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The ADVANCE, January 20, 2021 /Page 5A
OPINIONS
“I honor the man who is willing to sink
Half his repute for the freedom to think,
And when he has thought, be his cause strong or weak,
Will risk t’other half for the freedom to speak.”
—James Russell Lowell
editorials
Shower to Shower
When my sib
lings and I were
teenagers, our
mother implement
ed a three-minute
shower rule to pre
serve hot water for
everyone in the
house. I still remem
ber her knocking on
the bathroom door
like she was the shower police.
“You’ve been in the shower long
enough,” she would say. “Leave some warm
water for the rest of us.”
For our family of five, hot water was
somewhat of a “hot” commodity, so Mom
rationed it. Most of the time, I bathed in
the evenings. My sister and brother usually
showered before school, but on occasion, I
would too, and that put a strain on the hot
water situation. Our water heater couldn’t
keep up with demand.
So Mom set rules for us. She felt that
a shower shouldn’t take longer than three
minutes. I had long hair, and it was chal
lenging to lather, rinse, and repeat in that
amount of time. I hated to rush through my
shower routine, but it was better than fac
ing the wrath of Wanda.
The truth of the matter is that my long
showers had nothing to do with how much
time was needed to soap up and rinse. It
was more about preference. I have always
enjoyed standing in the hot water stream
until a small cloud forms in the bathroom
— until it’s so foggy in there that I can’t
even see myself in the mirror. I exit the
shower with skin the bright red color of a
Better Boy tomato.
Today, I’m still that girl who likes to
take long showers, and thanks to the mir
acle of tankless water heating systems, we
never run out of hot water, so I can take my
dear sweet time, if I want to.
Some people rely on coffee to wake
them up in the morning. Me? I just need
a hot shower, and a heavy water stream. I
prefer the water to come shooting out of
the shower head like a fire hose or a pres
sure washer. I want it to feel like the water
stream could possibly blast my eyes out
of their sockets if I’m not careful. I fancy
myself an environmentalist, but those wa
ter-saving rainfall shower heads with their
gentle, trickling streams of water just aren’t
for me. I can’t even rinse the soap out of my
hair with some of those new shower heads.
Hot showers help my sinuses drain a
little. I’ve long suspected that I’m mildly
allergic to our dog and cat who share the
house with us, and every morning, my
nose feels a little stopped up and my eyes
are a little bloodshot. My morning shower
helps me breathe again. I emerge feeling
like I am ready to take on the world again.
During Georgia’s colder months, we
sleep with the temperature in our bed
room a few degrees cooler than the rest of
our house so we can snuggle comfortably
in our quilts and fleece, but when morn
ing comes, the house feels like the Arctic
Tundra. I jump into the shower to warm
up. Indeed, there have been many times in
my life during ice and snow storms that the
only thing that warmed my body to its pre-
frostbite state was a long, hot shower.
Some may think that it’s a waste of
time to stand in the water stream for more
than a few minutes, but we’ll just have to
agree to disagree. I tend to go into a deep
meditative state while I stand underneath
the hot water, and meditation is known to
be good for the body and soul. I do some of
my best thinking in there. I solve problems,
big and small. I find balance and calm.
And sometimes I hum or sing in there
because the acoustics are great in our mas
ter bathroom and the steam feels good in
my lungs. Sundays, I sing gospel songs.
Throwback Thursdays are for singing songs
from the Seventies like Gladys Knight’s
“Midnight Train to Georgia” and Rod
Stewart’s “Maggie Mae.” The other days
are kind of a free for all, and I sing what
ever pops into my head on those particular
mornings.
Scientists say that 60 percent of the hu
man body is composed of water, so maybe
my affection for long, hot showers is bio
logical in nature — perhaps my body longs
to be near water, because it’s made mostly
of water. I don’t know. I’m just thinking out
loud. But I do know this: three minutes is
not enough time to take a good shower.
From the Porch
By Amber Nagle
LETTER TO THE EDITOR...
Disappointed in
Election Results,
But Hopeful
Editor,
It has been said that opinions are a
dime a dozen, everyone has one, and I
am no exception. What has happened re
cently in our country is beyond me. I still
think there was voter fraud in the general
election. Some may say that I am being a
sore loser because my candidate did not
win. I only know what I saw and heard
while waiting in line to vote.
The man in front of me was talking on
the phone while we were waiting in line.
The volume of his voice made it impos
sible not to overhear his conversation. He
was talking to someone and telling them
that convicted felons could vote, and that
they just needed to get registered. That
surprised me because there are steps a
convicted felon has to take to have his/
her voting rights restored, but that was
not the only I was shocked to hear. He and
I gave over our licenses to the poll worker
at the same time as requested. When she
brought them back to us, I heard her tell
the man that he had already requested
an absentee ballot. Why would he show
up to vote in person if he already had an
absentee ballot? He was given some pa
per to sign, and he still voted in front of
me. Who checked to make sure he did
not vote twice? How many times did this
same scenario play out throughout our
state?
I proudly admit I worked calling
people and sending out personally writ
ten postcards for Kelly Loeffler and David
Perdue before the run-off. Most of the
people I spoke to on my small list from
the GOP were for Loeffler and Perdue. I
did speak with some people who did not
plan on voting because they thought the
same shenanigans that went on in No
vember would be repeated. Call me naive,
but I was sure my candidates stood a good
chance of winning. Needless to say, I was
disappointed in the results. I found it hard
to believe there were enough like-minded
people who would vote for Warnock and
Ossoff. While the outcome was not what
I wanted or expected, I was glad to read in
the paper that area voters went red. I may
be disappointed in the nation and state
right now, but I am proud of our local ar
eas.
For those of you who may be feel
ing like me about the upcoming social
ist agendas and policies of these newly
elected leaders, we must remember God
is sovereign. He is still in control! Our
land may be divided at this time. We are a
stiff-necked people much like those in the
Bible days, and I am afraid our country is
going to have more trials and tribulations
as the years move forward, unless there is
a mass awakening and return to the God
of our land. I encourage all of us to pray
fervently for our leaders whether or not
we agree with them. We must trust in the
Lord, not mere man. Rest assured God
will hear our prayers and act according to
His will. Let it be so!
Lisa Parker
Some Thoughts of
Wisdom to my Great-
Grandson in the New Year
To Cameron
Charles
Yarbrough:
I am a bit
late in getting
my annual
letter to you
this year.
Losing
Grandma Jane
just before
Christmas was something none of us
were expecting even though she had
been pretty sick.
Some worthwhile lessons came
out of that sad experience that are
worth remembering. First, life is
fragile and unpredictable. We have no
guarantees on how long we are going
to be on this earth. To waste this day
because we assume there will be a
tomorrow is not acceptable. We have
no guarantees that there will be a
tomorrow. Live each day to the fullest.
Second, Grandma was the most
nonjudgmental person I have ever
known. She treated everyone kindly
no matter who they were. What you
saw with Grandma Jane is what you
got. No pretensions. No phoniness.
That was noted at her going-home
service and has been the central theme
of comments I have received about
her in the days since. What a great
legacy to have and what an appropriate
example for the rest of us to try to
follow.
You can honor her memory by
living up to the potential she saw in
you. Be the best you can be at
everything you do, whether in the
classroom or on the practice field.
There are no shortcuts in life. Make
excellence your norm. You may not
always succeed but be able to look
yourself in the mirror at night knowing
you gave it your best shot.
You carry our family’s good name.
Handle with care. A reputation lost is
hard to regain. We all make poor
choices from time to time and if you
do, don’t try and rationalize your
decision or blame others. Learn from
it and don’t do it again.
Always tell the truth. Be a man of
your word and someone who can be
trusted. Don’t say anything you don’t
mean. Avoid overstatement. Don’t
brag. Let people see you for who you
are, not what you say you are.
Pick your friends carefully. Don’t
try to be popular. Rather, be respected.
Be a leader and not a follower, and if
you are tempted to go along in order
to get along, be strong enough to
resist if the crowd is headed in the
wrong direction. If your friends don’t
like that, they weren’t friends to begin
with.
Don’t be a quitter. Whatever you
take up, see it through no matter how
difficult it may be. It is said that
winners never quit and quitters never
win. That is true.
I have said this to you many times
but it bears repeating. Dream big.
By Dick Yarbrough
There is nothing you can’t accomplish
if you put your mind to it and make
the effort. Someone is going to invent
something that will change lives for
the better. Someone is going become
a statesman or write a beautiful piece
of music or explore outer space.
Somebody is going to do it. One of
my favorite sayings comes from
playwright George Bernard Shaw:
“Some men see things as they are and
ask why. Others dream things that
never were and ask why not.” Why
not, indeed? Dream big.
At the same time, do something
that brings you satisfaction. Life is too
short to be unhappy and unfulfilled.
Don’t let others set your goals for you.
Set them yourself but make them
worthwhile goals. Try not to be
ordinary.
Believe in God and show it by
how you live. I despair at people who
call themselves Christians but don’t
walk their talk. They are narrow
minded, mean-spirited and
judgmental. Don’t let anyone tell you
their way is the right way and the only
way. It is not. Your faith is between
you and God.
Just looking at a sunset or a
flowering bush or listening to the
laughter of your little sisters and you
will know that God is all around you.
This has been a hard year for all of
us. Grandma Jane thought you very
special. So do I. Thank you for being
there when I needed you. And thank
you for being you. May you continue
to make us proud.
Love,
PA
You can reach Dick Yarbrough at
dick@dickyarbrough.com; at P.O. Box
725373, Atlanta, Georgia 31139; online at
dickyarbrough.com or on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/dickyarb.
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