Opinion Page TUC DP! IMCll/irL'Anr arfkhl iiil ur>uiwvitiVfEfP[;MlUi\ Kiluartl M. Suoall an?l ('arnh n II. Sural! i'tibiishvrs Ktluanl M. Sural! Editor Si i *an l\?Iirr Yrir* Editor Marjorir )h'}?iirrii issorisitr Editor Johnny drain Sports Editor Marv Poll* Offivv W.ui.i^cr Orolia (Jorc ithrrtisiim Ufpn'smtntivv I'atnmir (Inllouay Typrsvitvr Sirvr Amlrrson Erfssnum Hill !Mr(?ounn I'hoto I'cchnicijin i!iy?lo anil Mallir Stonl. Hrrntla < Irmmon* ('.imitation Fago *-A Thurvila*. July 10.1986 r /"*\i | r>4\ / v~v^t_n ily uca..ioiui i C L-> , , ?. rJ \ A/!n rj rw Ol VVI5UUMI county manager and cosmnissioners. who laky l!lira p for every misstep they make, deserve aun'.ause when thev behave like statesmen . . pardon. Mrs. Beasley. statespersons. Such an incident took place last week as that governing body wrestled with the budget. Among a thousand other details of positions and vehicles and programs these folks were trying to juggle with available money, there was the question of a soil scientist. Three departments had requested one: health, planning and soil conservation. All three had valid reasons why this specialist should be added to their little bureaucracy. What were the budgeteers to do? One option might have been to close their eyes and choose at random, hoping the disappointed boards and staffs would appreciate the dilemma and be forgiving. Another route was the old. familiar political one. Which choice would make the most friends for commissioners, especially those closest to an election? And perhaps the easiest way out would liave been to cut the position from the budget entirely, pleading thrift What a popular argument that would have been' But the final arrangement showed true wisdom and will probably serve the county better titan any other. The soil scientist position was retained in the budget, with the office to be located in none of the interested departments, but in the county manager's jurisdiction. He will determine the work load of this new person, allocating his or her time among the three places where those skills are needed. What a splendid compromise! Everyone will have the services of the soil scientist, no one has any reason for resentment. and the administration of the job is simplified by placement of responsibility in the hands of one man. County Manager Billy Carter will be as fair and knowledgeable, and competent a manager of this fragmented position as anyone we know. He and the commissioners had a .stroke of brilliance in resolving this item in the county budget. Thanks, guys . . . oops, persons! Legendary Town Deserves Identity Pitv poor Calabash! Its main thoroughfare is a smorgasbord of more than 20 restaurants, its permanent population has zoomed 57 percent in six years, and its seafood cookery has become a legend from coast to coast. Yet mail addressed to its residents and businesses must have a Shallotte address. What an identity crisis the little town must have, with five different addresses in its recent history, and not one of them Calabash. There have been Ocean. Drive, North Myrtle Beach, Little River, and Wampee. all in S.C., besides Shallotte, which is now said to be mandatory come 1987. It is natural that the town fathers and mothers have hit on the notion of a Calabash post office. It seems the only way to avoid the embarrassment, confusion and inconvenience of conducting business with a "foreign" return address. Then there is the alleged ho-hum service they're getting at the present contract station. If that nseurin-nnsi nffir-e taVss lengthy midday siesta, and can't offer all services anyway, it's one more good reason to seek a bonafide post office. Comparisons around the county argue for it. There are about the same number of permanent residents in Calabash as there are boxholders and route customers for the Longwood post office, and !.origwood has nowhere near the name recognition of our little border town, nor is it a municipality. The same could be said for Ash, and both these communities are blessed with these facilities. So, for what it's worth, wc add our voice to those clamoring for Congressman Charlie Rose to come to the aid of this charming, growing village. The seafood capitol of the world needs a post office! HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO Tilt BRIINSWICK^RFACON | I POST orFICE BOX 2558 I I SHALLOT ft. NOftlH CAROLINA >8459 | I For Award-Winning Hews Coverage J ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: S?. j In Brunswick County 7 50 6 50 i j Elsewhere in North Carol inn 10.00 9 00 | | Outside North Carolina 12 50 11 50 | Complete And Return To Above Address | Name | Address I City, State I L_zjl j v '< i Life V\ A >on:in cousin of iinne wa> I the other day. He'd opened ;i eltecking aeeount at a loeal bank The teller Have him some counter checks and promised he'd liavo no trouble using them until the imprinted cheeks with his name and addr ess arrived Might off, of course, ho went to a >u>; v 10 iry om uus new means , of barter. He was all crown up mul proud as punch. II didn't work. i The kut was embarrassed almost * to death in Use checkout line when the i clerk wouldn't accept the counter ?. check with presentation of only his i driver's license Von must have proper identification." she told him. ticking off a few that no sell- 1 respecting teenager would own S It was as though he didn't ex- > isi- Mmieiitiiit; ln> iimtiin, ?ii leitsi. would find hard to behove since she o Posted Hour To the editor: \s an employee of the Periwinkle Shop, which is also the t a la bash t on- 1 tract Post Office. I would like to res iv.1 uiLMi'.iturif: statement made 1 by Calabash i ommissioner ran I.i*wellyn on pane one of your newspaper on .Inly :t. regarding Unclosing of the Calabash 1'ost office in t Disregard S> To the editor: J* 1 am a resident of this area and l am artery at the treatment and the <1 ethics used by the man who is in t charge of the concession and main y parking lot at Sunset Beach. Walter Pick A Da While mowing our growing collection of grasses and weeds we sometimes refer t"as a lawn", I cut for the fourth time a dandelion plant which now lias raised its guide nblossotnud head (or the fifth tune. This reminded me of an article I read some years ago on picking a dandelion The gist of the story was that you y cannot pick a dandelion. People who h think about dandelions usually think f] about one particular part of the plant with which they have had some h association. <| If you make dandelion wine and b have gathered a gallon of flower heads, you don't think about the (, "puff ball" seed head. 11 If you have made a wish and blown tl away the seed from the "puff ball". 12 you aren't tliat aware of what the tl flower may look like. If you are a wild foods freak and y have made salad of the young leaves h or boiled the leaves for a vegetable, si you naturally think about the young si green leaves. r The "essence" of the dandelion is o none of these: it is the combination of h all of them and more. If you pick the vong green leaves, n How I Remember when tropical storm Andrew flirted with us a few weeks ago, skipping up the coast, then out to , sea? Well, he spent last weekend in ^ the Cbpv rcaT nit-ci, iii in) SiOiiSv, iiiit"! left ine somewhat stunned, but intact. This particular Andrew is iny I throe-year-ohl grandson who g demonstrated even more clearly than my mirror just how old ' am. r When he breezed out with his parents ;i in tow early this morning, after a four-day visit, all 1 could do was fall <; back on the tied and stare at the ceil- I ing. I Actually, the exhaustion was due in i part to my preparations for this little "disturbance." I had cooked and i cleaned, shopped for books and toys, r acquired a beach cottage for a couple of days and planned a dinner party. I All tliat effort was worthwhile in ( the very first moment of his arrival, j when Andrew came running to me, shouting "(iraoroa!" and jumped in- i to nay arms. Bvery grandparent will < understand the feeling. i And he had his quiet moments dur- i ing the next few (Lays . .. well, one or i two of them. Hut it's amazing how i much energy is required on the part of parents and grandparents even to | achieve those golden hours of eating and sleeping and quiet playing. I''or one tiling, 1 found ctrily frozen chir-ken chunks ond (,'la'vrios wore on his 'ithout Car Iocs his luumlry At ago IT. lie isn't too bit* on credit 'anIs and doesn't carry his birth cerificate around in his wallet. High ehools don't liave those official look ne student ! P.'s like colleges. What is a guy like this to do" ! know just how he felt, having had n\ billfold stolen in the Charleston. 1.1* . bus station, on my waj back to chool in Ohio. For three weeks, until I had toured lit tl?e right order to go through in LETTERS TO S Ohs&rv&rl he middle of the day As of August I, lt?85. when the new -nntract became effective, the Post v'fioe hours liave been from 10 a.m. 0 ? p.m. on weekdays and from 11? 1 iii t" 1 I'.lll Ibc Post i >ffiee hours are posted at he front door and alx>ve the Post Ofhown Once Smith. In April this year. m> wife and i leaded to buy a parking ticket for he season which would enable us to iark and have access to both sides of iuuset Peach from the main pier. At ridel ion? & Fciver ou haven't really puked a dandelion ecau.se a dandelion has a yellow lower and a seed ball. If you pick the puff ball" and make a wish, you aven't picked a dandelion because a andelion is more than the "puff all". i an you really pick a dandelion? >r any other flower? Maybe the leaning of all this that everything in lie universe is s?? interconnected and Uer'h'jM'ndent that we cannot grasp lie vastness of it For if we could pick a dandelion" whether it is oung green leaves or golden flower ead or round, fuzzy puff ball", we till have not captured the nourishing oil in which the plant grows, or the i-freshing rains that have watered it r the energy giving sunshine tliat as pulled it from the ground. No, we cannot pick a dandelion; iavlK? we shouldn't just mow over it. Survived i fUr ] fv'xui jOf it: ' ^Megivern icvcr-fail menu, so had to inake inother trip for provisions. Then, it urns out even these favorite foods 1*0 lown only with a mixture of enter* ninment, pleading and threats, sating is not one of his priorities, hut t is tops on his mother's list, so we ;pe?t considerable time in the frantic ictivily of cajoling Andrew to take on lourishment. lie does go to sleep well at night, nil the buildup to that includes an incredible day's agenda of running, lumping, squealing and yelling. Another daytime difficulty is the attorfilU :iI Siflllll lull *l'h#-ri? ic '.r? in. xliaiistihk patience in three-yearilds that allows ll>em to intone "Dad ly, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy..." over and over and over ahove Daddy's conversations. Tliere were a lot of new experiences for Andrew over the weekend, and these kept me in motion, too. He learned to "swim" only after several forays to the boarli where he icfused to go near the? ds: What A tlinii flu* i">r.k I u..l .. missing person I couldn't >:? ! money out i't my bank account: 1 couldn't register lot classes Nothing Hilt the landlady. power company and set vice station still wanted to tie paid No one else believed I was Susan Thames Usher anymore and I was even Ihv.iiimuu: to question it mvselt These days, you have to liavo aii the right cards to make it Without two or three different ones on your jh'rson at all times, you are in danger f teehnieal Invisihilit) Kctiicmbcr when you went to get a driver's license" 'Tliev wouldn't accept one kind of ideutificatuui. such as a hirth certificate. Von had to have more Many a mom lias gone home to fetch more papers, more cards. Slop right now, Sort through the ileitis hi vo'.if Wiiiiei 01 poise in ut I am ccrtain that the situation could have been corrected and handled with courtesy and at no great effort or cost. If I were lotjuesting .something, lit which I was nut cot it h i I or something that could not be confirmed with a minimum of effort, E could better understand his maimer, but there was no excuse for his attitude during our conversation By his actions, the image of the business commmunity of Sunset H Beach has lieen darkened. In so doing lie exhibited a complete disregard for pairuns, once no lias collected the money. li is my hu|K? that other people uill not he placed in the same unfortunate position as 1 was and that Mr. Smith's actions throughout this incident are not reflective of the attitudes of other property owners at Sunset Beach. He has done a disservice not only to me, hut to the entire Sunset BCfi'.ii community. ? Baymoudti. Mactjuoeii I jtorm I punch alone, imagine the wind velocity associated with twin hurricanes! Six adults looked pretty silly trying to maintain dignified, serious dkriissioiis against a background of shrieks, bcd-juiiipings, and wild leaps through I he house. I finally had a heart-to-heart talk with the two and they turned down their volume to a civilized level, hut I was already a trembling wreck. It's just heeu too long since 1 was in the presence of one of these lively creatures I've spent loo much time willi dull, lethargic adults, and have not kept in shape for this sort of tiling. Before Andrew visits attain, I'll work out at the gym, practice the 50-yard dash, take voice liainiritt so I can nutsliout linn, and s|>etid entire days without sitting; down once. But probably time lias taken its toll, and there's no way the very old can co-exist with the very vomit!, not in physical endurance at least, Fortunately, there's more to it than tliat. My little hurricane has a tender, delightful side, too. He is funny and loving and absolutely brilliant! So ii matters little that my body has thrown too old to keep up with him The rest of ino is still a fun-loving child, and Hints something else his visit disclosed. Thanks, Andrew. Blow in nj;nin any time! I t \