Fri Jul 01, 2005
PANNING THE HANDLE
On a walk through downtown one day this week I was panhandled six times. Nothing serious, no aggression or hostility. Five of the six were dressed much better than I. The sixth looked pretty much like what you might expect, down and out, shabby, unfortunate.
Atlanta is trying to keep panhandling out of the downtown entertainment area. Been tabled by their council….seems like banning them is a form of discrimination, a kind of war on poor people, most of whom are black.
Some of these characters make big bucks carrying signs reading HOMELESS or WILL WORK FOR FOOD. There persistent rumors of hobos driving new Mercedes and one hand-out mamma with her very own Cadillac convertible and six kids enrolled in Atlanta’s best private schools.
Urban legends, probably.
“What y’all’s daddy do for a living?”
Some of them ask for money, but two of the six asked for a cigarette. I would like to think that being down on my luck and unable to afford the absurd price they get for smokes these days would give a bum a perfect opportunity to give them up, promoting thus his own health.
What fools these smokers be. And that from an ex smoker. A long-ago ex smoker. An ex smoker who is fully aware of the health benefits he has gained as the direct result of quitting puffing away. Went cold turkey from a two plus pack a day habit and the outcome was well worth the pains of withdrawal.
Great lady, she, great jurist. She will be missed, so often was her voice of reason the deciding vote in an often contentious court.
Who will replace her? No idea. But it will be a fight that will make the Clarence Thomas debate look like a kindergarten tea party.
Remember Robert Bork, perhaps one of the most brilliant men ever nominated to the Supremes? He lost…even now the term ‘getting borked’ is akin to an ultimate screw job.
“Bork You???” Maybe!
Be ready for a summer’s long knock-down and drag-out on the floor of the Senate….and in the media. The amalgamated clowns of the fourth estate are already salivating at the prospect of 24/7 coverage. The hell with the war. This could be better than the Michael Jackson trial.
It will start Sunday, day after tomorrow. Check out MEET THE PRESS which I used to watch until I found it was more NEWS ENTERTAINMENT than news. The Sunday Morning ‘news discussion’ shows were cut from my active viewing two or three years ago and nothing much was missed.
Running out on you good people. Heading to FIRST FRIDAY. The folks Downtown have big plans for this long holiday weekend. What they have forgotten is that most of Macon looks of the July Fourth Weekend as an excuse to hit the road.
Ciao
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