Wisdom
10 • Daily Corinthian
Adoption was right for teen mom DEAR ABBY: I was glad to see the letter you printed from “Fine With My Decision” (April 22). I placed a baby boy for adoption when I was 16. My parents were bitterly disappointed and sent me out of state. But despite my somewhat immature and rebellious nature, I was — and remain — glad my parents made me do the right thing. In the years since, there has been a trend toward “open adoptions” and emotional reunions between birth mothers and adoptees who were separated under the “closed system.” I think open adoption is probably healthier for everyone except in cases of rape, incest or abuse/neglect. If the child I gave birth to were to come looking for me, I feel that’s his right and I wouldn’t turn him away. But I have never felt a desire to look for him. His birth was not a happy event in my life, and I don’t care to revisit that chapter. I don’t regard him as my son. The people who raised him are his parents, not the green kid who got herself
in trouble. I ’ m somewhat younger than the girls who gave up Abigail b a b i e s Van Buren from the 1940s to Dear Abby 1960s, so I didn’t get the “keep it a deep dark secret” advice. I also don’t feel I was unfairly coerced. I was 16 and couldn’t support a child. When I think of how my life would have been if I’d kept him, I’m sure I did the right thing. Thanks for writing, “Fine With My Decision.” You’ve got company in me, and I’m sure there are plenty more of us out there. — FINE WITH MY DECISION, TOO DEAR FINE TOO: Your letter expresses the sentiments of many women who responded, as I knew they would. Their comments: DEAR ABBY: I gave up my daughter when I was 20. I have thought about her many times, but have no other feelings than hoping she’s OK. I gave
her up because I knew I wasn’t ready for motherhood. I never married and have no other children. I have enjoyed my life. I wish my daughter, wherever she is, the best, and I hope her life has been great. I’d love to meet her someday, to be sure she’s all right, but if it never happens, that’s OK, too. Some people are born without that “mother” instinct, and it’s best they not have children they really don’t want. Too many people become parents because they think it’s the thing to do, and the children suffer. — SINGLE AND HAPPY DEAR ABBY: I’m an adoptee and while our situations are not the same, I can assure the woman who wrote you that she’s not a “freak.” I applaud her honesty about her feelings and appreciate her willingness to give her child the chance to connect with biological relatives who do want a relationship. The support groups she has encountered exist because people who regret their decisions need support.
It’s not likely there would be groups for people who don’t feel that sense of regret. In my case, I was conceived because my birth parents wanted to make money. They were ahead of their time, shall we say, in terms of surrogate parenthood. I wish I could have met them, but both died long before I began my search. Achieving adulthood for me was the realization that no matter how we start out, in the long run, our lives are our responsibility. I hope “Fine” stops beating herself up and uses that energy to nurture the relationships she does have, including the one she has with herself. — REV. J. IN NEW YORK DEAR READERS: For a longer version of this column, go to DearAbby. com. (Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.)
Today in history Today is Tuesday, July 24, the 206th day of 2012. There are 160 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History On July 24, 1862, Martin Van Buren, the eighth president of the United States, and the first to have been born a U.S. citizen, died at age 79 in Kinderhook, N.Y., the town where he was born in 1782.
On this date In 1783, Latin American revolutionary Simon Bolivar was born in Caracas. In 1847, Mormon leader Brigham Young and his followers arrived in the Great Salt Lake Valley in present-day Utah. In 1866, Tennessee became the first state to be readmitted to the Union after the Civil War. In 1911, Yale University history professor Hiram Bingham III found the “Lost City of the Incas,” Machu Picchu, in Peru. In 1923, the Treaty of Lausanne, which settled the boundaries of modern Turkey, was concluded in Switzerland. In 1937, the state of Alabama dropped charges against four of the nine young black men accused of raping two white women in the “Scottsboro Case.” In 1952, President Harry S. Truman announced a settlement in a 53-day
steel strike. In 1959, during a visit to Moscow, Vice President Richard Nixon engaged in his famous “Kitchen Debate” with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. In 1969, the Apollo 11 astronauts — two of whom had been the first men to set foot on the moon — splashed down safely in the Pacific. In 1974, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that President Richard Nixon had to turn over subpoenaed White House tape recordings to the Watergate special prosecutor. In 1983, a two-run homer by George Brett of the Kansas City Royals was disallowed after New York Yankees manager Billy Martin pointed out there was too much pine tar on Brett’s bat. However, American League president Lee MacPhail reinstated the home run. (The game was completed Aug. 18, 1983 with the Royals beating the Yankees, 5-4.) In 1987, Hulda Crooks, a 91-year-old mountaineer from California, became the oldest woman to conquer Mount Fuji, Japan’s highest peak.
House, by a vote of 4201, expelled Rep. James Traficant, D-Ohio, who’d been convicted of bribery, racketeering and tax evasion; it was only the second time a sitting member had been banished since the Civil War.
Five years ago President George W. Bush, speaking at Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina, sought to justify the Iraq war by citing intelligence reports he said showed a link between al-Qaida’s operation in Iraq and the terror group that attacked the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. A grand jury in New Orleans refused to indict Dr. Anna Pou (poh), who was accused of murdering four seriously ill hospital patients wth drug injections during the desperate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor, sentenced to life in prison in Libya for allegedly infecting children with HIV, were released after 81⁄2 years behind bars. The U.S. minimum wage rose 70 cents to $5.85 an hour, the first increase in a decade.
Ten years ago
One year ago
Nine coal miners became trapped in a flooded tunnel of the Quecreek Mine in western Pennsylvania; the story ended happily 77 hours later with the rescue of all nine. The
Thousands of protesters angry about Spain’s brutal economic woes once again filled Madrid’s downtown Sol square after many had spent weeks marching hundreds of miles from
far-flung cities across the country. Cadel Evans won the Tour de France, becoming the first Australian champion in cycling’s greatest race.
Today’s Birthdays Actress Jacqueline Brookes is 82. Actor John Aniston (TV: “Days of Our Lives”) is 79. Political cartoonist Pat Oliphant is 77. Comedian Ruth Buzzi is 76. Actor Mark Goddard is 76. Actor Dan Hedaya is 72. Actor Chris Sarandon is 70. Comedian Gallagher is 66. Actor Robert Hays is 65. Former Republican national chairman Marc Racicot is 64. Actor Michael Richards is 63. Actress Lynda Carter is 61. Movie director Gus Van Sant is 60. Country singer Pam Tillis is 55. Actor Paul Ben-Victor is 50. Actor Kadeem Hardison is 47. Actress-singer Kristin Chenoweth is 44. Actress Laura Leighton is 44. Actor John P. Navin Jr. is 44. Actresssinger Jennifer Lopez is 43. Basketball playerturned-actor Rick Fox is 43. Actor Eric Szmanda is 37. Actress Rose Byrne is 33. Actress Summer Glau is 31. Actress Elisabeth Moss is 30. Actress Anna Paquin is 30. Actress Mara Wilson is 25.
Thought for Today “It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn’t.” — Attributed to President Martin Van Buren (1782-1862).
Medical lab tech students UNA ROTC commissions place second at competition Iuka graduating cadet Special to the Daily Corinthian
BOONEVILLE — Northeast Mississippi Community College medical laboratory technology students continued to show that they were some of the best in the southeastern United States. For the third year in a row, Northeast’s Medical Laboratory Technology (MLT) Student Bowl team has placed in the top two at the American Society for Laboratory Sciences’ Tri-State student bowl competition. Northeast turned in back-to-back first place finishes in both 2010 and 2011 while the 2012 team finished second in
the event. Eleven schools from Mississippi, Tennessee and Louisiana participated in the doubleelimination student bowl competition. Members of the team included team captain Angela Moseley of New Albany; Virginia Bateman of New Albany; LaShanna Strickland of Lamar; Crystal Damons of Corinth; Ceretha Vick of Rienzi and Summer Lambert of Iuka. Medical Laboratory Technology instructors were Shannon Goolsby and Rosalyn Singleton. Rita Murry served as the Medical Laboratory Technology program director.
Special to the Daily Corinthian
FLORENCE, Ala. — The University of North Alabama Army ROTC program honored 11 graduating cadets at its spring 2012 commissioning ceremony in the Guillot University Center performance center. Rebecca Green, human resource techni-
cian with the UNA Army ROTC program, said this year’s ceremony featured the most commissioned cadets at one time since spring of 1992. James K. Sheffield, a physical education major, of Iuka — Field Artillery, MS National Guard, was recognized at the ceremony.
Freed-Hardeman recognizes Smith’s academic achievement Special to the Daily Corinthian
HENDERSON, Tenn. — A local student has been recognized by Freed-Hardeman University for academic achievement during the spring semester.
Brooke Smith of Glen has been named to the President’s List. Smith just ended the year as a senior majoring in biology. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Terry Smith.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Horoscopes BY HOLIDAY MATHIS Knowing that someone somewhere would relish your worst luck, you change your ideas about what’s really a problem. The moon in the judicious sign of the scales helps you carefully count your blessings and weigh them against your issues, most of which could only be categorized as “first world problems.” ARIES (March 21-April 19). The most important thing to accomplish today is a state of relaxation. Being relaxed, you’ll either do a job or not do a job, and everyone will feel good about it either way. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). The sky may be above you, but it is also inside you. With every breath you take, you intermingle your essence with the sky and exhale your interpretation of the universe. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Someone’s tendency to over-share makes you very sensitive to the pitfalls of revealing information that’s not useful to the situation at hand. You’ll strive for a healthy balance between honesty and tact. CANCER (June 22July 22). You’ll watch a problem from the sidelines and decide when and whether it would be right to intervene. Sooner would be better than later. Step in, give your two cents, and then get out. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You don’t see yourself as a guardian of truth who swoops down from on high to impart your wisdom to those who, without you, wouldn’t have a clue. Instead, you are learning along with everyone else -- and loving the camaraderie. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). In the same way that compost can help a garden immensely, anger in the right measurement can be a positive dynamic that leads to growth. How much of it exists and how it’s directed will be key. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Your impulse to move is tempered by caution. He who hesitates may lose out, but that can be an extremely good thing if the thing you’re losing out on is a gigantic hassle. SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 21). You may find yourself in the unfortunate position of having to point out someone’s shortcoming. Luckily, you have a talent for putting a positive spin on things. You’ll start by finding something nice to say. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). People have a way of getting under your skin by refusing to act sensibly or thoughtfully. Make sure that you’re rested and that your needs are met, and you’ll be impervious to irritation. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-
Jan. 19). The limitations placed in your path by the outside world are the least difficult to get past. The hardest limitations to break through are the ones you impose on yourself. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 18). Enlist help and take care of unfinished business. You won’t be able to do it all on your own. Physically, you are capable, but unless you involve others, you’ll get too bored with the process. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). All you’re trying to do is make sure the people around you are treated fairly and treat one another fairly, too. Though it’s not your intention to start a movement, you will be the instigator of change. TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (July 24). Dreams are the fuel that speed you through this year. Whatever shape your refueling station takes, make a point to stop in, rest and recharge your batteries in August. September brings an important financial decision. You’ll move or change for love in November. You’ll sock away savings in January. Your lucky numbers are: 6, 25, 49, 30 and 25. Cancer and Sagittarius people adore you. ASTROLOGICAL QUESTIONS: “My boss is a tyrant. He happens to be a Capricorn with a Scorpio moon. I’ve known a lot of really nice Capricorns, but my boss isn’t one of them. He’s moody, and he flies off the handle, shouting and ranting when he’s mad. He gets upset over the most ridiculous things. If I forget one small detail or misinterpret something he says, it’s on. As his personal assistant, I get the worst of all his moods. On the bright side, he’s one of the most successful people in the entertainment industry, and I’ve been told that if I hang in there I’ll make more connections in a year than I would make in five years somewhere else. Do you think it’s worth it? I’m a Pisces.” Oh, man. Pisces are so sensitive and impressionable that it very well may be poor for your health to stay in day-to-day contact with such a toxic individual. It may help you to mentally give yourself permission to leave at any moment. This allows you to keep a degree of dignity and detachment. Your Piscean powers of compassion, empathy and intuition will have to be working overtime in order to stay longer than a few months in this kind of situation. (If you would like to write to Holiday Mathis, please go to www. creators.com and click on “Write the Author” on the Holiday Mathis page.)