SUPPORT SKATERS

I read with interest your "Flagpole Agenda" column [Jan. 8] and wholeheartedly support your goals. As the father of a 15-year-old skateboarder, I would like to suggest an important addition.

Skateboarding is a huge international sport and one that fills a niche for kids who, for whatever reasons, are disinclined to engage in "organized" sports. It is also a sport that enjoys absolutely no support form the Athens community. With the exception of Skaters Extreme, a business on the Westside where it costs $10 for four hours of skate time, Athens has NO place for kids to legally engage in their passionate pursuit of "ollies, kick flips and goofy-foot grinds." The dedicated efforts of a few committed skaters over the past ten years to garner support for a local skatepark have continually fallen on deaf commissioners' ears.

On January 30 of this month, Athens skaters have a chance to change that history of neglect. Thanks to Commissioner Carl Jordan, the Commission meeting on that night will bring up the topic of building a skatepark in Athens. Last year, a feasibility study indicated there is significant support for a skatepark in Athens. The study also compared the cost of building a skatepark with other recreational facilities and found that it is well within our means. Funds are available now, and the new park on Whit Davis Road provides an excellent site for such a facility.

Would you please publish the fact that the Athens skateboarding community needs to BE THERE for the Commission meeting on January 30. A well-attended show of support will go a long way towards letting the local government appreciate the tremendous interest in skating here in Athens.

George Davidson
Athens

NOT HELPING

This is in response to the letter "Signs Sicken" in the Jan. 8, 2003 Flagpole.

While I'm sure Trevor and other kind hearted people believe that their hand outs are helping the less fortunate, they are not. The business owners are not the Heartless Bastards that Trevor portrays them as, they actually contribute large sums of money to local charities that help feed and shelter the same people. The homeless people of Athens know where to get food and shelter, but these places do not furnish alcohol or drugs. This is where YOUR money is going! Alcohol and drug addiction is one of the main contributing factors to people being homeless. If you do not feel like giving to a local charity, offer to buy them a hot meal or even some groceries. I feel that you will be a little disheartened by [the] response. If you or others with your opinion doubt this, spend a little time at a shelter, police station, hospital or even observing the same person you gave your money to.

Becky J.
Athens

NO LUCK INVOLVED

Letters like the one from Trevor ["Signs Sicken"] in the Jan. 8 Flagpole sicken me.

Trevor desperately needs education in the ways of the real world. People with homes are not luckier than people without. People who have food and money and a place to live did not get these things through a random trend of chance events.

There's no chance to it. There's no luck involved.

The Oxford Dictionary defines luck as follows: 1. chance as the bringer of good or bad fortune. 2. circumstances brought by this. 3. success due to chance. It goes on to list several synonyms for luck, such as accident, coincidence, destiny, fluke, fortune and serendipity. Well, those people who are successful - those with a home, a job they love, a nice car, health insurance, retirement savings - are in that position because of choice, not chance. They have achieved these things because of the sum total of the choices they have made in life.

It is not an accident that those who stay in school and develop an achievement mentality are successful. It is not coincidence that those who developed a variety of job skills and a strong work ethic can now command high salaries for their work. It is not a fluke that making good choices in life brings you happiness and that making poor choices brings you misery.

Every choice you make matters. Whether or not you decide that it's too much trouble to get two jobs to work your way through college. Whether or not to hit the booze or go get stoned. Whether to go the extra mile and put in some extra hours on the job or go home early like everyone else. Which people to associate with and which to avoid. Whether to buy that nice entertainment center or put that money in your savings account. Whether to quit that job you hate or hang in there until you can finish night school and get a better job.

That bum shivering on the wooden bench in the cold and rain is there by choice, not by luck. If he had made better choices in life, if he had not developed the "poor me" victim mentality, if he had done what he needed to instead of what he wanted to, he would be too busy deciding which color BMW he wanted to buy to care what sort of signs were being put up in the windows of downtown businesses. And to imply that people who work hard and make good choices with their lives are able to live comfortably because they are lucky is a slap in the face to every person who accepts responsibility for their lives. Grow up, Trevor.

Hank Rearden
Athens

OUTWARDLY POINTLESS

Trevor, I understand that it pains you to see the signs that downtown businesses post in effort to discourage panhandling [Letters, Jan. 8]. I am also a little disturbed by them. I do agree with you that the signs are posted to protect certain businesses' clientele and are outwardly pointless to begin with. But the fact of the matter is giving your spare change to the homeless is not going to help them. In fact, for the majority of the time, your money will go towards drug and alcohol habits. I have worked with non-profit organizations that assist the unfortunate homeless. My experience is, no matter how often you give money to the homeless they will not spend it on things that they need, such as clothing, food or shelter.

We are foolish to think that the homeless have chosen the lives they live. Perhaps our energy would be better spent implementing plans that help educate the public (and even our local downtown businesses) about the homeless population rather than posting signs on windows.

Instead of giving the money to the homeless, donate it to local non-profit organizations that assist the homeless such as the Athens Area Homeless Shelter and the Salvation Army. Here your money will be used for things ranging from food to building new shelters. When asked for spare change, offer to buy those in need a sandwich or coffee. Donate your time volunteering at the organizations or give extra clothing to a homeless individual if you have no money to give. And pat yourself on the back for being a compassionate and caring person.

Lauren Mylacraine
Stone Mountain

HOLD THE VINEGAR

While Brad Aaron is almost always wickedly funny, this particular staunch friend and volunteer for local Democrats winced a little at the raking over the coals he gave Elizabeth Dalton in last week's issue [City Dope, Jan. 8]. While we all appreciate acerbic political commentary, those of us who take our politics seriously have to wonder if Flagpole is more interested in mudslinging and name calling than informing voters in such a way that could, potentially, WIN THEM OVER to our way of seeing things. When Flagpole steps over the line into Limbaugh-style pummeling of the opposition, it is a dark day for the Athens left, who literally has no other voice in this town.

Brad must realize that Flagpole has been around for a long time. For many years it was a pretty esoteric music rag. There would be little reason for a woman of Elizabeth Dalton's generation to ever pick it up. Hell, even when I was younger and hipper, Flagpole always seemed to be catering to a crowd "in-er" than mine. I know a lovely posse of very politically active, liberal Five Points ladies who walk together early every morning, most of whom just became Flagpole readers during the last election. When I mentioned a Flagpole article about Doug Haines to one of these women during the 2000 election, she had never read it. Nor had her friends.

Okay. They are not cool. They were out of it. But now they are your readers! Forgive them and don't risk alienating reasonable-minded people with personalized diatribes because you got your feelings hurt. Continuing to broaden your audience by providing even-handed coverage of the issues will do more for progressive causes than mean-spirited commentary, no matter how witty or clever.

If this die-hard liberal was turned off, it may be that others were too. Hold steady. Keep up the good work.

Terrell Austin
Athens

FROG FRATERNITY

Thanks to Brad Aaron for calling the Athens Banner-Herald on its absurd charge that Heidi Davison might be guilty of political bias and cronyism some time in the future [City Dope, Jan. 8]. Talk about being called ugly by a frog - but I suppose that it's not cronyism if you're one of the cronies. Unfortunately, Brad's telling the truth about Athens' little frog princes and princesses will keep him from being invited into the mystic fraternity of serious Athens journalists; therefore, Brad won't get to hang out with political heavyweights like John Breffle and Elizabeth Dalton. What a sacrifice. If John and Elizabeth pooled their political influence, I'll bet that they could uncover some amazing Southern Republican artifacts, such as a copy of Strom Thurmond's discharge from the Army of Northern Virginia, a genuine 1956 Georgia state flag signed by Sonny Perdue, or a video tape of Trent Lott's speech therapist teaching Trent to pronounce "affirmative action" without sneering.

John Mize
Athens

"FIRED"?

Dear Pete, as a regular reader of your newspaper I was surprised to see you use the F-word in your article this week [Pub Notes, Jan. 8]. I am sure you could have found another way to get your point across. Thank you.

Mac
Athens