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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Letter writers seek hope -- and suggest answers

By: Gordon Sinclair Jr.

3/12/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 6

STORIES FROM THE HEART OF THE CITY... It always happens around Christmas. Santa's mailbag gets heavier and so, coincidentally, does mine.

Except the people who write to me aren't looking for gifts. They're searching for help, hope and an answer to it all. So today I bring you three letters and three stories on those themes, including an unexpected bonus.

An answer.

 

"ö "ö "ö

THE TRAFFIC TICKET...

Dear Mr. Sinclair,

I need help.

I have been on CPP Disability for quite a number of years. I receive $581.42 TOTAL income monthly. No prescription help, no housing benefits, no extras of any kind. I have a severe mental disability diagnosis of bipolar and borderline personality disorders.

Leaving Winnipeg Harvest food bank on Thursday, Nov. 26, at 9:56 a.m. and travelling to a psychiatric appointment, I made an error and turned down Donald Street from Portage Avenue.

I live in the country. Not being that familiar with all the specifics of turning off Portage and, it being rush-hour traffic with a huge truck in front of me, I missed the no-turning sign.

A police officer standing in the middle of the street waved me over and ticketed me $190.80. Those are the most expensive free groceries I ever got.

I had to sit for a while before continuing to my appointment because I was crying so hard I couldn't drive. I really don't have a clue how I will ever pay this ticket, plus, if I don't pay by their deadline, I will incur an additional charge of $50 as a default penalty, totalling $240.80.

What can I do?

I realize that this letter may never do me any good, but I have been able to get it off my chest. Thank you.

---- Joanie

"ö "ö "ö

 

THE STOLEN BICYCLE...

Dear Mr. Sinclair,

My oldest son just called from his work that someone stole his bike. This happened between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 28 in front of a very busy Wal-Mart on Ellice Avenue. This is a bad time for this to happen to my son, because my husband is out of work (looking for a Class 1 driving position but, since he does not have any experience, there is no work), and I just was laid off. The bike was my son's transportation to work. In the past, no matter where we lived or how careful we lock up our bikes, some (blank) either vandalizes the bike, flattens tires, steals the seat.

What can a person do?

Sorry, but like I said, this is a really bad time in our lives for this to happen to my son. Thank you for your time.

-- Susan Green

 

"ö "ö "ö

THE GIFT...

Dear Mr. Sinclair:

I was at the Zellers on Henderson Highway Saturday for their Moonlight Madness sale. My mother and I had gone there to get two Nintendo Ds that were on sale at 9 p.m. There were only 15 on sale but, after hundreds of people showed up, the saleslady ended up handing out tickets and pulling an additional 30 off the shelves.

One lady and her little boy -- who had been wandering the store for hours waiting for the sale to start -- came back to discover tickets were given out and they did not receive one.

The little boy was devastated.

He had been saving his money.

Then a man -- who also waited almost three hours for the sale to start -- gave his ticket to the little boy.

I went to the saleslady and explained what the man had done. She had one more ticket that someone had dropped and not claimed. She gave it to the man.

I know you cannot judge a book by its cover, but he did not look like he was a man of means. I can tell you that not only myself, but others in line, felt very guilty for not offering our tickets.

In all of the hardships and negativity we face in our everyday lives, if just once a year we all did something completely unselfish the world would be a better place.

-- Sheri Borgfjord

 

"ö "ö "ö

THE POSTSCRIPT...

Since she asked, I advised Joanie, the woman who wept after being ticketed, to plead guilty with an explanation. This is one wrong turn that deserves a good turn from a magistrate.

Meanwhile, there also was some hope on the horizon for Susan, the mother whose son had his bike stolen. The bike hasn't been found, but Wednesday morning she was off to write a test for a job at Revenue Canada.

Finally, there's the promised bonus.

The answer.

Actually, it was supplied by Sheri and the man at Zellers.

Try a little unselfishness and some compassion and understanding, too.

Help someone hope.

As Sheri suggested, it can do you a world of good.

gordon.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 3, 2009 B1

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6 Commentscomment icon

Thank you, Gordon, for sharing these stories. Unfortunately, I'm saddened by the lack of compassion shown in the first two comments. Mistakes happen, and quite often the first offense of that nature is, as you pointed out, overlooked by the judge. I'm glad that it is, too.

The real question there is why we cannot turn at that intersection. There are many intersections in Winnipeg like that, and I have to wonder why.

As foe the two people whop made those sad comments, perhaps they are happy that the province dropped the best slogan we have ever had: Friendly Manitoba.

give a man a fish he eats for a day teach a man to fish he can eat everyday . print one letter where donations are handed in and watch the letters climb and climb . i agree in helping our fellow man but there seems to be such a surge in letters of people looking for replacement of THINGS. where has our dignity gone our self suffiecent , our strength in helping our selves in working hard or harder for what we have . ask someone who has been through the dirty 30's . they made due and survived the now generation seems not to want to tough it out .or learn to help them selves . i just dunno anymore saddens me

the love shown on here is amazing......and not in a good way!

I missed that no right turn sign once as I mistakeningly followed a car turning ahead of me instead of checking the signs, and both the car ahead of me and I got ticketed, but I paid the fine as I admit I made a costly mistake.

Joanie doesn't say whether it was her car she was driving, or whether she borrowed someone else's car, but if it is hers I wonder how someone who lives on $581.42 total income monthly can afford the upkeep of a car.

What the heck...ignorance is not an excuse for breaking the law. Joanie should be except from traffic tickets because she's from the country and she has mental problems? I don't think so! Maybe the better fix is to take away her license and keep the rest of us safe. Sinclair, please think before you publish these crazy letters.

So Joanie can clearly afford a car yet nothing else? Maybe she should get her eyes checked for the no right turn sign posted at Portage and Donald. It's pretty hard to miss.

Take take the bus if you don't like it.

Spare us your sob stories, everyone has a duty to pay attention when driving, tell it to the judge.

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