I began laughing when reading Diane Zimmerman’s closing remarks about taking back California from the “’communist’ party” (letters, May 16). I laughed because my daughter and son-in-law are in Tennessee attending a wedding, and they told me that folks back there refer to our state as “Commie-fornia.” It would seem that to most of the rest of the country (outside of looney bins like New York and Illinois) Californians basically suck, having the “fifth biggest economy in the world” being negated by the paradoxical facts that we also have the most homelessness and run the state on deficits. They might even like this idea of “New California State,” especially if we were physically moved to a different continent. The majority of Americans really do see us as a bunch of crazies.
By the way, if anyone’s annoyed by pedestrians not looking both ways before crossing your path, you might try leaning on that device in the middle of your steering wheel — it’s called a horn. It’s phenomenally effective at getting people’s attention. And the reactions you’ll get — priceless!
Arthur Saginian
Santa Clarita
