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“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may
abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. ” - Romans 15:13
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The Progress
Editorial
December 24,2020
From the Staff
The light in the dark this Christmas
Matthew 2:1-2 - “Now after Jesus
was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the
days of Herod the king, behold, wise
men from the east came to Jerusalem,
saying, ‘Where is he who has been bom
king of the Jews? For we saw his star
when it rose and have come to worship
him.”’
That star, believed to be the conjunc
tion of Jupiter and Saturn that creates the
illusion of one large star, is what many
say guided the Magi to Bethlehem to
greet the newborn Jesus, Messiah to the
people. This is the Star of Bethlehem, or
the Christmas Star, and arguably the
most iconic and pervasive symbol of
Jesus’ birth. We place it atop our Christ
mas trees, in our nativity scenes, in our
school Christmas plays, and on our
greeting cards.
This “great conjunction” of the two
largest and slowest-moving planets in
our solar system hasn’t occurred in hun
dreds of years (it was last seen 800 years
ago and occurred 400 years ago but
couldn’t be seen by the human eye then)
- but the phenomenon graced our skies
this Monday night, bringing with it a
sense of hope and awe not only for
Christians, but for humanity at large. No
one alive today has witnessed the rare
event - and while we could all imagine
what it would look like, none of us could
be certain. Here in Pickens County, a
cloudy morning gave way to a clear
evening, making the phenomenon visible
low in the southwestern sky just after
sunset.
For thousands of years we’ve looked
to the stars and planets to make sense of
the world - some of our religions and
myths are, in part, created by human
contemplation of the celestial bodies and
their greater meaning in our lives. Mon
day, people of all walks of life cast their
eyes upward, into the heavens, to take in
something bigger than themselves; to
think about, perhaps, the last people to
witness this same event so long ago and
to wonder what life might have been like
then. It was a unifying experience.
But the Star of Bethlehem didn’t only
happen at the height at our Christmas
season this year, it happened on the win
ter solstice, December 21st, the shortest,
darkest day. How poetic, and how per
fect? This event was needed in 2020
more than most years as we navigate the
darkness and challenges created by a
pandemic - the fear, the anxiety, the eco
nomic hardships, the isolation. We can’t
imagine a more beautiful symbol of hope
for brighter days ahead, or of a more
poignant reminder of the spirit of Jesus,
who came to be a lamplighter, a guiding
light for everyone.
John 8:12 - "I am the light of the
world. Whoever follows me will never
walk in darkness, but will have the light
of life."
Cultures across this planet, stretching
back centuries, have their own ways to
acknowledge the deep darkness of De
cember and the onset of winter, which
brings along with it death, hibernation,
and cold - but the good news is that from
this point on the Sun will be resurrected
after it reaches the lowest point of de
scent in our skies, and we look forward
to the warmth, and the life, it will usher
in.
This Christmas remember that with
out dark, there cannot be light. This year
has been so dark for so many individu
ally, and so dark for us collectively, but
the darkness never lasts. If we hold to
that understanding that it is part of life,
only temporal, we can find peace in our
hearts knowing light will return.
“Silent night, holy night. All is calm,
all is bright.”
We wish you the merriest of Christ
mases.
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
77/ Be Home
For Christmas
I’ll go ahead and warn you
at the outset; this is one of my
rare serious articles.
If you want to quit reading
now, no one will blame you.
Come back next week for an
other one of my harebrained
escapades, no doubt involv
ing slipping and falling on
used wrapping paper or slic
ing my hand open on scotch
tape.
It’s just a matter of time
before that happens and we
all know it.
To those of you that stuck
around, thanks. Now it’s time
we address the elephant in
the room.
Covid and Christmas.
Many of you may be wor
ried about it, and I don’t
blame you. Many of you are
not, and I don’t blame you ei
ther. For some of you, Christ
mas may look quite different
this year than it has in years
passed. You may not get to
see grandparents or loved
ones face-to-face. Others are
carrying on as usual. My
message to both of you is the
same:
Don’t confuse proximity
with being close to someone.
It’s a mistake to believe
that just because you are
physically near someone that
it means you’re close. I’ve
seen people sitting side-by-
side whose hearts were as far
from each other as you could
imagine. And I’ve seen peo
ple whose loved ones were
across the ocean and they
were so close to one another
you could practically see the
other one reflected in their
eyes.
Christmas is good, cele
brating Christmas is good,
but I don’t read in the Bible
where it tells us to remember
the Lord one day a year. We
should remember Him every
day. Likewise, we don’t need
a special day on the calendar
to love, appreciate, or be
close with our loved ones.
That should be every day
of the year.
I say this to those who
may be hopeless, or feel
there is a great separation be
tween them and their loved
ones.
Proximity isn’t closeness.
A phone call, a Zoom call,
even a handwritten letter; all
these bring to life the things
that make us close. After all,
do we love our family for the
way they look? If that were
true, no one would love me.
No, we love them for who
they are. We love them for
their thoughts, their words,
we love them for them.
If you see your family this
year, enjoy it. Don’t take it
for granted, cherish it. But
cherish it every other day of
the year too. A visit from
grandma in July is just as
precious as one on December
25th.
And if you don’t get to
see them this Christmas,
don’t despair. The best part
of family is the closeness that
no amount of distance can
weaken.
Merry Christmas, and
God bless.
(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
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
COUNTY PROGRESS, 94 N. Main St., Jasper, GA 30143.
One Year’s Subscription: $39.59 in Pickens County and in Gilmer,
Cherokee, Dawson and Gordon counties; $50.29 in all other Georgia
counties; $59.92 out of state.
[Caleb Smith is a long
time, award-winning, colum
nist for the Progress. Look
for his books at the Progress
office or on Amazon.]
If you spot a
mistake,
contact our
editor.
dpool@
pickensprogress.com
706-253-2457
OTHER VOICES
Christmas 2020: Old Shows Still Deliver
By Jennifer Paire
Contributing Writer
When it comes to televi
sion Christmas specials, I
still dig the oldies and good
ies from the 1960s and
1970s; they are the holiday
soundtrack of my childhood.
And, I am pretty sure I
have watched them almost
every year, even most of
those as a young adult, pre
kids, and certainly post kids.
I’m still star-struck by toy
like Rudolph, the elves and
woodland creatures as they
come to life and talk and
sing. Who doesn’t love to
hear the voice of Burl Ives
sashaying through powdery-
perfect snow?
In the Christmas specials
of that era you don’t see
masks (maybe a scarf on
someone bundled up in the
cold), and holiday frolicking
is not limited by social dis
tancing. The only self-im
posed quarantines are caused
by historic blizzards.
But this is 2020, and so
many things look and feel
different.
My visions of stop motion
animation were brought to a
screeching halt when I asked
my high-tech children, a teen
and a tween, to join me for
the annual airing of
Rankin/Bass’s "Rudolph the
Red-Nosed Reindeer." Eyes
began to roll and arms began
to flail as they whined, “but
we’ve seen it so many
times!” The Abominable
Snowman aka Bumble, irate
because he had a snow mon
ster-sized toothache, could
not equal these theatrics.
So, I put on my rose-col
ored glasses, decided to be
grateful for some quiet time,
and found the ups and downs
of this year had cracked one
of my lenses.
I started with Rudolph, a
show that has been roughed
up for bigotry and sexism,
with more recent descriptions
calling it dark and scary (and
I do admit to being a little
creeped out by Bumble’s fur,
which appears to have a life
of its own). You can read
about these points of view
via your own Google search.
And yes, these shows are
dated and they are not PC.
But for me, Rudolph’s ac
complishment as a hero leg
end is magnified this year.
His victory as leader of his
tribe of “misfits” is a story of
hope in the face of being
shamed by just about every
one he knew. In 2020, when
we all want to be respected
and accepted Rudolph’s en
dearing approach is power
ful.
Watching "Frosty the
Snowman" with a critical
eye was a little more diffi
cult. As Jimmy Durante used
his talk-singing style for the
theme, I grinned because
Santa’s main friend is named
Karen, and in 2020 that
means something different.
(This is a silly meme I only
know about because of my
high tech kids; I am thankful
for the Karens in my life).
Circling back to another
Rankin/Bass production,
"Santa Claus Is Comin ’ to
Town" was off the hook as
Sombertown’s first-rate dic
tator Bergermeister Meister-
berger sent abandoned baby
Claus, “baggage” as he
called him, off to an orphan
asylum.Talk about infringing
on the rights of others: this
winter grump outlawed toys
and ordered the town’s win
dows and doors locked shut
so that “Public Enemy Num
ber One” Kris Kringle could
not sneak anyone any toys or
joy-
Ultimately Kringle/Claus
was able to bring out the best
in both Herr Meisterburger
and the evil Winter Warlock.
I guess neither was as evil as
we thought.
My biggest uh-oh mo
ment in this beautifully-ren
dered production illustrated
how jaded I have become.
Kringle is in the town square
surrounded by children
singing “Be Prepared to
Pay,” which is actually a
story about giving and re
ceiving love, plain and sim
ple. The lyrics go, “if you sit
on my lap today, a kiss a toy
is the price you’ll pay.”
Sadly, it sounds a little differ
ent today, but it does create
an opportunity for conversa
tion. As we move from 2020
to 2021, we still need lots of
conversation.
Fort this grown up, the
pressure of the holidays can
feel as though a nutcracker
has my head in its vice. A
Charlie Brown Christmas
reminds me that “Chuck,” as
Peppermint Patty calls him,
is a kindred spirit. The holi
days have him feeling blue,
but he takes Lucy’s advice
and puts on a neighborhood
play only to be disrespected
and mocked by the Peanuts
gang.
Except for Linus, who re
minds Charlie about the true
meaning of Christmas.
Thank goodness for the Li
nuses in our lives.
My son, 15, surprised me
when he shared his favorite
part of Charlie's story was
how he took a homely little
Christmas tree and tran-
formed it into something
shiny and new. Despite their
flaws you can still find hope
in these classics. At the end
of 2020 we need a heaping
dose of it with magic sprin
kled on top.
[Jennifer Paire is a free
lance journalist who lives in
this area and contributes oc
casionally to the Progress.]
WEATHER
By William Dilbeck
HI
LOW
RAIN
Dec.
08
40
25
.00
Dec.
09
53
23
.00
Dec.
10
69
40
.00
Dec.
11
65
40
.00
Dec.
12
61
48
.30
Dec.
13
62
42
.00
Dec.
14
46
37
.88
Dec.
15
64
25
.00
Dec.
16
37
32
.21
Dec.
17
36
25
.00
Dec.
18
47
26
.68
Dec.
19
47
27
.00
Dec.
20
49
36
.00
Dec.
21
53
37
.00
Mr. Dilbeck has combined the
past two reports following “a 6-
day stay at the hospital with
double Covid pneumonia. Re
covering nicely now with an
other week of quarantine left! If
you have to be in the hospital,
Piedmont Mountain side takes
great care of you!’’
C:
f
12
#
(//
WT''
"I think he's sort of like Santa...
except we have to pay him back some day."