Opinion Page
THE BRUNSWICK&BEACON
Edward M. Sweatt and Carolyn H. Sweatt Publishers,
Edward M. Sweatt Editor
Lynn S. Carlson Managing Editor
Susan Usher News Editor
Doug Rutter Sports Editor
Eric Carlson Staff Writir
Peggy Earwood Office Manager
Carolyn H. Sweatt Adi>erlising Director
Tlmberley Adams, Cecelia Core
and Linda Cheers Advertising Representative's
Dorothy Brennan and Brenda Clemmons Moore ..Graphic Artists
William Manning Pressman
Lonnle Sprinkle Assistant Pressman
Tanimle Henderson Photo Technician
Phoebe Clemmons and Frances Sweatt Circulation
PAGE 4-A. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1993
Food Service Manager Plan
Needs More Proof, Study
The county board of health acted appropriately when it re
turned to the environmental health committee a proposal which
would require all food service establishments to have a county
trained and certified food service manager on hand at all times.
The health board would do well to follow the precedent it set
with the recently-passed mobile home park inspection program
and appoint a committee of health experts, plus representatives of
the food scrvice profession, to study the issue and make recom
mendations regarding the need tor, and logistics of, such a pro
gram .
The proposal's objective is certainly a worthy one?to make
certain that every restaurant and business which sells food has a
resident "expert" in the areas of sanitation and food safety to
serve as a resource for its staff. However, inadequate evidence
has been presented that there's a problem significant enough to
justify governmental intervention beyond the quarterly sanitation
inspections food service establishments already undergo.
Restaurateurs speaking at last week's public hearing on the
issue made some good points in opposition to the proposal.
Probably the most difficult to refute came from Ethyl
Williamson, who's been running a fishing pier kitchen for 24
years with a consistent A rating. Who's to argue that this woman
isn't already an expert?
Attention should also be paid to the comments of Holden
Beach restaurateur Jeff Whitfield, who recommended that only
those who are having sanitation problems be required to go
through training. And to Southport child development center op
erator Robyn Schuster, who questioned the need to train day care
workers to mix and serve fruit juice and spread peanut butter on
crackers.
Six or seven North Carolina counties have such a certifica
tion process. But a trend is not in itself an indication of need.
Before we increase the scope of county government regulation
and scrutiny of business, we should be absolutely convinced that
there's a problem to solve.
Worth Repeating...
The following are excerpts from N.C. Attorney General Mike
Easley's address to the Department of Justice Jan. 4 in Raleigh.
We thought readers might enjoy these Brunswick County stories
Easley shared with his staff:
ml started in Brunswick County in 1976, and I watched two
lawyers there, the prosecutor Lee Greer, who is now 83 years
old, that introduced me, and Ray Walton, who was one of the
toughest defense attorneys and a former judge.
I started off watching them try a case, and I mean they went
toe-to-toe for as hard as they could. And when it came time to
argue to the jury, old Ray Walton went over to Mr. Greer, our
prosecutor, and he rubbed his hands through his hair and he
said, "Watch out for the silver fox with the silver tongue, 'cause
you don't know what he's gonna say once I sit down and get
through."
Anil when Mr. Greer got up he talked about Ray Walton and
he says, "You know, I'd be satisfied to have old Ray eulogize me
if I 8? first, and if he goes first, then I'm gonna eulogize him,
and I'm gonna say, 'In this plot old Ray lies, rightly, stalely and
worldly wise. But if you knew him as / did, you would soon sur
mise, he had a knack for pulling the wool over your eyes.'
That's the way we practice law down in Brunswick, Bladen
and Columbus county Very seldom do we talk about the facts of
the case. Anil very seldom does the jury care. They wanted to
see a show. But, you know, we fought hard, we didn't take any
prisoners
After that jury argument was over we broke for lunch, and I
said these two guys don't like each other. Anil Ray and Lee were
arm in arm walking to lunch together anil talking about floun
dering that night. They were going flounder gigging, for those
of you who don't flounder gig. And 1 found out that they were
the best of frienils and still are.
KWhen I took office as district attorney there was a lawyer
down there named Bunn Frink. Anil Bunn was the most power
ful lawyer in Brunswick County for a long time, because he was
the only lawyer in Brunswick County for a long time. But he
served in the state senate anil everybody knew him ami loved
him anil he had such a reputation for being able to get things
fixed that people would threaten each other by saying, "I'm
gonna beat you up and beat you to Bunn Frink's office," be
cause they would then win the case.
Bunn Frink turned HO years old as / took the oath of office.
And he would send people down to r,iy office anil they would
walk in with an envelope of his stationery anil hand it to me and
say, "Mr. Bunn Frink said for me to give you this and for you to
ilo what he says." So / open it up and there's a blank piece of
stationery.
I didn t know what it was at first, but it came to be a signal
over the years, that 'Mike, this is somebody who can't afford a
lawyer, but is deserving of some help and deserving of some cir
cumstance, and I can't come down there anil be with them arul
neither can anybody else, but could you please show a little bit
of compassion ?'
And so I have tried to do t''at anil I have learned that there
is a place for compassion in the criminal justice system, anil we
are anil should be nu>tivated more by compassion for the victim
than contempt for the criminal Anil that is the point that / hope
to bring from Soulhport up to Raleigh.
This School Team Has Possibilities
It was a crisp, spring-like
Saturday, with the sun shining invit
ing outside our window. But no one
really seemed to mind.
The school board was meeting in
an N.C. Baptist Assembly confer
ence building overlooking the Cape
Fear River. Discussions were far
ranging, from a look at improve
ment goals to the rights anil respon
sibilities of board members. They al
so looked at ways to better commu
nicate and work with each other,
with staff and with parents, other
taxpayers and even students.
Sensing new member Bill Fair
ley's frustration, I applauded men
tally as he pressed to make sure the
items discussed would surfacc
again, at a meeting where the board
could take action and get on with its
programs.
New member Thurman Gausc ex
pressed frustration as well, over two
factors relating to personnel: not
knowing well in advance when posi
tions become available so he can
share that information with callers
and not knowing background in ad
vance about the persons recom
mended to fill positions. Ditto for
Yvonnc Bright.
Chairman Donna Baxter remind
ed all members that at some point
Susan
Usher
&
the board has to tnist its administra
tive staff, get on with its assigned
role as policy maker and get away
from trying to run the school system
on a day to day basis.
At the same time, board member
Folly Russ suggested members try
to resolve before meetings their con
cerns about specific hi rings and oth
er changes, which would help re
solve that problem and also shorten
the time the board spends in execu
tive sessions.
Fairley wants fewer and shorter
closed-door sessions. The executive
sessions sometimes last longer than
the public segments of the board's
meetings, prompting suspicion on
the part of others, he suggested.
However, he said since he has been
on the board the sessions have not
been abused; the board has ad
dressed only personnel or attomey
clicnt matters allowed under the
stale's sunshine law.
Cause wants the board to look at
ways to have direct contact with stu
dents; he's got in mind meeting with
a few juniors and seniors from each
high school. Others took off on the
notion in different directions; we'll
see what they comc up with.
While these five board members
(or any other five people) aren't go
ing to agree on every issue, I was
optimistic after Saturday's session
that they have a lot of things going
for them. Chief among these are a
desire to make a difference and a
willingness to listen I thought Su
perintendent Raipn Johnston did a
good job of drawing those varied
ideas out and helping create an at
mosphere of receptivity.
Johnston pointed out that one of
the keys to making improvements in
the schools is how quickly those in
volved commit. He's right. The
board appears to be solidly behind
him. If teachers and staff have trou
ble getting enthused about another
plan coming down the pike, it may
be because fads in education come
in cycles, and many states, including
Georgia, have already abandoned
the approach we're jusi now trying.
Did they give it lime to work? Who
knows.
The superintendent only hinted at
an important factor outside the con
trol of classroom teachers: students'
readiness to Ic.irn and the instability
of their home situations. Johnston
spoke of needing to work with othir
agencies that deal with these same
students and their families. The leg
islature is looking at one approach
that may get funding this year.
There arc other cooperative ef
forts in progress that aim to get kids
off to a belter star!. For example, ihc
schools and other agcncics arc back
ing a proposal by Brunswick Com
munity College to start a large-scale
family literacy program for pre
schooler* and their parents. The pro
ject would begin at the north end,
where the need is pcrceived as great
est, then expand to other areas of the
county. BCC has a good chance, I
think, of seeing this four-year grant
project funded.
Situations that took years to dete
riorate won't changc overnight, no
matter how hard we demand it.
However. I'm optimistic that our
schools are going to show more im
provement, from the bottom up.
Uheuii!
How Come Surfers Don't Get No Respect?
What is it with the average per
son's perception of surfers and surf
ing? Over the years, I've come to
expect a general ignorance about my
favorite activity and to endure
countless inane comments about my
comrades in weLsuits. But it's begin
ning to bug me.
Last fall, a local daily paper did a
story about a surfing class in
Wrightsville Beach. The headline
featured the quaint exclamation,
'Cowabunga!"
Last week, the Myrtle Beach pa
per did a story about a dedicated
winter wave hound whom the re
porter felt compelled to call a
"surfer dude."
Last night, a CNN news feature
warned about the perils of surfing in
Hawaii. They interviewed Sunny
Garcia, one of the world's most re
spected big wave riders, whom they
also labeled a "surfer dude."
Later that night, David Lcttcrman
joined in, snidely snipping at Sports
Illustrated cover model Cathy Ire
land aboul her enthusiasm for her fa
vorite sport of surfing.
Just for the record, the battle cry
"Cowabunga!" was at one time the
surfer's equivalent of yelling "Ger
onimo!" But the word probably
hasn't been used in the water since
they stopped making wcxxlen surf
boards.
The term "dude" came into its
modern usage through the surfing
community, where it was popular
for aboul three nanoseconds. How
ever, like our other noteworthy con
tributions to American fashion and
slang, the word had already fallen
out of favor among surfers by the
time the general public began using
it.
And while I admit that Ms.
Ireland is no rocket scientist (brain
wise), it is not because?as some
smart-aleck remarked?she's been
hil by loo many surfboards.
How conic nobody calls Hershel
Walker a "football dude." Or Arnold
Palmer a "golfer dude." Or Richard
Petty a "racer dude."
The fact is, centuries before any
of today's billion dollar sports were
invented, with all their hyped-up he
roes facing referee controlled "dan
gers," Polynesian watermen were
challenging one of nature's most
awesome forces on crude planks of
carved wood. Just for the fun of it.
None of those overpaid (name
your favorite ball) players would
last a minute in 2()-foot Wiamea
Bay surf. Not Magic or Mike. Not
Montana or Marino. Not Reggie or
Nolan or even Bo.
You think tri-athlctcs have stami
na? You think George Foreman
could lake a punch? You think Jean
Claude Van Damme is tough?
Bounce ihem off the reel at the
Banzai Pipeline one time and they'll
be struggling back to the beach be
fore the next wave breaks.
When it comes to sheer courage
in the facc of genuine danger, none
of today's professional alhletcs arc
worthy to wax the boards of big
wave pioneers like Greg Noll, Ricky
Gngg, Jose Angel or even contem
porary "surfer dudes" like Sunny
Garcia.
As surfing legend Buzzy Trent
once put il, "Big waves arc not mea
sured in feet, but in increments of
fear."
I learned ihc truth of that state
ment at a place called Tres Palmas,
Puerto Rico, in surf that would be
considered average by Hawaiian
big-wave standards. Here on the
East Coast, surfers would call it a
solid 16-foot.
At that size?twice a normal
household wall?waves dominate
the world around them. Each thun
dering crash can be felt from your
cozy bed a mile away, shaking a
surfer out of a deep sleep and into a
profound sense of foreboding.
Your trusted sense of scale is dis
rupted as you paddle out toward dis
tant breakers that from shore look to
be about 8 feet high. It's not until
you've paddled a quarter-mile that
you start to realize what you're in
for.
When you finally reach the line
up, the surreal maelstrom of the im
pact zone numbs your natural in
stinct to flee. Awed by the monu
mental forces of unturned nature,
you arc humbled into an attitude of
worship.
Even before it breaks, a huge
swell roars like a freight train as the
air before it struggles to escape the
advancing wall, creating a powerful
wind tluit blasts up the towering face
and rips off huge plumes of spray.
To catch one, you must conquer
your fear, commit your last ounce of
strength to paddling, punch through
the driving wind and the stinging
spray, and rise to your feet in one
fleeting, teetering moment before
the board plummets straight down.
Once commuted, there is no turn
ing back. If you haven't taken off
loo late, you might slay up long
enough lo make it down the face,
where the wave flattens out and al
lows you to turn for safety (and the
ride of your life).
In a surfer's worst nightmare, I
got caught inside at Tres Palmas
when a clean-up set?a group of
waves larger than the rest?came
through.
Like a cat chased up a tree, 1 pad
dled wildly and made it over the
first one. But the next wave was
much larger and ready to break.
Halfway up, 1 bailed out and dove
through the face as the peak crashed
over. My ankle leash snapped. My
board disappeared forever.
I struggled to the surface to face a
third, still larger wave about to crash
over into a tube large enough to dri
ve a bus through.
Diving deep, I grabbed onto a
coral head. Then, like a dust ball
sucked up by a vacuum cleaner, my
hands were ripped free as I was
pulled feet-first 20 feet straight up,
over the falls and was smashed onto
the bottom.
Tossed and tumbled for what
seemed an eternity, I was finally
turned loose and struggled to the
surface for the most welcome breath
I've ever taken.
Since that long swim to the beach,
looking at those giant waves in the
surfing magazines?the ones that
look twice as big as the one that got
me?has taken on a whole new
meaning. But then, so has life.
I suppose I should be more under
standing of those who treat lightly
something they can never under
stand. Like they say, only a surfer
knows the feeling.
P.S. There is an effort underway
to start a Brunswick Islands chapter
of the Surfrider Foundation, an in
ternational organization committed
to preserving the marine environ
ment in general and surfers' rights in
particular. If you or anyone you
know is interested, drop me a line at
the Beacon.