Page 4A-THE KINGS MOUNTAIN HERALD-Thursday, May 11, 1995
Opinions
JIM
HEFFNER
. Guest Columnist
A world gone nuts
Every time I think I've seen or heard it all, some-
body comes along with something new.
The other day I got a flyer in the mail advertising a
new book called Who's Who of Animals. The next day
I picked up an out of town newspaper and saw a col-
umn on the same subject. The column was authored by
Mary Layton, a Gastonia teacher.
The book, published in Durham, contains pho-
tographs and biographical sketches of pets. Anyone
can have their lizard, dog, cat, snake or what have you
included in the book for a $15 charge. The book retails
for $69, and it is updated every year.
Some people in Durham publish the book, and be-
fore you question their sanity, it sells well.
I think I missed my calling, but maybe it’s not too
late. I’ve been watching a lot of those old Andy
Griffith reruns. Otis, the town drunk, was one of the
main characters in that show. I got to thinking about it,
and maybe I could put out a book, something like
Who’s Who of town drunks. Are there any town
drunks around anymore? I used to have a relative who
was the assistant town drunk in York. I'll have to think
about it. 5
Banking Chicago style - First Chicago, the 11th
largest bank in the country, is set to charge customers
who insist on dealing with a real live teller $3 per
transaction.
Leo Mullin, president of the financial institution,
said, “This is the wave of the future.”
Can you imagine that? If you use a teller machine,
you have to pay a charge that is less than using a hu-
man being.
One area college professor said: “Is it fair for those
of us who are ATM users to subsidize those who use
tellers?” Is it fair to ask where this professor got his
education?
I tried to get Mr. Mullin on the phone to ask if he
was serious, but his secretary told me Leo was outside
talking to a parking meter.
Mechanical banking may be the wave of the future,
but if my bank goes that route, the only wave will be
me saying bye bye.
O.J. update - I believe in the U.S. system of justice.
I believe anyone is entitled to a fair trial, and I refuse
to convict O.J. Simpson until all the evidence is in. I
do, however wonder about his defense team, the
Dream Team as they are called.
Blood from Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman was
found on Simpson’s socks, inside his house, and inside
the famous Bronco, and blood that is likely Simpson’s
was found at the scene of the murders. Yet the former
athlete’s attorneys continue to insist the police planted
the blood in an effort to frame their client. That's giv-
ing the L.A. police mor€ ¢
you imagine what an effort it would take to get all that
blood scattered around in just the right places?
“It reminds me of the time a movie theater manager
paid a pet supplier to provide 500 canaries for display
at a special kiddie show on a Saturday morning in
New York City.
Something happened to the air conditioning and all
500 birds died. To avoid liability, the manager insisted
that 500 simultaneous heart attacks had taken place.
* Fuzzy’s folly - President Fuzzy hints the Oklahoma
City tragedy was the result of hate spread by talk ra-
dio.
May I suggest that minds are more likely to be
warped by liberal rhetoric from people like the presi-
dent, and his step-and-fetch-it, Al Gore?
: People such as Timothy McVeigh probably don’t
¢ven listen to the radio, but you can just bet your bot-
tom dollar they read newspapers and watch TV, and
the pap they get from politicians and indoctrinated
news anchors is enough to drive anybody off the deep
end.
President Fuzzy is trying to backtrack on his accusa-
tions now. Seems they didn’t go over too well with the
public.
TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE
| "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new cre-
ation; old things have passed away, behold all things
have become new.
"Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us
to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the
ministry of reconciliation,
"that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the
world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to
them, and has committed to us the word of reconcilia-
tion."
2 Corinthians 5:17-19
rédit than they deserve. Can
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"BARBOUR ©1945 CARouNA chirisons
Thanks for supporting game
To the editor:
I would like to take this time and opportunity to
thank all the players who made our first annual "Old:
Timers" baseball game a success. It means a lot to our
Booster Club, and especially to those players who en-
joyed themselves, which I think was everyone.
Also, a special thank you to those fans who support-
ed these young-at-heart adults reliving great memories
on the baseball field.
We hope to continue and also improve on this each
year. Again, thanks to everyone involved.
Coach Tony Leigh
® o °o
Missing Mama Millen
To the editor:
We miss Mama (Zettie) Millen since God has called
her to a better place He has prepared for His own. Her
life was a shining light to her children, grandchildren,
great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.
They remember her
grandmothers hug
she loved to give
each one.
She taught us
many things: to read
our Bible daily. It
will help us learn
anything we would
ever need to know.
To meet her families
g needs she was the
first one to get up in
the morning and the
last one to go to bed
at night. She taught
us to love and help
each other, to love our friends and neighbors as much
as we did ourselves, to support the church and find our
place in one. We were wealthy in the respect we had
Christian parents to love and care for us.
We can think of Mama Millen and she is right be-
side us in our hearts. God blessed this world with
many things but the most wonderful of all was when
he blessed it with mothers. To each member of her
family, "Precious Memories" are gifts from the heart.
(Signed by Ruth, Rosanell, Adam, Doris,
Margaret, Willard, Charlie, Tom, 15 grandchil-
dren, 29 great-grandchildren and eight great-
grandchildren of Zettie Millen).
Lottery bad for N.C.
To the editor:
This letter is to voice my strong opposition to the
proposal brought forth in the NC State legislature for a
referendum which would allow citizens of North
Carolina to decide whether or not to institute a state
lottery. Ye
ZETTIE MILLEN
The lottery, or any other form of gambling, hits at
the very moral fabric of our society,a and its destruc-
tiveness causes havoc with the lives of its victims,
many times those victims being wives and children.
Gambling of any kind is contrary to God's word, al-
ways leads to related kinds of gambling enterprises,
opens the door for crime and corruption, excessively
hurts the poor, the young, and the less educated seg-
ment of society, has been proven to hurt, not help the
local economy, destroys the work ethic, has ruined
marriages and families, and much more.
Suicide rates for spouses of compulsive gamblers is
150 times higher than the national average, 40% of
white collar crime is committed by compulsive gam-
blers, and 20% of wife abuse cases involve compulsive
gambling. With legalized gambling North Carolina
would have over 100,000 new compulsive gamblers in
just the next 10 years. Is this what you want for your
state?
Legislators who want the people to decide this issue
are in violation of NC State Law. The North Carolina
State Constitution legally allows referendums on
bonds and constitutional amendments, only. Since our
"American government is a representative government
we have elected legislators to pass the laws of our
state, and it is their responsibility to stand firm against
a state lottery.
I am writing to all NC state legislators to let them
know that I will adamantly oppose the re-election of
any legislator who supports the lottery. I hope you will
do the same.
Tom Sees Sr.
Hunt strong leader
To the editor:
State Representative Jack Hunt (Cleveland, Polk,
Rutherford) has once again exhibited his strong leader-
ship in the state legislature. Concerned about
University funding and the differences between
Governor Hunt and President Spangler, president of
the Board of Governors, he brought the two leaders to-
gether. Choosing his Raleigh home for a private break-
fast prepared by his wife Ruby (well-known for her
good cooking and hospitality), the opportunity was
presented for a frank and full discussion of their views
on the direction the state should take towards funding
for higher education.
This breakfast meeting set the stage for a better un-
derstanding of their respective positions.
This typifies the leadership that Representative Hunt
has exhibited over the years. I hope that your readers
will have an opportunity to read the full account of this
very important breakfast.
The people of Cleveland, Polk, and Rutherford
Counties have a right to be proud of Representative
Hunt.
Rep. George W. Miller Jr.
D - Durham
A double tragedy
‘REFLECTIONS
on Religion and Life
®
Rev. Dick Newsome
Pastor
First Presbyterian Church
Oklahoma City.
Less than a month ago, that small pair of words
would have been as benign to our ears as the name of
any other mid-sized American city. Sacramento, Des = ©
Moines, Pensacola, Racine, Springfield. Oklahoma
; by
But things have changed. The name is now more Is
than a name but a symbol. And from a religious per-
spective, the question at hand is what kind of symbol it
City. What about it?
is.
Perhaps the place to begin in coming to grips with
this symbol is the chair in front of our television sets. .
That is where most of us first received the news, and
where most of us continue to watch with fascination y
and terror as rescue workers sift through the carnage.
And even more importantly, that chair is where we sit
quietly after the television set has been turned off. It is .
where we open our minds to issues and questions
which come like a thief in the night. "What must it be
like to be in the middle of such a catastrophe? What
must it be like for parents who have lost children, chil-
dren who have lost parents, men and women who have
lost the person they promised to spend the rest of their :
lives with? Could any human being willingly inflict so . qn
much pain and hardship on other humans?" They are
questions which come not voluntarily but involuntari-
ly, like a nightmare we wouldn't begin to wish upon
ourselves. They come from that part of the brain and
soul which makes us ask such questions simply to sur-
vive.
As I have spoken with many of you about the inci-
dent, and have shared my feelings as well, I have come
to believe that the events of Oklahoma City constitute
a double-sided tragedy. We grieve the deaths of inno-
cent people who were in the wrong place at the wrong
time. But we also grieve the death of a dream. Most of
us were raised to believe that if we worked hard,
avoided trouble, and cared for others, life would turn
“out well. We were raised to live with an optimism
' about our capacity to take care of ourselves and our
loved ones no matter the environment. And even
though the passing years have chipped away at the
dream with our move from childhood to adulthood,
something of the simplicity and purity of it all has
made us hold on.
Oklahoma City assaulted that dream.
Oklahoma City is a rude symbol of the vanity of
that dream.
So we turn. In the face of such an unwelcomed and i
unpleasant check on’reality, we are driven once again |
to the faith that there is but one thing everlasting. Or to
say it more correctly, there is but one Being who is ev-
erlasting. And though that realization doesn't erase the
pain of those who experienced the tragedy firsthand, |
nor cause us to care for them any less, it offers the
people of our nation a dream upon which we may de- :
pend.
May God bless the lives of those whose loss was |
tremendously real.
May God bless the lives of all of us who sit in the i
quietness of a television set now silent and search for :
o
#
better dreams.
Letter To The Editor i
"
e
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Thanks for supporting old-timers
To the editor: 3
The Kings Mountain High Booster's Club would !
like to thank everyone who made the old-timers base- *
ball game a success. Special thanks go to the Kings |
Mountain Rescue Squad for standing by, to Monty *
Deaton and Bill Stepp for umpiring, to Perry }
Champion for his play by play, to Tony Leigh and :
Nelson Connor for their help in organizing the game,
and to Gary Stewart for the newspaper coverage. :
We are especially thankful to our hard-working club
members who manned the concession stand.
Last, but not least, we thank the "baseball legends" =
who participated. Barry Gibson and David Heffner did =
a great job coaching. We couldn't have doe it without:
you. 4
Fase
is
iti
Ken Bridges, President
A few laughers to cheer you
Sometime ago (it could have been years since time
is spinning so fast) I passed on to you some of the hi-
larious typographical errors that I had seen in newspa-
pers over the years - many of them in this paper.
Recently I came across this list of newspaper head-
lines which actually appeared in papers across the
country. I am happy to say none were in this paper.
But see if you don't get a kick out of them:
Police begin campaign to run down jaywalkers.
Safety experts say school bus passengers should be
belted.
Drunk gets nine months in violin case.
Survivor of Siamese Twins joins parents.
Farmer Bill dies in house.
Iraqi head seeks arms.
Prostitutes appeal to pope.
Panda mating fails; veterinarian takes over.
Soviet virgin lands short of goal again.
British left waffles on Falkland Islands.
Lung cancer in women mushrooms.
Eye drops off shelf.
Teacher strikes idle kids.
Squad helps dog bite victim.
Shot off woman's leg helps Nicklaus to 66.
Enraged cow injures farmer with ax.
Plane too close to ground, crash probe told.
Miners refuse to work after death.
Juvenile court to try shooting defendant.
Stolen painting found by tree.
‘Two Soviet ships collide, one dies.
2\sisters reunited after 18 years in checkout counter.
GARY
STEWART
Editor
Killer sentenced to die for second time in 10 years.
Drunken drivers paid $1000 in '84.
War dims hope for peace.
If strike isn't settled quickly, it may last a while.
Cold waye linked to temperature.
Enfield couples slain; police suspect homicide.
And, another item which may lift your spirits is this
entrance exam for college football players. The time
limit to complete the exam is three weeks.
1 - What language is spoken in France?
2 - Give a dissertation on the ancient Babylonian
Empire with particular reference to architecture, litera-
ture, law and social conditions; or, give the first name
of Pierre Trudeau.
3 - Would you ask William Shakespeare to (a) build
a bridge, (b) sail the ocean, (¢) lead an army, or (d)
WRITIE A PLAY.
4 - What religion is the Pope? (a) Jewish (b)
CATHOLIC (¢) Hindu (d) Polish (¢) agnostic.
5S - Metric conversion. How many feet is 0.0 meters?
6 - What time is it when the big hand is on the 12;
and the little hand is on the 5?
7 - How many commandments was Moses given?
(approximately).
8 - What are people in America's far north called?
(a) Westerners (b) Southerners (c) Northemers.
9 - Spell - Bush, Carter and Clinton.
10 - Six kings of England have been called George.:
the last one being George the Sixth. Name the previous
five.
11 - Where does rain come from? (a) Macy's (b) 7-
11 (c) Canada (d) the sky.
12 - Can you explain Einstein's Theory of
Relativity? (a) yes (b) no.
13 - What are coat hangers used for?
14 - The Star Spangled Banner is the National
Anthem for what country? :
15 - Explain Le Chateliers Principle of Dynamic;
Equilibrium: or spell your name in BLOCK LET-
TERS. :
16 - Where is the basement in a three story building
located?
17 - Which part of America produces the most or-
anges? (a) New York (b) Florida (¢) Canada (d)
Wisconsin.
I8 - Advanced math. It you have three apples how
many apples do you have?
19 - What does NBC (National Broadcasting Corp.)
stand tor?
*You must answer three or more questions correctly
to quality.
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