Newspaper Page Text
"The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the
only guardian of true liberty." - James Madison
• Opinions
• Community
Views
• Good Old
Common Sense
The Progress
Editorial
June 23,2022
From the Staff
Hot enough for ya?
By Christie Pool
Staff Writer
christie@pickensprogress.com
The summer heat has arrived. Even be
fore the official start of summer on Tues
day, our heat index here in the South had
already hit the triple digits. And we are just
getting started.
With temps this week expected to be
mostly in the mid 90s and with no rain in
sight, it’s time to put on our bona fide
Southerner caps and do what we always do
in June, July and August... bear it with a
smile and some cute sayin’s.
As miserable as high temperatures can
be, at least many of us get to bear it inside
with air conditioning (thank you Willis
Haviland Carrier who invented the modem
air conditioner in 1902). Southerners have
a special place in our hearts for the men
and women who have to work outside in
these blazing temperatures (we’re think
ing of you DOT workers and landscapers).
Tuesday’s high here was expected to
reach a blazing 93 degrees. In the past 20
years, according to the Dark Sky weather
app’s Time Machine feature, Jasper has
only hit the 90 degree mark five times on
June 21st. It’s hot and it is only going to
get hotter this summer.
June 21, 2021 = 85°
June 21, 2020 = 85°
June 21, 2019 = 86°
June 21, 2018 = 81°
June 21, 2017 = 77°
June 21, 2016 = 88°
June 21, 2015 = 90°
June 21, 2014 = 86°
June 21, 2013 = 81°
June 21, 2012 = 87°
June 21, 2011 = 91°
June 21, 2010 = 92°
June 21, 2009 = 91°
June 21, 2008 = 82°
June 21, 2007 = 88°
June 21, 2006 = 94°
June 21, 2005 = 81°
June 21, 2004 = 79°
June 21, 2003 = 80°
June 21, 2002 = 87°
For any newcomer who may want to
talk to us locals about the heat over the
next few months, here are some sayings
that might come in handy:
Man, it’s hot as all get-out.
It must be 90 in the shade.
This one’s gonna be a scorcher.
You could fry an egg on the sidewalk.
You could fry an egg on the hood of that
car.
It’s hot as Hades.
Hotter than H-E double hockey sticks.
Hot as the hinges on the gates of Hell.
Hotter than six shades of Hell.
Hotter than Satan’s house cat.
It’s so hot the swimming pool is boil
ing.
It’s so hot the ice cream truck melted.
It’s like a steam bath out here.
I’m sweatin’ like a pig.
Hotter than a billy goat with a blow
torch.
Hotter than a blister bug in a pepper
patch.
Hotter than hell and half of Georgia.
Hotter than a firecracker lit at both ends.
Hotter than a pair of sweat pants full of
barbecue.
Hotter than blue blazes.
Hotter than noon on the Fourth of July.
Hotter than a $2 pistol.
Hotter than six shades of hell.
Hotter than Georgia asphalt.
Hotter than the dickens.
Hotter than two rats kissing in a wool
sock.
We could tell you to always park your
car in the shade, or make sure and cover
your windows with drapes or shades,
weather-strip doors and windows to keep
that air conditioning in, or stay out of the
sun during the hottest part of the day. But
really the best advice we can give is to
simply find a way to do as little as you can
get by with — binge watch something or
perhaps read a book under a fan with a
cold drink.
It’s the South, of course it’s hot in sum
mer.
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.
Senior Moments
Appreciating technology
By Mary Migliaro
I like to tell people that I
have a “love/hate” relation
ship with technology. I love
it when it works, and I hate it
when it doesn’t. But I also
tell them how much I appre
ciate it all.
The young people today
truly cannot appreciate it.
Several years ago, when I
was teaching first-year stu
dents at Kennesaw State Uni
versity, I realized how little
these young folks understood
how much better their lives
were as a result of the things
they took for granted like
their computers and cell
phones. I decided to spend a
little time over the semester
helping them by creating
Technology 101.
Every couple of weeks, I
would spend a few minutes
in class on Technology 101
and introducing them to
things we had in the past that
are now easier for them. For
example, I still had my mo
bile pager from back in the
day, so I brought it to class
and began by asking them if
anyone knew what it was.
They guessed a few things,
but I finally had to tell them.
They couldn’t believe that
this device would buzz or vi
brate in your pocket and dis
play a phone number. They
asked how you knew who it
was, and I explained that all
you had was the number and
that you had to find a phone
(pay phone or otherwise) and
call the number to find out.
That also led to what a pay
(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 Subscription: $41.17 for residents of Pickens County
or the cities of Ball Ground, Fairmount, and Ranger;
$52.30 for all other Georgia residents; $62.32 out of state residents.
phone was because there are
none anymore.
Another Tech 101 lesson
was about the card catalog in
the library. The very thought
that you had to write down
Dewey Decimal numbers for
books, find them on the
shelves, and take notes from
them (remember there were
no copy machines then, ei
ther), astounded them. Now,
of course, they can go online
with their computer or cell
phone to chat with a librarian
in real time and have access
to thousands of books online.
Many of these young
folks take for granted all the
wonderful tools they have to
make their lives easier from
their work to their entertain
ment. Their entertainment is
no longer VHS tapes, but live
streaming events and other
social media that consumes
them on a daily basis. They
get news immediately instead
of waiting for the TV or radio
news at certain times of the
day.
I loved helping my stu
dents begin to appreciate all
that technology offers them
and, hopefully, inspire them
to be part of creating innova
tive technology that will
make all of our lives better in
the future. If you have grand
children, do your own ver
sion of Tech 101, and amaze
them as well. They will em
brace and appreciate their
technology and thank you for
the history lesson.
Mary Migliaro is a fre
quent contributor to the
Progress as both a columnist
and with a regular parenting
column. She may be reached
at maiymigliaro@aol.com.
#lbe ^>cf)ool
Other Voices
My encounter with mortality
By Chris Feldt
Two days past my 30th
birthday, on December 5th,
2004,1 woke up feeling fine.
At first, it seemed a day
like any other. My girlfriend
at the time said to me, “Hey,
what are those bruises all
over your body?”
And as I looked more 1
closely at myself, I noticed
what she was talking about.
All over my arms, legs, chest,
abdomen and face, there
were dark petechiae of vary
ing sizes. Particularly note
worthy were the large bruises
on my quadriceps.
There, my bruises were
larger than my fists and very
dark. As I was examining
myself, my chin began to
itch. Reflexively, I scratched
my face and blood began to
trickle down my chin. I had
blood spots in my eyes too.
I began to be concerned.
I quickly drove to my per
sonal physician. Upon look
ing at me, after about two
minutes, he made a guess at
a diagnosis.
“I think you have ITP.”, he
said.
“What’s ITP?”
“Idiopathic Thrombocy
topenia Perpura”
“Huh?”
“Low blood platelet bruis
ing disorder of an unknown
cause. You’ll have to go to
the hospital.”
Upon hearing those
words, I drove myself to the
nearest hospital. After spend
ing a brief while in the emer
gency room, I was brought
into a private room and was
given a blood test.
“We think you have ITP.”
Said the nurse.
“Is this serious?”
“It can be.”
“Is it common? I’ve never
even heard of it.”
“It’s not super common,
so let’s wait on your test re
sults.”
A few minutes passed and
the nurse came back with my
results. She was visibly con
cerned.
“We’re sorry, but you’re
going to have to go to a big
ger hospital.”
“Why? Should I go now?”
“We can’t let you drive.
You’ll have to go by ambu
lance.”
“What’s going on? Why
can’t I drive myself?”
“An ordinary person has
about 150,000 to 450,000
platelets per microliter of
blood. You have 2,000. At a
level of 50,000 platelets or
less, if someone were to
punch you in the arm, you
could bleed out. At a level of
10,000 or less, you run the
risk of internally hemorrhag
ing. You’re at 2,000.”
Now the bleeding out of
my face started making
sense. So did the bruises on
my legs caused by physical
contact the night before.
I took a deep breath and
called my mom. Before you
know it, I was in the back of
a speeding ambulance
headed some 60 miles south
to a larger, more sophisti
cated facility.
When I got to the new fa
cility, a whole battery of tests
was administered: Lupus,
Guillain-Barre syndrome,
AIDS, cancer and others.
I was tested until they had
felt for certain the bruising
was caused by ITP. In fact,
ITP is the name they give the
condition only when they’ve
run out of causes. Otherwise,
it wouldn’t be idiopathic.
Doctors at the time had
thought that ITP may have
been caused by a confused
immune system. Some peo
ple would get a cold and then
the immune system would er
roneously target the platelets
as if they were an illness.
I asked the oncologist in
the big city about ITP. He
said they see it fairly often.
When I asked how often, he
said about five times a year.
That didn’t strike me as all
too common.
My doctor told me he was
going to give me an $8,000
dollar shot to try and stabilize
my condition. This was an IV
immunoglobulin shot. The
shot contained antibodies that
attached to the spleen that
prevented the destruction of
platelets.
He advised me there was
a one percent chance that I
would experience adverse re
actions to my shot. This was
my lucky day. I was now a
member of the one percent
club.
The reactions were severe
convulsions, sweating, and
an inability to communicate.
It was during these convul
sions when my father finally
arrived. My poor dad thought
my side effects were because
of the ITP. And I was unable
to tell him otherwise. With
time, the convulsions stopped
and I told my dad that I had
just experienced rare, but se
vere side effects from my
shot. We waited.
During my wait I started
forming a perspective on
what was happening to me.
All the negative tests I got
- those for lupus, AIDS, can
cer, etc. were a confirmation
to me. I was alive. I was sup
posed to be alive. Coupled
with the fact that I didn’t die
when my platelet count was
so low was miraculous. It
was a miracle.
I began to cry. Not be
cause of the stress of the
events, but because I was
given a new lease on life...a
chance to live.
Seventeen years later and
I still have a lower than nor
mal than platelet count. I nor
mally test at about 100,000
platelets. Rather than going
into the doctor every six
months to get tested, I mess
around with my cat. If I get a
scratch and don’t heal in a
normal time frame, I’ll go
into the doctor. I suppose I
haven’t lost of the impetu
ousness of my youth after all.
Chris Feldt is a writer,
poet, artist, composer, and
history buff with a penchant
for tomfoolery. He has lived
in Bent Tree with his wife and
daughter since November of
2018.
WEATHER
By William Dilbeck
HI LOW RAIN
June
14
87
71
.00
June
15
92
70
.00
June
16
92
70
.00
June
17
89
67
.08
June
18
86
56
.00
June
19
84
58
.00
June
20
87
61
.00
Upgrade Your Home with a
NEW METAL ROOF
Guaranteed to Last a Lifetime!
LIMITED TIME OFFER
TAKE AN ADDITIONAL
10 % off
Install for Military, Health
Workers and First Responders i
' €RI€ 5SSS
My
STRONG AS STEEL WITH THE
ATTRACTIVE LOOK OF VARIOUS
ROOF STYLES
From Dimensional Shingles to classic styles
reminiscent of Cedar Shake and Spanish Tile, an
architectural roofing system by Erie Metal Roofs
can enhance the beauty of your home while
protecting your family and property for a lifetime.
Call today to schedule your
FREE ESTIMATE 1-866-939-2151
€ttl£
Metal Roofs
New orders only. Does not include material costs. Cannot be combined with any
other offer. Minimum purchase required. Other restrictions may apply. This is an
advertisement placed on behalf of Erie Construction Mid-West, Inc (“Erie"). Offer
terms and conditions may apply and the offer may not be available in your area.
Offer expires March 31,2022. If you call the number provided, you consent to being
contacted by telephone, SMS text message, email, pre-recorded messages by Erie
or its affiliates and service providers using automated technologies notwithstanding
if you are on a DO NOT CALL list or register. Please review our Privacy Policy and
Terms of Use on homeservicescompliance.com. All rights reserved.
