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VOLUME 8
NEW BBRN, N. C., FRIDAY. FEBRUARY 4, 1966
NUMBER 44
Never underestimate a bird's
intelligence. When gale winds
whipped through New Bern early
Sunday morning, hundreds of
our feathered friends headed
directly into the storm instead
of fleeing before it.
Their knowledge, or Instinct,
told them that bad weather with
its hard driven snow would be
over quicker If they could fly
where it had been, rather than
where It was going to be.
Only the ostrich, with his
head buried in the sand, Is fool
ish enough among members of
the bird family to think you can
avoid or eliminate the unpleas
ant by turning tall and pretend
ing It Isn't there.
Humans, including most es
pecially newq>aper editors,
make the same mistake that the
ostrich is guilty of, time and
time again. Many of you start
with your first waking moment,
when you turn over for that sec
ond snooze.
As a henpecked husband who
does the dishes fairly frequent
ly, and isn't ashamed to admit
it, we finally learned that It's
better to tackle them promptly,
after a meal, than to spend a half
hour or more dreading the or
deal.
Because nations are simply
a bunch of humans lumped to
gether in a given area, they
behave like an ostrich too. This
attitude on the part of big na-
tloits/ when Adeif Hitter was t
gobbling up smaller ones, led to
the greatest blood bath the world
has ever known.
Falling to face this cha^cotge,
as those birds did Sunday morn
ing when they braved the freez
ing gale, brought death by quick
violence or slow torture to
millions. Some of their names
are on (he marble shaft erect
ed on the lawn of our Craven
County courthouse.
It is safe to say that never
before in history have so many
Americans been embittered by
acts of their elected leaders,
and yet much of the blame lies
with those of us who either re
fuse to take a stand for fear
of being "Involved" or meek
ly say, "There’s nothing you
can do about it.”
People who dm’t want to get
Involved show their cowardice
in many ways. In New York
City, for example, scores of
citizens in surrounding apart
ment houses declined to call po
lice several months ago when a
man beat and stabbed a woman
repeatedly in the street below,
and returned a third time to fin
ally kill his victim. No one want
ed to be "mixed up” in the af
fair.
Could such a thing happen in
New Bern and Craven County?
Ask the injured motorists we
talked to recently, who said the
car Immediately behind his
when a wreck occurred pulled
around the collision and sped
away.
Accidents are never pleasant,
but thank God there are still
thousands of drivers white and
b.ack on North Carolina's
highways who are willing to stop
and lend a helping hand to
someone in dire and desperate
need. But for such assistance,
and prompt calls for ambu
lances, the death toll would be
multlpiled.
Do you have the courage of
your convlcttons, or do you
remain silent on matters of vital
concern to your community?
(Continued on page 8)
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YOU’RE WRONG^At first glance you’re apt to mis
take this for an out of season photo^ph of a typical
summer scene. Instead it pictm^s the Neuse frozen
solid Monday morning from New Bern to Bridgeton.
The wave you think you see some distance from shore
isn’t a wave at all, but a ridge of ice that humped up
when the river’s frigid crust was forming. The tropic
appearing foliage that provides a right border for r ‘
photograph, snapped by Billy Benners, will probably
be recognized by two of our Mirror readers, the Har
old Maxwells. We trespassed in their garden, on I^t
Front street, to get just the setting we wanted. Rarely
does the Neuse freeze over, so you may want to save
this week’s issue to show your grandchildren some>
day when they doubt your stories of way back when.
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