Throughout my childhood, our family made occasional weekday jaunts to Atlanta, normally to take one or each of my sisters to the orthodontist. I used to be only a boy manufactured from snakes and snails and puppy-dog tails, so it was deemed that I didn’t want such pricey beauty care. (Because it seems, I’ve such a profound underbite that once I play a clarinet I’ve to carry the instrument the wrong way up with the bell pointing up.)
These Atlanta journeys had been huge occasions for us. We’d hop onto model new Interstate-20 and Tootsie, our mother, would comment about how shortly we might get to The Huge Metropolis on that street.
Earlier than heading residence, we might get a milkshake at The Majestic Diner or a frosted orange from The Varsity. Not in a rush with appointments – and we had blown off the varsity day, anyway – Tootsie would start our leisurely meander on the previous untrustworthy Covington Freeway.
In these present instances, people who find themselves accustomed to the far western reaches of the Covington Freeway know that it’s untrustworthy as a result of on that thoroughfare, on the sting of Decatur, inside Atlanta’s Perimeter, there’s a strip of outlets referred to as “Covington Place.” That place is not in Covington. It’s two counties away!
However my understanding of Covington Freeway’s untrustworthiness goes again to my early childhood as a result of we couldn’t return all the way in which residence to our honest metropolis by itself eponymously named street, we needed to soar onto I-20 in Lithonia. To belabor the purpose, on untrustworthy Covington Freeway, we’d cross a raunchy little enterprise referred to as, “Trustworthy John’s Used Automobiles.”
Tootsie, fluent in sarcasm, and profitable at passing that language onto her kids, would say, “We’ll get our subsequent automobile from Trustworthy John’s. He should be sincere ‘trigger his signal says so!”
My mom undoubtedly would have reached the identical conclusion with the limited-issue social media app, “Fact Social.”
Generally Tootsie would make use of different much less sarcastic however equally witty cliches to specific her lack of religion within the integrity of an individual. Stuff like, “I don’t belief him so far as I might throw him.” Or, one which involves thoughts as we speak, “I wouldn’t imagine that man if he swore on a stack of Bibles.”
• • •
Sure, alone in my residence, I tuned in to observe the inauguration on January twentieth. I bore witness to the as soon as and future First Woman, bedecked in her Eric Javits-designed additional wide-brimmed down-over-her-eyes-kiss-repelling boater hat (type of aloof excessive trend mannequin meets gondolier meets Beetle Bailey) holding on the prepared for the swearing-in, not one, however two Bibles.
Then…then… YES! I caught the faintest whiff of Winston smoke, and from past the Veil, I heard Tootsie proclaim, “Holy moly, it’s a stack of Bibles!”
I used to be ever the argumentative one whereas she was alive; I used to be not going to vary my methods simply because my mom was useless. I countered, “Mother, two Bibles don’t a stack make.”
She mentioned, “Is one Bible stacked upon one other?”
Ghosts have a approach of successful debates, dadgummit. “Properly, certain.”
“Then it’s a stack. Now hush. I wish to hear the Oath of Workplace.”
“Sure, ma’am.”
My mom’s specter and I watched and listened for these acquainted phrases because the incoming President swore to protect, defend, and defend the Structure of the US. However we each couldn’t assist however discover, the incoming President’s left hand by no means lifted from his facet. The highest Bible was left chilly and uncovered.
I heard my mom’s voice fading and distant as she mentioned, “Properly, how ‘bout THEM apples? There you’ve it. I like you, Son…”
And along with her signature three rings of cigarette smoke, she was gone.
• • •
There are such a lot of lies to select from and so little time. Again in September throughout his debate with Kamala Harris, when he was questioned about Challenge 2025, Trump mentioned, “I’ve nothing to do with Challenge 2025. I haven’t learn it. I don’t wish to learn it purposely. I’m not going to learn it.”
His plea of ignorance jogs my memory of that point in February 2016 when former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke mentioned, “Voting in opposition to Donald Trump at this level is absolutely treason to your heritage.”
When Candidate Trump was requested about David Duke he mentioned, “I simply don’t know something about him.”
However with Challenge 2025… nicely, certain, it’s troublesome to think about DJT studying something 900 pages lengthy, however he’s actually on board with it. Among the many contributors to the huge doc, one-hundred-forty of them labored in his first administration. And his slew of govt orders have adopted the pseudo-tome’s playbook chapter and verse.
• • •
In our navy, February twenty first has already been named “The Friday Bloodbath.” The President fired Common Charles Q. Brown, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Workers. Common Brown was the second African American to carry that put up. The primary was Colin Powell, thirty years in the past. Common Brown as soon as advised his troops concerning the bias he confronted all through his profession. He mentioned, with out grievance, that he had “…to carry out error-free.”
Was race a think about Common Brown’s firing? Properly, again in November, on a podcast, The Secretary of Protection Pete Hegseth mentioned, “Initially, you gotta hearth, you understand, you gotta hearth the chairman of Joint Chiefs.” Hegseth had written, “Was [Brown’s being the Chairman] due to his pores and skin coloration? Or his ability? We’ll by no means know, however at all times doubt — which on its face appears unfair to CQ.”
Common Brown had been confirmed by the Senate as Chairman in a vote of 89 – 8.
And in regards to the firing of the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Lisa Franchetti, Hegseth had written that she was “…a DEI rent.”
PHEW! A minimum of now we have the Decide Advocates Common Corps, (JAG). That group will be sure that The Uniform Code of Navy Justice is adhered to. In spite of everything, this non-partisan corps of navy overseers has been round since 1775.
Nope. Hegseth has fired the highest authorized officers for the navy companies. Yikes.
Discuss stacking the deck. This proves, as soon as once more, that weak leaders want “sure males.”
Please be aware:
In line with the Division of Protection, 31.2% of energetic navy members belong to a racial minority group. Virtually 20% are girls. Certainly, 24.1% of Air Drive officers are girls. So if every part is even, it is sensible that, infrequently, girls and other people of coloration ought to rise to the best ranges of command.
Recruitment in an all-volunteer navy is a tenuous enterprise as it’s. In 2022 and 2023, the Military missed its recruitment aim by 25%. It caught again up in 2024 when it lowered the aim by 10,000 troops.
Sending the sign to girls and minorities that they won’t be given an excellent likelihood to advance to the upper echelons of rank due to their race and gender will definitely dwindle the variety of younger individuals who would possibly wish to be part of up for navy service.
Right here’s yet another little bit of demographic context for our Covington Information readers: we reside in a majority/minority group… or is it minority/majority? This previous sociology main ought to get this straight, though it means the identical factor. Suffice it to say that Covington, Georgia is 38.9% white.
Right here’s a fairly good (unscientific) indication of how numerous the US of America really is. The following time you might be in Hartsfield-Jackson-ATL, the world’s busiest airport, go to any home concourse, stand on a type of mysterious mechanical trash cans, and look down the hall so far as you’ll be able to see. Each race, creed, and gender who can afford to fly is there. No person even notices. (Besides, they’ll discover you since you’ll be standing on a trash can.)
I’m praying for our superb Melting Pot.
Andy Offutt Irwin is a touring storyteller and singer/songwriter. He’s a proud citizen of Covington, Georgia, and The US of America.
