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♦ SATURDAY, JUNE 14, 2008
OPINION
Our brushes with celebrity
Feeling a little old? Wonder how
you got to your present age
so fast? Well, this won’t help.
If John Kennedy were living, today,
he would be 91 and Marilyn Monroe
(Norma Jean Mortenson) would be 82.
Reckon’ they would still be “friends”?
I kind’a doubt it, don’t you?
I’d like to go to a dinner party
with Kennedy, Monroe, Winston
Churchill and Robert E. Lee. I’d bet
that Churchill would steal the show,
although he might spend all of his time
talking to Marilyn!
Writing of President Kennedy and
Ms. Monroe reminds me of celebrities
I have met through the years.
Some of them are: Muhammad Ali,
Billy Graham, Johnny Cash, Mike
Tyson, Herschel Walker, RebaMclntyre,
Michelle Pfeiffer, Bill Clinton, Maria
Shriver, Jimmy Carter, Kenny Stabler,
Mickey Mantle, Ray Charles, Whitney
Houston and her husband, Bobby
Brown, Prince Charles, Jane Fonda,
Deborah Roberts and her husband, A 1
Roker.
I would say that at one time, Billy
Graham was the most readily recog
nized person in the world. I met him
at a prayer breakfast in which I partici
pated in Atlanta.
I met and talked with the “Champ”,
Muhammad Ali, at least fhree differ
ent times. Like Dr. Graham, I believe
he was at one time the most recog
nized person in the world. I saw and
talked to him at the old Downtown
Marriott (now Sheraton) in Atlanta,
at the Governor’s office in Atlanta,
and at a hotel in New York. He always
had a big smile on his big face and was
always approachable and friendly.
Why I can’t exactly say, but the person
who came to the legislature with whom
I wanted to visit and have my picture
taken more than any other (and there
were many) was Kenny Stabler, and I
did both. This left-handed, ex-Alabama
Tide and Oakland Raiders quarter-
"Those campaign yard signs may not get many votes, but
I've had three people stop and want to buy my house!"
A father thinks about his father
Fourteen months ago, my father
died. He was one of my heroes
and, for what I think are obvi
ous reasons, my most important one.
I drew from my father - and from
the faith to which he and my mom
introduced me - a sense of purpose.
He modeled a life that was given to
something larger than himself, and
given more to the common good than
to personal gain.
I always thought my dad was special,
but I was also very aware of his flaws
just as my kids most certainly see
mine. He could be petulant at times
(although he rarely raised his voice)
and irritatingly self-absorbed. But
there was nobility in him that moves
and inspires me, and always will.
In my thinking, however, his nobility
was not manifested in his substantial
giftedness, but in his very real and
very human struggles. These struggles,
and how he dealt with them, are what I
recall on Father’s Day. For it’s in them
that I am reminded of what life is.
When my father was 11 years old,
he wrote the following for his school
newspaper:
“When I grow up I want to be one of
the greatest lawyers of the time. I shall
convict all the men that the majority of
the people think guilty. I want to live to
see my golden wadding anniversary. I
hope to have a long and joyous life. If I
can do all this I should feel that I have
done something worthwhile.”
How did he do? Well, I am not one
Larry
Walker
Columnist
lwalker@whgb-law.com
back, had long, flowing hair and had on
a long overcoat. He looked like a televi
sion evangelist! What figure!
And," the conversation did not disap
point. I can’t remember whether we
talked about his sometimes leading as
the celebrity thrower of the Annual
Interstate Mullet Toss at the “Flora-
Bama”.
Do any of you know where the Flora-
Bama is? Well, at the Mullet Toss, indi
viduals compete on the beach, throw
ing a mullet from a ten-foot circle in
Florida across the line into Alabama.
That should tell you where it is.
Then there was Mike Tyson. How
sad! Janice and I spent the weekend in
Atlanta at the Buckhead Ritz-Carlton.
On Sunday morning, I went to the fit
ness center to “work-out”. There was
only one other person in the center.
You guessed it: Mike Tyson.
At first, I didn’t say anything to him,
but then started a conversation with
“how are you doing, champ”? He was
very, very polite. He was also very sad
seeming. I’ll never forget his response
when I asked, “where is your home,”
to which he replied, “I don’t have a
home”. I thought everyone had “a
home”.
I had interesting experiences with
Jane Fonda. We were working on a pos
sible made-for-television movie, and I
met with her on a few occasions, even
having lunch, twice, with her. I found
her to be warm, smart, and very engag
ing.
This is how I met Bobby Brown and
Whitney Houston. I was at a hotel in
Randy
Hicks
Columnist
Georgia Family Council
to judge whether or not he was one
of the “greatest lawyers of the time,”
but I do know he was a very good one
and that he achieved the essence of his
vision for “a long and joyous” life. Not
only did he live to celebrate his golden
wedding anniversary (+ 9), but he did
develop a reputation as a premiere
prosecutor. This is how the Orange
County Register (Southern California)
put it in an article on his memorial
service:
“Cecil Hicks, the long-serving for
mer Orange County district attorney
legendary for successfully prosecuting
dozens of politicians and their associ
ates for corruption, was remembered
Monday by family and colleagues for
a solemn commitment to justice that
somehow easily co-existed with an
irreverent wit.”
The Los Angeles Times recorded the
words of Alicemarie Stotler, chief judge
of the Los Angeles federal court district.
“He was fearless,” she said. “Cecil had
an inborn aversion to corruption, no
matter where or how high.”
Words and phrases such as “legend-
M
mg,... Ji
A
Miami for a State Legislative Leaders
Foundation meeting. We were out by
the pool, and I had on a “Larry Walker”
campaign t-shirt. Bobby Brown and
Whitney Houston were also there. He
walked by and wanted to know, “who
is Larry Walker” and, of course, I sup
plied the answer. I invited Whitney and
him to our reception that night, and
he actually came. He also gave me his
telephone number and his “password”
which was “Justin Case”.
Later, I ran into the two of them at
the Ritz in Atlanta and the lawyer from
Galveston, Texas, with whom I was
working on a case, and was astounded
when both of them knew my name!
In the late 1960’5, I think, Janice
and I, and others, were in Alice’s
Restaurant at Malibu Beach, California.
At the next table were Steve McQueen
and Ali McGraw. He looked tired and
scruffy. She looked wonderful.
We didn’t “meet them,” but we were
“with them,” and it was quite exciting
- especially at that time in our youth
ful lives.
Then there was Prince Charles. He
came to the legislature when I was
Governor Harris’ Floor Leader. He
actually spent the night at the Georgia
Governor’s Mansion and slept in the
same bed in which Janice and I slept
when we were the Harris’ first “spend
the-night” guests after he became
Governor. I used to tell folks that
“Janice and I slept in the same bed at
the Governor’s Mansion that Prince
Charles slept in, but not at the same
time!”
Whether I actually “met” Prince
Charles when he was at the legisla
ture, I cannot remember. But, as we
shared the same bed, I feel that’s close
enough, so I will claim that I met him.
And, isn’t that the way with celebri
ties? You take a few “licenses” in tell
ing of the encounter, which is usually a
meeting that you well-remember and
the celebrity remembers “not at all”.
ary,” “solemn commitment to justice,”
“fearless” and “aversion to corruption”
make me smile, as you might expect.
(Frankly, I really like the “irreverent
wit” part too. He was very, very funny.)
But what set my dad apart was his
resolve in the face of doubts and fears
and everyday challenges. Here’s why:
Life is full of challenges. Our hopes,
dreams and aspirations are very rarely
fully realized. We may enjoy reaching
various milestones in our lives, but we
stumble along the way. We make bad
decisions, wound those we love, and
perhaps even go through periods of
messed up priorities.
We doubt ourselves and, sometimes,
those around us. There are times when
we attempt to “do right” only to find
that our actions have been misun
derstood and our motives misinter
preted. And, quite frankly, there are
other times when both our actions and
motives really are terribly skewed.
But nobility is realized when we
pull ourselves off the ground and go
back at it. When we bind up our
wounds, and “get over it.” When we
ask for forgiveness and forgive others.
When we remember our commitments,
elevate our sights and overcome our
coarser or more self-centered impulses.
And, sometimes, nobility is realized by
choosing not to run away from obliga
tions or a necessary fight.
When I was in high school (in
the mid- to late-seventies), my dad
See HICKS, page SA
"One voice can make a difference "
Pay honor to our flag
Today is Flag Day.
Ah yes, our wonderful flag. Burned in other
countries. Spit on. Defiled by the ignorant.
All we can say in regard to our flag is: It’s enough
that so many others “outside” our borders don’t
appreciate the many who have bravely fought
- the thousands upon thousands who have died
while preserving its honor - we shouldn’t be see
ing the same thing here on our own shores.
And yet that isn’t entirely the case.
A few of years back, one of our city hall’s hung
the United Staes flag upside down. Not once, but
twice over the course of two months. The last time,
we took a picture of it and put it in the paper to
shame them. Hopefully it did. (We haven’t seen it
hung upside down anymore, at any rate.)
About two weeks ago we received a call from a
visitor to Houston County. She, a military member
but visiting relatives, had a complaint. Come to
find out, she was staying at a local hotel and the
flag hanging in the hotel parking lot looked like it
had been through a war.
Shameful. This might be OK for displaying one
in, oh say, the Smithsonian, or one that has seen
action in Iraq, but this wasn’t the case.
It was just weather-worn and badly in need of
being replaced. (Visit USFlag.org for a list of eti
quette regarding our flag.) That’s fact - we drove
by (almost took a picture but decided to give them
a break and just call. On another note, we haven’t
driven by since and now might be a good time ...)
To our nation’s credit, incidents like this are the
exception, not the rule. But even one is one too
many.
On this flag day, let’s all re-commit to honoring
our flag. We’ve got plenty overseas doing their
best to bring it discredit. We should work all the
more harder to drown them out... ensure it stands
for the symbol of freedom that it assuredly is.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
O’Neal and the ‘Robin Hood’ test
I was not surprised to read in the Houston Home Journal
that Rep. Larry O’Neal-R-Warner Robins, received an
award from the state Chamber of Commerce for his careful
analysis of every tax bill. But he also supported tax reforms
on property and ad valorem taxes that would have trans
ferred taxes from our rich to the rest of us.
They would have been replaced by sales taxes on all
kinds of services-kind of like the “Voodoo Economics” of our
president's dad. Larry O’Neal has failed to qualify for the
Robin Hood test of doing what is best for the majority.
- Frank W. Gadbois, Warner Robins
A ‘thank you’ from Perry Country Club
Perry Country Club would like to thank everyone who
helped, participated, or donated to our fourth annual
Parrish Construction Group’s “Making Miracles Happen for
Kids" Golf Classic.
We would also like to express heart felt thanks to Missi
Upshaw and the Staff of the Medical Center of Central
Georgia Children’s Hospital. They unselfishly devote so
much time and energy towards the care and wellbeing of
our children and their parents at a critical time in their lives.
It warms our hearts when we hear a child speak of the
love, care, and understanding they received as patients.
It also makes us want to put forth every effort to provide
help and donations to this wonderful organization.
See LETTER, page
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