TTqv, St. ^
PUBLISHED WEEKLY
IN THE HEART OF
EASTERN NORTH
CAROLINA
5^ Per Copy
VOLUME 5
NEW BERN, N. C., FRIDAY, JULY 27, 1962
NUMBER 13
Early on a recent morning, as
is often the case, we spied dozens
of pigeons and sparrows in the
middle of Pollock street, near the
Elks Temple corner. Some kind
soul had scattered small pieces of
bread on the thoroughfare, and
they were having a joyous feast.
As we approached, they grew
alarmed with one accord and made
a wholesale flight to the roof tops
of neighboring buildings. That is,
they all flew away except one
small sparrow. He continued eat
ing, and didn’t even bother to look
up as we passed by on the side
walk. Meanwhile, the rest of the
feathered, diners saw fit to stay
at what they considered a safe
distance.
Why, we wondered, did this one
sparrow elect to remain where he
was? Could it be that he was hard
of hearing, overly greedy, or sim
ply saturated with an abundance
of faith in mankind? Whatever the
reason, he at least dared to be
different, and for that he was
deserving of the unlimited admira
tion we felt for him.
Admittedly, this little sparrow
may be very foolish. Had we been
a cat instead of a man, the story
would have ended quite different
ly. Even so, there is something
tremendously commendable about
any creature with enough gump
tion to think for himself. It’s nice
to know that a sparrow can be a
rugged individualist in a world
where follo\v.ing the leader and
aping others- is the order^of the
day. '
This may have been a lady spar
row. In that case, we wouldn’t be
at all surprised to learn that her
nest is built in a decidedly unorth
odox manner. And possibly, if she
had her way, she would lay eggs
of strange shape, size and color.
She might even teach her offspring
to fly backwards, just for the heck
of it.
Of course, being different sim
ply for the sake of being different
isn’t a commendable quality. All
of us get pretty fed up with those
who insist on disagreeing with
others on any and all subjects
Usually, this sort of an individual
is a phony who does little or no
thinking. He is too busy taking the
opposite point of view to reason
things out and reach an honest
conclusion based on his own firm
convictions.
Such critters, be they birds
beasts or humans, are far remov
ed in thought and deed from our
little friend, the sparrow. He didn’t
stay in the street, nonchalantly eat-
ting bread crumbs, to give rise to
an argument, to be an exhibition
ist, or to be consistently obnoxious,
Instead, he relied on hi's own
judgement, arrived at a decision in
the twinkling of an eye, and gov
erned his actions accordingly.
Under different circumstances,
he might have given the matter
greater consideration. In this in
stance, the situation offered no
opportunity for prolonged delib
eration. To each of us, in the
course of a busy and unpredictable
life, there likewise come moments
when we have to choose one course
or another very quickly.
We can never be quite sure, in
advance, just how we will react
to this or that situation. However,
it’s a safe bet that those who blind
ly follow the leader in normal
walks of life, and fail to have the
courage of their own convictions
are the folks who are inevitably
stampeded in an hour of crisis..
America’s greatness, admittedly
enhanced far beyond what we de
serve by the blessings of God, is
founded on unity for the common
welfare; but unity in no sense of
the word should ever be construed
as regimentation of thought. De
mocracy has been a lasting thing,
not because it was accepted with-
(Continued on Page 5)
PLEASED OFFICIALS—New Bern’s telephone conversation
with our mother city of Berne, via the Telstar satellite, is
responsible for the smiles displayed by this group. Shown
in foreground are City Attorney A1 Ward, Mayor Dale
Millns, and Alderman Kathleen Stallings. Others, left to
right, are Aldermen Paul Cox, George Ballard, Ethridge
Ricks and City Manager Ed Welch.—Photo by Wray Studio.
SOLVE THE MYSTERY—Do you recognize anyone in this
ancient picture? The uniformed young man who is second
from the right on the back row is John I. Smith. Maybe you
can identify someone else and set us straight on the mili
tary organization that these New Bernians belonged to in
days of yore.