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♦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 |h % - II s | | Ja JH Ml ■**># .9 Sr v^B§§ 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.