v Jjs*. ? ul
PHOTO BY BILI FAVER
DUNE PI A. NTS attempt to hold the small sand grains in place in an area of shifting sands.
A Little More, A Little Less
BY BILL FAVER Each grain of sand has he on a part of the Earth's
1 hose of us who spend any time along the shore are crust since the beginning of time. It might he quartz, or
too familiar with the inevitable shifting of the sands, garnet, or feldspar, or mica. These grains of sand have
Each wave does it. bringing some been moving for years and years and they will contin
sand in anil taking some sand ue to move for many, many more.
away. In her excellent book. The Edge Of The Sea. Rachel
We hardly notice the action on a Carson reminds us about the movement of sand:
calm day. and sometimes we are Today a little more land may belong to the sea,
amazed at the gradual build-up of Tomorrow a little less.
sand. Too often lately, we've no- Always the edge of the sea
ttced how destructive waves can Remains an elusive and indefinable boundary.
eat away at the accumulated sand We know this, but we don't want to believe it. it
and take away our only seaward takes a big storm or an erosion-hungry ocean to im
protection. press upon us again and again the need to respect the
FAVER Those tiny grains of sand are al- dynamic line where land and sea meet.
most indestructible. It may have taken years for one Our Coastal Area Management program and our
grain of sand to come down the river from where it land use plans, though far from perfect, are attempting
was worn away from the mountains by the weaiiier. Or to provide space between ocean and development to
a grain of sand may have been shaped by the sea. the allow for this changing line. We all need to be pre
hard core of mineral remaining after years of grinding pared for "Today a little more. . .tomorrow a little
away in the surf. less!"
No Winter Of Discontent Here
"I just called to say how much i
hate Eric," my sister said from her
fireside in frozen Asheville.
"It looks like Siberia here." she
moaned. "What do you suppose the
temperature is in Acapulco?"
Later the phone rings and I pick it
up to hear static over the operator's
rapid-tire Spanish. I understand
nothing except **..Senor Eric Carl
son, por favor...." with accent on
those rolling "R"s."
Assuming she's asking me to ac
cept a collect call. I say "si" mo
mentarily sell-conscious about how
that must sound in Southern drawl.
My shamelessly unapologetic
husband reports. "It's blistering out
in the sun in the middle of the day,
but once you get in the shade, it's
like there's no temperature at ail.
We're on the tenth floor overlooking
Acapulco Bay and the Pacific. It's
plush. The floors are marble. A
housekeeper comes in and cleans
every day and serves breakfast at 11
and dinner at 5. 1 can't describe it.
You'll just have to see the pictures.
So. I hear it's cold up there..."
I tell him about the ice floe that
extends from the Carpenters' dock
to the end ot the canai. thai he dii! a
good job wrapping the pipes before
he left, and that at least once an hour
I am grateful for the new double
pane replacement windows installed
in our house a few weeks ago.
He says he went to a bullfight
yesterday, an experience he des
cribes as "intense." He says he's
glad he did, but he probably
wouldn't do it a second time.
I tell him it was 24 degrees when
I drove to the grocery story this ;;}
ternoon. that I made chicken and
rice for supper (but that we'll call it
arroz con polio in his honor), anil
that the humidity is so low I have
two vaporizers running full blast in
Lynn
Carlson
our small house.
Even with mv husband away on
tropical leave. I have a hard time
taking the cold too personally, h'or
one thing, it's rare. I've lived all my
lite in the C'arolinas. and have no
memories like Eric's, of winters in
Syracuse when he and his college
buddies would jump out second
flooi dorm windows into the snow
drifts, of winters when there was no
ground to be seen from Thanksgiv
ing until Easter.
Even during our years in the
North Carolina mountains, extreme
cold was an anomaly and an adven
ture. Once my car stalled on Green
Mountain Road outside Hender
sonville on a zero-degree morning
as I was driving to work wearing a
business suit stockings and heels.
Within minutes a friendly stranger
came along in a pickup truck and
drove me to the I'ruitland Grocery,
where I thawed out by a pot-belly
woodstove and made small talk with
the proprietor until my next rescuer
arrived.
My sister says it has snowed so
much up there this winter that every
one's annoyed with it, and I'm sure
she's right. But still, every time I
hear a forecast tor snow in the Blue
Ridge?and that's been about every
other day this winter, it seems?I'm
just the slightest bit homesick for a
little winter wonderland.
My thoughts drift hack to those
beautiful snow days on Bald Top
Mountain, when there was no possi
bility of getting down the hill to
work. Might as well put on a pot of
beans, stoke the fire and watch those
fat heavy flakes come down until
they bend the tree limbs.
Every now and again, a magnifi
cent pileated woodpecker would
perch on one of the bare oak trees
that made up our front yard. We
could hear him at other times, too.
but we never saw him except against
a backdrop of white.
The beach in winter has its own
special beauty. Even if you hate the
cold, you have to appreciate the
stunning clarity of a day when the
temperature is 24 degrees and the
humidity is 31 percent. And it's kind
of nice to look out the window and
see absolutely no cars on the boule
vard except the occasional police
cruiser.
Maybe I'd feel differently if I'd
ever had to shovel snow or endure a
month of relentless below-freezing
weather. But I haven't and don't
ever expect to.
So for now, I'll go on appreciat
ing the seasons and he thankful I
have a a goosedown comforter,
some flannel nightgowns, a cat and.
yes, even a spouse on the Mexican
Riviera.
Woodmen s commitment to its
members Id* led to <i century-old
business str<itc(Q ol tin.iiu uiI strength
find stability. To find out more .ibout
Woodmen insurance, contm t.
Jimmy Marshall
Larry Heustess
Brunswick Square
Hwy 17 S, Shallotte
754-8400
rS
Woodmen
of the World
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llotm- Ollicc: Om.ih.i. Ncl>?.ish.i
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
'We Have Filthy Highways'
"Ib the editor:
It has been my good fortune to
travel in a number of states this past
year, including Alaska and Florida.
It is truly remarkable how clean
these stales maintain their roadways.
It is always nice to return to the
friendly confines of North Carolina.
I have, however, noted a flaw in our
societal attitude here in the great
state, and I would like to call that
flaw to your readers' attention.
We have filthy highways.
As you and I ride between I iolden
Beach and Shallotte. it is difficult to
ignore the waste strewn roadside of
N.C. 130. Everything goes out the
window, including fast-food con
tainers and plastic grocery bags,
waste left to accumulate and give
our numerous visitors (he impres
sion that we are lousy housekeepers.
My husband and I recently spent
two hours picking up six 30-gallon
garbage bags ot trash in one short
stretch near our recycling center.
That section of the roadway has
been adopted by a local church, but
apparently they feel little responsi
bility to maintain it. Much of the rest
of the road is unadopted.
North Carolina has an excellent
"Swat a Litter Bug" program, oper
ated jointly by the Parks Department
of Brunswick County and the N.C.
Department of Transportation. Un
fortunately. the program gets little
publicity, and few people use the ci
tation cards to report litterers.
We cannot blame our tourists;
they are not here now. We can only
blame ourselves for insisting on
tossing everything out the window.
Maybe you can call this "attitude" to
your readers' attention and get them
to tefiain or get our elected offirials
to increase the financial cost of lit
tering.
There is no litter in Alaska, where
the littering fine is Sl.(KK) per fast
food cup out the window. Florida
looks clean, too. despite its current
problem of violence. And just
maybe we can get more people to
adopt sections of N.C. 130 between
Ilolden Beach and Shallotte and
then act on the adoption.
June P. Froehlich
Molden Beach
Pave, Don't Patch
To the editor:
Just want to tell you how much
we like The Brunswick Beacon. It
keeps us informed on what's going
on down there.
We have a place at Hoiden Beach.
I have always wanted to ask why. oh
why, don't they pave Kirhy Road
and Seashore Drive'.' These roads
are terrible.
We live in Driftwood Acres II and
use these roads a lot. Just always
wonder why they don't ever pave
them?they just patch them.
Jack and Ruth McKenzie
Seagrove
No 'Word Tricks'
To the editor:
"What do you think of Hillary
Clinton's government-controlled
medicine proposal'.'" is a question
that I'm going to ask all of my
friends and acquaintances. I expect
an answer to be a question such as.
"You mean the president's health
care plan?"
When I hear that response. I will
no doubt laugh and shake my head
and then say. "No. I mean exactly
what I asked. What do you think of
Hillary Clinton's government-con
trolled medicine proposal'.'"
My goal will be to inform that
President Clinton has successfully
glued the public to those comforting
words, "health care." and I for one
am not going to fall into his word
trap.
When I start seeing and hearing
"Clinton's socialized medicine" in
stead of "Clinton's health care." I'll
know that the charlatan's word
tricks are backfiring, and I would
suggest that the Republicans make
this possible in their writing and
speaking.
James Robbins
Fatontown NJ
Session Can't Wait
To the editor:
In February the General Assem
bly will convene a special session
devoted solely to the issue of crime.
Over the past few months, the gov
ernor, the speaker of the House and I
have met with dozens of North
Carolinians to discuss crime, pun
ishment and prevention.
We hear many real-life problems
and some real-life solutions to crime
in our state. But over and over it was
the same message from district at
torneys, police, victims' rights advo
cates and local government officials:
we must act now.
First, we must raise the prison
cap. because the alternative is the
wholesale release approximately
3.0(H) dangerous criminals onto our
streets.
Second, we must take a hard look
at violent criminals and repeat of
fenders. Life without parole should
be a sentencing option for first-de
gree murderers and rapists as well as
for repeat offenders on the "three
strikes and you're out" model.
Another concern is our overbur
dened criminal courts. The attorney
general has developed an innovative
plan to reduce the strain on our
courts and make our criminal justice
system more efficient and effective.
The Senate will also consider in
tervention programs to assist North
Carolina's at-risk children in the
middle school years. An after-school
program can offer planned educa
tional and social activities where
children learn from positive role
models and avoid the temptations of
the streets.
I don't expect the General
Assembly to solve all of our prob
lems overnight. However, we can
begin to reduce crime with common
sense approaches. It is time to take
control of a dangerous situation be
fore it becomes even worse. The
price of inaction is simply too high.
Marc Basnight
President Pro Tempore
N.C. Senate
EDITOR S NOTE: Tlw following
letters are in response to a letter in
the Jan. I.i edition headlined 'The
Wrong Paths. " They are from the
mother and grandmother of a de
fendant charged in connection with
the death of Charles Wayne
"Butch " Davis of Bolivia.
Judge Ye Not
To the editor:
So it is written, as I'm sure you
are well aware!
Concerning our future generation
that has no respect or decency, or
has not been raised. I think it's im
portant that we all realize this gener
ation has never been ours to mold
nor tame. The altitude and actions
being exhibited by this generation
was prophesied even before it could
be read by any of us, in 2 Timothy
Chapter 3: 1-5.
As to four of the boys in question,
each have been taught morals, val
ues and respect. Unforeseen occur
rences befall us all, do they not?
(However, this quote is not intended
to minimize your pain and grief.) No
caring parent who has love for their
child would ever knowingly close
their eyes to their child hurrying to
trouble.
I say judge ye not. We are parents
that care; I always have. Children
will do foolish things as ours have.
However, these types of senseless
tragedies are not limited to, nor can
be attributed to. the lack of parental
training anil direction on our part.
This could have happened to any
one's child. Regretfully we are the
sharers in this pain and grief, wish
ing things could he changed.
Judge ye not. My son. in addition
to tvM) of the other boys involved,
should be punished lor their wrong
doing. not because you seek
vengeance. None can claim to be
faultless, inclusive, but not limited
to. you and I.
The question was asked. "Is it go
ing to be said that human life does
not matter?" I would answer simply
by stating all life matters, even an
unborn child, so it is written in
Exodus Chapter 21: 22-23. In clo
sure I'd say judge ye not for you
shall be judged.
Luenetter Young
Bolivia
Verbal Attacks Hurt
To the editor:
Is the "wrong path" right? Judge
ye not. for you will be judged by the
same judge, anil the same measure
you measure out will be measured
back to you. We will reap what we
sow.
Several bad statements have been
made concerning our boys and their
families. It hurts to be verbally at
tacked wrongfully. However, it is
comforting to know God judges un
like any man. Men tend to look on
the surface; God examines the heart
He also says that it is better for us to
have a millstone tied around our
neck and be thrown into the sea than
to offend the least of his.
There are none without sin. Is thy
worthy to pass judgment? Should
we allow ourselves or others to bur
den our neaiis with hate? The hfart
is treacherous leading to many hurt
ful things. Who can know it?
May we all safeguard our hearts,
which is the seed of all motivation.
This has aided in my determination
not to hurt or offend anyone in my
speech or action. Realizing anything
to the contrary would jeopardize my
standing with Almighty God.
Blessed be the pure at heart. Let
us not be burdened down with ha
tred upon our shoulders. Where
there is no sunlight or life.
Minnie Smith
Bolivia
Write Us
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editor. Letters must include your
address and telephone number.
(This information is for verifica
tion purposes only; we will not
publish your street/mailing ad
dress or phone number.) Letters
must be typed or written legibly.
Address letters to:
t he Brunswick Beacon
P.O. Box 2558
Shallotte NC 28459
Anonymous letters will not be
published.
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