-- — Recent bear sighting like grandpa’s old stories

Never in the history of Valdosta have there been so much excitement since the elephant that was killed by his trainer called “Big Mary” in the black community.

President Obama won the election.

My old grandpa would tell us bedtime stories before prayer at bedtime. He found two old books raking yards, one was about “Brer Rabbit” and the other one, “Old Bear.” I loved my grandpa. He raised me to be a good little boy.

My grandpa would take us to the circus each year. He would take us to the cage to see that old bear. The bear would roll over in the cage, grandpa would smile. He would stand up on his hind feet, grandpa would say he can walk just like you and me. Grandpa would laugh until tears come out of his eyes. I would never forget those happy years, especially when he would shoot his double barrel shotgun on New Year’s night.

Those bedtime stories were given to him from generation to generation. Nobody in the neighborhood had anything.

On those cold winter nights, sleeping with grandpa, it motivated us to be something in life.

Reliving grandpa through that old bear in Valdosta, the word spread near and far when that old bear was here in Valdosta (a few months ago). There were many comments about that old bear in our community. Wild rumors began to spread. The rumors were that he escaped from Wild Adventures. Some said he came down the railroad. Some said he came from Howell Road to Scott Park, Hudson Dockett and some said a white man turned him loose.

There are many bears, Chicago Bears, Chicago Cubs, a man named Bear Bryant.

When the first police arrived, there were disagreements of how to put the bear to sleep. During the first round of shots, the old bear was looking the officers straight in the face. He slowly gave way sliding down the tree, slowly dying, hitting the ground, rolling over.

Word traveled fast. Some of the school kids cried out, “they killed that poor old bear,” after seeing his picture in the paper; he didn’t do anything to nobody. “Whose gonna take care of his cubs?” Some black man said “would you please give the bear to us?” “No” was the answer.

Put the old bear in the truck. Rumors were he was buried in Sunset Cemetery.

Rumors are still flying, he could have got me. Rumors are still going to this day about that old bear.

I relived my grandpa’s bedtime story about that old bear. If my grandpa was still living, he would say “that old bear is gone to bear heaven.”



The Rev. W.F. Wade is a resident of Valdosta.

Candidates don’t get it

The current Republican candidates have no chance of becoming president. They have no chance primarily because they just don’t get it. They are preoccupied with destroying one another and diverting attention from their own character flaws, failures and dubious priorities.

I have yet to hear anything from any of them that has anything substantive to do with me and my life or you and your life. I have yet to hear any plan that will restore America’s dignity or rescue her from the death throes of this present leadership. I have yet to hear any of them speak honestly from the heart about how they feel about America or her people. All of them are nothing more than experts at mental and verbal gymnastics.

They are, as are all politicians, totally preoccupied with obtaining and hoarding power, control and prestige. They cannot be and should not be trusted with our welfare, with our futures, with our resources. They are completely disconnected from reality and it is a personal insult to any thinking person to be forced to hear the insolence, the arrogance and the condescension in the voices of these alleged leaders.

I am not at all sure what will happen in the November election, but I am sure that we will have precious little to do with the outcome and the course of this nation will remain unchanged until that course is corrected by someone with the guts to do so. I do not see that person waiting in the wings or poised to move into a position of influence. I see only individuals who are posturing and preening and looking at the rest of us as though we are their minions to be dealt with as they see fit.

The other hard truth to be faced is that we have little recourse other than this: We must all stay focused on what we are currently doing to survive, to provide for our families, to be a positive part of our community, to remain resilient in the face of duress and send a clear signal to these dolts that we are more than capable of outlasting and outperforming them all until someone does walk into the room with the heart, the courage and the intellect to get the job done. I do not yet see that person. But, I will keep looking.



John G. Chick

Valdosta

Unlock the prison of hearts

It is very disheartening to read comments complaining about anything that makes the lives of prisoners in jail more tolerable.

Why do we rail against prisoners getting a movie night or steak once a week? Does anyone out there have any idea what a miserable place the average jail truly is? Most of the jails around here limit correspondence, limit the amount of literature available to prisoners, offer no heating or cooling and serve slop three times a day. These lucky prisoners would probably die of boredom in their cells if they didn’t have to sleep with one eye open to avoid being assaulted or homosexually raped. If any animal shelter treated its residents the way our jails do, they’d be shut down.

Of course, some readers are already indignant at my letter, dying to tell me that jail is punishment and we should not be coddling criminals. No, we should not.

However, we should all remember that many prisoners in jail are awaiting trial. Our system of justice presumes innocence until proven guilty.

As for those actually convicted of crimes, don’t worry folks, they ARE being punished.

Do we honestly believe they will be better people on release when we treat them worse than animals? It makes us all less human to insist that the only appropriate living conditions for prisoners in custody is 24-hour misery without respite.

If you think otherwise, at least stop the pretense of wishing your neighbors a “blessed day.”



Robert Kumpel

Valdosta

Crime in Valdosta

Obviously I am concerned about the crime rate in Valdosta. I read the police blotter in the VDT daily and am amazed at the number of break-ins and the amount of many of the thefts.

One doesn’t know how secure the home/business broken into was, i.e. locked or not. I wonder about the results of each case, how were they penalized, how long did they serve, etc. It also concerns me how often the person arrested had no license, no insurance, suspended license, no registration, etc.

It would be interesting to see figures from other nearby cities in Georgia. Are we better off, worse off, etc.?

In an unrelated story, I often see females driving while texting, talking on telephone, combing hair, etc. I hold my breath and hope their knee might not be on the steering wheel. I wonder if we are doing enough to keep the young ones in school, getting an education, job training so they could become good citizens with jobs, rather than out breaking into someone’s house?



Lem John

Valdosta