Tallahassee Democrat from Tallahassee, Florida • Page 11

Join the lively discussion on everything from local news to collegiate sports In our forums. Go to forums.tallahassee.com. Saturday, March 1, 2008 -Tallahassee Democrat Tallahassee.com OvKH Gadsden County: Get some financial advice. Page 4B 01 tlDli. fUMM 9 Obituaries.

Page 5B Letter to the editor Charity is never a bad decision Re: "Exploitation can chill a kind soul to charity" (letter, Feb. 28). I was touched by Angie Carter's letter, which referred to a "homeless" man who bought beer with her donation. I sympathize with her feelings of anger, betrayal and frustration, but all the world's major religions stress the importance of almsgiving. Jesus, in particular, stressed our welcome Center awcea i i.

i r'- I i 4. 1 I II i.y Jl A I 1,1 Pull In to the Wakulla Welcome Center In Panacea and check out an were when the town was a tourist destination. The time is early 1900. You reside near Bainbridge, Ga. In the last few years, has become a painful part of your life.

Based on stories you've heard, you decide to Bonnie Holub Wakulla County make a trip to Panacea, Fla. It's a lengthy journey, but worth a try. With family in tow, you board the officially known as the Georgia Florida Alabama railroad, although some folks humorously refer to it as the Gopher Frog Alligator. The train makes a stop in Tallahassee before you disembark in Sop-choppy and climb into a mule-powered tramcar, which takes you to the bustling community of Panacea. The family checks into the well-appointed Mineral Springs Hotel, where 125 guests reside in relative luxury.

The Mineral Springs Hotel is landscaped with rose bushes and offers a full-service dining room featuring linen-covered tables. A smaller hotel, the Bay View, offers a bowling alley and pool tables, but because of your arthritis those amenities aren't the ones you seek. The family changes into bathing attire and heads for the famous mineral springs of Panacea, within walking distance of the hotel. Your spouse and children choose the swimming area, but not you. You walk the grounds until you locate what you came for.

The natural pool with a sign that reads "Arthritis Springs." ii" r-: -r Up to 125 guests could stay at the Panacea wasn't named Panacea without good reason. In the late 1890s, the community was looking for a name in order to establish a post office. W.C.Tulley, a local resident, reasoned that, since the community was fortunate enough to have bubbling spring water that could cure all that ails ya', the word "panacea," meaning cure-all, was the perfect choice. During the early 1900s, people came from throughout the country and even a few i- CONTACT US Mary Ann Undley, Editorial Page Editor mlindleytallahassee.com Phone: 599-2178 Readers' opinions stated succinctiy I sure hope Gov. Crist shuts down all the saloons in Tallahassee during the afternoon break of the Legislature before the State of the State address.

Nice hair, Tony Stewart! Legislative thought process: Lottery good, salaries paid by state; numbers game bad, food and housing paid by state at Raiford prison. Bin the fairness, Ralph Nader shouldn't be allowed to run for president unless Rush Limbaugh runs, too. Perhaps one of the tests of Obama's mainstreaming will be when Microsoft adds "Obama" to its dictionary. When a restaurant puts out a new menu, it usually is to reflect a price increase. Huckabee: plays bass for the base.

McCain: off base with the base. We've been involved in Iraq longer than we were involved in World War II. Where's Sept. 2, 1945, when you need it? You know which cars are going to cut you off on Tennessee Street because they have a FAMU.FSU orTCC sticker or tag on the back. Zing! understands that driving, like other subjects, is something students must learn in their time here.

Write PO. Box 990, Tallahassee. FL 32301, or e-mail zing tallahassee.com. Zinglers Handling Zing! gives an editor a wonderful or twisted view of humanity. We get up to 100 Zingls a day, and when it's my turn to zip through each writer's treasured 10 to Mark Hohmelster Associate Editor 20 words, 1 sit here mumbling "Clever," "Huh?" "It's that conservative again," "He stole that one," "Too silly," "Too serious that liberal again" and, not too infrequently, "Holy moly!" I like to collect ones in that last category: Look at the Caucasian child that was hung 2 weeks ago by 6 African American kids.

I think this one referred to the Jena 6 loings If JLj obligation to perform acts of charity. He imposed no requirement that we do social histories on our beneficiaries to determine their worthiness. You will find much the same spirit in the Hebrew scriptures, the Quran, the teachings of the Buddha, and all of the world's holy books. What Ms. Carter did was a good thing.

Out of the chanty of her heart, she gave succor to the poor. The man may not have really been homeless, but we know he was poor in spirit if nothing else. Besides, the fact that this particular act of charity 'went to a person who abused the gift does not change the fact that thejrery next homeless person she meets might be very worthy, might indeed be Christ himseE Jesus himself, in Matthew's Gospel, is reported to have said, "Inasmuch as you did it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me." Do not worry that a person might not be worthy of our charity. Give anyway. Each of us has been given gifts of incalculable value, and, surely none of us has proven worthy of those gifts: the gift of God's love and the gift of the life of God's own son.

Keep kind hearts, friends, and do not stop giving to the poor. End of sermon. DOUG HYDEN rumors in my days in New England). My mom even went to Hartford, to celebrate her denomination's 50th anniversary and got to hear Obama, who was a featured speaker. Obama's father was an atheist who was raised as a Muslim.

His mother had a varied spiritual journey. And Obama made a decision in his 20s to be baptized as a He has been a member for 20 years of a congregation in Chicago (Trinity, the largest UCC church in the country) that calls itself "Unashamedly Black and Unanplogetically Christian." To some, that translates as radical extremist black supremacist organization. But the Rev. John H. Thomas, national presi- Please see OBAMA, 3B Democrat files exhibit that shows how things IF YOU GO What: Exhibit of historic Wakulla photographs When: Through March 10 Where: Wakulla Welcome Center, on the Big Bend Scenic Byway, U.S.

Highway 98 overlook- ing Dickerson Bay in Panacea Hours: Monday-Sat- urday 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Sunday p.m. Phone: (850) 984-3966 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Bonnie Holub writes about Wakulla County for the Democrat. She owns Bonnie Holub Associates, a creative communications business in Wakulla County. Contact her at bholub earthlink.net.

Obama at his side, during the playing of the national anthem. Anne Garside, director of communication for the Maryland Historical Society, home of the original manuscript of the "Star-Spangled Banner," has said modern custom does not require a hand over the heart. As for the pledge, it's easy to find videos of Obama leading the U.S. Senate in the Pledge of Allegiance, hand over heart and all. The Quran.

No, that's not Obama. U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota took his oath of office on the Quran (actually, the copy that once belonged to that noted Muslim, Thomas Jefferson). But is he Muslim? No.

Like my dear mother, Obama is a member of the United Church of Christ (what we called Congregational, back -r--. Rorida Photographic Collection luxurious Mineral Springs Hotel. places in Europe to experience the healing powers of Panacea's mineral springs. Some of the spring-fed pools were labeled with the ailments they could ease, such as Arthritis Springs and Liver Springs. And that's why you came.

To soak in the soothing waters of a community that is officially recognized as a "cure-all." Remnants of the springs remain in Panacea, but gone are Please see PANACEA, 3B OF OFFICE ON THE So much madness, so little space. Terrorist clothing. The latest little excitement online shows photos of Obama dressed as a terrorist on a 2006 trip to Kenya. Well, actually, dressed in clothing that might be worn by a Somali nomad. Whatever.

There's also a photo of Hillary Clinton in a Muslim head covering while she was visiting Nigeria in 2000. President Bush removes his shoes when he goes into a mosque. It's, the sort of thing politicians do. The Pledge. There is indeed a photo of Obama standing with his arms keep sending those crazy Sometimes, ail I can do is sigh.

Or get mad, which is what has happened with the recent spate of Barack Obama Zingls. case, where white kids put up a noose and nobody was hanged. I wonder how long it will take locals to realize the local resident is getting ripped off by the extreme cost of the power bill. For $300 a month, I could make payments on my own generator. Hey, nobody's stopping you.

Sometimes, all I can do is sigh. Or get mad, which is what has happened with the recent spate of Barack Obama Zingls. What did President Obama say when he heard that Iran finally had the bomb? 'Allah be Obama doesn't mind putting on clothing similar to those worn by Islamic terrorists, but will not be seen wearing an American Flag lapel pin or seen saluting an American Flag. Our Future Commander-in-Chief? Why would anybody vote for someone to become President of the United States of America that refuses to pledge allegiance to the flag of our country or swear an oath to office without the Bible? Barack Obama is that person! You are that idiot! And my favorite, typed on a manual typewriter in all caps and mailed with a Liberty Bell stamp: DEAR HOW MANY OBAMA VOTERS KNOW THAT HIS MIDDLE NAME ISHUSSAINHEIS MUSLIM AND HE'D TAKE THE OATH.