June 14, 2007 Issue

As summer is officially still a week off, the last of the spring-cleaning is necessary. That is the clearing of my mind of all those niggling thoughts and conundrums, which have been rattling off the neurons of my brain. I think the brain has neurons, but anyway, you catch my drift.

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed the marked decrease in those “support our troops” magnets attached to cars? It would seem as the general opposition to the war escalates, people are removing these slogans from their cars. A year ago, a car without such sentiment was conspicuous. I never had one, as my reasoning said the money for purchase helped only those who brought them to us. Instead I showed my support by contributing financially to those organizations sending care packages to those serving our county and those providing needed things the government did not supply. Empty jingoism has never been my style.

It is mystifying to me why people equate those magnets to support of the war. The two things are quite different. Support of the troops in all ways is our duty as Americans, as few of us are willing or able to trade places with them. Since the troops have no choice in where they go, the very least we can do is support and respect them. It doesn’t translate to support of this or any other war. Methinks convoluted reasoning is at work here.

In another realm of absolute disbelief is the whole brouhaha about Paris Hilton. On a day when the marine at the top of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is summarily dismissed, Fox News breaks away to follow the saga of a bewildered Paris being hauled into court and sent back to jail. I was told this as there is no extended cable in this house and this is the very reason I don’t have it. Except for perhaps the weather channel, there is little news on the 24-hour channels, although I’m told CNN and MSNBC managed to restrain themselves from pulling away from a breaking news story affecting our county’s security to follow a story about an empty-headed, over-privileged twit.

Bill Campbell called me from his lunch bunch chuckling because Al Sharpton once again played the color card, calling the whole Hilton thing Blonde Justice. For once, Sharpton’s right, but then a broken watch is right twice a day.

My favorite magician with scissors, Karin Peterson, has moved her La Renaissance Day Spa over to Mountain Drive, where in addition to fabulous haircuts, one can actually have Paris Hilton hair extensions affixed to their heads. Karin says it is quite a coup to be the exclusive local distributor of the product, but I’d really like to hear the end of anything associated with this young woman. However, if you want a dramatic change in look, check it out. I can’t quite see it for myself, but I’m years too late to be trendy. I left last week with only my usual fine haircut.

Your county tax dollars at work department: All along the northwest side of Okaloosa Island, near the National Seashore, are numerous no parking at any time signs. Try going across the island on a weekend, and it is laughable how many people ignore those signs so they can access the shallow and mild waters of the bay. You see parents unloading cars while little kids stand next to the road. The posted speed through there is 55 miles per hour. All it will take is for one small kid to absent-mindedly wander into traffic and cause horror for some unsuspecting driver. No parking means no parking. The county could collect some handsome fees by enforcing the edict of its’ signs.

So I called the Sheriff’s Department and asked about this. The dispatcher said someone would call me back. When he did, he said there is no officer for Okaloosa Island at all on Sundays, so commit your crimes on the Sabbath. Further, although he emphasized he wasn’t making any excuses, he explained the lone officer whose task it is to keep Okaloosa Island crime free, goes on calls before doing anything about law breakers in the form of parking scofflaws. Doesn’t seem like it would cost too much to hire a parking enforcer. They could be paid with the fines. Naaah! Too logical for county government.

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