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The True Citizen, Wednesday, December 2, 2009 — Page 5
Dixie Divas
By Ronda Rich
There’s nothing like a trip to
Hollywood to remind you of the
fantasies
that grow
there as rap
idly as
k u d z u
grows in
Southern
summers.
There. I of
ten find
people who are not exactly my
people.
That world is as different
from my world as pinto beans
are from garbanzo beans. Still,
it’s an interesting place to visit
and it offers a different perspec
tive of life outside the rural
South.
On a recent trip, I was driv
ing down Wilshire Boulevard
and passed the famed Beverly
Wilshire - think hotel from the
movie Pretty Woman and
you’ve seen the place - and I
started laughing at the memory
from another time.
A few years ago, a business
trip to Fox Studio coincided
with some of my NASCAR
friends being in town for the
championship banquet of what
was then called the Busch
Grand National Series, the sec
ond level of competition. Since
the big boys went to the New
York Waldorf to celebrate their
champion, someone had de
cided that the other guys should
go to the glamorous Beverly
Wilshire for their celebration.
I was staying at the Hyatt
which backs up to the Fox lot
FINDING MY PEOPL
but it only took a couple of calls
from friends to convince me to
move over to the Wilshire and
hang out with them.
“You can stay with me,”
urged my long-time friend Deb.
“C’mon. We’ll get you a ticket
to the banquet, too.”
Quicker than it takes to make
a cup of instant grits, I packed
my bags and headed to Beverly
Hills.
First, I should have known I
was in the wrong place because
unlike the Hampton Inns and
Holiday Inns where I normally
stay, the Wilshire does not have
a sign out front. You have to
know where you’re going. And,
apparently, if you have the sev
eral hundred dollars a night that
those rooms cost, your chauf
feur knows how to get there.
3 IN BEVERLY HILLS
Not me in my little rental car,
though. I had to call the hotel
and admit, “I can’t find you.”
In an aristocratic, elegant
tone, he replied, "We are the
grand building with all the flags
flying on the front exterior.”
I looked up and there it was.
It bore a striking resemblance
to Buckingham Palace. I drove
into the back courtyard where
door men dressed like the liver
ied servants who serve the
Queen of England, opened my
door and grandly greeted me.
“Welcome to the Beverly
Wilshire. It is our pleasure to
serve you, ma’am.” They
bowed.
One of the door men, who
would become a pal to Deb and
me, unloaded my luggage and
then explained, “We have a
chauffeured Rolls Royce, which
is available at the beck and call
of our guests, should you desire
a drive somewhere. Please in
form us and it shall be at your
service.”
I began to get the feeling that
I was not among my people.
Deb met me in the lobby and
waited with me in line at the
front desk to register. In front
of us, was an East coast couple
expensively dressed in designer
clothes, who arranged for a
room for the pilot of their pri
vate jet, spoke in cultured tones
and was loaded down with real
Louis Vuitton luggage.
I knew these were not my
people.
About that time, I looked over
to see two of the NASCAR driv
ers dressed down in jeans,
logoed tee shirts not tucked in
and clean, white sneakers who
were talking while each held a
plastic cup with a paper um
brella stuck in it.
Aw, there were my people.
A while back, I asked Jeff
Foxworthy where the studio
puts him when he’s in L.A. to
film his television show.
“Different places,” he replied
with a casual shrug. "We have
stayed at the Wilshire a couple
of times.” He stopped and
sniggered. “You oughta see that
place when it’s over run with
rednecks.”
I laughed. “I have.’'
Ronda Rich is the best-selling
author of What Southern Women
Know About Faith. Visit
www.rondarich.com to sign up
for her weekly newsletter.
Letters to the Editor
Thanks, congressman
To Congressman John Bar-
row:
First of all, thank you for your
“NO” vote recently in the house
on our pending healthcare leg
islation. I think your vote is
more of a reflection of the 12th
district, than that of the Demo
cratic Party.
I have read your article of
Nov. 12th in the Savannah
Morning News, and you state
that health care reform must
accomplish three goals. The
fourth goal should be tort re
form and this bill should con
tain it to be effective. The over
riding problem is that health in
surance is not a priority for a
large portion of the American
people. You state that health
insurance companies need to be
regulated to keep them from
taking advantage of their cus
tomers.
If everyone was required to
have health insurance the pool
of insured people would be so
large that premiums would drop
drastically. The health insur
ance industry is not a non-profit
organization and they do what
they do to manage their risks.
Second, you state that we need
to help those who can’t afford
it. That is what Medicare and
Medicaid are for. Our govern
ment hasn’t done such a great
job in managing these two pro
grams either.
Many of the people who say
they can’t afford it have no
problem buying new cars and
52" televisions. It is not a pri
ority for them. Lastly, you say
to slow the growth of healthcare
spending.
This is where the tort laws
need to be changed and the
healthcare providers protected
from malpractice suits. The
easiest solution for the people
who are denied because of pre
existing conditions or cata
strophic health problems, would
be for government to simply
assist in buying those people a
health insurance policy that has
a premium rate that is appropri
ate for their condition. That way
they would be guaranteed the
same level of care, and it
wouldn’t cost a trillion dollars
in the process. Congress needs
to make a distinction between
the uninsured and the uninsur-
able, and make the uninsurable
the priority.
Best Regards,
Glen Ashe
Waynesboro
Mother speaks out
Editor:
My son has been an inmate at
Burke County Jail for about six
months now. Everything has
been alright until around a
month ago.
Legally, the inmates are sup
posed to be taken outside for at
least an hour each week. The
inmates at Burke County Jail
haven’t been allowed outside in
about a month. They are also
supposed to have a “Store Call”
on Thursday nights so they can
purchase needed items. The of
ficers have been postponing this
until Friday nights.
I contacted Sheriff Greg
Coursey’s office to ask how we
could make our opinion known.
I was treated very rudely but
was told if my son wrote a let
ter to Sheriff Coursey’s office,
they would try to fix these prob
lems.
My son wrote this letter and
was not rude about the situation
and sent it. The next day, he was
sent to Jefferson County Jail, a
place that seems to be worse
than Burke County Jail. I under
stand that inmates are moved
around frequently; I just think
it’s mighty funny how the day
after he writes a complaint, he’s
moved.
Libbi Hinton
Augusta
PUBLIC HEARING
A hearing will be held at 7:00 p.m. December
15, 2009 in the Commissioner's meeting room
in the Burke County Courthouse. The purpose of
the meeting will be to hear a request for a vari
ance from the setback requirement in the Land
Development Code to install a motor vehicle lot
(Sec. 26-440. Extensive business use.) The prop
erty is located on the corner of Highway 25
north and Cohen Road (Tax Map 64, Lot 30).
The appeal is being presented by R. William
Taylor.
A hearing will be held at 7:00 p.m. December
15, 2009 in the Commissioner's meeting room
in the Burke County Courthouse. The purpose of
the meeting will be to hear a request for a vari
ance from the setback requirement in the Land
Development Code for an easement. The prop
erty is located at 5087 River Road. The appeal is
being presented by John Burke.
Is Your Child
Struggling?
Is your child having prohlems in school? Does he/she have difficulty listening, fol
lowing directions or doing homework? He/she may fight frustration every day and
may even have been called lazy, unmotivated or a “student at risk...”
PACE can identify and successfully treat learning
problems that are often reflected in the following
behaviors:
• Is unable to sit still; cannot stay on task for any length of
time; is easily distracted
• Avoids work that seems complicated or hard
• Has difficulty comprehending and remembering
• Has prohlems sounding out words
• Does written work very slowly; often fails to complete task
• Has difficulty copying material; constantly looks up and
down
• Often needs instructions repeated
• Has trouble reading and speUing
• Makes reversals - for example: confusing the words “was”
and “saw” or the letters “b” and “d”
• Is disorganized and frustrated when studying
• Makes frequent, “careless” errors
processing and cog; nftve enhancement
PACE Develops:
• Attention • Comprehension • Memory • Processing Speed • Auditory Processing
• Logic & Reasoning • Planning • Visual Processing
PACE May Be The Very Answer You Seek
If your child is between the ages of 6 and 21 and exhibits one or more of these
behaviors, call today to schedule a screening to evaluate your child’s cognitive proc
essing skills. It could he the most important phone call you will make during his or
her school years.
Learning Enhancement Centers
Call Toll Free
1-866-237-4260
Waynesboro • Millen
or visit our website at mchalker.processingskills.com
Alma Jewell watches as her son, John,
works on some of his PACE procedures.
Mrs. Jewell says that, “John has felt
totally successful in the classroom after
starting his PACE training. He is
enthusiastic about his work and always
reminds me before school when it’s
‘PACE DAY’!”