Opinion Page
THE BRUNSWICK&BEAC0N
Kilward M. Sweall anil (Carolyn II. Swpall I'ublithert
" ii" i?i ii 11. awpati i^iiuwf
Susan Usher ,\eic* Editor
Dawn Ellen Boyd Stuff Writer
InKnny f_ Wnairln lr//ifrir
Mary l olls Office Manager
CfwJla W- ?
? ? ?.? ................. .. .... (*c//rr.icriiaiatc
Tammii: Galloway Typesetter
Sieve Andcmon Pressman
Hill McGowan Photo Technician
Clyde and Miitlic Stout. Jim Hallou. Circulation
Page 4-A Thursday, September 26,1985
Law Says You Gotta
Buckle Up Tuesday
Like it or not, you are required to buckle up beginning
Tuesday, October 1. That's when the seat belt law, passed by
the North Carolina General Assembly this year, goes into effect.
Drivers and passengers who do not wear seat belts are
subject to a fine if caught from that day forward.
Thanks to some convincing statistics that show how much
safer motorists are when they wear seat belts and a very effective
lobbying effort by insurance companies and
automobile manufacturers and dealers, you no longer have a
Indul r\f aKaIaa in
iv^ai iicbuum wi CHUIV.C in DUO illUHCI .
Passaic of the law by the state was necessary in order to
head off proposed federal law requiring automobile manufacturers
to provide air bags or other devices which would not depend
upon the car's occupants doing anything for their own
protection.
In passing this law, the General Assembly apparently
agreed with its backers that it is possible to defy the old adage
that "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him
drink."
No doubt the law will prompt some who have not been doing
so to buckle up. However, the law very well might belong
to that long list of ones that are nigh on to impossible to enforce.
The task of convincing motorists to buckle up for their
own safety must continue, even though it is now the law.
Some 50,000 people die and a million more are seriously injured
in car crashes annually in this country. Statistics indicate
that during your lifetime you stand a one-in-three
chance of suffering a disabling injury as a result of an
automobile crash.
Think about that Tuesday when the law says you got to
buckle up whether you want to or not.
D I
In The Rainbow
HY RILLFAVGR
last Saturday morning dawned with threatening gray
skies at the beach and lots of bird activity out over the water.
As tiie sun broke through the clouds a
v brilliant rainbow appeared in the southwest
jLv. \ and crested down to the horizon line to merge
with the sea. Lines of pelicans moving
^?hC-3L V" westward seemed to pass under the rainbow
without much thought to the beauty around
them or the legendary pot of gold out there
somewhere. Rainbow and sky and sea and
birds came together to form a spectacular
picture of a late September morning.
1 was fishing and without a camera, so the lingering rainbow
had to remain a mental image which could not be captured.
(1 have lost more good images this way than I ever have
recorded and the memory of them ought to keep me trying
harder.)
The dictionary defines a rainbow as "an arc or circle that
exhibits in concentric bands the colors of the spectrum and
that is formed opposite the sun by the refraction and reflection
of the sun's rays in raindrops, spray or mist."
1 can recall many rainbows during my years like those
following an afternoon thunderstorm in the South Carolina
midlands or ending in the snow on a Korean hillside. But few
rainbows anywhere can rival those out over the ocean when
the air is clear ami th#? mlnrv inct a?-?,4
v jtwt i i~\l IVI \\J IHIYC
pelicans flying through the rainbow adds our own "pot of
gold" here in Brunswick County.
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its otare r<
Rcrr.crr.bsr tfiHt first tri*? *n thp
State Fair in Kaleigh? Falling asleep
during the ride home, footsore and
stickv after tramping mile after
mile?
Perhaps you ended a long day with
a glimpse from the top of the Ferris
wheel at the sparkling "city"
below ... or oohing and aahing from
the grandstand at a fireworks display
that put all others to shame. If you're
like me, when you slipped under the
covers that night, your tummy ached
from one too many Polish sausages
on top of cotton candy, boiled peanuts
and fried dough.
A typical day at the fair, it seems;
one to be remembered
selectively . . . The little kid in the
barnyard trying to hug a goat.
llcllUlttliy Urimv LUIII^L'UIUIS III lilt'
annual mule race, one dizzying ride
after another on the Tilt-A-Whirl between
trips to look at gardens,
animals, farm implements and entries
in events from a folk festival to
a photography contest.
The excitement of that first fair
was a while in sticking, but soon I
was firmly gripped in State Fair
fever?even with all those N.C.
Staters around. After all, I was a
19-year-old UNC sophomore,
operating my first political booth and
.-- Op Nruo*, Y
Do Properi
To the editor
My husband and I were working in
our yard at our home on Holden
Beach last Thursday when we heard
a strange noise. In a few minutes
here comes a huge, ugly yellow
monster over the sand dime in back
of our home. It was cutting a wide
path through the green vegetation as
it came.
England's
I had always imagined England
would be a magical place
How could it not be ' It was the
country of Shakespeare, Browning
and Blake It was the literary
residence of my favorite character.
Sherlock Holmes It had a history of
castles ami mad kings and pageantry
ami cathedrals American writers
such as T S. Kliot and Sylvia Plath
imo gone to i-.nglaral to capture a
sense of past
In other words. I was quite determined
1 would see the place for
myself one day
So what did 1 do* During my last
sear as a college undergraduate I
took all no money in the world and
got on a jet bound for Ixmdon
On the flight over 1 was so excited 1
couldn't sleep Over and os-er I imagined
what the place would be
like the museums, the theater.
Big Ben. the Houses of Parliament,
the underground One thing was for
certain 1 knew it would be very different
from home
1 went by coach i what Americans
know as a bust into linden An
Englishman sitting in front orf me
remarked. "You ought to see the
boats on the Thames at high tide "
I almost fell out erf my seat
What did you say*" 1 asked He
repealed his comment 1 started
laughing One thing wasn't different
in England They pronounced high
tide' the same was t ?* (a
hcar.rv* It pronounced in parts at
Shallctte Point and Vamamtown. ?
it ran* out acundmtt Uk? hoi told."
It was a delightful twist at fate 1
had trawled 3.XV miles to due-over
dy, Country A/
air Time In Rg
A
W- :..P Susan
m. ^ i Usher
-ks4
attending my first state fair, all in
the same day.
It was a heady, growing-up kind of
magic, not the wide-eyed enthusiasm
of a nine-year-old grammar school
student. And the day was as good as,
if not better than, Jeanne Crain's day
at the Iowa State Fair.
It was so much fun we went back
the next year and the next, before
taking on the giant among state fairs,
Ohio.
Our own Tar Heel fair is billed as
"America's largest nine-day
agricultural fair," with emphasis on
the nine. When the gates open on Oct.
18, the area off Blue Ridge Road will
have much of the appearance and
size of a self-contained city. Security
forces, tow trucks fire and rescue
services will be standing by. Craftsmen
will ply a wide variety of skills
ranging from blacksmithing to bak
" fue oace \s c
LETTER TO 1
ly Rights Dep
It proceeded down the side of the
dune and to the edge of the marsh at
which point it stopped and turned
around. Then it began to back up. It
backed across our property line and
was (leaded toward our house when 1
asked my husband if he intended to
stop it. His reply was. "not if he intends
to keep coming." Well, after
all. it was bigger than he is.
i High-Tiders >
something different, yet the first
thing 1 found out was many of the
people there had accent patterns
similar to those in my own backyard
I knt? I was (joins to like this
place
The rest of my week-long vacation
wasn't as si locking. but 1 will always
be glad 1 went 1 traveled all over the
city by underground i the subway i
visiting many of london's popular
spots the Tower at Loodon. the
British Museum, the National
Gallery of Art, the National Portrait
Gaitery. the Old Clinosity Shop famed
in Dickens' writings. Madame
Tussaud's Wax Museum. Buckingham
Palace for the changing of
the guard. St Paul's, the Sherlock
Holmes Pub. ar*l Westminster Abbey
At night 1 attended the theater then
visited pubs with fnends One pub
had a resident cat that watted for me
to come tn each night then jumped tn
my lap The owner of the pub gave
me a mug because his cat and I
became friends'.
1 abc took da< trips cut d London
to runt Oxford. Windsor Castir.
Stratford-on-Avon. and Hampton
Palace
^sic And Cc
ileigh Again
ing.
For a gate admission of $5 for
adults, (II for ages six through 12,
free for seniors and little children),
VOU can icai u liOW to gtVC 2
picking, build a house the
"volunteer" way or win a prize at the
Senior Citizen Fun Festival for having
the most children and grandchildren.
For a few dollars more,
Dorton Arena shows will feature the
likes of Tammy Wynette, Exile, Ronnie
Miisap and Tnc Florida Boys.
A tractor pull, demolition derby
and rodeo are standards also.
Entering its 118th year, North
Carolina's State Fair clings to its
agricultural roots with draft horse
races, tractor pulls, educational exhibits
and traditional competitions
for jams and jellies, quilts and
doilies, prize steers and even sheep.
District 4-H and extension club winners
still look forward to the nine-day
event in Raleigh with a full set of jitters.
This is big-time stuff?there was a
day in North Carolina when the State
h air was the fourth largest city in the
state, fast October, 694,720 people
went to the fair?in spite of one rain
day.
A crowd-hater like you wouldn't
believe, I had fully expected to be
|gp
, ^? vq
I"
a r~ * 11 \ r
??0 . - - lrj*
HE EDITOR
end On Who
We were informed later by one of
the beach officials that we had no
right to complain as long as no law
had been violated. So. I guess it all
depends on who you are here,
whether or not you have the right to
protect your private property.
1 spent the rest of that afternoon
watching the rabbits and birds scur^re
Alive an<
A highlight of my trip was visiting
my English cousins, Ren. Gwen and
Susan Susan and 1 had never met,
but we're exactly the same age and
have been writing each other for
years They took me to visit my
grandfather's old school and local
ullages The thin cobbled streets and
thatched roofs were unlike anything
I'd ever seen in America
The week was really enlightening
England became less a mythical
nLar-e in mv imntrinafinn nr%H ?
real country with a present and problems
I had become very aware of
some of the problems when I was
Calendar
Thursday. Sept. 26
A MEMBER of Rep Charlie Rose's
from 8 SO a m- to 10am. and the S
til noon to discuss any concerns 1
federal agencies or legislative issu
SEA TRAIL COMMUNITY ASSOC LA
station for a covered dish dinner. (
INTERESTED CITIZENS meet a
Department to discuss the future o
THE BRLNSWICX COUNTY VETER
likes VFW Post No 10?00. ? 30 pj
GAME NIGHT at the American Legi
U.S. 17. 7 30 pm.
Friday, Sept. 27
SOL'ARE n?Verve, n i u .
mile south oi Shallotte. open to the
GAME NIGHT at the Sunset Beach Vi
Wednesday, Oct. 2
BRUNSWICK TOASTMASTERS mee<
ftESUsrar.;, Southport. 7 a m 4 a.
weicotne
SHALLOTTE ALDERMEN meet at !h
t
I
iws:
1
miserable at the State Fair that first
tiHic Olit.
Incredible as it may seem, only a
few weeks earlier the following scene
bad tniron nlare in thp Studpnt Union
at Chapel Hill. We were organizing a
iNonn Carolina oiaie Young
Democrats Club booth for the fair.
"You've never been to the state
fair?" asked a senior with 20 fair
seasons behind her, making no attempt
to hide her amazement?or her
pity.
"Nope," said this 19-year-old
sophomore, newly-elected secretary
of the Young Democrats.
"Why, you poor girl. You've missed
it all."
"I sure have," she thought, images
of wall-to-wall tobacco-spitting
males, damp squalling infants,
sweat, goat manure and pickpockets
flitting by in Technicolor. Not to mention
a long hike to the parking lot and
the surely even longer wait to get onto
the bypass. To herself, she added,
in relief, "I've missed it all!"
Take it from me?she had missed it
all?all of the fun, the smells, the
sights, the predictable and loveable
traditions that will probably keep the
State Fair alive and well another 118
years.
f/MYozjj
** A \ L ^n'-DS J3
\c*-^E ?CAc^ -j
^5?
\ / A
You /KreY
rying around hunting (or their homes
that had been destroyed forever, and
thought what a shame they couldn't
build a little house and post a guard
inside to protect their God-given property
that man seems bound and
determined to destroy.
Mrs. Ann King
Summerfield
d Talking
trapped in a crowd during a miner's
demonstration near the British
Museum.
My imagination wasn't entirely
ready to give up, however On my
last day in lx>ndon I visited the
church where Elizabeth Barrett ran
away from home with her dog Flush
to marry Robert Browning, and 1
spent a long time standing on the
sidewalk at 221-B Baker Street, the
literary address erf Sherlock Holmes
Even in a country of demonstrations
and high-tiders, a little dreaming
never hurts
Ct X ??
\~/l L.VKZIIIS
staff will be at the Supply Post Office
hallotte Post Office from 10 30 a m Unocal
residents might have relating to
es
TIOS meets at the Sunset Beach F ire
i 30 p.tn
t the Shallotte Point Volunteer Fire
f the Gurganus Cemetery'. 7 *> p m.
t\S COCNCIL meets at Boding Spring
m
on Hut, one mile south of Shallotte on
he American Legion Hut on U.S 17 one
public. S pjn.-10.30 p m
oiunteer Fire Department S pm
i ivk xcusais a', dm Map's Cfcandier
m YtxOors asd pcospcr*?v. rjasniwrs
t toicnhall, T 30pm