Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
The Braselton News
Page 3B
When I was a child,
around the age of 5, my
mama’s brother went to
fight in Vietnam.
He was a career
military man who
served on helicop
ters that dropped
into the jungles and
picked up the badly
wound and dead. It
scarred his heart
forever.
His heart was
also scarred by
what was happen
ing back home.
He had left behind
two children, whose moth
er had left them behind
when she went back to her
homeland of Germany and
never returned. My aunt
Ozelle took in the beautiful
young girl and the abso
lutely adorable son, Mike,
the same age as me, came
to live with us.
While my uncle’s life
was miserable during that
tour of duty, Mike and I
were having quite a fine
time back home in Geor
gia. We put up an Army
regulation, drab green tent
that Mike’s daddy had
bought for us at the com
missary and camped out
nights, eating Army food
from green cans.
We climbed trees, picked
blackberries and explored
every nook and cranny of
the creek and we fished.
There was a stream run
ning through the pasture
that burbled its way to
emptying into the creek.
Because we had seen
tadpoles. Mike and I fig
ured that we could catch
fish there, too. We were
only five, remember.
We made fishing poles
out of sticks, attached
The tree
string, and fashioned hooks
from safety pins. It’s safe
to say that Mama helped
us figure out this
engineering. For
hours, my best
buddy and I sat on
the embankment
of that brook and
waited for the big
fish we were cer
tain we’d catch.
Under a tree that
shaded us from
the summer’s sun,
we whiled away
our time.
Later. I bought
that land and built a house,
positioning it where I could
see that stream and that
tree, so dear to my child
hood, from the front porch.
Often, I’d pull into the
drive and look over at that
stream and tree and think
of Mike. It may sound
silly but for 12 years, I
prayed over the three trees
that gave character to that
stream.
“Please, Lord,” I’d pray
often, “don’t let me outlive
those trees.”
In the past several years,
ice storms and drought
have taken dozens of trees
from the property where
Tink and I live. My heart
begged the Lord to leave
those three trees. I couldn’t
bear the thought of life
without them. Silly, per
haps. But the heart loves
what it loves. One morn
ing, I walked out on the
back porch and heard a
chainsaw.
Tink had hired someone
to do some cleaning up
in the pasture. I walked
around the front of the
house to look.
My heart exploded with
grief and fear.
A man with a chainsaw
was cutting down the tree
under which my greatest
fishing expeditions hap
pened.
Barefooted, I ran across
the frost-covered grass,
paid no mind to the
sticky sweet gum balls
that pricked my feet and
I yelled. But he could not
hear.
By the time I climbed
the pasture fence and got
his attention, one half of
the tree was gone. It was a
double-trunked tree.
“Why?” I cried out.
“Well, a limb was dead
and it was blocking your
view.”
There are no words. I
came back to the house and
I cried with the greatest of
sorrow. And because I cried
so pitifully, Tink cried. He
knows what trees mean to
me. Especially those three.
I cried because the tree that
brought forth such sweet
childhood memories lay
in a heap with wonderful
green leaves flowering its
limbs.
“Worry not over what
money and hard work can
replace,” Daddy said often.
Nothing could ever
replace that tree. After a
morning of heartbreak, I
finally stopped crying.
“Well,” I said. “It wasn’t
Jesus’ will.”
I never thought it would
be a man and a chainsaw
who took it down. I only
prayed for protection from
nature. Lesson learned.
Ronda Rich is the
best-selling author What
Southern Women Know.
Visit www.rondarich.com
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Wrong Tralee
DUBLIN. Ireland -
There are nice people
everywhere, or that has
been the way
it has been for
one country boy
from Middle
Georgia. I am
sure that while
I have been the
beneficiary of
hospitality in
some distant
port, there was
a thug around
the corner unbe
knownst to me
— if the oppor
tunity presented itself,
would take my money
and, in some cases, my
life. Makes you grate
ful the percentages are in
your favor.
While I have never
been alarmed or threat
ened when traveling. I am
aware that being careful
gets the highest of prior
ity these days. I thought
about all that recently
with a bit of personal pro
filing when boarding a
flight from Paris to Man
chester England. How
ever, I managed to enjoy
the moment and take
advantage of fortuitous
friendships in other loca
tions where food, drink
and fellowship brought
about an opportunity to
rejoice with a few fresh
introductions.
Like with new friends
in Ireland, that “Emer
ald Isle,” whose history,
though often tragic, life
style and upside bring
more visitors each year
than a team of accoun
tants could tabulate. A
country or a community
is often distinguished by
its local ambassadors.
Take Michael Lawler,
for example. He is in
the transportation busi
ness—a tour coordinator
and driver who has more
charm than Beauregard
himself in the early 1900s
in New Orleans.
Then there is Bryan
McMahon, historian,
teacher and author, who
has written a best-sell
ing book, “The
Great Famine”
about the his
toric Irish pota
to famine which
affected life in
the U. S. as well
as Ireland—not
his book but the
famine.
To fully under
stand the story
in progress. Ted
McMullan, son
of John McMul
lan, two of the most loyal
benefactors of the Univer
sity of Georgia, wanted
to know more about the
family’s Irish ancestry.
Ted called on a friend for
advice. Guilty, if you
sense where we are.
We knew that the “orig
inal” John McMullan
was from Tralee, Ireland,
but all fingers pointed
to Tralee, Kerry, down
South. That Tralee is well
known in that American
girls of Irish descent can
compete for the title of
“Rose of Tralee.” Many
have, and many have won
the beauty title.
Thankfully, owing to
Coca-Cola, we discov
ered that that was not
the Tralee we wanted to
research. More about that
later. In the meantime it is
of value to celebrate “Epic
Ireland,” the interactive
museum which chroni
cles the Irish Diaspora so
effectively that when you
finish, you are in need of
want for an encore. It
was developed by Neville
Isdell, former chairman at
Coca-Cola, and his asso
ciates, which includes his
brother, Mervyn Greene.
We would have missed
Epic Ireland, except for
the recommendation of
Michael Lawler.
The staff of the Irish
family History Center at
Epic Ireland can trace
your heritage back to
William the Conqueror or
Eric the Red of Viking
fame. Maybe that would
be stretching it a bit.
but these experts know
their stuff. You walk
into Fiona O’Mahoney’s
office and sit down with
her and Noel Jenkins
and you soon appreciate
their remarkable research
expertise.
Our objective began a
year ago with a simple
phone call—a reminder
that the Internet for all its
value, still remains sec
ondary in importance and
effectiveness to the tele
phone. Hard to give and
take on the Internet.
I called a museum in
Tralee, and a lady rec
ommended a historian,
named Bryan MacMahon,
who is a native of Kerry
but lives in Dublin. He
began to research on our
behalf and immediately
sensed something was
wrong. “The McMullans
are from up North,” he
kept saying. The “orig
inal” John McMullan it
turns out, based on Fiona
O’Mahoney’s research,
was from Tralee, Derry
(Londonderry) near Bel
fast.
When the day was done,
we realized that John
McMullan, who came
across the Atlantic in
about 1760, fought in the
Revolutionary War and
was given land in what is
now Hart Country for his
services as a soldier, was
from Tralee Derry (Coun
ty Londonderry) and not
Tralee Kerry.
This prompted a conver
sation with Ted McMul
lan: “If you ever want
to do a book about your
family history, there is
a quick and easy title:
‘Barking up the Wrong
Tralee.’”
Loran Smith is a colum
nist for Mainstreet News
papers. He is the co-host
of the University of Geor
gia football tailgate show.
loran
smith
Donate backpacks
The Jackson County Democrats recently donated backpacks filled with
school supplies to South Jackson Elementary School. Shown are: James
White, Barry Breitbard and Richard Plach.
Democrats donate backpacks
for upcoming school year
As part of the mission of the Jackson
County Democrats to engage and better
serve the community, the group had a sum
mer community service project to collect
and donate backpacks for students begin
ning the new school year.
“Part of the philosophy of the Democrat
ic party is that every child has the ability to
learn and excel when given the opportuni
ty,” vice chairman Pete Fuller states.
The members of the party put together
21 backpacks filled with essential school
supplies. The filled backpacks were then
donated to South Jackson Elementary
School to distribute to any of their students
in need.
“The school officials were very apprecia
tive of the donation and all hope that there
will be dividends paid in the future by the
achievements made by the student recipi
ents,” Fuller said.
For more information about the Jack-
son County Democrats, visit https ://www.
facebook.com/jcdcga/. The next regularly
scheduled meeting is August 17 at the Jef
ferson Clubhouse.
Wounded veteran
BBQ fundraiser Aug. 18
A wounded veteran smoked BBQ
chicken fundraiser will be held at the
West Jackson Fire Department on Fri
day, August 18, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Chicken plates are $10 apiece and
include a smoked half chicken with
beans, slaw, bread and dessert.
Delivery is available within 20 miles
of Braselton. There is a 10-plate mini
mum for delivery.
“The Jackson County Republican
Party and several members in our com
munity are working hard to make this
fundraiser, a success. With your help,
we will be able to give a local, wounded
veteran a custom made sports wheel
chair so they can once again enjoy the
sport and competition they love,” state
leaders. “As of today, we are three thou
sand dollars away from our goal.”
During the fundraiser $10 raffle tick
ets will be available for purchase. The
raffle items include: Clyde Armory
gift certificate for handgun, shotgun
or home defender: golf for four gift
certificates to Traditions and Chicopee
Woods; one night stay at Country Inn
& Suites in Braselton with wine basket
and dinner at Local Station (excludes
alcohol and tip): one night stay at
Hampton Inn Chateau Elan with break
fast, wine basket and dinner at Hound-
stooth (excludes alcohol and tip); Infini
ty Healing Center: free haircut and style,
gel nail manicure, one hour massage,
one hour float and cryotherapy, chi
ropractic consultation and adjustment,
and Master Craft Plumbing: free home
inspection. The raffle drawing will be
held August 18 at 1 p.m. at WJFD. You
do not have to be present to win.
To purchase a chicken plate or raffle
ticket, mail a check to Larry Ewing at
527 River Bluff, Hoschton; pay from
their website via PayPal or meet up with
a board member.
If you took tickets and sold them,
contact Ron Johnson at 770-310-4515
or email him at chairman @windstream.
net.
Local artists sought for auction
Local artists are invited
to enter their artwork into
the Jackson County Arts
Council’s first annual art
auction and dinner dance.
Artists must be at least
18 years old to enter the
auction, which will be
held on Sept. 8 at the
Commerce Civic Center.
Artists may submit up
to three pieces for the
exhibit and at least one
piece will be accept
ed. The non-refundable
entry is free for JCAC
members and $35 for
non-members.
All artwork will be jur
ied from computer imag
es. Artists will be noti
fied which pieces have
been selected and are
responsible for dropping
them off at the Commerce
Civic Center on Sept. 7
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Awards include: best in
show, $500: first merit,
$300; second merit, $200;
and people’s choice,
$100. The JCAC will
charge a 20 percent com
mission on all work sold.
Judges include local art
ist Becky Perry, local art
ist illustrator and instruc
tor Mark Braught and
Pam Ramey, artist and
instructor with Athen’s
Lyndon House.
To enter, send a .jpeg of
the piece to lohmeierted-
die@gmail.com. Include
your name and contact
information. An appli
cation form and release
form is available at the
same email address.
The JCAC expects over
200 people will attend the
event.
QrCAREGIVERS.LLC
Robyn
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