Letters to the Editors

Glidewell a man of good taste in barbecue

Editor: Re: Unpack your accents if y'all want to blend in, Aug. 27 Jan Glidewell column:

I usually find Glidewell's column amusing, even though I think on occasion his GPS locator could use a new battery. But in this column I find he also is a man of considerable taste and intellect. Anyone who has the good sense to appreciate North Carolina barbecue has his taste buds tuned to the right station.

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, in the region near Salisbury, N.C., and environs, barbecue is prepared by hanging a pork shoulder over a bed of hickory coals for several hours and let it cook very slowly. The fat drips out and falls on the coals and the resulting smoke rising up flavors the meat to perfection.

It is possible to cook barbecue until it is too dry, but if you get someone who knows what he's doing, the meat is moist and is ready to fall off the bone. Some serve the meat as is, and the meat is "pulled" from the shoulder. However, when I grew up in Salisbury, the barbecue was mostly served "chopped," either in a cardboard tray or on a bun. Note that nowhere have I mentioned rubbing or basting the meat with a sauce. Heaven forbid!

Here is where regional differences begin to show up. In Salisbury, the diner is provided with a bottle of vinegar containing a little hot pepper and you sprinkle this on your barbecue to the extent you like.

Usually, a slaw also came with the barbecue, and here differences arose, as well. In Salisbury, the slaw was chopped cabbage, mixed with vinegar, some red pepper and a few tiny bits of tomato. Very tangy. If you go about 100 miles east, the slaw served is similar to cole slaw, loaded with mayonnaise.

Of course, hush puppies come with the barbecue; sometimes they contain onions and sometimes not. Normally, dessert can vary, but almost always peach or cherry cobbler is available.

Glidewell also touched on another topic, and that is the Southern accent. Now, I'm from Salisbury, but there are so many Southern accents that I cringe when I see the Southern drawl alluded to as typical Southern speech. I spent most of my working life in western Virginia in a university environment and so had opportunities to hear a tremendous number of accents. If someone was from eastern Virginia, "out" was "oot" and "about" was "aboot."

In the very rural areas 20 miles or so south of Salisbury, you could hear traces of Elizabethan English, "help" was pronounced "holp." The same was true in the more remote valleys of the mountains in the western end of the state.

Down on the coast, in rural areas a bit north of Beaufort, N.C., you almost could swear the natives had come from Britain not too many years earlier. I have one trace of my regional accent that I've been trying to lose for years. Unless I make a real effort, the word "can't" comes out "caint."

My wife grew up in Brooksville, and yet I do not hear much Southern in her speech, as Glidewell described. I supposed it's true we do speak a bit softer and slower than our Northeastern brethren, do use "y'all" a lot and do not stick an "r" on the end of certain words, but let's not be so all inclusive with the term "Southern accent."

By the by, I see where the official wine that is always served with barbecue in Piedmont, N.C., will soon be available here in Florida: "Cheerwine," bottled in good ol' Salisbury.
-- A. Keith Furr, Brooksville

Fire rescue district lacks credibility

Editor: I fully agree with the position of Spring Hill Fire Rescue District Commissioner Richard Martin. We need a full investigation into this scandal and to "clean house" of those involved. We certainly do not want these people tending to the public at a time when people are the most vulnerable.

In regard to the comments made by recently appointed Commissioner Tommy Marasciullo, he really needs to think about how consensual it could be when the woman claimed she was drunk. The public should keep in mind that this commissioner stated prior to his appointment that some of the Spring Hill firefighters worked for him part time and were friends of his. Sounds like a conflict of interest to me.

If Commissioner Robert Kanner and Chief J.J. Morrison knew about this since June, why did they keep silent? Now that the word is out, Mr. Kanner calls an "emergency" meeting. Too little, too late.

Good hunting, Commissioner Martin. We need to bring credibility to the Spring Hill Fire Rescue District.
-- Jon Knudson, Spring Hill

Entire department must not suffer because of a few

Editor: For more than days I have been getting up in the morning and reading about the Spring Hill Fire Rescue District. I can't tell you what happened with the alleged accusations against the firefighters, but I can tell you that I find it hard to believe the picture painted by the newspapers of fire commission Chairman Bob Kanner.

I have known him for 11-plus years, not only as the former president of the Spring Hill Civic Association, but as a friend. I don't know if he made any errors in handling the firefighters situation, but if he did, can anyone out there honestly say they never made a mistake? Mr. Kanner is human, and we need to remember that.

We need to stop rehashing the bad and look back at some of the good. It seems that human instinct is to always remember the bad and we are quick to forget all the good. If he made an error in judgment, it was an error -- not anything intentional. Let us do some soul searching and get back on track and support the Spring Hill Fire Rescue District. Please don't condemn the entire fire department because of a few who put their lust above the reputation of our fire department.
-- Morty Miller, Brooksville

Antibias policy should include sexual orientation

Editor: I have just read a New York Times article on the Internet that details the trials of a gay male student in Nevada who won a $451,000 judgment because his school district did not protect him from harassment and beatings due to his sexual orientation.

Four years ago, the Hernando County School Board ran scared before a howling mob of religious fanatics who feel that it is okay to discriminate against our sexual minority students. Hernando's time will come to face up to this problem, but then it will be an expensive lesson, like the one that the Nevada School District just settled.

Let's avoid that. Let's do the right thing and add "sexual orientation" to our antidiscrimination policy now.
-- Gilbert S. Williams, Spring Hill

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