Speak Out

Re "Bridges to another time" (Travel, May 3):

Congratulations to The Star on the information and photos in "Bridges to another time." We associate covered bridges with romance. Due to the cover allowing seclusion, covered bridges were sometimes called "kissing bridges." Whether in memory or imagination, covered bridges bring sights and sounds of days gone by. Covered bridges, cherished and symbolic resources, create a mystique and charm that appeals to old and young alike. Wooden covered bridges are persistent engineering marvels, popular tourist attractions and picturesque settings for reflecting on life in the past.

Various explanations have been given for covering bridges, including protection of the structural beauty or to resemble barns, and making horses less hesitant to enter. An old carpenter stated the bridges were covered "to keep them dry — not the travelers, not the horses, or the wagonloads of hay, nor the sweethearts halted in the shadows, but the plank roadways."

Coldwater covered bridge, at Oxford Lake, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The bridge, a historic and recreational facility, was built by a former slave in 1850. In 1920, the bridge partially burned but was repaired, which calls to mind the figurative expression, "Don't burn any bridges behind you."

Let's enjoy Coldwater covered bridge as we reflect on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's quotation: "The grave is but a covered bridge leading from light to light, through a brief darkness!"

Penny J. Nielsen
Weaver

Defeating terrorism

The only effective way to defeat terrorism is to adopt the tactics used by our enemies. As cruel and inhumane as this sounds, it is what terrorists recognize, understand and will respond to in a favorable manner.

Conventional warfare with its humane guidelines of the Geneva Convention is a joke to terrorists. Terrorists are easily bypassing conventional wars' restraints by using guerilla warfare to counteract it. Anything goes and the ends justify the means.

Terrorists would think long and hard before attacking U.S. troops, or mainland America, if they knew the retribution for their acts meant that the homes of their parents, wives or children would be destroyed and that punishment for their crimes would be meted out on their families.

In the event of state-sponsored terrorism, the offending country could expect to be reduced to a cinder and relegated to the footnotes of history.

Extending humane policies toward enemy combatants only works when both parties involved in the fight are exercising the dictates of the Geneva Convention. When one of the participants chooses to no longer follow those guidelines then their opponent should no longer be expected to do so.

If America is ever to be safe and the War on Terrorism is to be won, then total and complete destruction of our enemies is our only option. Anything less and we have already lost.

Billy E. Price
Ashville