{"id":1893,"date":"2012-05-23T22:00:49","date_gmt":"2012-05-24T02:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=1893"},"modified":"2024-12-03T16:54:46","modified_gmt":"2024-12-03T21:54:46","slug":"just-do-the-best-you-can","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=1893","title":{"rendered":"Do The Best You Can"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Linda Burton posting from Boise, Idaho <\/em>\u2013 \u201cLook at me,\u201d the Capitol Guide said. \u201cI\u2019m old. And your parents will get old. Someday this will be up to you.\u201d He was speaking to a 4th<\/sup>-grade class from Twin Falls, seated in the Chambers of the House; each one perched at a representatives desk; school in session, big time. He waved his pointer stick around the room. \u201cOne of those desks could be yours someday. All these legislators were kids one day, just like you.\u201d The children seemed attentive, perhaps a little doubtful though. The guide continued, \u201cYou need an education. Study everything you can. Read. But do you know the most important thing that you can do? Pay attention to what is going on.\u201d Well gee, I thought, that\u2019s what I\u2019ve always said to kids. Pay attention. Study everything you can. I liked this Guide, a Capitol Volunteer. He wasn\u2019t giving kids the \u201chistory talk,\u201d he was giving them the \u201cfuture walk.\u201d I heard him say as I headed toward the Governor\u2019s Office, \u201cIf you\u2019re not able to go to college, don\u2019t let that stop you. You do the best you can.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Governor Butch Otter\u2019s office is open to the public. Claudia welcomed me, admired my hair. \u201cGo in and look around,\u201d she said, and pointed to the Governor\u2019s Ceremonial Office. I stopped to sign the Guest Book first. Just then the class arrived, filing in with cameras on, snapping pictures right and left and up and down. A different Guide was speaking now, \u201cIf you were Governor, this is where you\u2019d sign new laws, or welcome dignitaries.\u201d The room was long and spacious; dignified, but warm. A heavy wooden desk at one end; at the other, an otter sat atop a chest of drawers, holding tiny flags. The kids seemed most impressed with that.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d come to ask Claudia about the yellow ribbons. Four columns at the building\u2019s front had yellow ribbons tied around, who put them there, and why? \"\"<\/a>\u201cThe Governor and his wife put them there,\u201d she answered, \u201cand they are there because of Bowe Bergdahl. He\u2019s a prisoner of war in Afghanistan, and he\u2019s from Idaho.\u201d She went on to explain that the ribbons also honored all our troops. \u201cWe had ribbons there before, but they were the makeshift kind; these are weatherproof and durable.\u201d After telling me more about Bowe, she told me about the memorial to Idaho\u2019s fallen military; it was across the street on the old Ada County Courthouse lawn. I thanked her for her time and headed for the front door.<\/p>\n

I got pictures of the yellow ribbons on the columns, then crossed the street. The memorial is squarely in front of the courthouse; the name of every Idaho soldier lost in the line of duty in the war on terror engraved; flags and flowers placed beneath. A separate marker held these words: \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

For every\u00a0soldier that died in a foreign land to protect our freedom and liberty, united we shall stand. America and the state of Idaho thank you for all our freedoms.<\/em><\/p>\n

An encampment to my left caught my attention; tents tightly tucked together near the sidewalk, no people were in sight. It was OccupyBoise, a continuation, or offshoot, of the Occupy Wall Street Movement. I got pictures of the signs posted there; one held these words:<\/p>\n

Continued Deficit Spending, Rampant Home Foreclosures, Failing Schools, Excessive CEO Pay, Don\u2019t Represent A Secure Nation. \"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

As I walked back to my car, the children came out front, subdued excitement evident. They were lively but very well-behaved. So many choices ahead of them, I think. \u201cPay attention,\u201d I whisper under my breath, \u201cand do the best you can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Governor Butch Otter http:\/\/gov.idaho.gov\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Yellow Ribbons for Bowe \"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Bowe Robert Bergdahl, born March 28, 1986, in Sun Valley, Idaho, is a United States Army soldier who was captured June 20, 2009, and remains in the captivity of the Taliban-supporting Afghanistan Haqqani network. He is America\u2019s last living prisoner of war.<\/em><\/p>\n

Articles in the New York Times detail recent developments\u00a0with\u00a0his father\u2019s efforts on his behalf and comments by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. \"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/05\/14\/us\/bowe-bergdahls-unlikely-journey-to-life-as-a-taliban-prisoner.html?pagewanted=all<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/05\/11\/world\/asia\/us-trying-to-locate-captured-soldier-pentagon-says.html<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Linda Burton posting from Boise, Idaho \u2013 \u201cLook at me,\u201d the Capitol Guide said. \u201cI\u2019m old. And your parents will get old. Someday this will be up to you.\u201d He was speaking to a 4th-grade class from Twin Falls, seated in the Chambers of the House; each one perched at a representatives desk; school in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4586,482],"tags":[580,577,576,578,579,581],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1893"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1893"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15507,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1893\/revisions\/15507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}