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Perspectives
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You can have too much fun
There is a country song
which has been out for a while,
referring to not being able to
have too much fun. I like the
beat of the song, but disagree
with the sentiment. As you get
older, I recently discovered you
can have too much fun and
when you do there is a price to
pay the next day.
During our final summer
fling before school began, we
made good on our promise to
the kids of a trip to Six Flags.
We had not all gone together
since Cally, now age 8, was bom
and she had not been at all.
To insure no one felt left out
and everyone had someone to
ride with about their own age,
we asked my brother-in-law,
Steve and his family to join us.
Besides, we decided all of us
little"respect '
needed a from
the day to day stress we were
feeling.
The plan was to get up
early and arrive about opening
time. Cally had spent the
previous week in Alabama
with her cousins, so Steve
drove down the night before to
bring Cally home. Since
Steve’s son, Keith, could not
get off work we invited
another nephew. We headed
out in two cars before 7:30
a m. I was the kink in the plan
to leave at 7 and it would turn
out to be a good thing because
the park did not open until 10
that day and we arrived before
9:30.
We waited around on the
rest of Steve’s crew. When the
gates opened the kids we had
in tow, were eager so we sent
them on in with an order to
meet back at the cars for
lunch around 1 p.m. It was a
half hour later when Debra
and Stephanie drove in.
Going in on the backside of
the park, one of the first rides
you encounter is Thunder
River. I don’t know who had
the bright idea to get wet
off the bat, but none of us
voiced any objections. In fact,
because there was no line, we
turned right around and rode
a second time, I guess just to
get even wetter.
Being soaked from your
head to your toes makes it
The Meeting Place
Peach County Commission - meets
every second Tuesday of month in jury room of
courthouse at 6 p.m.
Fort Valley City Council - meets every
third Thursday of month in courtroom at City
Hall at 6:30 p.m.
Board of Education - meets every first
Tuesday of month in board office on Vineville at
6:00 p.m.
Byron City Council -- meets every first
Monday of month at the old school at 6:00 p.m.
Utility Commission - meets every
second Monday of month in courtroom at City
Hall at 7:30 p.m.
Hospital Authority -- meets every fourth
Thursday of month in hospital conference room
at 9:00 a.m.
- ®{je leaker-®rfbttne, Wednesday, August 27,1997
!■
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Vicky Whitehead
Hi
miserable walking around all
day. We did not dry out very
fast because it was a mild,
overcast day and later we
would find ourselves walking
in a brief downpour, adding to
the wetness. In fact, it took my
tennis shoes almost, a week to
dry out.
We did not run up with the
rest of our crew until lunch.
We had gone to fix lunch
early, mainly because the
Georgia Cyclone ride had
about done a couple of us in. I
am pretty brave about most
rides and can usually be
talked into the ones I am leary
about. I agreed to the Cyclone
but regretted it as soon as we
took off. Fortunately, we had
not eaten lunch at that time,
or I would have lost mine.
Debra and I both looked
like death warmed over
getting off the ride. I felt as if
I had been in a compacting
machine. To make matters
worse, they have video
cameras along the ride and
you can get pictures of your
experience. It was an
experience 1 would have
rather forgot but when Terry
saw my face he had to have a
photo. If you can imagine
someone in pain and scared to
death at the same time, you’ll
have a good idea of how
wonderful this photo looked. I
dared him to show it to anyone
but my words have apparently
fallen on deaf ears.
We survived but I will not
ride the Cyclone again. Once
is enough. The day continued
and we saw the shows and
rode the milder rides. Of
course, everything else is
milder after the Cyclone. To
conclude the day, Terry took
the kids and went toward the
log rides while Steve, Debra
and I went to check out the
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We preach our own funerals
Most of you who know me very well have
learned that I am a big country music fan. My
car radio is programmed on four country music
stations so I can flip from one to the other when
a song that doesn’t suit me, or a commercial,
comes on.
Not every country music song, nor every
country music artist, fits my fantasy. The lyrics
in some songs do not please me, so those are
“flipped” off, and some artists are too “out” for
me. For the most part though, country music
artists are good, down to earth people.
Although she was not a singer, Minnie Pearl
was one of my favorite people. As you know,
Miss Minnie died a few months ago and she will
never be replaced. She was a school teacher by
profession before becoming involved in the
Grand Ole Opry.
Minnie told a story once about one of her aunts
who had been talking with her about her love
life. Her aunt told her that she just was not
having much luck at getting the older men to
carry her out on a date. After they finished
talking about their love lives, they began to talk
about their funerals. Minnie told her aunt how
she wanted her funeral to be done. Then her
aunt began to tell her how she wanted her
funeral to be done. When she got to the point of
selecting pallbearers, she told Minnie that she
wanted all women pallbearers. When Minnie
asked her why, she said that if she couldn’t get
the old men to carry her out while she was
alive, she sure didn’t want them to carry her out
when she was dead!
After hearing this story, 1 thought that there
must be a lesson we can learn from it. And
Will another shoe drop soon?
As the 1998 elections approach, both
Republicans and Democrats are scratching their
collective heads in bewilderment at the political
shoe-dropping in the upcoming state-wide
contests. With one notable exception, nothing
has gone according to script. Instead, the
normally predictable world of Georgia politics
has been stood on its head.
In 1996, even before the election, things
appeared relatively predictable in Georgia. In
the U.S. Senate race, Democrats were eagerly
eyeing a shot at Republican Senator Paul
Coverdell. Their “top gun” for the challenge was
none other than popular incumbent Governor
Zell Miller. The combination of Miller’s
popularity, fundraising ability and state-wide
organization made him preferred candidate
number one. Given Miller’s approach during his
lame duck term as Governor, there was every
reason to believe that he would challenge
Coverdell. Then came the first shoe — Miller
decides that he will not run for political office
again. The dream match up between the two
biggest state-wide political heavy weights was
no more.
As the Democrats began scrambling to find a
replacement contender in the U.S. Senate race,
the focus shifted to the Governor’s race. Since
1994, political insiders predicted a classical
match up between former Georgia Attorney
General Michael Bowers and sitting Lieutenant
Governor Pierre Howard. With fresh memories
of a series of losses resulting from bruising GOP
primaries, Republicans expected to nominate
Bowers without any significant opposition. As
late as the state convention in May, leading
Republicans across Georgia appeared prepared
to support Bowers and eliminate any real
possibility of serious contention in the GOP
primary. Then came the second shoe — Bowers’
confession. Suddenly, the GOP primary was
cast into disarray. As the Republicans had
quietly cheered the predicament resulting from
Miller’s decision, Democrats quietly celebrated
the sudden disarray surrounding the
Republicans’ plans in the Governor’s race. Now,
the chances of an uncontested GOP primary are
non-existent. Instead, Republicans appear to be
guaranteed another hotly contested state-wide
race which in recent years has cost them viable
shots at the Governorship in 1994 and a seat in
the U.S. Senate in 1996.
With Bowers’ problems, everything appears to
have balanced out. The Democrats lost their
best shot in the U.S. Senate race when Miller
bowed out; but then, the Republicans lost their
new Batman Ride. Earlier in
the day the wait in line was up
to two hours and while the
kids had waited and rode, we
did not. This time the wait
was less than 15 minutes. The
ride looks omnimous but was
actually a fun ride. - smooth
and no jerking motions. It was
over sooner than you wanted
it to be and there were no
after effects at all. I will ride
this again.
As the daylight faded and
we sat again at the picnic
table, all of us pulled off our
wet shoes and socks. Our feet
looked like prunes. We had
been going strong for over 12
hours and we were dog-tired,
even the energetic kids
complained of fatigue.
It had been a fun day and
when the next morning came,
amid the aches and pains, we
would all realize, you can have
too much fun. I also decided for
certain and without a doubt, I
am not as young as I once was.
There were aches where I
didn’t know you could ache
and my shoulders, head and
neck wouid never be the same
again. Though I keep as active
as possible, I was not prepared
nor fit for such a long day at
the amusement park.
However, when the kids
said emphatically all of us
should do this against next
year and consider making the
family get together an annual
event, I just winced and said,
“Why not!”
Yes, I think you can have
too much fun in one day.
Perhaps, by the time a year
passes, the memory will fade
and once again we will be
brave enough to try and see
how much fun we can cram
into one day again. Of course,
then again, you can change
your mind a lot in a year.
®f)e Heater -tribune
Editorial Opinion... Yours and ours
From
where I SIT
gob 1 X
dribble 'A
there is, with the lesson being, at times when
death comes some folks are carried to places
they chose not to visit very often during their
lifetimes, the church.
Rev. Bob Laws drove home a good point
several years ago at an evangelism conference
when he told the following story. It seems that
the family of a young man who had recently
passed away asked Rev. Laws to conduct his
funeral at the church. The preacher asked the
family if the young man was a church member
and they said no. He asked them if he was a
Christian and they said no. Brother Laws then
asked the family, “Well, why do you want to
make him miserable by taking him in death
where he did not want to go in life?”
No doubt, Rev. Laws was a little bold in what
he said, but it does make a good point.
When we get right down to it, we are the ones
who really “preach” our own funerals by the
way we live our lives. We will either give those
who conduct our funerals something good to say
about us, or we won’t. It’s that plain and simple.
Yes, the one that we choose in this life will be
the one who will take us out. As the old saying
goes, where the tree falls, there it must lay.
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Political Kandy
analyst Evans
best shot in the Governor’s race with Bowers’
problems and the resulting contested primary.
An otherwise exciting election year featuring
Coverdell/Miller and Howard/Bowers contests
had devolved into likely victories for Coverdell
in the U.S. Senate race and Howard in the
Governor’s race. Then came the third shoe —
Lieutenant Governor Pierre Howard announces
that he is dropping out of the Governor’s race.
The political vacuum created by Howard’s
departure could be felt in every county in the
State. Notwithstanding the quick influx of
potential Democratic challengers to replace
Howard, the fact is that void left by Miller and
Howard’s departure from the political playing
field cannot be filled.
All eyes now turn to Paul Coverdell to see if
yet another shoe will drop, but the chances of
that are zero to none.
Got a gripe?
Or just want to
SOUND OFF?
Write a letter to the
editor today!
if-’ •
VM'.
fssm
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