&
N Hi
0 'PaRCH'by Will Davis
Catching the big one
all the time? Having trouble getting going in the
,: morning? Are your lips and back peeling like a fake
,leather couch?
Yes, you too may have the dreaded Post-Beach
Trip Blues. The only cure is time. Well, more salt and sand
might work too, but then how would you pay your bills?
We headed to Emerald Isle,
N.C: last week where our family
has had a beach place for decades.
We were fortunate to have some-
where to go.
Two of our favorite beach des-
tinations were hit by hurricanes
last fall.
First, on Sept. 14, Hurricane
Florence struck the North
Carolina coast where my parents
have places on the Bogue Banks.
Mom's condo in Pine Knoll
Shores seemed OK until they
found that sideways rain had
gotten into the walls. They had
to remove all belongings. By that
time, all the storage facilities were
already full so morn had to move everything to a storage unit
90 miles away, in Greenville, N.C and repairs are expected to
continue into the fall.
Fifteen miles away at Emerald Isle, N.C. my dad's home
had a few cedar shingles missing but was otherwise in good
shape.
Then on Oct. 10, Hurricane Michael struck the area around
our other beach destination, Cape San Blas, on the Gulf
Coast in Florida. Tryingto rent a place on VRBO was almost
impossible because it was hard to tell what was available, and
what was under repair. Then we heard there was only one gas
station still operating on Cape San Blas and it was run from a
temporary trailer. Nearby Mexico Beach is reported to still be
in tatters, and the re -building work has hardly begun.
So we headed to Emerald Isle last week, a 9-hour drive.
My dad's home overlooks the inlet where the ocean meets
the sound. The sunset,views are fantastic. But the walk to
the water is harrowing, about 250 yards of sand. We're not
complaining though.
About 15 years ago, you could fish offmy dad's deck. The
ocean moved doser and closer to the home every year.
Finally my dad had to buy huge sand bags to try to save the
home.
"The' I thought, "will never work2'
Miraculously though, the ocean at last began to recede. A
friend told me that a dredging project had dumped millions
of tons of sand on the beach, and that storms then deposited
that sand in front of my dad's house.
Whatever happened, however it happened, we're just glad
our house isn't h nder water, even ffthe walk is daunting.
The North Carolina,coast iswell known for good fishing,
and we hired a charter tohelp us find them.:
We played Wack-A-Mole with a school of Spanish Mac-
keml, chasing them and the seagulls that hunted them all
over the inlet just off Fort Macon in Atlantic Beach, N.C. We
wound up with enough for a delirious fish fry.
Then we took a trip up to the Neuse River for trout and
drum that was less successfnl.
But our biggest catch of the day was yet to come.
We were motoring back toward the inlet when I laid down
on the bowto take a rest as the boat bobbed up and down in
the surE. Then I felt something fall out of my pocket.
"Will!" a friend yelled. "Your wallet!"
It had slid down the boat's rail and then plummeted into the
Atlantic Ocean. Our guide circled back but I was doubtful. I
got tired of things falling out of my wallet so a few years ago
bought a giant man purse, a murse, with a zipper. Surely that
would sink like a fat grouper
My buddy pointed to where he thought it might have
dropped and sure enough, there it floated amidst the jelly
fish. I scooped it up as we passed.
"In all my years taking people fishingS' our guide laughed,
"I've never seen that?
As we headed back:to the marina, I had only one question
for him: "Will you take a damp check?"
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3
ICS, by Kyie WingfieJd
I
his seems like
a good time for
Americans to
remember their
Faulkner, and one of his
most famous lines: The
past is never dead. It's not
even past.
For several years now,
we have
and shipped a sneaker
honoring the Fourth of
July with a 1770s-era
flag on the back, only to,
withdraw the product
after paid endorser Colin
Kaepernick said that
symbol is associated with
a period in which Ameri-
ca condoned
argued over
whether visu-
al reminders
of our past
amount to an
endorsement
of all they
represent.
South Caro-
lina began
this debate
slavery.
By that
light, we
should toler-
ate nothing
predating at
least Jan. 1,
1863, and the
Emancipa-
tion Procla-
mation. Not
when it - ap-
propriately,
in my view
- removed
to mention
that, for all
the grievous
shortcom-
a Confederate battle flag
long displayed on its state
capitol grounds, after a
white supremacist shot
12 worshippers, nine
of them fatally, inside a
historic black church in
Charleston.
From there, and as
many of us who agreed
with that fliig's removal
warned at the
proverbial sl E{ihas
proved slip.peay A few re-
cent exam'i ies two from
Georgia, demonstrate as
much. The pas is not just
alive, but more ,c0mplicat-
ed than our insta-tweet
society acknowledges.
Nike gave us the
first example this past
week. The company
designed, manufactured
ings of our nation when
it comes to race, the
moral logic driving what
progress we have made
originated in 1776, with
the dedaration that "all
men are created equal."
That was the "promis-
sory note" which Martin
Luther King Jr. in 1963
said the civil rights move-
ment "had come to cash."
That promise from 1776,
as King argued, wasn't
dead, or even past. It
was alive, even if it went
nearly 200 years without
being fully kept.
Now for the complica-
tion: Betsy Ross, who is
credited with designing
that famous flag, was
a Quaker. No religious
group in the 13 colonies
was more vocally or ar-
dently opposed to slavery.
Like Ross, they chiefly
lived in Pennsylvania,
where the Continental
Congress voted for inde-
pendence.
The fact their view did
not prevail at the time is a
tragedy. But to condemn
as irredeemable the entire
era, with all of its peoples
and symbols, and the
force for good they set in
motion, is wrong.
Another example is
smack dab in Atlanta.
MARTA is consulting
nearby residents about
possibly changing the
name of its Bankhead
raft station: The reason?
The station, taking after
the erstwhile Bankhead
Highway, was named for
a Confederate soldier and
alleged KKK member,
John Hollis Bankhead,
Complicating matters
here is what the name
Bankhead has come to
mean to most 21 st-centu-
ry Americans: a geo-
graphic reference made
by numerous Atlanta-
based rap artists.
One suspects most
people opining on the
issue had no clue about
the namesake. (Confes-
sion: I have no idea for
whom my own street was
named.) Even so, and
even if the dead soldier
was indeed a full-fledged
racist, could there be
much more of an afterlife
comeuppance than to
have his name re-appro-
priated by the very group
of people he hated?
Finally, we return again
to Kings words, and
another famous reference
now and again in the
news: Stone Mountain.
Recall that, before
last year's gubernatorial
election, Stacey Abrams
endorsed sandblasting
the famous carving of a
Confederate trio from
the mountain's face.
Recall as well a different
idea floated by others:
Commemorating King
by placing a Liberty Bell
replica atop the granite
giant. ("Let freedom ring
from Stone Mountain of
Georgia!" King dedared
in 1963.)
The bell tribute is
entirely worthy, but not
the sand-blasting. After
all, couldn't the bell lose
some of its symbolic
power if it didn't vis-
ibly tower over the men
whose cause was lost for
good?
Alive and kicking: That's
our past, still actively
jabbing at Our soft places.
History is a complicated
thing. The way to treat it
properly is not with sani-
tation but with honesty
and forthrightness, about
the good as well as the
bad.
The president and CEO
of the Georgia Public
Policy Foundation, Kyle
Wing, field's column runs
in papers around the state
of Georgia.
f
" 1 i'
TAKING A LIKENS TO YOU by Dale Likens
1
e
Last week Karen and I decided
to begin our Independence
ay Celebration
putting our
flag out onthe 8"unday
before the 4 h of Juty.
We then turned our
television onto the
marvelous singing of
the Mormon Taberna-
cle choir and orchestra.
Of course their pro-
gram was spectacular
as usual, s'mging and
praising God and coun-
try with favorite songs,
such as "This Land is
Your Land, This Land is
My Land" to "God Bless America?
The videos of America's country-
side were as beautiful and stunning
as one might expect with magnifi-
cent bird-like views of our impos-
ing oceans and grand and colorful
rivers that run through the heart of
America. Tall buildings from New
York City to breathtaking views of
the Grand Canyon, the green corn
fields of Ohio, the waving wheat
fields of Kansas and the famous
Mount Rushmore quickly sped by
our television screen reminding us of
this wonderful land God has blessed
us with.
Then, as the program began to
come to an end, we were reminded
of the hundreds of graveyards across
our nation and Europe filled with the
thousands of bodies of those valiant
men and women who gave their lives
through World War I, World War
II, the Korean War and the Vietnam
War. We sat there stunned and so
grateful that God truly has blessed all
of us in America. Thank you God for
those soldiers of so many different
races and creeds :who proudly gave
their lives that we may enjoy the free-
doms we areso.blessed with today!
Later that day we turned Fox
News and One America News on to
news commentator began to speak,
so-called Anti Fascist (Antifa) groups
of young men and women,
dressed in their usual black
jackets and hoods that cov-
ered their faces, ran across
the screen, gathering
around one conservative
reporter beating on him,
kicking him, throwing wet
cement on him, driving
him to the ground where
they gathered around
him beating him beyond
recognition.
L;kej.h5 Quickly the news com-
mentator began show-
ing long rows of tents
lining the streets of San Francisco
and many other large cities across
America explaining how many of
these street people had been there
for weeks using the streets for their
homes and toilets. Other people were
walking around or past the tents as
though it was common everyday
life, unconcerned of the filth that
surrounded them. Nearby, many of
our govemment leaders live in their
mansions surrounded by walls for
protection.
Sadly we were reminded of a news
video a few days before where a
13-year-old was umpiring a young
girls softball game when some unruly
parents disagreed with the young
umpire's call. The parents ran onto
the field, and quickly a brawl broke
out with fists swinging everywhere.
One person was knocked to the
ground while a number of others
gathered around and kicked him
and beat on him mercilessly. My wife
thought it was the young umpire, but
I thought it was an adult. I prayed
it wasn't the 13-year-old umpire.
Chills ran down my spine and anger
flooded my soul!
The contrast of the wonderful
music of the Mormon Tabernacle
Choir and that of the Antifa men and
catch up on the latest news. As our
television screeni ghtened and the
women and adults at a child's little
league game is sickening. It's not the
America I grew up in! It's not the
America I wish for my children or
grandchildren.
This past week the Democrats had
their first debate for their choice of
a candidate for the presidency of
the United States of America. Both
debates left no doubt as to where
America may go in the future. With
no shame, the entire list of candidates
proudly professed their beliefs in a
socialistic form of government for
our future America.
Once again I am reminded of the
great contrast in the two political
parties of America. On the one hand
we may vote for a president who
truly believes in a socialistic form of
government where we offer free col-
lege to all, free health care to all and
free handouts to those who refuse to
work.
elect a
president who wishes to continue our
present form of government known
as capitalism where any person
whether white or black, Christian
or non-Christian or legal alien may
rise to the top in any field he or she
pursues with a little ambition, hard
work and dedication. Sure some may
rise to wealth and positions many
of us may never attain. Maybe they
even gained their fame and fortune
in ways we do not see as fair or hon-
est. It happens. It does not mean our
government should place higher
taxes for those who have begun their
own business and now employ tens
or hundreds of others along the way
to pay for those who did not attain
such heights or even attempt to.
I love the America I've alwavs
known where each of us can strive
for our best and if we are blessed to
succeed we may help others along
the way. That's the America I dream
of! That's the America my wife and I
will vote for in the coming 2020 elec-
tion. God bless!
Dale Likens is an author who lives in
Monroe County.
