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“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.”
- Epictetus
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Common Sense
The Progress
Editorial
February 2,2023
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
Caleb Smith
What a
Wonderful
Whorl
I’ve always had a fond
ness for riddles, brain teasers,
and puzzles. Not to say that I
am good at them, by any
stretch of the imagination.
But they’ve always fasci
nated me. A few weeks ago I
decided to sit down and try to
solve the one riddle that has
plagued me for years.
How much wood could a
woodchuck chuck?
The internet being what it
is, I went down a number of
rabbit holes, including more
about woodchuck mating
habits than I ever wanted to
know, but no answer to my
riddle.
Youtube, however, did
what Youtube does so well. It
took what I searched for and
gave me lists of anything re
motely similar to it. That’s
when I discovered the joys of
wood turning.
I sat for hours, transfixed
as the block of crude wood
was turned into a piece of art.
The spinning item molded,
almost like clay under the
chisel of the artist.
Needless to say, I ordered
a lathe that very night.
“Oh, yeah, that’s a great
idea,” a friend of mine
replied when I told him that I
was going to start turning
wood, “You, alone, with a
two pound block of wood
spinning at 1400 RPM while
you hold razor sharp chisels
to it? Yeah, super great idea
genius.”
I was a bit surprised, it
wasn’t like him to be this
supportive. Usually he made
a snarky comment or re
marked on how un-handy I
was with tools. For his kind
ness, I resolved to give him
my first finished product as
my way of saying thanks.
I will admit, there was a
rather sharp learning curve
when it came to turning
wood. Even with my nerves
of steel, I was apprehensive
when I saw how quickly it
turned, its edges a blur as it
revolved at insane speeds.
Fun fact, did you know
that sometimes the wood will
pop? No matter how smooth
it may be, sometimes it kicks
the chisel right back at you,
resulting in a high pitched
squeal.
Personally I would have
said it sounded more like a
‘manly yelp of alarm,’ but the
neighbors quite clearly la
beled it ‘a feminine screech
of terror’ in their police re
port. Also, when police arrive
at your house on a domestic
disturbance call, don’t greet
them with a two foot long
chisel in your hand. They can
get a bit “taze-y.”
Unfortunately, wood turn
ing wasn’t nearly as relaxing
as I expected. With the
whirring lathe, jumping chis
els, and misdemeanor
charges, it was just more
trouble than it was worth.
That being said, does any
one want to buy a lathe
cheap? They can be very
therapeutic. For some people.
[Caleb Smith is a resident
of a ramshackle cabin on an
undisclosed mountain top.
He can be reached at jcaleb-
smith90@yahoo.com.]
(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;
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(JMbe School
Other Voices
We Have Just Lost Another One
By Jim Brescia
According to the Journal
of Hospice & Palliative
Nursing, nearly 642,000
United States of America
military veterans die each
year. So, a cynical person
might say “What’s one
more?” That would be a dis
respectful and ignorant state
ment.
As a byproduct of my age
and the organizations to
which I belong, I attend a lot
of funerals for men and
woman who have served in
our military. The deceased’s
military service is always
mentioned but it is the other
parts of the deceased’s life
that deserves more attention
than it gets.
Whether they served for a
brief period of time or their
entire career, these veterans
were also husbands, wives,
fathers, mothers, grandpar
ents, and community mem
bers.
Perhaps, being a veteran
myself, I am biased but it
seems to me that veterans
have a greater than average
interest in and a concern for
the future of this country.
Perhaps it is because they lit
erally “had some skin in the
game.” They feel an owner
ship interest in this country.
And most of them try to
teach their children and
grandchildren the value of
freedom and its cost.
I first met Bobby Gordon
about two years ago as the
result of a call that one of his
daughters made to my Amer
ican Legion Post.
She said her father was a
90-year-old Air Force Ko
rean War era veteran and was
unable to finish a project he
had started on their house be
cause he had become very ill.
I went out to their house
to assess the project. They
live in a remote area on the
outskirts of Pickens County.
I pulled up on the unpaved
driveway and watched as a
bent over man made his way
to me with the aid of a
walker. “Howdy, I’m
Bobby” he said. He had a
high-pitched voice with a lit
tle bit of a country twang to
it. He led me to a section of
the house where the log sid
ing had begun to rot. There
was a scaffold alongside the
house. He explained that he
had been replacing the log
siding but was no longer able
to navigate the scaffold.
Bobby explained to me
that he had bought the prop
erty and had the house built
many years ago and he and
his wife raised their children
there. He and his wife Hazel
raised 4 children and now
have 4 grandchildren and 8
great-grandchildren.
His wife was now in an
assisted living facility be
cause of medical issues that
made it impossible to meet
her needs at home.
Bobby was still living at
home but had dialysis treat
ments at a medical center.
Bobby had a smile that
made you think he knew
something you did not. And
he probably did! My appeal
to my contacts in the com
munity led to a response
from the Big Canoe Chapel’s
Men’s Fellowship.
They agreed to make the
repairs at no cost to Bobby.
While visiting Bobby for
the first time, I noticed that
he proudly flew the Ameri
can flag from a pole located
in front of his house. The
flag was tom and the rope
was frayed.
So, on the day The Fel
lowship showed up to start
the repairs, I replaced the
rope and flag. After all of the
years that had passed since
his military service, it was
still important for him to fly
our flag.
I could tell from our con
versations that Bobby was
aware of the issues the coun
try he loved was facing
today.
Bobby passed away on
January 13 of this year. It
was clear from the comments
of his children who spoke at
his memorial service that
Bobby has instilled in them
his respect and love for this
country.
The speakers mourned his
death and celebrated his life.
A life that included, even at
92 years of age, being a de
voted follower of Fox News.
It was particularly touching
to hear his granddaughter
speak of him.
Being separated some
what from the day-to-day is
sues of raising children, we
grandparents can be that lov
ing sage to our grandchil
dren.
Do not, for even one sec
ond think that your children
and grandchildren do not pay
attention to what you say and
even more importantly, what
you do.
I am often brought to tears
listening to grandchildren
speak of their remembrances
of the deceased and the pro
found influence they had on
the speaker.
In this day and Zeitgeist
when people are trying to
raise our children in their
own perverse image, we
must actively participate in
the education of our youth.
Especially in the areas of his
tory, morality, sexuality and
patriotism.
Unfortunately, not every
one who chooses education
as a profession is satisfied
with teaching reading, writ
ing, arithmetic and history to
young children.
Millions of people sacri
ficed to establish and main
tain the freedoms and
rewards available in this
country. Failure to do what
we can, when we can to
maintain our way of life
leaves the door open to those
who would destroy it and us.
Do something! Bobby did!
Bobby, it was an honor to
know you. You had a life
well lived!
[Jim Brescia is a regular
contributor to the Progress.
He is active in several local
veteran groups.]
WEATHER
By William Dilbeck
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