Newspaper Page Text
♦SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2007
6A
Daniel F. Evans
President
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Post holiday blues - paying
the credit cards
Just in time to depress us - on or about
Christmas eve - but well short of the opportunity
to use a little discretion, this Associated Press
report comes out: “Americans are falling behind
on their credit card payments at an alarming
rate, sending delinquencies and defaults surging
by double-digit percentages in the last year and
prompting warnings of worse to come.”
As Gomer Pyle would say: “Surprise! Surprise!”
Only there really isn’t a surprise to it, is there?
The truth is anyone could have figured out the
AP report just from what they’ve seen/dealt with
personally.
For starters, for most of us, it is not an uncom
mon sight to pull at least three or four credit card
offers out of our mailbox on any given day.
During this past holiday season - and this may
have been the trend last year and the year before
and so on - some department stores were offer
ing “instant credit”, a credit card right there on the
spot.
It’s perfect if you think about it. You’re standing
in line with S2OO worth of merchandise, worrying
about how you’re going to pay it off. “Would you
like to have a (insert name) credit card TODAY,”
the store clerk asks. Viola! Problem solved ...
except paying for it later, which of course is the
long-term problem. But, we figure we’ll deal with
that later.
Now, don’t get us wrong. We’re not trying to pick
on credit card companies or department stores or
anybody else just trying make a living/support
their own loved ones. The truth is, it is what it is.
In other words, somebody must have, a long,
long, long time ago, got these wheels turning and
the others simply had to follow.
It only takes two to tango as they say - one
consumer looking for credit and one credit card
company looking to give it to him or her.
So, if you have nine other credit card compa
nies trying to do the right thing and determined
only to lend to those who’ve cleared the hurdles
of real worthiness/ability to pay (yes, even that
is no guarantee as, according to the AP report,
many of those are included in the “unpaid credit”
statement) they have to either lower their stan
dards or face the prospect of going out of busi
ness (or - believing that American ingenuity still
exists today - find a better way). Apparently
today’s mindset of “credit for all” rings louder than
our beloved Salvation Army bells.
And then of course, to add insult to injury over
what we’ve just spent over the holidays, the
AP depresses us even more with its report that
unpaid credit card bills are on the rise. And, that
it’s only going to get worse (according to AP
sources).
Letters to the editor
Oaky Woods issue needs our attention
While the subject has slipped the minds of many
citizens, the development of Oaky Woods is still
proceeding. I understand that recently at a meeting held
in Warner Robins - that was not open to journalists or the
public - Houston County gave another 30-day extension
to iron out recommendations for the waste water treatment
facility to serve Oaky Woods.
There are those who see Oaky Woods development as
a tax boon to the county and I am sure the city of Warner
Robins will seek its annexation. Unfortunately, residential
development has been proven to be a revenue loser to
government.
Furthermore, the high density residential developments
currently in vogue will only increase traffic congestion,
air and water pollution and very possibly bring a nega
tive affect regarding the future of mission assignments
See LETTER i, page ijß
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
BELIEF
Religion, (in?) politics
Promise me if you become
a Christian you’ll become a
Presbyterian.
- Lord Beaverbrook (1879 - 1964) to
Joseph Stalin in 1941
A difference of opinion is what
makes horse racing and mission
aries.
- Will Rogers (1879 - 1935)
And, then there is this one:
It doesn’t matter whether you
are a Methodist, L.D.S. [member
of the Reorganized Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints],
Catholic, Mormon, Jew, or what
you believe • if you believe it and
live it. They all hope to get to the
same place sometime. Judge men
and women by what they are and
how they act, not by their religious
label. Personally I’d like ’em all
to be Baptists, but I’m not barring
any of them from heaven because
they’re not.
Let me tease you a little - and for a
short while. You think you know who
opined the above about what is impor
tant is that whatever you believe, you
should believe it and live it. It’s got to
be Mike Huckabee, Baptist Minister
and Republican Presidential candi
date, doesn’t it? No? Then perhaps it’s
another candidate - Mitt Romney. Don’t
think so? Could it be Billy Graham?
Sounds like something he might have
~
"Are you sure there's no returns?"
I
No resolutions
Instead making the most of who I am
lam not going to make any resolu
tions for the New Year. I wouldn’t
keep them if I did. I learned a
long time ago that you cannot change
your life or your habits by making a
resolution on the eve of another year.
As a matter of fact, I find it hard to
change habits under any circumstanc
es. We are a compilation of things we
have experienced our entire lives, and
there is no way to say we can change
that overnight.
We are lucky we were born in this
country. The genes we have inherited
from our parents have had a lot to do
with what we have become. And we
have had opportunities to set the direc
tion of our lives many times, and what
we are today is a result of the decisions
we made.
With two exceptions. Luck and the
miracle of modern medicine. Without a
good share of both I would not be writ
ing this column today.
The last year has brought irrevoca
ble changes in my lifestyle A year ago
I came and went as pleased. I said that
when the day came that I had to give
up my car keys I would not fight it. My
life changed in an instant. I was having
coffee with friends. What happened in
an instant ended my days of driving
and I now watch the world from a chair
in my office. It hasn’t been an easy
transition but that’s the way it is.
I look back and see that many of the
turns in my life were out of my control.
“One roue can nurke a efi/fere/u e
Larry
Walker
Columnist
lwalker@whgb-law.com
said, but it’s not Rev. Graham.
Who the quote was from is Harry
Truman when he was a Senator from
Missouri. To again quote, let me give
it to you verbatim from Robert H.
Ferrell’s book, Harry S. Truman, A
Life at page 134.
Senator Truman kept his own
counsel based on beliefs he had
acquired many years before. One
of the best sources of his outlook
in this difficult time is his letters
to young Margaret . . . (wherein)
he was not merely instructing his
daughter, but stating what he him
self believed ...
Let’s face it. Most of us are what we
are (Baptist, Methodist, Mormon, etc.)
because of how we were raised. Oh, we
might go from Baptist to Methodist
because of marriage or a particular
preacher or how convenient is the loca
tion of the church, but not many go
from Methodist to Mormon or Jewish
to Jesus Christ Church of Latter Day
Saints.
On the other hand, a large number
have strayed from the teachings of
Foy
Evans
Columnist
foyevansl9@cox.net
’lt is too late to make a
resolution tomorrow night
with expectations that I
will not be the same
person the next day."
Decisions were made for me. And luck
was with me sometimes when I made
dreadful decisions.
It all adds up. And the person I am
today is an amalgamation of many
turns and twists and opportunities
(some used, some lost). It is too late
to make a resolution tomorrow night
with expectations that I will not be the
same person the next day.
A large percentage of us are obese.
The charts tell me I am obese. The
way I see it is that I am overweight.
After all, I have gained only an average
of a pound a year since I came out of
the Navy. That, however, was 60 years
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HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
their fathers to “nothingness”. I think
that’s what Senator Truman was tiy
ing to say in his letter to his daugh
ter, Margaret. Believe something and
live by it. “They all hope to get to the
same place sometime. ” Amen, Brother
Harry.
I am a Methodist. So is Hillary
Clinton. Mike Huckabee is a Baptist
Minister. I’m not going to vote for
Senator Clinton because she is
Methodist, and I’m not going to vote
against Mitt Romney because he’s
Mormon. I might not vote for Governor
Romney because I think he’s “wishy
washy” on the issues, but not because
he’s Mormon. And I won’t vote for or
against Governor Huckabee because
he is a Baptist preacher.
On the other hand (yes, I know I have
used this trite phrase once, already), I
would vote against a candidate who
revealed that he had no beliefs of a
spiritual nature.
I liked Governor Romney’s state
ment when explaining his religious
beliefs and on a recent Meet the Press:
“Freedom requires morality and reli
gious beliefs and religion requires free
dom”. Well said, Governor Romney. I
might put you back under consider
ation.
Yes, I know its “dangerous” (con
troversial or unwise might be better
words) to write of religion in (or and)
politics. But, I’ve done it as I have
a right to do. That’s another of my
beliefs. And, to be honest, I feel better
for it. Amen.
ago!
I can make a handful of resolutions
to diet and lose weight next year. I may
lose some weight, but it will come back
with a few additional pounds for good
measure.
If all the weight loss programs and
gimmicks and pills worked, the indus
try soon would go away. I have a friend
who weighs the same thing he did
when he came out of the Navy, but it
has shifted, believe me. He eats to live.
Most of us live to eat.
By now most of us beyond our for
mative years are realistic enough to
understand that we are not going to
change very much, and making the
most of what we have and what we are
is where realism takes over.
Truthfully, most people will tell you
that they would be uncomfortable with
major changes in their looks, lifestyle
or who they are. We have grown into
the person we see in the mirror and
that will not change when the New
Year comes around, regardless of any
resolutions we may make.
So I am going to make the most of
who I am and what I am and leave the
unrealistic dreams to others. I will go
to bed early New Year’s Eve, as I have
for most of my life, and hopefully wake
up fully rested and looking forward to
whatever the New Year brings.
What lies ahead is beyond my control
at this point. You may find this to be
true for yourself, too.