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| Commentary by Pez 1-22-04 In my last commentary, I wrote of why we are losing so many people in Breathitt County to drugs and why there was nothing being done about it. Since that commentary, there have been a few people stand up to the plate in order to take a swing at it. I commend them for their efforts, but we still have one problem that is riding along with their programs. How do we invite people to participate in these programs not knowing if they are actually part of the problem? To look at someone and say they are an upright outstanding citizen of the community is fair and just in the publics eye, but what goes on behind closed doors cannot be seen. I am in no way trying to point fingers at anyone in the community, but by watching local and national news programs, one has to wonder. How many times do we see certain officials or citizens being arrested for breaking the very laws in which they are rallying for? This is a common scene across the nation and I would surmise that it would be no different here. If we hear a rumor on someone, do we not invite them to participate or do we ignore it because what we perceive is an upright citizen and ignore the comments? Let's look at a good example which concerns one of the then National Directors of MADD or better known as Mother's against Drunk Driving. I can't remember her name, but back in the 1990's, she was in court for...., you guessed it, Drunk Driving. We see many sports and movie figures talking about drugs, drinking and driving, yet we see them on the news every week getting arrested. Just recently a very high political figure was charged with vehicular manslaughter and relinquished his office and is facing jail time, but he states he was on medication which was not prescribed to him personally. Rush Limbaugh, who has been a staunch advocate against these types of lawbreaking people, has been pointed at for the same thing. The list can go on and on, but I hope the point is made. Trust me, I know the people that are organizing these events personally and their hearts are in this for the long run and they are very sincere in their efforts. I urge each and every citizen in Breathitt County to contact these individuals and give them the support they deserve for standing up and initiating programs that are long over due in our area. Hopefully, we as a community can make an impact on a few things in Breathitt County and maybe, just maybe, it will spread to the surrounding counties. As always, this is my commentary |
| Commentary by Pez 1-26-04 What are we as people coming to? Words cannot express the way many people feel about the 3 year old child that was beaten to death by her Father. I said Father because as the old saying goes, anyone can be a father, but it takes a man to be a Daddy. And a daddy that man was not. I have thought many times of this child even though I did not know her nor anyone in her family. I didn't even know anyone who knew her. I kind of wonder if anyone knew her at all. I mean the real her. And not what they saw while she was in front of her Father. How many other children do we not know. You know, just like this little girl who people actually say "I knew her". I would give a good guess and say that there are many children who we can look at and even talk to and say we know them, but do we really? I remember travelling on Highway 30 coming back from Laurel County about 18 months ago and observed something I wish I had not while near the Jackson and Owsley County line. A child that looked to be 6 or 7 years old was tackled by an adult woman, who started slapping him while he lay on the ground trying to cover his head. Since then, every time I pass this house, I see the images of the child on the ground covering his head with his legs flinging about. I couldn't hear the child, so I don't have to listen to that when I pass. This was a child that I didn't know and many others probably didn't either. And one that fits in the category we as a people don't know. The one good thing concerning this incident is that I now take a shortcut and by that I get to bypass this house. I haven't seen it in well over six months, but in the last week I just got to thinking more about it. Many comments have been made over the last week concerning Social Services and children. I do not try to condemn anyone with my commentaries nor do I stand and applaud many. I can only comment on things that I have knowledge of. I understand that there are many rules in place that constitute an investigation, but many are done a little overboard and some not at all. A Social Worker will tell you they can do so much and the rest is up to the Judge and Lawyers. Does this mean that a Lawyer will uphold a child beater or that a Judge will free a child beater after Social Services shows them the evidence they have collected? Does it boil down to money as Social Services says and not the welfare of a child? These same Courts will say that there is not enough evidence, so I guess the child's welfare is on a merry-go-round with the only difference, there is no ring to grab on to. The ring of protection is not available to them. As for the three year old child, someone, somewhere thought they knew her. They did not and now, we all know her. A friend of mine said he would hope and pray that there is not a human being alive that would do this to a child unless they were on drugs. What are we as people coming to? As always, this is my commentary |
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| BIG NIGHT FOR “RINGS” AT OSCARS 3-2-04 by Marc Short Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King swept the Oscars Sunday night picking up all 11 Academy Awards it was nominated for. Awards included Best Picture, Best Director, Best Song, Best Visual Effects, and Best Cinematography among others. With 11 Oscar wins “Rings” moved into a tie with Titanic and Ben-Hur for the most wins on Oscar night. Other big winners were Sean Penn (best actor) Charlize Theron (best actress) Tim Robbins (best supporting actor) and Renee Zelwegger (best supporting actress). Billy Crystal was on top of his game as usual. The highlight of the evening was the moving tributes to Gregory Peck, Catherine Hepburn and others stars that had passed on during the year. Blake Edwards was honored with an Academy Award for his comedic works which included A Shot in the Dark, The Pink Panther, and others. All in all it was a great show. |
| Betty from Ohio 4-1-04 Hello from Ohio! To introduce myself, well, let's see, I'm going on 80 years old, have a 91 year old hubby, Ivan, and we will be celebrating our 60th wedding anniversary in May. Yes, some folks endure rough spots in marriages and believe me, there have been some bumps along the way but I'm thankful for the long life Ivan and I have spent together. Okay, that brings me up to the present but now will go back to the past and tell you why Breathitt County, Ky. is so important to me although I have only been to the area 4 times. In 1934 or '35, a young man, Carl Hounshell was helping my dad, part time, on the 140 acre farm we rented near Dayton, Oh. Carl found a full time job in a factory, I believe it was in Middletown, OH but he said he had a young cousin, Sam Back who lived up Slate Branch with his grandparents, James and Jahazy Caudill, his parents had died when he was a very small child. Carl made contact with Sam and sure enough, the 16 year old boy from the hills of Breathitt Co. came to make his home with my family, the Gardner's. Right away, he became one of us, my folks were Mom and Dad to him, Sam seemed happy altho I am sure he would get pangs of homesickness for his kin "back home". My first trip to KY. was in 1939 when Mom, Dad and I took Sam back to the "branch" where he had grown up. I had never seen mountains so high, around our area in Ohio, it is mighty level. I recall Mom saying, "I'm never coming back until they level these "hills" off" and she never returned to Ky. Sam stayed with us until he was drafted into the Army in 1944 or '45, right now I plum forget the exact year. My dad was getting too old to carry on putting out crops on the 140 acres and milking 14 to 16 head of cows by hand (we didn't have electric) so he had sale and we moved from the beautiful old farm to the neighboring county. Sam was sent to Europe and finally came back to Ohio, working for awhile at my sister's farm. Time gets away from me at that point, I know Sam married and moved around a lot, I would run him down now and then but in no time he was gone again. He died in Georgia in 1988, age 68. A fine example of a humble fellow from Kentucky. The Gardner family loved him as their very own and I know the feeling was mutual. In 1948 we had word Sam's Aunt Stella Marshall Caudill and her young child had both died of food poisoning and Ivan and I drove down the following Aug. to the memorial service atop a beautiful mountain, so high I felt I could almost touch Heaven. The next visit to the Caudill's was in 1960, by then Grandpa Caudill had died and Grandma was living near her son, Troy. That was the last I saw her, in fact all the family have passed on with the exception of Aunt Lona Caudill Pugh and a few of Sam's cousins. Just last week, our son, Steve, had business in Jackson and Ivan and I went with him. We stayed at the motel in Jackson but managed to get some nice visiting in with 96 year old "Aunt" Lona and her family. I felt I had finally, after 44 years, gone home, it was wonderful until time for good-byes and that was tough for this old gal, Betty Jo. I know you must be getting tired of this chatter but give me just one more paragraph and then I will hush up. I am a writer, some years back I was a special writer for the Dayton Daily News for 8 years and finally gave it up to work in the post office. That's past history now but a year ago, I happened to call the home town paper at West Alexandria to place my sister's obituary in the column. I had also written many years for that same little paper, on Mon. nights I would go in to the office for several hours and call various folks for tid-bits, who visited who etc. sort of items. However, when I called about my sister last Nov., I asked the gentleman who had answered the phone if John (the owner) was there. He said John had sold the business to him some months before, that was NEWS to me. I told him I had written for the paper and he said "how about writing for us". I quickly responded, "You don't realize it, but I am going on 80" and he said he didn't care, just send a story in. I did and have been writing ever since. A year ago, I had written the story of Sam Back and it went over very well, had lots of responses from it. This past week, I wrote of my return to Breathitt County and it was like I was reliving my short visit in your area. I smile as I think back, oh the good visit we had! Nothing looked familiar after 44 years away from there, Lloyd Pugh, Sam's first cousin took us up old Rte 15, when we hit the top of that tall mountain, Lloyd turned around and brought us down those same old switch-backs and I could almost hear my mom say, (as she about broke through the car's floor board), I'm not coming back until they level these mountains off". It was then I saw Kentucky as I remembered that first trip there 65 years before. Oh, just one more thing, Brenda Pugh had told me on the phone that the wife of another first cousin of Sam's by the name of Dunn, has been missing in the mountains going on a week. I have thought about that so often, hoping and praying they will find her soon but it doesn't sound favorable at this time. That's it, I enjoyed your home page and all the jokes, just everything you have in your space of the computer. Thank you for listening to me, I really didn't aim to carry on this long but "my people" down there are so easy to write about, I just rambled on and on. I'm glad we have "adopted each other". Sincerely, Betty Jo Goad |
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