Newspaper Page Text
HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
Where did all the
common sense go?
Have you noticed how
many people don’t
have any common
sense?
A serious epidemic has
swept our country and wiped
out a lot of common sense.
I hate to say it but com
mon sense, for a whole lot of
people, is as gone as Co-colas
that cost a dime.
Common sense to
Southerners was always a
point of
pride,
esp e -
daily for
those in
the rural
South
where
schooling
was scarce
so the man
with the
most good
ffi.... „ ;■ ./i.. J
Ronda Rich
Columnist
ol’ common horse sense was
the valedictorian of the com
munity.
My daddy had an uncle like
that up in the North Georgia
mountains, who Daddy wor
shipped until Uncle Oscar
Cannon’s life ended when he
was well into his nineties.
Uncle Oscar and his wife,
Aunt Fairy, lived on a beauti
ful, large piece of land where
magnificent oaks towered
high in the sky and a gentle
creek twisted lazily through
the front yard on its way
to meet the Chattahoochee
River somewhere down the
way.
He farmed that land for
his family but he was an
ingenious Scotch-Irish who
found a way to make a buck
in all kinds of ways.
The dog days of summer at Houston Springs
Houston Springs has
gone to the dogs!
We could not think
of a more appropriate thing
for a Georgia Active Adult
Community to do - especial
ly when 70 percent or better
of our residents have canine
companions.
The first dog park just
opened - a fenced-in, half
acre grassy field with three
tall trees.
In this enclosure, “the
dogs have it” - a place to run
off their leashes, other dogs
to play with, trees to water,
and grass to roll around on!
Benches have been ordered
for pet-owner seating, and
a doggy drinking system will
be installed shortly.
But even without all these
frills, the park has been a
huge success.
Residents congregate,
bringing folding chairs, and
visit while the “kids” play
and have a great time.
Even dogs who don’t
socialize well when on a
leash manage to “play well
with others” when they have
freedom of movement.
As one resident said, “I
don’t walk that fast. This
pet park is just wonderful
because my dog can really
run - she is not limited by
the speed that I am able to
move! And she loves being
Robins Bridge Club welcomes newcomers
Special to the Journal
The Robins Duplicate
Bridge Club welcomes new
participants. They meet at
151 Maple St. in Warner
Robins, across from the
Senior Citizens Activity
Center.
Their schedule is as fol
lows: Regular games are
Mondays and Thursdays at
7:15 p.m., Wednesdays at 1
p.m.
Novice games are Monday
evenings at 6 p.m.
Bridge lessons are given
Sunday afternoons from 3-5
p.m.
Subscribe
today
Call 987-1823
He was a craftsman who,
late in life, made a right nice
living by selling hand-made
spinning wheels to the city
folks from Atlanta who were
quite amazed that his aging
hands were so deft and tal
ented.
Uncle Oscar, though, didn’t
just sell spinning wheels to
those folks.
He always threw in a few
stories, which he would tell
from his rocking chair on
the front porch. He was
quite a sage.
His common sense was
unparalleled. He was the
valedictorian of it in his neck
of the woods near Turner’s
Corner.
Somewhere in the 19205,
he heard that the govern
ment would pay to pick up
the kids scattered through
the Appalachian foothills
and drive them to the simple
one room schoolhouse.
So, Uncle Oscar took a
pick-up truck, built side
boards and a roof to it and
turned it into a homemade,
but very serviceable, school
bus.
He made S6O a month, a
nice chunk of money to a
young mountain man.
“Common sense is wisdom
with its sleeves rolled up,” is
a quote I read the other day.
Trouble is there’s a new gen
eration who’s had it so easy
that they haven’t had to roll
their sleeves up, literally or
figuratively.
Down the road, there is
a price coming for such an
easy upbringing.
Common sense, I firmly
believe, is gained when you
able to play and race around
with the other dogs.”
Another resident com
mented that the pets have
allowed them to make
friends very quickly after
moving in.
“I learn the pets’ names
first - I know Callie’s dad,
and Taz’s mom, and Ruffles’
parents!”
■ ■■
The pets have brought on
another phenomenon - pet
cruising.
Many owners enjoy take
their pets
for a spin
around
the neigh
borhood in
golf carts.
Barbara
and Jim
Antczak
have a
special
dog seat
in their
Melanie Lewis
Columnist
Houston Springs
golf cart for Ruffles, their
Maltese! Ted and Betty
Stevens frequently cruise
around with Toby, their
Bichon. Len and Joyce
Griffith ride with Kelly, their
Fox Terrier, who is in train
ing for the show circuit!
You will often see Mary
and Richard Seagraves rid
ing around in their golf cart
For information about the
regular schedule call Ruth
Suggs, 923-4574. For infor
SUGARLOAF
A Lovely Sidewalk Community In Perry
These Homes are quality built all brick homes. We have 3 &
4 bedroom homes starting at 131,900 Homes have features
such as custom cabinets, fireplace, sod, sprinkler system.
Builder is giving a $5,000 bonus if you contract on one of our
last 2 completed homes and close within 30 days. We have
a new loan program available to use that is a 100% loan with
no PMI Information Center open daily Mon, Thur, Fri 12-6
weekdays, Sat 11-5 Sun 1-5.
Stop by and visit with Karen or give her a call at 954-HOME (4663)
Located on the Perry Parkway nght across from the new Court House
Coming Soon Another CARTER-WILKES S/D REMINGTON CHASE
CONSTRUCTION, INC.
Inc.
i? (471) 971-2115 331 Minle Drive, Werner Robins. GR. 31088
Disclaimer Bonuses based on certain completed homes only Loan program based upon credit and may not apply to al purchasers
have to figure out how to do
something.
“Why don’t you hire some
one to do that?” Claudette
will ask when I take on a
project where I haven’t a
clue what I’m doing.
“That’s the easy way out.
This way I can broaden my
knowledge and experience.”
She’ll just shake her head
and sigh.
When my doorbell failed
and no one could tell me
why, I took it apart and set
to work.
It took two hours but I
finally figured it out. The
electrician, to whom I had
paid a small fortune, had
failed to install the diode
when he connected the push
button.
There wasn’t an electrical
current to tell the chimes to
ring eight times. So I fixed
it.
Two hours earlier, I didn’t
even know what a diode
was.
“You’re a genius!” pro
nounced Brandon, who
works for me.
I shrugged. “Just the utili
zation of common sense.”
I’m not the smartest per
son you’ll find but I’m bound
and determined to fight for
my common sense. I’d rath
er have it than an armful of
doctorate degrees.
Sad to say, though, but
for the most part, common
sense isn’t all that common
any more.
Ronda Rich is the best
selling author of What
Southern Women Know
(That Every Woman Should)
and The Town That Came
A-Courtin’.
with two dogs.
Mary drives, with one pet
on the front seat with her,
and Richard lounges on the
rumble seat with their sec
ond dog!
They are real pet lovers
and often dog-sit for others
in the neighborhood, which
is wonderful as so many of
our residents love to travel.
■ ■■
The urge to go sailing in
Middle Georgia can be hard
to satisfy unless you are
a member of the Houston
Springs Yacht Club.
One of the many uses for
the stocked fish ponds and
reflection lakes in Houston
Springs has been discovered
by our “remote control” sail
boat and motor boat enthu
siasts.
Match racing 33’ sailboats,
which stand 60’ tall, can be
a blast for those looking for
some old fashioned sailing
excitement.
The Houston Springs
Yacht Club commodore Rick
Antione enjoys the motor
ized boats, which provide
high speed boating excite
ment as they zip across the
still lake waters.
The yacht club represents
another recreational venue
and lifestyle enhancement
for the residents of Houston
Springs.
mation about lessons and
the novice games, call Gerald
Peavey, 911-0943.
LIFESTYLE
Books and more books
I read a book every two
weeks in my summer
book club. I had the
time to read that I never
seem to have during the
winter. Add the five book
club books to the other 10
I read during the summer,
and for some - especially
my students - that seems
like a lot. For others who
polish off a book or two a
week, 15 books seem like
a few.
One of my classes I am
teaching this semester is
composed of many who
have never read a novel
for pleasure. I decided to
introduce them to James
Patterson, one of my quick
and easy, down and dirty
authors. We are reading Ist
to Die, which I remember
reading a few summers ago
during a rainy afternoon.
They are loving it! One
young man read his book
during my entire wonder
ful lecture last Friday. I
was aggravated, yet oddly
pleased! Each semester I
offer my students Mark
Twain’s wonderful quote as
Enjoy those kitchen collectibles
Everything from oak
Hoosier cabinets
from the 1920 s to
chrome dinette sets from
the 1950 s are among some of
the hottest items flying out
of the antique shops today
according to the Antiques
Roadshow Insider.
Who can resist a kitchen
adorned with an adorable
display of old vintage red
handled and green handled
eggbeaters and utensils,
1950’s aprons or colorful
Fiesta mixing bowls and
pitchers?
Everyone loves nostalgia
and wonderful memories of
grandma’s kitchen.
There are so many color
schemes, periods or themes
to choose from.
Green was popular in the
forties, red in the fifties,
* Jf w
■ jjL
■■hhSShEbhlhh fc* w<»**>##sUtiW
B|>; • J' > ' ->*f -
Chevy - Ponlkic Beiek (iMC
Exit 134 PIT 1-75. Perrv. CIA* 478-987-2122 • 1 -SOO-9D2-2D4 1 I
0Q037813
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2006 ♦
a bit of a challenge: “The
man who doesn’t read good
bo6 k s
has no
advan
tage
over the
man who
can’t
read.”
The
summer
Bgh : ' '
book Jane Winston
q | U The Left Rail
began
with Snowflower and the
Secret Fan written by Lisa
See. It reminded me a bit
of “Memoirs of a Geisha”
in that it speaks of women
in China during the 1800 s.
See deals with friendship,
betrayal, regret and for
giveness with compassion
and empathy.
The thinness of it. The
weight of it. The opening
lines drew me in. The wholq
time I was reading it, I was
thinking this book just isn’t
big enough; it should be
longer and it should weigh
more. But when I finished
it, I found that everything
aqua in the sixties and if
you can believe it, orange
in the seventies. Even old
Tupperware is becoming
collectible.
So how can you decorate
with
these
hot col
lectibles?
You can
place
kitchen
tools on
the wall,
display
them in
baskets
on the
, HjW ijP^'
Jillinda Falen
Antiques
wall or crocks on the coun
ters, perch gadgets, pitch
ers or other crockery on
top of cabinets or on wall
shelves or curios. You can
take bright colored aprons
was there. It didn’t need
any more words or pages.
It was complete.
Arranged friendship,
foot binding, secret written
languages, all so alien to
me, make for a compelling
read.
Television
I go long periods without
ever turning on my TV but
when I do, I watch (accord
ing to my astute friends)
the stupidest shows. I loved
“So You Think You Can
Dance?” this summer and
hated to see it end. I was so
ready for “Survivor” which
began Thursday evening
-1 already have my million
dollar winner picked, but
I’m not telling; the answer
is in an hermetically sealed
envelope. But, my favorite
is “American Idol.” Guess I
will have to wait until 2007
for that.
Until next week: “A
study in the Washington
Post says that women have
better verbal skills than
men. I just want to say to
the authors of the study”
“Duh.” -Conan O’ Brian
or tablecloths and make
them into kitchen curtains
or even string and hang
utensils from the curtain
rods or use them for tie
backs!
Old vintage advertising
signs or souvenir plates
look great on kitchen walls!
You can find all kinds of
See FALEN, page SA
WE BUY
GOLD! s
Satterfield & 5
Demina Jewelers
WO H Houston lake HO • Centerville. GA
5A