Newspaper Page Text
4A
♦ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2005
( V nfl Huus-tou Hrlmtu' 1 1
(Lire .ijmmml
OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
President,
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans Rex Gambill
Vice President Managing Editor
Foy S. Evans
Editor Emeritus
Watch Those Dietary Guidelines
The federal government has come out with new
dietary guidelines. There is one thing to remem
ber: It won’t be too long before they change them.
For decades we have been admonished that to
be healthy we should eat according to a pyramid,
which groups foods in the percentages they
should be eaten.
Have you ever tried to eat the amount of food
each day that the government recommends?
Consider the number of vegetables and fruits you
are supposed to eat. It might turn out to be a
prodigious task, if you tried to eat the quantities
that are recommended.
There’s no doubt about it, federal nutritionists
know what foods are good for all of us. But their
recommendations seem unrealistic in the real
world.
Recommended daily diets change from time to
time. The changes are minimal, at the best. You
have to wonder why the government spends so
much money telling us what we already know.
Without sounding frivolous, the diets most of us
grew up with (before French fries and hamburg
ers became the staple for young people) can serve
us well.
Licenses For Contractors
Gov. Sonny Perdue believes that the time is ripe
for a contractor’s licensing bureau in Georgia.
Legislators say that they are overwhelmed with
complaints from people who claim that contrac
tors from whom they have purchased new homes
did shoddy work.
State Rep. Roger Bruce (D-Atlanta) is co-spon
sor of a bill to tackle the problem. He cites
instances of contractor abuse.
It has been pointed out that anyone, regardless
of qualifications, can call himself a contractor and
begin building without answering to anyone. It
was a joke in Warner Robins several years ago
that the new guy in town putting roofing on a
house today might be a general contractor build
ing homes the next day.
The new law, which Gov, Perdue supports, will
require different levels of experience and college
level courses to earn a residential, light commer
cial or general contracting license. Contractors
will be required to carry liability and workers
compensation insurance.
A self-supporting state licensing agency proba
bly will be created.
Competent, reliable contractors have nothing to
fear. Charlatans will be put out of business.
Semi p lewis to flit Him 10:
ikHmmumlmul
RO. In 1910 * Fcnt Ga 3HMI h
final: Mj@enKiewspifSMoni
King's message
Monday I had the pleasure
of covering the Eighth
Annual Martin Luther King
Jr. Unity Breakfast at the
First Baptist Church on
Garmon Street.
The crowd filled the
church’s New Beginnings
Fellowship Hall and every
one had a great time enjoy
ing the entertainment, eat
ing the food, and listening to
Guest Speaker Georgia
Supreme Court Justice
Robert Benham.
But what - perhaps
unfairly - I took away from
the event was the relative
absence of white faces in the
crowd. There were several
Caucasian members of the
press like me in attendance
along with some glad-hand
ing politicians, but aside
A
Timothy Graham
Staff Writer
tgraham@evansnewspapers.com
from that there were just a
handful of non-African
Americans there.
And that is a shame.
Dr. King’s message was
not a message reserved for
Learning to be thankful for what I have
On the surface, it’s just
not fair.
“How is she?” I asked
Teresa when she called me
at work several weeks ago.
My wife had taken our
five-month-old daughter
Beth to the doctor after we
noticed she seemed a little
listless. To an outside
observer Beth would have
been the picture of early
childhood energy - smiling
at strangers, bouncing in
her activity gym, trying to
keep up with her two older
brothers.
However, her parents had
become increasing con
cerned about her: a sudden
ly paler complexion, a subtle
periodic lethargy, a gentle
wheezing after prolonged
activity. It was time to seek
help.
It’s just not fair.
“The doctor says she has
asthma,” said my wife, put
ting up a brave front, acting
as if she was reporting the
temperature. She can’t fool
me, though. Even over the
phone, I can tell she’s wor
ried, maybe a little scared.
Truth be told, I was too.
Memories of growing up
with my brother came flood-
One group not cuddling up to latest Teddy Bear
Advocates for the mental
ly ill are outraged at a
Vermont company that pro
duces Teddy Bears.
According to reports, this
company is marketing a
bear wearing a straitjacket.
A caption reads “I’m Crazy
About You.”
Advocates wonder why a
disease they say is on par
with heart disease and can
cer seems to be one many
people feel comfortable
making fun and profit off
those who suffer from men
tal illness.
While some will complain
about what they term “polit
ical correctness” that has
gotten out of hand, I believe
the advocates are right.
Their response is not any
one attempting to impose
political correctness; it is the
response of a group of peo
ple who are truly concerned
about protecting another
group of the human race
who are vulnerable to being
treated in undignified ways.
The mentally ill deserve
just as much respect and
compassion as someone suf
fering any other disease.
However, some people
have neither compassion,
good manners nor good
sense, though, as this
stuffed bear shows.
• • •
I am worried. A while
back, I bet Rick the former
courthouse renovation
would be finished before the
new construction of
Eckerd’s in Perry.
Earlier today, we saw
crews readying signs for the
new Eckerd’s.
• • •
When traveling the inter
state, I still miss seeing the
billboards sporting a bench
and willow tree encouraging
travelers to visit Perry. That
look was very appealing.
• • •
Kudos to local medics who
made quite an impression
not just for African-Americans
African-Americans. It was
not a color-specific message.
He did not preface his
speeches with “First thing,
all you whites leave the
room before I speak to my
brothers.”
Dr. King’s message was
universal. His message was
that we all could live togeth
er in peace and harmony in
this one country under God.
His message was that this
great country was big
enough for all of us, espe
cially if we held hands in
harmony.
As part of Monday’s event
the Alpha Kappa Alpha
Sorority sponsored a speech
contest with the theme
being “The Dream Is Alive
in Me.” The contest was
won by a fourth-grade stu-
Joe Bishop
Columnist
joe@wnng.mgacoxmail.com
ing back. The late-night
trips to the hospital. The
various breathing treat
ments he endured until
finally kicking the worst of
the condition in middle
school. The fact he had to be
home-schooled during sec
ond grade because of the
asthma. The extra burden of
lost sleep and added anxiety
for my parents. Now history
was threatening to repeat
itself.
Deja vu, all over again.
It’s just not fair.
And so it began.
Thankfully asthma treat
ment for children, especially
Emily Johnstone
Columnist
ejohnstone@evansnewspapers.com
on a Florida couple thinking
of relocating to this area out
at Houston Springs.
Jeff Moredock, who heads
up the local resort commu
nity for active mature
adults, told us recently that
the man suffered heart
problems while here. He and
his wife were happy with the
treatment he received.
The quality of medical
care has a big impact on a
decision of where to locate
dent at Northside
Elementary School named
Brent Sapp. Brent is a white
boy, but he wrote a powerful
speech stating that he tried
to treat all of his friends
alike, be they black or white.
The crowd gave him a stand
ing ovation.
That kind of thing is prob
ably totally alien to your
average redneck out there.
“A white boy giving a
speech to a bunch of blacks
and getting a standing ova
tion - never happened. Pass
another beer.”
Given half a chance today,
young people of all races are
able to get along and treat
each other with respect. It is
when their parents get
involved that problems
babies, has come a long way
in the 30 years since my
brother’s experience.
Instead of large vaporizers
and plastic breathing
masks, Beth takes her medi
cine in the form of a mist
produced by a handheld fan,
gently blown toward her
face. It’s a ritual performed
three times a day for five
minutes. The real burden,
though, is harder to deal
with. The loss of sleep from
getting up with my daugh
ter, sometimes three times a
night. The walking through
the following day in a half
zombie-like state. The emo
tional fraying at the edges.
The instinctive worry which
accompanies Beth’s attacks.
The fear that the condition
will somehow rob her of
some important aspect of a
happy childhood. The fleet
ing questions about why this
should happen to my family,
and why God would allow it
in the first place. The test of
faith in doctors, the
Almighty, and myself.
It’s just not fair.
And then, holding my
baby girl, I’m reminded of
more important things.
That she’s otherwise
for many people, especially
retirees.
Needless to say, this cou
ple have now become Perry
residents.
• • •
A member of the law
enforcement community
shared a story with me of a
sheriff in a western state
who came up with an idea of
how to keep handcuffs
belonging to his department
from going AWOL.
The sheriff purchased
1,000 fluorescent pink hand
cuffs from a company in
England.
I suppose they match the
pink sheets he reportedly
has on beds at the jail.
• • •
A few nights ago, we
watched a portion of a pro
gram about board games
people remember from their
childhood.
It reminded me of a few
my sister Barbara and I
enjoyed.
One was Operation!
start. I believe that once this
final generation of haters
dies away there may be a
chance that Dr. King’s
dream will become color
blind.
I grew up in East
Tennessee, where African-
Americans were about as
rare as Democrats and
Yankees. My high school was
integrated my freshman
year, mainly because we had
to build a new high school
sifter the old one was con
demned and the government
would not give us the money
unless we built an integrat
ed school.
I had no problem with the
integration because my par
ents had not raised me to be
a hater. They were both well
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
healthy and happy. That it’s
a very treatable condition,
which has a better than
even chance of disappearing
before her 18th birthday.
That it hasn’t seemed to
change her happy, plucky
personality. That she has
access to excellent medical
care when so many others,
around the block and
around the globe, suffer in
depressed silence. That Beth
lives in a time and place
where she can not just sur
vive, but thrive, just like her
very successful uncle. That
my wife and I have been
blessed with the strength to
handle this minor crisis of
life. After all, in a world torn
by natural devastation and
man-made violence, Beth is
one of the chosen few
allowed to be happy.
In the end, it’s all a matter
of perspective, I suppose. A
choice to accent the positive,
not the negative. We all have
to learn to be thankful for
what we have.
Joe Bishop is the news
director for WNNG 1350
AM, Houston County's only
locally-owned radio station.
Another was a game that
had a round plastic bubble
in the middle of the game
board that you pushed until
it made a pop, which moved
a small die inside.
The number on the die
indicated the number of
spaces you moved your game
piece.
I think the game was
called “Trouble.”
While this does not fall
under the game category,
one toy I vividly recall is a
doll named Charming
Chatty.
I had one I carried every
where. I do not know what
became of that doll and
sometimes today find myself
wishing I still had her
around.
Do you fondly recall any
special games or toys from
your childhood? Drop me a
line at
ejohnstone@evansnewspa
pers.com and we will share
more on this topic in a
future column.
educated and believed in
treating all people alike. The
integration went well and
today my old hometown has
an African-American mayor
despite the fact that whites
make up more than 90 per
cent of the population there.
My point is this: The fact
that our children seem to be
getting this “Love Thy
Brother” thing better than
we are is no excuse that we
should not stretch out a
hand of fellowship our
selves. Next year let’s pack
the MLK Unity Breakfast
with all races.
Let’s begin to judge others
by the content of their char
acter and not the color of
their skin. That is a message
we can all take to heart.