EDITORIAL - It is my duty as a fair-mined observer of the human condition to set the record straight on behalf of the misunderstood residents of Mt. Lebanon. Some will brand as "harsh" the decision of Mt. Lebanon Borough Council to issue a death warrant for an elderly ice cream vendor whose truck blares music through the ritzy streets of this upscale community.
In fact, the warrant is anything but harsh.
The warrant was issued in response to the complaints of civic-minded Mt. Lebanon residents about music from an ice cream truck belonging to one "Chuck" Greenberger, owner of Chuck's Ice Cream.
Exactly who does this 83-year-old peddler think he is, forcing his frozen confections and horrid music on Mt. Lebanon's distinctive way of life? The people don't want him here, and he knows it.
What is Mr. Greenberger's defense to this? His trucks need to play music, he kvetches, or "the kids ain't gonna know I'm there." He adds: "Laws like this could be the end of the ice cream trucks." On and on he blathers, one twisted assertion cascades upon the next until they collapse on each other to reveal a Rorschach inkblot of serious criminality.
It is unjust to misconstrue the residents' complaints as niggling bellyaching from well-to-do folks who have nothing better to do than to interfere with an elderly man's attempts to eke out a living. You see, Mt. Lebanon has to draw a line in the sand here and now in order to keep interlopers like "Chuck" Greenberger out, or it will be overrun by even more serious criminals.
Perhaps even mass murderers, like, for example, Richard Baumhammers, who went on a killing spree in April 2000 and killed five people. Admittedly this is not a perfect analogy since Baumhammers actually resided in one of Mt. Lebanon's most exclusive neighborhoods at the time of the murders. But you get the point.
