From You
Drinking & Driving
originally published April 23, 2008
Maybe you do it because you don’t feel that drunk, and it’s not very far and you’re too lazy to walk, or too cheap to pay for a cab.
Maybe you can’t imagine what it feels like to be crossing the street only to be struck and thrown through the air and feel your body smash into the pavement; wondering what has happened and looking back at the person that just hit you only to see him driving away.
Maybe you can’t imagine crawling to the curb and watching someone place your shoes next to your feet, and pulling your shirt over your bloody shoulder, trying to figure out exactly how badly you’ve been hurt; so stunned you can’t even feel the rain, although every part of you is shaking.
Maybe it’s hard for you to take this seriously because I didn’t die, didn’t even have to spend a day in the hospital. Maybe you’ve never had a near-death experience at the hands of another person. A person who didn’t even get off his cell phone when he felt his car hit you.
Maybe there’s nothing I can say that will make you more responsible or compassionate. Maybe the convenience of driving home outweighs the risk of potentially hitting some stranger that made the choice to walk because she thought it would be safer. I sure hope not.
I was hit by a drunk driver at 11:30 p.m. on Friday, Apr. 11. The driver took off, but has since been caught. I am pursuing prosecution. Thankfully, I was not seriously injured. Please don’t drink and drive.
Jimmy Carter
originally published April 23, 2008
Okay, first things first. I’m not a parent, but it does my heart good to hear that a pair who are have taken their kids to a museum.
The parent and writer of the fine letter [Apr. 2] on which I am commenting closed by asking the question, “Am I a genius because you used my thought [in reference to Pete McCommons’ notes on former President Jimmy Carter (Pub Notes, Mar. 19)], or am I a genius because a genius like you had the same thought?”
Well, I suppose you might both be geniuses (?). However, the true genius was and is the man who wore that sweater. He was waaaaaaay ahead of his time and yet was kicked out of his job like so many others (who were, as well, way ahead of their time) by the same Mr. Ronald Reagan and his lot some 30 years before.
P.S. Another recent news note on the man who wore the sweater is that he has recently made a visit to the Middle East to speak with Hamas on matters in Gaza and such (now that the powers that be have, in the Palestinian territories, discarded democracy for the purpose of a little divide-and-conquer action). It should also be noted that the current set of schmucks in power in our nation told ol’ Jimmy not to do this (which I find to be rather like Bonds telling Hammerin’ Hank that he doesn’t know how to hit).
Athens Rising
originally published April 23, 2008
Regarding 909 East Broad [Athens Rising, Apr. 9], you said: But does it make sense near the river, the greenway and the old mill village of Potterytown?
It’s being built on what was once a dump. It was fun to dig old soda bottles out of that hill back in the old days. But I can’t make an argument that it is sacred ground. As for the Madison County conservation subdivision ordinance you mentioned: it once was a model, but the current Madison County Board of Commissioners have gutted it by exploiting a loophole that allows for a drastically different interpretation of what makes up the conservation easement.
I applaud Kevan Williams and the staff at Flagpole for their fine work informing the public.
Trees Butchered
originally published April 23, 2008
I have noticed while driving on the 10 Loop lately that the maintenance of the plant life has begun to take on a particularly brutal tone. I fully understand that trees and shrubs need to be controlled so that they do not encroach upon the roads and therefore endanger drivers. What I do not understand is why the road crews have to use a tractor-mounted buzzsaw to achieve their ends. Until nature has had time to recover, the gaping wounds these machines inflict on the plants and trees are an eyesore. But more importantly, the plants become incredibly susceptible to bugs and diseases in this state.
Perhaps there is a better way?
Dear Dr. Broun
originally published April 23, 2008
Response to Congressman Broun’s latest mailing and how we don’t understand Bush’s pain:
Thank you for your recent mass mailing, it indicates clearly to me how wrong you are about where we as a country are heading.
Your parroting of the Bush-Cheney line might bode well in rural Georgia, but alas times “are a-changing” as they say and the country has awakened to the idea Imperialism does not, did not, and will not work. I suggest you listen to Congressman Ron Paul on this, but unfortunately you do not strike me, based on your correspondences, as “open” to new ideas but rather prefer to follow in the path of others, regardless of how they continue to damage our great land.
It is clear that the current terrorist problem is one best dealt with by law enforcement and intelligence agencies and not Hummers and larger missiles or sadly, more troops. How many millions of them will we need to kill a billion Muslims? Yes, at times we require tools others than hammers. Hey, here’s an idea, how about we align ourselves with moderate Arab governments (those “bad” people who believe in something other than Jesus, you know, like Mohammad or the Dali Lama or, if it’s easier for you, just think of them all as Satan worshippers) who actually speak the language of the people we seek to control.
You also might want to ask Congressman Paul about our one-sided policy in the Middle East as the source of our current predicament. I think you too should ask yourself whose security is most paramount, that of the United States or Israel? They may not be the same. I know that’s a shocker to you but there is no second coming, well maybe for some but that depends on vitality.
But again, the times they are a-changing. You must have been part of the 109th Congress, the very same people who advocate an erosion of our rights and unbridled executive power. And thanks for your support on the war, for the $4-a-gallon gasoline and the three trillion in debt; well, that and my worthless savings. And pardon me while I wipe the vomit from my mouth thinking of the our beloved George and his sleepless nights. Oh, wait, he says he sleeps just fine… uh, well, how he worries of the soldiers, all the while expending their blood for his legacy.
Doc, maybe it’s the cocaine and hookers and draft-dodging of his youth he’s regretting. Medically speaking, of course, doesn’t that and a loveless mother help one become a paranoid schizophrenic?
D’oh, we ARE in trouble!
Panic In The Streets
originally published April 23, 2008
I was there as well ["Panic in the Streets," Apr. 16], as a volunteer working the show. One of the coolest days of my life. The most memorable moment for me was going onstage after the band finished to start the load-out, rounding the drum riser, and seeing nothing but an ocean of people flowing up Washington Street. Wish I had a camera. Ten years already… seems like last week.
Re: President And War
originally published April 23, 2008
“War is the health of the state.” [re: “Presidents and War,” Letters, Apr. 16]
We have had plenty of warmongering presidents on both sides of the aisle. It’s amazing to me the fanatic leftists and rightists who refuse to admit it. Completely irrational in my opinion. We are such “fans” of our own parties, we cannot see the overwhelming hypocrisy, deceit, and destruction they both cause to us ordinary citizens. Ironically, it’s not even that we love our own party as much as it is that we love to hate the other. How sad. (When will we quit looking for politicians to “bring us together” and instead come together to keep them from dividing us?
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