my folks are in their seventies) were faring and what, if anything, was being done to help them.

Fauna and flora suffered, too. Animals froze to death, and so many trees were downed from the weight of the ice that the damage to the region has been estimated to run over $10 million. Our Chinese Pistache tree lost a huge branch, which fell on our roof, and the only reason it didn't cave in our roof was that John's ham-radio antenna broke its fall (the antenna was totally crushed, however). The entire top came off one of our pinoaks and toppled into our pond. Large branches on other trees, such as our rowan, were split, and had to be sawn off for safety. We still have a lot of clean-up to do.

Speaking of icy receptions, Kansas wasn't the only one getting one lately. Jon Stewart's bestselling book AMERICA (THE BOOK) was recently given the cold shoulder by Mississippi county libraries, who banned the satirical textbook for its superimposing the faces of the U.S. Supreme Court justices on naked bodies. Readers are asked to match the nine robe cutouts on the facing page to each justice "to restore their dignity."

Whether or not one agrees with Stewart's own brand of humor, book banning is never a good idea, since, among other things, it means that only a few individuals who stock bookstores, libraries, and other book outlets are making decisions for the public at large about what they can and cannot read. Personally, as an adult, I like to do my own thinking and make my own choices. If a book offends me, I can choose not to buy, read, or otherwise support it, and everyone else is also free to do the same. So, although these librarians may be well intentioned when it comes to Stewart's book, perhaps they ought to be taking a good, hard look at Ray Bradbury's classic and still-chilling FAHRENHEIT 451 instead.