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The Progress
Editorial
August 11,2022
From the Staff
Keep the Good Vibes rolling
This week our article about a philan
thropic Old Mulehouse restaurant man
ager who organizes employee hikes,
roadside cleanups, and wants to do even
more do-goody things brings to an end a
two-month series of Good Vibes articles.
For this series, we published stories
written by the subjects themselves and
also stories with people we interviewed
explaining the things they enjoyed -
where they found Good Vibes.
It began after a longtime reader told
our editor that we needed more positive
pieces about people having fun. No pol
itics or tragedy or government actions in
volved. In an editorial meeting our staff
agreed that the suggestion should be
given a high priority. Pickens County, for
much of the past two or three years, has
been anything but a sleepy town, from
chaos on the school board to prominent
people getting arrested to growth issues
- and our reporters have worked hard to
keep it all covered.
But for this summer it was time to put
a little emphasis in another direction -
people having fun.
We have talked to a couple who en
joys golf vacations; an empty-nest grand
mother who has gotten serious about art;
a couple that likes long distance cycling
trips; a man who takes barbequing to a
semi-pro level and provides smoked
meats for non-profit events; a teenager
who beats boredom by gaming; a me
chanic whose basement has become a
master guitar shop for repairs and build
ing custom instruments; our Keep Pick
ens Beautiful president told how she
grows a small garden in an unused
jacuzzi tub; and last week we learned
how an artist took inspiration from a trip
and began creating bam quilts.
This week we close it out, at least as a
weekly series. With our schools under
way and parents back in the usual grind,
we felt this was the week to end it.
We hope to keep the good vibes
rolling on a regular, but not weekly, basis.
We all get plenty of political, govern
ment, and tax news - and we’ll surely
continue to remain dedicated to these
beats. To find the fun stuff we need read
ers’ tips and in some cases, their own
written accounts of people’s interesting
interesting leisure pursuits.
For the Good Vibes series we tried to
find some unusual hobbies - we didn’t
even know that bam quilts were made of
wood not cloth - as well as some stan
dard pastimes like golf, painting and
grilling, all tried-and-true ways to relax.
With both the new and regular, hear
ing people talk about why they enjoy the
things they do was inspiring. The articles
weren’t how-to guides. Rather, they were
why to? Why go out with your spouse
and play golf or spend time by yourself
with a sketchbook.
Ever since COVID and last election, it
seems there has both been a pall and
gloom over the national psyche. But at
the same time, the pandemic isolation
sparked a ton of people to spend time de
veloping hobbies or practicing crafts.
Heck, recall that at one point you
couldn’t find canning supplies anywhere
in Jasper as people on COVID leave
were so busy putting up veggies.
Learning better ways to cook brisket
or planning a trip along a rails-to-trails
route isn’t going to change the world, we
get that. However, it surely can make it a
more tolerable place to live and that is
value in Good Vibes.
Finally, thanks to all who shared their
hobbies with us. For those who still want
to talk about how they enjoy playing ban
joes, keeping chickens or collecting face
jug pottery - or who play some sport we
have never even heard of - our e-mail is
always open and our reporters are inter
ested. Drop us a line at
articles@pickensprogress.com.
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
Skip the old sayings
By Mary Migliaro
Growing up you probably
heard a lot of old, and some
times silly, sayings. I know I
did. Have you ever wondered
what their purpose was? Did
they teach you anything?
Let’s look back at a few of
them and sort out the good
versus the bad ones. Then
you can make sure you aren’t
passing along any silly ones
to your kids or grandkids.
A watched pot never boils.
I’m quite sure if you put a
pot of water on to boil, that it
will boil at some point
whether or not you watch it.
The idea is that you should
take your mind off of some
thing as time will pass any
way.
A stitch in time saves nine.
Literally, if you have a
hole in your sock and you
delay mending it, it will get
bigger the longer you wait to
sew it up. The translation is
that taking care of something
sooner is better than later.
You can lead a horse to
water, but you can’t make it
drink.
There is only so much you
can do but do what you can
anyway.
Many hands make light
work.
Having lots of hands help
ing makes the work easier
and takes less time, unless of
course all of your help is kids
under five!
Don’t judge a book by its
cover.
This one can be taken lit
erally or figuratively. With
books, read a chapter or two
before tossing it out. In peo
ple, never prejudge a person
by how they look. We all are
more than our outward ap
pearance.
Don’t count your chickens
before they’ve hatched.
This one can be answered
with another: It ain’t over
until the fat lady sings!
Enough said.
A rolling stone gathers no
moss.
This one either encour
ages action instead of stand
ing still or reminds us that it
is hard to put down roots
when you’re moving.
You catch more flies with
honey than with vinegar.
Literally and figuratively
true on all counts. Kindness
works.. .Try it!
The squeaky wheel gets the
grease
Absolutely! The person
yelling the loudest gets all of
the attention (especially if it’s
a toddler).
The early bird catches the
worm.
Get up earlier and you’ll
get more done, guaranteed.
(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.
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Old sayings can be valu
able to others if they are
framed in a moment in time
where the saying is relevant.
Don’t just spout them out and
expect the person to under
stand it. If we use our old
sayings wisely, we will give
pearls of wisdom to our kids
and grandkids.
[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 H>d)ciol
&TOP* S-W&/\TtN£rJ>s
TS 0\ZG&.
Other Voices
With All Due Respect, I Don’t Care
By Jim Brescia
For reasons I do not un
derstand, a lot of people go
out of their way to let me
know what categories they
fall into. Sometimes they use
letters (LGBTQIA+). Some
times they use labels like
Christian, Islamic, Jew,
Hindu, Agnostic, Atheist,
Liberal, Conservative, De
mocrat, Republican, the list is
endless.
If you need reassurance
that I treat everyone the
same, let me be very clear
that I do not care what your
sexual preference is, your
ethnicity, what, if any reli
gion to which you subscribe,
what party you vote for and
certainly not if you are or are
not in favor of abortion.
Please do not tell me your
preferred pronouns! Just tell
me your name and I will take
it from there. As to what to
call me, I quote what my
mother always said when
someone got her name
wrong: “Call me anything
but late for supper.”
I can’t imagine the pain of
wanting to be a gender other
than that into which you were
bom. So, please don’t drag
me into that pain. I can’t help
you. Truth be told, when it
comes to athletics, I do not
see how someone can derive
pleasure or satisfaction from
competing against someone
to whom one has a biological
physical advantage. But hey,
that’s my issue and I will deal
with it.
What I do care about is
what Martin Luther King
called “the content of your
character”.
I have heard the “content
of your character” described
as the core ethical values of
honesty and integrity, re
specting others, taking re
sponsibility for one’s actions,
being fair and just, and being
someone who promotes love
and compassion in others.
Some would add the ex
tent to which one embodies
wisdom, humility, courage,
justice, temperance, and the
value of human dignity.
That is a very tall order
but if you exhibit all (very
difficult) or most (also diffi
cult) of those characteristics,
I do not care which of the
above categories into which
you fall. Where things start
going wrong for me, is when
someone tells me that they
have a problem with one or
more of the categories in
which I reside.
Or even worse, when
someone tells me I have to
move into one or more of
their categories!
I believe that if you want
the freedom to live your life,
you should allow others to
live their life the way they
choose. I have used “the
freedom allowed to others”
as a criterion to judge the ac
tions of politicians.
If your idea of freedom is
for me to adhere to all of your
beliefs and desires, then you
are not being fair and I feel
no obligation to be fair to
you. I am not fond of
vengeance so I will avoid
you. But we cannot make
progress on issues that need
to be resolved if we avoid
one another.
One last point: do not in
volve children with these is
sues. Growing up is difficult
enough for children. I want
the children in my family to
evolve and mature in their
own time and way. They
should not have to deal with
issues far beyond their capa
bility to understand.
Peace be with all of us as
we resolve the above issues.
[Jim Brescia is a regular
contributor to the Progress.]
WEATHER
By William Dilbeck
HI
LOW
RAIN
August
02
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August
03
88
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August
04
85
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05
86
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August
06
85
67
.10
August
07
84
69
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August
08
83
68
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