Roy Exum
Those in the know tell me the month of August is National Peach Month, so as I take a stroll through garden, I am paying particular attention to the poppy and the gladiolus because they are the “birth flowers" of this month. But as we dole out our months Orchids and Onions, let’s substitute a peach and a pit, that hard seed you find when you bite into a peach.
A PEACH to the glorious way the people in Chattanooga and its surrounding environs responded to the terrorist attack that killed four Marines and a sailor last month.
As far as I am concerned it was the greatest show of love and support for mankind I have ever witnessed.
A PIT to the fact state legislator Carson “Bill” Beck wiggled out of a certain DUI conviction when Cheatham County judge Phillip Maxey decreed the traffic stop was invalid. The judge said because the Democrat lawmaker just crossed the striped line in the center of the road once, that didn’t justify the stop. A 90-minute video quickly provided by the Nashville Police Department leaves little doubt Rep. Beck was “over-served” and when he tells his wife to “Call John Taylor and tell him I am in jail” it ices the cake. Taylor is the chief warrant officer and the state’s legislative liaison for the Davidson County Sheriff’s Depatment. Who elects these people?
A PEACH to the “vigilantism” of the internet after it was learned Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer killed “Cecil,” a beloved lion in Zimbabwe. Over half-a-million Americas have petitioned to have Palmer extradicted to face serious charges of poaching and the U.S. Game and Fish Department has issued an order for Palmer, who has been in hiding this week, to contact them immediately. OUCH-standing!
A PIT to the news that the waters at the Rio de Janeiro, where the 2016 Games will be held next August, are so rife with raw sewage that experts say infections and viruses from such foul water could kill somebody. Dr. Richard Budgett, the medical director for the International Olympic Committee, suggested swimmers and boaters should “wash their hands” as a safeguard. That should do it!
A PEACH to the notion that a new drug, Vivitrol, may revolutionize the treatment of heroin and prescription drug abuse. That’s huge because, according to the Centers for Disease Control, from 2003 to 2013 deaths from overdosing on prescription drugs rose 92 percent and deaths from heroin rose 300 percent.
A PIT to City Councilman Moses Freeman for the mean-spirited way he bullied and embarrassed city analyst Thomas Tansil after the Navy reservist requested permission to attend the funeral of Navy Petty Officer Randall Smith. The sailor was killed several weeks ago in a terrorist attack. Tansil and Smith served in the same unit, and ultimately, the city council meeting was canceled, allowing members and city employees to attend Smith’s funeral. Freeman’s lack of judgement is appalling.
A PEACH to Allister Martin, who was injured in the Louisiana theater shooting, but still pulled a fire alarm that brought police. The gunman, John Houser, killed himself after murdering two women and shooting nine others. Martin’s reaction today: “We have to forgive him and pray for him.”
A PIT to Dr. TaShawna Denise Stokes, who was named Miss Auburn in 2001, for running a pill mill with her husband in Atlanta. The pair made over $1 million a month, according to police sources, after Oscar Stokes signed upwards of 72 prescriptions a day and charged $500 cash for a consult, not even examining most patients.
A PEACH to Chik-fil-A for sponsoring a 5-kilometer run on Aug. 8, that will benefit the Chattanooga Police Department’s K-9 division. The race will begin at Finley Park with registration at 7 a.m. and the starting gun at 8 a.m.
A PIT to the San Deigo hospital that billed Todd Fassler $153,000 after he was bitten by a rattlesnake and treated with an antivenin that costs roughly $2,300 a vial. Typically four to six vials are used per patient and with between 7,000 and 8,000 poisonous snake bites a year in the U.S., the sole provider of the antivenin profited $98 millon in world sales in the last fiscal year. (In May a man in Missouri refused medical care after being bitten by a snake “because I can’t afford it,” and died shortly thereafter.)
A PEACH to the R.I.V.E.R emergency-animal clinic and hospital on Amnicola Highway. You never realize how important 24/7 emergency care is until you realize the scope of what these veterinarians do on a daily basis.
A PIT to he Obama administration for suggesting we ban some on Social Security from owning a handgun. The elderly aren’t the problem and neither is the gun. That’s why the focus needs to be on mental illness and gang violence. There is also a pesky Amendment in the Constitution that assures citizens of the right to bear arms.
A PEACH to the life of Rebecca Townsend of Danbury, Ct. She laughingly filled out a “bucket list” that included kissing in the rain and saving someone’s life. On July 2, she and a friend were crossing the street after watching fireworks when a speeding car approached them. Rebecca immediately shoved her friend out of the way and was then killed instantly. Her parents found her bucket list shortly after the 17-year-old was buried. She was eulogized for her constant care of others, her volunteerism for a number of charities, and her love for everyone she met.
A PIT to some morons at Facebook who barred a photo of the Marine Corps seal with a black ribbon that said “In Remembrance.” It was posted on a page that covered the funeral and burial of Lance Corporal Skip Wells, who was killed in Chattanooga on July 16. Robert Combs also received a three-day ban from the site which deemed the Marine Corps seal with a black ribbon violated “community standards,” although the page has 53,000 likes before it was taken down.
A PEACH to Roseland Park, KS, police officer Mark Engravalle who was called to Walmart after a woman was caught shoplifting $300 in goods. Engravelle noticed that three of her six children had no shoes so after he wrote her summons, he reached into his hip pocket and paid for the merchandise. “Walmart may see her as a criminal but I see a single mom going through a tough time.” And don’t worry about the ticket. Engravalle had to issue it – because “It as wrong and against the law” -- but thus far an estimated $5,000 has been mailed to the police department to help the woman get back on her feet.
A PIT to the fact Tennessee’s Department of Human Services has failed to provide qualified childen meals they must have. The system is awash in fraud, the “honor system and good faith” not working, and a state audit found $4.3 million in questionable costs in 2013. A small sample of agencies reviewed last year discovered another $1.8 million in question.
A PEACH to the revelation this month includes five Fridays, five Saturdays and five Sundays. The Chinese call such an occurance “Silver pockets full” and the claim is it only happens once every 823 years. That’s rubbish. May of 2015 had a “Silver Pockets Full” calendar and, in 2016, the event will occur in January and July.
A PIT to the tree huggers in California where there is a drought, but due to fish such a smelt and salmon, more than 200 billion acre-feet of water a year must be diverted to take care of the fish, this according to outraged Republican Rep. Devin Nunes.
A PEACH to what is the greatest hug ever recorded. Click here.
Happy August.
Royexum@aol.com