Free Press – December 13, 2007

Book Club Predictions Sturman Story Nawrocki Correction

Dear Friends,

Good morning. Before I get to the presidential choices from my book club and why they mirror the mood of most Americans, I have a correction from my December fifth column and a fascinating letter from a reader. First the letter.

Marjorie Fulp read my column about the Kringle Shoppe, which attracted hundreds last weekend to the Latvian Lutheran Church in Applebachsville. In the column, I referenced Karina Sturman Rilling’s family, which fled the Russians at the close of World War II. Ms. Fulp asked me to send her the column about the Sturmans, which I wrote in 2001.

“Thank you for the story on the Sturman family,” Ms. Fulp began. “It is fascinating. I have Juris Ukstins’ book and have just started to read it. He also went to school in Haycock and Quakertown. His mother’s brother was sent to Siberia and shot. They had to get out of Latvia fast.

“The Haycock Historical Society had a luncheon with the Latvian Church members in Applebachsville and the minister said that there was a window of 24 hours to get out of Latvia before the Russians took over again.

“A 69 year old Latvian woman at the luncheon remembered the Allies bombing Germany while her family was there [thousands of Latvian refugees fled first to Germany before emigrating to America]. She didn’t want any candy from Americans when they came because of the bombing.”

Thank you for the note, Marjorie Fulp. I also bought Juris Ukstins’ book. By the way, Karina dressed in a festive Latvian dress for the Kringle Shoppe event. She was stunning.

And now to the book club.

Nine of us meet four times each year to discuss a book. One member chooses the book and another hosts the evening, which is preceded by a dinner. One of my fellow rowers is a member who always brings a survey. Among the questions last week, Francis Ballard asked us about the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates.

First, he wondered who the opposing candidates would be next November. Among the Democrats, the choices were: Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Christopher Dodd, John Edwards, Dennis Kucinich, Barrack Obama, Bill Richardson, and “other.” Francis listed the Republican front-runners: Rudolph Guiliani, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, and Mitt Romney.

In the Democrat column, Clinton received four votes; Obama, four and Biden, one. Among the Republicans, Romney got three votes; McCain, three; Guiliani, one and “other,” one.

But when Francis asked the book club who their personal choices were, the results were quite different. Biden received five votes; Obama, three; and Richardson one. Clinton, Dodd, Edwards, and Kucinich got goose eggs. It was just as interesting with the Republican list. McCain received four votes; Huckabee, one; and “other,” two. Just as he book club didn’t like Clinton and Edwards, they felt the same about Guiliani and Romney.

What are the characteristics of the nine book club members? I’d guess that most of them are registered Republican but won’t support the GOP next year. Everyone lived most of their lives in the Philadelphia suburbs. They are between 65 and 85. Curiously, all were Episcopalians except me.

Personally, they liked Democrats Biden and Obama plus Republican McCain. But they thought that the race would be between Clinton or Obama versus Guiliani or Romney. I think that’s how most Americans are looking at the presidential election, 11 months hence. We’re very unsettled these days. It seems that our personal choices change each week.

That’s why I think that the nominations are in for some surprises. Does Governor Rendell’s name surface if the Democrats look hopelessly stalemated? What happens if New York City Mayor Michael Boomberg enters the race as an independent? We’ll have to stay tuned.

And finally to Ed Nawrocki and my column about St. Luke’s Quakertown Hospital (Dec. 5).

First, I wrote that the Upper Perkiomen ambulance corp had gone out of business. It hasn’t and is doing just fine. I apologize for the error.

In addition, Ed thought that my explanation about the pressures caused by malpractice insurance wasn’t up to snuff. He sent an excellent letter to David Anderson, the Free Press Editor. Here it is:

+++++++Dave, you can include Ed’s letter in my column here if you think it works better.+++++

Or, if you choose to print it as a stand-alone letter, end my column with: It appears in today’s issue.

I hope that everyone’s up to speed and we’ll visit again next week.

Sincerely,

Charles Meredith