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10 JUL 04: BACK ON TRACK
The sight as I approached the 11th Street underpass Friday afternoon was unusual - and ominous. A couple of military transport vehicles were on the railroad tracks above my car. For a minute, I thought one side in the Superior Court Judge race finally had gone too far....
When military vehicles are on rails in downtown Columbus, it's usually a sign that something's coming. We noticed flatbed cars full of trucks and equipment about a year-and-a-half ago, and weeks later came the invasion of Iraq. So where did the weapons of mass destruction move now -- maybe Venezuela?
Former Fort Benning Commanding General Paul Eaton has just returned from a lengthy assignment in Iraq, training the country's new police force. Hopefully he left a taste of our area with the Iraqi police - such as the phone numbers of local
officials, to call and demand a pay raise.
Gen. Paul Eaton says it may take as long as five years for Iraq's new authorities to secure the national borders. On the one hand, this sounds a bit scary. But on the other hand, it means the U.S. military will be able to invade again if the wrong man takes power.
Gen. Paul Eaton says he never hugged so many soldiers as he did when he left Iraq. It's nice to see they're so serious about the mission - but wait a minute. Isn't there a "don't ask, don't tell" policy about comments like this?
Tonight I discovered an interesting way you can help Fort Benning soldiers. Captain D's restaurants are selling a "Fort Benning Feast" platter. Now THERE'S a clever way to stay off the post's "banned list."
If you buy a Fort Benning Feast for $4.99, Captain D's will donate one dollar to the Fort Benning MWR fund. That's a generous thing to do - but you'd think Fort Benning generals would have some qualms about taking money from something that sounds like the Navy.
Let's see what else is happening on a hot summer weekend:
+ Phenix City held a parade and celebration downtown, to begin marking 50 years since the clean-up of vice. I can't help wondering if someone from Columbus carried lottery tickets across the bridge, to remind people of the bad old days.
(The Dillingham Street Bridge was closed to drivers at sunset, for a nice fireworks show. I didn't know there were fireworks - and thought Phenix City was recreating the ban on visits by Fort Benning soldiers.)
+ The Phenix City fireworks was followed about 30 minutes later by a Saturday night display after the Columbus Catfish game. This means the Historic District has been able to watch three big fireworks shows in a week -- and not one of them involved election campaigns.
+ The new Youth Development Center in Columbus was named after longtime Juvenile Court Judge Aaron Cohn. How graceful of Superior Court Judge Roxann Daniel to attend the ceremony - even though she probably wishes right now it would be named after her.
+ The Columbus Wardogs hurt their playoff chances, by losing by two points at Louisville. We mention this especially for those of you who see the Wardogs billboards around town, and might think their season ended a month ago.
(You could tell the game with Louisville mattered by the level of whining by the Boomer 95 broadcast team. They made such a fuss of the shape of the Freedom Hall end zones and timing the players' dances, they completely missed a couple of
key penalties.)
+ Instant Message to the mom who had her little girl ride a bicycle with training wheels on the Riverwalk: That's a great idea! The Riverwalk is a good, safe place for youngsters to learn to use a bike. I only hope people don't get a wrong idea, and try to drive bigger "four-wheelers" there.
COMING SUNDAY: The highest-level complaint we've received so far, in the race for Judge....
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