RRN Online Volume 439

October 30 '04

Volume 439

Halloween Prelude Early Vandalism

Last Saturday was a partly rainy day. I can’t say the term "partly rainy" is one a meteorologist might use, but it fit the conditions of the day in that rain fell during various parts of the day. I don’t like to cut grass when the grass is wet, but until such time as I retire and can pick and choose the days for yard work, I’ll do what I can on my days off, rain or shine.

The "Circle" and both of the lawns that I maintain had not been cut in two weeks, and I was afraid the neighbors might complain if I waited another week. I raised the mower deck a notch above its previous setting and didn’t have any problem with grass clogging the discharge chute or "balling up."

After finishing my yard, I began working on the "Circle." A light rain began, and I considered heading back to the house, but when it slacked up a bit, I kept mowing. Twenty minutes or so later, a slightly harder rain convinced me to take the mower to the garage, but just as I got to the house, the rain stopped. I returned to mowing and was not hindered by rain again.

Later Barbara told me that while I was mowing in the rain, Jason came in and commented, "Daddy’s crazy."

I can’t say that a sane man would attempt yard work in the rain, but I know that a desperate man will. In some respects I’ll admit to being crazy, especially when I consider I have a son, who only works part time and is perfectly capable of assuming my yard work, and I don’t insist he pitch in and help on a regular basis. So, yes, maybe I am crazy.

By the time I got around to cutting Sarah’s yard, the wind had dried the grass considerably. I was slightly tired when I arrived at Sarah’s, for in addition to cutting my yard and the "Circle," I had also washed my car at my favorite car wash, Young’s Laundromat & Car Wash, and visited briefly with the owners.

Sarah’s yard was the subject of teen-wrath, a few weeks ago, when a vandal or vandals strewed a long, curved path of seed corn in her front yard. Her yard has been targeted by pre-Halloween vandals for more than a month. There was a time, when teenagers were content with one night of revelry and confined their acts of vandalism to Halloween, but in the last few decades the time frame for such acts has expanded to several weeks ranging from September to late November.

I prefer the term vandal to that of prankster, though some may disagree with my thoughts on what is generally referred to as "decorating a yard" or "yard rolling." A prankster is someone who elects to have fun at the expense of someone else and keeps the prank within the law. A vandal is someone who willfully or maliciously defaces or destroys either public or private property. I consider anyone who defaces the property of another by willfully littering said property with toilet tissue, shredded plastic or paper, Styrofoam, garbage, eggs, seeds, or other material, a vandal.

I also contend that any parent who tells his or her child that there’s nothing wrong with "yard rolling" is guilty of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Having helped cleanup my sister’s yard earlier this year, one might conclude that I was not in the best of moods when I began to scoop up the seed corn in her yard. Dislodged by gentle breezes, bits of toilet tissue fell from the oak tree in the front yard as my mood further soured.

I welcomed the opportunity to climb back onto my riding mower after removing the bulk of the seed corn from the lawn. Normally, when I’m on my John Deere, the worries and cares of the day are pushed aside by the euphoria of becoming one with the machine and the task at hand, which is probably about as close to transcendental meditation as I care to get. But Saturday afternoon all I could think about were the societal ills that contribute to declining respect for both public and personal property.

In my mind, "yard rolling" is a reflection of the character of a community. When the leadership in a community fails to deter vandalism in any form, vandals will continue to believe they’re merely having fun that hurts no one.

In Pontotoc, police will respond when called, but seldom do they arrive while vandals are still decorating a yard. In my neighborhood the police came and told the vandals to clean up the property, but the vandals ignored the police and drove away. My neighbor was left with the cleanup task.

In prior years, school administrators took a stronger stand against teen vandalism than what is seen today. I fault Pontotoc’s Board of Aldermen and the Mayor for not demanding better enforcement of existing litter laws and their failure to consider the "blight" that plagues our city in the weeks surrounding Halloween.

Riding over the rolling terrain of Sarah’ backyard, I bristled each time I considered the lighthearted approach to the serious matter of "yard rolling" by many adults, especially those who may also have participated in similar activities and freely share their experiences. I was reminded of that which a former teacher at Pontotoc High School, Mable Hurt, once told her peers regarding sharing with students the wrongdoings of ones own youth.

"You don’t have to tell them everything you did," she admonished.

There’s a fine line between boasting of ones sordid past and relating that same past as a means of teaching others to choose a straighter path. The best leaders and the best teachers know to not cross that line.

Each time Sarah’s yard has been decorated this year, Jason tells us we should not clean up the mess, because the vandals wouldn’t decorate an already decorated yard. He may be right, but for those of us who drive by the house every day, it’s hard to ignore. Plus, he fails to consider the pride of ownership. Like garbage scattered by dogs from an overturned trashcan, a decorated yard also begs to be cleaned.

In an attempt to discourage vandals, Sarah has resorted to keeping a vigil until the wee hours of the morning, and on nights she has to work at the hospital, I’ve pulled the dark-‘til-nine thirty duty. In a civilized society, neither Sarah, nor you or I should have to resort to guarding our property, but when a community’s leadership looks the other way and when even church leaders say, "it’s no big deal," what else can one do?

Hot Springs II Continued From Last Week

Two weeks ago, Barbara and I, along with five others from Pontotoc attend a series of workshops directed by Habitat for Humanity, International. One of the highlights of the trip included our visiting a small park adjacent to a development of Habitat homes. Barbara Curry, accompanied Barbara and me to see the park and was as excited as we were regarding the possibility of something similar being created in the twenty-acre plot on Clark Street in Pontotoc where plans include both Habitat and middle-income housing.

Most of our meals were covered in our registration fees, but on Wednesday and Thursday nights our group was free to dine at a restaurant of our choosing. We ate at Applebee’s on Wednesday, and while the food was mostly to our liking, there were enough exceptions to send us looking for something with a local flavor the next night. Keith and Linda Thomas had scouted a few possibilities and recommended we all dine at Mrs. Miller’s, a chicken and steak house, famous for their fried chicken.

I seem to remember most everyone ordering some type of chicken entrée, and I can recall three individuals who ordered a half of fried chicken. I opted for chicken potpie, and ended up helping Barbara eat her half of fried chicken. My potpie was a disappointment in that there were no vegetables in the pie, but we all had a salad and a side order of vegetables, so I shouldn’t complain. Ice cream and sherbet options were included in the price of the meal, so the restaurant offers a good meal at a great value.

I guess the most unusual aspect of dining at Mrs. Miller’s was the appetizer served almost as soon as folks are seated. They serve everyone a fruit conserve to enjoy on toasted biscuits. The fruit conserve is their own special recipe made with five different fruits (including fresh cranberries and watermelon) and a blend of spices. It’s not something I’d want to eat often, but I bought a small jar and plan to open it for Thanksgiving dinner.

None of us had traveled to Hot Springs to eat, but eating afforded us the opportunity to discuss with one another the events of the day and the ideas we had gleaned from the workshops attended.

During the past two years, Barbara and I housed a couple of students from Sterling College, Sterling KN, who was participating in the Habitat Fellows program, sponsored by Habitat for Humanity, International. Our last guest was Joe Millham. Joe is a senior this year and expects to graduate next May or June. He has applied for a Rhodes scholarship, hoping to further his education in Oxford, England, but it’s too early in the selection process for any of us to get our hopes up. Joe and a large group of students from Sterling College also attended the workshops. Barbara and I had limited opportunities to talk to Joe, but we made the most of those occasions.

I spent my first day of workshop sessions listening to presenters explain worksite construction and the need for adequately trained volunteers on the worksite. I learned that Habitat has an established training program for volunteers and Habitat family partners, and that the training manuals and program materials can be purchased by interested affiliates. On day two, I attended a session on Church Relations, and finally on Saturday morning I sat through a rather dry presentation of HabiTrax, a computer program for tracking and maintaining various information regarding volunteers, sponsors, and homeowner mortgages.

The Pontotoc County Habitat for Humanity affiliate strives to build five new houses each year. I discovered there were a lot of affiliates represented at the sessions I attended that don’t do as well as Pontotoc, with some affiliates only building one or two houses each year. But, there were a few large metropolitan based affiliates that build fifty or more houses each year.

Some affiliates are able to secure corporate sponsors to provide the bulk of the funds needed to build a Habitat house. Others rely principally on churches for financial support. Thus far, Pontotoc has had little success in attracting either corporate sponsors or church sponsors. However, the Pontotoc affiliate is gearing up to appeal to both corporate sponsors and area churches for greater financial commitments.

I came away from the sessions with a renewed sense of pride for that which the Pontotoc affiliate has accomplished and for the goals it has already set. As plans are laid to gain new sponsors and as representatives of the Church Relations Committee appeal to even more churches for financial and volunteer commitments, I believe the affiliate will soon become a shining example for other affiliates to strive to emulate.

Magnetic Ribbons Misaligned Patriotism

There’s an American Flag on the side of my car. It’s actually a magnetic replica of an American Flag. My company gave out a number of such flags shortly after the terrorists’ attacks on September 11, 2001. I remember promising myself that I wouldn’t remove the flag until Osama bin Laden was captured or killed. But, it’s beginning to look like bin Laden may outlast my flag.

I positioned the magnetic flag on the left rear fender of my car because the stars are on the left side of the flag, and it is designed to look like a flag being blown by a breeze. To place the flag on the opposite side of the car would give the appearance of a flag flying backwards. There is, after all, something called flag etiquette, and I do my best to abide by it.

What this country now needs is a manual on Yellow Ribbon Etiquette. Yellow ribbons symbolize ones support for American soldiers abroad, and the magnetic ones can be found with a variety of messages including "Support Our Troops" and "Pray For Our Troops." Patriotic ribbons of red, white, and blue, can also be found, as demand for magnetic ribbons has been growing all this year.

I heard my daughter fussing the other day about folks who display the ribbon sideways or other angles than simply vertical. Some folks try to align the ribbon so that the words are horizontal, which makes the message easier to ready, but results in an odd looking emblem on a vehicle. I share her sentiments and vertically display two ribbons on my car, one on the left rear fender and one on the right rear fender.

While neither Rayanne nor I like the way some folks align their ribbons, I suppose we should be thankful that they have their hearts in the right place, even if their ribbons are not.

Bodock Beau Country Wisdom

There may be more books on marriage than Carter’s has pills. I have the feeling that the following advice can’t be found in any of them, but it’s worth heeding.

5 Important Facts

It is important that a man helps you around the house and has a job.
It is important that a man makes you laugh.
It is important to find a man you can count on and doesn't lie to you.
It is important that a man loves you and spoils you.
It is important that these four men don't know each other.

Country Wisdom

Country fences need to be horse high, pig tight, and bull strong.

Life is not about how fast you run, or how high you climb, but how well you bounce.

Keep skunks and lawyers at a distance.

Life is simpler when you plow around the stumps.

A bumblebee is faster than a John Deere tractor.

Trouble with a milk cow is she won't stay milked.

Don't skinny dip with snapping turtles.

Words that soak into your ears are whispered, not yelled.

Meanness don't happen overnight.

To know how country folks are doing, look at their barns, not their houses.

Never lay an angry hand on a kid or an animal, it just ain't helpful.

Teachers, Moms, and hoot owls sleep with one eye open.

Forgive your enemies. It messes with their heads.

Don't sell your mule to buy a plow.

Two can live as cheap as one, if one don't eat.

Don't corner something meaner than you.

You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar, assuming you want to catch flies.

Man is the only critter who feels the need to label things as flowers or weeds.

It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.

Don't go huntin' with a fellow named Chug-A-Lug.

Every path has some puddles.

Don't wrestle with pigs: You'll get all muddy and the pigs will love it.

The best sermons are lived, not preached.

Most of the stuff people worry about never happens.

The Ten Commandments display was removed from the Alabama Supreme Court building. There was a good reason for the move: You can't post Thou Shalt Not Steal, Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery and Thou Shall Not Lie, in a building full of politicians without creating a hostile work environment.

Submissions by Ken Gaillard

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