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THE NEWS-JOURNAL Kacford. N.C. July 26,2000 Viewpoints If the peach picking doesn’t kill you, the stairs will When people who knou me come In the orehard, they notice how dirty I am fri>m the morning's work. They sa\, had better slow down." I could tell them I ha\ e already slowed down. I don't walk nearly as fast as I once did. Neither do I get as excited as I did in my earlier days. Although at times I do get impatient. We — and w hen 1 say we, I mean m\ brother Corbett and my grandson — begi n w ork at 6 a. m.. Si nee I am t he head picker, I must show up. All of our customers are real fine folks. Irvery so often, we get a new' customer who doesn't realize that we close at 6 p.m.; twelve hours is enough fi>r two men who have a combined age r>f 143. One of those new custom ers showed up last week at two min utes until 6. To add to my frustration shecouldn’tdecide howmany peaches she wanted. We didn't have any on the stand, and I, being the head picker, had to go to the orchard to fill her order. Finally 1 said, "Lady, make up your mind." That is not exactly the way to make folks rush back to see you. She was nice about it and seemed to understand that I had a hard day. To make maters worse, she had several children. Now, no one loves children more than me, but it is hard to love them when they are chasing the goats, tempting the electric fence tiround the animals, climbing trees, and jumpingon top of the peach stand, when I arrived back with the peaches, Corbett looked like a man w'ho had been on a three-week drunk. 1 asked, “Brother, what is troubling you?" He replied, “These children are driving me crazy." Corbett loves children, but he had rather for them to be seen and not heard. I keep telling him that this is a new day, the children now are telling the parents what to do. My youngest granddaughter starts giving me advice at times. 1 always ask her to subtract 12 from 73. She comes up with the right answer, then I say, “Do you think there is a slim possibility that, since 1 am 61 years older than you, just maybe I know a little more?" Usually that does the trick. 1 know children are smarter today than when I was a boy, but that doesn’t mean they should be giving orders to parents. Which reminds me of the old man and the young woman. It seems there was an old fellow in a mountain com munity. His name was Leo and Leo was a good friend of h is nearest neigh bor. Leo’s first wife died when he was 86 years old, and when he was 90 he fell in love with an 18-year-old. His friend became extremely worried about him. He tried to give him some good advice by saying, “Leo, you know when an old man marries a young woman, it can get him all ex cited; in fact it has been known to kill some folks." I-eo thought about that for a while and said, “Well, if she dies, she dies." Searching for splendid isolation Figure Eight Island, North Caro lina. It is Friday morning. This quiet barrier island beach should provide a splendid isolation for the lucky people who own a waterfront home here. Their island community is private. You can' t drive across the drawbridge that connects their island to the main land without a pass. No one comes on the island without registering at the gate. Their miles-long unbroken beach is almost deserted this beautiful morn ing. This beach struggles against the advancing ocean that pushes against and over the low sand dunes at the borders of oceanfront lots. Someday the beach will lose and it will be gone. But not today. Running down the beach from north to south, 1 see a beautiful solid black conch shell that washed up last night, waiting for the few morning walkers who will shortly have this beach and its unclaimed seashells to themselves. At the south side of the island, the same forces that take sand from the beach near the oceanfront lots have re-deposited enough sand to build up a large, new undeveloped landmass. It is gradually growing southward to ward Wrightsville Beach. All kinds of birds have set up nests in this empty space. 1 want to run along the beach all the way to the very end and look across Mason Inlet to the north end of Wrightsville Beach. From there 1 think I could see how the powerful water is eating away the land under the seem ingly doomed Shell Island condo minium towers. But, as I run along the beach beside the nesting area, an alarm goes up among the birds. First one small bird flies up from the nests and goes over me, then circles, squawks, and drops down tow ard me at high speed, break ing its fall just before it reaches me, and going up again. I am not concerned. It is just one crazy bird-and he can’t really want to pick a fight with me. Then, there are two birds doing the same thing together. 1 break my trot to a slow walk. Surely this is just a warning for me not to go into the nesting area. I will just stay on the beach and not bother them. Quickly, there are four up tibove me in a sort of formation, breaking out. one by one, they drop, each one swooshing by me closer than the one before. I have stopped trying to figure out what this is and have turned around and started to walk noithward. I am not going toshow any panic that might encourage them. But now there :ire eight birds circling and rising up to the sky above me, and suddenly I am One on One D. G. Martin running, waving my arms, and shout ing at them to go away. The formation makes one more pass and then breaks up. A single bird follows me up the beach. U drops and sails by once or twice to let me know what will hap pen if I come back. I run back up the beach leaving the birds to the isolated territory they have claimed and protected. Along another road there is no “splendid isolation.” Just a few hun dred yards from the nesting area where the birds reign supreme, there is Man hattan-1 ike traffic mov i ng up and down the island. On the few remaining va cant lots, new houses are going up. Construction equipment-bulldozers, pile drivers, and small cranes move into place and start their symphony of unmuffled engines and pounding machines. Construction workers seem to be everywhere. They are building, not simple beach cottages, but gigan tic, imposing palaces. Service trucks of one kind or an other— roofing, lawn service, plumb ing, and cable TV — arc parked in driveways of most of the existing houses. Trucks full of lumber, bricks, dirt, plants, and workers, unload, move out, and come back later with more. Yard workers are bringing in rolls of pre-grown beautiful green grass to replace la.st season’s sod that is now turning slightly brown. They tend to the flowers and plants that have turned this barrier island and its rough, tough vegetation into a series of beautiful formal gardens. There arc, I am sure, more workers than vacationers on this island today. It is no lunger what the splendidly isolated place it might have been. I ask myself what has happened and why. The people who own property here are active and successful. They have high energy levels. They are used to being in command and getting things done. They are competitive. Maybe they just can't leave it all behind. Even when they say they crave a place of "quiet isolation,” they can’t resist their competitive drive to take control, to manage, and to “improve.” Maybe the only places for “splen did isolation" will be areas like the south end of this island where the vigilant birds drive out creatures like you and me, who look for isolation and then finding it, set about tochange it — and destroy it. Letter to Editor Deadline, Monday Noon A View from the Country Raz Autry They lived together for about six months. I ovemaking began to get to Leo. 1 le started feel ing terrible and he went to the doctor. The doctor, after examining him, said, “Leo, now you are going to have to cut out having so much fun. If you don’t, it could be the end of you." So Leo went home and told his wife about the conversation he had with the doctor. He said, “I ’ll take the upstairs bedroom and you take the downstairs." So they lived like that for three months. And in the middle of the night one night, when old Leo started downstairs he met his wife on the way upstairs. She asked, “What are you doing coming down the stairs?” I lcsaid,“l am coming down to die. Why are you coming up? " She answered, “1 am coming up to kill you.” My parting thought — think peach ice cream. Letters to the Editor Let’s race on a smooth track To the Editor: Let's start by saying that every Saturday night my family is at the race track. We spend enough money there along with the rest of the fans and drivers for you, the track promot ers, to keep the track in tip-top shape. If there had been a hat race this past Saturday night, that track would not have had holes in it the size of small fishing holes. It is all good if the “big boys" such asScottBloomquist, Jack Pennington, Ed Gibbons, and Booper Bare arc there. But someone has forgotten that if not for the "local boys," that are there every weekend, rain or shine, that track would not be able to stay open. If the track is not open, how do you figure the "big boys" are going to run there? So you see the track needs to take care of its own drivers. We h.ave some of the best like Ricky Boahn, Hank Edw'ards, Porky l-'dwards. Chris Blackwell, Larry Willis, Raz Davis Jr., and Eddie Bullard, to name just a few. These guys call Fayetteville Mororsports Park their home track. That means if these drivers are there, common sense will tell you that. So will their fans. Take care of your fans and they will take care of you. I have been alleiiding races at this track through four different^Ulfme changes and owners. And this is the worst condition that I have ever seen the track in. It embarrasses me to know that FMSP has no more pride in their tibilities to make a Grade A top 10 track than this. A little more effort needs to be made. The races on July 15th were a di.sgracc to the fans, drivers and car owners. The cars were being unnec essarily torn up. Some of these guys don’t have the spon.sorship that others have so every night counts. The person who made the decision to not qualify any division but super late models must have been out the night before and just couldn't be both ered with using what brain cells they had left to make a smart call. The wrecks in the divisions that are there every weekend, not just every other weekend, attest to this very point. Jusi becau.se you have a good stand ing in points doesn't mean you can drive it; it just means you are a little bit luckier than some others. My last comment is about the an nouncer we have at the track. Larry Long he isn’t atid 1 don't mean to berate him by saying this, but to be an announcer at a local track, you need to know the names of most of the drivers and their car numbers. This is only logical. If you don't, the best thing to do is learn them. This shows that you enjoy what you do and take pride in knowing the racers. One last thing to remember, the “local boys” are just that, they arc the ones that keep it going. The “big boys” just come to visit. Thank you. Karen Grantham He supports Raz for President To the Editor: I don’t know the man; I’ve never met him personally; but 1 am hereby endorsing Raz Autry for President of the United States! Whether he de cides to run or not. I read his column every week, and yes The News- Journal’s answer to the great Will Rogers is a very humorous fellow, but on those occasiotis, when he chooses to make serious comments between his funny stories, he make more sense than our politicians. Mr. Autry’s “View from the Country” (rural area) isjust what our country (nation) needs! For example, in his July 19 col umn, “Want to know about the weather? Check your bones,” Mr. Autry wrote: “Somewhere along the line the American people have gotten their priorities mixed up. When the local TV station cuts into a program with a mcs.sage which reads: ‘This is a special bulletin,’ one comes to ex pect an announcement of a plane down, or a war started, or a political official shot. Not so, the announce ment — a basketb:ill coach has been sclectedor turned down the job.” Also: “11 igh paid athletes and coaches have become our god. We think they have a one-way ticket to heaven.” Mr. Autry is right. Issues pertinent to everything from our everyday lives to our very survival have taken a “back .seat ” to sports, and those who play and coach them. If Karl Marx were living today, he would probably say “sports" is t he opi urn of the people. To add insult to injury, more and more of the famous athletes are dem onstrating a lack of moral character — some even becoming notorious criminals. So much for positive role models! I’m not a s|iorts fiin; I’m a news addict, totally hooked on curient events — sports bore me to tetirs. 1 try to discuss current events and future possibilities with friends, coworkers, and family members, but those sub jects bore them to tears. So i read and watch news programs alone, while most of them Wiitch, read about, and discuss sports never the twain shall meet but it almost did. A lamous athlete, ol impeccable Cheers for those who clean roads, jeers for litterbugs To the F'ditor: Kudos to Ruby J. Green (Wayside Road) and t he m i I i tary veterans group (Lindsay Road) for their recent par ticipation in the “Adopt a Highway” program. I heir efforts have made a remark able improvement in the appearance of these streets. (Ms. Green enlists the help of young boys and girls of all backgrounds. These young folks need to be applauded too.) Prior to their involvement, the amount of roadside trash was incredible! Just as incredible is trying to un derstand why some folks need to lit ter. Prior to Ms. Green’s efforts, the buildup of trash on Wayside Road got so bad that I and a couple of neighbors used to ‘police’ a portion of Wayside on a regular basis. Perhaps if our schools and churches can continually educate the young and old alike, what a negative effect littering docs to our communities along with stronger enforcement of existing anti-litter laws we can mini mize this growing problem. Thank you. Michael Des Jardins The INewS -Journal PRINTED WITH 'SOYINK moral character, recently ran in the Democratic primaries. I thought to myself (no one wanted to talk about it), finally, a chattce to get these en thusiastic sports fans interested in the political process. And a few began to show some interest. Well, they at least discussed what a good athlete he had been. The famous athlete of impec cable moral character lost to a man who could already be our President of the Democratic Party h:id considered him capable or replacing a man who demonstrated a serious lack of moral character. Of course those same Democrats who refused to replace the man who demonstrated the serious lack of moral character with the cur rent Democratic candidate, are now telling us that he is capable of filling thejob after all. If he is, and was, why didn't they demand “Slick Willie’s” resignation and inaugurate him in stead of dragging our nation through the embarrassment and expense of the impeachment process? But why did the famous athlete lose to the man who in the Democrats' opinion wasn’t qualified before, but is now? Mr. Autry told us — “Some where along the line the American people have gotten their priorities mix up?” The famous athlete was a man of impeccable moral character — the Democrats didn't want him! But, if one of the famous athletes with no moral character should run for politi cal office on the Democratic ticket, he might gel the support of the politi cally apathetic sports fan as well as the Democrats? That dude might be tough to beat! As for me, I hope Raz Autry runs for president. I’d wear a "Raz for Prez" button! Now 1 realize that Mr. Autry is a humorous person who is occasionally serious,and most think a politician should be a serious person who is occasionally humorous. But, with that Democratic athlete of high moral character and his Republican counterpart both out of the running, and the special interests “bought and paid for ” candidates in, we're going to end up with a "joke" in the Oval Office anyway so why not ha\e ol’ (Sir CUHRU' IHTTI- K, pu^c 1} Published every Wednesday by Dickson Press, Inc., Paul Dickson Pres. 119 W. Elwood Avenue Raeford, North Carolina 28376 (910)875-2121 Call for fax number Home Page: htfp://www.dicksonpress.com e-mail: Njournal @ coastalnet.coiii Subscription Rates in Advance In Hoke County: $14 — one year $8 — six months Out of county: $17 — one year $9.50—six months Out of state: $20 — one year $11 — six months Robert Dickson Publisher Ken MacDonald General Manager Pat Allen Wilson Editor Victoriana Summers Reporter Henry L. Blue Production Supervisor Mantise Andrews Press Foreman Sam C. 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The News-Journal (Raeford, N.C.)
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July 26, 2000, edition 1
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