About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (May 29, 2024)
Wednesday, May 29,2024 dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3B A misdirected postcard came to the right place At the kitchen table, where I often write if I’m not on the back porch, I was working when Tink walked in with the mail. Normally, he only opens “green” envelopes; these are envelopes that hold residuals from television shows he has written. Sometimes, the checks are for as much as $2.34. On this particular day, he handed me the mail and said, “Hurry to the bank with that one for 78 cents.” I flipped through the mail, setting aside bills, tossing out catalogs and junk mail, then ran across a postcard. It was plain, without scenic sights, and it did not look like a reminder for a doctor’s appointment or vac cines for any animals. It was addressed by hand. I turned it over to read the message, “Hi Buddy, This is a big day for you and I wish I could be there to celebrate your 11th birthday. I miss you very much and, just as soon as possible, I’ll come home to you. Count on that. Be a big man and keep your spirits up until I’m back. Love, Dad.” “How strange,” I mumbled to myself. Tink, standing at the sink, washing his hands, asked “What?” I was so caught up in my thoughts that I answered distractedly, “This postcard.” Turning it over, I saw that it had an unfamil iar male name. The address — the road — was one of which I had never heard and the town was a county over. “How in the world did we get this?” I asked. “It’s not the name of our road, our town, or our ZIP code.” In the lefthand comer was a return address with a small town in a state that sounded famil iar to me. I thought for a second. Rapidly, I typed the name in and discovered that what I suspected was correct — it was a prison. Not just any prison, but one for death row inmates. At that moment, it didn’t matter to me what the man had done. I was concerned about a lit he boy who was suffering through his 11th birthday, watching the mailbox, and wanting to hear from his father. He probably had no idea where his father was or what he had done. All I could hear in the quiet of our kitchen was the sound of a boy’s heart, breaking. Tink’s eyes widened as I explained the card and from where it had come. I shook my head. “It’s so sad. This little boy will never know that his daddy wrote him on his birthday.” Suddenly, I snapped my fingers. “Wait a minute. I know someone at this post office. Let me call her.” I rang her cellphone and she answered, see ing my name, and said, “Hey! What are you up to?” “We have a piece of mis-delivered mail,” I explained. “I have no idea how it wound up in this ZIP code.” I named the road. “Are you familiar with it?” “Oh, yeah,” she said, then told me where it was and which carrier had the road. “We need to make sure this postcard gets delivered.” I explained the situation and read the card to her. “Do I need to drive it up to you?” “No, just take it to your post office and have them put it in an official envelope that will come straight to me. I promise, I’ll handle it personally.” Within an hour, I took the postcard to our local post office (where chickens are often seen pecking behind the loading dock), and Jamie, the clerk, was waiting for me. “I done got the call. I got the envelope right here.” As I said to Tink later, “That postcard, with that incorrect address, could have gone any where, but it came to us. Most people would have thrown it away.” But it came to the right place because there was a littie boy who needed a bit of cheer. We found him. Ronda Rich is the best-selling of the new novel, “St. Simons Island: A Stella Bankwell Mystery.” Visit www. rondarich.com to sign up for her free weekly newsletters. RONDA RICH Columnist Make shrimp the star of your summer meal Even though shrimp are available all year long, there is something about enjoying shrimp in the summer that just feels right. Let’s talk about shrimp and then get cooking! I recommend purchasing wild caught shrimp as opposed to farmed shrimp. Farmed shrimp are raised in water that is often treat ed with chemicals to control bacteria and other things. Wild-caught shrimp are caught in their natural habitat — the ocean. Farmed shrimp are often given hor mones and steroids — yuck! In addi tion, if you are buying farmed fish from other countries (check the pack age), their regulations and standards are often not as rigorous as ours here in the United States. Fastly, wild-caught shrimp just taste better. Sure, you can easily buy cocktail shrimp — they always look so pretty in that plastic ring. That being said, when you make them yourself, you won’t believe how much better they are. Just don’t overcook them. Classic Shrimp Cocktail 2 pounds large, extra-large, or jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails left on 1 lemon 14 cup black peppercorns 2 tablespoons salt Squeeze lemon into a large pot of water. Add the lemon halves, pepper corns and salt. Bring to a boil. Add shrimp, cover and remove the pot from the heat. Fet sit for 5 minutes. Drain and add shrimp to a bowl of ice water. Once cool, drain and pat shrimp dry. Place in a bowl, cover and refrigerate until very cold. Cocktail Sauce: 1 cup ketchup 1-2 tablespoons prepared horseradish Pinch of salt 2 teaspoons lemon juice Combine all ingredients and taste for seasoning. Shrimp tacos are the best! These make a fun meal for young people and adults alike. Just set out the toppings and let everybody make their own tacos. This recipe makes 8 tacos, but you can easily double or triple the reci pe as needed. Shrimp Tacos 1 pound shrimp, peeled and dev eined, tails removed 1 clove garlic, minced Vi teaspoon salt 'A teaspoon pepper 14 teaspoon cumin 14 teaspoon cayenne 1 tablespoon olive oil Taco Sauce (recipe follows) Toppings: Com and/or flour tortillas, warmed for serving 2 cups finely shredded purple cab bage 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and cubed 14 red onion, diced 1 cup Cotija, grated 1 14 cups cilantro, chopped Fime wedges Pat shrimp dry with paper towels. Place in a bowl and toss together with garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, and cay enne. Heat olive oil in skillet. Add shrimp and cook 2-3 minutes per side. Remove to a platter or bowl. Serve with toppings and taco sauce. Taco Sauce: 1/3 cup sour cream 1/3 cup mayonnaise 1 14 tablespoons lime juice % teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon sriracha (more to taste) These shrimp taste like they are deep fried, but they are really just pan fried. The secret is the cornstarch coating. Toss these in the sriracha sauce and place toothpicks by the bowl. Yummy! Dynamite Shrimp 1 pound large shrimp, peeled, dev eined and tail removed 14 cup buttermilk 1 teaspoon salt 14 teaspoon pepper 14 teaspoon onion powder 14 teaspoon garlic powder 1 cup cornstarch 114 cups avocado or peanut oil Spicy Sriracha Sauce (recipe fol lows) 14 cup cilantro, chopped 2 tablespoon chives, minced In a bowl, whisk together buttermilk, salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. Add shrimp and marinate for 15 minutes. Heat oil to 375 degrees. Drain shrimp and toss in cornstarch, shaking off the excess. In 3 batches to avoid overcrowding, fry shrimp until golden brown. Drain shrimp on paper towels and then add to a bowl. Drizzle on half of the sauce and toss to coat shrimp. Serve the shrimp with more sauce on the side or drizzle with more sauce. Sprinkle on the cilantro and chives. Spicy Sriracha Sauce: 14 cup mayonnaise 3 tablespoons Thai sweet chili sauce 3 teaspoons sriracha (more to taste) Thomas Park, Unsplash Whisk ingredients together. Taste for seasoning. Creamy Shrimp Dip 2 (8-ounce) packages of cream cheese, softened 14 cup mayonnaise 1 teaspoon lemon zest 1 tablespoon lemon juice 14 teaspoon salt 3 green onions, sliced 14 cup parsley, chopped 8 ounces cooked shrimp, chopped 1 cup cocktail sauce 2 tablespoons chives, minced Place cream cheese, mayonnaise, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat mixture until combined. Add green onions and parsley, mixing again, just until combined. Fold in chopped shrimp. Transfer mixture to a serving bowl, cover and refrigerate until very cold, a few hours. Spread cocktail sauce on top of dip. Sprinkle with chives. Garlic Butter Shrimp Scampi 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 tablespoons butter 4 cloves garlic, minced 114 pounds shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails left on 1 teaspoon salt 14 teaspoon pepper 1/3 cup dry white wine 14 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 2 tablespoons lemon juice 14 cup parsley, minced In a skillet, heat olive oil and 2 table spoons butter over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add shrimp, salt and pepper. Cook for a minute, and then flip the shrimp. Add white wine, crushed red pepper flakes and simmer for 2 minutes. Add remain ing 2 tablespoons butter, lemon juice, and parsley. Serve over cooked pasta, spooning the sauce over all. Adlen Robinson is an award-winning columnist and author of “Organic Food and Kitchen Matters.” You can email her at adlen@adlen- shomematters.com. ADLEN ROBINSON Columnist FROM IB Track qualifying for state in three different events (110-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles, and high jump. She moved past the first round of State in the lat ter two events. The Best Runner awards went to Aaric Muilenburg and sophomore Addison Smith. Muilenburg was part of the boys 4x100, 4x200, and 4x400 relay teams, all of which qualified for State. He was also the anchor leg for the region champion 4x200 team. Individually, he set a new school record in the 400-meter race. Smith was on the 4x800 and 4x400 relay teams, the latter of which won a region championship. She was also a state qualifier in the 2-mile individual race. The Best in Field Awards went to Colton Fand and Anna FeCave. Fand broke the school record in discus and qualified for State in both discus and shot put, finishing fourth at the State Finals. FeCave, who had previously won team awards for her decorated run ning career, added some significant pole vault results this season. She worked herself all the way to the state finals podium The Coaches Awards went to Fuke Fowe and Katie Gloeckner. Fowe was the Region 7 runner-up in pole vault for the second straight year, this time making it all the way to the state finals, where he finished fifth. Gloeckner was involved on all four relay teams, helping them all advance to the state sectionals. During the reg ular season she also ran in individual events, often posting the fastest times on the team. FROM IB Golf and junior Ashlyn Bohanon also competed, rounding out the team’s scores to give Dawson a total two-day aggregate of 537. Dewendt, who played three seasons for the Fady Tigers after moving from Forsyth Central, reflected on her high school career as a memorable one. “Although my Dawson career was short, it meant a lot to me,” she said. “Everyone welcomed me with open arms from the beginning. Something I really enjoyed about being on the team was the bond that we had being like a family. The memo ries we made on the golf course and on the bus were fun.” Baker is confident that Dewendt’s approach to the game of golf will con tinue to pay off going for ward. “She has a great attitude and is always looking for ways to improve on the course,” Baker said. “She is moving on to play at the collegiate level and that is a result of her hard work on the course and in the classroom. I am proud of her and her accom plishments, and excited to see her move on to the next level.” FROM IB Muenchen family matters, including taking care of his parents. He will remain in his position at Kilough. While he’s taught a wide age range of stu dents, he has always been consistent in his uplifting approach to coaching. “A challenge is learning to love the kids uncondi tionally,” he said. “You have got to embrace the fact that they’re not always going to do what you want. As much as I talk to them about repre senting their coach, team, family and school, they’ll still make bad choices. You’ve got to love them, put your arm around them, and talk to them.” This past season, Muenchen had the oppor tunity to coach with his son, Sam. While the two had different coaching styles, the partnership proved beneficial to the whole team — and spe cial for father and son. “It was priceless. It was a dream coaching with my son,” Muenchen said. “I didn’t want to change who I was. The great thing about working with Sam is that we did good cop and bad cop. I wanted to be the person who put the core values into the guys and Sam was the one who would run them hard.” In addition to his char acter-based approach to coaching, Muenchen’s values have been integral to his own journey. He hopes that he has been a positive influence on all of his players. “My faith guides me in everything I do,” he said. “I believe in life that we’re supposed to repre sent Him, be a light, and help people become the best that they can be. This particular year, we [as a team] had so many con versations about loving people and having the right attitude.” Reflecting on his time in Dawson County, which was preceded by stints in DeKalb and Fulton, Muenchen has appreciat ed the relationships he’s cultivated as part of a close-knit community. “One of the greatest things about coaching in Dawson County is the camaraderie and fellow ship that you experience with other coaches,” he said. “We truly have some amazing and knowledge able coaches that work here.” Going forward, Muenchen says he may go back to coaching at the youth level when the time is right. Given his lifelong passion for fitness and mentorship, it won’t be a surprise to see Coach Muenchen back on the sidelines soon enough. “Sports are a great way to learn life lessons because you go through trials and learn how to face them,” he said. “You work with a lot of other people. It requires charac ter. In life, you don’t always win, but you can’t quit trying.”
