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A4 Lake Oconee News Friday, Jan. 6,2016 Start the conversation Send us your opinions by Monday at 1 p.m. news@lakeoconeenews.us 11 i| .... trtgf Thinking reinvention Well, here we are in another year, and I’m not hearing much talk about New Year’s resolutions, self-improvement or com mitments to do better in 2017. Promises we usually don’t keep anyway. Nev ertheless, maybe it’s an appropriate time to really think about new begin nings: where we’ve been, what’s going on and where we are going. It seems that we are living in a selfie era filled with self-absorption and impatience, noise and clutter and never-ending shrill voices. A time where everyone seems too busy and manners are often times forgotten. Case in point: the folk on tele vision talking over each other in a vain attempt to get their points across. Okay, let’s put this to a test: How many people do you know that are con versational bullies on the phone? (Don’t answer, it will be too shocking!) Instead of new resolu tions that can’t be kept and trying to immediate ly change the world, let’s start thinking about rein venting ourselves. Maybe thinking about what makes us tick and how to live with less noise and distraction; reconnecting with old friends and prac ticing common courtesy; and looking for ways to make our lives simpler and better. And—most dangerous of all—perhaps Hank Segars Lakelife Associate Editor trying new things. That said, I am thinking about my own reinven tion and doing something a little different. And, along the way, trying to disprove that old adage about teaching old dogs new tricks. Rather than making any hard-to-keep resolutions, I am adding something new to my growing list of trying new things: column writing for this newspaper. Writing is never easy. Television and the movies have it all wrong. They portray journalists and reporters as super humans with the ability to type a story minutes before a looming deadline, then scurrying off to do more important things, like solving complex crimes or valiantly saving lives. It just doesn’t happen that way. Writing is hard work and takes time. (But, I must admit, not as hard as working in a noisy cotton SEE SEGARS » A5 Goodbye to Grant Tinker (part one) Mama used to say, every time she was sick, “I’ve never been so sick in all of my life.” EVERY time. I’d say, “Mama, you always say that. If you got sicker every time than you were the last time, you’d be dead by now.” I offer that to say that when the call came, the one every child dreads, I was very sick. I had been sicker before but it was only the third time in my life that I had gone to bed for almost a week. I woke up that morning, feeling so bad that I went back to bed, determined to sleep until I had healed from a viral in- Ronda Rich Dixie Divas fection I had picked up on a plane. Around 2 p.m. I awoke and wandered through the house to find Tink. Just as I passed through the foyer, I heard him answerthe phone. I saw him sit up straight and ask urgently, “Has my father- died?” Alarmed, I stopped and looked at him. In a second or two, he nodded in my direction. I sat down on the step that leads into our sunken living and, with heart already aching, waited until he ended the call. Grant Tinker, a man who loved me and who I loved, was gone. We had spoken to him three times in the past few days and he had sounded fine. But during the night, the mighty heart of a mighty man had ceased to beat. I was terribly sad for my husband because it’s hard to lose your father but I was just as sad for me. I adored him and he delight ed in our conversations. It’s hard to explain how two people so different could connect like we did. He was Ivy League educated, descended from the May flower and one of the most legendary men in television history. I am from poor people of the Appalachians, descended from poor Scotch-Irish who escaped poverty in Northern Ireland and my greatest career boost came from working among the grease monkeys SEE RICH » A7 "Sometimes I wish I had gone to college. Then I might have had a career in cybercrime!'' To Cameron Yarbrough: work hard and dream big Dear Cameron Charles Yarbrough: Welcome to a new year. Admittedly, I am biased, but what I have seen of you in your eight years on Earth gives me great confidence that you have a bright future ahead of you. I have been thinking about what I could say to you that might be of benefit as you continue your journey into a world that seems to grow meaner and shriller with each passing day. Life will be a Dick Yarbrough Guest Columnist challenge. It always has been and forever will be. How you live it depends on you. As one who has expe rienced some good days and some that were not so good, I would suggest that no matter what the future holds, there are certain precepts that never change. If you have heard these things before, bear with me. They are worth repeat ing. A lot of what I am going to tell you comes from my own life experiences. I have been-there, done-that and have the scars to prove it. Never forget that the greatest asset you have today and will ever have is your good name. If you lose it, it is hard to get it back. When temptations come — and they will — remember that however you decide to deal with them will not only affect your reputation but your family’s as well. If you choose to do the wrong thing, be prepared to pay the price. Bad decisions can have bad consequenc es and you will have no one to blame but yourself. How can you know if your decision has the potential to be a bad one? Listen to your gut. Your mind has a great ability to rationalize things, but not your gut. Deep down inside, you will know right from wrong. Don’t be afraid to do the right thing. Being popular is a worthy goal but it depends on how you get there. Compromising your integrity to please other people is not the way. Be someone that others look up to, someone they would like to emulate. Strive to be honest, trustworthy and a dependable friend. If those around you don’t approve, they aren’t worth your time and effort. Don’t act like you are their moral superior but don’t let them impact your own self-worth. No one knows you better than you know yourself. Whatever you choose to do with your life, do it to the best of your abilities. All day. Every day. Never go to SEE YARBROUGH » A5 Lake Oconee News General Excellence Award Winner 2015-2016 GEORGIA PRESS ASSOCIATION President / Publisher A. Mark Smith Vice President Jo Ann Smith Vice President, General Manager Mark Smith Jr. Vice President, Circulation Matt Smith Vice President Michael Smith Associate Editor T. Michael Stone Sports Writer Justin Hubbard Staff Writer Lynn Hobbs Staff Writer Dave Brown Staff Writer Shannon Sneed Advertising Representative Vicki Parker Advertising Representative Chelsea Selby Advertising Representative Mary de Guiseppi Advertising Representative Michael Payne National Advertising Manager Amy Hood Legal Advertising/Circulation Becky Meyer Technology Manager Josh Lurie Graphic Artist Ali Henderson Graphic Artist Mark Brill Business Manager Cassandra Fowler DEDICATION Battle B. Smith EDITOR AND PUBLISHER 1956-1988 Micky Smith EDITOR AND PUBLISHER 1989-2003 ADVERTISING, NEWS AND INFORMATION Lake Oconee 1106 MARKET ST. • GREENSBORO 706-454-1290 Fax 706-454-1292 Madison 195 W. JEFFERSON ST. 706-342-9833 Fax 706-342-9839 Call 706-485-3501 for subscription information Subscription Rates One Year Two Years Putnam, Morgan, Greene counties $35 $65 Other Georgia counties $45 $80 Out of Georgia $55 $95 Postmaster: Send address changes to the ,1106 Market St., Greensboro, GA 30642. Periodicals postage paid at Greensboro, GA 30642. The (USPS 024-046) is published every Friday by Smith Communications Inc., 1106 Market St., Greensboro, GA 30642. All rights reserved. Reprints by permission of the and individual writers only. State and Federal Elected Officials Gov. Nathan Deal (R) 203 State Capitol Atlanta, GA 30334 (404) 656-1776 Web/e-mail: gagovernor.org Sen. David Perdue (R) B40D Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Phone: 202-224-3521 Sen. Burt Jones (R) 407 East Second St., Jackson, GA 30233 Phone: (770) 775-4880 Fax: (770) 234-6752 Sen. Johnny Isakson (R) United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 (202) 224-3643 Rep. Dave Belton (R) 401-B Coverdell Legislative Office Bldg. Atlanta, GA 30334 404.656.0152-Office dc.belton@house.ga.gov Rep. Jody Hice (R) 1516 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-4101 Fax: (202) 226-0776 Rep. Trey Rhodes (R) Room 612-B Coverdell Legislative Office Building Atlanta, GA 30334 404-656-0325 trey.rhodes@house.ga.gov The deadline to submit letters to the editor each week is Monday at 1 p.m. Send letters and other news to news@lakeoconeenews.us
