Opinion, On The Sreet
What Are Your New Year's Resolutions?
' ' K. - • t,
January l is almost here, and with
New'Year’s Day comes those much
maligned New Year’s resolutions.
Lots of people resolve to do better in
the coming year, but moat of us,
alas, quickly forget our good in
tentions once the holiday season is
past and normalcy returns to our
lives.
The fPost’s wandering reporter
recently stopped at McDonald’s
Cafeteria at 1-85 and Beatties Ford
Rd. to ask people there if they
usually make New Year’s resolu
tions, and if they’re making any this
year.
ANN GRAHAM of October Court,
Charlotte, said she very seldom
makes New Year’s resolutions. This
year, however, is different “I’m
going to stop smokhig cigarettes
because they’re dangerous to your
health, they’re a nasty habit, and
I’ve been wanting to quit for a long
time. I’ve tried before, but not very
diligently."
MARGARET EPPS of Teddington
Drive said, “No, I don’t make them
because I break than.’’
GINA WHITE, a resident of
Oxford Hill Court, responded that
she doesn't usually make resolu
tions, but this time she will. "I’m
going to try to strive more in life and
get closer to God. A lot of good things
havq happened to me this year, in
Ann Graham
.Stop smoking
fact, this past month, and I’m trying
to keep Uiem up.”
WILLIE EPPS, a Teddington
Drive resident, doesn’t make New
Year’s resolutions either. “I don’t
keep any when I make them. I
reckon I’ll just continue to do like I
am now. If you’ve got pretty good
health, you’re in good shape; the
rest comes natural. ”
ARTHUR MILLER of Whiteplains
Gina White
.Strive more
Rd. replied, “Yes, I usually make
them, but I break them. I haven’t
made any yet for the New Year, but
I’ll wind up making some. When
the New Year comes in, everyone is
excited about making resolutions,
but then they drift away. Old habits
take over. The only people good at
keeping resolutions are older people
because they’ve learned more about
life. It takes years to learn to make
good decisions and keep them.’’
Season Alcohol Abuse h Serious Problem
Special To The Poet
Uh-oh. They’re starting to deck
the halls already. Stores across the
nation are loading their shelves with
the tinsel and glitter of the up
coming season. Folks are starting to
plan holiday get-togethers. There’s"
something in the air.
And for the alcoholic who’s still
v „ drinking, it really is the season to be
* rJoiiy.
. Management Claeses
l The Mecklenburg County Agri
cultural Extension Service will of
fer a series of weekly classes in
forest management at 7 p.m. "on
Thursday evenings, January 16
through March 6. The Master Fo
rest Manager program will be pre
sented in the Agricultural Exten
sion Auditorium, Marshall Cen
ter, 700 NorthTryon St.
The program is designed for the
small, non-industrial, private
iandownm* who has limited know
ledge of forest management prac
tices. Participants do not need to
possess expertise in forestry or eco
logy. The program is well suited for
area, Ha owi-iana her? or jn other
counties of states.
The purpose of the program, ac
cording to Tom Martin, the
County’s Urban Forester, is to
teach landowners how to make wise
management decisions to protect
the land and to increase financial
returns.
Topics to be covered include wild
life management, tax and estate
planning, reforestation, hardwood
management, timber marketing,..
and investment analysis.
The- registration fee of $30 will
cover all costs and materials in
cluding two optional one-day field
trips. For registration information,
contact Tom Martin, 336-2561,
Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. - 5
p.m.
4.
Registration Extended
Two additional days of registra
tion have been added for the winter
quarter at Central Piedmont Com
munity College (CPCC).
Final registration will now be”
January 2, 3 and 6 from 9 a.m. - 2
p.m. and 5-8 p.m. on campus or at
CPCC’s learning centers in Pine
ville, Matthews, Cornelius, and
Freedom Mall. Also, the campus
registration center will be open on
Saturday, January 4, from 9 a.m. - 2
p.m.
High school completion, business -
and career training, and liberal arts
all will be offered. Tuition for most
classes is less than $10. Winter
quarter classes begin in January
and continue for 11 weeks. For more
information, call 373-6687
Of the 1,219 community colleges In
the U.S., CPCC recently won re
cognition as one of the too five
community colleges In the nation for
teaching excellence and student
success.- *
Fee Exemption
Beginning Thursday, January J,
you will need to bring two begs of
recycleMes to the County's land
fills for a fee exemption. The cur
rent requirement is one beg.
The County eetoMiabed the re
cyclabteo-ta-Heo-of-fees policy to
encourage participation hi the
County’s recycling program.
The policy allows people driving
automobiles to deposit their solid
waste at the landfill without pay
ing any fee, provided they also
deposit the required amount of re
cyclabies - glass, paper, end
aluminum* \
The exemptions for other ve
hicles will remain the same: three
bags for cars with trailers lees than
10 feet long; three bags for pickup
trucks; and shi bags for pick-up
tracks with trailers lees than 10 feet
long. , .
“From just before Thanksgiv
ing, all the way through Christmas,
right up to the Super Bowl, society
• throws all its rules about accept
able drinking behavior to the
wind,” says James Emmert. “And
for the alcoholic family, this sea
son usually means one disaster
after another.”
Emmert is Executive Director of
Charlotte Treatment Center, an al
coholism and chemical dependency
treatment center.
“We invent more and more oc
casions to^rink and set virtually no
limits. For the alcoholic this means
more experiences of out-of-control
drinking and more incidents of
inappropriate or unacceptable be
havior,” Emmert says.
“And for the spouse it means
threats, anger and countless frus
trating attempts to control the
alcoholic’s drinking.”
According to Emmert, because of
a lack of understanding about the
disease, most people believe al
cholics can use willpower and con
trol their drinking. So when the
drinking behavior gets out of hand,
cesses oTthef^^Tthe
alcoholic spouse demands the al
coholic ‘get it together.’
“Of course, willpower doesn’t
work on the disease of alcoholism
any more than it does on any other
disease. There might be a few vain
attempts, but in the end the al
I ~ “ 1 i j
coholic simply can’t control his or
her drinking,” says Emmert.
“The spouse gets even more
angry. There are threats. Often
bitter arguments ensue. Sometimes
violence. Of course, none of this
makes for a happy holiday season.”
What can be done?
“Threats, pleas, and anger can’t
control drinking any more than they
can control cancer. And attempt
ing to limit the occasions where
liquor is present isn’t going to work
either.”
According to Emmert, the best
action for anyone who's concerned is
to get information about the dis
ease.
"If there’s concern that a drink
ing problem might exist, then a
drinking problem does exist. It won’t
go away by itself, and it will con
tinue to get worse. That’s the nature
of this disease," Emmert explains.
“During the holiday season when
there are bound to be more pro
blems associated with alcoholic
drinking, I urge people to get all the
information they can. It could save
them heartache, pain and suf
.,Apd^t Jpigbt evejya*,^
Information about alcoholism is
available through a number of or
ganizations including the National
Council on Alcoholism and Alcohol
ics Anonymous. Charlotte Treat
ment Center also provides free in
formation.
^ Braces for Children & Aduhs ^
DR. PAUL A. McGILL,
DJJJS..P.A.
Practice Limited To Orthodontics"
-1 CONVENIENT LOCATION
AND SATURDAY HOURS
_' (704) 375-7005
1028 West Fifth St., Charlotte, N.C. 282*2
1 Block from I-I7 Near Irwin Avenue Junior H.S.
_
Freedom Mafl
3205 Freedom Dr.
394-5468
& w*
Tryon Mai
4500 N. Tryon Sc
596-4532
* Total Weight
row way. la bay Catb. Kay Chaff*. Bankcard. bMaraat r>*a Layaway
Willie Epps
.Just continue
Arthur Miller
.Not yet
L p^TJ
This Is Your Paper
Use It
BEFORE THE MASTERPIECE there is a side of a great
* • sculptor few people see. It's those long, time-consuming
hours that go into crafting each and ev£ry feature until it I
pleases his toughest critic... himself. ^ J
This is also the spirit which thrives at Jack Daniel's.
Before we can hope to please you, we first must please j
ourselves. That's why we take the extra time to
charcoal mellow opr whiskey the slow, old Tennessee
way, drop-by-drop.
So when you try our Jack Daniel's whiskey, - .
you'll find that like a great sculptor's finished
piece, our rare, sippin-smooth whiskey
is the best.
. ' ' _