The Blog of Columbus, Georgia

for 12 JUL 08: A TIME TO EMBRACE

Before we get to today's scheduled topic, let's explain why we're posting early. There's an E-MAIL UPDATE to Friday's entry - and it was apparently sent on a Government Center computer:

Richard -

The e-mail that was sent on city computers a couple of weeks ago was not about the Local Option Sales Tax. It was about a candidate race, urging a vote for a specific candidate. As soon as the e-mail hit, the City Manager and the Assistant City Attorney put out a clarification that this was strictly against city policy and was not to be done. Since that time, there have been no e-mails concerning the election season, neither the July date nor the November date.

Please correct your blog as soon as possible so that this misinformation will not be perpetuated.

Judy Thomas

Executive to the Mayor

Thank you for the correction - and it's an honor to know this blog is being read in the mayor's office. At some workplaces, I fear it would be considered an inappropriate waste of time.

Mayor Jim Wetherington told the Friday evening news the e-mail from a city computer actually promoted a candidate for Muscogee County Coroner. Is that ever a relief -- since Josh McKoon already has gone back on his promise, and sent us one more message about Ed Harbison.

(This incident may explain why you'll find no "public access computers" on the Plaza Level of the Government Center, like you do at libraries.)

While we're at it: it's our policy to keep this blog politics-free on all election days. If you have anything more to say about the sales tax question or next Tuesday's primary, send it to us by midday Sunday. Otherwise, your comments will have to wait until after the vote - when slanderous charges are more likely to result in lawsuits.

Now where were we -- oh yes....

(BLOGGER'S NOTE: You may find the following item humorous, serious, or a little of both - but we offer these thoughts from time to time, as we keep a seventh-day Sabbath.)

True confession: Sometimes when the 5:00 p.m. newscasts don't thrill me, I flip the TV dial to the talk shows. Steve Wilkos is a bit more entertaining to me than Oprah Winfrey - because he yells directly in the face of his guests, and throws chairs at the wall.

But this past week, an Oprah Winfrey interview struck me as surprising. The guest was "Grey's Anatomy" star Katherine Heigl - and when Winfrey noted Heigl became married last December, the audience applauded. That's no big deal, really. Oprah's audiences scream and applaud for bottles of shampoo, if they're being given away.

But then Winfrey asked Katherine Heigl: "And you made a decision NOT to live together before you got married!?" After a noticeable moment of silence, the audience applauded again. It was almost like the crowd expected Heigl to stand up and start preaching a sermon.

That moment of silence was quite noticeable to me, because you don't hear about many celebrities doing what Katherine Heigl did. And you wonder how many engaged couples in general still do that sort of thing. I hear so much about couples "shacking up" - yet fewer and fewer of them live in shacks.

Next week is the anniversary of my late father's birth. I learned many things from him -- including some things NOT to do. He once actually suggested during a phone call I find a single woman and move in with her. I didn't bother telling him of a major problem I have with that idea - finding a single woman for taking out, much less moving in.

Call me old-fashioned if you wish, but the problem with couples living together before marriage is that the relationship is too tempting. Complicated things can happen which men and women don't expect, when you (ahem) "try before you buy."

(Or to coin a phrase that people in Americus might appreciate: Cohabitate, and you could have new humanity.)

The "True Love Waits" movement focuses on young people abstaining from sex until their wedding day. Yet from what I've heard and read, there's no talk about couples postponing cohabitation until after the ceremony. Don't you wonder if it's because many parents can't wait to have young adults out of the house - not to mention their budget?

Perhaps the steamiest book in the Bible is Song of Solomon. The King James Version talks about kissing, being "sick of love" -- and even a woman's breasts. This may explain why many fundamentalist churches tend to focus on books like Romans....

But there's this word of advice in chapter 3 of Song of Solomon, from another translation: "Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires." Being too close too soon, and for too long, could lead to that arousal. If I was engaged to someone as gorgeous as Katherine Heigl, it certainly could happen to me.

So what do you know - I agree with the private actions of a Hollywood star. Katherine Heigl did things in an honorable way. I applaud her for handling her courtship with care - even if Oprah Winfrey's viewers have to think it over first.

SCHEDULED SUNDAY: A visit to Ginger Lake.... and a political candidate makes me call the Police Narcotics Unit....

In the first half of 2008, our number of unique visitors jumped 23 percent from last year. To advertise to our readers, offer a story tip or comment on this blog, write me - but be warned, I may post your e-mail comment and offer a reply.

BURKARD BULK MAIL INDEX: 733 (- 35, 4.6%)

The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author -- not necessarily those of anyone else in Columbus living or dead, and perhaps not even you.

Friday, July 11, 2008