Opinions & Ideas
THE HOGANSVILLE HOME NEWS
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. (6finut ubliratimt
Millard B. Grimes, President
JOHN KWKENDAIJ
PUBLISHF3tfEI)ITOR
LAURIE LEWIS
AI)VERTISIN(; DIRE, L"I'OR
CLINT CIAYBR(X)K
ASS€ U.:IA'rE EDrroR
ROB RICHARDSON
A&SlSTANT EI)ITOR
JAYNI. GOLDSrON
B U SINI';&"; MANA(;ER
o
Phone (706) 846-318S. Fax (706) 846-2206
12 O. Box 4,26
I hJRansville, Georgia 30230
As Far as I Know, I'm
Still Free to Choose...
Last week Alabama's
Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court, Roy Moore, sat in same
courtroom he has presided
over for many years, not as
judge, but as a defendant. For
the judge, it had to be new feel-
rag, for so many years he has
decided issues about law and
now he was defending himself
against the same laws he has
upheld.
Now known as the "Ten
Commandments Judge,"
Moore was told he has every
rightto acknowledge God, but
does not have the right to place
himself above the law.
Many believe that the his-
loric decision by the state
Court of the Judiciary ends the
judicial career of Moore. I
don't think that's the case at
all.
When Moore left the court-
room, many of his supporters
stood and cheered for him.
Moore argues that he has
not broken any law. "I have
done what I was sworn to do,"
he said after hearing the deci-
sion by the court. "This is about
whether or not you can
acknowledge God as a source
of our laws and our liberty.
That's all I have done."
Whether I aee with
oore /I$'6h '"roval of
ttte Ten Commandments or not
is not at issue. Personally, it is
my believe that we are a nation
that is quickly turning away
from God and will pay dearly
for it. However, that is a col-
umn for another time. The
question here is, did Moore
break the law? There are
arguments that could be made
both ways on that issue, per-
sonally, I do not believe he
broke any laws. For it was a
ruling, not a written law, that
sought the removal of the Ten
Commandments from the
court building. I'm sure there
are those that would argue
that, but that's my opinion and
I will stick With it. I will say
that ff I had to rule on the mat-
ter, I would say the separation
of church and state law that I
believe is a forest anyway, was
broken.
IRONICALLY, the
Supreme Court will hear
arguments soon in the case
concerning the constitutional-
ity of the Pledge of Allegiance.
They will be charged with
making a decision if the words,
"One Nation under God"
should be removed from the
pledge. It's really funny to me
that when they gather, they
will open the session with the
same words that have opened
such sessions for hundreds of
years.... "God save the United
States and this Honorable
Court." It is believed that those
words were first uttered by
Richard Wenman, the first
Supreme Court crier back in
1790.
So, is the Supreme Court
affirming the establishment
of religion when those words
are said?
I guess an argument could
be put up either way on the
matter. One may "yes"
because they are making the
appearance that faith is being
placed in God to help with the
decision making process.
Others might argue that it is
not. If we attempted to debate
the issue, we would never
resolve it.
I read a letter in the
COlumbus Ledger Enquirer
over the weekend written by
a man that stated he was a
Christian minster and he felt
the words should be removed
from the pledge, noting thatit
violates the separation of
church and state. So, you can
see what I mean by this being
a topic that could be debated
for sometime without resolve.
THE TRUTH of the mat-
ter is, everyone has their own
opinion as to what the law real-
ly means. Here again, my per-
sonal opinion is I don't care.
Here's what I have to say on
the subject.
I don't care where Moore
was right or wrong in what he
did; I don't care about separa-
tion of church and state; and
above all, I don't care who
knows it.
I for one believe there is a
God. I believe that I owe him
my life, soul and my praise. I
don't care what others believe.
As far as I'm concerned,
separation of church and state
is a forest. It is an argument
that can not be won and will
never be resolved and I wofft
get caught up in it..
For me, I will pray when
and where I please, I will recite
the words "One nation under
God" in my pledge, and I will
do it without worrying about
it.
So far as I know, my fore-
fathers fought to make us free
in this country and the word
free means just that. I'm free
to live as I choose, not as other
tells me. SO, I'll continue to live
by the Ten Commandments
and curse those that do not and
I'll still pray that God .has
mercy on this nation and all
those that choose to live here,
even if I don't agree with them.
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PAGE 4 - HOGANSVILLE HOME NEWS - Nov. 20, 2003
A Nice Few Days With the
From Lewis Grizzard's
collection "Won't You Come
ltome Billy Bob Bailey?"
Written in 1978
I am the only person in
my family ever to have spent
a weekend at The Cloister on
Sea Island, or anywhere like
it. However, my Uncle
Gaylord once spend a week-
end in Tulsa, where he fin-
ished second in a pool tour-
nament and met his fourth
wife, who was performing on
the tables in the motel lounge.
Uncle Gaylord always knew
how to live.
Sea Island, Ga. Soon I will
be checking out of The
CloisteL a famous resort hotel
for rich people. Soon, I will
be penniless again.
A weekend here costs
four houses and a mortgage
on Marvin Gardens. Harley
Devonshire Billups III, the
big butter and egg man from
Shreveport, might have that
kind of stash, but I was hop-
ing somebody would put me
on scholarship before settle-
up time came at the cashier's
window in the lobby
This place is so spiffy, you
have to wear a tuxedo for ten-
nis. The Cloister, people
always say, is full of "old world
charm." That means that if
you don't own at least one
European country, you'll
choke when you see your bill.
The bigs come here.
Corporation presidents,
heads of state, politicians who
haven't been caught yet, and
wealthy baseball players like
Pete Rose, would come, if
they had any class.
All weekend I have felt
like a leisure suit at the club's
spring formal. What if the
other guests, I kept asking
myself, discover a charlatan
has slipped into their midst?
I took extra precautions,
like wearing dark socks and
parking the truck off the
island, but rich people can
usually sniff out a taxpayer.
We fold our wallets inside out.
ONE FELLOW almost
caught me over drinks in one
of the club rooms. He was
from New York and several
other places. I think he owned
Canada or something.
,"What's you game old
chap?" he asked me.
"Newspaper," I said.
"Buying or selling?" he
persisted.
I took a long sip from my
drink, a Rednecker. That's an
amaretto straight-up with a
long-neck bud chaser.
"Buying," I said, which
isn't a total lie. When I can't
rip off my daffy copy from
the boss' office, I have to pop
for a quarter and go to the
rack like everyone else.
There is a lot to do at The
Cloister, located on the opu-
lent Golden Isles of Georgia
and a million miles from the'
back room of Harold's
Barbecue of Atlanta, one of
my other favorite vacation
spots.
You can go for a walk on
the beach, or play tennis, golf,
croquet, lawn bowls, shuffle-
board and bridge. You can
shoot skeet at the gun club,
go horseback riding, take
dancing lessons or drink
afternoon tea with the older
folk.
It is true that a lot of older
people do visit here. In face,
the line on The Cloister goes,
it's the sport for "newlyweds
and nearly-deads." Often,
young couples honeymoon
here who fit both categories
after a week of bundling in
their ocean-front bungalows.
ONE of the older people
I met here was delightful man
they call "The Colonel." The
Colonel is a West Pointer,
class of '15. Eisenhower was
one of his classmates. He is
looking forward to his next
reunion.
"Only 19 of us left. now,"
said the Colonel as he gunned
down a final prune juice and
left for his dancing lesson.
THE REASON I did this
- took a room at The Cloister
for the weekend - is
deserved it. The rigors
work have been,
heap I drive blew a
the moths ate another hole
my sports coat and I left
favorite Willie
on a window ledge the
morning and the
it, which is why Willie
like Kate Smith with a
et over her head.
So I came here to
from it all. I had patio
fast overlooking the
Atlantic. One morning I
ordered Kadota figs
from South Kadota. I
in graceful elegance,
tennis and rubbed and
elbows With the landed
try, and dozed in the sun
the Colonel.
It's like they say
beer commercials, "You
go around once..." so
the cucumber aspic you
Besides, next week I
eat the soap I stole off
maid's cleaning car
BY SPECIAL
HIS WIDOW, DEDRA,
HOME NEWS IS CARRYING
El) COLUMNS BY THE
GRIZZARD,
BY MORELAND, AND
MOST WIDELY READ
WRITER OF HIS
BOOKS
PRODUCTIONS, P.O. BOX
ATLANTA, GA 31118-1266 AND
WIDE.
The Story of a Brave Young
Today, I want to share
with you an article from
almost two and a half years
ago.
It is about a young man
anhis¢oUgg he faced
a dreaded di,ease. This is a
story about a young man who
is a member of our church,
who the Lord took home this
past Sunday.
I want to share this arti-
cle again because I want us
to be reminded of the courage
and faith of Michael Bailey.
Don't think for a minute that
Michael lost his battle with
MD, but know that he was
faithful to the task that God
gave him, he finished his
work, now he is at home with
his Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ.
As I sit and write this lit-
tle article, it is Monday, April
23. Actually, I am late in writ-
ing and I hope this makes the
paper in time. You see, this
morning and most of the
afternoon was spent at
Eggelston Children's
Hospital in Atlanta.
A young man, who is a
member of our church, has
been there going on three
weeks and that after spend-
ing a couple of weeks in West
Georgia Medical Center in
LaGrange.
By now I guess most of
you who are familiar with our
church know that I am refer-
ring to Michael Bailey.
Michael, up until today, has
spent every one of those hos-
pital days with a breathing
tube down his throat. But
today, Michael had the tube
removed from his throat and
a "track" surgically implant-
ed.
I write today about
Michael for a couple of rea-
sons. First of alLI write
because many of you tell us
that you read these articles
and enjoy them. For that I am
very greatfull and hope these
lines will continue to be a
blessing to you. But this week,
I am writing asking you for
a favor. For those of you who
believe in prayer and really
pray, I ask you to pray for
Michael and his family.
Michael has MD, which is the
ultimate underlying cause for
this surgery.
THE SURGERY went
well, and Lord willing,
Michael will be coming home
after some close observation
and training for Michael's
family on how to care for him
Many of you that see me
,around town ask about
Michael and send your
prayers and best wishes to
him and his family. All the
family appreciates your con-
cern and still covets your
prayers.
Not only am I requesting
prayer for Michael, but I want
to share with you a little about
a brave young man. For sev-
eral weeks now, Michael has-
n't had anything to eat or
drink by mouth, nor has he
been able to speak.
As a pastor, I guess one of
the reasons Ihave gone to see
Michael and his family was
to be an encouragement to
them. But, I must be honest
with you, I am not sure how
much encouragement I have
been, but I want to tell you
what an encouragement
Michael and his family have
been to me.
Many times when
adverse circumstances come
our way, we are often quick
to murmur, complain and
generally become discour-
aged.
But, during all these
weeks of ups and downs, the
times of taking a step forward
and then sliding two steps
back, I have yet to hear one
word of complaint from
Michael or his family. Sure,
they have faced times of
uncertainty and problems,
but there has always been
that underlying trust in the
Lord.
SOMETHING that hap-
pened today while Michael
was being rolled to the oper-
ating room is, I guess, the one
thing that really spoke to my
heart. Ever since he has been
in Atlanta, Michael has been
in the same room, staring at
the same walls and listening
to all the beeps and hisses that
are characteristic of an
Intensive Care Unit. But, as
Michael was being carried to
the operating room, there
wasn't a look of fear" or
dread on Michael's
Michael was all smiles,
taking in all the signs
sounds of different
saw. I wonder
teul we are for the
we take for granted
day. The opportunity to
the spring flowers, feel
breeze and soak
warmth of the sun.
being there for
today Michael was
me.
Allow me to share
more thing that Michael
that ought to be such
encouragement and
lenge to each of us.
ago, just before leaving
room, I prayed
Michael, in intensive
breathing tube down
throat, nothin
in weeks, and not having
looked up square in my
and just as plain as
mouthed a great big,
you."
Talking about
your heart, that did.
if those of us who breath
drink and enjoy the sun
as greatful as that?
may all our hearts be
lenged to be truly
and appreciative for
things we enjoy everyday.
closing, may I sa
it is we who ought to
you, and especially the
for allowing you to be a
of our lives.
50 Years Ago...
• QUITE A CATCH - The front page
of the Nov. 19, 1953 Hogansville Herald
carried a photo and caption of J.C.
Thomas' seven-pound.bass caught at a
private lake. "A bass fisherman of the old
school, he was very modest and calm
about his catch." Quite logically, it men-
tioned that he "only phoned his fishing.
friends who had telephones."
• GOOD OLD PRICES OF THE
1950S - The Sandwich Shop advertised
its special, a full Thanksgiving meal with
• beverage and dessert, for $1.25.
,,SO WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE
'54 MODELS? ' A blurb inside the news-
paper noted that "A pretty girl in a 1953
bathing suit is something to see."
In the
Hogansville Herald
Predeceuor to the Hogansvllle Home New
, =CINEMA - Westerns were still
money -makers at Hogansville's Royal
Theatre. Among the films showing that
week were "Black Hills Ambush" and q'he
Stand at Apache River." But other selec =
tions included ."Terror on a Train" and
Bing Crosby in "Little Boy Lost."
*POPULAR IN STORES, TOO "
Cowboy-themed clothes at Belk-Gallant
included Dale Evans and Roy Rogers
house shoes for $1.98 and Hickok belts
for $1.50-$3."
*FROM THE CLASSIFIEDS:
"Wanted: Man or woman to succeed
dealer closing up in Hogansville. No expe-
rience necessary. Good profits for huS"
t/ers."
