The Forsyth County news. (Cumming, Ga.) 19??-current, November 29, 1995, WEDNESDAY EDITION, Page PAGE 15A, Image 15
OpEd
Maybe giving away some
of those toys are the answer
‘Us the season to buy toys, and
there’s lots of news about “danger
ous toys”. I watched some “expert”
on T.V. the other night, demonstrat
ing how various toys could be dan
gerous to kids, and the more I
watched, the more 1 wondered how
some of us ever grew up!
Of course I know there are
exceptions, but most of us managed
to survive childhood without getting
bopped or otherwise impaired by
any number of toys that safety
experts would shudder at today.
Does anyone remember stilts, or
tom-walkers? I’m not even going to
explain these, for fear some child
reading this will try to fashion some
and break bones and sue me! That,
incidentally, is probably why all the
precautions today. Litigation is a
way of life. When we were kids, and
got hurt, it was usually our own
fault, like carelessness, or using the
toy the wrong way, and no one even
thought of suing the company that
made the toy! Those of you who
remember stilts and tom-walkers can
explain them to your own kids if you
want to, or grand-kids, but look out
because they might sue YOU!
8010 paddles were mainstays of
our playtime, and I didn’t actually
hit my sister with the paddle or the
ball, but managed to come close
enough to make her squeal, which
was sufficient. 1 even had a sling
shot, and only used it on tin cans and
stuff like that.
I know my Mama KNEW where
I was and what I was doing, at least
when I was young enough to maybe
get in trouble with a toy. We were
taught the right and wrong of things,
including play. Of course we didn’t
Balanced budget will be
beneficial to Georgians
After the Senate recessed for the
Thanksgiving holiday, U.S. Senator
Paul Coverdell (R-GA) returned
home to Georgia amid growing opti
mism that the nation will have a bal
anced budget in seven years, trigger
ing colossal economic growth in
Georgia and elsewhere across the
country.
“For Georgians, the benefits of a
balanced budget are mind boggling”
Sen. Coverdell said. “It’s estimated
Georgians will save $2,602 each
year on the average mortgage, $653
on the average 10-year student loan
and see the cost of state and local
government reduced by $212 per
household due to a drop in interest
rates.” (Source: Citizens for a Sound
Economy, 11/20/95)
“Economists forecast that inter
est rates will tumble as much as 2.7
percent when Congress achieves and
the President approves a seven-year
balanced budget plan. Those lower
interest rates would lessen the cost
of borrowing for consumers and
state and local governments,” he
said. (Source: DRI/McGraw-Hill
study, October 1995)
On Friday, the Senate approved
the Balanced Budget Act of 1995,
which achieves a zero deficit by
2002. In addition, the legislation
reforms welfare, saves Medicare
from bankruptcy and returns $245
billion to American families through
tax cuts. The President has threat
ened to veto the balanced budget
bill. “The only think standing
between America and a balanced
budget is President Bill Clinton,”
Senator Coverdell said. “The fight
is far from over. Georgians must
call on the President to keep his
word and sign this seven-year bal
anced budget bill. Many naysayers
said it couldn’t be done, but this new
Majority has proven we can balance
our budgets, control spending and
return those resources to where they
belong with our families and our
communities,” said Sen. Coverdell.
Sen. Coverdell said he is more opti
mistic than ever that the 104th
Congress will be remembered in the
history books as the first Congress,
since 1969, to successfully produce
and then move a true balanced bud
get through the process.
“We will succeed because the
American people are behind us,” he
said. “Americans support our efforts
because they understand the very
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have the variety of toys, nor were
they as sophisticated as today’s, but
there was always the possibility of
harm, if you didn’t have common
sense or watchful adults.
After watching that guy on T.V.,
I’m being very careful choosing toys
for the grandchildren. I’ve about
decided just to give them containers.
You mean your grandchildren
don’t prefer playing with the boxes?
Most of our younger grandchildren
enjoy opening presents more than
anything, so I could wrap up lots of
empty boxes and they’d have a ball!
That and a bag of gummy bears, or
gummy worms, and they’d be satis
fied, and I wouldn’t be broke, OR
get sued! Unless those gummy bears
caused a problem! Hmmmmm,
maybe just the boxes then. Just kid
ding, children, just kidding!
One of the primary dangers to a
lot of kids today is stumbling over
the abundance of toys they already
have, to get to the Christmas tree
and unwrap more! I have a sugges
tion. Why not give some of those
old, useable toys to some of the
charitable organizations collecting
them this season? Your children
might enjoy picking out some to
give, and, what do you know, there
they are, learning what the season is
all about!
integrity and preservation of this
union is at stake. Our success will
determine whether we move forward
as the superpower we are or leave
behind a crippled nation for the next
generations of Americans,” he said.
In addition to tax cuts, Sen.
Coverdell said middle-income
American families who most need
economic relief will get additional
benefits through a decrease in inter
est rates. He outlined how an aver
age Georgia family would fare as a
result of balancing our budget.
Savings Mortgages and More
Affordable Housing: In Georgia,
the average mortgage is $96,354,
according to the Federal Housing
Finance Board. With a 2.7 percent
drop in interest rates, the average
Georgia mortgage holder would save
$2,602 on interest payments for each
year of a fixed-rate, 30-year mort
gage. Federal Reserve Board
Governor Lawrence Lindsay pre
dicts that with a balanced budget in
the year 2002, “You’ll have the 5-1/4
percent mortgages our parents got.”
Therefore, as the cost of borrowing
drops, housing will become more
affordable.
Make College Education More
Affordable: The U.S. Department
of Education says the size of the
average student loan in Georgia is
$3,263. A 2.7 percent drop in inter
est rates would mean that a Georgia
student would save $653 over the
life of the average 10-year loan. If
that student takes out more than one
loan for college, his or her savings
would be even greater.
Savings for Georgia
Taxpayers: Lower interest rates
would lessen the cost of borrowing
for Georgia state and local govern
ments, which have combined an out
standing debt of $20.7 billion,
according to 1995 figures from the
Tax Foundation. A 2.7 percent
reduction in interest rates could
reduce Georgia’s state and local gov
ernment borrowing costs by $559
million. If this were passed on to
Georgia’s taxpayers, it would result
in a $212 tax cut per household.
“While the benefits of a balanced
budget are enormous, conversely,
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan
Greenspan has warned of the serious
adverse consequences should we fail
to balance our budgets and reduce
our nearly $5 trillion debt.” Sen.
Coverdell said. “We must not fail.”
The Beatles: a good little rock-n-roll band
It was around 1964, and I was
around nine years old. We stood near
the T.V. in the den as my father
looked at me with a woeful expres
sion and half begged, half demanded
that I have the bangs cut back away
from my face. I felt tom, trapped, as
I searched for a response that was
both noncommittal and respectful at
the same time. How could I possibly
comply? I was in the grips of
Beatlemania, and all the potions in
his big black doctor’s bag could not
have cured me.
My son, now eighteen, watched a
little of the recent “Beatles
Anthology” T.V. show with me last
week. What was so great about them,
he asked. Why were all those girls
screaming so? In an age when there
must be a blue million rock groups,
their sounds as varied as a songbird’s
warble to a train wreck’s metallic
peal, he cannot comprehend
Beatlemania. In his short time rock
ers have gone near naked, adorned
themselves with body paint, grown
shaggy locks or shaved their nog
gins, bit the heads off live bats, and
peed on the audience. Even country
acts have the star flying through the
Family is chief educator of children
The older I get, the more I think
about the “good old days”. These
mythical days are always better in
some fashion than today, and actual
ly can only be characterized as good
in comparison to the present.
Almost always the good old days
contained amazingly low prices on
everything. For me the good old
days extend back into the late
1950’5. I reminiscence about gaso
line at 29 cents a gallon, and movies
for 50 cents. I remember dates that
including a meal and a movie, only
cost $2.50. I remember in the early
days of my married life going to the
supermarket and buying a weeks
worth of groceries for $lO. Oh, the
good old days! They were really
something. I recollect new cars sell
ing for under $3000.1 remember my
parent’s home which they built for
$13,000 and financed at four percent
interest. A new pair of Converse
All-Star basketball shoes could be
purchased for only $9.99. Of course
wages were also very low. I recall
working for area farmer* at a dollar
per hour. I remember the Beatles
and their first Ed Sullivan appear
ance. I remember the pin up girls of
the late 50’s and 60’s which were
then considered taboo and were rele
gated to the all male domain of
workshop walls. I can still recall my
cheeks burning when I first saw
such pictures, and the guilt I felt
later at having looked. I even
remember pot bellied coal burning
stoves which filled our house with
scents and heat.
I remember the very day that
television entered our home for the
first time. I can also remember the
day that our house became air con
ditioned. I did not leave the house
all day except to go outside and
come back in to see how much cool
er it was inside. My parents then
instituted the rule, “If you’re going
out, stay out.” They always added,
“We’re not paying to air condition
the outdoors.”
Of course the good old days
were filled with cars and more cars.
I remember ‘55 Chevy’s, and ‘57
Belair’s, and of course the new 1951
green Buick my Dad bought with
the hydromatic drive. I can almost
chart my personal history through
automobiles of the past. I recall the
sleek 1963 Chevrolet Impalas, and
the ‘64 Mustangs, and the hot ‘65
GTO’s, and the Plymouth Hemi
heads Road Runners and the
Barracuda’s and the Dodge
Chargers. The price tag on all these
cars was under $4,000.
I remember when our
Presidents’ private lives remained
private, and when democracy and
Christianity were held to be as
sacred and important. I remember
when schools and teachers were
respected. I remember being taught
how the policeman was our friend
and could be trusted. I recall going
outside to spot Sputnik in the
evening sky thinking that a whole
new era was beginning. I also
remember being issued dog tags in
the 6th grade and having nuclear
bomb drills in the event of a com
munist attack. I remember when the
slogan “better dead than red” was
popular. I remember when prayer in
school wasn’t controversial, but
common. I remember when minis
ters were highly respected people
who always received the finest
baked goods on their frequent visits
to our house. Of course the good old
air on hidden wires and smashing
guitars onstage. How can I explain
the wildly rebellious nature of four
guys from Liverpool combing their
hair straight down into their faces?
How could he ever comprehend the
uncontrollable, uninhibited hysteria
on the part of thousands of teenage
girls when John, Paul and George
joined in high-pitched harmony over
the word, “oooooooooooooh?”
Frankly, I’m not entirely sure I
understand it myself, and I certainly
did not get it at the time. I don’t think
any of us did. We just liked the
music, liked the look, liked the atti
tude. The girls were infatuated with
four boys unlike any from back
home, hair and accents and all. And
the boys longed to make the girls
lose their composure over us the way
they did over them. Even today,
when my son Kyle asked why the
girls were screaming, I could almost
hear the unspoken rest of the ques
tion: “And how can I make girls act
that way?”
The songs, at first, were pretty
innocuous: “I Want to Hold Your
Hand”; “She Loves You”; “1 Saw
Her Standing There.” It was feel
days were at best filled with mixed
blessings. Yet, the older 1 get, the
more fondly I find myself remem
bering those days.
Today is a great time to be alive.
There’s no question about that. We
live in relative comfort and wealth
in our society. My children have
never known a home without televi
sion, video recorders, air condition
ing, and carpet on the floors. But as
John F. Kennedy once said, “The
nation cannot afford to be materially
rich, and morally poor.” For all our
affluence our society is experiencing
a dramatic and potentially fatal
decline in public and private morali
ty. This descent has been well docu
mented, and while our political lead
ers are all paying lip service to the
need to strengthen public morality,
government is not the answer to the
FORSYTH COUNTY, GEORGIA
at POOLES MILL SHOALS
91 Riverfront Acres
in 18 Tracts from 2.5 to 8 Acres Each
✓ Every tract has river frontage with noisy shoals
✓ Majestic mountain views near historical covered bridge
✓ County water ✓ Natural gas
✓ Densely wooded with big hardwoods and pines
- OWNER FINANCING AVAILABLE -
25% down, balance over 7 years, monthly payments.
LOCATION: Take Ga. 400 North to Exit #l3, turn left, stay
on Bethelview/141 and cross Hwy. 20. Follow and bear left to
Hurt Bridge Rd. Cross over Heardsville Rd. and continue.
Auction signs will identify property on left.
808 TUCKER
808 TUCKER E 3 ASSOCIATES! ]
m P.O. BOX 181 ■ ROME, GEORGIA 30162 ■ PHONE: 706-295-5768 ■ FAX: 706-295-3088
FOBSYTH COUNTY NEWS Wdn—d»y, November 29. 1995
good music, from a time when there
was still plenty of roll in rock-and
roll. But the Beatles invaded
America as we were on the cusp of
change. The next six years would
deliver complex transitions, and their
music followed suit. I can recall feel
ing very uncool for my inability to
interpret some of their lyrics. I hoped
my perplexity over such passages as
“I am the Eggman, I am the Eggman,
I am the Walrus, coo-coo-ca-chew,”
would never be discovered.
Some attributed all kinds of sym
bolism and hidden meaning to the
Beatles’ music of the late ‘6os, even
playing it backward and claiming to
hear shocking messages. I just flat
didn’t get it. Imagine my relief to
have heard the voices of the Fab
Four last week explaining that those
songs were more or less just abstract,
loose collages of impressions, not
artfully coded packages full of deep
meaning. Reminds me of a story
about William Faulkner lecturing a
college class on his short story, “The
Bear.” Some student got up and gave
a long-winded dissertation about the
symbolism of the story, with all the
characters and all the events repre
problem. Yes, government can get
tough on crime, and reform the wel
fare system, and pass laws in an
effort to stem the rising tide of indi
viduals who somehow grew up
without a moral compass to guide
them. However, the real hope for
stemming this tide of immorality is
the family.
The family is the most funda
mental building block of society.
While this statement is a truism, it is
a truism that is not acted upon any
more. As families go, there goes the
nation. Divorce, illegitimacy, single
parent homes, absent fathers and
child abuse are the leading causes of
crime, poverty, illiteracy, and an
unnatural dependency on govern
ment. Unless individuals belong to a
meaningful family structure, they
become moral aliens exploiting oth-
|g§ Walker
Bramblett
senting something other than what
they were, and asked the great writer
if that wasn’t what he had intended.
Faulkner, leaning on the podium, is
said to have taken a pull on his pipe
and replied, “Nope, son, I was just
writing a story about a man hunting a
bear.”
The big message I took from the
T.V. show was that it was talent that
propelled the Beatles, not genius, not
some mysterious agenda to change
the world. As with so many who
attain greatness, we tried to attribute
to them more than was there. But
what was there was nevertheless
considerable. Paul McCartney said
they were just a good little rock-and
roll band, nothing more, nothing less.
While his humility is admirable, they
were a bit more significant than that.
But he’s pretty close to the mark.
Danner^n^^i
LZMTiI
ers and society in general to meet
their needs. The family is the chief
educator of children. The family is
the major transmitter of values and
morals and faith. The family is the
depository of moral wisdom, love
and discipline in our society. If the
family is bankrupt, so is our society.
Individuals must assume their right
ful roles within the family if the i
moral crisis of our day is to be
solved.
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