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VOLUME 6
NEW BERN, N. C., FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 1963
NUMBER 8
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Like the professional singer
who admires the accomplish
ments of another vocalist, or
the ballerina who appreciates
the grace of a rival of their
craft.
This week we want to share
with you part of a column from
the pen of Earl Tucker, a small
town editor who turns out copy
for the Dothan, Ala,, Eagle and
a number of other papers In
the Deep South. It may strike
your fancy as It did ours,
and rambles In this phillsophl-
cal vein:
People are always trying to
figure out what’s wrong with
this country and what It needs
and this gives me the right to
do the same thing. Inasmuch as
I, too, am people.
While I am at It, I will also
try to figure out what Is wrong
with people, and If I am suc
cessful In the latter, then we will
have an automatic solution to
the first problem.
If you read the papers you
know that our mental Institu
tions are crowded all over the
United States. More and moreof
our wealthier citizens are hav
ing nervous breakdowns and
more and more of our poor and
t 41IV/A C II1V/4 1C su
What I believe Is causing all
of this trouble Is that we are
thinking too much. We can relax
physically In a chair or bed and
rest our body. We can close
our eyes and rest them. We
can get away from people and
rest our vocal chords.
In a quiet place we can give
our hearing apparatus a chance
to take It easy. But, In our
waking moments, we are
continually thinking and our
brain never gets any time off.
Too much heavy thinking will
cause mental trouble and bring
on death prem.aturely. For
example, we have In the Con
gress of the United States a
large number of very old men
who are still alert physically
and mentally. They stayed this
way because they have not spent
much time thinking.
We have three former Presi
dents still living. Two are pretty
old and one Is extra old. All
three are In good shape and I
am sure that not thinking has
been responsible for their good
condition. The one we have now
should live for many, many
years.
I believe a lot of easy think
ing went out with the advent of
modern heating. An open fire
place or a pot-bellied stove
made It mighty difficult to do
any hard thinking and this
country hasn’t been the same
since central heating became
popular.
It wouldn’t surprise me one
bit If the rise In mental dis
orders didn’t start climbing the
same year that open fireplaces
went out. Crackling logs, the
odor of burning oak and the glow
of red coals seemed to bring on
drowsiness and It’s difficult to
worry wnen your eyelids are
heavy. An open fireplace was
also Ideal for freezing to death
by, but I shall not delve Into
the physical aspects of this mat
ter.
Too, easy thinking will cause
you to sleep more soundly and
/ST IN CA§E-^I^ew ReVn‘^s f . Milins,
takes to the cockpit as the Civil Air Patrol launches its
systematic surveillance of local and neighboring waters
during the congested boating season. At the right, a
... , , .
helicopter demonstrates a practice rescue operation, as
part of the activities. Close cooperation exists between
the Patrol and Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station
for this safety program.—Photos by Leslie Morris.
WAY BACK WHEN—This photograph was made on a
hot July day in 1910, Pictured sprinting like frightened
deer with hounds on their hee^ is the New Bern fire
department’s crack reel team. Facing the camera, in
the foreground, unless we’re badly mistaken, is one of
New Bern’s old-time Mayors, Callie McCarthy. Shadows
of the runners indicate the sun’s brightness, and those
umbrellas were hoisted to escape it.
not be disturbed by horrible
nightmares. Laying off beer and
pork chops after dark will also
help.
So, In closing, let me urge
you to spend your days In easy
thinking. If you don’t have an
open fireplace, build one. When
your day’s work Is done, get
beside the fire In an open chair,
wrap an electric blanket around
yo’j to keep warm, and join me
In my thoughts.
Between us, we should catch
a prettynlcestrlngoflmaglnary
fish, which do not have to be
cleaned. Every now and then the
thought of a past-due easy pay
ment will try to break through
my soft thinking, and for a
flashing Instant I see a
collector standing in the door.
But I stop this heavy think
ing by throwing a cricket be
hind a log In a cool dark spot
and waiting to hear the splash
of water as I pull a blueglll
toward the boat...What we need
to do Is spend a major portion
of our time with easy thinking,
which Isn’t going to hurt
anybody.