The Hogansville Herald March 27, 2003: Page 4

March 27, 2003 The Hogansville Herald
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Opinions & Ideas THE HOGANSVILLE HOME NEWS USPS 620-040 . (6rim lhdfliatim Millard B. Grimes, President MIRE HAI PUBIJSI ZER/ADvITISING DIRECTOR JOHN KDALL A,q()oAI PUBLISHFJffEDITOR ROB RICHARDSON ASSISTANT EDITOR JAYNE GOLDSTON BUSINKSS IkNAGER Phone (706) 846-3188 • Fax (706) 846-2206 P O. l)x 426 ttogansville, Georgia 30230 Where Should We Place Our Trust? As children, especially lit- tle boys, we all played war games. Sometimes we pre- tended to be a soldier fight- ing for our country. Other times we were simply on a mission to fight injustice. It did not matter, really, the thing was we'd pretend to be shot and get up and walk away. That does not happen in real wars. In real wars, when a sol- dier is shot, he or she usual- ly ends up seriously injured (maybe even for life) or in the worse case scenario.., dead. When a soldier dies his or her family and friends are left to mourn and we sometimes wonder if the cause justified the end. SoldieI;s are paid to fight wars and when they are deployed, both the soldier and family members know there is a chance he or she will never return home. It's a hard fact of life to face. MANY OF MY family members have fought in wars, like most Americans. I'm sure, being from the south, some of my ancestors probably fought in the Civil War. I know many of them fought in WWI, WWlI and Vietnam. Four of my uncles and two of my cousins were recipients of the Purple Heart, among other military honors. My heart goes out to the brave young men and women that are on the battle field fighting for our country. If it were not for those that have served and died for this coun- try, we would not enjoy the life we do today. The men and the women of the military are not only on my heart, but in my prayers. So are their fam- ily members. There is nothing we could ever do as a people to repay the debt owed to those that serve our country in the mil- itary. The only thing we can do is give them our respect, the honor they deserve and of course words of encour- agement and thanks. MY HEART and prayers also go out to the innocent people and their families that are always a casualty of war. It does not matter where you fight a war, innocent people are going to be killed. Even though they are not taking part in the war, and possibly do not even condone the war, civilians will die. Such is the case with the war we are in right now. Even though Saddam Hussein is a crazy man, and does deserve exactly what he is getting, that is not necessarily the case with the people he rules. My Uncle JW was a Green Beret and he often talked about the war. He had a say- ing that he would tell all of his nephews (he never had children of his own). "A soldier is not much of a soldier if he does not know when to fight, when to retreat and above all, when to be com- passionate," he would say. "While a soldier must do the task that is set before him, he must also realize that not all people of a country at war are the enemy. It is just as impor- tant to help those that are innocent in war as it is to fight those that oppose you." As a nation, we should be compassionate toward those that are innocent victims of this war. We should recognize that they are human beings and their life is not that much different from ours. They simply want to survive, raise their families and enjoy along life. UNFORTUNATELY, I do not believe that innocent civilians in Iraq will be the only ones to suffer because of the war we are in now. I think Americans will suffer as well. We would be very naive to think that we can wipe out terrorism. It has been a part of life since the first day men began seeking fortunes and power. It will always be a part of life on earth. So, I for one believe that while it may not be in the immediate future, we will see terrorism activi- ty in the United States again. I may com in the form of car bombings. We might see buildings fall again. It could be almost anything, including chemical war fare. How it will come is not impor- tant, what is important is that it will come. When it does, We will see innocent civilians die right here on our home soil. Then we can understand more what war is really like and how horrifying and painful it is to see innocent people die. We must, as a nation, put our hope and faith back where it belongs. "In God We Must Trust" and we must remain "One Nation Under God." TItE HOt;ANSVII.LE HOME NEWS is published weekly by the Star-Mercury Publishing Company, a division of Grimes Publications, at 3051 Roosevelt Highway, Manchester, Georgia 31816. USPS 620-040. Subscription rates by mail: $18 in Troup, Harri or Meriwether Counties; $26 a year elsewhere. Prices include all sales taxes. Pericxlical postage paid at Hogansville, Geoia 30230. FoR SUIKN('RIIrI'IONS call 706) 846-3188 or write to Circulation Manager. Star Mercury Publications. P. O. Box 426, Manchester, Georgia 31816. POSTtAS:a: Snd address changes to E O. Box 426, Hogansville. GA 30230. STAFF Publisher and Advertising Director ............................................................... Mike Hale Associate Publisher and Editor ............................................................ John Kuykendall Business Mmtager ................................................................................. Jayne Goldston Assistant Flitor. ..................................................................................... Rob Richardson Staff Writers .......................................................................... BryanGcter, Billy Bryant Assistant Advertising Manager .................................................................. Laurie Lewis Composing .................................................................. Valinda Ivory. Dewayne Flowers Legals ...................................................................................................... Jayne Goldston Circulation Manager. .................................................................................... Judy Crews Prxhction Manager ............................................................................ Bobby Brazil Jr. Assistant Manager. ........... : .............................................................. Wayne Grochowski Pressroom ........................................... Darnell McCauley. Joey Knight, Larry Colleges CORPORATE OFFICERS President ............................................................................................. Millard B. Grimes Vice President .................................................................................. Charlotte S. Grimes Executive Vice President and Secretary ........................................ Laura Grimes Cofer Treasurer. ...................................................................................... Kathy Grimes Garrett Legal Coun,l and Assistant Secretary ............................................... James S. Grimes PAGE 4 - HOGANSVILLE HOME NEWS - MARCH 27, 2003 At the Ball Game With My Written in 1978 I would have taken my father to the ball game Tuesday night. I would have taken him to the Atlanta Stadium to see Pete Rose try to break Wee Willie Keeler's hitting streak record. His birthday is Saturday. He would have been 62. A trip to the ball game would have been a nice present from a son to his father. He was an athlete him- self, my dad. And he was a strapping man with alleged blinding speed in his youth. He was taller than Pete Rose, but similar in stocky frame. One time he picked up the back of a 1949 Hudson. I saw him do it. 1 dove My father would have Tuesday night at the ballpark. Nice summer evening. Big, noisy crowd. My father always enjoyed singing the national anthem at baseball games. Tuesday night, just before Pete Rose stepped up to bat, going for 45 straight, my father and I would have stood shoulder-to-shoulder and sung the national anthem. Together. PETE ROSE is my father's kind of man, I was thinking when Rose approached the plate in the first inning. Just before the game began, he had his pic- ture made with a crippled boy and put his hat on the crip- pled boy's head. "Look at the way that man moves," my father would have said of Rose. "He does- n't waste a motion. He has speed. He has strength. He has determination. That's the kind of man you want in a fox- hole with you." My father was a soldier. A damn good one. His only objection to Pete Rose might have been Rose's hair. I noticed it precarious- ly near his shoulders. His ears disappeared weeks ago. My father wore a crew cut. He thought everybody else should. The curve to Rose is low for ball one. And then a foul deep to right that:misses being a double by five feet. A fast ball outside, a curve catches the inside corner, the count goes full, two more fouls and then ball four. The streak holds at 44. WHEN a man takes his son to a baseball game, I think, it establishes a link, one that won't easily be broken even in the face of a subsequent premature parting that might have other scars. I know that to be a fact. Rose came up for second time. "Let's go Pete," my father would have screamed loud enough to be heard in LaGrange. First pitch, Rose swings. A shot up the middle. Young Larry McWilliams' gloved hand appears from nowhere and spears the drive. Rose drops his bat gives the young- ster a hand. Mostly, my father would have enjoyed the game Tuesday night because it was a vivid American scene. It was an act of patriotism, somehow to be there. He would have looked at his fellow Americans eating hot dogs and drinking beer, he would have heard their cheers for the home runs by Hornet and Murphy, and he would have said something like, "This is why your daddy went to war, son. This is what we fought to keep." Rose is up again. The inning is the fifth. The game is tied 3-3. A fake bunt, ball one. Another ball. Tholk-a ground out to short. The ten- sion builds. Now, it is the seventh. Gene Garber is pitching for the Braves and a runner is on with one out. A shot by Rose toward left, the opposite field. But Bob Horner is there for the out and a double play. A final chance, and only that remains. The ninth: The game has turned to slaugh- ter. The Reds for once the vic- tims, 16-4. Two outs. Rose "Pete! Pete! um is begging. The first pitch Garber. An bunt to third goes straight balls. The ball leaves hand. will know. Strike three. is over. What Pete Rose safely in 44 straight l -- wasn't a man on I reminded myself as dium lights dimmed. was a good and thing, a fierce in his hand, playing game as it was played. And I of it, even the bitter Tuesday night at t game, helluva good time. Grizzard's father 1970, eight years night Rose's hitting : ended in Atlanta, BY SPECIAL NEWS IS CARRYING COLUMNS BY THE LATIg BY MORELAND, MOST WIDELY READ WRITER OF HIS TIME. PRODUCTIONS, P.O. BOX ATLANTA, GA 31118-1266 WIDE. It's Still True Today: War Is The infamous Union Army General Sherman has been quoted as saying "War is hell.; ,, : ,,, ,, Veterans who have been involved and those that have had to bear the misery and anxiety of seeing loved ones go to battle will testify that war is nearer hell than any other experience on earth. Recent days have given us more exposure to actual battlefield conditions than most of us have ever seen. I have wondered if it is really good for us to know so much, particularly those with loved ones in the battle area. One thing for sure, the wartime television coverage we are getting today makes us thankful for our heritage and America. THE THING that infuri- ates me most about today's news is demonstrations and peace marches. Sure, we all want peace, but at what price? According to a recent poll, some 75% of America sup- ports the war effort. Most go about their sup- port very quietly; it is the remaining 25% making the noise and gives comfort to the enemy that we are a house divided. America has tried isola- tion and it did not work. We did not enter World War I until our hand was final- ly forced. Then when the war was over, we refused to join the League of Nations in spite of President Woodrow Wilson's pleading. Many think America's refusal to join efforts for world peace contributed to an early death for President Wilson. Instead we crawled back iron our isolation shell and closed our eyes as Communist China and Russia as well as Adolph Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Japan's Tojo rose. These had a hold on the rest of the world that would lead to another worldwide war in less than 25 years after the end of the first world war. WHEN WORLD WAR II came along we stayed out until we were forced into the conflict at Pearl Harbor. Many of us have fought for your right to demonstrate. I shudder to think where we would be today without England standing alone in those dark days. We have had skirmishes in Korea, Vietnam, the first Persian War and the present Iraq situation, but these con- flicts undoubtedly prevented a third world war in our life- time. No sane person wants war. However, there is a price we all must pay for the free- dom we enjoy in our country today. WHEN I was an early teenager in high school, there was a boy in my age group that continued to push me and others around. He absolutely miserable for many in ¢ group until oneAag. enough and called There is no describe how was for our age It was the fact bully got a good from a scared was challenged we would not demands any longer. NONE of us the future holds. scares me it. One thing is for situation or be; ing your back. There are times wl must stand up and fi# what you believe. Our armed forceS. our support. Later when someo d my contribution to the war, I would hate to demonstrated in the # arid burned my draft c Even thinking al makes me sick! att00uitte 00erat00 Hogansville In tht • WAKE-UP CALL: "The Hogansville Commerce, dormant for years, suddenly came to life last week. A mass meeting held at the American Home attracted 25 business and professional men ot community, and every one of them paid his 1953 and formed an organization headed by C.O. Larn, school superintendent, as president..." • TAKING SHAPE: "Construction of the the Hogansville High School is being watched est by patrons of the schools. Much of the excavation has been completed and pouring ings should begin within a few days ..... '" • "WELFARE BOARD HELPS CITIZENS IN NEED: The Hogansville Welfare Board, a cized organization which is always willing to extend a ing hand to the needy, has helped 91 persons in since September 8 of 1952.." • QUICK HISTORY: "Hogansville was William Hogan, who came to this locality in 1828, was no more than a wilderness. This was a to the white man...." • FACTOID: 'Trucking is big business in Ti Last year almost $3,000,000 was spent in trucking..."