Steve Miller: Looking forward to Bok Kai

We can't wait to see the dragon!

We've been looking forward to this weekend since deciding to come to work at the Appeal-Democrat last November.

When you're about to move to a new place, you start checking out references to your new town. Check out Marysville, and you're going to find plenty of references to the Bok Kai festival.

It's evident from afar that it's a cornerstone of the community's culture. And it sure seems like it's going to be an interesting event — lots of local history, tradition, a parade, the dragon and more. We're ready to watch and learn.

Today's festivities include the big parade starting at 11 a.m. on D Street in Marysville. Check elsewhere for a schedule and route map.

Quilt show should be fun, too

We're planning on starting the day today by checking out the quilts on display at the Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds.

I've had quilts around my whole life. Grandma Wylie took the best parts of scraps of worn out clothes — hundreds of squares and rectangles — and pieced together intricate but utilitarian quilts that kept us kids warm. Grandma Miller did the fancy stuff, all sorts of designs, and produced quilts for all the kids, grandkids and great-grandkids. I've watched my spouse and others piecing together creations; and that is what they are: Creations. If you've never given them much attention, here is an opportunity to get up to speed: The Valley Quilt Guild's 30th annual show is at the Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds, 442 Franklin Ave., Yuba City. It runs from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. today and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. Sounds like it will be a dazzling display of the quilting art with more than 250 creations.

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Sadly, it's still too frequent an occurrence: someone ruins a couple lives — someone else's and his/her own — because of driving drunk.

Ask a court reporter, who has been on the job for a while, what the main cause of grief in the world is, and the answer is sure to be alcohol. It should be amazing that in this day and age, people still think it's OK to drink then drive. It's not amazing because, of course, if you drink just enough, your judgment goes all to heck.

It's St. Patrick's Day weekend. The police know there are bound to be some glasses raised — it's a fine tradition up until the part where revelers get behind the wheel.

Extra patrols are planned around Yuba, Sutter and Colusa counties. If you're having a few glasses of stout, stay out of trouble by staying away from the car keys. Give them up to someone before you start drinking and losing your better judgment.

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It's amazing what real-life heroes you start finding when you look around. I'm not talking about the TV, Hollywood and pop idol type, but the kind like Obie Wickersham. He went through World War II, then the Korean War, spending most of the latter conflict as a prisoner in grueling conditions.

We read his fascinating story in a package last Saturday by Rob Parsons and Ryan McCarthy.

"Being a POW, to me, doesn't make you a hero," he said. A lot of us respectfully think otherwise.

Last week's package kicked off a series the Appeal-Democrat is planning in observance of the 60th anniversary of the July 1953 armistice. We'll present stories from a number of local veterans of what is often referred to as the "Forgotten War." Another installment appears in today's newspaper. Our thanks to all the veterans who take part.

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Before a flight, not long after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, I had to throw away a nice little Swiss Army knife. It was one of the small ones that can go on a key chain. The small blade was really good for tightening the tiny screws in a pair of eyeglasses.

I hated throwing that pocketknife away. But it wasn't worth losing a place in the long, long, slow, slow line at airport security, where you were trying your hardest to look completely unsuspicious.

Did we go overboard with regulations following the attacks? In retrospect, maybe. Still, to this day, airline pilots, workers and management are all against the relaxation of rules proposed by the TSA that would allow passengers to carry pocketknives on flights.

I'm willing to leave it up to the people who fly the plane. What do you all think?