Newspaper Page Text
March 5, 2008
PAGE 5A
iReporter
From the outside looking in
Around the Bend
Embarrassing
and a sell-out
B eing away from home, cell phones and now
the Internet with e-mail are good ways to
keep in touch and stay connected with
back-home happenings. As we are all
aware, if you don’t have a computer and
are not Internet savvy, you are totally out of the loop
and could be classified as living in the dark ages of
communication.
On a recent trip, I decided to “check in” with home
via the Internet. I “went” to the Monroe County gov
ernment web site, particularly to read the minutes of
the latest commission meetings. Guess what? Under
the heading of commission minutes, the last posted
minutes on the Internet were of the meeting of Sept.
18, 2007. But then under the heading of “Upcoming
Agenda” the minutes of Nov. 6. 2007 were posted! No
minutes for October or December were posted on the
Internet as well as none for 2008. Obviously some
body’s asleep at a desk or just doesn’t care.
Since the minutes were not on the Internet, I have
learned if you want to get
copies of the minutes or any
other commission documents,
the commissioners are going to
make you jump through hoops
and sign your name multiple
times and then wait. Not a
very citizen-friendly attitude,
would you agree?
This is not a typo
graphical error, but here
is the photo caption
about the District 1 com
missioner: “He was first
elected in 1987 as a
Democrat. He was began
office as an Independent in January 2005.”
Another couple of things stood out on the Web site.
Here is what the website had to say about the
District 3 commissioner: “He will begin his second
term in January 2007.”
And here’s this one about the District 4 commission
er: “He is to start his second term in January 2007.”
A trio of our county commissioners continue not
only to embarrass themselves during commission
meetings, but also are embarrassing the citizens of
Monroe County on the Internet and on the broadcast
of their meetings on the local cable channel. As one
commissioner stated, “I ain’t looking at the tape of the
meetings and I don’t believe that stuff on the
Internet.”
With the upcoming qualifying for the two commis
sion and chairman seats, it would be nice if the three
incumbents would advocate a county manager form of
government. But, don’t bet on it. Maybe some chal
lengers will make that a primary issue. I’d vote for
him/her.
HOPEFULLY you are in agreement with the edito
rials in this newspaper as well as the daily that
serves this area chastising—I ain’t gonna call him
“my” senator — our local senator for his arrogant,
egotistical and self-serving bill to keep citizens in the
dark.
A fast refresher: the senator took or probably solicit
ed a $1,000 campaign donation from one of his lobby
ist buddies to introduce a bill that was the first step
in taking away from newspapers legal advertise
ments. It would give the same California company
that gave him $1,000 the paid right to publish legal
advertisements on the Internet that are already on
the Internet accessible free.
Hey senator, you need to bring your ego into check
and remember who elected you. I don’t believe any
body from California is registered to vote in your dis
trict! There have been voiced opinions you should be
investigated by the State Ethics Commission for tak
ing a bribe and should even be recalled. Why don’t
you return the payoff for your vote and apologize for
your ignoring the voters who elected you? We will
remember!
DID you see where U.S. Sens. Saxby Chambliss and
Johnny Isakson announced $4.3 million from the
Department of Homeland Security’s Federal
Emergency Management Agency was going to be
doled out to just about every county surrounding
Monroe.
Wonder why we didn’t get any of that money, not
even a thin dime? We shouldn’t be surprised
when...re-read the fifth paragraph up.
ENOUGH negativism. Having dinner at Grits the
other night, I asked the couple sitting next to me
where they were from. “We are snowbirds returning
from Petersburg heading back to Joliet, Ill. We are
staying at the Holiday Inn and decided to come
uptown. We saw this restaurant, The Palm, and the
pizza place. We decided to try this restaurant.
Absolutely great service and food,” he commented.
She chimed in about how unique the square is and
promised they would stay in Monroe County on the
way to and back from Florida next year. And, “I’m
gonna tell my snowbird friends about Forsyth” she
commented.
HERE’S the question of the week. The Georgia
Senate passed a bill requiring school systems to
weigh students twice a year. Frankly, I don’t think the
“guvmint” has any right to do that. Children are in
school to be educated and the proper way is to edu
cate them on eating the correct foods at school and
home. Would you allow the school to weigh your kid?
Let me hear from you.
Donald Jackson Daniel is the founder and former
publisher of The Reporter. He can be contacted at tul-
laybear@bellsouth. net.
Rule no. 1: Never pay full price
H ere's a newsflash. Men
and women are different.
Believe me, I know. This
Friday, I will have been
married to a man for 21
years.
There are key fundamental differ
ences between Larry and
I, beyond the obvious
body parts and hair
styles, that we must
accept in order to keep
from killing each other.
Some things we have
overcome, some we’ve
just accepted.
Never are our differ
ences more apparent
than when we go
shopping together.
When it comes to
shopping, the differences are as vast
as the Grand Canyon.
Larry, like most men, is the tradi
tional hunter-gatherer. He sees his
prey and strikes. Job done. Move on
to the next thing.
Now, I do not exactly view shopping
as an art form, but when I have to
have something specific I am shop
ping for, I will leave no stone
unturned and no bargain bin in tact
until I find the item in question. . .
marked at least 30 percent off. On
my shopping trips, I am a woman on
a mission. I am never content to sim
ply buy the first thing that comes
along.
I like to look ... a lot. I scour every
clearance rack .... "just in case."
SATURDAY Larry finally decided
to bite the proverbial bullet and go
shopping for a new pair of tennis
shoes. His old ones are way past
their "use-by" date and, quite honest
ly, he admitted Saturday, he doesn't
even know where they are.
So, off we went. I tagged a long for
moral support and to scope out the
clearance racks.
I could use some new shoes, too, I
thought. You never know what you
might find.
I prefer to shop in Monroe County,
but there aren’t any stores that sell
men’s tennis shoes down here. So, we
decided to go to Tanger Outlet
because there are a dozen or so shoe
stores with plenty of clearance racks
to choose from. The first store we
went to had a few reasonably priced
shoes that Larry kinda liked.
However, in exactly four min
utes, he declared that nothing
really grabbed him.
"What about these?" I asked,
holding up what I considered
to be a perfectly good athletic
shoe. He barely even glanced
before saying, "No." and he
was out the door.
It was no different at the
next three stores.
WHEN WE went into the fourth or
fifth shoe store, I decided not to
hover. Maybe if I quit trying to pick
out shoes for him, he’d find some he
liked. I set off toward the big red-let
tered sign in the back of the store
that declared "clearance" to check
out last year's styles at up to 80 per
cent off.
Just as I found my size in some Dr.
Scholls, Larry was behind me saying,
"They don't have anything I like, let's
go."
I reluctantly put down the shoe box
and trudged on. After all, I thought,
we are here to shop for Larry's shoes.
I am just along for the ride. I'll come
back later, alone, when I can bargain
hunt till my heart's content.
We were in the Nike outlet store
just 12 seconds when I spotted a pair
I thought he would like. I picked it
up. On sale. $39.99. Can't beat that.
"How about these?" I turned to ask
Larry. All I saw was the back of his
head exiting the store.
I put the shoe down and followed
him outside.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"They don't have anything I like.”
“What?" I asked. "You didn't even
look."
"I can just tell," he said.
The loud music and elevated tem
perature, combined with an excessive
amount of other people, turned him
off to the point of blinding him to
any potential bargains.
SO WE went to another store or
four.
Inside the Easy Spirit shoe store,
Larry did a loop and was out the
door before I could even take off my
sunglasses.
“No men’s shoes,” he quipped as he
sat down on the bench outside to
take a breath.
However, I saw something Larry
didn’t see. Perched amid some nice
white women’s tennis shoes was a
sign that said “half off.”
My bargain-hunting instinct
superceded my loving-wife instinct
and I actually tried on several pairs
of shoes while Larry, having scanned
the entire inventory in 4 seconds and
seeing nothing that fit him, waited
on the bench outside. I couldn't
resist. They were Easy Spirits and
they were half off.
WITH MY purchase in hand, I
gladly followed him to several more
shoe stores, nodding and smiling as
he tried on a couple of pairs.
Finally, he found some he liked.
They fit. They looked good. The stars
were aligned and all was right with
the world.
Fifteen minutes later, we were sit
ting in Captain D’s wearing our new
shoes and eating fish.
“Do you think we’re old?” asked
Larry.
“What?” I asked back.
“We spent our Saturday night shop
ping for shoes and eating at Captain
D’s,” he said.
And after 21 years, I wouldn’t have
it any other way.
Gina Herring may be reached at
478-994-2358 or ginaherring@bell-
south.net
The Low Down on High Falls
Plan weekend getaway in High Falls
M y name is
Margaret
Sigretto and
I plan to
meet you in
this space regularly
to let you know
what’s going on
here in High Falls.
I came to High
Falls about 10
years ago from
Jonesboro (for the
second time). I had
lived here briefly in
the 80’s and loved
it. After retiring
from Delta Airlines,
I moved back.
I have two wonderful
sons, my youngest and my
future daughter-in-law live
here. My oldest son and
daughter-in-law live in
California.
In the coming weeks, I
will be talking to some of
our “old timers,” sharing
stories about past events
and happenings in High
Falls as well as hopes for
our future here.
I was driving down High
Falls Road a couple of
weeks ago and as I crossed
the bridge, I looked
at the Falls, as I do
every time I pass
by. But this time I
stopped at the park
entrance and sat in
my car pondering
why I have not
taken advantage of
the beauty of this
place.
I think it’s kinda
like living close to
the beach and
never going there.
We tend to take our sur
roundings for granted and
we don’t even notice after
awhile.
I made a decision then
and there - I would try to
promote High Falls at
every opportunity.
That said, let me take
you on a brief tour.
Set a date one weekend.
Start early and spend the
day in the park. First stop
at Ken’s for breakfast,
across from the park
entrance. You can have a
sausage and biscuit or a
full breakfast, grits, eggs,
the works.
At mid-day, stop at High
Falls BBQ for a great pic
nic lunch.
Anything you choose will
be wonderful,whether a
BBQ sandwich,the delec
table ribs or the best
brunswick stew in the
South. Take off to the park,
pick a table by the water
and enjoy.
After you have finished
lunch, head for Daucet
Trails. The kids will love
you for this, miles of nature
trails, the childrens garden,
farm animals,hiking, biking
and horseback riding.
When you are complete
ly worn out and the kids
have had enough for one
day, head back to High
Falls BBQ and just across
the parking lot is High
Falls Hide-A-Way. This is a
beautiful 28-unit motel
with all amenities and a
large portion of “good ole
southern hospitality”
served up by owners Dean
and Betty Huckeba.
Betty runs the restau
rant and Dean has entrust
ed me to manage the motel.
If this is your first visit
(promise not to tell), I
might see my way clear to
give you a little discount.
This I do promise, a quiet,
peaceful night’s rest.
I will leave you there for
now but in a couple of
weeks we will continue our
tour of High Falls.
Remember, we have only
just begun!
Margaret Sigretto is the
new High Falls columnist
for the Reporter. Email her
at highfallshideawa@bell-
south.net.
*
By Margaret
Sigretto
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Does wire-tapping really make us safer?
To the editor:
read with much interest Mr.
Michael Lane's letter in the
Feb. 28 Reporter regarding
Rep. Jim Marshall, “Marshall
makes us less safe.” The head
line grabbed my attention so I read
on.
I would remind Mr. Lane that he
and I enjoy the freedom to express
our opinions not because of actions of
Rep. Marshall, but for the dedication
of thousands of men and women who
wear the uniform, thousands of CIA
officers and dedicated FBI officers.
Watching the evening news one is
forced to ask, "Do I really feel safer
due to lawless Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act (FISA) wire tap
ping?” Has this unfortunate war in
Iraq (rather than focusing on Bin
Laden) really made me safer? I don't
think so!
I wonder if Mr. Lane has flown late
ly? If so, does he feel more safe since
wire tapping has gone on since the
war in Iraq began? With borders
open and no seaports secure, I fail to
see the benefit of wiretapping. If any
thing, the world has become a much
more dangerous place and Americans
are much more hated by the world as
a result of this war. Wire tapping
may help, but I doubt it, and applaud
Marshall for helping to put the
brakes on this administration. Not
one more American life is worth los
ing to support all of this fear mon-
gering. What’s the measuring stick to
measure when we have won the war
in Iraq? Ask a mom or dad who has
lost a son or daughter if they would
be willing to make such a sacrifice
again?
I say keep up the good work Mr.
Marshall and I hope your leadership
will eventually help your colleagues
realize our security does not come
from a blank check to this president,
but from a higher source. It seems to
me the CIA and FBI and our mili
tary had done a pretty good job lead
ing up to the war in Iraq. Whatever
they were doing seemed pretty darn
efficient to me.
I must conclude by asking your
readers ... Do you feel safer because
there has been a FISA law? Do you
feel safer now that we have wrongly
invaded another country half way
around the world that had nothing to
do with 9-11?
Rhett McMurray
Forsyth