Up & Coming Weekly

4 UCW DECEMBER 9-15, 2009 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM PUBLISHER Bill Bowman bbowman@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERS Janice Burton Joy Kirkpatrick editor@upandcomingweekly.com STAFF WRITER Stephanie Crider stephanie@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING/SALES Tabitha Kidd tabitha@upandcomingweekly.com OFFICE MANAGER Suzy Patterson suzy@upandcomingweekly.com –––––––––––––– GRAPHIC DESIGNER Alicia Miller art@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Soni Martin, D.G. Mar tin, Pitt Dick ey, Margaret Dickson, Bob Cogswell, John Hood, Shanessa Fenner, Erinn Crider, Shannen Dill, Karen Poppele, Takeema Hoffman –––––––––––– 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. STAFF Internet Directory ............................ 12 Calendar ........................................... 16 TV ..................................................... 22 Movie Review .................................. 24 Movie Schedule ............................... 25 Concert Connection ........................ 26 Free Wheelin' Feelin' ....................... 26 News of the Weird ........................... 27 Horoscopes/Advice Goddess ......... 27 Classifieds ........................................ 28 Games .............................................. 30 Dining Guide .................................... 31 INSIDE NC Protects Us From Ourselves by BILL BOWMAN BILL BOWMAN, Publisher COMMENTS? Bill@upandcomingweekly.com. PUBLISHER'S PEN Well, last week a new law went into effect prohibiting "texting while driving" in North Carolina. Hmmmmm? Funny. I didn't feel any safer out on the highways this weekend. However, it was a good move on the part of our North Carolina legislators but, I doubt seriously that it will protect us from the inevitable. American lawmakers have a history of passing similar laws attempting to legislate common sense. A few of those include the mandatory used of baby seats, bicycle helmets and seatbelts. Unfortunately, laws of this nature are just words on paper if they cannot be enforced. Every day, the evening news reports tragic incidents involv- ing the neglect and violation of these very laws. The question is, will we ever be able to write enough laws that will protect us from our own society? Good question, huh? Well, personally, I don't think so. Banning texting while driving in North Carolina is a good move and a very good law. Hopefully, it will reduce property damage incidents but, more importantly, I hope it will save lives. Almost daily we hear of incidents caused by distracted drivers talking or texting on cell phones. On a national level the problem is horrifi c. Pas- senger bus accidents, school bus accidents as well as deadly subway and train inci- dents. Holy smokes, people! Where is our common sense? Some states actually have laws restrict- ing text messaging while driving a school bus. What? A school bus? You mean some adult person is driving 35-40 children around in a school bus while text messag- ing his friends? These words are being written by a confi rmed and admitted Crackberry addict. It's true. I doubt many people use elec- tronic PDA's more than I do. Cellphone, Blackberry, laptop computer — I'm so connected I'm disconnected. It's not some- thing I'm proud of, but I am recovering. I don't know how many studies have been done on the hazards of using cell phones or texting while driving and I doubt if there is much scientifi c evidence (yet) proving that talking or texting on a cell phone while driving is distractive or dan- gerous. However, I can tell you this from personal experience, it is. A month ago I was practically 25 miles from Wilmington on I-40 before I real- ized I missed the I-95 South Benson exit to Fayetteville. And, just last week while driving to Raleigh I missed the I-40 exit and ended up in Smithfi eld. Now, I wasn't texting, I was just talking on the cell phone and obviously too engrossed in my conver- sation. That was my wake up call. Tuesday's law is a good one if only to bring awareness to this extreme problem. The irresponsible use of cell phones and texting are making a rude and dangerous environ- ment for us to live in. And, since every other TV commercial this season is touting an "new" breakthrough in cellular tech- nology and lower rates, I don't see it subsiding any time soon. Just be careful out there. Too often we hear of accidents caused by someone distracted by a cell phone. Someone is killed when they walk into the line of traffi c while engaged in texting a friend. I even read recently where a young lady in New York fell into an open manhole while walking and texting. Crazy. So, this holiday season be careful, be safe and above all, be courteous. Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. You comments and opinions are very important to us. Call, e-mail or text us anytime to share your thoughts about our community. Just don't do it while you're driving. Happy Holidays!

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