y Thuietta Thoughts Of Springtime Since Friday the 20th is the First Day of Spring, My column this week is a different kind of thing. No musings on genealogy or birthdays or time But, an energetic attempt to make it all rhyme. With the temp in the 20's or even the teens It's hard to remember just what spring means: It's jonquils and tulips and grass again green. It's warm, sunny weather and air fresh and clean. It's knowing that soon the garden can be sown (And remembering, of course, that the grass must be mown.) It's a smaller heating bill and no cooling yet to do. It's cooking outside and eating there, too. It's the blessed weeks before summer and the sun's cruel heat. It's fresh air through the windows?a real night-time treat. It's Daylight Savings Time and no Standard dark A.M. It's warm weekend weather for mischief and mayhem. But, alas and alack, it's the time we must pay For the pounds that crept on while at home we did stay Close to the heat with a fork in each hand Gobbling every goody that our whims did demand. It'll be harder to hide all that blubber and flab And too warm to dress like a monk or arab. (Mary Catherine's husband was smarter than most. He lost his weight early and now he can boast.) Other folks jogged, but you and I sat And one pound turned to 10. Can you fancy that? So, we must start now to pare down for the summer. (Cottage cheese and aerobics sure can make spring a bummer.) Goodbye, ice and snow. Goodbye, cakes and pies. Hello, Tab and lettuce. Hello, blue skies! It Takes Everyone To Defend America This is the second and final in stallment of a letter to the editor on the subject of communism. To The Editor: Do we have any card-carrying Communists in Warrenton? -Probably not. What we do have is ?an air of defeatism which is oc urring also in the rest of our nation. *"lf Some of our children are drop ping out of school. There seem to be two groups of dropouts. The first group comes from en vironments so depressing that jthey would literally have to pull themselves up by their boot straps. Unable to do this, they escape with alcohol, drugs and promiscuous sex. The second group is very sophisticated. They will obtain jobs; they will make it. They have learned early that money is the key to survival. They have been told that the world cannot be changed. They appear to believe it. They are more interested in the financial securities of today than in the idealistic dreams of a nation. Some of these children could be very vulnerable targets for the Communist philosophy. The children who remain in school will also encounter groups who will advocate Communism. Hopefully, as they become educated, they will be able to perceive the dangers. i Deneve in uie American youngster. I believe in his poten tial for growth and in his courage. However, I am concerned that we are not giving our children the motivation and the spiritual stamina to become the defenders of tommorrow's freedom! We parents are dropping out also. Caught up in the same emo tional and financial upheavals as our children, we are having trou ble coping. Some of us are arm ing ourselves with tranquilizers or indifference and are going in search of our own sanity. Statistics tell us that American psychiatrists have a high rate of nervous breakdowns themselves. The experts who are there to help us cope are themselves feeling the stress. Our men and women from poor environments realize that they must overcome incredible ob stacles to reach goals. Many are becoming discouraged. Many of them have packed their idealism in their bade pockets and are slowly decaying their pain, their livers and their dreams?with cheap wine and with cheap crack. . It has been said: "The Com munists are kneading together a society which can realize that there is no possibility other than Well, It is just not true! We do have defenses! ?Our churches, in spite of economic and internal political problems, are still a powerful protection against Communism and oppression. Gregarian (the Russian cosmonaut) said: "I flew through the heavenly bodies; the sky was empty. There is no God!" Our own American astronaut, John Glenn, said: "Thi force wHch runs the com pass cannot be perceived by our senses. It cannot be seen; it can-' not be tasted. Yet, we see the results. I see the results of spiritual influences in my life; and I know there is a God!" ?Information and education are fantastic defenses. Ameri cans who are informed of the dangers will not choose or accept Communism. If you want more information, write to either the Committee on Un-American Ac tivities, U. S. House of Represen tatives, Washington D.C. or the United States Government Print ing Office, Washington, D.C. ?The humanity found in all countries and in our people can work for us. The people in the Soviet Union are not our enemies. It is their philosophy which en dangers us. If we can keep the lines of communication open, we have a chance to perhaps make friends and to influence some thinking. ?Our greatest defense is still our constitutional right?freedom of speech. You may not like my letter. You might write one that I won't like. However, both of us will be doing a great service for our country. We, the people, speaking out?keeps alive our right to do so! As one of our own great leaders said: "I may not agree with what you say, but I shall defend always your right to say it." LINDA KNIGHT Warrenton Refused Credit If you are turned down for credit, the creditor must give you the reason why you have been refused or the ad dress to which you can write within 60 days requesting this information, and the name of any credit bureau whose report may have been used. Letters To The Editor Locker Need To The Editor: This week I would like to ad dress another issue?one that has irked me for a year and a half. The problem is that we students at Warren County High School do not have lockers. The fact that we have not been pro vided with lockers is an outrage, an abomination. Most students at our school are burdened with an average of 30 pounds of books. Yet, we have no place to store them between classes and on the weekends. Over the past summer, John Graham Middle School ad ministrators obtained used lockers for its students for one dollar each. The halls of Warren County High School are approx imately 12 feet wide, perfect for lockers. And, even second-hand lockers would be better than no lockers at all! Our school was allotted $35,000 to purchase lockers, but we have not seen these lockers yet. Where has this money gone? In conclusion, after hearing the ideas and plans of other students, I think that there may be dire consequences for school admini strators to face if we are not pro vided with lockers. PAUL DICKERSON Rt. 1, Warrenton Measuring IQ To The Editor: Here are a few fapts that those to whom they are relevant may or may not know. These facts pertain to the many tests that are given each day for everything from school to jobs, and which are used to measure certain qualities or characteristics of men and women. Intelligence is the ability of a person or animal to learn new in formation. Memory is the ability to retain information already learned. Knowledge is the ac cumulated information a person has. Experience is the applica tion of acquired or learned know ledge. Education, or perhaps, in stead, formal education, is the process most tir all people go through to develop their in telligence, increase their know ledge and learn ways to retain that same knowledge and acquire more. People are different as we all know. That means that people have different amounts of know ledge and different abilities to re tain that knowledge. Some have little or no formal education, while others have exhausted all available schools in their career areas. The point is that educators, ad ministrators, counselors and psychologists should be sure that the tests they give truly measure the characteristic for which they have been designed to measure. Someone may be very intelli gent, but have little knowledge. A child is an example of this situa tion. Someone else may have much acquired knowledge, but may not be able to remember much of it as an older adult. Still another person may be unable to learn much, but that person may have a very good memory. It is possible that both our memory and intelligence can be improved. Surely our acquired knowledge can be increased. Since I am not an expert, I don't know. The point is that if we are to im prove any of these, we must first know what we are trying to im prove and how best to measure each individual trait. Since I am a person of average intelligence, average memory and some ac quired knowledge and experi ence, I'll leave that task up to those who are experts. MILTON GOODWIN DAVIS Wise WE BUY PINE & HARDWOOD TIMBER AND PULPWOOD Hlflhway 56 VlfM, P.O. Box 266, Loutabura. N.C. 27546 GEORGE BOBBITT 287-1513 MAXSTEELMAN 498-5040 JOHN GARRETT 288-2276 OFFICE 488-2800 'Made In America' Discussed To The Editor : Recently, while still in Petersburg, I worked as a carpenter's helper on a bridge construction project. Since I needed steel-toe shoes, I went to one of the local shoe stores in a mall. On one of the shelves was a row of steel-toed shoes with a big red, white and blue "Made in the U.S.A." tag attached. They were what I needed, so I purchased them. In less than two weeks on the job, the seams split wide open. I returned to the shoe store and spoke to the manager. He told me that they were the wrong shoes for the job as they were simu lated leather rather than real leather. I still do not understand why that should make shoes fall apart. He gave me a full refund and sold me a slightly more expen sive pair that were made of real leather and had the same red, white and blue "Made in the U.S.A." tag on them. I'll have to admit that this was a much bet ter pair of shoes. They lasted about eight months "before they fell apart. "Ford, where quality is number one." Ever hear it? I've had three Ford products in which the gas lines have rusted out. I've spoken to various mechanics and have been told that this is common. I've also had a two-ton E300 enclosed truck. Not only did the gas line go, but the brake line rusted out as well?and it was a good thing I Resistant Wood Pressure-treated wood has had chemicals forced deep into the wood to make it resistant to rot and insects. GOIN' to eat n IT All, MAC Is Coronation Feast Gathering in Westminster Haii after the coronation of George IV in 1821, celebrators consumed 17,000 pounds of beef, veal, and mutton, together with a vast quantity of sweetbreads, cows' heels and calves' feet, 160geese, 1,160 chickens, 1,730 pounds of bacon, 160 dishes of fish, and more -- and washed it all down with more than 4,000 bottles of wine, says National Geographic. was not on an interstate or in heavy traffic at the time or I might not be here today to write this letter! Recently, I took an electronic game apart for repairs. It is distributed by a leading toy manufacturer and had "Made in the U.S.A." all over the outside. Guess what? Inside, I found a label indicating that some of the parts were "made in Taiwan." There was another label inside which read, "Assembled in Mexico." I really have to wonder what was "Made in the U.S.A." besides the profits! We have recently seen a huge advertising campaign tor cloth ing "made in the U.S.A." I have also recently seen advertising for cameras that you use once and then throw away?as if we don't have enough garbage around that we don't know what to do with. Perhaps "Made in the U.S.A." would have more meaning if we replaced disposable quantity and built-in-obsolescence with real value and quality. I believe that certain things and values from the "good 'ol days" are still worthwhile and meaningful. LOU MORGANO Macon An Important Message To The Editor: " Amerika" aroused varied in terests as well as editorial criticism, perhaps earned by the over dramatization of our possi ble situation over the next few years and its focus on the apathetic attitude of the people toward the integrity of the government in upholding the Con stitution and the individual liber ties vouchsafed therein. My feelings are that it carried an important and timely message that presents to each of us an unusual opportunity to strength en our appreciation for the great nation in which we live. What bet ter time than the 200th anniver sary of the Constitution (Sept. 17) that the United States will commemorate? This Bicentennial year affords renewed opportunities to learn more of the divinely inspired charter of our liberty; to speak in its defense; and to help preserve, protect and sustain it in the face of danger from evil designs to ward destruction of change. President Ezra Taft Benson has declared that "We as members of The Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints ac cept the Constitution as being divinely inspired, and the Lord justifies us in befriending it, and further, that prophets, beginning with Joseph Smith, have loved and sustained the Constitution." President Benson went on to say, "Because some Americans have not kept the faith with our foun ding fathers, the Constitution faces severe challenges. Those who do not prize individual freedom are trying to erode its great principles. We believe the Constitution will stand, but it will take the efforts of patriotic and dedicated Americans to uphold it." The nation's second President, John Adams, offered special in sight when he said, "Our Con stitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the govern ment of any other." Every citizen has a respon sibility to exercise vigilance and to do his part to preserve the Con stitution and to safeguard the way of life it makes possible. May I encourage everyone to participate and to become more involved in this effort?especially in this Bicentennial year? ELDER CALVIN G. HEINER Raleigh .u ?D? P ft DR. BERT HELLING ORTHODONTIST 1007 N. Bickett Blvd. Louisburg, N.C. 496-6555 847-6364 Louisburg Raleigh BLACIvSHWK BLUEMOLD Kiaomn in the soil... For control in the plant Ridomil stops these two tobacco diseases before they happen. Because it hits them in the soil. And its systemic activity in the plant gives you extra protection. Two major diseases. Two ways to control them. With one powerful fungicide ? Ridomil. Ridomil* trademark d CIBA GEK5Y LEBANON CHEMICAL Warrenton, N.C. 257-3288