Gentle Reader, the old curmudgeon is not easily shocked or surprised, but he must confess that he was sent into both states by Damon Lawrence’s front-page article in the last Friday (2 February) edition of this paper, headed “Miller says he won’t seek re-election to BOE”.
The body of the article was that Michael Miller, known by everyone since high-school days as “Brillo,” has decided that he will not run in this year’s county general election to remain as a member of the Roane County Board of Education, a seat which he has occupied, according to his statement, for almost forty years.
Of course, he could change his mind, but if he doesn’t, and actually quits, I for one will be sorry. As those of you who keep up with such matters know, I have been engaged in a continuous battle with Brillo for all these years, and no one could have asked for a better adversary. As far as I recall, we have always fought as gentlemen, with respect and honour, but giving no quarter, and asking for none.
I believe we have both felt we were on the right side of each issue, and were motivated by our respective understanding of the public interest, and the public good. I firmly believe that we each felt we were fighting for the right side, with the right motives.
Few communities have had the experience that the people of Rockwood have had. A native son, who has stayed where he was brought up, and has from his earliest days been involved with the community in a reciprocal situation where each has given the best they had to offer, and in turn each has received the best they could hope for.
Without the efforts he has achieved, Rockwood would not be the place it is, and without the benefits he has received, Brillo would not be the person that he is.
Well done, thou good and faithful servant, and good wishes for a long and fruitful future, from an admiring adversary.
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Gentle Reader, I have been meaning to mention a very attractive house in the West Shores Subdivision that I pass quite frequently, and the memories that it stirs, but there has always been something that diverted my attention, until today.
When headed towards Kingston, this house is on the left-hand side of Bowman Bend Road, a bit elevated, with a dormered second story, with three large windows facing the road. It is these windows that mark the house as unusual, for the owners some time back had old fashioned awnings installed over the three windows. The three canvas (I assume they are made of heavy-duty canvas material) awnings project out over the windows protecting them from excessive sunlight, as well as precipitation.
The reason I am so struck by these decorative/functional additions to the house is because of my memories of a time before World War II, and the introduction of household air-conditioning, when such awnings were fairly common as a barrier to excessive sunlight and heat.
I particularly recall pictures and newsreels showing the Roosevelt White House with every window in that noble edifice sporting a huge green awning, which was indeed a sight to behold.
But awnings were not preferred wartime item’s and few were installed during the war. After the war, aluminum awnings enjoyed a brief popularity, but most people didn’t find them attractive, and with the introduction of window unit air-conditioners, they were even less in favour.
For some time, stores still had roll-up awnings which could be run out to shade their display windows by means of a hand crank system, but most of these were supplanted by inside transparent shades.
In any event, every time I pass this handsome house, the olden days of awnings’ popularity once again pleasantly flood my memory.
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Let us turn now to our previous column wherein I warned of the dangers of allowing a majority of our populace to become composed of Hispanics. This article offended local physician Dr. Thomas Boduch, M.D., in his official position as Roane County Medical Examiner, who composed a letter to the editor denouncing the article and the bad-bad fellow who wrote it. The good doctor’s sense of taste was offended, although he did not spell out the nature of the offence, nor point out any errors of falsity in the column.
So, we can only express our astonishment that a man of education and breeding such as this complainant did not remember that ancient truism, “de gustibus non est disputandum,” commonly translated as, “there is no accounting for tastes.”
Insofar as the basic objection to too many Hispanic immigrants, one can only hope that the good doctor saw on the television the pictures of the 11 Hispanic immigrants in New York City, lodging at a place for amnesty-seeking immigrants, who were photographed attacking, kicking and punching 2 New York City policemen. Regardless of provocation, if there was any, the basic barbarism of eleven to two should suffice to show that these are not suitable Americans, and of dubious amnesty merit.
As I have pointed out on more than one occasion, in the history of mankind, many civilizations have been destroyed by being over-run by sheer numbers of invading tribes of different languages, cultures, civilizations, etc.
As we recalled, the Great Liberator, Simon Bolivar, started giving South America and its people the benefit of democracy in early 1800s, het here, 200 years later, there is scarcely a single functioning democracy in all of South America. If these folks cannot, or will not preserve democracy in the land of their birth, what makes any thinking person rationally conclude that they would be any more interested in, or successful at, preserving our democracy.
Especially is this true when it is unquestionable that the great majority of these Hispanic immigrants want to come here solely for jobs and money?
Those of us who love this country must be as willing to defend it from invasion by foreigners who would overwhelm us by numbers, just as we would defend it from invasion by armed forces.
