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Pickens County
Editorial
Quote of the week-1 never bought the argument that
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• Opinions • Community Views • Good ‘01 Common Sense
February 19, 2015
Fabulous Fox,
fabulously fatigued
By Angela Reinhardt,
Staff writer
I’m tired. I’m really, really tired.
But as much as I dread dragging through the
rest of the day with glassy, burning eyes, star
ing into space like a porcelain doll, last night
was worth it.
Some friends and I bit the bullet and bought
tickets for the Wednesday evening production
of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre at the
Fox (the one on Peachtree in Atlanta). We’d
hit a restaurant on Marietta Square then head
to the city and be in our seats in time for the
show at 8 p.m. But as a parent
and full-time employee who
lives and works in Pickens, at
tending events downtown can
be a challenge, which makes
it so easy to pass them up.
Even on a Wednesday the
performance was sold out,
and the abnormally large
number of latecomers who
hadn’t calculated for heavy
traffic around the theatre and
scarce parking pushed the
show back a half hour.
This put me returning
home to west Pickens well
after midnight. Just before dozing off I caught
the time on my alarm clock out the corner of
my eye. It read “2:00 a.m.” in blood red num
bers that must have been branded by the devil.
They signified some vague evil. Impending
doom.
In a desperate attempt to salvage my tomor
row I tried a psychological slight of hand.
Maybe, I thought, if I sleep hard enough each
hour will somehow compound in my body and
feel like two.
It didn’t work.
I’ve realized that part of being a parent who
wants to maintain something that vaguely re
sembles a social life, or who wants to experi
ence culture you can’t find in smaller towns
you have to force yourself to make plans.
You do this with the understanding that
your precious routine will be disrupted and
you’ll probably be tired. Today, for example,
is going to suck. Time will slow to an excruci
atingly slow, molasses-like speed, and in what
seems to be some sick Divine joke my kids’
bedtime will be like the pot of gold at the end
of the rainbow - always just out of reach, over
the horizon.
All of this is not to say you can’t have a
good time in Pickens. Last week my husband
and I attended the Tater Patch Players’ Farce
of Nature and it was fun (and were back home
at a very manageable 10:15 p.m.). There’s
plenty to do in town, but to
see something of the magni
tude of a production of the
Alvin Ailey American Dance
Theatre - formed by the now
legendary African-American
dancer and activist Alvin
Ailey in 1958 - you typically
have to go to a metropolis
like Atlanta.
To see his master
piece “Revelations” and to be
moved by the extravagant
Moorish architecture of the
historic Fox Theatre, people
who live in Pickens have to
make the commitment, coordinate sitters if
necessary and go - and because that show or
event you want to attend doesn’t always hap
pen on the weekends going sometimes means
weeknight plans.
I find relief knowing I don’t have to make
big-city treks too often to reap the inevitable
rewards. Once every few months is enough for
me to feel like I haven’t thrown in the towel
and let the routine my children and job require
win.
And because at this point in my life I’m not
willing to move away from the rural town I
love and call home, I’ll just have to keep mak
ing those plans. I think you should, too.
In the meantime I think I’ll go have more
coffee. Lots more coffee. The stronger and
blacker the better.
Sometimes you
just have to go to
Atlanta for a
really big event —
but go with the-
knowledge, you ’ll
pay for it the
following day.
AGREE OR DISAGREE? Tell us your thoughts on this week’s editorial either with a letter to the editor
that will be published next week. Letters may be e-mailed to news@pickensprogressonline.com. All let
ters must have a valid e-mail address, full name and telephone number for verification. We still take
them by regular mail at Pickens Progress, P.O. Box 67, Jasper, GA 30143
The Essential Bad Attitude
By Alan Gibson
Goofy Thunderton goes shopping
Goofy didn’t like to shop but
when the candy craving struck,
there was no option. “Which way
to Kit Kat bars,” he asked
Rhonda the sardonic salesclerk.
Replied she, “See that aisle
with all the candy bars? We call
that the candy aisle. Want to
guess why?”
Goofy was back in seconds.
“Those are small Kit Kat bars.
Where are the big ones?”
“The great big ones, big as a
compilation of Shakespeare?”
“Yeah.”
“The end of aisle sixteen,”
smirked Rhonda.
“Why is everything I want al
ways at the other end of the
store?”
“Silly! We arrange it that way
just for you.”
Goofy was fast approaching
his quota of Rhonda. “Well I
guess I have no choice but to
hike to the end of aisle sixteen.”
“Bon voyage,” she grinned
disingenuously and with a little
finger wave.
“Very funny. These aisles are
too long and you know it!”
“Goodness I’ll have them
shortened right away.”
Goofy was soon back, sans
Kit Kat. “There is nothing at the
end of aisle sixteen! You di
rected me into a blank wall!”
“Uh oh I forgot, they’ve been
moving things around. Actually
we encourage customers to
move back and forth through the
store. They tend to make im
pulse purchases.”
“Like Kit Kat bars?” seethed
Goofy.
“Bingo.”
“And what if Kit Kat bars are
not an impulse? What if they’re
a staple of my diet?” Rhonda
gave her best some-people-are-
beyond-help shrug. “What else
can we do for you?”
“My wife needs Kleenex. I
don’t suppose you could direct
me.”
“You know, paper products
are a tough one. Nobody can
seem to find them. Try aisle
twenty.”
“Thank you so much. Why
don’t I just walk up and down
every aisle in the store?”
“Couldn’t hurt after all those
Kit Kats. Say, do you like beef
jerky?”
Cocktail hour at Apple
Mountain gated community
found Two Beers Ed Hoffman in
his requisite venue on the Thun-
derton’s deck. Asked Ed, “You
know, Goof, that beef jerky stuff
isn’t half bad with a martini. You
really know how to shop.”
“Yeah, I got a friend at the
store. Keeps me plugged in to
bargains. The trick is to organize
your list before you go in.”
Said Goofy’s wife Del, “Your
friend must be pushing Kit Kat
bars.”
[For more of the same, visit
Alan’s blog, essentialba.com.]
Are We Getting it
Straight?
Have you spotted an error in our pages?
706-253-2457 or
dpool@pickensprogress.com
(USPS 431-820)
Published by Pickens County Progress, Inc.
94 North Main St. P.O. Box 67 Jasper, GA 30143
(706) 253-2457 FAX (706) 253-9738
www.pickensprogress.com
JOHN A. POOL DAN POOL
Publisher Editor
WILLIAM E. POOL
Managing Editor
Published each Thursday at Jasper, Pickens County Georgia. Entered
at the Post Office at Jasper Georgia 30143 as Mail Matter of Second
Class. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE PICKENS
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Hey, if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't look half as good!
OTHER VOICES
Amicalola Garden Club encourages
celebration of Georgia's Arbor Day
By Pam Yeargin
Amicalola Garden Club
Amicalola Garden Club wants to remind the
community about the celebration of Georgia's
Arbor Day on the third Friday in February.
Arbor Day is set aside for civic clubs, organiza
tions, schools, and individuals to reflect on the im
portance of trees in Georgia and the nation. The
first Georgia Arbor Day was proclaimed in 1890.
National Arbor Day is the third Friday in April, but
Georgia celebrates in February because it is too
warm at that time of the year to plant trees in Geor
gia. Trees need to be planted between November
and mid-March so they will have a better chance to
become established prior to the onset of the sum
mer heat.
We need to encourage our youth to celebrate by
exploring the natural world around them. We can
instill in our youth a lifelong sense of wonder and
love of nature. We can create the earth's next gen
eration of tree planters and environmental stewards
by encouraging and educating our youth. Civic
clubs and organizations can involve the youth by
planting trees as a community project. Trees can
also be planted to commemorate special life events
as well as leaving a legacy for upcoming genera
tions.
Plant just one seed this spring
By Eric Hill
Have you heard about the new
space-saving seed that grows
tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers
and even radishes all on one
plant? I have not either. Actually
there is a plant that grows toma
toes and potatoes, but we will
leave that for another time. In
stead I want to talk about a seed
you could plant that will return a
bounty beyond measure; intro
ducing a child to the joy and
beauty of gardening.
Growing up we always had a
small vegetable garden. Shovel
ing in manure from the neigh
bor’s farm was an annual task
that literally stunk. I can remem
ber planting seeds, weeding, and
being sent to pick vegetables be
fore dinner.
I didn’t get a lot of joy from
any of this; they were just chores
that needed to be done to get my
weekly allowance. Every sum
mer I would spend four or five
days at my grandparents house
without my family. Days were
spent helping grandma with
chores which included tending
her own garden, and every night
my grandfather and I walked his
dog.
That’s what I remember. The
time in the garden with my
grandmother was much different
than at home. We dawdled in her
garden. She talked about flowers,
and how things grew. We picked
weeds while she told stories, then
we would go in and cook dinner
before my grandfather got home.
She planted a seed during those
summer visits.
I did not realize it until
decades later, but my grand
mother introduced me to the joy
of gardening.
Spend some time with your
children or grandchildren out in
the yard. Whether you have a
vegetable or flower garden, just
spend a little time once in a while
in the garden.
Talk about what you are
growing. Pick flowers to put in a
vase.You can talk about butter
flies and earthworms. Harvest
some lettuce and tomatoes, and
make the salad together. When
it’s time to go to the garden cen
ter ask them along, to help pick
Weather
By William Dilbeck
Feb. 10 - Feb. 16
HI
LOW
RAIN
Tuesday
59
28
.00
Wednesday
55
27
.00
Thursday
34
20
.00
Friday
39
20
.00
Saturday
53
15
.00
Sunday
36
14
.00
Monday
34
21
.88
let them pick out their own
flower, and maybe a flowerpot.
Thinking about our children I
realized the same path has been
followed. As owners of a nurs
ery, our children have had to be
grudgingly help out on occasion.
For them this is just another
chore. But when we visit my in
laws whose whole yard is a gar
den it’s a different story. Here
Elin helps me pick cherries for
pies, and they walk around with
their grandmother plucking
berries from various shrubs try-
They cut flowers for the din
ner table. For our children the
seed is being planted thousands
of miles from home on a little
farm in Denmark.
[Eric Hill, along with his wife
Kari own Autumn Hill Nursery in
Hickory Flat and Autumn Hill
Four Seasons Gift & Garden in
Canton. For 22 years they have
been helping and inspiring their
customers to enjoy their yards
and gardens, www.autumnhill-
nurseiy.com.]
AtSIAK
MSMl
Fine Chinese, Thai,
Japanese Restaurant
Sushi • Sake
Beer • Wine
744 Noah Dr.
Jasper, GA
Mountain Highland
Tel: 706-253-1155
Fax: 706-253-1105
Georgia Arborist Association Member
TRADITION
TREE SERVICE
Jasper, GA
Free Estimates
• Fully Insured •
• Tree Removal
• Tree Pruning
• Brush Clean-up
traditiontreeservice80@gmail.com
Josh Bail
C: 678-848-1751
H: 706-253-0122