Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / June 16, 1994, edition 1 / Page 4
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' " ? *p*ti - ? V. r!."- ? MR 4- A, THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 1994 No Day At The Beach To paraphrase a wise and clever man, both municipal deci sions and sausage have a place in the world, but you can still get nauseated watching either being made. Take last week's Sunset Beach Town Council meeting as a prime example. The mayor pro tem, in an inexcusable fit of pique, used a term most would consider obscene in reference to a former zoning officer who was present at the time. Residents at tending the session, in an embaiVassing but fairly routine display of bad manners, chortled and spoke out of him during the official proceedings. And one lone council member tried to maintain the high ground and serve as ad hoc peace-maker during the long, shameful display ? but without measurable success. We're not so naive as to expect the democratic process to be as pleasant as.. .well, a day at the beach. But no one is served when relations between the elected and those who show up to watch them do business deteriorate to such a sorry point It's time for both sides to bend a little for the greater good. All this acrimony is not about money or mini-golf or bridges or where the water goes when the rains come or a toilet gets flushed ? it's about all those things and more. There are full-time property owners and residents who seek assurance that a way of life they treasure can be frozen in time. But that's a guarantee life doesn't afford any of us. There are elected officials who take it personally when the wheels get squeaky. But squeaky wheels gave birth to and con tinue to nourish the principles of representative democracy. There are those in elective and appointed positions whose on ly motivation is a sincere desire to serve their community. When they grow weary of trying to salve wounds they didn't inflict, it's nearly impossible to recruit replacements. Tnose realities do not necessarily constitute an untenable sit uation. It certainly shouldn't be so in a small town populated overwhelmingly by comfortable, peace-loving people who share some very powerful qualities ? the love of nature's beauty, a re liance on the rewards of hard work, a rcspcct for order and an ap preciation of doing things the right way, even when the right way is subject to debate. When parties on all sides regain sight of those common boad* the name-calling and hrckling will be recognized for what it is ? a worthless irritant which does nothing but widen the gap. GUEST EDITORIAL Please Don't Teach Your Trash To Swim BY CRAWFORD HART Is it a catchy saying or the truth? You decide. Last December a 24-foot sperm whale washed ashore at Wrightsville Beach. The emaciated female soon died in the surf. The veterinarians and biologists performed the necropsy on this beautiful marine mammal and found the whale's belly foil of ma rine debris ? nylon rope, a plastic gallon bottle, a plastic bag and a fishing float The verdict was that the whale starved to death because it couldn't get enough real food in its stomach. On April 16 of this year, a female loggerhead turtle washed ashore at Holden Beach. A necropsy showed that the throat pas sage and stomach were foil of marine debris, including plastic bags, plastic foam cups, balloons and other miscellaneous debris that floats. Turtles eat jellyfish and plastic items look like these crea tures. They also eat the Portugese man-of-war. Much of the de bris resembles this siphonophore. A turtle ingests its food or, in this case, trash; once it gets into the throat it cannot be regu^gitst ed. It goes into the stomach or blocks the throat and, consequent ly, the air passage, leaving the turtle to either starve or suffocate. Either is a horrible death. The first sea turtles date tack over 200 million years and. un til recently, enjoyed a life free from most predators. In days of old, food containers were made from metal and were too costly to cast over the side. But with the advent of plastic, boaters and beachgoers take their bait, food, drinks and snacks with them in some type of plastic container. They carry it to the beach or boat, so why not carry it home again? No, it is easier to toss it onto the beach or into the water. The result is the loss of endangered or threatened marine wik&ifrL Rather than wait for "Big Sweep," why not take a plastic bag with you. If you see trash on the beach or floating in the water, retrieve it When you are ready to go home, throw your bag (by now probably foil) into the nearest trash receptacle. By doing this you will assort that your grandchildren and great-grandchildren will enjoy these fine marine creatures. nease, don't teach your trash to swim! A Glimmer On The Culinary Horizon -I WANT JUNK POOD! I WANT JUNK FOOD!" It wm mv ww't (irtl t?mnw tantrum, and it was about cereal. He was 18 months old, with the face of a cherub and the disposition of a pit bull. He was seated in the grocery cart, halo of blond curls framing his purple-with-rage coun tenance, shrieking like a banshee be cause I said no to Boo- Berry. Tm not buying junk food," 1 said in my most unyielding tone. "You're getting Cheerios ? plain Cheerios ? and you can scream until you pass out." I won the skirmish, but lost the war. Today, 14.5 years after the Battle of Boo- Berry, there's a box of Lucky Charms in my larder, along with a sixer of 20-ounce Classic Cokes, a box of Velveeta shells and cheese and a package of frosted Pop Tarts. My husband and I do not con sume these products; they're for That Boy. I'm keenly interested in seeing how our nation's public schools will manage to get from Point A ? chick en nuggets, french fries, vegetable medley with dressing, and gummy white roll ? to Point B, a Utopian state in which school lunches derive Lynn Carlson no more than 30 percent of their calories from fat. given my own ex perience in trying to be a positive culinary role model. These are actual selections from a recent weekly school lunch Scatter Menu (whatever that means) in a neighboring county: ? barbecue sandwich, com dog, firench fries, coleslaw, assorted fruits, salad plate and milk ? pizza, fish sandwich, french fries, coleslaw, garden salad, assort ed fruits, *alad plate and milk ? burger, pizza, oven fries, let tuce and tomato, garden salad, as sorted fruits, salad plate and milk ? ham and cheese sandwich, sloppy Joe, french fries, lettuce and tomato, tossed salad, assorted fruits, salad plate and milk ? hot dog with chili, cheeseburg er, french fries, lettuce and tomato, garden saiau, assorted fruits, salad plate and milk. Imagine a future in which the chokes iff! s buckwheat greats, radish sprouts, Ak-Mak wafers, organic fruits, skim milk, or ? tabbouleh, tofii vinaigrette, dol phin-safe tuna with organic herbs, ginseng tea.. Can't you just ocaf a!! those IsJtk dariins squealing with anticipation? At my house, the meals are good, wholesome and lovingly prepared. I cook fresh foods in a leisurely fash ion, grow my own herbs and chili peppers, experiment with tastes and textures, and study the writings of the great chefs. We don't use bottled salad dress ing, put hamburger meat in our pasta sauces or eat hot dogs. We love fresh seafood and home grown salad greens, extra virgin olive oil, aged cheeses and lots of fresh garlic and shallots. Most of our dinners are meatless; virtually all of them include rice or pasta. In other words, it is a fiercely hos tile environment to the immature palate. My kid, who's grown up around good food ? prepared the long way and eaten by candlelight with doih napkins ? prefers Zesty Italian to my impeccable basil vinaigrette. A Whopper Combo in the car to a plateful of cappellmi with fresh clam sauce at hnme. Cnrm Pnffc {q croissants. I have all the faith in the world that someday be will look back and wish he'd eaten the soft-shell crabs piquant instead of a half-jar of Claussen's dill pickles on that early June nigh! is !99! . I ?rc jjimnm of a brighter culinary future for him. Already he prefers romaine let tuce to iceberg and appreciates a rare standing rib roast of beef on special occasions. It's a start So for now, as long as he's slim and still strong enough to surf four hours at a stretch. I'U let him keep eating ramen noodles and chocolate ice cream on a tray in front of MTV instead of gagging through whatever the rest of us are enjoying. Long as I don't have to watch. It takes a busload of faith to envi sion millions of American boys and girls raised on Tstcr Tots and Chess Whiz embracing baked chicken and brown rice as a part of their new im proved school diet. It's an even big ger leap to conceive of a school lunchroom capable of cooking a fresh vegetable to any point short of annihilation. But ! agree it's time to try. Slsp that on your tray and tote it PAYS m HERE AGAlNlr J 1 - ac HOIfcf rav? ^rZWfc* ^stesiwgs J Blame It On Cain; Don't Blame It On Me AMENDMENT XXVIO Congress shall make no law abridging the right of citizens to act in ways that amid be dangerous and potentially self-destructive, provided such actions do not cause harm to any other citizen. With all the "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" stuff written into the Constitution, doesn't it seem like the founding fathers might have accidentally forgotten this proviso when they added the first 10 amend ments and called them "The Bill of That thought struck me after watching a TV news story about the health care legislation, followed by a feature warning us about the dangers of roller blading. The latter piece concluded with an emergency room doctor nodding sternly in agreement when the re porter wiggrstfxl that we might need to pass a law requiring skalen to wear helmets, wrist guards, elbow pads and *?? pdk No we don't! We already have enough laws to protect as from our selves without requiring everyone to walk around in Ml body vmor? just in case the sky begins to Ml! If bungee jumpers want to tie rub ber bands around their legs and leap off high places (even though some ?M ??>n vear doias so) it's Carlson Eric OK by me as long as they don't land oo anybody. packs of cigarettes a day, who am I (fl? you) M> i*!! them they can't? They just shouldn't exhale ia places where we can't get away from the smoke. If some inlander who has never Men the ocean before wants to ig nore repeated warnings about rip currents and go swimming in 10 foot surf, don't spend my tax money trying to prevent him from doing so. If a guy wants to fly down the highway on his Hariey-Davidaon without wearing a helmet, just leave him alone. Omwocs are, he'll end up aa a stain on the pavement and you won't have to worry about him any more. I've been riding motorcycles far a quarter century, but only once with out a helmet. That was the time I borrowed a friend's 1966 Triumph for a putt through the campus of California Polytechnic University If enjoys smoking three V LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Can Retirees Afford New Brunswick Taxes ? To the editor: Your front page article in the June 9 Beacon states that most property taxpayers will receive 1994 tax bills of approximately tfce same amount as their <993 taxes. I wish to refute this stale aw t* Our 1994 property taxes will inert aac by doae to $300, a 34 percent jump in our "cost of living in Brunswick County." I suggest we all check to see if we can afford to live here where so many of we seniors came to re tire and enjoy our goiden yean and reasonable Dorothy Crean, Shailotte 'Nothing To Do' Si OK To the editor: ! have been visiting Sunset Beach for ten years. I have visited during every month of the year. Neve; has anyone had to "provide things for" me, my family or my friends *io do" while at Sunset. This lack of someone else providing something for me to do is the main reason I return to Sunset. My suspestion would be for Council Member Mary Kathenne Griffith to move to Myrtle Beach. Max Curtee, Charlotte (before the state paved its helmet law). I wasn't planning to go fast. And it just wouldn't be the same riding that classic nugget of rolling sculp ture with a flower pot on my bead So I spent the afternoon rumbling around town with the sun on ray face and the wind in my hair. Because I chose to accept the risk. Which is a fundamental right that American are rapidly throwing away in the insane rush to make government the fatherly protector of all things great and small, wise and All but a few states prohibit riding a motorcycle without a helmet In many areas, a kid can be arrestod for riding a bike without protective Skateboarding is beaded for felony status. Health Nazis have cast cigarette smoken as the lepers of the 90s. The don't-confuse-me-with-the-facts lobby is itkntkaa in its efforts to baa guns. Some North Carolina leg islators wart to make it illegal to ride ia the bed of a pickup track. Many of these efforts are well-in tended anrii^m to safeguard the pabiic health. The only trouble is, Ifcey hill m into the falae assumption that Uncle Sam CAN and therefore SHOULD protect us from the conse quences of our own action*. Wrong again. This line of think ms Works is nnot*tili/yi In Hif vival of the fittest." People who want to bungee jump or smoke heavily or ride motorcycles without helmets should have the right to Under the laws of statistics and evolution, they are for more likely to cue ocxofc mey lmect tnetr onspnng with similar notions. So tfce prob lem ? if there is one will eventual ly take care of itself. Unfortunately, sympathy for the ignorant and aeif-destroctive infects our legal system. We pass laws re quiring government to make sure people don't harm themselves. Then we allow the so-called "victims" to file lawsuits against anyone remote ly involved when the victim gets in jured. Like the guy who smoked three packs a day for 30 yean, then filed suit against the tobacco company when be got lung cancer. Or the drunk driver who sued the hast of a party where he got himself in shape to cause a traffic accident. Or the parents who failed to su pervise their children on a ampins trip and blamed the National Park Service when one of their Idds fell off adiff. This cry of, "It's not my fault! Somebody should have warned me!" will only get wane if we let the government control health care. ' As it is now, people who drfcw recklessly or engage in potential^ self-destructive behavior are di? outraged from doing so by highe? If yon don't believe me, ask y?* agent how ranch it would cost to mm collision insurance u a Harley Dnvidaon with a prior DW1 convic tion. It's enough to make a biker sleep it off before riding home. But if the government starts run ning things, bureaucrats will simper demand that all "high-risk" activities be banned or regulated to the point of ab&uniiiy in the name of ual u? Ml Tftft may Irirfcr ggwiwy knees? Ban skateboarding. While we're at it, let's make them w??r knee pnds while bicycling. Too many drownings at the bench? Require all consul commn nities to hire full-time lifeguards. Guess who pays for that? Too many criminals using guns )o hurt people? Crack down on thsm! (The gum that is. The criminals *e just misunderstood.) Too many high-speed car wreck*? Prohiwt the sale of vehicles thai ctn exceed 55 miles per hour. Might is well make drivers wear helmets, loo. After all, it's the government and it can do whatever it wants. Can't 4?
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
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June 16, 1994, edition 1
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