Obama's transition approach raises confidence

Maybe this is a belated exercise, but I've been reading Barack Obama's "The Audacity of Hope." So far, I've found nothing alarming or surprising in it. Obama comes across as a pragmatic idealist, someone who has strong principles but recognizes that others may conscientiously disagree, and knows compromise is the way to get things done in a pluralistic, democratic society.

Obama's swift action on naming members of his new administration and his choice of obviously competent, knowledgeable people also give me encouragement about the new administration that will take office in America's toughest economy of my lifetime. Obama has demonstrated a careful, deliberative and active approach to the problems facing America. He has been careful, most of the time, not to interfere in the actions of the current administration, reminding reporters that there is only one president at a time. Still, he is eager to get moving on his own plans to bolster the flagging economy, and his selections for secretary of the Treasury and other key financial posts seem to ensure confidence in the new administration and relieve the fears of his critics.

The transition to a new administration is almost always a time of hope and anticipation. The naming of fresh new faces in the Cabinet almost always engenders confidence. Voters who selected a new president like to see a new administration, so the appointments a new president makes usually are greeted respectfully, if not warmly.

The last time this happened, George W. Bush's new appointees looked hopeful. The Texas governor, unschooled in foreign affairs and other matters, turned to experienced Washington hands, people like Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, who knew their way around the Pentagon and the halls of Congress. He boosted his own stature by naming Colin Powell, a respected general who had served Republican and Democratic presidents faithfully, to be secretary of state. It all looked promising.

But early impressions don't always last. Cheney and Rumsfeld turned out to be disastrous on the key issues of Iraq and terrorism, and Powell quit in disgrace after he had been used by the Cheney-Rumsfeld neoconservatives to lend credibility to the administration's false claims about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

America will learn soon enough whether the positive impression made by Obama's economic team will be validated. Economic changes develop slowly, however, and any government actions might not bear fruit for months, even years. Jimmy Carter, who lost the 1980 election in part because of a dreary economy with high unemployment and high inflation, named Paul Volcker (now an Obama adviser) chairman of the Federal Reserve. It was Volcker's tough love approach of high interest rates that finally quelled inflation, but by the time the cure finally took hold, Ronald Reagan was in office.

Christmas decorations go up, await bigger event

The cold has driven me inside. I didn't even take the dog for a walk Friday it was so chilly (and I was beaten down by a head cold), and she was not happy about it.

But on this bright, cheery Saturday, the dome of the blue sky looks appealing, and the outdoors beckons, despite temperatures in the 30s, if that. It's a brisk day, not a biting cold, windy day, so my Southern blood can stand it, perhaps even do some outside work. With the trees shed of their leaves, outdoor chores are fewer now. The lawn and the driveway are nearly bare of leaves, and I can live with the few wayward leaves that speckle the ground.

Today, we are continuing the transformation of our home into a temple to Christmas, both religious and secular. I'll have to install the Christmas flags and the Santa wind sock. I've placed candles in the appropriate windows. The other decorations, ranging from photographs of Christmases Past to whimsical Santas and elves, will find their proper places. The tree — the primary tree with fresh green needles, sticky sap and the aroma of Christmas — will have to wait until the other decorations are in place. Then it will be another all-day job, or nearly so, to decorate that tree with all the ornaments collected over nearly 40 years.

It's a shame to go to all this work for only two people. For decades, we've opened our home to friends, neighbors and colleagues in an open house that was, inevitably, a whirlwind of greetings, conviviality, food and drink, and good cheer — an event that made all the decorating worthwhile. This year, alas, that festive evening is being overtaken by a more significant event. The imminent arrival of grandson number five has put our schedule on hold and has prevented our planning any events of our own or accepting any invitations, except tentatively. Fewer people will be exposed to the garlands, candles, foods, wassail and good cheer at our home this year, but we could not, like the Kranks of John Grisham's  novel, "skip" Christmas this year. Or any year.

But in this Christmas season, it seems entirely appropriate that a newborn baby should take priority over whatever else clutters our lives.

America needs to be into manufacturing

Executives from the Big Three Detroit automakers, plus the head of the United Autoworkers, were back before Congress Thursday to ask for billions of dollars in taxpayer money. They say that without billions in taxpayer funding, they will go belly up, with residual effects that will be felt throughout the economy.

No doubt, bankruptcy by Ford, GM or Chrysler would do further harm to the staggering economy. The question before Congress is what would be worse — pouring taxpayers' hard-earned dollars into a poorly managed, uncompetitive industry or allowing bankruptcy to take its toll, whatever the damage.

Congress should look at more than just the auto industry. Almost all manufacturing in the United States has suffered in the global economy. The steel industry, the textile industry, the furniture industry — all have dwindled to nearly nothing because of global competition and detrimental federal policies. Rather than just bail out Detroit, Congress should consider how the United States can restore its manufacturing base.

Some have worried about the impact of losing the automakers on national security. In World War II, all the automakers churned out jeeps, tanks, trucks and so forth for the war effort. Could the United States face a similar threat without the heavy industry that dominated U.S. jobs in the 1930s, 40s and 50s? America has given up on manufacturing and has tried to gain prosperity through creative financing, which is what sparked the current economic crisis. To be truly successful, the United States needs to make things, not just finance them. Perhaps the United States can't compete in highly labor-intensive industries, but it should be able to compete in manufacturing things that utilize robotics and other labor-saving devices. The Obama administration should create policies, including tax policies, that reward domestic manufacturing of a wide variety of goods.

Cars can be manufactured successfully in this country. Just ask Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Hyundai.

City planners focus on conserving neighborhoods

Wednesday night's public symposium on the city of Wilson's comprehensive plan brought out a large and diverse crowd to Wilson Community College. That should bode well for the plan that is now in its initial stages.

Perhaps the most interesting insight from a panel of four "experts" dealt with neighborhood conservation, a concept that has been used in Chapel Hill, Raleigh and other cities. It's obvious that Wilson is behind the curve on this concept. Why conserve a neighborhood when you can simply create a whole new one out of outlying farmland? That's been the deal the city has made with developers and home builders in years past. But the use of neighborhood conservation overlay districts in other cities has shown that saving neighborhoods is good for the residents, property owners and the city itself.

Too often in Wilson, neighborhoods have been considered expendable. Once-grand neighborhoods have been transformed into unattractive, low-income, dilapidated streetscapes. Enforcing historic preservation and neighborhood conservation appearance standards can forestall neighborhood deterioration. Limiting the extension of city services, including water and sewer lines, roads and electrical power to outlying undeveloped land would restrict the overbuilding of housing stock, which reduces the value of existing (i.e. older) homes. Creative ways of encouraging home ownership, such as property tax reductions for owners willing to restore dilapidated or abandoned housing, would further boost existing neighborhoods and clean up some of the city's residential eyesores.

Wilson's comprehensive plan will be a long time in the making, but a focus on neighborhoods looks like a good place to start.

A funeral done the right way

Eight hours on the road yesterday were worth it for the opportunity to say goodbye to a good man, my wife's Uncle Ben, her father's older brother, who died Saturday at age 92. One of my greatest regrets in life is that I have not always attended the funerals of people who were meaningful in my life. Just last week, I missed the funeral of a dear friend of my parents, a woman whose selfless dedication to her church helped shape my life. She also was in her 90s. Because of distance and responsibilities at home or at work, I have missed the funerals of several aunts, uncles and cousins. My presence probably was not missed, but I recognize that I missed something by my absence that I cannot regain.

The funeral for Ben Witherington Jr., a native of Goldsboro and long-time resident of Charlotte, was held in the magnificent sanctuary of Myers Park Methodist Church, a veritable cathedral in one of Charlotte's most-distinguished neighborhoods. Befitting Ben's dedication to the church, the service was a model of Christian hope and values. The soaring ceiling, embroidered banners, dark woodwork and stone walls and pillars gave an air of solemnity and magnificence to the service. The congregation sang three hymns, accompanied by the huge pipes of the church's organ: "For All the Saints," "Great is Thy Faithfulness" and "Here I Am Lord." The hymns were sung to an upbeat tempo, not as dirges, and they were voiced by the full company of friends and relatives, not by some soloist. Funerals should be participatory services, and this one was. Let us express our sorrow — and our faith and hope — in song.

The church's pastor provided a homily, but then he was followed by the deceased's son, Ben Witherington III, my wife's first cousin and her same age. Ben III, a prolific author on theological topics and church history, delivered a heartfelt eulogy that was touching and, as befitting his father, sometimes amusing and whimsical. As the mourners left the sanctuary, I had to grin: The organist played "Hark the Sound," the University of North Carolina alma mater, on the carillon, a touch Uncle Ben, who was a cheerleader in his student days and an obsessive Carolina fan all his life, would have loved.

It was as fitting a memorial as I shall ever know. We all should strive for such a funeral, and for such a well-lived life.

Christmas ties, a personal decoration

Mixed in the Christmas decorations dragged down from the attic last weekend were a stash of Christmas ties, which had been purchased over the years in after-Christmas sales, some for as little as a dollar. Beginning around the first of December, I would wear a Christmas tie to work every day as my little personal celebration of the Christmas season. As the years passed and my tie collection grew, I was able to wear a different tie almost every day of the week.

Now those ties site in my closet, awaiting an opportunity to be worn. This is one of the unexpected consequences of being laid off: Far fewer opportunities to wear a Christmas tie. Instead of the coat and tie that was my uniform of the day through most of the past thirty-some years, I now usually pull on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt to do the things I've done the past couple of months — odd jobs around the house,  job hunting on the computer, job applications, and writing (such as this).

There are many things I miss about the working world — the camaraderie of the office, the conversations and relationships with co-workers (who become your friends) with whom you spend the bulk of your waking hours, the sense of purpose and accomplishment, the satisfaction of achievement. I also find that I miss getting dressed for work, putting on the uniform of a white-collar worker and carrying out that function in society.

I look forward to the day, perhaps a year from now, when I'll have the opportunity (and a reason) to wear Christmas ties again daily.

Re-reading James Dickey's "Deliverance"

With so many books and so little time, why would anyone re-read a novel? Simple: Some novels are worth a second, or even a third, reading.

I recently finished re-reading "Deliverance" by James Dickey. I had initially read the 1970 first novel by the acclaimed poet in 1971, after buying (for $1.25) a paperback copy. That paperback had followed me all the way through about 10 moves, always finding its way to a treasured spot on a bookshelf. It was always a book I'd read again. Someday.

Having re-read the novel (and having caught a brief glimpse of the movie starring Burt Reynolds and Jon Voight on television recently), I found my initial opinion of Dickey's novel confirmed. It's a great book, and, perhaps more important, a frightening book. It's been described as a Boy Scout outing turned into a nightmare. Four aging buddies decide to put aside their comfortable suburban existence and take a canoe trip down a wild river that soon will be dammed and no longer wild. Confronted along the riverbank by evil men, the suburbanites become killers, their animal instincts for survival overwhelming their veneer of civilized behavior. Dickey's message seems to be, scratch a civilized, modern man, and you'll find a ruthless beast just beneath the skin. It's a story about what we're capable of, and the answer to that is scary.

The book is so disturbing that my wife, upon initially reading it more than 30 years ago, found herself unable to read passages while in a room alone. She needed the comfort and reassurance of other people, of loved ones, in the room with her. That feeling of being there is a testimony to Dickey's imagery and description. His collection of "Poems, 1957-1967" is one of my favorite volumes, and I've re-read some of the poems, such as "Kudzu" and "The Bee" again and again.

"Deliverance" proves to me that good books are worth the investment. They are more than bookshelf decorations that add warmth and comfort to a room. They are lasting resources that can thrill and reassure and enlighten us years and years after purchase.