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PAGE 10A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. JANUARY 7. 2016
Memories of one of my friends and growing up in a small town during the 1930s
By Preston T. Duckett
Memories of my friend
Gene Henderson
(Jasper, Georgia -
(1932 - 2015)
Grandmother’s funeral service,
was over as we left the Church,
and headed to the grave
with all the confusion and lurch,
My eyes zoomed in on
a buddy, my best friend
from days long gone, a flood
of memories started a trend.
To a time when life was
simpler and a lot more fun.
Playing outdoors, climbing
trees or sometimes just run.
Over ridges and jumping from
rocks with cap pistols blaring.
"I shot you that time" answered
by "I got you first" as we kept fir
ing.
In looking back down the
years, deep into the past
fond memories of childhood,
these are the ones that last.
To ride the ridges, thru canyons
and valleys of the Wild West.
On fast imaginary horses,
youthful memories are best.
Protecting farms and woman
folks, fighting bandits and
crooks, relax with a game,
or fishing in brooks.
Walking the railroad tracks
picking up chunks of coal
putting it in our bags,
pretending it was gold.
Tying string to a billfold in
the road, our favorite prank.
When someone stopped to pick
it up we would give it a yank,
Run back in the woods and hide
until we heard them drive away
put it back in the road waiting
for another driver to go astray.
Gene would get the guitar as
darkness crept in for the night.
Strike a chord and work on
a song until it sounded right.
One song just wouldn't
Jell, worked on it for years
"Down the road a little further"
Even with blood, sweat and
tears.
It was never finished and when
we met we ‘d say "I haven’t been
paid." “If we hadjust think of all
the money we would have made,"
Gene you were a good best
friend,
A wonderful Christen, and
Deacon, Mason, Citizen, all the
Things held dear. A beacon
To your family, a wonderful,
Husband, Grandpa and Dad.
You are in a better place,
but we can't help being sad.
Life would not be the same with
out a little bit of exaggeration
and I think Gene would enjoy
this story about how “My Friend
out Runs a Snake. ”
- Preston Duckett
Now I will tell you right from
the start that I wasn’t there, this
time, but here is how it was told
to me.
My friend, Gene Henderson,
back when we were boys was
gallivanting with some other
friends running and playing
along the creek and up in the
woods when Gene jumped over
a log and felt something tugging
at his shirt tail which was unbut
toned in the front and the tail of
his shirt was, or at least had been,
flying out behind and with a
quick glance over his shoulder he
saw a snake with his fangs stuck
in his shirttail.
Now Gene was always a fast
runner but the adrenalin that shot
thru his body made his legs shift
gears and went into top speed
overdrive. We are not sure if the
snake jumped from the ground
behind the log, or dropped from
a limb, all he knew was it was
hanging on there and he made
sure he did not slow down
enough to give the snake a
chance to attach itself to his tail
instead of the tail of his shirt.
This is where the story I heard
ended so from here it is pure con
jecture on my part. Like I said
before Gene was a fast runner
and at that age in excellent shape.
He ran thru the bushes and
briers and between trees with
low hanging limbs and either
knocked it off or the snake just
got tired of flying and turned
loose the shirt.
We don’t know at this time
and neither did he back then and
he ran and ran and ran until he
was exhausted and when he col
lapsed on the ground he was in
downtown Jasper, which was just
about five miles from where he
started running fifteen minutes
ago.
I know it was many years
after that the five minute mile
was broken but that runner did
not have the incentive for the
race he was in that spurred Gene
on. Now true he did not have a
stop watch with him, if he had it
would have been thrown over his
Parenting Expert Offers Advice
On kids bathing together
By John Rosemond
Copyright 2015, John K. Rose-
mond
Q: My 7-year-old recently had
his 9-year-old friend over to
spend the night. At their re
quest, I let them take a bubble
bath together. I supervised, of
course. They had fun squirting
one another with water pistols,
throwing bubbles at one an
other, and pretending to swim.
They were having so much fun
I took a photo. Later, I showed
it to a “friend.” She became
angry and told me that letting
two boys that age take a bath
together and then taking a
photo of them bordered on pe-
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get the ball rolling.
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dophilia. She threatened to re
port me to the authorities. Do
you agree with her?
A: The fact that pedophiles
might enjoy looking at a photo
of two young boys taking a
bath together does not mean
that a responsible adult who al
lows that and takes a photo of
the ensuing fun has done some
thing morally wrong. Motive is
everything. In this instance,
several considerations are rele
vant:
1. You were not motivated by
prurient inclinations. That’s a
reasonable assumption, given
that you showed the photo to
another responsible person.
2. The boys’ request to bathe
together was not motivated by
inappropriate intent. Children
do not announce to adults their
intention to do what they know
is wrong.
3. The children did not object
to your supervision. That’s fur
ther evidence they were not at
tempting to do something they
knew was inappropriate.
4. Nothing about your descrip
tion of the boys’ behavior sug
gests anything more than two
boys wanting to have some
childish fun. That there are still
completely innocent children in
the world is rather refreshing
to know.
5. I’m assuming, again, that
the photo in question was not
“revealing.” Bubbles would
have effectively prevented the
photo from being salacious.
With all of that in mind,
your friend’s reaction to the
photo was a tad over the top.
Nonetheless, it is understand
able given that general aware
ness of and sensitivity to the
issue of sexual exploitation of
children has risen significantly
in the last thirty years or so.
That sensitivity is not, how
ever, equally distributed
throughout the population.
Some folks are sensitive to the
point of being unable to make
reasonable distinctions. De
spite good intentions, they con
flate apples and oranges. (By
the way, wrongful accusations
of child abuse not only hurt
those wrongfully accused, they
also have the potential of doing
significant emotional harm to
the children in question.)
Having said all that, I would
have advised you not to let the
boys take a bath together, even
if the other boy had called his
parents and they had given per
mission directly to you over the
phone. One cannot be too cau
tious about such things these
days, especially given that
when investigating reports of
child sexual abuse the default
position of many child protec
tive service agencies is to as
sume guilt. Whether that’s
generally good or bad can be
argued, but it is what it is.
In short, assuming you are
representing the situation accu
rately, you are definitely guilty
of a lapse of common sense,
but nothing more.
Family psychologist John
Rosemond:
johnrosemond.com, parent-
guru.com.
shoulder to try and hit the snake.
Gene was not afraid of many
things but he and I were only
afraid of two kinds of snakes and
that was live ones or dead ones.
Well here he was in Jasper, ex
hausted from running five miles
and when he was able, he raised
his head and looked around and
said you know this is a good
looking town and I think I’ll just
stay here because I’m too tired to
walk back to Talking Rock.
And I think this is why Jasper,
Georgia gained a good citizen.
One that Married, raised his fam
ily and gave to the growth and
prosperity of Jasper and gave
back to the community as a
Christian, a Mason, and sang
with his wife and others at mus
ing homes, funerals, Churches
and other events. Made most of
his lively hood right over in Mar
ble Hill, a Deacon in his Church
and a good citizen, a wonderful
Husband and Father and my
friend from childhood and up
until the day he went to be with
his Maker.
[Preston T. Duckett is an oc
casional contributor to the
Progress. He grew up in the
Talkng Rock area before moving
to complete high school in Dal
ton. He currently lives in Ala
bama but wants to come home
again.]
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