Purse
To the lady who found my purse in a shopping cart at Sam's Club and returned it to the service desk, with no name given, this is the only way to thank you. I truly hope you have a nice holiday.

Bridges
To the uneducated person who made this comment about "there needs to be a bridge where the Ticonderoga ferry is, the Crown Point bridge and at Cumberland Head." There are currently two bridges across lake Champlain: the now-defunct Crown Point bridge and the Rouses Point bridge. The reason there aren't bridges at Ti and Cumberland is the span is too wide to safely support a bridge, hence why the ferries are there.

Passing lane
Why do people have to ride in the passing lane on the Northway? Every day I see vehicles doing this. It is called the "passing lane" for a reason. If you are not passing anyone, then get in the other lane like you are supposed to do. I don't know if this is against the law or not, but if it isn't, it should be.

Flu
In response to the H1N1 comment on Nov. 13th. I take care of myself by eating right, exercising, using hand sanitizer, etc. and I still got the H1N1 flu. It has nothing to do with common sense and taking precautions because I did everything by the book and still got it. The bottom line is if you are around someone that has the flu, then chances are that you are going to get it also, no matter what you do. At least once you get it, you are immune to it and don't have to worry about it anymore.

Pfizer
I am writing about your poll on how long will it take the North Country to recover from the loss of Pfizer. The real answer is never. Yes, life will go on, but we will never recover the loss of the good-paying jobs. Just think how well this area would be if we still had the Air Base, Harris Corporation, Imperial, Bouyea Bakery and the jobs that were lost at GP. Recover, I don't think so.

Plates
If New York state wants everybody to have new plates starting in April 2010, then they should pay for them; we already paid for the plates that we have. This is not Russia yet, but it is getting there. Pretty soon they will try to tell us when to go to the restroom or to eat or go to bed. We better start fighting back and stand up for our rights.

Grandparents
to all the people out there that are raising their grandchildren, hats off to you. It isn't easy; it's like having a second family to raise, sometimes no respect for it.

Good
Hey, everyone, how about for a day we do good? If you are sick, let me help you. If you are lonely, let me stay with you a while. If you feel left out, let me include you. If you have faults, let me forgive you. If you are hurt, let me sit and hear your pain, and if your brother hasn't spent time with you, let me speak to him and encourage him to. If a coach has been unfair to you, let us try to let go of it. Let's do good to each other, people.

Thanks
Giving thanks need not be confined to the 90 seconds prior to carving the turkey on the third Thursday in November.

I challenge all Speakout contributors to include at least one thing to be grateful for.

Ruts
The other day, while traveling on the Shunpike Road in Keeseville, I was terrified. The ruts in that road will pull your car right into the ditch; the bumps in the road bounces your car around to the point where you can't control it. The town needs to do something about this before somebody gets hurt or worse. I know times are tough and it's a seasonal road, but safety should come first.

Hunters
Re "Season" on Oct. 27. You are creative. Hunting is a granted privilege, and you aren't doing the landowner any favor by removing his deer, your personal thoughts to the contrary. Big-game hunters in general are unethical by the fact that they refuse to turn in their careless illegal-hunting compatriots. If I read in the paper of one illegal deer hunter being turned by another deer hunter, I'll apologize for my last statement, but I won't hold my breath till that happens.