Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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STAFF bbowman@upandcomingweekly.com editor@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERS Janice Burton Joy Crowe stephanie@upandcomingweekly.com hal@upandcomingweekly.com Michelle Schumacher michelle@upandcomingweekly.com OFFICE MANAGER Laurel Handforth officemanager@ upandcomingweekly.com ACCOUNTING Mary Catherine White accounting@upandcomingweekly.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Alicia Miller art@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS D.G. Mar tin, Pitt Dick ey, Margaret Dickson, John Hood, Jhana Lewis, Erinn Crider, Karen Poppele, Heath- er Griffi ths, Beth Solzsmon-Carpenter–––––––––––– Up & Coming Weekly www.upandcomingweekly.com 208 Rowan Street P.O. Box 53461 Fayetteville, NC 28305 PHONE: (910) 484-6200 FAX: (910) 484-9218 Up & Coming Weekly is a "Quality of Life" publication with local features, news and infor- mation on what's happening in and around the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community. Up & Coming Weekly is published weekly on Wednesdays. Up & Coming Weekly welcomes manuscripts, photographs and artwork for publication consideration, but assumes no responsibility for them. We cannot accept responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or material. Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. The publisher reserves the right to edit or reject copy submitted for publication. Up & Coming Weekly is free of charge and distributed at indoor and outdoor locations throughout Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base, Hope Mills and Spring Lake. Readers are limited to one copy per per- son. Subscriptions can be purchased for $30 for six months or $60 for 12 months, delivered weekly by first class mail. ©2007 by F&B Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertisements without permission is strictly prohibited. MARKETING/SALES Hal Nunn ASSOCIATE EDITOR Stephanie Crider PUBLISHER Bill Bowman INSIDE PUBLISHER'S PEN by STEPHANIE CRIDER I've been disappointed and frustrated recently with the way people treat each other, and I'm sure I'm not alone. In the past week I've witnessed mothers (that's right, more than one) who thought they were correcting their children, acting worse than their ill-behaved little ones, slinging words at their charges that even adults should not hurl at one another.; I witnessed a young man on his cell phone using language that would make a sailor blush, while he was rushing to beat an elderly lady to the check out counter. Top that with cranky cashiers, dangerous, angry drivers and ill-mannered children who show no appreciation for the kindnesses they are privy to each day. It's discouraging to see people treating not only strangers but their families and friends so poorly. We all have extenuating circumstances, but cursing at toddlers and racing grandma to the check out counter? Really? What is going on here? People are overwhelmed and exhausted most of the time. Got it. Now that it is the holiday season, there is that much more to do. More pressure on time and fi nances; more parties to attend and host; and more emotional hoopla than usual. Is that any reason to lose all sense of decorum and decency when we interact with our fellow man? Does the fact that someone is running late for an appointment justify rude and dangerous behavior behind the wheel? Does a sleepless night negate the need for parents making children mind in public, without losing their own minds in the process? Does the fact that children have cell phones make it all right for them to text their friends while talking to an adult? When did "please," "thank you" and "excuse me" become antiquated? And is looking someone in the eye really too much trouble? While I'm at it, someone please tell me when "whatever" and "yeah" became appropriate discourse between children and adults. I could go on and on. I'm sure every generation of parents questions the comportment of their offspring, but often times these days it is my own generation dropping the ball. We talk on our cell phones in line at the store. We routinely leave shopping carts in the middle of the parking lot after unloading groceries into the car, jostle each other in the aisles while shopping and not say a word much less "excuse me" and treat the children in our care with such lack of kindness that it is jarring. The list of Fayetteville's Weather Forecast December 2 Thursday December 1 Saturday December 3 Fayetteville's Weather Forecast Friday offenses is long. Is it any wonder so many of today's children have no manners? Who has bothered to teach them, or to set an example by using them? Sadly, the societal standards are so low these days that one of my favorite 10-year-olds was praised greatly when he stood up, looked an adult in the eye, shook their hand and said "Nice to meet you," upon meeting a friend of his parents. It's disheartening that such a common courtesy was cause for praise. Sure, things are bad out there for a lot of people. Unemployment is up and, depending which report you believe, so are foreclosures and bankruptcies. In a time when grown-ups feel little or no sense of control over things, we are missing an opportunity to prepare the next generation to face life's uncertainties. It does not cost a thing to put away a shopping cart, smile and say "thank you" to a cashier (or to a customer), talk to a youngster while shopping for groceries instead of setting them free to damage merchandise and annoy other customers in the store or worse yet cursing at them and humiliating them, or to give a senior citizen that spot in line or the closer parking space and walk the extra steps through the parking lot. It takes only a moment to let a harried driver pass by, encourage a young person, family member, teacher or peer, hold the door for a fellow shopper or exchange a smile with an exhausted parent, senior citizen, soldier or teen. There are so many things beyond our control these days, but our own behavior is not one of them. These are all small things. They're easy things. They matter. Every good deed and act of kindness is an opportunity to not only make someone else's day a little brighter, it's a chance to take a proactive role in shaping the world around you; to set an example; to be a force of goodness in the world and to make a difference, even if it is a small one. What a wonderful and powerful thing to be able to have that kind of a positive impact on those around us. The chances of peace on earth are looking pretty slim this year, but goodwill toward men? Too easy. That's a personal choice. What will you choose? STEPHANIE CRIDER, Associate Editor. COMMENTS? Stephanie@ upandcomingweekly.com CalCall 910.354.1679l 910.354.1679 Sunday Monday December 4 December 5 Calendar ........................................... 14 Concert Connection ........................ 18 TV ..................................................... 20 Movie Review .................................. 21 Free Wheelin' Feelin' ....................... 22 Horoscopes/Advice Goddess ......... 23 Classifieds ........................................ 24 Games .............................................. 26 Manners Still Matter Tuesday December 6 High 58° Low 31° Sunny High 63° Low 35° Sunny 4 UCW NOVEMBER 30 - DECEMBER 6, 2011 High 55° Low 29° Mostly Sunny Forecast available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. High 61° Low 38° Partly Cloudy High 65º Low 41º Scattered Showers High 60º Low 41º Scattered Showers WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM 24/24 7