Just What Was That Promotion? Da Bomb?

We know that rumors of bombs coming to Florence city schools Thursday have made their way to police who have stated there have been no credible threats. Who makes those kinds of threats? Usually teenage boys who think it's...umm, cute? Smart? We're not sure what they think or if they think at all, but such threats are 99.99% of the time based on nothing.

Besides a drain cleaner type "bomb," how many of us would have any idea how to make an explosive device? How many of us would be stupid enough to even try? How many of us would be blown up if we did try?

However, it seems Tuscumbia has some sort of similar problem. We say it seems, since we're not sure what rumor is making the rounds, just that it's based on a promotion related to Star 94, a radio station in the Shoals. We went to their website and clicked on a promotion link and were met with Asian characters.

We're going to guess that Star 94 subscribes to some national franchise advertising, for after all, isn't that the way in the 21st Century? It's not what you say, but how loud you say it, how many special effects highlight the speech, and sadly even how many times you can insert words your grandmother wouldn't have approved of. It's even sadder that we can't send our children to school completely sure of the fact the most violent thing they will face all day might be a schoolyard bully.

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We appreciate any reader input on local threats. We don't want to encourage them, but to shine light on them. Similarly, we recently asked about the need for two ambulances at a medical emergency. Two of our readers replied concerning the frequent need of two teams for heavy lifting. One of these readers also mentioned that female patients may request a female paramedic. Again, we thank all our readers and friends for comments and answers to our/reader questions.

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It's extremely rare that we comment on national issues, obviously knowing how little our ideas can influence things at that level. We have to say that while we're aghast at the chemical bombing in Syria last week, we don't want to be singing Over There for another group of "our boys." Prayers for this situation. How many presidents in our lifetime could campaign for re-election on the slogan "He kept us out of war?"



Shoalanda