RRN Online Volume 302

March 16 '02

Volume 302

Highway 6 The Old And The New

As a traveler by trade, I see a Highway Sign lot of highways in my native state of Mississippi and more than I'd like to see in Mississippi's border states. My wife drags me off to Florida ever so often for a vacation, but this year she and Sarah are considering a trip to the mountains of east Tennessee. I doubt they're serious, but we'll see.

The editor of the Pontotoc Progress has of late shared a few "you know you're getting old" tidbits of remembrances for the amusement of local readers. I'll offer one he's not used.

"You know you're getting old if you can remember when Highway 6 between Tupelo and Pontotoc was mostly gravel."

By 1947, I was old enough to remember such things as trips to Grandma's in the country, and the section of Hwy. 6 mentioned above had a concrete strip down the middle of the road. It was wide enough for only one vehicle, so cars meeting one another were obliged to pull their right wheels onto the gravel while keeping the left wheels on the concrete.

Highway 6 was spruced up even more in the fifties when a section a few miles east of Pontotoc, near Longview, was straightened and paved. My elation over having a decent road connecting Pontotoc and Tupelo was short lived, in that the highway became heavily congested with motorists by the seventies. It remains congested in that attempts to pass a slow-moving vehicle are often frustrating experiences, despite the arterial effect of Hwy. 76 in diverting much of the truck traffic away from Hwy. 6 over to Hwy. 78.

Hwy. 6 had been fully concreted between Batesville and Pontotoc by the time I started college. Every expansion joint was filled with tar, and as automobile tires hit the diminutive bumps many motorists expressed annoyance by the continual "clickety clickety" sounds. Not me, for having grown up riding on graveled and dirt roads, the clicks were as music to my ears.

Highway 6 is now four-laned from Batesville to Pontotoc, and with Hwy. 76 complementing the old highway, it should not be many years until the four-lane is extended to Tupelo.

Around the eighties, the State Highway Department embarked on a road-widening project that may one day result in wider roadways on all state roads. There are not that many state roads that I travel that haven't been widened by two or three feet, maybe more. When I think of the narrow roads I once traveled, I'm thankful for the wider roads of today.

I suppose Highway Department officials know what they're doing, but I have to wonder just how much safer the roads of today are than those of the fifties and sixties. We have wider roadways and a lower speed limit than in past decades, but still folks continue to kill themselves on the highways of our state. I think a lot of it is carelessness on the part of motorists.

Consider the medians of the Interstate Highways. One can hardly travel more than a mile or two without seeing where a tractor-trailer rig has left deep ruts angling across a section of the grassy median. Smaller vehicles leave similar evidence, and while those instances may exceed that of the big trucks, the markings of lighter vehicles are not as noticeable.

I don't suppose we can have our cake and eat it too, with wider roads and higher speed limits, but I'm ready to see the speed limits raised back to what they were prior to the "energy crisis" of the seventies. While it's not likely to ever happen, should it occur after I retire, then I'll be whopping mad for my having to miss out on it for most of my "on the road" career.

No doubt, us old-timers have seen a lot of changes around these parts. In the fifties, we saw concrete to construct a Highway 15 bypass around our city. We've seen all the state highways widened and resurfaced numerable times. We've enjoyed living in a small town that has paved streets everywhere within its city limits…well practically everywhere…I figure there must be at least one unpaved street somewhere inside our fair community. If the changes seen are any measure of those to come, surely "We ain't seen nothin' yet!"

Trading Places The Delta And Zimbabwe

The more I learn about history as well as current events around the world, the more I appreciate living in America. Yet, a friend of mine recently expressed concern over the treatment of captured terrorists being detained in Cuba, further stating he had for the first time in his life given strong consideration to moving to a foreign country. We've yet to reach an agreement or understanding, partly because we haven't had the opportunity to sit down and hash through our respective concerns. It's possible we may never see eye to eye on the subject of the detainees, though I seriously doubt he'll be leaving the USA to protest the conditions at Camp X-ray.

How many nations allow the free exchange of political views, free speech, a free press, and religious freedom? Where else but America can one enjoy a standard of living such as we enjoy? The poorest members of our society are richer than the average citizen found in many countries. We remain the "land of opportunity," a land where any mother's child has the chance to grow up and become our nation's president. The odds of that happening in my family or in your family may be small, but generally speaking everyone has a shot at it.

There are folks who say we have large numbers of Americans living in poverty. Whenever I hear this, I want to ask what they mean by poverty. If by poverty, they mean persons who earn less than twelve thousand dollars per year, then I would agree that such individuals are impoverished. If by poverty, they mean the thousands who are homeless or those who are literally starving to death, I can more fully appreciate the definition. Yet, I know of no other nation more willing to help impoverished peoples than America.

Jesus of Nazareth told followers, "The poor you will always have with you."

He did not say the poor should be ignored, and by personal example, He ministered to many of the poor during His day. His followers continue to minister to the poor even unto this day, and were it not for the concern of Christians and other charitable groups and organizations, the plight of the poor in America would be more critical than we now see.

I suppose it was listening to the news about Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe's pending presidential election on Public Radio that prompted me to think of parallel conditions in the Delta. The nation of Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia, will hopefully have chosen a president by the time this newsletter is read. Robert Mugabe rose to power more than twenty years ago as the nation overthrew colonial rule. Great Britain gave up ownership of thousands of acres of land that was to be parceled out to the poor and used as family farms. Mugabe abused his power by granting large tracts of these lands to his political allies in return for their loyalty, and for the most part the poor are still poor. With Mugabe's supporters intimidating and killing opposition leaders, the election is not likely to be a fair one.

Mugabe has once again used land, particularly that owned by the White minority, for political purposes. This time, however, he has advocated violence by the poor to drive the Whites from the land they legally own.

Large portions of the Mississippi Delta languish in poverty, or at least poverty as defined by income. A greater problem in the Delta is that of impoverished minds and mindsets. Education has made some inroads toward the eradication of mental poverty, but it's hardly notable. The average community, town, or city in the Delta is populated largely by Black citizens. Thus, Blacks are most often the persons elected to public office.

Corrupt politicians seeking personal gain from their respective political office are not limited to members of any group and may be found wherever politicians are found. It has been my observation that a higher percentage of office holders in the Delta seek personal profit over that of greater good for the community they serve than do their counterparts in the Hill Country.

The misuse of power in Zimbabwe is a tale played out in country after country around the world, but it doesn't play well in America. Mugabe's role of freedom fighter changed to one of freedom suppressor once in power. In the Mississippi Delta, a similar situation occurs each election year. Incumbents are occasionally ousted by an electorate hoping for community betterment, but sometimes they merely trade one corrupt individual for another.

I imagine a lot of us have considered leaving America at one time or another. Some of us struggled with such thoughts during civil rights movement of the sixties and later during the Vietnam conflict. The majority of us have concluded that, all things considered, living here is not bad enough to prompt us to trade places. Looking around the globe, it's easy to see how great America really is.

Amy of Kenya Habitat For Humanity

My wife invited her to stay overnight in our home. I did not have the opportunity to meet her, but she met my son and my sister. Amy Owen was born in Kenya where her American born parents still serve as missionaries. Kenya does not grant dual citizenship status, so as a native of Kenya Amy chooses to be a citizen of the U.S.A.

Since graduating from Auburn University in Alabama, Amy has served as the Director of Resource Development and Communications for the Kenya Habitat for Humanity organization. She had arrived in the "states" several weeks earlier on a mission of sharing information about her work in Kenya with U.S. affiliates of Habitat for Humanity.

Barbara had invited me to attend the presentation Amy was to make on the evening of February 21^st to the Board of Directors and friends of the Pontotoc Affiliate. I had to be in Monroe, LA, early the next morning, so I was unable to be at the meeting.

In its young history, Habitat for Humanity has made a great impact upon the lives of thousands of persons in need of affordable housing. Unlike modern give-away programs, persons who receive assistance from Habitat for Humanity are required to perform some of the work involved in constructing their own home and pay a monthly mortgage.

In Kenya, potential homeowners must not only work on their own home, but also complete mutual help assignments by assisting other would-be home owners in building a home. Because many of the materials used in construction are locally available, Kenyans are asked to supply much of the stones, bricks, and timber needed.

A typical Habitat house in Kenya is strictly for living quarters and is without a kitchen. The houses are not insulated and are made of cinder blocks and a have a metal roof. By U.S. standards the houses are small, approximately 12' by 24' and do not have indoor plumbing or electricity. The cost of such a house is small, too. Materials and labor average approximately $1,500 per house and may run as little as $600.

Habitat homeowners are also landowners and in most instances already had a house or hut. Once the new house is finished, the old house is retained for use as a kitchen, a bin for grain storage, and a shelter for farm animals. It was all those things before, but now the family has a separate living space.

Kenyans have a monthly payment based upon the value of a bag of cement. Payments continue until total repayments reach the value of the cement needed to construct a similar house, thus perpetuating a revolving fund for affiliate transactions.

One might think that because of the relatively inexpensive homes being built in Kenya there would be larger numbers to report than 100 houses per year. A goal shared by Amy is to increase that number to 1000 per year. However, Habitat for Humanity has been unsuccessful in securing a non-profit status from the Kenyan government and is thus subjected to an 18% tax on all purchases. Nonetheless, Amy is optimistic about the 1000 per year goal and the prospect of achieving non-profit status.

Barbara tells me Amy was well received by the Pontotoc affiliate and was presented with assorted mementos from Pontotoc and Mississippi including items such as a wooden basket fashioned with the logo of the State of Mississippi on the front,an afghan (Land of Hanging Grapes theme), a Pontotoc Habitat for Humanity T-shirt, a coffee mug hand painted by Mae Treloar, and a desk clock encased in bodock wood crafted by Ray Reese.

I regret not meeting Amy and hearing her presentation, but after listening to my wife recount the event, I think I got most of it.

Just For Fun Where's Your Copy Been

The next time you take a vacation, go on a cruise, fly to Frankfurt, Paris, or Hawaii, take along a copy of your Ridge Rider News. Have your picture made holding a copy of RRN near a landmark or sign identifying your location, send the photo to us, and we'll publish it in the next issue.

Bodock Beau Male Prespectives

Attention men, reading the following may be dangerous to your health, especially if you're heard laughing aloud. Practicing the following may be dangerous to your marriage.

WOMEN EVERYWHERE FROM A MAN WHO'S HAD ENOUGH:

Learn to work the toilet seat. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us complaining about it being left down.
ALL men see in only 16 colors. Peach is a fruit, not a color.
If you won't dress like the Victoria's Secret girls, don't expect us to act like soap opera guys.
If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us. We refuse to answer.
Birthdays, Valentines, and Anniversaries are not quests to see if we can find the perfect present yet again!
If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, expect an answer you don't want to hear.
Sometimes, we're not thinking about you. Live with it. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as navel lint, or shotgun pattern.
Sunday = Sports. It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.
Shopping is not a sport, and no, we're never going to think of it that way.
When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine. Really.
You have enough clothes. You have too many shoes.
Ask for what you want. Let's be clear on this one: Subtle hints don't work. Strong hints don't work. Really obvious hints don't work. Just say it!
No, we don't know what day it is, and we never will mark Anniversaries on the calendar.
Urinating standing up is more difficult. We're bound to miss sometimes.
Most guys own three pairs of shoes. What makes you think we'd be any good at choosing which pair, out of thirty, would look good with your dress?
Yes, and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.
Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do.
Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.
A headache that lasts for 17 months is a problem. See a doctor.
Foreign films are best left to foreigners, unless it's Bruce Lee or some war flick where it doesn't really matter what they're saying anyway.
It is neither in your best interest nor ours to take the quiz together. No, it doesn't matter which quiz.
Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. All comments become null and void after 7 days.
If something we said can be interpreted two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.
Let us ogle. We're going to look anyway; it's genetic.
You can either tell us to do something OR tell us how to do something, but not both.
Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.
If it itches, it will be scratched.
Beer is as exciting for us as handbags are for you.
If we ask what's wrong and you say "nothing," we will act like nothing's wrong. We know you're lying, but it's just not worth the hassle.

Thank you for reading this; Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight, but did you know we really don't mind…it's like camping.

Submitted by Ken Gaillard

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