Newspaper Page Text
The Taylor County News, June 24, 2021, Page 2.
Vfl Lori's views
Tty
va Loti Moors
A few years ago, I wrote about seeing a strange animal that I
had never seen before. I had a little response, but every ani
mal I was told it could possibly be just didn’t pan out. I would
look up what the animal could have possibly been, and it wasn’t
even close. I never figured out what the critter was.
Well, the other day, Todd and I were going to Macon, and we
were in the Crowell Community, when one of those critters
shot across the road. Todd exclaimed, “What was that?'’ I said,
“I have no idea, but it’s the same thing I saw a few years ago
and never identified!” He said, “Maybe it’s a polecat.”
1 didn’t argue, but I didn’t think that was right. I have al
ways thought a polecat was another name for a skunk, and
this creature does not look like a skunk.
I, once again, started researching this critter. My longstanding
myth that a polecat and a skunk are the same thing was de
bunked. They are not the same thing, and 1 could be the only
person who ever thought they were the same thing. 1 just don’t
know, but that’s what I thought.
However, I do believe the critter we saw was a polecat. It was
black and sort of looked like an overgrown ferret. There are
different kinds of polecats, and I can't find that any of them
are supposed to be running around here in Taylor County. The
striped polecat lives in Eurasia, Well, this was not a striped
polecat-it had no stripes. It was black. The one that is black
is called a European polecat, and that’s what this critter looked
like. But, it’s not supposed to be here, either. The black-footed
ferret, or an American polecat, once lived on the prairies in
Central America, but was declared extinct in 1979. Some con
servation programs have contributed to its return to the Cen
tral American prairies. However, the American polecat is not
black, I can’t find anything that says these things live in Geor
gia, but I think they do! I’ve seen two of them. It really looked
like the European ones, but they aren’t supposed to be here.
I just don’t know. Maybe they are like the armadillos. When
[ was growing up, I had never seen an armadillo until we were
on the way to a press convention on Jekyll Island. The farther
south we went, the more armadillos we saw smashed on the
road. I had no idea what those strange things were, but we all
know what they are now! Armadillos have moved in, and they
love to tear up our yards these days!
Maybe we will start seeing more of these strange critters, and
maybe one day, 1 will know what they are! It really does look
like some sort of polecat, but it doesn’t fit neatly into any of the
descriptions I’ve found. Who knows, but, hopefully, they aren't
destructive like the armadillos, and maybe they aren't danger-
ous--who knows, because who knows what it is!
To The uLg ht
Bob wade
Father’s Day 2021
Shannon McGurk, founder of the Internet website Au
thentic Masculinity, asked, “What would you say if I told
you men fulfilling their responsibilities as fathers could
solve all the world’s problems?”
Internet website PsychCentral states, “Overall, one of the
most significant responsibilities for a father is to set a good
example for [hisl children so that they can model [his] posi
tive traits and actions. Children are incredibly observant,
even at a very young age, and research shows that they
will begin to copy and mimic the actions that they see
around them.”
Five years ago, it was a privilege to talk by telephone
with my high school English teacher, Carol Baggett. She
was important in the development of this pundit’s life. She
not only taught the skills of reading and writing the En
glish language, she stressed the necessity of discernment
of ideas. She insisted we analyze what we read and search
for meaning.
Carol expressed surprise after learning her student stayed
a lifelong Georgia resident as he often said he wanted to
“get out of Georgia.”
Upon hearing, “In my travels I learned, it wasn’t Georgia
I wanted to leave, it was just Colquitt because of my dad.”
Father, as the saying goes, “was a good man when he
wasn't drinking.” After about 1964, he was seldom not
drinking!
That was not always the case. Dad just did not handle
success well.
By trade, Dad, like Jesus Christ, was a carpenter By the
early 1960s, he was a successful businessman. His real
talent was selling houses.
After graduating college, this pundit interviewed for a
job with Albany Federal Credit Union. A few sentences into
the interview, the president asked, “Wade, hum, do you
know Charles Wade of Colquitt?”
“He’s my father,” was the reply.
“Interesting,” that financier said, “he is the only man that
if he called me on a Sunday night and said he needed a
million dollars by eight in the morning, I would have them
waiting for him when the door swung open. That man could
sell and build houses!”
To reiterate, dad did not handle success well.
He started fishing, then hobnobbing, gambling, and drink
ing with doctors and lawyers, people that did not have to
labor to keep their cashflow high.
By 1964, alcohol, living large, and not “tendin’ bidnez”
got the best of him, and he took it out on his family. We
dreaded his arrival at home, wondering whether he was
Scripture Of
The Week
In God I will praise His word, in God I have
put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can
do unto me.
Psalm 56:4, KJV
alie Saglor (Emmtg News
ant)
(Ebe Sutler Herali
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drunk.
When “Miss” Carol heard that explanation, she under
stood leaving Colquitt was a necessity.
This pundit needed to go where people would judge him
by the content of his character, as Dr. Martin Luther King.
Jr. often said.
This child watched helplessly while his drunk or enraged
father beat his mother. He saw how a husband, father, and
head of the household conducted himself growing a family.
The youngster loathed what he saw and wondered if he
would be like his father.
Father’s Day 2021, this son recalled the times his father
said to him, “I love you.” Dad was never sober when he
said that. In the absence of fatherly love, this pundit de
duced its actual value and determined to show it.
Website Authentic Masculinity’s McGurk writes: “Fathers
have five responsibilities: A responsibility to lead; a respon
sibility to seek God’s will; a responsibility to pray and wor
ship; a responsibility to protect the beautiful, the innocent
and the good; and a responsibility to provide for those [ they j
love and lead,”
This father broke the curse he bore and did those five
things McGurk described.
It was fascinating to read on Internet website
PsychCentral: “As more and more dads are raising their
biological children, entering into a family as a stepfather,
adopting a child, or stepping into a stay-at-home parenting
role, the characteristics that define a dad in the United
States continue to change with the times.
“According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are an esti
mated 72 million dads across the country; 29 million of
them are also grandfathers. Plus, in 2020, an estimated
70% of U.S. children lived with two parents, about 20%
w ith the mother only, about 5% with the father only, and
5% with no parent.
“As a result, the definition of what a father is - and his
responsibilities, priorities, and duties - vaiy, not onlj r from
generation to generation, but also from dad to dad.
“In other words: You get to decide what kind of dad you
want to be, based on your own experiences and circum
stances.”
Amen!
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H W Looking For
Ay in Granddaddy
Ml Ml By Billy Powell
My father, mother, younger brother Dwayne, and I lived
in the house at 800 Ball Street in Perry. It was owned by
my granddaddy Powell. We lived on one side and my grand
parents on the other. Both families were separated by a
long hallway. After I became a teenager, if I had a problem
or experienced difficulties, 1 always went next door to talk
with granddaddy. He was filled with wisdom and under
standing. I often sought his advice. After talking with him,
I always came away feeling better.
The Perry High School basketball team, of which I was a
member, won the district championship in 1953 and ad
vanced to the state finals held in Macon. My granddaddy
was able to catch a ride to see Perry’s quarterfinal and
semifinal games—he didn’t have a car, and Daddy worked
the night shift at Penn-Dixie Cement plant. Perry was to
face a tremendously tall and talented team from Clarkston
for the state title. Clarkston was favored to win, A friend
of granddaddy offered him a ride to the championship
game. The last thing I did before leaving for Coach Staples’
pregame meal at his home on Washington Street was to
ask granddaddy if he would be at the game. “Billy, I will be
there if my ride picks me up,” said granddaddy. I wanted
my granddaddy there—I needed his supportive presence
in the stands.
When the Perry team ran onto the floor to begin pregame
warmups, my eyes began searching the lower and upper
decks to locate granddaddy. The Macon City Auditorium
was so packed and overflowing that I couldn’t find him. I
feared granddaddy didn’t get a ride to the game, so I walked
over to the Perry cheerleaders to ask if they had seen him.
They hadn’t. This was going to be the worst disappoint
ment of my life..,I needed my granddaddy!
Then the thought came to me to ask team manager,
Horace (Chance) Evans— grandson of the Perry doctor who
delivered me in 1935 —to see if he could locate my
granddaddy. Within minutes, Horace returned and said,
“Billy, I found your granddaddy. There he is in the balcony,
on the front row.” I looked up and saw granddaddy smil
ing. A surge of joy and confidence swept through my body—
I was ready for battle. The Perry team won that night,
defeating the mighty Clarkeston quintet, 63 to 57. The
championship Perry team comprised Billy Beckham,
Franklin May, David Gray, Joe Leverette, Tommy Mobley,
Jackie Miller, Martin Beeland, John Malone, Billy Brock
and myself. I praise God for getting my granddaddy there.
In closing, Granddaddy was a confidant in whom I could
cany any concern or problem. A big void was created when
he went to be with the Lord. Were Granddaddy here to
day, I would tell him I loved him and give him a big hug.
Each of us is playing the game of life, the most challeng
ing and important game there is. Take your problems and
concerns to your heavenly Father, and you will hear from
heaven.
All deadlines for submissions
to The Taylor County News
are Mondays at noon.
Thanks!
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