THIS MEMORIAL DAY, PROTECT THE PRIVILEGES OTHERS DIED FOR

What is our No. 1 concern in life? My No. 1 concern in life may be
considerably different from the average normal person's, so we won't
go there, but generally it is personal safety. If that's not No. 1,
I'd have to guess that it would at least be in the top five. With the
Memorial Day holiday upon us, we are honoring all of the brave men and
women who died while serving in the U.S. military.

These folks gave their lives so that all of us can continue to
practice all of the freedoms we as Americans have. Included in these
freedoms is the right to make many life-altering decisions. As many of
you are aware, driving is not a right, but a privilege. Just like when
I was a child, my parents had certain expectations of me and if I did
not mess them up too badly, I was given privileges to things I would
not normally expect but may have wanted.

Once I failed to maintain a certain standard, to keep me on track
those privileges were taken away with the understanding that if I
corrected the problem or demonstrated I was capable of doing or saying
the right things, I was good to go.

I have to believe that a good portion of us grew up with these basic
understandings and now as adults we hopefully can continue doing the
right things -- all the time knowing that should we mess up, we are
subject to some type of rebuke. This may come from receiving a
citation, being arrested, serving a jail or prison sentence or, the
granddaddy of them all, the death penalty. For the most part, the
threat of these happening pretty much keep the vast majority of us on
the straight and narrow.

But it's during these celebrations in which we honor those who have
given their lives that we tend to push the envelope when it comes to
driving when we are impaired. I use the term "impaired" to emphasis
that it is not just alcohol but a plethora of controlled and
uncontrolled substances folks take that lead to this impairment.

Marijuana, regardless if you are taking it for "medical reasons," (and
I know I'm going to catch it from some of the medical marijuana
supporters) is one of these drugs becoming more prevalent when it
comes to DUI.

This being said, I realize that medical marijuana has its place, but
just like any other prescribed medication, the user of these drugs
does not belong behind the wheel of a motor vehicle.

I am and, have been for the past few years, the public information
officer for the AVOID campaign in Shasta and Tehama counties. During
each AVOID campaign I see the results of these law enforcement
agencies and am intimately aware of the effort that goes behind making
these campaigns successful.

A successful campaign is not lots and lots of people getting arrested.
A successful campaign is marked by the opposite, when no one is
arrested, involved in a DUI crash, injured or killed because someone
mixed together the privilege to drive and the right to consume alcohol
or other substances. The latest campaign is May 27 through May 31.

During the past week, I have been very proud to participate in various
community activities, such as robbing the local bank and riding in the
rodeo parade. These are events that happen very seldom in one's life
and sometimes we often fail to realize there are so many positive
things we can and should be doing that really don't require anything
more than just doing the right thing.

Our U.S. military members did the right thing. They stood up for this
country during times when we needed them and they gave the ultimate
sacrifice.

My hope is that during this Memorial Day, we, too, do the right thing
and make the right choices as we pay tribute to those who gave their
lives so we can continue to have so many rights and privileges, of
which one of them is to go out and enjoy the ride.