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25 DEC 03: CONSIDER THE ALTERNATIVES
It's Thursday, December 25th, and many of us in Columbus know what that means. Only seven more weeks remain until they race for the pole at Daytona....
Does it seem like the radio is filled with nothing but holiday music on Christmas Eve? Since I don't have cable TV, I decided to dial around in the 8:00 p.m. hour Wednesday night to see if there were other options:
+ 880 AM: WCBS in New York offers 24-hour news. I can't help laughing at the story about Mexico banning U.S. beef imports, to guard against mad cow disease. What do they call it there, "Bush's revenge?"
+ 1000 AM: WMVP in Chicago (I think) is airing a baseball game - the seventh game of the American League Championship Series, between the Red Sox and Yankees. Apparently the "hot stove league" is out, and the Yule Log league is in.
+ 1120 AM: Jackpot! KMOX in St. Louis is broadcasting the Las Vegas Bowl. For one night, having too many bowl games is a good thing.
The local options at 11:00 p.m. this year were a bit different from other December 24th nights. The live St. Luke United Methodist Church service was only on NBC-38 and two radio stations. Only a couple of years ago, it was on four TV stations at the same time. So how many people decided to stop tithing?
I suspected the St. Luke Pastor might bring up Monday's "healing rally" he attended at the Government Center. Dr. Hal Brady didn't let me down, saying it was a time for "renewing our investment in each other and the community." Compare that with Al Sharpton, who might urge people to stop investing in Columbus entirely.
Pastor Hal Brady felt it was an appropriate time in Columbus to ask the question: "Is this city any better because we live in it?" After you answer that, the next question might be: "Would Columbus be any better if sheriffs' deputies let people live in it?"
WRBL showed a holiday service from First Presbyterian Church - which included a minister reading a wordy statement about how the night's offering money would be used. Was this statement really necessary? I think all the downtown bars shut down for the evening.
By the way, did you see Rabbi Max Roth from Shearith Israel synagogue talk about Hanukkah during the 5:00 p.m. news? He kept calling Hanukkah a "minor festival" - but he couldn't stop talking about its meaning and its traditions. Even Judaism can have long-winded preachers.
BLOG UPDATE: The Georgia state chairman of the National Action League apologized Wednesday for some of his comments at a protest against the Muscogee County Sheriff. Well, then again A.D. Carter never put "apology" in his statement. He's apparently in a showdown with Ralph Johnson, over who will say that word first.
During Tuesday's protest at Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park, A.D. Carter referred to Monday's "healing rally" downtown, and described the speakers as "Bootleg Leadership." Now hold on a minute here! We've never seen Columbus State University President Frank Brown receive any payoffs from liquor stores.
The Wednesday statement by A.D. Carter admitted his criticism of the Monday rally "was derived out of anger, emotion and the heat of the moment." So you see, Columbus IS uniting -- because an unnamed sheriff's deputy probably experienced those very same things.
A.D. Carter's short statement did not take back everything he said on Tuesday. He writes: "It is still my stance that there are people portraying themselves as leaders of an entire community when they only speak and represent a select few...." Will someone please remind this man that Bob Poydasheff was elected Mayor in a citywide vote?
Meanwhile, your blog learned Wednesday night relatives of Kenneth Walker do NOT want his picture shown on TV until further notice. It apparently only adds to the family grief, we're told. We can understand this request - especially since the picture of the Sheriff's Deputy who shot Walker hasn't been shown on TV at all.
BIG PREDICTION: The Gray will beat the Blue by at least 14 points in today's Blue-Gray Game in Montgomery. When the Blue can pick players from Notre Dame, Penn State and Syracuse, yet the best quarterback they can find is from Evangel University of Missouri, this team is in trouble.
BLOG YEAR-IN-REVIEW CON'D: April brought a new baseball team to Columbus, the "South Georgia Waves."
Considering how small the crowds were at Golden Park, it's a wonder they didn't wave goodbye.
Perhaps the only reason the South Georgia Waves are still in Columbus is that a deal for a new stadium in Evansville, Indiana fell through. It's just as well, because people would have scratched their heads about the name "South Indiana Waves" just as much.
The Third Brigade from Fort Benning moved into Baghdad in April, and Saddam Hussein went into hiding. How many soldiers became frustrating, looking around Iraq's capital for a place to pawn their car title for a loan?
At around the same time, top cyclists moved into Columbus as part of the "Tour de Georgia" bike race. The local stop was sponsored by Tidwell Cancer Treatment Center - which was disappointed in November, when SOA Watch protesters didn't pass through town that quickly.
Columbus's only local radio talk show gained a new host in April. Russ Hollenbeck moved from Producer of WRCG's "TalkLine" to the microphone. And unlike other hosts of that show, Hollenbeck probably doesn't feel the need to spray the mike for germs after Edward Dubose's show on Saturdays.
COMING FRIDAY: We welcome Al Sharpton to Columbus, by going through the LaughLine archives to check his record....