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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, DECEMBER 21,2022
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.
DICKYARBROUGH
Columnist
A tribute to the
woman who
shared my name
Two years this
week, I told you a
final goodbye. In
some respects,
you were not the
woman I knew
and loved that
left me. The
highly organized
mind contained within an extremely kind
and giving person had been drained of its
memory and there were debilitating health
issues those last couple of years. But they
cannot erase the good memories.
I often ask myself what would I say to
you today if by some miracle I could have
a moment with you? First, I would remind
you that our life together was one heckuva
of a journey, spanning some seven
decades. These two kids from East Point.
Me, the editor of the high school paper,
looking for a date to the Sweetheart Ball
and not having one. Then asking one of
my good friends, that being you at the
time, to go with me. You said yes. Only
one date. Only one time. And the rest, as
they say, is history.
You were much smarter than was I. A
member of the National Honor Society
and a Senior Superlative. I was neither.
And yet I went off to college and you
didn’t because in those days, career expec
tations for women were low. Most became
secretaries and housewives as did you.
Because of your love of medicine, you
would have made a great doctor. But it
was not to be.
You were a wonderful mother. You
raised our two children and stayed home
to do so while I pursued my career. I loved
my parents dearly but my dad worked at
night and my mother during the day.
Coming home to a cold empty house after
a bad day at school was something I did
not want the kids to experience and thanks
to you, they never did.
You were my biggest supporter. As I
climbed — and sometimes clawed — my
way up the corporate ladder, you were
with me every step of the way. But you
were not the typical smarmy corporate
wife, trying to impress the boss. You were
just you. And that was more than enough.
You were genuine. What people saw
with you is what they got. There was no
phoniness. You treated the most important
people you met the same as you did those
who had little influence, be it the U.S.
Senator who brought you a homemade
pound cake at Christmas or the person
checking you out at the grocery store.
They were all the same in your eyes.
You were kind. I always marveled at
how at any store we happened to be in,
you took the time to look at the employ
ee’s name tag and addressed them by their
name if you needed their assistance. Every
Christmas, you would take empty wine
bottles and fill them with Christmas lights
and give them to many of those same
employees as a way of thanking them for
their help and assistance through the year.
Little things mean a lot and your kindness
meant a lot to them.
You were efficient. You ran the house
like a Swiss watch while I focused on my
job responsibilities. We were a good team.
I knew with absolute certainty what exter
nal factors could impact my company’s
share price on any given day. But I had no
clue as to what a quart of milk cost or our
monthly power bill or how to handle insur
ance forms. You did and you made it look
easy. Looking back, I realize what you
knew was a lot more complicated than
what I knew.
You were not to be denied. At a time
when many of your contemporaries were
suffering midlife crises, you got the oppor
tunity to go to college and pursue your
goal of becoming a registered nurse. It was
not easy. You had been out of school for a
long time but you persevered, got your
degree and had a rewarding career as an
occupational nurse at Delta Air Lines. Not
only that, but you had the foresight to
introduce our son to your young lab part
ner who is now our beloved daughter-in-
law.
This will be my third Christmas without
you. Given my pedal-to-the-metal lifestyle
and your gentle laid back personality, I
never thought for one moment I would
outlive you, but things don’t always go as
planned. But one thing is for sure. You
made this a better world for a lot of peo
ple, including me, by your presence. You
were the wind beneath my wings. And
thank you for the journey.
You can reach Dick Yarbrough at dick@dick-
yarbrough.com; at P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta,
GA 31139; online at dickyarbrough.com or on
Facebook at vwwv.facebook.com/dickyarb.
Christmas Morning
att 1 * White House
"COULPN'T FINP COAL PUE to EARLY
5HUTTERING of F055IL-FUEL
PLANTS."-5ANTA
Saving pajamas for a special occasion
In true adult
fashion. I have
discovered the
joy of receiving
pajamas as a
present.
It was what
Granny threat
ened me with for
11 and a half months out of
the year, only for her to
eventually stop when I start
ed giving her my preferenc
es.
I’ve discovered an alarm
ing truth however.
There are two camps
when it comes to pajamas.
The first one tears them
open and puts them on that
night — not even washing
them first, as Mama has
always insisted because of
the dyes and whatnot. She’s
always had a conniption if I
put something on without
washing it first.
The other saves them.
As in puts them up in a
drawer until some random,
special pajama wearing
occasion.
Granny did this often, but
she preferred a gown over
pajamas. Those long, soft
flannel “granny gowns” that
went to her ankles and up to
her collarbone with long
sleeves. Sometimes, she’d
like a summer gown —
sleeveless, but still long.
She’d save them all.
“What are you saving it
for?” I asked her once after
we had gifted her one. “In
case I need it,” she
answered.
“Don’t you need it now?
You said that’s
what you want
ed for
Christmas.”
“I needed a
new one. Mine
are all worn
out.”
“It’s true.”
Pop agreed as he sipped his
coffee.
“Then why are you saving
them?” I wanted to know.
“Just in case,” she said.
I was so confused. Who
saves something for later
when they need it now?
“Just in case of what?”
Granny did not like being
questioned, but she figured
this may be an important
life lesson that needed shar
ing. “In case I go to the hos
pital.” This news upset me.
“Why do you think you’d
need to go? Is something
wrong?”
She sighed. “No, but you
don’t ever know. That’s why
it’s good to have some nice,
new pajamas put back just
in case.”
My grandfather nodded
his head in agreement.
“That’s right.” he said.
“You want to look present
able when you’re in the hos
pital. You don’t want to be
wearing something thread
bare.”
My Pop was a roofer so
when he wasn’t working, he
liked to look and smell nice.
I could understand his pref
erence for liking nice paja
mas but not the saving them
for the hospital part.
“Bobby, do you save your
pajamas for the hospital?” I
asked.
My uncle shook his head.
“No. They’ll give you a hos
pital gown or something to
wear. That’s really better.
Especially if you’ve had a
surgery of some kind; you
don’t want elastic to be
bothering you or having to
fool with something that’s
difficult to get off.” That
made sense. Of course,
Granny liked to take a vaca
tion every summer or so for
a week in the hospital to
rest her nerves from dealing
with us heathens, so maybe
that’s why she wanted a
nice new pair of pjs.
My pajama picking skills
have been honed over the
years, with Bobby asking
me to get his
since I would find the tag
free ones that wouldn’t irri
tate his skin. Radiation
treatment had made his skin
sensitive to certain things,
so I always found him the
softest flannel and cotton I
could. He’d wash them
immediately so he could
wear them that night.
Mama, on the other hand,
has started saving hers.
I got Mama a pair of new
soft pajamas and gave them
to her at Thanksgiving, tell
ing her I was giving her part
of her Christmas early so
she’d be warm. Not that she
really needs them; she keeps
the house so warm you
could steam broccoli.
She hasn’t worn them yet.
“Why not?”
“I’m saving them,” she
said.
“What for. Mama? You
don’t think you’re going to
the hospital anytime soon
do you?”
“No,” she said. “I just
wanted to wait until closer
to Christmas.”
“Mama, it’s December.
Go ahead and wear them.”
“I will. Later.”
I sighed. That Crazy
Redhead is always cold, so
why wouldn’t she wear her
pajamas?
As I did some holiday
shopping, I thought some
new jammies would be nice
for all of us. including
myself. I was so excited at
the thought of us all having
new pjs for the winter.
When I gave Lamar his,
he nodded and put them in a
drawer.
“I’ll save them for later,”
Lamar said.
“What for?”
He shrugged. “Just to
have them. I’ve already got
a pair of pajamas.”
I still didn’t understand.
Was my husband officially
‘saving pajamas’ old?
It just proves there are
two types of people in the
world. Those who save their
pajamas for later, and those
like me, who ripped the tags
off and put them on imme
diately.
Sudie Crouch is an award
winning humor columnist and
author of the e-published
novel, "The Dahlman Files: A
Tony Dahlman Paranormal
Mystery."
fZ
SUDIE CROUCH
Columnist
DR. ANDERSON
War effects populations in strange ways
By Dr. Larry Anderson
Anderson Family Medicine
The effects of war can have strange
effects on the civilian populations.
They can oppose the changes with
complaints to everyone or they can
choose to embrace it and build a
stronger country. The Ukraine has a
nationwide 9 PM curfew (or 2100
hrs. if you are in the country). That
would not inconvenience most of us.
We did most of our traveling from
city to city at night and we were
given special passwords to get us
through the multiple checkpoints.
This did affect concerts, night spots
and things people do at night. We
heard no complaints about that.
The hardest was the country wide
black outs. No, this was not like a
WWII movie with heavy curtains and
lights being turned off. This is about
multiple blocks and sometimes half
the city having its electricity turned
off. Bear in mind that no electricity
means no lights, no heat, no cooking.
Everyone was affected. Businesses,
police stations, hospitals, restaurants,
apartments, homes. You could use a
portable generator if you had one.
Some restaurants had them. Most
retail large businesses did not.
Businesses did not close. They found
a way to stay open and do business.
Sunset was at 3:21PM. Temp was 17
degrees L. Warming centers were
open 24/7. Hot beverages and snacks
were offered at no cost. These were
provided by churches, Rotary and
other groups. In these centers no one
complained. They seem to accept
these extreme measures as their con
tribution to the war effort. Children
still played inside and outdoors.
Homework was done by flashlight.
Lots of candles were used. We saw a
croissant bakery that could operate
for two weeks on their generators
and fuel supply. These are very inge
nious people and dedicated to surviv
ing any hardship. They will not com
promise. They still go to work every
day.
Air raid warnings are very loud.
People do pay attention to them
although they may hear it several
times a day. The impact site is unpre
dictable so the area of the pathway
gets the alert. The alerts are also sent
on text and email. Not unusual to see
a lot of people looking at their phone
instead of scanning the skies. Last
week on Dec 16, 76 missiles were
fired into Ukraine. 60 were shot
down by the air defense force. That
means 16 missiles caused damage to
generating facilities and distribution
networks. They will persevere. I have
learned a new curse: sr eyes, stone on
your chest, sunset 3 times in your
face.
They are deserving of our help and
friendship. They are a beacon for
freedom and independence, I still end
my prayers with “Peace for the
Ukraine and send the Russians
home”.
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