Newspaper Page Text
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THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2006
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OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Don Moncrief Foy S. Evans
Managing Editor Editor Emeritus
Weh Site Worth Visiting
he Houston County Development
I Authority has put an interest
ing and helpful site up on the
Internet.
While the site is designed to help sell
Houston County to potential newcomers
residential, commercial and industrial
it 1s something all of us in Houston
County can benefit from.
It is worth noting that the site is pro
fessionally prepared, attractive and easy
to move around in. We are finding that
it fills a void that has existed in our
county.
The site provides all the information
that is needed to help sell Houston
County to industries, businesses, entre
preneurs or individuals looking in this
direction.
Of course, once the site has attracted
the interest of potential newcomers, the
Development Authority is available for
followup and personal attention.
If you have not gone to the Development
Authority’s web site we recommend that
you do. You will be surprised how much
information it provides about Houston
County and the cities in the county and
how little you probably already know.
Watch The Money You Get
ook out for counterfeit money
I lthat 1s showing up in Houston
County.
If you accept a counterfeit bill you have
to bite the bullet and take the loss.
Four fake SSO bills have been passed in
Perry at four different stores. They have
been described as being printed on high
quality paper, hard to distinguish from
the real thing.
In the case of the four SSO bills that
were passed in Perry the stores that
accepted them were the losers when
Security National Bank detected the fact
they were counterfeit.
The bills passed the pen test that
most businesses use to detect counterfeit
money, but the lack of authenticity was
detected when the same serial number
showed up on the money counter at the
bank.
If the counterfeiters passed fake SSO
bills in Perry last week there is no
reason to believe they will not spend
their money elsewhere in the coun
ty, especially where there are many
more retail stores in Warner Robins.
All businesses should be especially alert.
However, if the counterfeit bills are not
detected by the pens used by businesses,
the people passing the bills have a good
chance of getting away with it. At least,
until law enforcement catches up with
them. !
' Making or passing counterfeit money
is a federal offense. More than local law
enforcement will be involved in finding
the people who are producing the SSO
bills. ;
Fingerprints on the bills are being
checked against the Georgia state data
base, as well as a national database, but
money changes hands so often this may
not solve the crimes.
Sooner or later, no doubt, the counter
feiters and those passing the counter
feit SSO bills will be apprehended. We
just hope not too many merchants lose
money before they are caught.
| can't imagine being a pod person
So far, I haven’t succumbed
to the I-Pod craze. I doubt
that I will. I can’t imagine
going around all day with a
pod in my ear, listening to
music, good or bad. ;
I never was into music
to the extent that I had to
hear it all the time. Back in
the days when music was
music I enjoyed the lyrics
and music of popular songs
enough to listen to them
occasionally. But the idea of
having this noise in my ear
hour after hour sounds like
a new form of cruel and
unusual punishment.
Some people I know can
identify certain moments in
their lives by certain songs.
Perhaps because I have a tin
ear, I never got into music
that far.
I have to admit that occa
sionally I do like to listen to
Nat King Cole on the DVD
player that came with my
car. But I go weeks, some
times months, without turn
ing the player on.
Some books that I have
read linger in my mind year
after year and I can’t get rid
of them, even if I wanted to.
One of the most haunt
ing books that I have read
is titled, “I Heard The Owl
Call My Name.”
I must have read it at least
30 years ago. It still lingers
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Mayhe Rudy needs to hone up on Ga. politics
The longer I hang around
politics, the less I know. For
example, former New York
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani,
one of the heroes in the
aftermath of the 9/11 disas
ter, recently came to Atlanta
to endorse Ralph Reed for
lieutenant governor. That’s
akin to Sam Nunn going
to Dubuque to endorse the
local school board chair.
Why is a New York politi
cian getting involved in the
lieutenant governor’s race
in Georgia? Shouldn’t he be
home worrying about Hillary
Clinton and Chuck Schumer
and Al Sharpton? If I lived
in New York, I would be.
Besides, by his own admis
sion, Giuliani favors gun
control, abortion rights and
the recognition of “domes
tic partnerships” for gays
and lesbians, not exactly the
kind of positions designed
to swell the hearts of Reed’s
Christian Coalition support
ers. Ironically, Giuliani’s
defense of domestic part
nerships at the Reed rally
came only two days after
a Fulton County Superior
Court judge had struck down
a 2004 statewide referen
dum banning gay marriage,
or civil unions, or whatever
you call it when boys link
up with boys and girls with
girls. The referendum had
been approved by 76 per
cent of Georgia voters. Color
me naive, but I don’t think
Giuliani’s domestic political
views would be a big hit
Foy Evans
Columnist
foyevansl9@cox.net
in my mind. Most people
probably never heard of the
book. I bought several cop
ies of it and gave them to
friends. I was looking on the
Internet a few days ago and,
though the book is out of
print, there are a few used
copies being offered for sale.
The story is about a young
priest in Chicago who is
stricken with an illness,
which will kill him within
about a year. The bishop
believes that the best medi
cine for the priest is to keep
him busy. So the bishop
sends the priest to Alaska to
minister to the Eskimos.
The story is about the
priest’s relationship with
the Eskimos as he approach
es what he knows will be the
end of his life.
The title of the book comes
from an Eskimo saying, as
death approaches, “I heard
Dick Yarbrough
columnist
yarb24oo@bellsouth.net
anywhere in the state, with
the possible exception of
Midtown Atlanta and maybe
Decatur.
So, what do Reed and
Giuliani have in common
then? Well, says Rudy, he
and Reed agree on foreign
policy, the war on terrorism
and the economy. Foreign
policy? The lieutenant gov
ernor of Georgia has a role
in foreign policy? How in
the world did I miss that?
It makes me think all the
more of current Lt. Gow.
Mark Taylor, who is giving
up his critical foreign policy
responsibilities to run for
something as mundane as
governor. Let’s give the Big
Guy credit: Not once during
his tenure as lieutenant gov
ernor did Georgia declare
war on anybody. Oh, there
was some talk at one time
about invading Michigan,
but we would have to occupy
Detroit if we did, and no war
is worth that.
Still, our newly enacted
immigration law has that
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the owl call my name.”
It is one of the most heart
warming, touching books I
ever have read.
They made a movie from
the book. It was true to
the book, but, surprisingly,
even better than the book. A
great touch in the movie was
a violin playing “Amazing
Grace” as background music
throughout.
Another book that won’t
go away was titled, “They
Kill Horses, Don’t They?”
It was the story of a taxi
dancer in a big city and her
relationship with a man who
comes into her life and tries
to make it better. For her, it
is all downhill, though. She
has lost her love of life and
lives in despair.
Eventually, the man comes
to the conclusion that her
spirit is broken. The title
of the book comes from his
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great military power, the
government of Mexico, upset
with the state of Georgia.
We could very well have the
next lieutenant governor
struggling with that com
plex foreign policy issue.
We all know full well what
could happen to us if we
got into a protracted con
flict with Mexico. We would
have to cut our own yards
and figure out how to work
the leaf blower. Not a pretty
thought.
And then there is the lieu
tenant governor’s role in the
war on terrorism. I will be
the first to tell you that I'm
not sure what that includes,
but I hope it has something
to do with rump-kicking
smart-aleck kids whose
parents forego disciplining
the little terrors at home in
order not to upset them, and
leave that job to overworked
and underpaid schoolteach
ers. If that war on terror
ism includes making the
urchins pull their britches
up, remove all body piercing,
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
conclusion that she would
be better off dead than alive
and he compares her broken
spirit with a horse’s broken
leg, saying, “They kill hors
es, don’t they?”
They made a movie of this
book, but it fell far short of
the book.
“Hasty Heart” was a
movie that I cannot get out
of my mind, though I saw
it decades ago. If there was
a book, I never read it. The
movie is shown occasionally
on television today. I recom
mend it.
The story was set on a
South Pacific island dur
ing World War 11. Richard
Todd was the only
Scotsman in an Army hos
pital with many Americans.
He, too, was dying. There
were sad moments and
humor. It was the kind of
sad story that leaves you
feeling good because of the
uplift you get as you see
the human spirit overcome
tragedy.
I have seen many good
movies. Not recently, though.
Some of them probably were
better movies than those I
mention here. But these are
movies and books that haunt
and linger in the memory
long after others fade away
with time.
stay awake in class and not
say the word “dude,” then
you can sign me up.
Finally, what kind of
impact can a lieutenant
governor have on Georgia’s
economy? About as much as
I can have on Swiss yodel
ers. Members of the Georgia
House and Senate make all
the big budget and financial
decisions along with the
governor, when he isn’t busy
spaying dogs and I don’t
think they want the lieuten
ant governor butting in their
business. About as close as
the lieutenant governor gets
to economic issues is balanc
ing his checkbook during the
Senate debates.
I am a big fan of Rudy
Giuliani. He was an out
standing mayor before 9/11,
and an even greater one
afterwards. But he should
have spent a little more
time boning up on just what
the lieutenant governor’s
job in Georgia entails. Had
he done so, he could have
mailed in his endorsement
on the back of a postcard
and saved himself the wear
and tear of an airplane trip.
Rudy Giuliani endorsing
a candidate for lieutenant
governor of Georgia? Never
has someone done so much
for so little.
You can reach
Dick Yarbrough at
yarb24oo@bellsouth.net,
PO. Box 725373, Atlanta,
Georgia 31139, or Web site:
www.dickyarbrough.com.