Newspaper Page Text
4A
WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 2004
If Mimstcm iimu’ i
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OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
President,
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans Rex Gambill
Vice President Managing Editor
Foy S. Evans
Editor Emeritus
Winning Without Television
The recent primary elections held a few sur
prises, and the biggest surprise of all was that two
candidates who did not use any television adver
tising defeated candidates who flooded the air
waves with their messages.
It was something political observers did not
believe possible. But it happened.
Cynthia McKinney, the bomb throwing-candi
date for Congress from DeKalb County, took on
two opponents who supported their campaigns
with television ads. The former congresswoman,
who was defeated two years ago, walked the
streets, visited churches, shook hands and walked
away with victory without a run-off.
Denise Majette, who defeated McKinney two
years ago, sought the Democratic nomination to
replace ZelJ Miller in the U.S. Senate. Her main
opponent spent a million dollars on television
advertising, Majette did not use any television
advertising, yet she outpolled her opponent by 20
percentage points.
Majette somehow got her message out across
the state without much money to spend.
How did this happen? How were McKinney and
Majette able to pull off the almost impossible?
Both are Democrats and black. They tapped
into the black electorate and received almost all
of their votes, then split the white vote. It is a
strategy that works.
McKinney’s congressional district is safe for a
Democrat, so she will be going back to
Washington. Majette is in a run-off with Cliff
Oxford. Pundits predict she will defeat him. But
then she will go up against Republican Johnny
Isakson in a state that has turned Republican.
Her strategy, which worked in a Democratic pri
mary, probably won’t in the general election,
according to political insiders.
Regardless of the outcome of the elections, the
significant story coming out of the primaries is
that a candidate can win in a congressional dis
trict and statewide without the benefit of millions
of dollars to advertise on television.
Grassroots campaigning, which has become
almost obsolete since television became part of
almost every household, is not absolutely dead. It
may not work most of the time, but there obvi
ously are circumstances where a candidate can
get a message out and win on a shoestring.
Send your Letters to the Editor to:
ne Houston Home Journal
P.O. Box 1910 • Peny, Ga 31069 or
Email: iihj@evansnewspapeis.com
We are all
“Rubber Ducky, you’re the
one.
You make bath time lots of
fun!”
- Ernie from
“Sesame Street”
“Look Dad! Ducks!” said
Thomas from the bathtub as
I came into the room looking
for a hairbrush. I took a
gander at my 2-year-old,
who had proudly lined up all
his rubber quackers on the
rim of the tub.
Not thinking of anything
witty to say at the time, I
replied “Yes, Thomas.
Ducks.” That’s when he
began to recite the names he
had given all the fowl crea
tures. What grabbed my
attention was that each
duck was named after some
one in the family. Intrigued
by such imaginative play, I
asked Teresa about the
Duck Family.
“Oh, yes,” replied my wife.
“They’ve all got our names.
Mommy Duck, Daddy Duck,
Thomas Duck.” I grew even
more curious ... how did
Thomas go about choosing
which name went with
which animal? So I returned
to the bathroom and lis-
.—. |
-ri
Joe Bishop
Columnist
joe@wnng.mgacoxmail.com
tened carefully, taking men
tal notes, as my very percep
tive son introduced me to
each of his bath time bud
dies.
First, there’s Mommy
Duck. Mommy Duck is the
biggest, with built in places
on her back to carry the
three Baby Ducks (of which
more later.) I assured Teresa
that Mommy Duck’s size is
just a reflection of her
importance in Thomas’ life,
as well as her obvious role as
protector of the Baby Ducks.
The fact that Mommy Duck
is huge has nothing to do
with the extra 15 or so
Missing the trees in Perry's 'triangle'
The wisdom that comes
from the mouths of young
ones can be so comforting at
times, don’t you agree?
My daughter thought so
when recently, while worry
ing in front of a mirror
about a new line on her face,
her 6-year-old informed her
she should not worry
because wrinkles are just
things that happen when
your face “gets stuck in a
smile.”
• • •
How things can change
when you have been gone a
few days!
As I drove along toward
Sam Nunn Boulevard a cou
ple of evenings ago after get
ting back into town after a
trip, I was surprised to see
all the red earth at the place
known as “The Triangle.”
You know, the backdrop for
the Welcome to Perry sign
that greets travelers as they
travel toward the downtown
area.
• • •
The sudden absence of
trees made me think of a
lovely area we recently visit
ed where folks apparently
A journey of discovery 'ol 1-16
1-16 has to be one of the
deadest highways I have
ever traveled. Looking
back, I have traveled up
and down it hundreds of
time - traveling from
Statesboro to Macon, from
Macon to Statesboro and
occasionally from
Statesboro to Savannah.
At times I think I can be
blindfolded and placed
anywhere on it and know
where I am. There are
times I’m on it and have no
clue where I am.
In my memory the
names of small Georgia
towns I’ve never visited
come to mind. Danville,
Vidalia, Allentown and
Register, just to name a
few.
On this road I had my
first experience driving on
the interstate with my
cousin, who only trusted
me with her car on such a
lonely road.
On that road I struggled
with relationship prob
lems, boyfriend distress,
angry parents, the joy of
going to Georgia Southern,
and the joy of leaving
Georgia Southern.
There are so many mark
ers I’ll never forget: The
Dublin Cracker Barrel that
told me I was exactly
halfway, the Georgia
Southern bulletin board
that let me know I was
exactly 30 minutes from
my small apartment, the
rest area in Dublin near
where I got two speeding
just sitting ducks in life
pounds Teresa complains
about not shedding follow
ing her recent pregnancy.
That’s my story and
I’msticking to it! Anyway,
Mommy Duck is usually the
center of activity in the
bathtub, and frequently can
been seen chasing the other
ducks around. No rest for
Mommy Duck! Teresa
claims she can sympathize.
Me, I just think it’s a case of
ruffled feathers on her part.
At least Mommy Duck does
have nice eyelashes.
Maybelline, take note!
Then there’s Daddy Duck.
Daddy Duck is about half
the size of Mommy Duck, a
situation that bears no sem
blance to reality, but one I
take great pride in when
Teresa and I are near the
bathtub.
“Why look, there’s that
GREAT BIG Mommy Duck.
Oh, and there’s Daddy
Duck. I almost didn’t see
him behind that GREAT
BIG Mommy Duck!” Heh,
heh. That really quacks me
up.
Daddy Duck is seldom
troubled with keeping up
with the smaller ducks in
the tub. Teresa says “That’s
Emily Johnstone
Columnist
ejohnstone@evansnewspapers.com
put more emphasis on not
plowing up what provides
such beauty and cool shade
during a hot summer, not to
mention it makes good envi
ronmental sense.
In the paved parking lot of
a popular chain grocery
store on Lady’s Island in
South Carolina, there are
many trees, a beautiful sight
with moss draped over those
stately old branches.
And it was not just the
grocery store, but many
other business, too, had
found a way to keep a few
aged trees on their proper-
Teresa D. Southern
Staff Writer
tsouthern@evansnewspapers.com
tickets within a month of
"WUE-N THE OCTOPUS FlMOb HIMEELF IN AM 1...UE LEAVER AN IKIK? 'aIiBETANCE- IMWE PATH
OFTRE INTRUDER AND MAKK,AHAVTf RETREAT:
...OFTEW 90 THE SAME TWINS !
©2004 CREATORS SVNOtCATE, INC. _
typical”... I reply it’s just a
Duck Thing. But Daddy
Duck is a hard worker -
cruising from one end of the
tub to the other. I admire his
business ethic. There’s just
one thing that worries me
about Daddy Duck - he
never sits up straight in the
water. In fact, he has a very
pronounced lean to the
Right. Which makes me
wonder if my son is not as
politically naive about his
Father as his Father would
like to think. Hmmm.
Moving on down the
Ducky scale, there are the
two brothers named (what
else?) Joseph and Thomas.
I’m really impressed that
my youngest son has not
just the imagination but also
the sense of fairness to give
himself and his brother
equal footing. When we first
got the Joseph and Thomas
Ducks, I actually had to
mark the bottom of one with
a “T” and the other with a
“J” to satisfy my children,
who were adamant to know
which was which. But now
telltale differences are start
ing to appear. Somehow the
Joseph Duck has grown
slightly bigger, while the
ties.
• • •
Rick had a great time on
our yearly trip to the place
we affectionately call “The
Island,” spending time with
his brothers - Bill, Randy
and Robert.
I admire his mom,
Marianne, for raising four
sons, especially four who are
truly good men today.
• • •
The four got in some time
on a couple of golf courses in
the area, even though the
heat indices were well over
one hundred most days!
One afternoon I found
them huddled around a
table. They were working on
putting together what they
called a fantasy league base
ball team for some type com
puter game.
It was explained to me
that there were hundreds of
baseball stars to choose
from.
It was also suggested that
I could give Rick some
advice on picking for his
team.
Yes, there were a few
each other, and the first
Macon exit 12 at Sgoda
Road that seemed like it
would never come when I
was anxious to get home.
I remember breaking
down on 1-16 with a friend
and the distress of how
long it would take for any
one to reach us. I also
remember riding in a tow
truck down 1-16 for the
first time.
I also will never forget
the ride I had with my
father down 1-16. He had
to stop at every rest area
imaginable, smoked and
didn’t allow me to listen to
CLEVER PEFEMSS TACTICS
Thomas Duck is cleaner.
The Joseph Duck has a shy
expression, while the
Thomas Duck looks just a
bit more puckish. And I
don’t think it’s happening
by accident - I think Ducks
are beginning to take on the
qualities of their namesakes
by close spiritual associa
tion. Or maybe I’m just
working too hard.
That brings us to the final
members of the Duck
Family. They’re the smallest
of the bunch, all three able
to ride on the back of
Mommy Duck. Thomas calls
them, quite creatively, Babv
Duck, Baby Duck, and Baby
Duck. Now that’s accuracy!
I have a theory about the
Baby Ducks. Since they all
have the same eyelashes as
Mommy Duck, and Daddy
Duck, Joseph Duck, and
Thomas Duck do not, I
think the Baby Ducks must
be girls. Now for the weird
part, oddly enough, our
newest real life family mem
ber, two-month-old baby
Beth, is (obviously) a girl. As
was our
last baby, Hope, who died
at birth. It could all be a co
incidence, of course, but if
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
snickers at that point, but I
decided to be game and put
in my two cents worth.
It was so confusing with
names and then rows of
numbers and years beside
the names!
I spotted one name I
thought sounded cool -
Cookie Rojas - and told Rick
he should pick this fellow for
his team.
He ignored me!
I think some of the ones
he picked were Willie Mays,
Lou Gehrig and, his
favorite, Roberto Clemente.
But no one picked Cookie!
Rick made some remark
about cookies and crum
bling, so I left them in
search of something a little
more interesting to do, like
shopping!
• • •
As the saying goes, there
is no place like home and I
am always glad to see the
Welcome to Perry sign loom
ing in front of me, even if
the familiar green behind it
is gone.
any of the “junk,” as he
calls it, in my CD player.
Four hours with my father
I’ll always remember, as
we moved me into my first
apartment and he gave the
usual overprotective par
ent spiel on the lone road
of Southeast Georgia.
Soon I’ll make my last
trip down 1-16, to retrieve
my belongings from the
place I called my own for
three years. I think I’ll
take some pictures by mile
markers or maybe pull
over in the emergency
lane, get out of the car and
have a moment.
Teresa and I decide to have
another child Mommy Duck
is betting it’s a girl. After all,
we’ve got one unaccounted
for Baby Duck. Could it be
that God’s Greatest
Prophets are children?
One family member is
noticeably absent from the
Duck Family. Nowhere is
there a Grammy Duck. And
the reason for the strange
lack of grandparental fowl
in the bathtub? Perhaps
Thomas is making an edito
rial statement. By playing
with the ducks that he’s
given such specific identi
ties, Thomas is ordering and
controlling the complex
world beyond the bathroom.
And Thomas will be the first
to tell you he has no need to
order or control Grammy.
Or it could be even simpler
than that.
Maybe, just maybe,
Grammy is the only one of
us who isn’t “all wet!”
Joe Bishop is the news
director for WNNG 1350
AM. Houston County’s only
locallv-owned radio station.