Problem is the jake brake
that keeps people awake

Dear A.M. Costa Rica:

You featured a very interesting article by Dennis Rogers Monday about noise. I’ve lived in the country here for over 12 years and the point that dogs are the greatest threat to neighborhood peace is certainly true for our previous home that was half a mile from the highway.

I have to confess, however, that those dogs were mine. We had no near neighbors, so it was a very local problem but one we readily accepted because they warned us when anyone was near. This was especially welcome at night with no close neighbors. Most, if not all, of the pueblo of Tres Equis also had dogs and were willing to put up with the noise for the same reason. No one would keep a dog that just barked for no reason.

For those people living closer to the highway, I must disagree with Mr. Rogers assessment. The largest threat to neighborhood peace are the trucks that can’t seem to function without continually using their jake brakes. The majority of Costa Rica is mountainous so this isn’t an isolated problem that could have been easily overlooked. At our previous home we often faintly heard this continual racket but from half a mile away it was only a mere annoyance. We are now staying in a friend’s home that is considerably closer to the highway, but still a good 300 meters from it, and it’s often impossible to receive a night’s rest without being disturbed every 15 minutes.

For convenience, the majority of the population in rural areas build their homes as close to the highway as possible and during our entire time living here the noise from trucks has been the most common complaint we’ve heard. Even sitting in a restaurant or bar that is near the highway the noise from these jake brakes often drowns out the obligatory television and radio that always seem to be set at their maximum volume.

I don’t understand how Mr. Rogers could have completed a comprehensive investigation of the noise problem without mentioning this.

Violence is from upbringing
and not result of toy guns

Dear A.M. Costa Rica:

The presumably psuedo-nymic "Olive Branch" argues against her own case against toy weapons when she says, "It's no longer a game of pointing a finger and going 'kapow'."

Children, nasty little savages that they are, have probably pointed fingers, sticks, brooms or anything else available and gone "kapow" since the invention of gunpowder.  Before that, and still today, a stick was a sword, a clod was a projectile, and the first thing one made when it snowed was not a snow "angel" but a snowball.

Half a century ago, when my Sunday school class learned about David and Goliath, our Sunday afternoon was spent making slings and trying to clobber each other with them. I guarantee that those slung stones hurt worse than any cap-gun "kapow" ever did, though not as much as the licking you got from your folks if you actually managed to hit someone. Maybe Sunday school lessons are too violent as well as are T.V., movies, and video games.  The "Romans" in the Easter play always carried toy swords, and they were seldom left sheathed through an entire backstage day.

It's not the toy that makes a child violent.  It is that a child needs to be taught to control his violent proclivities.  This is not the job of the schools. This is the family's job.  Don't blame T.V. and toys if you won't teach your own child how to behave.

As for the good point that criminals might use these realistic toys to rob and terrify, and in the process be shot by police who are convinced that criminal is armed, well, gee, tough cheese.  Oops, sorry, Sonny, ya had it coming.  We know that if you had had a real gun, you would have robbed, terrified, and possibly murdered with that by preference; unless your innocent victim had also had a real gun with which to protect themselves.

An olive branch can indeed promote peace and love in this world.  Apply it firmly to the seat of your kid's trousers when you catch him screwing up.

U.S. law requires toy guns
to have bright orange tip

Dear A.M. Costa Rica:

Why do people insist on not giving out all the information when writing salacious opinion pieces?  When was the last time you saw a REAL gun with a BRIGHT ORANGE tip on it?

The U.S. passed a law years ago requiring all toy guns, realistic or not to have a BRIGHT ORANGE tip on the barrel.
I'd be more concerned about the company that is making plastic ORANGE rings for REAL guns to make the police second guess themselves.