And the Groundhog says . . . They really are `grand` children
Transcription
And the Groundhog says . . . They really are `grand` children
Editorial Opinions Jeff Davis photo A Winter Move . . . A long exposure shows the movement of the clouds as they fly through Randolph and Chatham County last week. The thirty second exposure also caught the streaks of light from a passing vehicle moving down the road. The old oak tree is also a stark reminder that winter is still here and hopefully Spring will be here quickly. And the Groundhog says . . . Well, by now we should know. No, not who won the Super Bowl, although if you didn’t know, New England pulled out a win. But as far as Groundhog Day, which was Monday, February 2nd and whether or not we’ve got six more weeks of winter or if Spring is coming sooner than expected. Mr. P, as I refer to him or Punxsutawney Phil, the notorious groundhog from Pennsylvania where they make a big ta-do. I mean it is the official site of the Groundhog Club. They bring him out and parade him around. Then let the critter decide if we get more winter . . . or not. Now, I don’t know about all you readers out there, but Chatham County has their fair share of woodchucks, a.k.a groundhogs. I see them about everywhere around here, munching on grass by the side of the road as I go whizzing by. And they don’t bat an eye when a 3,000 pound or so vehicle comes barrelling through. Guess they must like the breeze. Of course, then there are the ones that get a little closer than they should to the road and find themselves in perilous danger and they don’t seem to be as quick as they think they are, winding up on the short end of the stick, if you know what I mean. Use to, you wouldn’t find them around, By Jeff Davis especially close to the city limits. I don’t remember seeing one around when I was little. It’s like they multiplied and moved into closer quarters. But the tongue-twisting saying has been around forever. “How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? “ Whoever came up with that must of had some problems with the ole woodchuck, ahem, groundhog. Growing up I would always hear of the Groundhog Party, that get-together that former Congressman Ike Andrews would have. I would hear about it, then Feb. 5, 2015 Edition My Line Our Staff www.thechathamnews.com www.thechathamrecord.com Editor/Publisher: Alan Resch Managing Editor: Randall Rigsbee News: Bill Willcox, John Hunter, Mike Gates Photography: Jeff Davis Sports: Don Beane, R.C. Duckson Advertising: Deirdre Brown, Jason Justice Office: Brenda Binkley, Florence Turner, Marie Webster Production: Steve Roberts, Andy Meeks, Doris Beck An entertaining phenomenon My earliest movie-going memory is of seeing, at the ripe age of five, Clint Eastwood in the World War II action film “Kelly‘s Heroes.” For days after during that summer of 1970, I pretended I was a soldier, operating a tank, fighting Germans. “Kelly’s Heroes,” like a handful of other war movies of that era – “The Great Escape,” “The Dirty Dozen” -- made grand entertainment of war while also making war look like fun, which is appealing to a five-year-old boy. In the years since, Clint Eastwood has produced a steady stream of movies, both as an actor and a director. Sometimes, his movies spark debate, as the gritty classic “Dirty Harry” did in the early Seventies. Sometimes, they’re mindless fun, like “Every Which Way But Loose,” in which Eastwood costarred with a comical orangutan named Clyde. His latest movie, “American Sniper,” which he directed, is something else: a cultural phenomenon. When we saw it at the multiplex in Sanford a couple of weekends back, it was already carrying that weight, drawing in big audiences while dividing critics, with many praising it as Randall Reflects . . . By Randall powerful and hailing Bradley Cooper’s portrayal of the late Navy SEAL Chris Kyle; others criticizing it for simplifying or muddling our recent history in the Middle East. The theater on the Saturday afternoon we went was packed to near capacity, the audience rapt, a handful of viewers applauding at the end, and everyone exiting the theater as the final credits rolled in solemn silence. Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, whose work I’ve also enjoyed, seems everready for controversy and sparked some on Twitter, calling snipers “cowards.” Eastwood himself has weighed in, describing the controversial film as “anti-war.” After seeing the movie, something noted scholar Noam Chomsky didn’t even do before he weighed in with criticism, I agree with Eastwood. Nothing about “American Sniper” makes war look glamorous or pleasant. They really are ‘grand’ children Siler City’s Leslie Fletcher often remarked when speaking of his grandchildren that if he’d “known how much fun they were I’d have skipped over having children and gone straight to grandchildren.” While that quote wasn’t original with him, he was quick to utter it when speaking of that generation and how much its members meant to him. I don’t think I’ve ever said it but I do understand the thought. That’s not to say I don’t care for and about my own offspring, the two 30-somethings (although one has aged out of that) who used to be teenagers who lived at my house. Through the years I have enjoyed them . . . and still do. But the people they have produced bring me considerable joy and pleasure of another kind. Since the first one arrived a little more than nine years ago, I’ve tried very hard not to show the 23 pictures in my wallet to everyone I see. And I don’t have a “Let Me Tell You About My Grandchildren” bumper stick- er on the truck. And since I don’t do social media, there are no pictures from me of the cute little things at various stages of their existences. But I do relish their time spent with me and always want more Movin’ Around . . . By Bob Wachs At the moment there are three of those folks with another one due to put in an appearance any day. That little one will be my next door neighbor, joining his or her older sister in that category. And while I don’t have favorites (honestly) I do get to spend more time with the nextdoor model since she’s here and the other two aren’t. And as I think of her and time we spend together, the lessons in life and insights that come from that time are sometimes overwhelming. First of all, for instance, is the reality that when she enters the house and immediately starts looking for me and holds up her outstretched arms on finding her quest that I become mush. It is absolutely necessary, at least it is to me, that I devote full time and attention to her and whatever is on her mind. There is no substitute for not being focused. When I’m with her I’m with her. After a few moments of whatever we’re doing she turns to something else. That same uplifted hand holds itself out, knowing I will reach down to have my finger grasped tightly so we can wobble on to our next adventure. Her smile and/or jabber is reward for knowing I have acted appropriately. At this stage of her game, her wants are few and simple . . . to be held or read to again (and again) from a favorite book, especially one about giving a pig a party or ten little Feb. 5, 2015 Edition Where “Kelly’s Heroes,” shot and released during the Vietnam War, used war as a comic backdrop for high adventure, “American Sniper,” shot and filmed during the ongoing and seemingly neverending War on Terror, is an altogether different experience, realistic, intense, moving. But at the end of the day, they’re both just movies and both do very well what they set out to do, which is entertain. A season to govern By Tom Campbell The writer of Ecclesiastes was correct. For everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven. The 2011 and 2013 legislative sessions made, arguably, some of the most dramatic changes in the past century. As this new session of The General Assembly begins its work let us declare that this is a season to govern. For the first time since 2008, North Carolina’s unemployment rate is below the national average, another indicator that we are recovering from The Great Recession. In response to that recession state spending was cut and our legislative leaders determined the way to economic recovery was to make cuts to personal and corporate income taxes. Financial experts ran models to forecast how these cuts would impact our state, but they were, at best, only projections. Nobody knew for certain their impact but early indications show state revenues are lower than projected. Not sufficiently low to cause panic, but enough to warrant attention. Now isn’t the time to make more major changes to the revenue side of the state budget. Better governance might consider ways to make government work more effectively. We’ve tried spending more for results and we’ve tried across the board budget cuts when we didn’t think government worked as well as we wanted, but with a $20 billion state budget let’s concentrate on making governFeb. 5, 2015 Edition