Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current, August 24, 2022, Image 7

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Dawson County news., August 24, 2022, Image 7

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Newspaper Page TextPAGE 7 A Send a letter to the editor to P.O. Box 1600, Dawsonville, GA 30534; fax (706) 265-3276; or email to editor@dawsonnews.com. DawsonOpinion WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2022 This is a page of opinion — ours, yours and others. Signed columns and cartoons are the opinions of the writers and artists, and they may not reflect our views. What this angry world needs is a lot more Hope My friend, Norm Solon, was a jour nalist and speech writer for some of the major compa nies and trade asso ciations in the coun try. Now retired, he recently shared with me some of the once-in-a-lifetime opportuni ties he experienced in his long and distin guished career. For starters, how being at the launch of Apollo 11 in July 1969, which sent Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the moon while Michael Collins orbited the command module Columbia around the moon, awaiting their return to the spacecraft before heading back to earth. Those of us who were around 53 years ago witnessed that historic occasion on televi sion. Norm Solon was there up close and per sonal. I could fill up this space with all the famous people he has met and worked with over the years, but one name jumped out at me in our conversations: Bob Hope. It was while at Texaco that Solon had the chance to meet and interview the legendary comedian who served as a spokesman for the company. For those of you who are interested in what famous people are really like, Norm Solon says Bob Hope was as nice and genuine as you would have wished him to be. Bom in England, he was nonetheless the epitome of a Great American. With a career that covered nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in some 54 feature films and was a long-time fixture on national television and who can forget “Thanks for the Memories,” his Oscar-winning theme song. But he may be best known for his dedication to supporting our military. For a period span ning a half-century, Hope made 57 tours for the USO, entertaining troops in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf. I look around today and realize there are no Bob Hopes anymore. No Jack Bennys. No Red Skeltons. As with most everything going on in our society, comedy today is mean-spirited and it seems no comedian can get off what passes for a joke without inclusion of the F-word. Speaking of the environment in which we find ourselves today, Bob Hope hosted the Academy Awards 19 times, more than anyone else. Fortunately, he wasn’t around to see actor Will Smith jump up on stage during this past year’s ceremony and slap host Chris Rock for a remark about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, which he found unfunny. How is that for comic relief? Hope’s humor was topical but not abusive. He was known to pick on the current White House occupant, whether Democrat or Republican. However, unlike current nighttime TV yakkers, his jibes were never mean or mali cious. Hope once remarked that the key to joking about the president was to make “an insult humorous so as to only dent the presidential ego, not damage it.” And that he did. My favorite Bob Hope quip about presidents concerned Jimmy Carter’s interview with Playboy Magazine and perhaps the most famous unpresidential comment in the maga zine’s history. Carter said, “Eve looked on a lot of women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times.” To which Hope remarked: “Wasn’t Carter’s interview in Playboy something? He talks like Billy Graham and dreams like Sinatra. Now we know what he’s always smiling about.” President Clinton said of Bob Hope, “When he makes fun of me or any other president, I think we know he’s doing it with a genuinely good heart and a good spirit and in a way that helps us to laugh at ourselves. And I think we all need to laugh at ourselves a little more.” Amen. That leads me to wonder how Bob Hope would have related to Donald Trump, clearly one of the most thin-skinned individuals to ever occupy the Oval Office. Whatever humor Hope might have applied would have probably been met with angry, insulting and hyperbolic tweets. Why should Bob Hope be different than any other person walking Earth? And I get giddy thinking about Hope’s reac tion to humor-impaired Marjorie Taylor Greene and her comments about the Gazpacho police and her concern that Bill Gates is trying to feed us meat grown in a “peach tree dish,” meaning, I assume, a petti dish. But who knows? All I know is he would have had a field day with her. It is too bad that Bob Hope is gone along with his unique brand of humor. I wish I could have met him, but I am glad I know the man who did. To my friend, Norm Solon, I say thanks for the memories. You can reach Dick Yarbrough atdick@dickyar- brough.com; at P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta, GA 31139; online atdickyarbrough.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dickyarb. DICKYARBROUGH Columnist Those small things in life Life can be full of so many irritations and annoyances. If we think about it, we can probably find five things to get upset about before 9 a.m. most days. Those aggravations may seem minor, but they can feel quite big. “It’s getting on my nerves.” I’d declare when I was younger. The “it” was questionable, yet justified, I’m sure. “You’re too young to have nerves.” Granny would reply. I don’t know where she came up with that. There’s not an age requirement for being irritated. But it wasn’t big things that were working my nerves. Not at all. It was the little things - those small annoyances that needled at me and that I turned over and over in my mind, examining from every angle. I did it as a child, and I really do it now. Boy, do I do it now. I can think of those small slights and oversights that make me wonder if some one meant to say or do what they did. The improprieties. The lack of personal boundaries. All the tiny, little things that probably most people would think nothing of but to me, add up to being a big deal. “You can’t let every little, bitty thing get to you.” Granny said. “You’re overreacting.” That was something, coming from the reigning Queen of Blowing Things Out of Proportion herself. Granny could take the proverbial molehill and turn it into a Mt. Everest sized mountain in about two sec onds flat. Someone didn’t praise her biscuits. Her cake wasn’t the first one to vanish at the church potluck. Those little things got to her in many ways. It’s not just those moments where we feel like we’ve been slighted either. There can be instances where things have intention ally done that add up. The failure to reach out to some one when you know they’ve had something happen. Neglecting to say thank you when it’s needed - and it’s always needed. Even those moments where we’re ignored may seem like not a big deal and maybe it’s not; unless you’re the one being ignored. People typically think those small things don’t matter, but they do. Think of how annoying a gnat can be, flying around your face. It may seem small, but it’s still a nuisance. Sure you can ignore it. but it makes it hard, espe cially when it’s diving for your eyes and nose. It may be small, but the annoyance factor can be big. A mosquito is pretty small too, but it can create a huge annoyance, especially if it bites you. Or, a hangnail. That’s something you may not even notice until you’re in the shower, washing your hair and it pulls the hair through it and you feel every nerve in your finger scream in revolt. All of those things are small in size, but when something has riled it up, it can make a big aggravation. On a bigger scale, we let interactions with someone build up with us until they say one thing jokingly and it either cuts us to the quick or makes us angry. Maybe it’s a matter of what we’re able to tolerate, too. Some things may not bother us at all, but other things can set our teeth on edge. Things that really work my nerves roll off my hus band’s back, and vice versa. It’s just a matter of what one finds annoying, upset ting, and unnerving. Mama says that I don’t take people picking on me very well. SUDIE CROUCH Columnist I think she was saying in a roundabout way that I am too sensitive. There’s something about those elder women in my family: they tend to be the proverbial pots calling out this kettle for the things they do. “I’m sure they were just going on with you,” Mama said recently when I men tioned an exchange I had with someone. “You tend to take everything so personal ly.” It’s not that I take things personally, it’s just that those little things after a while can feel calculated after a while. Eventually, you start to realize there’s a little bit of hidden intent in each little jab. and after a while, it starts to find its mark. And it’s typically those little things that become those big things, too, build ing up until we feel like we’re in a pressure cooker and explode. There’s a familiar saying that it’s the little things that matter: I think that can also be interpreted as meaning those little things can also be far more significant than what we think. Just as those small things can bring bigger joy and happiness than we realize, they can conversely add up and bring a bit more irrita tion than we ever thought possible, too. Sudie Crouch is an award winning humor columnist. DR. ANDERSON We will not get rid of COVID until all of us do our part By Dr. Larry Anderson Anderson Family Medicine I am not sure what else I can tell you about viruses that you do not already know. You already know what to do to prevent you from getting them and what to do when you do get infected. So today we need to talk about Fentanyl. A very useful medication when used properly by trained person nel and for the right indications. A very deadly drug when not used cor rectly. In Los Angeles this year over 1.5 million tablets of Fentanyl have been seized. Arizona had one SUV with about 500,000 tablets of Fentanyl. Not sure of the count from other areas around the border. This does not count tablets where Fentanyl is disguised with other prescription medications. The concern is the new Fentanyl comes in a variety of colors. It is hard to tell what is safe and what is not if you try use color as a guide. School age students seem to be at higher risk than others. Probably because of many factors of which most do not make sense. Here is your guidance. Do not take anything that did not come from the pharmacy. This means you know who prescribed it, what pharmacy filled it, why you are taking it and why you are taking it. “I got this from my Aunt’s house so it is safe for you to take” is not assurance that it safe for you. Share this with your children. Be safe. Thanks for reading. Letter policy The Dawson County News wel comes your opinions on issues of public concern. Letters must be signed and include full address and a daytime and evening phone number for verification. Names and hometowns of letter writers will be included for publi cation without exception. Telephone numbers will not be published. Letters should be limited to 350 words and may be edited or condensed.The same writer or group may only submit one letter per month for consideration. We do not publish poetry or blanket letters and generally do not publish letters concerning consumer complaints. Unsigned or incorrectly identified letters will be withheld. Mail letters to the Dawson County News, RO. Box 1600, Dawsonville, GA 30534, hand deliver to 30 Shoal Creek Road, fax to (706) 265-3276 or e-mail to editor@dawsonnews.com.