I first developed my theory of equilibrium back in my senior days of high school.

Like Einstein, Copernicus, Newton and all the other gods of science, I thought I had stumbled upon a new and unique principle.

A budding, but brilliant, scientist, I knew I had developed a new and exciting theory.

So here it is: Every action in life is matched by an equal and opposite reaction.

OK. So it sounds a little like Newton&8217;s third law of motion.

But Newton just applied it to physics. I applied it to life.

As a corollary, I also determined that the amount of energy that you put into a thing is equal to the amount you get out.

Sure, that sounds a little bit like Einstein and the conservation of energy principle.

But again, I was applying this to life, not physics.

In my theory of equilibrium, everything has its consequences. More important, the energy expended to overcome those consequences usually equals the amount of energy originally saved.

Take transportation, for example. Before cars, people lived closer to where they worked. Houses and businesses were built close together.

Then came the automobile. It was easier to build houses away from the city and live in paradise &8212; in the suburbs.

Sounds easy.

Then came traffic jams, the price of gas, pollution, long commutes, parking problems, road rage and a long list of other problems associated with the automobile.

What first was thought to be a convenience has now been met with a whole range of other problems.

The latest example, I am afraid, is the construction of the new Wal-Mart in Vidalia.

At first glance, what is better than the construction of a multi-million dollar retail business in town?

When the project was first announced, city leaders hailed it as an example of how Vidalia is that bold city on the move.

On opening day, the sounds of cash registers in the store were also the sounds of tax dollars flooding the coffers of the city.

And there were the sounds of property values going up on the west side of town. Just ask Mayor Hyram Copeland who joined with others to spend more than a million dollars for the land across the street.

Sounds like a win-win situation for everyone, right?

What adverse consequences could there possibly be?

In the past couple of years, several gas stations on the east side of town have been struggling to stay open.

Today, drivers coming off the Mississippi River bridge can pass by the idle pumps of the RaceTrac gas station at the intersection of Carter and Texas streets.

As the cars line up at the new Murphy Oil station in front of the new Vidalia Wal-Mart to take advantage of the lowest prices in the city, the station on the other side of town remains silent.

Any effort to revive it has now been made more difficult.

As stores prosper in the shadow of Wal-Mart, how long will it take to lure the businesses on the east side of town to the west?

Like many towns across the country, the construction of big retail stores, like Wal-Mart, have left many shopping centers vacant and whole areas of cities blighted.

One only has to drive across the river to look at the Magnolia Mall and the Tracetown shopping center to see what effect the movement of big retail stores can have on an area.

Unfortunately, the east end of Vidalia is the gateway to the city, the point at which visitors are welcomed to the city. Nothing could be a worse welcome than the sight of empty stores and gas stations.

Any of the benefits of Wal-Mart, or any big retailer, for that matter will have to be equaled by the energy used to keep up the east side of town &8212; or so the theory goes.

In science, theories are open to conjecture. Here&8217;s hoping, in this instance, this theory is proven wrong.

Ben Hillyer

is the visual editor of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3552 or

ben.hillyer@natchezdemocrat.com

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