Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 26, 1995 TAG: 9505260025
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-18 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
It occurred to me that in all the naysayer talk, sports and athletes say otherwise. If sports are a major part of our lives, then know it to be the part that we find positive. Are we wasting our time on sports and games when more important things are being neglected? I think not!
If through the peace and quiet of a Sunday we come to find the Lord, then we must know that he made us all in his own image. So, who is to say that God doesn't smile when we race bicycles, even on Sunday? If we are, in fact, here to glorify God, then the next time the Tour DuPont passes our church on Sunday, perhaps we should step outside for a few minutes to cheer on some of his beautiful creations.
Watching the world of television, while sitting and getting angry, may not be the best view of the world we can know. We don't have to be helpless recipients of what others are saying. Take these thoughts and go with them. An hour's walk will do wonders in considering your own perspectives that very well may be unique to what others are considering. As anything done well, this may take time and practice. Within a year, you may surprise yourself. Our greatest fear may be that we'll become jaded by knowing. When our bodies become fit and flexible, however, our mind and spirit will soon follow.
Considering children in sports, assuming it's mainly to make dad proud may be a thought worth a reconsideration walk. Could it be that dad introduces the physical world to his children, in an effort to get them in touch with an aspect of themselves that contemplation alone won't allow? In experiencing with our bodies, sports may not have to be winning or losing, but finding and enjoying a part of ourselves that earlier we were not aware of.
Sports may be entertainment, but it can also be a demonstration of something done well. The athlete in school may be an example of excellence for all to see.
So what should we do about it? A good start would be to understand that children should be allowed - no, encouraged - to run, jump, play, dream and know that the world and sports are wondrous things. Maybe we as parents would do well to become and see the world in a way more like our children.
ERIK ANDERSON
MARTINSVILLE
A love story to start the day
EDITORS, thank you for sharing on the front page of your May 17 edition the beautiful story and photograph of the lovely Hartman family (``Letters reveal love of a lifetime''). How wonderful to reflect on enduring beauty and lasting love during these troublesome times, which too often produce horrendous headlines.
Thank you again for beginning the day for your subscribers on such a positive note.
BETTY GRAHAM
ROANOKE
Assault weapons used for sport
BO CHAGNON'S April 29 letter to the editor (``Goodlatte assaults truth about guns'') begs for clarification. He states that ``weapons manufactured with bayonet holders are assault weapons.''
For readers not already aware, it should be noted that thousands of military bolt-action rifles such as the Model 1903 Springfield, the .30-.40 Krag, the British .303 and the German Mauser, as well as the U.S. semiautomatic M-1 Garand, have been used ``as is'' for hunting or have been converted to excellent sporting weapons. While these named weapons were manufactured with bayonet holders, none would be given a passing glance as an assault weapon by the military. Conversely, many bona fide assault weapons are not equipped to attach bayonets.
If, in fact, the law banning assault weapons also includes all weapons with bayonet lugs as stated in the letter, then I support Rep. Bob Goodlatte's interest in having that law repealed.
LOREN L. ABBE
LEXINGTON
Leaving a legacy of murder, mayhem
IN YOUR May 17 ``In Virginia,'' there were four Associated Press articles: ``Man's death probed as serial killing,`` ``2nd slaying suspect turns himself in,'' ``Theft suspect faces N.C. murder charges,'' and ``Teen shot in car at shopping mall.'' Add to this the fact that almost every local newscast on television begins with reports of murder and mayhem, and G. Gordon Liddy being honored for his instructions via radio to his listeners on the most effective way to kill federal agents.
Considering that 40,000 people were killed by guns last year, one begins to wonder what sort of country we're leaving for our children to cope with.
VIRGINIA CURRIE
BLACKSBURG
Proposed prison is no joke
AS A subscriber to your newspaper, I want you to know that your April 6 editorial ``Prison bars of irony'' wasn't appreciated.
This isn't a comic thing to people in Wythe County. I believe people in Roanoke would feel the same way about a prison proposed within a mile of their city.
Four Wythe supervisors voted for it without listening to the people. To me that isn't democracy as I was taught it.
CATHERINE TREVILLIAN
WYTHEVILLE
by CNB