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“Progress is not achieved by luck or accident, but by working on yourself daily.”
— Epictetus
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The Progress
Editorial
January 13,2022
From the Staff
Strange - our top word for 2021
“What does this all mean? ” our top search
By Dan Pool, Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
The last year is officially in the books and
judging by the new words that came to
prominence and the top web searches, it was
a particularly strange year.
Looking over the top words and search
engine queries, I find myself mostly saying,
“what?”
The top nominees for the Word of the
Year, as selected by the American Dialect So
ciety, had many new to the language and I’ll
wager most readers will find them as alien as
as I did. The selections are from a group of
professionals who work in language and have
put out their list for 32 years under the dialect
group, which the presumably curmudgeonly
lot notes is the oldest yearly top word list.
Some of the nominees, which can all be
found by searching “American Dialect Soci
ety,” make sense. The top choice overall was
insurrection. Not making any comment on
the politics, but at the least this is a real word
most of us heard plenty last year.
Others on their list also seem logical.
Words like “vax”, “boosted,” and “supply
chain” are now in common circulation.
Imagine three years ago if someone said,
“I’m double-vaxxed and waiting to get
boosted.”
Along these lines the “Great Resigna
tion,” which refers to people leaving jobs, is
a phrase destined for economic books.
Other nominees, however, produce head
scratching.
• Bussin’- Defined as “extremely good,
such as food that is indescribably tasty.” Next
time you are at the neighbors, impress them
by saying, “Wow that was some bussin’ food
you served” and see how cool they think you
are - after you explain the meaning.
• Bones day/no bones day:- A top choice
that means, “Prediction of whether a day will
be good or bad” came to life from a dog and
his owner who are Tik/Tok famous.
• NFT - a seemingly lunatic investment
described as “abbreviation for non-fungible
token, a digital asset using blockchain tech
nology to make a unique token, with its own
identification that cannot be replicated.” Say
what? The term NFT, as well as blockchain,
may dominate Reddit investment discus
sions, but few of us could explain them.
• Yassify - “To apply image filters to a
person’s photo to transform it into a cartoon-
ishly beautiful image; more generally, to
make beautiful or glamorous.” Another new
one for us.
• Fauci ouchie: Not sure how to use this
one in a sentence, but it’s a pretty good
phrase.
On Google trends (trends.google.com),
consider this: the top three searches world
wide all related to cricket - the sport, not the
bugs. Shockingly, for the majority of people
around the world, the big game has nothing
to do with Dawgs.
The top three “passings,” which Google
uses instead of deaths on their self-published
stats, shows the most searched were DMX,
Gabby Petito, and Marilia Mendonca. In case
you didn’t know they are, respectively, a rap
per; the vanlife woman whose disappear
ance/murder became a national obsession;
and a Brazilian singer.
When you bring the top searches back to
only U.S. users, they are: 1. NBA; 2. DMX;
3. Gabby Petito; 4. Kyle Rittenhouse; 5.
Brian Laundrie; 6. Mega Millions; 7. AMC
Stocks; 8. Stimulus check; 9. Georgia Senate
Race; and 10. Squid Game.
More interesting are the top How To Be
searches from the U.S.
1) How to be eligible for stimulus check;
2) How to be more attractive
3) How to be happy alone
4) How to be a baddie
5) How to be a good boyfriend
6) How to be a good kisser
7) How to be a flight attendant
8) How to be happy with yourself
9) How to be mindful
10) How to be romantic
There is something hopeful in people ask
ing how to be more happy alone and happy
with yourself, as well as how to be mindful.
But it’s also sad that people are seeking this
advice from their phone or computer.
Is this encouraging that so many people
are seeking this kind of advice, or discourag
ing that so many need it? That remains to be
seen. The old Chinese curse/saying “May
you live in interesting times,” certainly befell
us in 2021.
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.
Too Many Choices
Cheerlos Cheerlos, Cheerlos ! Cheerlos tSSios ciieffios
ObCmbcH QmCtocH I QwCkuhcH I Om Crunch AgFvv&o?
Choices, Choices, everywhere you go.
By Jim
Brescia
If you are
a fan of free
will, you
must accept
that there are
choices to be
made in life.
But I think
we are suffer
ing from too
much of ;
good thing.
Let’s look at some choices-
gone-wild examples.
I am old enough to re
member when if you were at
the supermarket looking for
cereal, you had to choose be
tween Com Flakes, Rice
Krispies or Cheerios. Yester
day, I counted 356 different
cereals at my grocery store
from which to choose. That
does not include the breakfast
bars. Cereal has its own aisle!
At my age, I do not want
to spend that much time de
ciding on which cereal to
buy. Many of the values
upon which this country was
founded are being attacked
and I am in aisle 12 trying to
decide between rice, oats,
rye, barley, wheat and
quinoa. And don’t get me
started on those sugar laden
desserts that are masquerad
ing as breakfast cereals. If my
obituary reads that I died on
aisle 12 while trying to de
cide on what cereal to buy, I
will consider my life a fail
ure.
How about eggs? One
(USPS 431-820)
Published by Pickens County Progress, Inc.
94 North Main Street, Jasper, GA 30143
(706) 253-2457
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 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.
used to have to decide be
tween white or brown and
what size. Now, there are
cage-free, pasture-raised,
free-range, organic, vegetar
ian eggs and eggs enhanced
with Omega-3 Fatty Acid. I
had to go on the internet to
find out what “Omega-3
Fatty Acid” is before I could
make a choice of what eggs
to buy.
Beef was the one area that
I thought I had mastered.
Given the choices avail
able in most grocery stores, I
would pass up the “Select”
and “Choice” and buy the
“Prime”. Then my cardiolo
gist (et tu, Brute?) told me
that “Grass Feed” beef was
the healthiest. Now I worry
about what my food was fed!
Perhaps the crudest cut of
all is in the bread aisle.
Bread has existed for millen
nia as a staple food in most
cultures. The simple white,
rye or wheat choice has mor
phed into white, rye, wheat,
soda, pumpernickel, sour
dough, tortilla, baguette,
brioche, ciabatta, combread,
focaccia, multigrain, pita and
potato bread choices. There
is also something called
Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain
Bread. Really? Now I have
to read the Bible so that I can
make a decision about which
bread to buy.
I am not even going to
discuss the bedlam that is
rampant in the milk, butter
and cheese section of my
grocery store. I have run out
of time. Today is the day that
I make my grocery shopping
list and I will need several
hours of research. I will see
you in the check-out line. I
will be the guy with the
dazed and confused look on
my face.
[Jim Brescia is a contributor
to the Progress. He is involved
in veterans groups in the Jasper
area.]
i§>ct)ciol
Other Voices
State must invest in dementia
care specialists for all areas
A NEW YEAR
A NEW COMMITTMENT
TO FIGHT ALZHEIMER’S
Join the fight at alz.org/getinvolved
alzheimer’s
association
Submitted by the
Alzheimer’s Association
More than 334,000 Geor
gians are providing care to
someone living with
Alzheimer’s. The number is
expected to increase with the
rapid upward trajectory of
the disease both in the United
States and in Georgia.
To help caregivers’ meet
the unique needs of their
loved ones’ living with de
mentia, local Alzheimer’s
advocates are working di
rectly with the Georgia
Chapter of the Alzheimer’s
Association to urge state law
makers to fund a dementia
care specialist in every Area
Agency on Aging in Georgia.
The Dementia Care Spe
cialists will provide families
with dementia-specific case
management, tips and sup
port for caregivers, and im
prove care coordination.
They will also be able to
provide community educa
tion and mobilize dementia-
specific community
resources and supports. The
program would employ a de
mentia care specialist (DCS)
in each of our twelve Area
Agencies on Aging (AAA)
across the state thus improv
ing the state’s response to the
growing number of families
impacted by Alzheimer’s or
other dementias.
“We are asking the Gen
eral Assembly to make a
$1.25 million investment in
the creation of a Dementia
Care Specialist Program to
meet the unique needs of
people living with demen
tia”, added MaryLea
Boatwright Quinn, Director
of Government Affairs for
the Georgia Chapter of the
Alzheimer’s Association.
“This program is modeled
after a highly successful one
in Wisconsin. We’d love for
Georgia to lead the way in
WEATHER
By William Dilbeck
HI
LOW
RAIN
Jan.
04
44
32
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Jan.
05
49
34
.00
Jan.
06
44
19
.00
Jan.
07
34
18
.00
Jan.
08
45
30
.00
Jan.
09
51
30
.64
Jan.
10
46
27
.00
the Southeast by investing in
a proven concept to improve
the lives of people living
with dementia and reduce
caregiver burden with de
mentia-specific services.”
In addition to the commu
nity-based DCS staff, a full
time Program lead in the
Division of Aging will ensure
program quality and continu
ity and create an integrated
data collection system across
the program. This data will
be a resource in developing
strategies to ensure the De
partment and the state con
tinue to become more
“dementia-capable.”
"The AAA Network
across Georgia encounters
people living with dementia
and their caregivers each and
every day in the services we
provide”, added Katie
Howard, incoming Area on
Aging G4A president. “Hav
ing a dementia care specialist
in each community would
help us strengthen our re
sponse to the unique needs of
this population."
Alzheimer’s is the only
leading cause of death in
America without a way to
prevent, cure, or even slow
its progression. Conse
quently, in 2020 alone,
Alzheimer’s and other de
mentias are expected to cost
Georgia $1,265 billion. More
than 6 million Americans are
living with Alzheimer's dis
ease - a leading cause of
death in the United States.
Additionally, more than 11
million family members and
friends provide care to peo
ple living with Alzheimer’s
and other dementias.
In Georgia alone, there are
more than 150,000 people
living with the disease and
334,000 caregivers.
The Alzheimer’s Associa
tion is a worldwide voluntary
health organization dedicated
to Alzheimer’s care, support
and research. Its mission is to
lead the way to end
Alzheimer's and all other de
mentia — by accelerating
global research, driving risk
reduction and early detec
tion, and maximizing quality
care and support. Visit
alz.org or call 800.272.3900.
See an error?
Let our editor
hear about it,
dpool@
pickensprogress. com
706-253-2457
Correction - In
last week’s article
"Jasper to hire new
fire chief and police
chief’ it was incor
rectly stated that
Matt Dawkins is
currently serving as
interim fire chief
In fact, Dawkins is
serving as interim
police chief.
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