If someone said "Cokeville" here in north Georgia, the listener might think the speaker was making a joke about living the city of Atlanta, home of the Coca Cola company -- even home of the World of Coke. But Cokeville is a real place, a small town in Wyoming not much bigger than the World of Coke, with a population of a little more than 500 people. Five times more people visit the World of Coke in Atlanta on an average day than live in Cokeville, Wyoming. But why haven't we heard of Cokeville before? If our hypothetical speaker were to say "Columbine" instead, most listeners will immediately be reminded of the horrible massacre planned and executed by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold that took place at Columbine High School in Colorado, not the flower. Twelve innocent high school students and one heroic teacher were murdered by two deranged teenagers, and twenty-four more people wounded. Then Michael Moore’s movie Bowling for Columbine famously took advantage of the tragedy to advocate for stricter gun control, making sure we never forget the horrific massacre that took place on April 20, 1999. What we've learned from modern terrorists is that if you take away all the guns, the lunatics will learn how to make bombs. Or they'll steal a truck or bus, and run over people. If someone wants to commit murder and create terror and mayhem, they will find a way. Back to Cokeville -- what makes Cokeville, Wyoming so special? It's special because of the tragedy that didn't happen there. On May 16, 1986, David and Doris Young took more than 150 children and teachers as hostages … [Read more...]