Newspaper Page Text
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♦ WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2007
4A
Daniel F. Evans
President
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
A true pioneer
Webster’s Dictionary defines a pioneer as:
“One who is among the first in a new field of
enterprise, exploration, colonization, research,
et cetera.”
Throughout our history, pioneers have been
viewed as individuals - oftentimes among a
group of likeminded people - critical to our
nation’s suc
cess. They
helped forge
our country
from shore to
shore. They
spearheaded
breakthroughs
in industry,
medicine and
more.
It is a long but
select list that’s
been built over
hundreds of years. Today we add one name to
its contents: Davis Cosey.
For years we’ve complained of being held cap
tive to foreign oil, those cries seemingly falling
on deaf ears in Washington.
But here in Houston County, one man - along
with those he would say have been critical in
his ability to accomplish what he has - said
“no more.” Like the pioneers of old, he sat out
on a journey, a journey that today has led to
the establishment of an alternative fuel source
for us. He has placed the key in our hand for
a brighter future, a future where we no longer
have to be held ransom by the price of a barrel
of oil.
And further, we should mention that Cosey has
gone far and beyond that of a normal pioneer. As
founder of the Friends of Perry Animal Shelter
non-profit charity, he has pioneered efforts to not
only keep the shelter up and running but to build
a much-needed new facility down the road.
As pioneers go, we can look back through our
history and say: “How would we ever have sur
vived and thrived without them.”
So to Davis Cosey - and all those behind the
scenes with him - we can only say a big Thank
you” and add we hope you continue to blaze
new trails for our sake.
History is yours for the making.
Letters to the editor
Build the infrastructure first
An interesting comment about traffic. A word to the wise,
BUILD the infrastructure FIRST and then add the stores,
homes etc.
I lived in Warner Robins for most of my life (a great place to live
and my folks still live there) and have moved to North Georgia.
The good folks in Forsyth County (Cumming) fell under the spell
and excitement of rapid growth, new stores, and the ever-present
lure of more money for the tax coffers, etc., just like what is hap
pening in Houston County.
Well, one thing was wrong. They neglected the infrastructure
and now they are paying dearly! The crime has increased, trash
on the roads is deplorable, traffic is unbelievable, over seven
new schools are being “hurried up" built to handle the influx of
“unexpected" children moving into the area and the cost of living
is inching upward every day. It seems every vacant lot is being
turned into a shopping center or some sort of business and real
tors are building six homes per acre. Clear land and centuries old
forests are being clear-cut and paved over at an alarming rate.
Does any county need five Wal-Marts within a nine-mile radius?
These things are causing land prices to skyrocket out of sight. Is
that what the citizens of Warner Robins want?
When I moved here seven years ago, I could travel the 10
miles to the center of town (and not a very big one I might add)
within eight-12 minutes. Now, I am lucky if I can make it in 20-30
minutes. So, make sure to put your ducks in order to be sure
the roads can handle the traffic, there is plenty of water, the
See FIRST, page 6A
HOW TO SUBMIT:
There are three ways to submit a letter to the editor: E
mail it to hhj@evansnewspapers.com, mail it to Houston
Home Journal at 1210 Washington St., Perry, GA 31069,
or drop it off at the same location between 8 a.m. and 5
p.m. Monday through Friday. Letters should not exceed
350 words and must include the writer’s name, address
and .telephone number (the last two not printed). The
newspaper reserves the right to edit or reject letters for
reasons of grammar, punctuation, taste and brevity.
Foy S. Evans
Editor Emeritus
Don Moncrief
Managing Editor
“He has placed the
key in our hand for
a brighter future, a
future where we no
longer have to be
held ransom by the
price of a barrel of
oil.”
Blindness makes other things clearer
Last week was supposed to be
something special. I had an
open calendar. No doctor’s
appointments. No blood tests. No
follow-ups. Just a week without any
appointments. I planned to attend the
Georgia National Fair.
But it was not to be that way. Far
from it.
During the weekend I woke up one
morning blind in my left eye. All I saw
was black. What happened? Two days
earlier a routine examination did not
find anything wrong with the eye.
I went to bed with normal eyesight.
I woke up the following morning and
sight in the eye was completely gone.
I learned Monday that the retina
in my left eye was detached. Tuesday
morning I had surgery to reattach it. I
understand that time is of the essence
in such situations.
I have known many people with
detached retinas. It didn’t sound like a
big thing. I never had walked in their
moccasins. The fact that this sounded
like a minor problem to someone who
never had experienced it reminded me
The end of the affair
The pain, wreckage wrought by infidelity
Somebody reading this is cheat
ing on their spouse or thinking
about it.
The odds are with me on that state
ment. Recognizing the fact that at any
given moment there are people wres
tling with issues in their marriage, a
gentleman in Toronto, Canada, oper
ates a website where affair-minded
people can connect. He recently gained
attention because his company posted
a billboard that says, “Life is short,
have an affair.”
The man behind it all claims, “I don’t
condemn and I don’t condone.” And, in
a remarkable statement of hypocrisy,
he also says that he set up his website
to give people who want to cheat on
their spouses “an honest and open
forum” to meet people with whom they
can. (Perhaps later he can start a web
site for people who want to be honest
and open with their spouses.)
The entire premise of the company is
outrageous ... and dangerous.
In fact, I’m so outraged by it that I
thought I would write a scathing cri
tique of the man, the website and the
message. But I chose a different route
because it occurred to me that my mes
sage would be expected and perhaps a
bit too predictable.
So, I decided to let someone who had
an affair tell her story. Hopefully, it
will strip away some of the mystique
and glamour from what many perceive
as being harmless and perhaps even
romantic.
Here is what she wrote:
When I heard about this matchmak
ing website for currently married peo
ple, it turned my stomach. Obviously,
it will bother a lot of people from a
moral sense, or just because it seems to
Foy
Evans
Columnist
foyevansl9@cox.net
of Dr. Wimpy Spears’ favorite saying.
He said that minor surgery was sur
gery on someone else. On numerous
occasions since he said that to me I
have learned the truth in that state
ment.
A 2 1/2 hour operation was “success
ful”, according to the surgeon. Sight is
supposed to come back slowly over a
period of months and will be, according
to the doctor, “not as good as it used to
be, but better than being blind.”
This was another time that I have
benefitted from remarkable modem
medicine. There is no limit to my
admiration for doctors who acquire the
knowledge and skills to perform such
an operation as this, as well as many
Randy
Hicks
Columnist
Georgia Family Council
violate common decency. I don’t really
feel I have a moral platform to preach
from - it is upsetting because I know
first-hand the kind of awful pain that
affairs bring.
Many times in life, we hurt people
we care about. Often, this is uninten
tional. Sometimes it may be due to
oversight or just selfish acts - but this
site ... this is pre-meditated pain for
people in our lives.
I know most people who end up hav
ing affairs don’t think all that much
about it ahead of time - they just go
with a feeling or an impulse - or maybe
they are just trying to meet a need
that isn’t being met in their current
relationship.
And somehow we allow ourselves
to cross over a line, all the while jus
tifying to ourselves that it’ll be brief,
no big deal, no one will find out and
therefore no harm done. That’s what I
thought. And then I lost everything.
Spouses almost always find out. And
affairs never end well.
There are many reasons why. If it’s
just about the physical stuff, then
it’s really not worth the risk anyway.
Usually at least one party will want
more - and then it gets complicated.
Then there’s the constant paranoia.
The panic attacks that set in any
time the spouse needs to borrow your
* W■■
PJ * • §1
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
others, including those on the heart.
I am old enough to remember when a
person with a detached retina had to
live with blindness in the eye. I remem
ber when a heart attack meant sure
death and heart blockages led to heart
attacks, because there was no way to
open the arteries.
Now we assume that such problems
are normal and correcting them is
routine.
Friends and acquaintances have been
asking me what happened to cause the
retina to become detached. I don’t have
any idea. It just happened. And that
could be frightening, because if it can
happen so unexpectedly one time, can
- or will - it happen again on another
eye?
We are fortunate to live in a time
when medical knowledge and skills
have advanced so much and we can
benefit from them.
I received treatment almost imme
diately. I began thinking about how
good our health system is, compared
to government medicine in places
See EVANS, page
phone.
And then there are the moments of
looking at your spouse, or your kids
for that matter, knowing what you did
- even when they don’t know - and
feeling the abject guilt of utter betrayal
for such banal and selfish reasons.
Ask yourself this: would this “rela
tionship” or physical encounter with a
stranger from a website be worth risk
ing everything? My marriage, my kids,
my relatives, my job, my finances?
Because it is very likely to cost you all
that and more.
And then there’s the question of
basic humanity. My guess is that if one
spouse is thinking of having an affair,
it’s because there’s something going
on: an inadequacy in the marriage,
some pain they are responding to,
deeper issues at play. My advice: this is
the worst way to deal with those things.
At a minimum, it will take the focus off
of what may be legitimate problems
and will put the focus squarely on the
infidelity. If there are problems in the
marriage, there is one decent way to
deal with your spouse - honestly.
How hollow and how deeply sad is
the reality that my life will never be
the same. I have lost my husband, his
wonderful family, our common friends,
all the dreams we had, the chance to
actually deal head on with our prob
lems and come out stronger.
I have even lost a sense of my own
self. And for what? A temporary physi
cal release? An emotional connection I
was lacking in marriage? I have forever
wounded so many people - obviously
my ex. All of our family and friends
and the community who supported
us. I even hurt the other party in the
See HICKS, page fA