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OpEd I / THIS MAY 0E \ <■ _\EU V\ ' AWE PIFFItULT Z»Pi Bb£ZV\ THAN WE THOUGHT,,, F|gL\ y Bk\ CIY k /Ms. M RS ,4«HNB/ *' Letter policy The Forsyth County News welcomes your opinions on issues of public concern. Letters must be signed and include full address and a daytime and evening phone number for verification. Names and /'TwC/ F" hometowns of letter writ- 1 ers will be included for n/ J I publication without o / exception. Telephone C * / numbers w ill not be pub- CM' lished. , Letters should be limit- \\ ed to 350 words and may be edit- JV \ ed or condensed. The same writer or XA group may only submit one letter per month for consideration Letters must be submitted ■ ■ by noon Wednesday for Sunday ill My : publication. We do not publish poetry or blanket letters and generally do not publish letters concerning consumer complaints. Unsigned or incorrectly identified letters will be withheld. Mail letters to the Forsyth County News. P.O Box 210. Cumming. GA 30028. hand deliver to 302 Veterans Memorial Blvd., fax to (770) 889-6017 or email to editor@forsvthnews.com. Kerry won’t force out chairman; wants him to mind P’s and Q’s WASHINGTON Pres idential nominee-apparent John Kerry has no intention of forc ing out Terry McAuliffe as Democratic National chairman for the time being but wants him to watch his words more closely. After Sen. Kerry clinched the nomination in Super Tuesday's primaries, an aide told reporters the campaign wanted to get McAuliffe entirely off television. That is not exactly the campaign's position, but the sena tor's aides do want to restrain the chairman. He recently publicly declared that he would con tinue to attack George W. Bush's National Guard record even though Kerry disapproved of that approach. McAuliffe's job appears to be safe at least through the party's national convention in Boston this summer. A Washington deaimaker. McAuliffe was not a popular choice to head the Democratic National Committee following the 2000 election. Bill and Hillary Clinton insisted on it. and Al Gore decided not to make a fight. The two Johns Sen. John Edwards ended his presidential candidacy just in time to avoid being written off as Sen. John Kerry 's potential running mate. The Kerry campaign did not relish the thought of dipping into its diminished war chest to battle North Carolinian Edwards in Texas and other Southern primaries coming up next Tuesday. The message was conveyed to Edwards that Kerry wanted to save available funds for the campaign against President Bush and Edwards had better get out. A footnote: Kerry's strategists made a calcu lated decision to expend major resources in Tuesday's Georgia primary to block Edwards’ big effort there, and they barely won the gam ble. A victory in Georgia would not really have moved Edwards any closer to the nomination, but the Kerry high command did not want him to have another Southern triumph to go along with his win in South Carolina. North Korea’s choice North Korea's communist dictator Kim Jong 11, a keen student, of everything American, is privately predicting that George W. Bush will be defeated for re-election and that will improve relations between his regime and the U.S. government. Kim's forecast was made to subordinates in the North Korean regime, who in turn passed it on to Japanese friends. It subsequently found Robert 1 fW Novak LX “I contacts with President Bill Clinton and expressed hope that the same kind of coopera tion might be possible if John Kerry is elected. McCain’s warming As George W. Bush's re-election campaign was launched Wednesday, the Republican chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee Sen. John McCain conducted a hearing on climate change with testimony strictly from witnesses whose views contradict the presi dent's. The leadoff witness was Sen. Joseph Lieberman, who is not a member of the Commerce Committee. "I feel we are within reach of finally taking action to combat this global warming." Lieberman began. McCain is co-sponsor of Lieberman’s global warming bill, which was a keystone of the senator's recent unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. Lieberman was followed by a panel of five expert witnesses, all of whom disagree with the Bush administration on climate change. They included staffers from Conservation International and the World Wildlife Fund. Lugar’s Democrat The Texas Democrat who ran against Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is host ing a SI,OOO-a-ticket fund-raising reception for Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, at the Hotel George in Washington on the evening of March 29. Richard Fisher, though a Democrat, praised Lugar's unsuccessful GOP presidential candi dacy in 1996. A Dallas financier, Fisher in 1997 was named deputy U.S. trade representative by President Bill Clinton. In 1994, Fisher was the surprise winner of the Democratic Senate nomination to oppose Hutchison. He claimed to have been an adviser to Conservative British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who said their association was minor. Hutchison defeated Fisher by 23 percentage points. Robert Novak is a nationally syndicated columnist and a television commentator. Take a break for some fresh perspectives I've often observed that international travel helps increase understanding - not only of foreign cultures, but of one's own. The differences from home stimulate thoughts about things and issues which are normally just taken for granted. However, it is not nec essary to travel far afield to obtain such insights. A number of years ago I took a trip through the Grand Canyon. For 12 days, 16 of us challenged the rapids in four small rafts. We slept under the stars, bathed in the icy river and streams that fed it. and explored canyons that looked untouched by man. Except for what we brought with us, and an occa sional river-tour group which flashed by in noisy, smoke spewing, motorized rafts, we were out of sight of any signs of civilization for almost the entire period. It todk the first day or two to flush the rest of the world from our minds, but eventually, the walls, the river, our group, the local fauna and flora, the sun and the brilliant night-time sky became our entire universe. Then the last night, with the rafts tied together, we drifted across Lake Mead, to be picked up in the morning by a bus and to be dropped off in Las Vegas! I can remember the reaction of the group. We were stunned by the noise, the smells, the light, the enormous level of activity. It was an incredibly strident reintroduc tion to the "civilized world!" Interestingly, many of us had begun the trip from Las Vegas n driving or flying to Lee's Ferry, our put-in-point. Though less than two weeks had transpired, the Las Vegas we found upon our return was not the same one we had left, and for me. it has never been since then. As I write. I’m in Arizona, surrounded by magnificent red rock formations that, in some what anonymous fashion, are familiar to most of us, thanks to John Ford, John Wayne and many of the other directors and its way into Tokyo press circles, though it has not vet been print ed. According to these reports, the communist dictator has expressed his dissatisfaction about dealing with Bush. He is said to have much preferred his Mel Copen . actors who made films here. Yesterday, 1 climbed one of those towering formations —a tough 800 foot assent, with incredible views at almost every step. It was hard to think of anything else but the wonders of nature all around me and where my next footstep would land. Today, one of my most cap tivating challenges was a fasci nating battle of wits. I had put up a bird feeder, and no sooner had it been put into place then a mischievous looking chipmunk and a gigantic squirrel (who looked the size of a woodchuck) took notice. 1 had been clever in hanging the thing. The squir rel (who clearly could have been a “before” ad for whatever substitutes for Atkins or Weight Watchers in the squirrel world) was easy. My guess is that he concluded that, at his weight, it was not worth the effort. He would have to climb a very smooth cement wall, or make a leap of heroic proportions. Ah! But the chipmunk saw it differently. It became chal lenge. I watched as he made different attempts to reach the feeder. I'm not even sure how he knew what it was. but it was obvious that his mother (or her mother) had taught him well. It took them about 10 minutes to figure out how to get into the feeder. Score one for the chip munk! With all my schooling and what my mother had taught me. I was only a few minutes ahead of this furry little guy. This didn't bother me much, since he (or she?) was a cute lit tle guy. It was only when he brought the whole family back that I started to rise to the chal lenge. But when they started chasing the birds away, this was a challenge tantamount to a declaration of war. This w as not a pre-emptive move. The chip- -* ' spur//£■>«/* ” fyi/ lArt/J< A W A A y M n A vjR Je j y n K j Watch for construction to start on Parsons new J . ‘ and improved Ladies Accessories Department. Our Brighton and Vera Bradley Boutique Jp is coming soon! \ To make room for the new it is time to say good-bye to the 01d.... '* MBMHMMM&V/nGo ujm I ■ j i Come Zn Today! , t x Cmnming 770-887-9991 x GA4OO Exit I 4 Sat 10-6 V FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS - Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - I munks already held the high ground. I won't go through all the gory (but non-violent) details. But after a number of trips to the hardware store and several modifications to my original design, it was becoming clear who was sitting in the driver's seat. In fact, I am sure that I detected a slight sneer on the faces of the chipmunks as they continued to munch on the bird food. Defeat by a chipmunk was more than my ego could stand. One last try and Io and behold, half a day has passed without a single success ful chipmunk foray. They spent several hours surveying the scene and trying various alter natives. But so far they have had to content themselves with picking up seeds from the ground that the birds have dropped. Score one for me. But I sense that the war is not over. Somehow the looks on the chipmunks' faces seem to be one of determination. We'll see what tomorrow has to bring. Now what has this got to do with the world? That's exactly the point nothing and yet everything! It's wonderful to get away! It's especially wonderful to escape from the world one lives in every day not only physically, but to be able to leave the constant bombardment of political rhetoric as the presi dential campaign heats up; to put aside thoughts of Iraq, ter rorists and suicide bombers; to withdraw, if only temporarily, from the hectic pace of the world around us. In this situa tion. it is also exhilarating to realize that there are still wide open spaces, free from urban sprawl, stifling rush-hour traf fic, air pollution, and constant noise places where one can relax, think about and enjoy the great things that nature has cre ated. and do mental battle with wily chipmunks. We are surrounded by images and words that are developed and transmitted by others and that provide the information upon which we form our judgments and opin ions. Approximately 75 percent of the adult population watches TV news, although a large pro portion consists of casual view ers. A smaller number, about 55% (down from 80 percent in the 19605) takes the time to read a daily paper (the percent age is much lower for people under 40 and rises substantially with age). Many of us don't even try to keep informed due to the press of other responsibil ities, disillusionment with the coverage or with what is going on in the world, or just lack of interest. But moving into another environment, whether that be physical or mental, can both reenergize one's batteries aqd put things into much more healthy perspectives. One can deal with the real world on dif ferent and very personal terms. And there is something about being closer to nature which rejuvenates one's faith in life. I'm about to return to my usual world where I will have neither the opportunity nor the lime to climbing rocks or cross swords with chipmunks. But I'll carry some of this experi ence with me, bringing constant reminders of other ways of liv ing, enjoying and contemplating the world around. I will have first hand images and experi ences that bring hope when things look dreary, light when they look dark, and space when things start closing in. And most of all. these types of “get a-ways” bring fresh perspec tives - particularly with respect to the matters that occupy so many of our waking hours in the frenetic existence that is the norm for the most of us. If you haven't done so recently, take a break! Treat yourself to fresh perspectives. Dr. Melvyn Copen of Cumming is an educator and businessman who has worked and lived in many foreign coun tries. His column appears every other Wednesday. Please share your comments with him via email at melcopen@hot mail, com. PAGE 11A