About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (June 5, 2024)
PAGE 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, JUNE 5,2024 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. An opinion on Carters non-opinion on Okefenokee Dear Congressman Buddy Carter: Your appearance a couple of weeks ago before the Water, Wildlife and Fisheries sub committee in Washington of which you are not a member but were allowed to question a witness panel about our Okefenokee was — shall we say — a bit out of the ordinary. According to news reports, you claimed you were not entering an opinion “one way or the other” about Twin Pines Minerals, an Alabama-based company, seeking permits from Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division to drill for titanium oxide on Trail Ridge along the eastern edge of our Okefenokee so that all mankind can be assured of an ample supply of paint, toothpaste and chewing gum. And then you proceeded to opine one way or the other all over the room about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s opposition to the project. You said U. S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s letter to Gov. Brian Kemp was an “overreach of the Secretary’s authority and without legal basis.” Admittedly, I’m just your humble scribe, but that sure sounded like an opinion to me. What I am trying to figure out is why? Why did you take the time to show up at the subcommittee hearing and announce that you didn’t have an opinion one way or the other on Twin Pines Minerals drilling on the edge of our Okefenokee? Were you responding to pressure from angry citizens across our state who are say ing, “Enough with that darned ol’ Okefenokee! We want paint! We want tooth paste! We want chewing gum! Drill, baby drill!” If so, you and I must be talking to a differ ent crowd of angry citizens. I’ve been at this column-writing business for 26 years and I don’t recall this many Georgians being this mad. You see, they think the Okefenokee belongs to all of us, not just the privileged few. They are incensed that no one is listen ing to them. They know when they are being talked down to, like the drivel that somehow this is a regulatory decision, not a political one. That insults their intelligence. And mine. Last I heard, more than 77,000 people have written the Environmental Protection Division, asking them to not approve the permits. And before you ask, we aren’t talk ing about professional tree huggers, we are talking everyday Georgians. I am getting mail from all over the state. One reader wrote me to say he had never been to the Okefenokee until all the fuss started. He vis ited the place to see it first-hand and was so impressed with what he saw that he immedi ately wrote Gov. Kemp, asking him to inter vene and stop the permitting. He got the usual “Thank you for contacting the gover nor, your opinions are important” bug letter, saying nothing. At least he heard from the governor. I wrote an open letter to him a month ago in this space and haven’t heard squat. Go figure. What is confusing is why you would rail against the Interior Secretary for having a say in preserving our Okefenokee. Yes, it is located in Georgia but it is a national trea sure. It attracts 700,000 visits annually and generates some $64 million for nearby com munities. It is also being considered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site like the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone Park. By the way, there is precedent for Secretary Haaland’s actions. Back in the ’90s, then-U.S. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt intervened when DuPont was trying to do the same thing in the same place. Babbitt said, “Titanium is a common miner al, while the Okefenokee is a very uncom mon swamp.” Gov. Zell Miller was con vinced to pull the plug on the project. If it was a bad idea then, why is it a good idea now? I am curious why you don’t seem to be showing as much public concern as to how the people of Georgia feel about letting an Alabama-based company come into Georgia to drill in our Okefenokee as you are in excoriating those in our federal government who seem to be trying to do what our state officials are loathe to do — listen to us. In spite of your recent public scolding of the subcommittee panel, you claim you were entering no opinion one way or the other about what Twin Pines Minerals wants to do to our Okefenokee. But you need to know that a majority of Georgians do seem to be entering an opinion. They are vehe mently opposed to the idea. There is no one way or the other about it. You can reach Dick Yarbrough at dick@dickyarbrough. com or at P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta, GA 31139. DICK YARBROUGH Columnist BILL WRLTQN 1952-2024 Just don’t give up One job I wish I had been able to do is be a hair dresser. Stylist, beauti cian, magician — whatever title it holds — it was something I want ed to do but couldn’t. I could have gone to cosmetology school when I was younger; probably the route I should have taken, given my obsession with makeup, hair products, and anything related to beauty. But I was intimidated by the thought of taking shears to hair and transforming mops of unruly tendrils into the glam orous cuts I saw. I was doing good to style my own hair, so the thought I’d be able to do anyone else’s seemed nearly impossible. I thought it was glamorous, to make someone look beauti ful and be surrounded by the best products available. I tried though. I did. I begged — and I mean begged — my stylist-tumed- friend to let me apprentice under her, and I did briefly. I realized quickly it was a lot harder than it looked. It wasn’t just making some one look gorgeous - it was physically rigorous. You were on your feet all day, twisting and turning your body, holding your arms up for hours on end. Physically, I couldn’t do it. I have a steel rod in my back, and it was too much for me. I hated having to quit. But, it was a great learning experience and helped me understand so much about what happened in the mysti cal, magical world of hair salons. I did work in a couple of salons, with one being where I apprenticed. One thing I quickly noticed was how hard it was for new stylists to find their footing. Starting out and trying to build a clientele can be chal lenging. It may look easy when you see someone with 15 years experience doing it — a full book, knowing their client’s preferences, and creating color and cut masterpieces — but it’s not. There’s a lot of blood, sweat, and hair splinters. Some tears too. And growing your own book of business takes time and consistency. So a lot of folks quit. I don’t blame them — heck, I didn’t make it through my apprenticeship. But it made me wonder, how many other things we may see the results of years of hard work and think we can replicate it in a month and when we don’t, we give up. I know I am not a patient person at all, and when I want something, I want it yesterday and expect it to be perfect. It seldom is, so I am always disappointed about some thing. While I had to quit my apprenticeship because of the physical demands, I often wonder how it would’ve been if I had kept at it and finished. Maybe I would have had a great career, or maybe I would have been impatient and quit a year or two later myself. I’ll never know. There will always be things that may not start out like we expected, but they can end up being better than we expected. We just have to give them time to nurture and grow. I’m sure there’s many other things that may be like that — relationships, jobs, hobbies. Experiences we gave up on just a little too quickly because we had seen someone else’s current success but not the struggle that came before it. Comparing ourselves when we’re starting out to someone who’s been doing something for a while is a fool’s folly. They’ve made mistakes, lis tened to mentors, and just stuck it out. Sometimes, just showing up each day is 80 percent of it. The other 20 percent is probably sheer stubbornness and grit. They just didn’t give up. I know it’s easy to say quit ting is easy, but sometimes it’s hard too, especially if it’s a dream you’ve wanted and you feel like it hasn’t gone the way you’d hoped. Sometimes though, we give up right before that break through happens, right before everything clicks into place, as if our stubborn persistence is finally rewarded for not giv ing up. It’s just hanging in there that can be tough. I know there’s times I’ve given up, probably right before that happened — prob ably more times than I can count. I was exhausted, burned out, and couldn’t push forward one more second. I’m sure lots of folks can relate to that too. But maybe, just maybe, if we just don’t give up, we’ll reach that dream we’d hope for too. I know I’m going to try, and I hope you do too. Sudie Crouch is an award-win ning humor columnist and author. So many books, so little time to read By MG Finch President of Friends of the Library How do you decide what to read next? I agree with Michael Dirda’s article about the rules of reading: “I want magic. It might be found in the enchantments of a nov el’s style, the elegance of a scholar’s mind or simply the excitement of learning some thing new. So, I try a few pages of this book and that, restlessly hoping to start one that finally keeps me spell bound.” I found a bonanza of “magic” in May. Here are a few titles that were “spell binding”: Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glenda Vanderah was a big hit with the Chestatee book club. The book isn’t particularly deep, but it keeps you engaged with the main characters, particularly a little girl who insists she’s an alien through out the novel to hide her many secrets. I was so excited about Colm Tobin’s new book Long Island, that I down loaded the prequel, Brooklyn which I read years ago. A lucky mistake...I remem bered the bones of the story but had forgotten a lot about the feelings and difficulties of a young Irish girl who leaves her family for the dream of a better life in America. Now I am ready to read Long Island. I read everything Anna Quinlan writes and enjoyed her newest, After Annie. It’s a powerful story about a wonderful wife, friend and mom who dies on page 2, or I would call this a spoiler alert. The rest of the novel is about how her children, hus band and best friend deal with this terrible loss. Another new book by an author I’ve never read before was a page turner. How to Read a Book by Monica Wood is about a book club in a woman’s prison. The prison scenes are grim, but the love affair that blooms, and the self-awareness that happens along the way are gripping. I had good luck at the Dawson County Library book sale and picked up Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson, a rollicking tale about teens from the deep South who stay in trouble. There are some very funny lines in this one. I also bought Cider House Rules by John Irving. Clocking in at 552 pages, this is not a short read, but it’s well worth the time. I had totally forgotten the love story that has remarkable twists, and the charming, but terrifying Mr. Rose and his daughter, Rose Rose. I would rather read a cook book than nonfiction, but occasionally, I land on a book that holds my interest and opens my mind to new perspectives. Frank Bruni’s new book The Age of Grievance, explores the deep divisions in America today. He does an excellent job of calling out both sides of the political spectrum for our insistence on victimhood, and how it builds hatred and endangers our future. It also makes you wonder why we are all so unhappy when what is happening globally is horrific for so many real vic tims around the world. On a more cheerful note, what’s happening at the library in June? It’s the start of Summer Reading program with free and fun programs for children and teens. There will be magicians, puppet shows, and jugglers for younger children, and pizza, games and fun crafts for teens. In addition, amazing prizes will be given for points gained by reading books. Adults can take the chal lenge on Beanstack as well. You have until July 31 to read, read and read some more. Checkout the Dawson County Library Facebook page or website for the most up to date information on events. Finally, I’m going to steal from the Lumpkin County Friends brochure: “Why do we need libraries in the so-called information age? A public library is an essential organ in a living, breathing community. It is a source of unbiased and open access to knowledge, enter tainment, and enlightenment. It is a neighborhood to all cit izens without regard to age, income or background.” Please consider joining the Friends of the Library for as little as $15 to help the Dawson County Library and the excellent staff available to help find the magic in books and so much more! Letter policy Letters should be limited to 350 words and may be edited or condensed. The same writer or group may only sub mit one letter per month for consider ation. Letters must be submitted by noon Friday for midweek publication. We do not publish poetry or blanket letters and generally do not publish letters con cerning consumer complaints. Unsigned or incorrectly identified letters will be withheld. Mail letters to the Dawson County News, P.O. Box 1600, Dawsonville, GA 30534, hand deliver to 30 Shoal Creek Road or email to editor@dawsonnews. com.
