For What it’s Worth: Warren Hecht

Many people could not understand how Donald Trump was able to rise from the pack and become president. He used the “politics of fear” to become president.

It has been many years since I have been in Congress to lobby. With all the craziness going on caused by a few Democratic Party members of the House of Representatives, I decided that this year would be different. I went with 1,100 other individuals in the New York/New Jersey region (through NORPAC) to advocate on behalf of continued United States support for Israel. The last time I was in Washington, DC, none of the legislative aides whom I saw were alive.

On June 18, the office of special counsel, which has nothing to do with Special Counsel Robert Mueller, sent a copy of its May 30 report recommending that Kellyanne Conway be terminated for repeated violations of the Hatch Act. Not surprisingly, the president rejected the request.

After I wrote about the demise of my guinea pig, I received a note from the veterinarian. It was addressed to “The Hecht Family.” On the cover of the card was a picture of a guinea pig in a hand surrounded by pictures of other guinea pigs. On the back of the card it had the company’s name and said it was designed in memory of “Pig.” It therefore seems to be the company’s normal procedure to send a condolence card when a pet dies. Whether or not it is their normal procedure, I was very impressed. I only saw the vet one time – a week earlier – and they took the time to send a card.

There are many problems that are out there that need solutions. Like most problems, the problem is easier to diagnose than it is to find a solution. Therefore, when there are problems people like to search for easy solutions, and part of the solution is putting the blame on one group.

I am writing this column while sitting in my dining room facing a cage that is empty for the first Sunday in over five years. If someone told me six years ago that I would be writing a column about a pet guinea pig, I would have thought that they were crazy. When I was growing up, the only pet I had were fish. I had a fish tank for a few years and stopped because I was not interested. Then when my kids were younger we had three hamsters. There was more interaction than with the fish. However, hamsters are nocturnal, live a short time and are not very sociable.