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
