Country Connections By James and Ellen Perry
As I sit here on my porch in the late evening shadows, I am thinking of men’s necessities in life.
They are: at least one good dog, one good old pick-up truck during your life, an understanding wife who never complains and only thinks of you when you are away, bluebird sky days after a soft rain, a fish on the line every cast, grandchildren who sit on your lap and don’t squirm and are very quiet, a good baseball game on TV, a Sunday afternoon nap and sardines for a snack.
Also, a good barber who tells you jokes.
But I return to a more serious problem today that’s killing our young and old alike. Recently we’ve had too many killed on Highway 33 from Maynardville to Halls Crossroads which is a mere 12 miles of road. The killer is one word: speed.
During the school year I drive to Halls every morning at 5:15 a.m. to the school bus lot and every morning I have pickup trucks, cars and vans passing me doing from 80 to 100 mph. I don’t see the need for this.
If time is that important just leave home 10 minutes earlier. The evening traffic 5:30 p.m. is just as bad and just as stupidly fast.
Another contributing factor is drugs and alcohol. Neither should ever be used while operating automobiles, pickup trucks, vans, motorcycles, airplanes or farm equipment. Look at the accidents and fatalities across the U.S.
In the early morning of 9-1-1 I pulled into a pizza manufacturer in San Jose, California. On entering the receiving office, I saw on the TV a plane crashing into the World Trade Tower in New York City. This was the second plane to hit the Towers.
I knew from being a former business pilot that this was no accident. I immediately went and woke up every 18-wheel driver and told them to contact their company as we were at war. Some thought I was crazy, but all knew I was right within 30 minutes.
After that attack on the U.S., drivers across the nation slowed down and became more courteous on the road. A miracle had happened overnight caused by an attack against us on our soil. These courtesies from driver to driver to driver went on for six months, then reverted to the old discourteous driving habits.
Some wonder where and when this happened. My belief is on the Nascar circuit with old #3 harassing other Nascar drivers with his mouth and his gestures. I think he was called “the Intimidator.”
At the time I was driving for La-Z-Boy Furniture and remember after each Nascar race fans leaving the Nascar grounds copied “the Intimidator” on the highway with other drivers they passed in their motorhomes, cars and pickups. It happened after each race wherever the race was held. I think that here was the beginning or embryo of our road rage incidents, excessive speeding, and other lack of respect for other drivers and riders on our highways today.
Drugs and alcohol also play into our killings and shooting injuries because they know there are no or very liberal consequences suffered today because of liberal laws, liberal judges and juries who lack support for law enforcement officers today. Lord help us if it gets any worse.
I hope we don’t have another 9-1-1 or equivalent manmade disaster to make us wake up and become decent on our roads in America again.
Thank God the Tennessee State Troopers and the Knox County Sheriff’s Dept. have been working Highway 33 below Copper Ridge and slowing traffic in that stretch of highway.
Union County doesn’t seem to care as much as traffic travels through Maynardville at speeds above the posted speed limit. Most speeders I have been passed by are either Knox County, Kentucky or Virginia vehicles.
Tailgaters are another problem and getting worse. When I was a young driver during the 60s, tailgaters would get a ticket as soon as a speeder, not so today and it’s a national problem, especially for older drivers who have more driving experience and common sense and respect for other drivers.
I don’t want to see this country become so dangerous that it will not be safe to travel our roads for business or pleasure or where motorists will be facing problems like drug related shootings, car jackings, aggressive drivers and young idiots looking for and wanting to commit violence to people and property.
With China’s plan to become the dominant world power by 2050 the United States needs to get its internal problems under control and start to catch up with and outperform China’s future plans. Your grandchildren’s grandchildren will pay a very big price if we don’t.
Now I don’t want to preach to you as I haven’t had “the calling” but a lot of you drivers need to be called down and more. Maybe we should copy the Asian method known as caning.
Remember during the Clinton times when the whole Clinton aristocracy protested against caning of an American by the name of Michael Peter Fay whose caning strokes were cut from six to four strokes because President Clinton requested leniency. His reduced caning was carried out on May 5, 1994, in Singapore. His crime was for vandalizing 18 cars over 10 days and also for theft.
There was support in the U.S. by regular citizens for caning Fay because of his crimes. So call or text your Federal Representatives and Senators to support and introduce caning for excessive speeding, road rage incidents and for drunk or drugged driving. If the lawmakers get this passed into law, within one month it would be so nice to have a Sunday drive.