Light up the night

Letters to the Editor
The Post & Courier
134 Columbus St.
Charleston, SC 29403

Dear Sirs:

I live at Franke at Seaside, a retirement community off Rifle Range Road near the Isle of Palms connector. On many occasions I have driven down Rifle Range Road from Coleman Boulevard almost to the connector in almost complete darkness. This is not a safe practice, but it is a necessity at times.

I was not at the Mt. Pleasant Town Council committee meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 6, when a woman asked for lighting along Rifle Range Road. But in reading the story in the Jan. 7 Post and Courier, I am led to believe she and her request were treated with scorn. One would thing that what she has asked to be erected was a statue of Ted Kennedy in the city park being built at the foot of the Ravenel Bridge.

I recently made a special trip down Rifle Range Road from Coleman to the connector to see if there were sufficient poles. City administrator Mark Burdette was quoted as saying it would cost $117 per light if the poles were in place and $1,700 each if new poles were required.

There are poles aplenty to hang lights from. These carry power to all the homes on the road. Less than six of these have small lights attached, usually near a residence. Perhaps the occupants of those homes did a private deal with the power company.

Mount Pleasant ought to take a deep breath and listen to the woman who asked for the lights. There is no need for new poles. Lighting this road would promote safety, and perhaps discourage criminals, reduce automobile accidents, and break-ins of automobiles parked in yards. It would also put Mt. Pleasant in the lead to becoming a modern and model city.


Francis X. Archibald
Franke Drive
Mount Pleasant

(Published Tues. Jan. 20, 2009)

What I want from the new President

The inauguration of a new President is like the Christmas season - you develop a wish list and hope for the best. Tomorrow will be no exception. My list has been running around in my head for some time. I have sorted out and discarded the improbabilities and the insignificant. I don't expect our new President to perform miracles. But what I do wish for --in broad strokes-- is three things: peace, economic prosperity and a better way of life for all Americans.

First, peace. We need to stop fighting in foreign lands unless our national interests are threatened. Diplomacy and persuasion, compromise and empathy, and understanding, tolerance and forgiveness ought to be part of our national makeup and come way ahead of putting our brave men and women in harm's way. Having said this, let there be no doubt those who attack us must be chased to the ends of the earth. We must stay strong and vigilant to deter potential enemies.

Prosperity is made up of many parts. A strong marketplace, a vigorous blend of job opportunities and new educational possibilities to prepare Americans to compete in the world, are absolutely essential to our nation's growth and prosperity. Returning us to a realistic condition where individual home ownership and group pride in community are within the financial and realistic reach of all men and women is an equal part of prosperity.

Third, a better life for all. Illness and disease, poor medical care for many, and ever increasing medical insurance costs take a heavy toll on all Americans. Care for the sick and the elderly are already a national crises. Intolerance and disrespect make life unpleasant for all Americans. Human abuses due to age, sex, color, religion, national origin and politics must be curbed to promote the American dream.

No President can bring all these presents - just like Santa Claus doesn't always deliver. But the new President, Mr. Barack Obama, the first black American to become President of this great land can provide the leadership, the inspiration, the new ideas, the dedication to one and all --- and the power of the "bully pulpit" to get the ball moving and lead all Americans into new, uncharted waters of peace, economic prosperity and a better way of life.

Latest Family Grouping

Our daughters brought their dogs to visit Mary at Skilled Nursing at Franke at Seaside and she enjoyed the occasion. Martha (l to r) owns Q-tip, Mary, Wynn and her son Cooper with his new partner JR. Wynn and her family rescued JR from the pound at Myrtle Beach just before Christmas and picked him up after New Year's Day. Dogs are allowed to visit residents provided they are current with all necessary shots and under control. On Thursdays, several people in and around Franke at Seaside bring their dogs to Skilled Nursing and Assisted Living to visit the residents. Good therapy.

Quotes from recent readings

“The word ‘bankrupt’ originally came from Italy, deriving from banca rotta, or broken bench. When a medieval money lender could not pay his debts, his bench was broken in two, sometimes over his head.” (The Economist, Jan. 3, 2009, pg 45.)

“Money and religion tend to drive human behavior more than any other factors – with the possible exception of love – which is why the Middle East, with its oil and its central role in the story of the people who trace their origins to the God of Abraham, remains a perennial question.” (Jon Meacham, editor, Newsweek, Jan. 12, 2009, pg. 6.)

“For those who have lived through religious terror, it is never, never escaped. It did not end with my displacement from Kashmir 18 years ago. It did not end with my migration to the (United) States two and a half years ago. Terror, once experienced, transcends all real and unreal boundaries.” (Aarti Tikoo Singh, My Turn, Newsweek, Jan. 12, 2009, pg 20.)

The Lady of the Lake - redux

Recently, on an early morning exercise walk in Hidden Lakes subdivision in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., I observed a lady pause in her walk to stand at the edge of the water and gaze through the mist at a gazebo in the lake and the many birds resting on the roof. This called to mind “The Lady of the Lake,” Sir Walter Scott’s 200 year old poem set in the Scottish Highlands which retold the 16th century legend of a family banished and restored.

Touch it and you're dead

According to The New York Times, January 7, 2009:

WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama said Wednesday that overhauling Social Security and Medicare would be “a central part” of his administration’s efforts to contain federal spending, signaling for the first time that he would wade into the thorny politics of entitlement programs.

Far be it for me to tell the President-elect what to do, but I recall that the late great Representative from Massachusetts Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill, Jr., said: Social security is the third rail of politics. Touch it and you're dead!

(O'Neill was an outspoken Democrat and influential member of the U.S. Congress, serving in the House of Representatives for 34 years and representing two congressional districts of Massachusetts. He was the Speaker of the House from 1977 until his retirement in 1987, making him the second longest-serving Speaker in U.S. history after Sam Rayburn and the longest-serving Speaker without a break.)

Why there is no room at Blair House

A reader in New Hampshire referred me to a story in The New York Times, published December 12, 2008, explaining why President-elect Obama and his family could not use the Blair House starting in early January. The story says, "The Obamas were told that they could move into Blair House on Jan. 15, but no earlier, because it is booked, an Obama transition official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. 'We explored the idea so that the girls could start school on schedule,' the official said. 'But there were previously scheduled events and guests that couldn’t be displaced.'"
"White House officials declined to disclose specifically who is using Blair House during that period, for what purpose or how they could take precedence over the president-elect of the United States when it came to government housing; one White House official would say only that it had been booked for 'receptions and gatherings' by members of the departing Bush administration. Those receptions, the official said, 'don’t make it suitable for full-time occupancy by the Obamas yet.'"

Who outranks President-elect

President-elect Obama and his family are staying in a Washington hotel until they move into the White House. We are told that Blair House, used by Presidents and executives of other nations' is booked-up. No one has published (that I know of) who the "bookee" is. It would be good to know who outranks the President-elect. I called The Washington Post on Saturday and a man at the national desk said they did not know, President Bush had not told them, and they didn't care. I sent an e-mail to The New York Times and have not had a meaningful response from there.