Today's Opinions

To the editor:
I would like to share a thought with my neighbors in Brunswick County. When you buy a car, it comes with many options to choose from, but one thing is not an option. It’s that lever on the left side of the steering column, called a “turn signal.”
Its use is required
by law in all states. It is not only a law, it is a safety issue, as well as a common courtesy. It really doesn’t take much effort to push or pull that lever, and it does not matter if you are on U.S. 17, in a parking lot or turning into your driveway.

As I sat Tuesday at another fabulous annual retreat of Sunset Beach Town Council, I pondered how much things have changed in just a year’s time.

This time last year, I was posted next to a box of free-flowing Kleenex, having been finally taken down by some kind of terrible February bug after six years of relative virus- and bacteria-free health.

I was really ticked, because this thing seemed to have come from nowhere—some unknown, invisible place (isn’t that where colds usually originate?)—and it had messed up my health record.

When I settled into the editor’s desk in 2007, one of my most vocal critics was Rich Cerrato, the current mayor of Sunset Beach.

Back then Rich wasn’t an elected official. He was Average Joe Citizen who regularly attended town meetings and frequently took everyone—including this newspaper—to task.