Some things bug her; others don't

After reading the May 31 editor's opinion in the Thousand Oaks Acorn, the last sentence summed it all up for me: "If something's bugging you, share it with other readers."

So that's the point of the letters to the editor? Writing about things that "bug" us? Then I sadly realized that the majority of letters I read as well as those I've written myself have in fact been negative, critical and ofttimes angry letters about things that do bug me. So I guess I'll continue the tradition of complaining about insignificant pet peeves, but I'll also end this letter with all of the countless things which don't bug.

What bugs me: spoiled children with no manners or respect for authority; Hummers; the chronic misuse of the apostrophe; and educated people who don't know the difference between "your" and "you're," "its" and "it's," and "who's" and "whose."

Other things that bug me: the ignorance and intolerably obnoxious nature of Bill O'Reilly and Ann Coulter, young girls who dress like grown women and little boys who act like grown men toward little girls.

And finally, what really bug me are loud, self-absorbed people, gratuitous violence in movies, toxic hydrogenated oils, environmental pollutants, overpopulation, misogyny and the myth that obesity is simply beyond one's control.

But for the poor Acorn editors who may not be used to actually receiving positive letters about things that don't bug us, I'll end this one with a list of things for which I am profoundly grateful: to be the mother of three miraculous children who make me laugh every day and look forward to waking up every morning; to live in a home in a community as safe, beautiful and rich with opportunities as Thousand Oaks; being a public school teacher and knowing that each day that I go into work, I am making a difference in the lives of all of the little people around me; having a family and a group of in-laws who love and support me unconditionally; and most importantly, to be healthy and free living in, unarguably, the greatest country in the world.

So, yes, we write to express what bugs us, but hopefully our letters can equally express all that we are fortunate to have and encounter in our lives as well.
Tina Aschenbrenner
Thousand Oaks