PHOTO BY BILL FAVER
MOST LIFE along the shore is dependent upon the endless repetition of the tides and waves.
An Endless Repetition
BY RILL FAVER days dragging the tides along with it. Sincc there arc
Those who spend much time at the seashore must be only 24 hours in a day, the time of the ebb and flow of
lascinatcd by the tides. These enormous waves rise the tide is about 50 minutes later each day.
ana fall twice in a little more than Air pressure also has an influence on the tides. If the
24 hours and reach down into the barometer falls an inch, the tides may rise a foot sincc
bottom of the sea in their effect there is less pressure on the water to hold it down. As
upon life and systems. we know, strong winds may also whip water into high
For centuries people were puz- er tides and stronger waves.
zled by the tides and at one time In some places tides vary only a few feet between
thought the earth was breathing the low, or ebb, and the high tides, or flow or flood,
like some giant monster beneath Highest tides of all seem to be in the Bay of Fundy in
the sea. Julius Caesar thought the Nova Scotia, where tides can vary as much as 50 feet
moon had something to do with from ebb to flow.
the tides. Billions of animals, such as oysters, mussels, and
FAVER Caesar was correct, for the barnacles owe their existence to the tides which bring
moon does have something to do with the tides. The food. In The Sea Around Us, Rachel Carson writes,"...
gravity of the sun and the moon is always pulling at the inhabitants of the world between the tide lines arc
the earth, even to the point of rocks at times yielding enabled to live in a zone where the danger of being
to the force. Water is affected much more than rocks dried up is matched against the danger of being
and soil and the pull is felt more when the sun and washed away, where for every enemy that comes by
moon arc aligned so they are pulling together. Even sea there is another that comes by land, and where the
though the sun is 27 million times as large as the most delicate of living tissues must somehow with
moon, the moon has about twice the pull of the sun be- stand the assault of storm waves that have the power to
cause of its nearness to the earth. shift tons of rock or to crack the hardest granite."
Twice each month, when the new moon shows a The endless repetition of the rise and fall of the tides
sliver in the sky and when the full moon appears, the is the essential clement in making the seashore world
moon, earth and sun arc in a straight line and we have what it is. Robert Frost reminds us in his poem,
the highest of tides, calicd spring tides. At the quarters "Devotion":
of the moon, the lowest tides appear as the moon, sun,
and earth are at points of a triangle. These arc calicd The heart can think of no devotion
neap tides. Greater than being shore to the ocean.
The limes of the tides are tied to the moon's cycle as Holding the course of one position,
well. The moon revolves around the earth ever; 28 Counting an endless repetition.
Sweet Comment Leaves Sour Taste
1 hale it when ihis happens.
After working three weeks of
hours in two weeks of days, I find
myself back in the saddle with no
ideas for a column.
So let's lake a look through the
morning newspaper. That usually
gets me tickcd off about something.
First, the front page... "Boris
Yeltsin In Big Trouble." (No doubt
about that.) "Medicaid might be dis
mantled." (I don't understand how it
got mantled.) "Single Parent Famil
ies at a Disadvantage." (Obviously.)
Page two..."Heather Locklear
Says She'll Act Her Age In New
Role." (If she acted her IQ, she
could star in "Look Who's Talking
III.") "Socialists Ousted In French
Election." (It's about time.) "Brui
sing Fight Looms Over Budget."
(Imagine that!)
Maybe there's something in the
local section..."School Board Mem
bers Get Updated Fax Machines."
(Evidently a slow news day.) Judge
Napoleon Barefoot is retiring.
(Luckily we have Napoleon II.)
Wait a minute... "Officer Hit By
Swinging Gate." I am not making
this up: "A man slammed a swing
ing gate into a Wilmington police
officer during a foot chase Saturday
evening?a move local residents lat
er called 'sweet'."
The story says a cop was on pa
trol in an area known for drug deal
ing when he spotted a young man
leaning through the window of a
parked car. When the officer at
tempted to question him, the suspect
ran. During the ensuing foot chase,
the story says, he escaped by slam
ming a swinging gate into the po
liceman, "a move local residents lat
er called 'sweet'."
Did I just read that? Does the re
porter who repeated that comment
think it was funny? Does the editor
who read the story and approved it
agree?
Evidently so. The writer makes
certain we get the joke by telling it
twice. He or she notes at the end of
the story that several people on the
street said the suspected drug dealer
"did a sweet move" on the officer.
Now 1 understand what syndicat
ed columnist George Will was talk
ing about Sunday when he wrote
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that "ihe nation has been redefining
deviancy to exempt much conduct
previously stigmatized, and has been
relaxing the standard of what is con
sidered 'normal' levels of deviant
behavior."
Here we have a policeman in "a
known drug area" who sees a young
man leaning into a car window. He
obviously has reason to believe that
the topic of discussion is something
other than the North Carolina Sym
phony's upcoming performance at
Thalian Hall.
When the policeman attempts to
question the man, he immediately
runs away. This is a crime. Now the
officer is chasing a known criminal,
who proceeds to assault him vith a
swinging gate. Several folks loiter
ing about in this "known drug area"
pause in their discussions of the up
coming symphony concert to pro
claim the assault "a sweet move."
Which is no big deal. Cops hear
that sort of thing all the lime. They
spend their careers protecting us
from people who have little or no re
spect for law, no sense of morality,
no regard for the lives or property of
others and no intention of working
for a living: the kind of people who
make that kind of comment.
Their views are not news. But
when a paper devotes the first and
last paragraphs of a seven paragraph
story to such deviant opinions?and
attributes them to "local residents"
?it lends their words an undeserved
legitimacy.
I suspect many, if not most, of the
"local residents" in that neighbor
hood are law-abiding, tax-paying
citizens struggling to make a living
and raise a family in what has dctc
riorated inio "a known drug area."
They bravely carry on despite
fears that the next drive-by shooting
might send bullcLs through their
window. As they leave for work,
they wonder if some crack head will
steal their TV for a fix. They pray
that their children will avoid the lure
of drugs, stay in school and return
home unmolested.
Those "local residents" quietly re
joice every time a drug dealer is tak
en off the street. You won't hear
them applauding an assault on a po
lice officer by calling it "a sweet
move." But their side of the story is
not told.
The paper will claim it was "only
reporting the facts." But that is a
cop-out. No news story can report
ALL the facts. So the writer must
decide which facts should be includ
ed and which should be left out. The
editor approves those choices or
asks the reporter for changcs.
The essential facts in this story
are: A policeman claims he was as
saulted by an alleged drug dealer.
The suspect was arrested and charg
ed accordingly. The only legitimate
reason to include more details is to
help a reader understand why that
event might have occurred.
By claiming that "local residents"
(who arc never identified) called the
criminal assault "a sweet move," the
writer and editor offer only two
ways of understanding this incident:
Either A) Assaulting a policeman IS
"a sweet move." Or B) The "local
residents" of this neighborhood have
sunken so deep into depravity that
they applaud such criminal activity.
If the featured quotation was bal
anced with other opinions to help a
reader understand how a neighbor
hood feels about drug dealing and
law enforcement, it would have
been a powerful example of one ex
treme viewpoint.
Including this comment by itself
and attributing it only to unnamed
"local residents" insulLs both the po
lice and the community.
And Lynn wonders why it takes
me so long to read the newspaper.
"The Utisinkable Boat"
<9
BOATS
BY TAYLOR MANUFACTURING, L\C.
Ellzabcthtown, N.C.
1-800-545-2293
MORE LETTERS
Sunset Beach Bridge Puts
Lives, Property In Danger
To the editor:
I hope the experience of the Great
Storm of 1993 has taught the die
hards wanting to save the Sunset
Beach bridge that they arc putting
life and property in danger.
When the bridge went out on
Saturday, March 13, for more than
nine hours, there was no prior warn
ing to those on the island. A serious
fire or illness would have caused
major problems. It would have been
impossible to get help by land or air
to the island. 1 hate to think what
could have happened.
If the group working to save the
bridge will accept a suggestion, I of
fer this solution. Get the state to
leave the old bridge and go ahead
and build a safe new bridge. Each
year the town can have a "Bridge
Day" and have the annual opening
of the bridge as a big event.
History will not be lost, and those
of us on the island during a storm
will feel safe knowing we arc not
cut off from the outside world.
Lindsay Cox
Sunset Beach
Town 'Always Ready'
To the editor
On behalf of the Town of Ocean
Isle Beach it pleases me to write this
letter of appreciation to all the emer
gency personnel who responded to
our needs during the "Storm of '93."
Saturday, March 13, the winds
were especially strong and haz
ardous, yet Brunswick Electric em
ployees and Brunswick County
Water Department personnel were
making repairs and working over
time to restore power and water to
our residents.
Members of the Ocean Isle Beach
Volunteer Fire Department began re
sponding immediately in case we
experienced any type of emergen
cies. Our building inspector assisted
water and sewer department em
ployees and made damage assess
ments for the town on their days off.
The town's clcrical staff responded
by answering the phones to provide
information to our residents.
Our police department members
responded by barricading the bridge
because conditions were not safe
enough to traverse the bridge for a
few hours. Many thanks to Shalloltc
Police Chief Rodney Gausc for
sending two of his officers to assist
our police department.
Ocean Isle Beach is indeed very
fortunate that there were no reported
injuries. Much well-deserved thanks
arc in order for the above-mentioned
persons. They knew from prior ex
periences what their job descriptions
arc, and they did their individual
jobs extremely well. Safety for our
residents was always the primary
concern, and the decisions made that
day were in direct response to the
welfare of our people and the hurri
cane-force wind gusts we were ex
periencing.
To all those persons who con
tributed their time and energies to
assist our town, I want to send my
personal thanks. It was their knowl
edge, skills and dedication to scrvice
thai ensured everything would run
smoothly.
The Town of Ocean Isle Beach is
always ready for such emergencies,
due largely to the fact that those per
sons mentioned will always care
enough about you and me to re
spond when needed.
Mayor Betty Williamson
Ocean Isle Beach
Help Clean Up
To the editor
In response to the article in your
issue of March 25 relating the con
cern of Ms Nadine Murray and the
trash situation along the streets of
Shallottc, the Shallotte Lions Club
would like to extend an invitation to
Ms. Murray to participate in its next
trash pick-up along two miles of
U.S. 17 through Shallotte.
This is a community service pro
jcct which is a part of the Adopt-A
Highway program.
Wc would suggest that Ms. Mur
ray invite Doug Ruttcr to come
along and pitch in. We would wel
come Ms. Murray and Mr. Ruttcr to
our crew which does this job four
times a year.
Lcn Ferguson
Calabash
Appreciates Grant
To the editor:
Recently I was the recipient of
one of the six S250 "Partnerships for
Solutions" mini-grants which Bruns
wick Electric Membership Corpor
ation offered to Brunswick County
educators. 1 would like to publicly
thank Brunswick Electric for this
grant. The monies t/om this gift will
be used within the Advanced Place
ment English class at West Bruns
wick High School.
My peers and students also appre
ciate the support that this company
has demonstrated to our schools.
With this cooperation between our
community businesses and our edu
cational system, the children of
Brunswick County will continue to
benefit and to experience success.
Thank you for your interest in the
youth of our county as we strive to
achieve higher goals together.
Melba Johnson
English/SAT Prep Teacher
West Brunswick High School
Write Us
The Beacon welcomes letters
to the editor. Letters must be
signed and must include the
writer's address and telephone
number. Mailing addresses and
phone numbers will not be
published. Wc reserve the right to
edit libelous comments.
Address letters to The Bruns
wick Beacon, P. O. Box 2558,
Shallotte.N. C. 28459.
Readers List Lottery's Pros, Cons
To ihc editor:
In the February 11 issue of the
Beacon, Peggc M. Jayncs related in
her letter to the editor about the
"wonderful history of the lottery in
the U. S."
Ms. Jayncs is exactly right! There
was a time when suite lotteries held
an important placc in American his
tory. In fact, the first building. East
Hall, at the University of North
Carolina-Chapcl Hill, was construct
ed from the proceeds of a state lot
tery.
Someone has pointed out that the
only lesson that we learn from histo
ry is that we don't lcam from histo
ry
Between 1830 and 1890, state lot
teries were abolished throughout our
nation. Why? For two reasons: be
cause of the scandals and corruption
connected with state lotteries and
exploitation of the poor. After an ab
sence of 74 years, state lotteries
came back on the scene in 1964 with
the New Hampshire lottery. Now,
we are seeing history repeated again.
Former Director of the FBI
William Webster has pointed out "I
really don't see how one can expcct
to run legalized gambling anywhere
without serious problems?fraudu
lent tickets, counteif?!' lottery
processes. Anytime organized crime
sees an opportunity to put a fix on
something, to get an edge on some
thing, it'll be there. And gambling is
still the largest source of revenue for
organized crime.
U.S. News & World Report slates
that "the biggest fears of states?
that lotteries would bring corruption
and scandals?arc now surfacing."
In spite of stringent security provi
sions by state lottery officials, inci
dences of corruption have occuned
recendy in several states.
Connecticut started a state lottery
to cut into illegal gambling and or
ganized crime. Austin J. McGuigan,
former state's chief attorney for
Connecticut observed, "Rather than
cut into the revenue for organized
crime, the state has been swept by a
gambling mania, which has more
than doubled the level of illegal wa
gering in ihc last eight years."
For once, let's learn a lesson from
history and urge our legislators to
say no to Rep. David Rcdwinc's
gambling bill.
J. Russell Capps
Raleigh
EDHOR'S NOTE: Mr. Capps is
president of the Wake County Tax
payers' Association.
Let People Vote
To the editor:
It is time that the people of North
Carolina have the chance and the
choicc to vote on a North Carolina
lottery.
I recently read letters published
by various newspapers which were
written by Coy Privctte condemning
the lottery. Privctte's letter begins by
stating that many people are asking
the question, "When arc we going to
vote on the lottery?" If it were up to
the citizens of North Carolina, we
would have already voted on the is
sue. Every statewide poll in the past
five years has indicated that the ma
jority of voters support a lottery in
North Carolina.
Mr. Privcite suited (hat it is the
role of the legislative branch to es
tablish policy. Certainly it is true,
but as elected representatives, the
member; of the General Assembly
have been voted into office to repre
sent the views of their constituents.
That is the essence and purpose of
representative government. The vot
ers who have elected the members
of the General Assembly have re
peatedly indicated that they want the
opportunity to vote on a lottery.
To address Privctte's statement
that "a lottery picks the pockets of
the poor," we only have to look
north to Virginia. A recent demo
graphic player profile shows that the
majority of players earn between
S25.000 and S35,0()0 annually.
Studies indicate that the average
lottery player has a high school edu
cation and a full-time job. The aver
age player is between ihc ages of 35
and 55. Docs this sound like a group
who docs not know how to make
spending decisions? The conccpt of
lower-income households financing
the lottery is simply not true, and the
demographics prove it.
Mr. Privctte's argument against
the lottery has been taking a right
hand turn for some time now. In his
statements about a lottery being
"bad" for the state, Privette is
preaching his creed on morality to
the entire state of North Carolina.
Let's face it. We have fundamen
tal differences here. 1 believe that
adults can make their own decisions
on spending. I believe that just be
cause someone is poor docs not
mean they are unable to make in
formed choices. I believe tliat God
fearing people play the lottery and
go to church. Finally, I truly believe
that whether or not we have a lottery
in this state, people will continue to
support lotteries and take their dol
lars into other states.
No one has to play the lottery, but
everyone has to pay taxes. Thou
sands of dollars are leaving this state
every day as our residents bet on the
Virginia lottery and on other state
lotteries. North Carolina is losnig
these dollars. How long can we keep
putting our money into the general
funds of other states?
I believe it is time we stop send
ing our hard-earned cash to other
states. People keep telling us they
want to vote on the lottery; there
fore, let's give them a chance.
We, the people of North Carolina,
arc not idiots, and yet politicians arc
treating us as if we have no brains.
We arc capable of making our own
decisions. Let us vote!
Inez I. Linvillc
Kcmcrsville
EDITOR'S NOTE: The writer is an
attorney and was an unsuccessful
independent candidate for the N.C.
House of Representatives, 84th Dis
trict.
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CI99? THfc BRUNSWICK BEACON