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Progress is man's ability to complicate simplicity.
- Thor Heyerdahl
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Common Sense
The Progress
Editorial
December 3,2020
From the Staff
Candidates who use mass texts
should do it from personal phones
By Dan Pool, Editor
It was a pleasant day during the Thanks
giving weekend when I heard my phone beep
a couple of times indicating text messages.
The first was someone named Charlie, letting
me know that the fate of America was in my
hands. With such a dire communication I
quickly read on to discover the text was on
behalf one party’s candidates seeking the sen
ate seats up for grabs in the runoff. Maybe
theoretically, the fate of America is in the
hands of those who got the texts, but not re
ally. Even for politicians that rhetoric is
stretching it.
The second text that came shortly after
wards was also about that race.
It’s still about two weeks until early vot
ing starts (Dec. 14th) but if I had I a ballot in
front of me in the moments after those texts
arrived I would not have voted for those
senders.
Campaigning is to be expected, but text
messages should be an off-limits forum. It’s
intrusive, invasive and annoying to get ran
dom texts from a political campaign, espe
cially on a holiday weekend. And let’s hope
there is a backlash against candidates whose
campaigns are using them—though it looks
like all the senate hopefuls are.
The difference is the text message is more
personal than other communications. It’s
what your kids use to let you know they got
where they were going or your wife uses to
remind you to get something for her in town.
You look at texts much quicker than e-mails.
(Newspaper ads are obviously the ideal way
to campaign and they show up when readers
are actively seeking information, not when
their damn phone beeps and intemipts them.)
If a candidate wants to send out mass-
texts, it should be mandated they do it from
their own personal cell phone. That’s fair. If
they obnoxiously butt into your Saturday,
then why shouldn’t they take replies?
You deserve to be heard back from when
you stop yard work and find some imbecilic
political drivel. The intrusion is more deserv
ing of a pie in the face for the offending can
didate, not a vote.
State/feds need to capitalize on popular parks
This fall, I have had the chance to get to
some of our National Forests and state
parks. They are wonderful, especially this
time of the year with the leaves falling and
cooler temperatures.
When people think big government, it
too often is with negative reactions. But
state parks/national forests are well liked
and well used. In fact, they are crowded,
but this isn’t a problem, it’s an opportunity.
Seeing more people using them augurs
well for future protection and expansion of
facilities.
The state and national parks people
need to expand through user fees and more
efficient and cooperative operations. A per
fect example is the nearby Amicalola River
area, a combination of DNR-managed land
and property owned by the City of Atlanta.
You are supposed to have a “land pass” or
a hunting or fishing license just to be on
the trails there. However, it seems unlikely
the casual passerby stopping for a stroll
along the river trail would know they
should have bought a pass online before
they arrived or hope they have cell service.
In Georgia, we have 867,000 acres of
National Forests across 26 counties and
you don’t need a pass for these. But you’ll
find odd signs that allow camping in one
spot but not in a spot 50 feet away. There
may be some grand plan but it’s hard to
figure out where you can pitch your tent
and whether you need to pay anything.
Since COVID encouraged people to
shun urban spots, all these natural areas
have seen a rush in use. A spot where
Noontootla Creek, the Appalachian Trail
and Benton Mackaye trails converge was
so crowded some weekends this fall that
campsites were impossible to get and park
ing along the road looked like Black Fri
day at the mall.
What’s needed is for the state and fed
eral leaders to work together, act like a tra
ditional business and say it’s time to
expand. Charge these outdoor users a fair
fee, but make it easy to pay and then use
these funds to create even more great spots
around our state at no cost to the taxpay
ers.
This a rare case where we are telling
government, we like your work please do
more.
Tell us your thoughts with a letter to the editor. E-mail to news@pickensprogress.com
See letter submission guidelines on the Letters to the Editor page or call us 706-253-2457.
Ponderings of a Simple Man
Py Caleb Smith
A Trip To
The Maul
English is a funny lan
guage. As one linguist hu
morously said “Some
languages borrow from other
cultures, English follows
other cultures down dark al
leys and mugs them, then
roots through their pockets
for spare adverbs.”
Now, I’m not really sure
what an adverb is, but I do
know that the English lan
guage is less a set of strict
rides, and more of a series of
guidelines. Some of our
words come from Latin roots,
many have Germanic begin
nings, and some we just
make sound like others and
use them.
‘Mall’ for example, seems
perfectly innocuous, but the
person who named the con
glomeration of shops knew
exactly what they were
doing.
According to Webster’s
dictionary ‘maul’ is described
thusly: to wound (a person or
animal) by scratching and
tearing.
Anyone who has ever
been to the mall on Black Fri
day will tell you that there
isn’t a better descriptor than
that.
Normally I avoid all Black
Friday activities like the
plague (hmm, given the year
that we have all had, I need to
come up with a different
term) but this year, I just
couldn’t resist the surge of
holiday spirit that led me to
fight a mob in order to save
$30 on a T.V.
In other words, my wife
told me I had to go.
Friends, it was a horrible
experience. The shouting,
yelling, curses, and threats of
physical violence were al
most more than I could stand.
And that was just in the
car on the ride down.
Once we actually reached
the maul? Well to be honest,
I blacked most of it out. I
was stuck in bumper to
bumper traffic, inching along
at a pace that would make
even snails impatient, the
next, I was sitting in my arm
chair back on home, a steam
ing cup of tea clasped
between my trembling
hands.
I was bruised, banged up,
and had lost twenty pounds
all over the course of a single
morning, yet I couldn’t re
member a single thing that
had happened.
It’s a mercy, really. Some
of the events of that blackest
of Fridays need to stay lost.
We got the T.V. well enough,
but my wife said I knocked
over three orphans and a nun
to grab the last one.
What a nun and three or
phans were doing at Brook-
stone at 4 a.m., I’ll never
know, but I bet they won’t
come between a stressed out
hillbilly and his T.V. again.
At the end of the day, my
wife was happy, and any
man will tell you that’s the
most important thing. And I
have a whole 364 days be
fore I have to worry about it
again.
Hopefully by then I’ll stop
experiencing flashbacks
every time I hear a register
ring.
[Caleb Smith is a long
time, award-winning, colum
nist for the Progress. Look
for his book at the Progress
office or on Amazon.]
(USPS 431-820)
Published by Pickens County Progress, Inc.
94 North Main Street, Jasper, GA 30143
(706) 253-2457 FAX (706) 253-9738
www.pickensprogressonline.com
DAN POOL
Publisher/Editor
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H>cl)ciol
TAKE ME TO YOOF,
Leader
OTHER VOICES
A mind is a terrible thing to lose
By Mary Migliaro
Progress Contributor
When I was in my late
50s, I was so busy with work
and kids and multitasking all
day long that I frequently for
got things. Over time, I began
to get concerned about it and
thought I might be losing my
mind. I now know that I was
just forgetting things due to
brain overload.
Recently, it has occurred
to me that the process might
be beginning. I have a t-shirt
that says, “I know I came into
this room for a reason” and
find myself saying that
phrase from time to time.
Now, however, I believe it is
all driven by sensory over
load compounded by multi
tasking.
Sensory overload happens
when you’re getting more
input from your five senses
than your brain can sort
through and process. Multi
ple conversations going on in
one room, flashing overhead
lights, or a loud party can all
produce the symptoms of
sensory overload. Try listen
ing to two different conversa
tions at the same time and see
how much you recall or read
a book while watching a
movie. Chances are you will
minimize what you get out of
either activity.
Symptoms of sensory
overload vary by case. Some
common symptoms include
difficulty focusing due to
competing sensory input; ex
treme irritability; restlessness
and discomfort; and stress,
fear, or anxiety about your
surroundings.
Psychiatrist Edward M.
Hallowell, author, and
founder of the Hallowell
Center for Cognitive and
Emotional Health is
renowned for his work on at
tention deficit disorder. He
describes the inner frenzy af
fecting so many in today's
workplace.
What is attention deficit
trait? Dr. Hallowell states it's
a severe case of modem life.
Attention deficit trait is the
term for what happens to the
brain when it becomes over
loaded with information, ob
ligations, and more data
points than it can keep up
with. You start to resemble
someone with actual atten
tion deficit disorder — dis-
tractibility, impulsivity,
impatience, restlessness, irri
tability.
To get everything done,
you become less and less ef
ficient, and that leads to un
derachievement and
deteriorating performance
even as you're trying to im
prove.
Most people will tell you
they are just multitasking,
and they are fine with that.
However, the fact is the brain
is not meant to perform
heavy-duty multitasking on a
regular basis. When trying to
multitask, you think you’re
doing 2 things at once, but
you’re just switching focus
between tasks constantly.
Previous studies have
shown that switching be
tween 2 tasks noticeably
slows down the time it takes
to complete each task indi
vidually. As tasks get more
complex and less familiar,
you need more time to switch
between and complete tasks.
Tips to reduce multitask
ing and improve focus
include:
• Get rid of distractions
- Silence your cell phone and
TV and turn off email alert
sounds on the computer. If
you have audible distractions
such as office chatter or road
noise outside of where you
work, play instrumental
music at a low volume to
“mask” the outside noises.
• Do one thing at a time
- This might feel like you are
not being productive but if
you constantly multitask, you
decrease productivity.
• Work in intervals - You
cannot work from morning to
evening and expect your
brain to be alert throughout.
The typical human brain can
only work for a certain
amount of time. You need to
take frequent stops to refresh
and boost your focus.
• Start with the most dif
ficult tasks before the more
manageable tasks.
Children and teens are not
immune to this issue either.
Share these tips and tech
niques with them to help
them manage their multitask
ing and productivity.
So, if you find yourself
becoming forgetful, fear not!
You are simply on brain
overload. Cut back on the
multitasking and increase
your focus for maximum
productivity.
[Mary Migliaro, M.Ed. is
a parent mentor, and long
time educator.
She may be contacted at
maiymigliaro@aol.com.]
If you spot a
mistake,
contact our
editor.
dpool@
pickensprogress.com
706-253-2457
WEATHER
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*1/4 inch of snow