Sign drove me away from Waynesville
To the Editor:
Simply put, I’m a Texas tourist (airline pilot on leave of absence) who was on my first trip to the Hendersonville area in our motorhome. This morning, my wife of four decades mentioned Waynesville for about the fifth time, and I decided a convertible cruise down the parkway with lunch and shopping in Waynesville was in order.
On the outskirts, I was treated to the spectacle of a “Trump For President” sign with an added stinger to give it a little more white nationalist zest: “Hillary For Prison.”
Short story short, I refused to stop. KayCee had in mind an afternoon of browsing storefronts, giving our credit cards a workout — I can’t say my credit cards since she’s a retired attorney and title companies owner — but instead was relegated to sulking.
Individual expression is sure a delicate issue: any citizen can legally post some offensive icon on private property; but, visitors confronted with such are empowered to blacklist commerce in response.
I just didn’t want the day to pass without sharing my tale: that one strategically placed banner warded off at least one visitor, today. Like Crawford Ranch — it is south of our private airport in Texas and was designated prohibited airspace — years ago, Waynesville is now a big blacked-out spot on our North Carolina map.
Stay healthy and safe, all.
Andy Shane
Granbury, Texas
