I would like to tell a story. One day, in the not so far off future, a man comes home around 10 p.m. after working for hours late at work to find his house has burned down and his wife is lying in the yard with severe burns all over her body.

When he asked her what happened, she informed him that she was cooking dinner about 4 p.m. when the stove caught fire. Even though she tried to extinguish the blaze, the fire spread and quickly surrounded her. As she spoke her almost final words, he asked her what she had been cooking. She replied it was his favorite meal; fried chicken, mashed potatoes with brown gravy and corn on the cob, with hot apple pie and homemade ice cream for dessert. He hugged her tightly and she passed in his arms.

Now I ask you, "Why didn't she call the fire department to put out the fire and why didn't she call an ambulance to take her to the hospital?" It was because she knew the dinner she was cooking was illegal. It contained too many starches, too much fat and too much grease. If the fire department had come or the ambulance driver had seen the meal, she, and possibly her husband as well, would have been arrested and spent many years in jail.

While you may think this is a silly story, think of this: In 1880, a miner or cowboy would have told you it was unbelievable that anyone would be arrested and charged with smoking in public, even that wacky tobacco the Indians smoked in their peace pipes.

They would never believe that you could be arrested and charged with child endangerment for feeding your kid too much food. They would have shuddered at the possibility that the sheriff could arrest them on suspicion and hold them for an indefinite period of time while he "investigates."

These are cold hard realities drawn from actual events in this country today. From firefighters and ambulance drivers being used for warrantless searches, trained to look for possible suspicious terroristic activities in New York and other major cities, to a mom in California being jailed for overfeeding. Soon it will be a crime to be fat and the opening story will be that much nearer to reality.
George Orwell only got the date wrong, but everything else is coming to pass.

We are becoming the new USSR of this millennium. How many more rights will be allowed to be trampled before we say enough? Washington is messing with a people who founded their country on the ashes of tyranny. They should be wary of where they step.

Lee Marchetta
Gainesville

Credit coach for revival
Bob Christmas should get at least $1,000 for each house sold in the North Hall school district. He has led an upsurge in community sports that was quiet for 50 years. A winning sport's program does more for a community than anything else, including an old-time Billy Graham revival.

Jack Bell
Gainesville