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I don't know about you, but I for one am totally sick of Charlie Sheen and his ramblings over the last couple of weeks. I know that his show has incredibly high ratings, heck, even we watch it sometimes, but he is getting as much coverage as the gulf war did.

Every channel seems to have an "exclusive" with this nut. The eerie part is that he seems to get loonier as the interviews go on. I am not so dumb that I would think some Hollywood celebrities love to party. But this guy is working on limited time. We are watching the demise and probably ultimately the death of a celebrity, and the really odd part of it is he seems to enjoy standing on the edge of the cliff.

I have basically two issues with all the coverage of Mr. Sheen. The first being the most obvious, kids. What exactly are we teaching our children by broadcasting interviews of a celebrity going on and on about his drug use and wicked lifestyle. Granted, most kids will hopefully laugh it off, but if by chance one child decides to change their life because Charlie Sheen did it and he is rich and famous, then that's one child too many. To me, it's like when the news shows how a criminal created a bomb. Why show people how it's done?  So they can try it at home for themselves?

The second issue I have with all these Sheen interviews is more of a personal issue. What if he (Sheen) ends up dying as a direct result from his lifestyle? Here we sit in front of our televisions watching a human slowly take his life. It's not like there's anything I can do about it, but it is kind of morbid if you think about it.

My apologies if part of my column last week seemed choppy. The beginning of the paragraph where I am writing about the Community Guide got cut off for some reason. It just started in mid-sentence. Obviously it was the computer's fault and not mine (I am joking of course). Either way, I hope you had a chance to look at the guide. Please keep it in a readily accessible place, because it can be used throughout the year. It is a great resource for people outside of the area as well. Maybe you know of someone who is thinking about re-locating to the Chisago Lakes area, what a great idea to mail a guide to them so they can see all the wonderful things our area has to offer. We do have extras here at the Press if you would like another one.

March is Minnesota Food Share Month. Minnesota has over 300 food shelves and they all are in need of replenishing. If you have ever driven by the food shelf in Lindstrom, you will always see cars parked outside. The need for donations has never been greater than now. With so many people losing their jobs, people are, and understandably so, paying their rent and mortgage first and feeding themselves and their families second. If you can manage to spare some non-perishable food items, whether it is a can of beans or even a dollar, it will all be appreciated. The food shelf is located on First Avenue in Lindstrom (behind the coffee pot water tower.) Thank you for giving.

Our son just completed his fifth grade traveling basketball season. When you're a parent whose child plays for someone other than yourself, you never quite know what to expect from the new coach. We were in that situation this season. Well those questions were squashed when we saw how the team responded and played their hearts out for our coach. Thanks to Rob Mohr for being a great basketball coach and mentor. It is unbelieveable to watch these kids and how they change from one year to another. Thanks to all of the other coaches who gave their valuable time to spend time with ours. I have said it a million times, our area has some of the greatest volunteers in the state.

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