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♦ SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2007 8A Lost friend reminds me of what is important in life Don’t look now, but Thanksgiving is just around the corner. It’s a good time to get things in perspec tive, to reflect on all the things for which we have to be thankful. In truth, we should never let the sun set without giving thanks for our blessings, but we are usually too focused on being nibbled to death by ducks to appreciate how good we Dick Yarbrough Columnist yarb24oo@bellsouth.net have it. It’s called human nature. I may be the world’s worst at keeping things in perspective. I have spent most of my life grind ing over matters that history has determined were of little or no con sequence, even though I deemed Playing the politics of racial insult: Who decides? If there’s an insult to be milked the professional victims will rush in, sell some T-shirts, fire up their bullhorns, make the media rounds, issue their 21-point demands, and then recede until the next race hustling opportu nity comes along. Thanks Michelle Malkin Columnist malkin@comcast.net to his bipartisan enablers in politics and the media, lead ing civil rights charlatan A 1 Sharpton never lacks a stage. Still surfing on the wave of publicity over the Jena Six case in Louisiana, Sharpton is scheduled to lead an anti hate crimes demonstration on Nov. 16 in Washington, D.C., outside the Justice Department. He’s targeting both the Bush administra tion and Democrats who he thinks haven’t pandered enough to him and his small flock of career shakedown artists. Sharpton complained that the Democrat presidential candidates didn’t address his agenda in recent debates. “Hate crimes and racism and Jena never came up one time. Even the Democrats have not, in our judgment, raised their voices to the WALKER From page 4A who loved me and whom I loved. This helps to give a fellow a good start. And, now departed, Aunt Lillian. What a rock! And, a ‘clever rock’ at that. ■ Hershey. A big, open, roaring fire. Cool breezes. Dental floss. Hairspray. The Antique Road Show. A king sized bed. College football. Hal’s on Old Ivy. Charly Marshall. The seasons of the year. Sunday School teach ers. Metamucil. The Good Book. Music. Shag Music. Robert E. Lee. Bear Bryant. Billy Graham. Catalpa worms. Safety razors. Toothpaste. Garbage col lectors. Electricity. A pur TAX From page 4A the issues of taxation open for public discus sion and debate, and there is general support for tax reform, but the plan he reportedly plans to present to the Georgia House of Representatives at the beginning of the 2008 session is troubling to virtually all of Houston County’s local elected officials. The Perry City Council has voted to stand with the Georgia Municipal Association in opposition to the plan. Houston County Commissioner Tom them the world’s most important issues at the time. While I was tilting at windmills, I was ignoring a lot of things that, in retrospect, really mattered. Sadly, I am still inclined in that direction. Take the case of my best child hood buddy, Charles Wesley Dobbs, better known to all as Charlie. We met on the first day of school in the seventh grade at Jere Wells Elementary in East Point and became inseparable. We went to the same high school together (Russell High), attended Georgia State College (now Georgia State University) together and double dated on weekends. As a matter of fact, his first girlfriend later became the Woman Who Shares My Name. Charlie Dobbs was the funni est human being to ever inhab it Planet Earth. He was voted “Most Witty” by the senior class at Russell. Nobody else was even level they should,” Sharpton complained in an Associated Press piece on his upcoming demagogue-a-thon. Politicians would be wise to stay away from the Jena Six case on the debate stage and campaign trail, however, because the popular narra tive of innocent young black men being victimized by the bigoted white Southern establishment is as slippery as A 1 Sharpton’s hairdo. Jena Times newspaper assis tant editor Craig Franklin demolishes the myths of the “whites-only tree,” the truth about the supposed “model youth” who comprised the Jena Six, the bogus claim that the Jena Six gang’s attack on a white victim was related to a noose-hanging incident, the smears against his city and other falsehoods at www.thejenatimes.net. “As with the Duke Lacrosse case, the truth about Jena will eventually be known,” Franklin wrote in a recent piece for the Christian Science Monitor. “But the town of Jena isn’t expect ing any apologies from the media. They will probably never admit their error and have already moved on to the next ‘big’ story. Meanwhile in Jena, residents are getting back to their regular routines, where friends are friends regardless of race. Just as it has been all along.” As for the members of pose. Character. Characters. Peaches. Family history. A job. Dreams. Memories. Santa Clause. Differences. Tolerance. Sense of Humor. Love. A covey rising and a sun going down. H Egg custard pie. Boiled peanuts. Parched peanuts in ice cold “Cocola”. Coconut Meringue pie. Chocolate milk shakes. Pizza. Ice cream. Barbequed ribs, pork and chicken. Creamed ham on toast. Boiled cus tard. Tomato sandwiches. Hot biscuits (homemade) and syrup. Fried chicken. Caramel cake. Fried catfish. Cheeseburgers. Slaw dogs. Larry Walker sandwich. This could go on forever. So, I’ll say, good food and plenty of it. | ‘Fessor Staples. Mr. Glea McMichael, who is cur rently chairman of the Georgia Association County Commissioners, has spoken out on behalf of county governments. Pam Greenway, Chairman of the Houston County Board of Education, and other board members have also been public in their opposition. We agree with Dawkins that Perdue deserves our thanks for trying to put the brakes on Richardson’s plan. Perdue has pointed out that both Michigan and Florida have encountered problems with broaden ing their sales taxes, and in the running. He was also auda cious to the max. When we gradu ated from high school, Charlie and I hitchhiked to Daytona Beach something that would be unheard of today. Coming home, we were flat broke. Fortunately, two guys headed for Detroit picked us up in middle Georgia. They were return ing from Miami where they had lost all their money gambling, were low on gas and were trying to reach Chattanooga to borrow money from a relative to get them home. To me, they looked like gangsters. But not to my friend, Charles Wesley Dobbs. To him, they looked like opportunity. “You are in luck,” Charlie announced grandly from the back seat. “I happen to know a shortcut to Chattanooga.” While I held my breath, he proceeded to guide them, up through the state, into the city of East Point and about one block from his house. As we got out of the Jena Six, they seem to have learned to do the victim hustle quite well from men tor Sharpton. The Chicago Tribune’s Howard Witt reported this weekend that some of the defendants are literally rolling in dubious dough. Robert Bailey, one of the Jena Six youths, posted photos of himself mugging for the cameras with SIOO bills stuffed in his mouth and cov ering his bed. “[CJontroversy is growing over the account ing and disbursing of at least $500,000 donated to pay for the teenagers’ legal defense,” Witt reported. “There are definitely questions out there about the money,” Alan Bean, director of a Texas-based group, Friends of Justice, told the Tribune. “I hate to even address this issue because it inevitably will raise questions as to all of the money that has been raised ... “ Inevitably, those who dare ask such pesky questions will be accused of racism and blaming the “victims.” Sharpton and company will continue to deflect tough scrutiny by hiding behind rope imagery. Indeed, they’re invok ing the recent Columbia University noose-hanging incident to promote their nationwide fight against “Confederates” - never mind the lack of suspects and the suspicious odor surrounding Gray. Bobby Branch. Shorty Foster. Herman Talmadge. Seabie Hickson. Joe Hodges. Solomon Brown. Amos Brown. Earl Smith. Wilson Martin. D. C. Peterson. Dr. Gallemore. Buddy Tolleson. Mell Tolleson. Donald Brand. Mr. “Big Hoss” Johnson. Frances Johnson. Dot Roughton. Emmette Cater. Hentz Houser. Cooper Jones.-Ruby Hodges. Sarah Kezar. Elmo Thrash. They are gone, but they are not forgotten. I’ve just gotten started, and I’ve got to quit. Space requirements already exceeded. Isn’t it wonder ful to have so much to be thankful for that you can’t get it in the allotted space? Thanksgiving: It’s got to be it. that Georgia is in good shape financially. He has also characterized it as a tax shift, not a tax cut. Richardson's proposal would be to place the question on the 2008 ballot as a constitutional amendment, which, if it were passed and turned out to be a fiscal mistake, would make it very dif ficult to repair. We hope that the gov ernor’s unwillingness to support this plan, in com bination with the outspo ken opposition of local elected officials across the state will give members of the General Assembly good reason not to jump on this bandwagon. OPINION the Columbia case, which remains unsolved despite 60 hours of security tape and more than a month of prob ing. The inexorable rhythm of the politics of racial insult is interrupted only when the insulter doesn’t fit the left wing grievance narrative. Which explains in part why former GOP Sen. George Allen’s infamous “Macaca” gaffe was covered by the national news media like it was Armageddon, while a female Louisiana Democrat who this week called a black civil rights leader’s mother “Buckwheat” (after the ste reotypical “Little Rascals” character) barely warranted a blip on the outrage-o-meter. No pockets to pick, no bribes to extract from protesting a case of abject stupidity that can’t be spun into institu tional racism for partisan gain. Sometimes, a thoughtless insult is just a thoughtless insult. Sometimes, the hate #iAAVfKSI B M aJMkm MMCAR sales MMMKWWMMESS 3TASK ABOUT OUR GUARANTEED CREDIT APPROVAL. SEE ALL OF OUR INVENTORY AT WWW.PAYLESSCARSALES.COM 590 YJMMT^&iiJ^92JO262 ‘W BMW 740 i I '97 BUICK LESABRE ‘93 BUiCK ROADMftSTER U 1 CADILLAC DEViLLE ‘OO VOLVO SID GLT ‘O7 CHEVY TAHOE IH ‘Ol NISSAN PATHFINDER the car, he informed the Mafia looking guys that just around the curve ahead, they would see a big sign that would indicate that they were on the outskirts of Chattanooga. Of course, that was baloney. Chattanooga was more than a hundred miles from East Point. As they drove off, Charlie waved, wished them well on their journey, and as they rounded the curve, he looked at me and yelled “Run!” We were safely at home laughing ourselves silly before those poor guys realized what had happened. I wouldn’t be surprised if there isn’t still a contract out on us to this day. Charlie left Georgia State my sophomore year, and I transferred to the University of Georgia. Later, we both married and slowly drifted apart. It has been more than 25 years since I last saw him. A few weeks ago, I learned that Charles Wesley Dobbs, my boyhood is fake. When will we stop allowing Sharpton and his ilk to make every single one of these incidents a federal Bam-6pm Tues. - Sat. Closed Sun. & Mon. Country Fresh Pork Boston Butts 8-10 LB. AVG. Sliced Free lb. Petite Baby Lima Beans 20 LB. box SOO9B SHELLED Yellow Cream Corn 4 LB. PKG. 1207 Sunset Ave. • Perry Plaza • Perry, GA 31069 478-987-5711 | Tan, Simrool, j Leather Seats, 4 Dost Imr LESS! Leather Seats Loaned /mi m. ‘O4 CHRYSLER SEBRINO i '3£sjj&£S§> ‘O3 LINCOLN NAVISATOR I Sunroof, feather Seats, fully Loaded. | Root Rack i mm LESS! ‘O4 FORD EXPLORER XLT a' saltier Seats All Power Root Rack, Tinted Windows. Full Power /iPAY LESS! apply on line @ www.paylesscarsales.com HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL friend, had died. I am ashamed to say that I had not stayed in touch with him. I would like to blame it on how busy I was carving out a career and raising a family, but that is not true. I let less impor tant things get in the way. That gets me around to perspec tive. Don’t get so caught up in the issues of the day that you forget what is important in life. It is not politics. It is not the drought. It is not the economy or the war or foot ball games. It is friendships and not letting them evaporate. This is a lesson I should have learned sooner. I won’t ever again have the opportunity to tell Charlie Dobbs how richly he blessed my life, but I will have the memories. That is more than I deserve. You can reach Dick Yarbrough at yarb24oo@bellsouth.net, P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta, Georgia 31139, or website: www.dickyarbrough.com. New Crop Georgia Pecans 1 LB. BAG $799 HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING While, 4 Door AH Pom mm LESS! ‘Ol LEXUS ES 300 Sunroof Leather Seats, Ail Pom mm LESS! 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