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WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
PAGE 5A
A day for moms
Advice from Mama
Springtime is full of rea
sons to celebrate!
I've always enjoyed watch
ing the earth waking up after
a long winter's nap.
Seeing the
blooms bursting
forth with color,
and the trees turn
ing green — even
if it means misery
for those of us with
pollen allergies it’s
still a wonderful
time of the year.
I'm pretty sure it
must have been
Hallmark who
invented Mother’s
Day, or maybe it
was the Whitman’s Sampler
people. Or perhaps even a
very smart florist. Well, per
haps not, since Google says it
originates back to the ancient
Greeks and Romans, but I'm
sure the above-mentioned
businesses prosper quite well
during the season that we cel
ebrate moms.
My favorite memories of
Mother’s Day have less to do
with my own mom, than of
my grandma.
Back in the olden days,
when I was a child, everyone
would gather at Mama Nay’s
house for holidays, special
birthdays and other family
traditions.
Mother’s Day was no
exception, and I remember
being so excited to see every
one, even though we had
recently been together for
Easter.
But Mother’s Day was kind
of the official beginning of
spring. We could stay out
side without a jacket — the
grownups would sit around
in webbed lawn chairs, while
we kids played on the rope
swing, rode our bikes or
occasionally played in the
old abandoned chicken coop.
Rocky and Gus, two of the
best boxer dogs who ever
lived, would romp and play
with us, and later we’d all col
lapse in a pile somewhere in
the yard, using the
dogs for pillows.
At school, we’d
make cards and
gifts for mom, and
she’d make over
them like they
were made of gold.
And to think,
our teachers didn't
even have Pin-
terest! My mom
still has a few of
these treasures in a
drawer by her bed.
I can’t tell you even one of
the gifts that I made, but I will
never forget one of the cards
my brother made.
He was probably in sec
ond grade at the time. And
remember, we didn’t go to
pre-K and kindergarten back
then so it would be the equiv
alent of a kindergarten kid. I
can still see the card. It was
made on pink construction
paper. Written in the card was
this poem:
“Mother’s Day is a happy
day, when Jimmy and David
come to play.
Oh, mother, we love you
so! Even on Sundays when
the chickens crow!”
Even now, nearly 50 years
later, remembering that poem
makes me smile and takes
me back to those days when
we were all about shower
ing mom with kindness and
making her day special, and
spending the day at Mama
Nay’s with our family.
There is nothing in the
world that compares to being
a mom. Having a day set
aside to celebrate motherhood
is awesome but not for every
one. For some women it is
a reminder of empty cradles
and empty arms. My heart
breaks for those who were
never able to conceive and for
those with babies in heaven.
There’s probably someone
you know whose heart will
feel the pangs of anguish on
Sunday when all the focus is
on celebrating moms.
Sometimes hearts are sad
because Mom is no longer
here.
I’m sure the first Mother's
Day after losing Mom has to
be so difficult. I remember
the old tradition of wearing a
corsage to church on Moth
er's Day. If your mom was
still alive, you’d wear a red
corsage.
If mom had passed, you’d
wear a white one. I read a
story about a woman who
was dreading the tradition
because her mom had just
passed.
She put on her white cor
sage and went to church.
Sitting in the service with
her eyes blurred with tears,
she was looking at the flower,
and buried deep within the
petals of the white flower was
one lone red petal! That tiny
little petal let her know that
her mom was indeed alive,
and would always be with
her!
I saw a funny little thing
on Facebook this week, and
after somewhat annoying
my own daughter, I post
ed this on her page: “Have
you ever noticed how your
mother knows exactly how to
push all of your buttons? It’s
because she installed them!!”
Happy Mother's Day,
y'all!
Cathy Watkins Bennett is
a Barrow County native and
a graduate of Winder-Bar
row High School. Send com
ments about this column to
bencath@aol.com.
cathy
watkins
bennett
Tink and I stopped by to see my niece,
Nicole, and somehow the conversation
got around to the adventure I had, on
my own, followed when
I was barely old enough
to vote.
At 19, as a sports
reporter. I covered the
Cotton Bowl in Dallas
when mighty Texas fell
to the spunky Georgia
Bulldogs.
For a week, dressed in
a parade of new suits and
dresses Mama made for
me. I attended daily press
conferences and practic
es. Previously, I had not
been west of the Mississippi. By 24. I
was on loan to the sports staff at USA
Today in Washington — then turned
down a full-time job offer to hop on
over to live in Indianapolis and work
full-time on the NASCAR circuit as a
publicist for sponsors.
“Now that I look back, it’s amazing
how brave you were,” Nicole said. “You
just took off and went wherever. Noth
ing ever scared you.”
That was also in the days when there
were no cell phones or no GPS devices
so it was much bolder than it would be
today.
And I had to carry my luggage in
those first few years.
I was in Indianapolis when I bought
my first suitcase with wheels. It was
incredibly innovative but nothing like
the state-of-the-art luggage of today. It
had a strap snapped to the side, which I
pulled along like a dog on a leash.
Nicole continued. “And Mawmaw. It
never fazed her that you just took off on
your own like that.
Now, as a Mama myself, I can't even
imagine.
I don’t think I could let one of my
kids go off like that. I'd be worried to
death. But she never was. It’s all so
incredible.”
And there is the answer.
My mama saw it as a matter of
important course that I take off and
chase life. In fact, I was a bit behind
her at my age. In 1937, at the age of
18. she did something much bolder
than I've ever done: she left the little
tin-roofed house nestled deep in the
Appalachian foothills and traveled 49
miles to Gainesville, Ga., to get a job
in a hosiery mill for 18 cents an hour
and make a better future.
Think how brave that was.
She was cloistered in the piney
woods where people still spoke the
King's English. What little they knew
of the outside world came from the
weekly edition of the Dahlonega
Nugget and through a battery-oper
ated radio.
Those mountains were still several
years away from having electricity.
What a scary feeling it must have
been. But she was brave and deter
mined. She never looked back.
So, it was no big deal to my mama
what her little girl was doing. She never
thought twice. And only once was she
scared for me. It was Aug. 16. 1987.
We had run a NASCAR cup race
at Michigan International Speedway.
When the race ended, I sped to the
airport to catch the last flight to Indy.
Daddy never missed the 11:00 news.
That Sunday night as the news came on,
Mama said to my Daddy. “I'm goin' to
bed.” At that moment, the news anchor
announced that a plane had just explod
ed on take-off in Detroit and all aboard
were believed killed.
Mama sank back in her chair, her
strength leaving her momentarily. “Oh.
Ralph. Ronda’s there.”
Daddy said nothing but fell into
prayer. He opened his eyes shortly and
said, “Everything’s OK. The Lord told
me she’s fine.”
My plane had left 30 minutes earlier.
When I moved to D.C., Mama said,
“I have only one piece of advice and
it’s the same advice my Daddy gave
me when I left home.” She looked me
squarely in the eyes. “Forget not to
assemble thyself in the House of the
Lord.”
So there you have it. With advice like
that, a mama is not going to do much
worrying.
Ronda Rich is the best-selling author
of What Southern Women Know (That
Every Woman Should). Visit www.rond-
arich.com for her free weekly newslet
ter.
its Canadian holdings,
not the property here.)
Whatever the reasons
for the firm’s financial
problems, it could echo
in how those holdings
here move forward.
The biggest problem
could be that nothing hap
pens for years to come.
Most of the large tracts
the company bought here
were purchased on the
cheap.
The company then
resold it in small slices
that equated to a high per
acre cost.
For the investors to ever
gain on their investments
will require these local
large tracts be resold
for prices in excess of
$50,000 per acre.
There are, of course,
two other options:
First, the land could be
resold on the cheap and
the investors take a finan
cial bath.
Headmaster’s
Corner
THE MUSIC MAN - The Athens
Christian School Drama Department
presented The Music Man this past
weekend, and it was fantastic! Close
to 750 patrons were entertained in
grand style over 2 evenings.
Junior Henry Hey dinger por
trayed the role of Professor Harold
Hill, and Senior Mackenzie Car
penter serenaded us as Marian Pa-
roo. Through this classic story, our
talented young thespians helped us
understand the importance of finding
good in others.
Thanks to the many faculty mem
bers and parent volunteers who
put in so many hours on this per
formance. And, congratulations to
Play Director Kathy Dickinson, Set
Designers Eric and Paula Mixon,
and Choreographer Michelle Cum
mings. You truly outdid yourselves
this year.
ATHENS
CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
“Affordable Quality Education Since 1970”
K3-12TH CALL (706) 549-7586
www.athenschristian.com
Buffington continued from 4A
Second, the investors
could continue to hold
the land in the hopes that
someday a developer will
come along and buy it for
a price where they see
a return on their invest
ment.
Either way, the proper
ty is unlikely to be devel
oped anytime soon.
In fact, it may be fur
ther away from being
resold and developed
than it would have been
had it not gotten caught
up in an international
land speculation deal.
The moral of the story
for local governments is,
don’t be fooled by spec
ulators and developers
when they make pie-in-
the-sky promises.
If it sounds too good to
be true, it probably is.
Ask hard questions.
Don’t let your own ego
blind you to reality.
You were used, Arcade
and Statham. A large land
speculator used you to
annex and rezone proper
ty not for the good of your
towns, but to enhance the
value of the property they
own.
Land speculators don’t
give a whit about Arcade
or Statham. They’re
interested only in their
own bottom line.
A lot of people tried
to warn you. Arcade and
Statham. But you knew
more than the rest of us.
You were the smartest
guys in the room, at least
in your own minds.
But you were just a
tool being used by some
slick speculators. Next
time, do a little research
before you roll over for
a bunch of pie-in-the-sky
promises.
Here’s that hankie.
Mike Buffington is
co-publisher of Main-
street Newspapers, Inc.
He can be reached at
mike @ mainstreetnew s.
com.
May 10, 2017 ~ Crossword Puzzle
Across
I. Fashion dandy
4. Cycles per second
7. Strikebreaker
II. Aquatic reptile (informal)
13. Express pleasure
14. Swiss river
15. Contains cerium
17. Ribonucleic acid
18. On top
19. Taxis
21. Banking machine
22. Small salamander
23. Voltage
25. Pointed summit
27. DWTS host
33. In a way, smoked
34. Peat moss source
35. W. African nation Sierra
36. Cocoa plum tree
41. Holiday (informal)
44. Venezuelan capital
46. DWTS hostess
48. Hideouts
50. Actress Lupino
51. The content of cognition
53. Point one point N of due E
55. Plunder a town
59. No. Albanian dialect
60. No (Scottish)
61. Blatted
64. X2 = a Pacific tourist commune
65. AKA option key
66. Angelina’s spouse
67. “Wedding Crashers” Wilson
68. Grassland, meadow
69. Laughing to self (texting)
Down
1. Licenses TV stations
2. Metal-bearing mineral
3. Meat from a pig (alt. sp.)
4. A bottle with a stopper
5. Short labored breath
6. Hair washing soap
7. Steam bath
8. “R.U.R.” playwright Karel
9. Beside one another in lines
10. Not straight
12. Former OSS
16. Truck driver’s radio
20. Dried-up
24. Million gallons per day (abbr.)
26. Encircle (archaic)
27. ‘ death do us part
28. A single unit
29. A siemens
30. Prohibition
31. V. William’s clothing line
32. Scotland’s poet’s initials
37. Auto
38. Single spot card in a deck
39. Crow sound
40. Former CIA
42. Factory where arms are made
43. Radioactive unit
44. Scoundrel
45. Freshwater duck genus
47.9 decades
48. Makes tractors
49.55120
51. Southeast Nigeria people
52. Arab sailing vessel
54. Hay bundle
56. Blood type
57. Driver compartment
58. “Das Kapital” author Marx
62. Consume food
63. Dental degree
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