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Over the Back Fence By HANK HENRY Scathing comments are among my regrets Earlier this fall, Charlton Heston made an acceptance speech after being re-elected president of the National Rifle Association. All of the TV newscasts carried the portion of the speech in which he held a rifle over his head and said something to the effect, "Only from these cold, dead fingers." I was awed by the fact that Heston looked so vibrant, and I thought to myself, "How can he have the energy to run around the country and make speeches when he and I are about the same age?" Then last week I got to see a different Heston. He was to make a political speech in support of a presidential candidate. One of the TV cameras was placed to the side of the stage to show speakers as they moved to the lectern. Heston was sitting on a well-padded chair, and when he was introduced he had to sway back and forth a few inches to gain momentum to get out of it. As he approached the microphone, that same camera showed him clearly bent forward from the waist, like any man in his late 70s. I thought to myself, "Charlton, you�re just an old man after all." Most older people have at least a few regrets to live with: things they did or didn�t do and now wish they could change. One of mine was that I would occasionally respond to a harsh letter by crafting words in reply that probably curled the reader�s hair. I think it was Abraham Lincoln who said that when he was tempted to send that kind of letter, he would write it and then stick it in a drawer in his desk. A few days later, he would find it while hunting for something else. Lincoln would read the incendiary words, have a change of heart, and tear up the letter. I did that with a number of such letters over the years, but there were a few times when I let my discontent outweigh my better judgment, and somebody would be seared. One of these came on my last day in office as county commissioner in January 1995. As chairman, I had to write a letter to inform a group about a change the state had instructed us to make in our land-use plan. The change would affect their plans for a certain project. It took only three or four lines to explain that, and I should have stopped writing right there, but I continued to chastise them for what I perceived to be mistakes in the way they had promoted the project. If ever there was a letter ripe for the Lincoln treatment, it was that one. But my desk was to be taken over by my successor the following day. There was no time to wait, so I mailed the letter. I should have sent the short version. Just this last week, I took a phone call from a man I had known casually since the 1960s, but with whom I had not had any contact for years. He told me he liked my columns and suggested we bury the hatchet. I was surprised to hear from him, because years before he had written a letter to the editor strongly condemning me for something I had done, and I had responded directly to his mailbox with a scorching letter. I honestly can�t remember what the issue was back then. Our relationship had been casual but cordial then. Now, after about 10 years, we are going to get together and mend fences. It is hard to make a friend, and so easy to lose one. Speaking of friends, I look forward to my visits to my barber, David Page. While cutting hair, he can talk to the man in the chair about almost anything from sports to stocks to religion. He also is something of an amateur athlete, having run in many of the Pear Blossom races. He also has a sense of humor. On a recent morning, as I was leaving and the next appointment was arriving, Dave asked if we had ever seen a 52-year old man do a full forward flip. When we said no, he bent forward, put has hands flat on he floor, and did a handstand that turned into a forward flip, and his booted feet never touched the low ceiling. Bet your barber can�t do that. (Hank Henry is a retired Jackson County commissioner and a former radio and television announcer. Call him at 772-9055.) Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.