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4A ♦ FRIDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2006 Houston Baity journal OPINION Daniel F. Evans President Editor and Publisher Julie B. Evans Vice President * Group Marketing Don Moncrief Managing Editor Not learning from history The military takes its history very seri ously. Its members have to learn it. Its members have to know it. In fact they’re even tested on it (or at least you can bet there will be at least one or two questions on the written test that counts toward their promotion). Contrast that to an entity like say the National Automobile of Stock Car Racing. NASCAR over the past handful of years has added a whole slew of young - some look barely old enough for a license - drivers to its circuit. It has also seen most of its true, older veterans (i.e. names like Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin) retire (although now they’ve begun a trend of coming out of retirement whether temporarily or long-term remains to be seen). These young drivers more than likely know their sport origi nated on the beaches of Daytona but can they tell you little else about it? Do they know anything about its pioneers? Will they ever? NASCAR like most - or is it “all” - sports is driven by the almighty dollar these days. These drivers are no exception. Do they even care about their history, let alone passing it on down to the next generation? Let’s look a little closer to home. How many out there know the history of Houston County? Warner Robins? Perry? Even closer to home, the history of the com pany they work for? The point is: No matter who we are, no matter where we work, we could all do with a little lesson on our history. To borrow a phrase from someone (presumably someone said it down through the ages): How can we know where we’re headed if we don’t know where we’ve been? And that applies just as much to us at the Houston Daily Journal (we have no excuse for not knowing a lot about history con sidering we have a whole bookcase of back issues full of it) as to any employee at a fast food restaurant to Houston County citizens to the military to NASCAR. To those who’ve taken that into consid eration and have taken steps appropriately (i.e. looked it up on the web or researched it or - for company managers - just developed a simple fact sheet), good on you. To those who haven’t, there’s no better day to start than today. HOW TO SUBMIT LETTERS We encourage readers to submit letters to the editor. Letters should not exceed 350 words and must include the writer’s name, address and telephone number. All letters printed in The Daily Journal will appear with the writer’s name and hometown - we do not publish anony mous letters. The newspaper reserves the right to edit or reject letters for reasons of grammar, punctuation, taste and brevity. Letter writers are asked to submit no more than one letter per person per week. We cannot guaran tee that a letter will be printed on a specific date. The Daily Journal prefers that letters be typed. Letters to the editor are published in the order they are received as space permits. There are three ways to submit a letter to the editor: E-mail it to hhj@evansnewspapers.com, mail it to The Houston Daily Journal at P.O. Box 1910, Perry, GA 31069, or drop it off at 1210 Washington St. in Perry Audrey Evans Vice President Marketing I Advertising Foy S. Evans Editor Emeritus These young drivers more than likely know their sport originated on the beaches of Daytona but can they tell you little else about it? Do they know anything about its pioneers? Will they ever? NASCAR like most - or is it "all" - sports is driven by the almighty dollar these days. These drivers are no exception. Do they even care about their history, let alone passing it on down to the next generation? Time to reflect and expect 2006 is about to be history and 2007 is soon to be reality. With this in mind, let me reflect and expect - which is a sophisticated way of saying “ramble”. ■ ■■ The little City of Perry never looked better - physically nor economically A lady at my church, formerly of Florida and now a Houston Springs resident, told me recently that she was “totally happy here” and compared Perry to “a Norman Rockwell painting”. How about that for a compliment? Surely this pristine village has to be one of the best places to live in Georgia - maybe in the whole country. ■ ■■ While bragging on Perry, let me commend our Houston County Commissioners on a “job well-done” - or should it be a “job well-doing”. Keep up the good work, Commissioners, but don’t let the views of a handful of ‘con stant Commission meeting attendees’ be given weight beyond their numbers. Those who attend are to be commend ed for their good citizenship, but after all, please bear in mind that there are probably about 125,000 people now calling Houston County “home”. ■ ■■ Kudos to Perry’s Rotary Club, the City of Perry, the Downtown Development Authority, and others on the progress with the ‘Big Indian Creek Project’. So far, it’s looking good. But to do what needs to be done will take some ‘seri ous money’. I believe there’s founda tion and grant money which could be tapped. But someone has to pursue it. Isn’t the City the logical entity to invest the money and time to make the quest for needed money to do the job? ■ ■■ Congratulations to The Bank of Perry on its new branch at Highway 96 and s** about your^X <C( state retirement J y From obituaries to art to apologies To quote one of my all-time favor ite singers Frank Sinatra crooning one of my all-time favorite songs, “It Was a Very Good Year.” Indeed, it was. The first thing I did every morning this past year was to check the obitu aries and see if my name was listed. I am happy to report that it never appeared. The most significant event for me in 2006 was to realize a lifelong dream to become a bona fide artist. Those who have seen my paintings say I am pretty good. I just blush and stammer “Aw, shucks,” but I must admit I am amazed at my progress. Thanks be to one Kristopher Meadows, my art teacher, who belies the old saw that “Those who can, do. Those that can’t, teach.” This guy is a phenomenal artist and a great instructor. Last year, I was in Iraq with Georgia’s 48th Brigade Combat Team, wondering when I was going to get mortared. This year, I was in an art studio with a group of women who made me feel a part of their group, and an art instructor who thinks I might have some talent. Life is good. Speaking of Iraq, I made a trip over to UGA and apologized to journalism professor Conrad Fink for a public feud I instigated a few years back. After almost getting my fanny blown off during my short stay with the troops, I realized that Professor Fink had spent a lot more time covering the war in Vietnam than I had in Iraq. He deserves more respect than I gave him. Almost getting one’s fanny blown off seems to give one a clearer perspective OPINION Lake Joy Road and to Planter’s First on the near-completion of its build ing on Sam Nunn Boulevard. These investments bode well for our county. Show me communities with aggressive banks, and I will show you prosperity. It used to be that the only people who could borrow money were those who didn’t need to borrow any! No more, and our community is better for it. ■ ■■ Prediction: Houston County will have big economic news in 2007. The Houston County Development Authority under the leadership of its Chairman, Neal Rearden, and its Executive Director, Morgan Law, are working hard. I’ll bet it will pay off, and soon. ■ ■■ My freshman granddaughter, Haley Way, plays on Westfield’s girls’ bas ketball team. What’s significant: Not a single Junior or Senior on the team! I’ve never seen that, before. Hang in there, Coach Eubanks. If you can keep their spirits up (and yours), it will get better (winning more) in a year or two. ■ ■■ In 2006, why are they the ‘Lady Hornets’ or the ‘Lady Panthers’? Why not just the ‘Hornets’? Perhaps we should start referring to the men as the ‘Man Bulldogs’ or the ‘Gentleman Bulldogs’. It doesn’t make sense to me. If I were in charge, both men and women would just be called by the on things. Plus, it was the right thing to do. No question that it was a good year to write a column. With some meticu lous planning and much malice afore thought, I managed at one time or the other to anger liberal weenies, Bible thumpers, flaggers, Atlanta blow hard boosters, racists both black and white loud-talking Yankee transplants, Georgia Tech supporters, President Peanut’s sycophants, hockey fans, almost any special interest group you can name, a gaggle of self-impor tant politicians and even a few newspa per editors. My cup runneth over. You, dear reader, made the year even better. At my request, you sent thousands of messages to the Georgia troops in Iraq. When I asked for ques tions to pose to the Muslim panel I con vened this summer, you supplied some 500 responses. You also found time to send me compliments when I said something you liked, and more than a few brickbats when I didn’t. A lot of people who we too often take for granted also helped make it a good year: The men and women in law enforcement who protect us from Larry Walker Columnist lwalker@wtigb-law.com Dick Yarbrough Columnist yarb24oo@bellsouth.net Miir ’ vH Ml % Br. ‘I l| 1 HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL mascot name, and that would be it! ■ ■■ Congratulations to the Northside Eagles on being the best football team in the state. And to the Warner Robins Demons and the Houston County Bears on very good years. And to the Perry Panthers who are “getting there”. My bet: The Panthers will be in the title hunts in a year or two. ■ ■■ Did you know that Brian Ellis, the outstanding Fort Valley Trojan quar terback and Middle Georgia Player of the Year, is the grandson of Grovania’s Jack and Glynnis Ellis? This boy can play! Some Division 1-A school (like the Dawgs or Vols) would do well to sign young Mr. Ellis. He has brains, character, and ability. Doesn’t that usually equate to winning? ■ ■■ Our outstanding United States Senator, Johnny Isakson, telephoned me just before Christmas. We had a good conversation that ended with talk of our grandchildren (I have seven and he has six, with one on the way). Johnny told me what a friend told him, which was: “Grandchildren are your justification for not killing your children”! Amen, brother Johnny. I understand what your friend meant. Just kidding, Larry, Wendy, Russell, and John Gray. ■ ■■ Let me conclude my ramblings with this: 2006 was great, and I believe 2007 will be even better. I am excited about where we live and what we do and where I think we are going. About as excited as a man my age should be. Thanks to God for letting me live in this place and at this time. Like the Chinese proverb: Thanks for letting me live in interesting times. Amen and Amen. the bad guys and sometimes from our selves. The unsung heroes who put out fires. The people who deliver our mail and our newspaper, who pick up our trash and provide us electricity. Those who volunteer at soup kitchens, visit shut-ins, sing in the choir Sunday after Sunday or repair homes and lives destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Schoolteachers, of which I have two in the family. The selfless souls in our military. Those who heal us, physically and spiritually. Those who feed us. Those who care about us when we least deserve it. Bless them all. How about 2007? More columns. More paintings. And as is my long standing custom, frequent visits to the exquisite little Georgia Sea Grill on St. Simons Island to devour large amounts of corn-fried shrimp. Also ahead is what I hope will be a memorable trip. In March, I am taking youngest grand son, Thomas, to Normandy to see first hand what D-Day was all about. I want him to appreciate the enormous sacri fices made by the Greatest Generation whose likes we shall not see again and to understand that the free doms we take for granted did not come cheaply. That is a lesson of which we all need to be reminded. And, yes, I will continue to peruse the obituaries on a daily basis. Assuming I don’t see my name, it should be another very good year. You can reach Dick Yarbrough at yarb24oo@bellsouth.net, P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta, Georgia 31139, or Web site: www.dickyarbrough.com.