Opinion

Supreme Court ruling leaves questions unanswered

By Roslyn Ryan Editor

As millions of Americans continue to come to terms with the recent decision by the United States Supreme Court to overturn Roe vs. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that made having an abortion a federally protected right, it has sadly become even more difficult for those on opposing sides of the debate to engage in any kind of civil discourse.

When a topic is — in this case quite literally — a matter of life and death, it is certainly easy to see how the discussion could get heated and unproductive, with each side resorting to the kind of vitriol that tends only to drive people further apart. And so sometimes, given this, perhaps offering a few thoughts in writing from a safe distance is the best way to present one’s view. In this way one can disagree—even vehemently so— but also have the chance to consider the other person’s perspective without the pressure of having to deliver an immediate rebuttal.

With this is mind, in the wake of the Court’s ruling, I’d like to offer just a few thoughts.

Again and again, in making the case for abortion rights, activists refer to abortion as an incredibly “safe” procedure. To those of us who believe in the sanctity of life, however, and in the technology that now allows us to see even more clearly —in full color — that unborn children are nevertheless very real children, I would simply ask to whom are we legally and morally obligated to provide safety?

To those who would suggest that abortion helps keep women out of poverty and prevents them from relying on public assistance, I would gently point out the disrespect—even if it is unintentional—inherent in that observation. Since the start of recorded history women have shown that they are capable of overcoming tremendous obstacles and thriving despite significant hurdles. Yes, terminating an unwanted pregnancy might make the path ahead easier for women working to find a way out of poverty. But most of the women I know have never asked for a smoother path, nor do they need one. Better educational opportunities, strong role models and supportive communities lift women out of poverty. Not abortion. And finally, to those who say again and again that people who do not see abortion as a fundamental right are somehow antiwoman, or even — as I’ve heard inferred or said quietly in recent weeks, anti-gay or against the rights of people to marry whomever they choose —I would point out that this is both a thinly-veiled attempt to distract from the topic at hand and also a gross misinterpretation of what it means to be pro-life. The idea of being prolife is exactly what it sounds like: we celebrate and seek to protect all life. There are plenty of us out here who simply believe, and can’t be convinced otherwise, that life is a miracle and that people—even in the most dire circumstances—have the fundamental right to life even if it inconveniences someone else.

Certainly as the weeks and months go by more arguments will be made and both sides will continue to dig in, and this debate isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Reasonable people can of course disagree. But it would be nice if they could hear each other first.

Tell Me a Story When local icon needed help, truckers came through

By Jack Agnew Contributing Columnist

At the thousand-acre orchard where I worked part-time while growing up, there was a lady named Mrs. Sandy who lived in one of the tenant houses. At the time of her husband’s death he was still working for the farm, so the owners let his widow stay in the house.

The house was old and didn’t have running water, but it did have electricity. She cooked on an old woodfired stove, making some of the best jams, jellies and relishes on the planet, I imagine. The orchard let her sell them at their fruit stand. She wasn’t charged any commission, they did it for free so she could make a little extra money. She was a really sweet old lady; everybody loved her. The truckers would stop and clean the shelves out, and they adored “Mrs. Sandy the Jelly Lady.”

A new bypass was put in around the town, and at first it was a little bit confusing to some of the people. Mrs. Sandy drove an ancient coupe car that was very recognizable, a pastel green.

see Truckers > 10

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Camping trip helped make treasure trove of memories

By Emily Walls Ray Contributing Columnist

Recently we took a road trip from Virginia that took us through North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee and back. Our 9- and 11-yearold grandsons acccompanied us. Armed with a Virginia map to start, we stopped at Welcome Centers for each state and picked up maps. We brought pink, orange and yellow highlighters so we could each mark our route on the maps. This led to lessons on how to track the Interstate highways, state highways, county roads and exit numbers on the maps that are associated with the nearest mile marker on the highway.

“Will you fold my map for me?” My grandsons had a little trouble figuring out how to refold the maps properly. The trick is to find the starting point, and then to fold the map like an accordion or fan.

Our first stop on this trip was the Staunton River Battlefield State Park, where we tent camped — only a couple of hours southwest from Richmond. We participated in a historical celebration there before leaving the next day. One of the highlights of that camp out was meeting a beautiful horse named One Big Mystery. He stood 16 and one half hands high and was very docile. We enjoyed rubbing his velvety nose and learning about his training. We hadn’t been around horses much, so this was a real treat.

Heading South, we drove through the city of Atlanta on Interstate 85 on the first leg of our trip. Surprisingly, traffic was less heavy through Atlanta than

Boomers not the only ones who retired to the Keys

By Jim Ridolphi Contributing Columnist

Traveling down Route 1 through the Florida Keys headed to the most southernmost point in the United States, you might encounter just about anything. The Florida Keys don’t attempt to conceal their fascination with the unique, weird or unusual people or subjects, and it’s hard to predict what might eventually sink to the bottom of the contiguous states.

But a small sign next to the Holiday Inn in Key Largo caught my attention as I made my way southward in the 1980s. “The Original African Queen” was the message painted on a wooden sign on what seemed to be a normal fishing pier, one of many in the Keys.

To my surprise, the old Queen was there, sitting shabbily in the quiet waters surrounded by fishing vessels and pleasure craft. Even after all the years, the ship used in the famous movie was still recognizable, even though most of its original equipment has long been stripped. But for me and several other Bogart aficionados who arrived as I snapped a few photos, the dingy vessel still held a fascination and represented a link to a movie still admired and watched to this day.

That brief encounter begged the question how did the Queen find it final resting place thousands of miles from its home port. The ship was originally assigned to East Africa in the Belgium Congo and Uganda, where most of the movie was actually filmed.

There are legendary accounts of the making of the African Queen – most centered around the excessive drinking exploits of star Humphrey Bogart and producer John Huston, but back to the story of the boat.

It was built in 1912 in England and shipped to Africa to service small ports on Lake Albert. After the filming ended in 1951, she continued service on the lake until she was purchased in 1968 and shipped to California for charters, eventually sold and shipped to Oregon for the same purpose until she landed in Ocala Florida. In 1982 attorney and Bogart super fan Jim Hendricks found the old girl languishing in a cow pasture and purchased the vessel for $65,000.

After renovation, the ship moved to its current location in Key Largo, again offering charters for the nostalgic minded and adventure lovers.

In addition to her fame as the centerpiece of the award winning movie, the Queen was shipped to England for the Queen Mother’s 90th Birthday celebration.

In 2001, the Queen quit running, and it sat on display at the Holiday Inn until 2012, when Lance and Suzanne Holmquist leased the boat and brought renovations to completion, returning the vessel to its movie condition.

Today, visitors to the Keys can take a ride on the famous vessel, and re-live memories of Hepburn and Bogart gracing her decks and enjoying dinner excursions and canal cruises.

It’s a fitting end for a boat that is synonymous with a movies that was rated the 17th most popular movie of all time by the American Film Institute.

Hepburn was nominated for her fifth academy award and Bogart won his first for their roles in the blockbuster.

Camping

continued from >6 around it. We saw the Atlanta Braves Stadium and the Turner Broadcasting Station building, which had a huge gold owl with red eyes perched on its top. There must be an interesting story about why an owl figure sits there.

We picked up Interstate 20 and drove to Clanton, Alabama for the funeral of an elder in the family. His life was much celebrated. In fact, it turned into a sort of family reunion, bringing relatives from as far away as Montana and Missouri. Chilton County peaches were in the menu in the form of homemade peach cobbler, homemade peach ice cream and just plain peaches with every meal. We stopped at the Peach Park and bought a basket to bring home to Virginia. Of course, it’s always a gamble when transporting ripe fruit; but it would be a wonderful reminder of a great visit to savor those peaches when we get home.

From Clanton we drove to Laurenceburg, Tennessee to visit other relatives. We enjoyed short flights in their Cessna, paddle boat rides at the Davy Crockett State Park, and tractor rides on their land. Having never built a house from scratch ourselves, it is fun to see what will be theirs someday in development, from cutting trees to bush hogging, making trails, and the like. We have seen this property twice in six months. Because of supply and demand shortages, it is apparently pretty hard to build these days. It takes a lot of patience and wise use of resources.

After Laurenceburg, we let one of our grandsons pick a state park in Tennessee for our next overnight stay. He chose the Davy Crockett Birth Place State Park in Limestone, Tennessee. Situated on the Nolichucky River, our tent site was pleasant. The grandsons played with some other campers and waded in the river. We were pleased there were no mosquitoes there!

The scenery through Tennessee is breathtaking with barns of every color dotted through the hills and mountains. We all agreed the Tennessee route privided the most beautiful backdrop on Interstate 81 over the route on Interstate 95, but it depends on how much time you have

Photo by Emily Walls Ray

The writer’s two grandsons help set up a tent during a recent trip through the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee.

to spend and which one is the more direct route to where you are heading.

In beautiful Virginia, we passed the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway exit. That will be a trip for another time, perhaps in the fall.

Reflecting on the different legs of our journey, both grandsons said their favorite part was when we visited family. Because we live a minimum of 12 hours’ driving from our relatives, we don’t get to see them nearly as often as we’d like. However, it’s important to us that our grandchildren know they belong to family who are interested in them and who love them. It surprises me sometimes the level of detail they recall from previous trips. Perhaps it is because we are blessed with family who are natural hosts. They spoil us, feed us delicious Southern food and always invite us back.

We left the home place decades ago when we joined the Air Force. We were young, longed to see the world and didn’t have much money. The latter is still true, but we have found we can still see our beautiful country on a budget, especially when we can camp in state parks and have family who are willing to put up with us! Emily Walls Ray is a freelance writer, tutor and former teacher of English and creative writing in the GCPS system from 2007-2020. She enjoys gardening, reading, church and sewing, but most of all, being a grandmother. To read more of her stories, visit her blog at https://writetouchblog.wordpress.com/