R.W. Jenkins grew up in South Carolina and has always had a love for national parks. He talked about that love on a late spring morning while sitting inside his office at the Gulf Islands National Seashore Headquarters.
King Abdulla Special Operations Task Center, Jordan -- One by one, parachutes pop open, silhouetted in the Jordanian sunset as joint nation special operations forces float toward the desert terrain below—completing a military free fall from 18,000 feet out of a U.S. Air Force C-130H Hercules.
The sun is officially shining down on us. And if the sun is out, the guns are out! When we talk about guns—also known as our arms -- we are primarily looking at those biceps. The biceps are made up of a short head and long head, thus the prefix “bi.” When you see someone flex his or her guns, the line in the middle identifies the two different muscles. On the top, you see the short head and the bottom is the long head.
Just when you think you have seen it all, you haven’t. I know a lot of our readers aren’t on Facebook 24/7 like our District 4 County Commissioner. Some of you learned about Rob Williamson’s midnight raid on the sign for the first time in last week’s issue. A lot has happened since then. RW continues to plead his case on the internet and had an email campaign directed to the county commissioners before Monday’s regularly scheduled county commission meeting. The very meeting where RW could have brought up his new found emotional connection to the former sign. An emotional connection that he did not have before he was swayed by a few on Facebook. As you will read in this issue, he was chided by his fellow county commissioners and I applaud them for that. However, I don’t personally believe it went far enough. We cannot trust a chairman that is led by emotions. Emotions are fleeting and not to be relied upon. And, you make bad decisions when you are led by your emotions. Such as, “I don’t know what came over me.” Or “It was in the heat of the moment.”
It is with a heavy heart that I write this letter to you. Yesterday, I stated my position and had every intention of moving forward; however, Commissioner Williamson's recent Facebook post demands an answer.
In Monday’s county commission meeting, Commissioner and Chairman Rob Williamson put the other commissioners difficult position when he removed the signs from the causeway in the middle of the night Thursday. Quite clearly he undermined the board as expressed by both Lane Lynchard and Sam Parker. He failed to defend county staff for following through with what the board asked of them. He never apologized nor did he fully admit to the severity of what he had done. He villainized the board in an attempt to come out a hero amid the illegalities of his actions.
We’ve just celebrated Memorial Day. Flags galore saturated areas, TV, and events nationwide. God Bless the Boy and Girl Scouts, et al for placing flags at graves of men and women who gave their lives that we might enjoy freedom. A thrilling sight brings tears to my eyes every year!
